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This study sought to build on existing research in the areas of student extracurricular activity participation, school identification, and improvement of student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of extracurricular activity participation and school identification upon one another and their combined and individual contributions to the goal of student achievement.;The study was conducted using archival data from the 2009-2010 school year along with data from a survey that target extracurricular activity participation and school identification. Data were analyzed for a sample of 314 students out of a population of over 900 in Grades 6, 7, and 8 from two different middle schools. Students were given a survey at the start of the 2010-2011 school year, after being promoted to Grades 7, 8, and 9. The survey results provided the researcher with a school identification and extracurricular activity participation score for each student. These scores were compared to achievement data comprising the end-of-year grade point average and the mathematics and reading Virginia Standards of Learning scaled scores.;The results of the study indicated that there was a mild relationship between students' participation in extracurricular activities and their identification with their school. The findings revealed no significant relationships between students' participation in extracurricular activities and any of the achievement measures, or between student school identification and academic achievement.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 144-152).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Education, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

<p> As student learners become exposed to more technology, they drive change in their learning environments. The United States Department of Education and Georgia Department of Education responded with national and state technology plans to better support the Digital Natives of this century. Local school districts and schools equipped educators in this study through portable and mobile tablet/laptop carts, student response devices, data/video projectors, and/or interactive TVs/white boards. In this multisited, multiple case study, three middle grades English/Language Arts educators honored connections between content, pedagogy, and technology. Through narrative vignettes, within-case and cross-case analysis of data, and interpretation and implications of findings, the researcher described how technology-based learning impacts the learning environment of student learners and their educators in middle grades English/Language Arts instruction and how those experiences impact learner autonomy. The researcher desired the findings to be of value to educators and others whose decisions regarding professional development, instructional practices, and instructional resources influence the learning experiences for educators and their student learners.</p>

<p> Internet Memes transverse and sometimes transcend cyberspace on the back of impossibly cute LOLcats speaking mangled English and the snarky remarks of Image Macro characters always on the lookout for someone to undermine. No longer the abstract notion of a cultural gene that Dawkins (2006) introduced in the late 1970s, memes have now become synonymous with a particular brand of vernacular language that internet users engage by posting, sharing and remixing digital content as they communicate jokes, emotions and opinions. </p><p> For the purpose of this research the language of Internet Memes is understood as visual, succinct and capable of inviting active engagement by users who encounter digital content online that exhibits said characteristics. Internet Memes were explored through an Arts-Based Educational Research framework by first identifying the conventions that shape them and then interrogating these conventions during two distinct research phases. <?Pub _newline>In the first phase the researcher, as a doctoral student in art and visual culture education, engaged class readings and assignments by generating digital content that not only responded to the academic topics at hand but did so through forms associated with Internet Memes like Image Macros and Animated GIFs. In the second phase the researcher became a meme literacy facilitator as learners in three different age-groups were led in the reading, writing and remixing of memes during a month-long summer art camp where they were also exposed to other art-making processes such as illustration, acting and sculpture. Each group of learners engaged age-appropriate meme types: 1) the youngest group, 6 and 7 year-olds, wrote Emoji Stories and Separated at Birth memes; 2) the middle group, 8-10 year-olds, worked with Image Macros and Perception memes, 3) while the oldest group, 11-13 year-olds, generated Image Macros and Animated GIFs. </p><p> The digital content emerging from both research phases was collected as data and analyzed through a hybrid of Memetics, Actor-Network Theory, Object Oriented Ontology, Remix Theory and Glitch Studies as the researcher shifted shapes yet again and became a Research Jockey sampling freely from each field of study. A case is made for Internet Memes to be understood as an actor-network where meme collectives, individual cybernauts, software and source material are all actants interrelating and making each other enact collective agencies through shared authorships. Additionally specific educational contexts are identified where the language of Internet Memes can serve to incorporate technology, storytelling, visual thinking and remix practices into art and visual culture education. </p><p> Finally, the document reporting on the research expands on the hermeneutics of Internet Memes and the phenomenological experiences they elicit that are otherwise absent from traditional scholarly prose. Chapter by chapter the dissertation was crafted as a journey from the academic to the whimsical, from the lecture hall to the image board (where Internet Memes were born), from the written word to the remixed image as a visual language that is equal parts form and content that emerges and culminates in a concluding chapter composed almost entirely of popular Internet Meme types. </p><p> An online component can be found at http://memeducation.org/</p>

<p> ELs are a marginalized population in American schools. They are denied a just, equal, and inclusive education. Those whose primary language is other than English are segregated from the other students in school and prevented from enrolling in courses that would allow them to meet prerequisites for college applications.</p><p> This qualitative case study examining the impact of elective courses on ELs' achievement demonstrated that these students were capable of the same achievement as, if not better than, their English-proficient peers. They demonstrated fewer behavior incidents, achieved increased test scores, and maintained grade point averages higher than those of other ELs. Their teachers and administrators viewed them favorably and supported their enrollment in elective courses. </p><p> This small sample of ELs has demonstrated that they are capable of academic achievement and supports the call to permit their enrollment in elective courses. Schools are obligated to provide them with college and career readiness opportunities, and electives would facilitate this preparation.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing middle school grading reform. The study involved all stakeholders in one middle school community. Participants were surveyed to determine which standards-based grading practices were most welcomed among middle school students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Additionally, students&rsquo; perceived motivation levels when evaluated using standards-based grading practices were quantified and the necessary support needs of middle school teachers were identified as they attempted school-wide grading reform. Many are calling for school leaders to evaluate unreliable traditional grading methods and reform grading to a standards-based approach (Guskey, Swan, &amp; Jung, 2011; Wormeli, 2013). For this reason, the survey items used in the study were based on the positive and negative outcomes of standards-based grading found in current research. The sample groups for the study included 137 middle school students, 148 parents, 25 teachers, and three administrators. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results of Likert-style survey items and open-ended questions. Findings indicated the most accepted grading changes among all stakeholders included allowing students multiple attempts to show the learning of a concept and providing for awareness and understanding of learning objectives. The teacher survey results revealed necessary support needs when attempting grading reform include the following: making grading decisions together as a faculty, communicating grading changes with parents, and allowing for time to implement grading changes correctly.</p>

<p> The transition process from elementary school to middle school has created numerous obstacles for all stakeholders. Early adolescents encounter emotional and physiological challenges as their bodies mature (Lester, Waters, &amp; Cross, 2013). These challenges have a major impact on the academic achievement of the students (Musoleno &amp; White, 2010). There is a direct connection between a student&rsquo;s successes in middle school and how well the student will do in high school, making the transition process even more important (Andrews &amp; Bishop, 2012). The purpose of this study was to identify predictors which could aid in easing the transition into middle school in order to improve student achievement. Data from the study were examined to evaluate if variance in curriculum, grading practices, and academic programs from Elementary School A, Elementary School B, and Middle School C had an effect on MAP Grade-Level Assessment performance and middle school readiness. The project also involved analysis of what impact other predictors such as student poverty, teacher-assigned grades, and student attendance had on student achievement during the transition process. This causal-comparative study was conducted to analyze the amount of discrepancy between variables of the study and MAP scores. The qualitative results of this study revealed some extreme differences in the percentages of students who raised MAP achievement levels when entering Middle School C from different elementary schools. This could be caused by the differences in curriculum and educational practices among the three schools. The statistical data revealed the other predictors in the study had an impact on student achievement.</p>

<p> The purpose of the exploratory research study was to identify the practices that school principals in the state of Pennsylvania utilize to best support students, parents and school personnel before and during the transition to a middle level school. Research questions were designed to assist in determining what transitional practices schools are using, which practices principals&rsquo; rate most successful, to what extent transition program activities are aligned to the developmental needs (physical, cognitive, social-emotional) of young adolescents, how transitional practices compare between middle level schools that have and have not been identified nationally as a <i>School to Watch </i> and how practices vary by the grade configuration of middle level schools.</p><p> Quantitative and comparative coding qualitative analysis was used in the study and results indicated that transitional practice usage is valued by principals, yet implementation of transitional practices varies among schools. Time was reported as the most significant barrier to implementing transitional practices. The majority of practices used by schools are with students, yet practices lack in addressing students&rsquo; social-emotional needs. Practices aligned to cognitive needs of young adolescents are used more frequently and ranked most successful by principals. Principals indicated self-reported success and that the most common practice used with students prior to transition is an orientation day to the middle school and having an assembly about building rules, procedures and information is most successful and common during transition. Regardless of grade configuration, transitional practices used with school personnel remain the least frequently implemented by schools. Furthermore, student practices aligned to the physical developmental needs of young adolescents are more frequently implemented by schools that have been designated a <i> School to Watch.</i></p><p> I used a web-based survey to gather data to examine the extent to which the transitional practices were implemented in schools. A sample of 96 middle level principals in Pennsylvania responded to the survey. Results from the study support the use of transitional practices with students and parents and educating staff about transition to build a stronger school community and foundation of educational excellence. Implications for professional development and future research are offered.</p>