Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-140).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-97). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. / Prepared for: Dept. of Educational Studies. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 118-126.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

The past thirty years has seen the middle school as an organization come of age and with it a renewed emphasis on meeting the needs of the early adolescent student. Although many current studies have addressed middle school issues, one of the most significant was the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's Turning Points: Preparing Youth/or the 21st Century (1989). It claimed that the middle school is the "last best chance" to turn young lives toward a meaningful future and, in order to do so, schools must be staffed with "expert" teachers. Once one knows what an "expert" teacher is, the major question that is raised is what factors promote and maintain such "experts?" Paying attention to these factors should increase the numbers of effective middle school teachers and therefore help meet the challenge issued by Turning Points. The purpose of this study was to learn what these factors are by listening to the "experts." Knowing these factors, their hierarchy of importance, and their potential for replication have serious implications for pre-teacher and staff training programs, hiring practices, and district policy making. The subjects were teachers from 17 middle schools in an urban school district which started its conversion to middle schools in the 1970s. The study was conducted in two phases using a questionnaire and an interview. The questionnaire was based on the literature and developed to determine the respondent's knowledge, practices, attitudes, and beliefs about middle school teaching. The 19 top scoring teachers who agreed to follow-up interviews formed the subsequent interview group. The semi-structured one-on-one interviews elicited opinions from these self-reported "experts" regarding what they perceived to be the most significant personal and organizational factors which enable them to be effective in their teaching. The results of the 307 valid questionnaires were reported by scale score, mean, and range, and their validity and reliability tested by Spearman-Brown, Coefficient Alpha, correlation matrix, and factor analysis. The content of the interview data was analyzed by a frequency count of reported factors. Major findings were that "expert" teachers identified the following factors as most critical to promoting and maintaining effective middle school teaching: 1. Being able to balance academic and affective concerns; 2. Having a genuine liking, commitment, and empathy for the early adolescent; 3. Ability to use a broad repertoire of teaching and learning strategies; 4. A concerned, listening principal who knows how to take action; 5. Team compatibility and commitment and adequate team planning time; 6. A strong belief in the advisory concept and the ability to build trust; 7. Participatory choice and teacher involvement in staff development; 8. A thorough knowledge of early adolescent needs and development. 9. Multiple exposure to and extensive experience with early adolescents during pre-teacher training.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D) -- The College of Saint Elizabeth, 2010. / Typescript. Available at The College of Saint Elizabeth - Office of Graduate Programs. "May 2010"

No description available.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 130 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-117).

This study was undertaken to determine if there is a correlation between teachers' and administrators' perceptions of educational setting and student reading achievement as measured by standardized achievement tests. A questionnaire, based on the Likert scale, was used to collect the data. Respondents indicated their degree of agreement or disagreement on a four-point scale with 30 statements designed to measure acceptance of the concept of open setting as opposed to a more traditional setting. A mean of each school's responses was calculated in order to facilitate comparison between school setting and student reading achievement. The school means were then arranged from the lowest number, or most traditional setting, to the higher number, or most open setting. The mean of these means was calculated to determine the dividing line between traditional and open settings. Those schools above the mean are considered to have a more open setting, those below the mean are considered to have a more traditional setting. Each school submitted its standardized achievement test scores for total reading for the past five years, 1975-1979. An extrapolation of the Anchor Test Study was used to convert the various reading test scores. This extrapolation involved the calculation of the average differences between grades four, five, and six for each of the tests covered by the Anchor Test Study. (The Anchor Test Study allows only for comparisons through the sixth grade.) This average difference was used in this study to reflect the average differences between grades six, seven, and eight on the reading tests submitted by the study schools. Next, a comparison was made between the converted reading test scores and the schools' setting. This comparison revealed no correlation between setting and reading achievement. A second analysis involved the calculation of a correlation coefficient between the schools' instrument mean and average percentile rank (converted to Z scores) on the reading achievement test used by the school. These percentiles were derived from the actual test given by the school and did not involve the Anchor Test Study extrapolation. A moderate positive correlation was found (r .2937) between open school setting and higher student reading achievement. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that educators help determine the factors that influence cognitive development. A review of the literature discussed both negative and positive effects of open setting relative to cognitive and affective learning. As this study has shown, there is at least a moderate positive correlation between a more open educational setting and better student reading achievement. Therefore, it is recommended that the affective aspects of the educational setting be enhanced.