The purpose of this study was to determine the impact on engagement and challenging behaviors in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) under two treatment conditions: 1) physical modifications to the home environment, and 2) physical modifications plus visual supports in the home environment. Treatment conditions were implemented in the child's home environment with parents serving as interventionist. A single-subject nonconcurrent baseline design was used across three male participants: ages 3 years, 2 months; 4 years, 4 months; and 4 years, 11 months. The study included four to five baseline sessions, six to nine sessions in Treatment 1, six to nine sessions in Treatment 2 and two follow-up sessions per participant. During Treatment 1, modifications were made to each child's environment (e.g., decreasing clutter, organizing playthings, and/or establishing a defined play space). Parent awareness training regarding the change was provided, and data was collected using the Individual Child Engagement Record-Revised (Kishida, Kemp, & Carter, 2008) and the Challenging Behavior Record (researcher developed) during play and/or daily routines with the child's parent. During Treatment 2, visual supports were added to the modified environment to add structure and visual clarity (e.g., choice boards and "how to boards"). Parent awareness training regarding the change was provided, and data was collected using the Individual Child Engagement Record-Revised (Kishida et al., 2008) and the Challenging Behavior Record during play and/or daily routines with the child's parent. Based on the findings of the study, active engagement increased and challenging behaviors decreased following modifications in the home for three young children with autism. In regards to engagement across Treatment 1 and Treatment 2, children demonstrated active engagement with a mean of 62%, 76.89%, and 74.41% from a baseline of 1.75%, 15.75%, and 14.6%, respectively. In regards to challenging behaviors, across Treatment 1 and Treatment 2, children had fewer behaviors that interfered with engagement with a mean of 13.3%, 8.15% and 13.32%, from a baseline of 75%, 27.75%, and 49.2%, respectively. The overall results indicated significant positive effects from the use of physical modifications and physical modifications plus visual support in increasing engagement and decreasing challenging behaviors.

No description available.

No description available.

The major purpose of this study was to examine the Virginia Teachers Association as a force for educational change in Virginia. The study involved (1) an examination of the primary purposes of the association and their relationship to its educational goals and programs, (2) a review of the forces that generated educational change in Virginia during the period 1940-1965, (3) a survey of the contributions of two of the organization's most influential leaders, and (4) an examination of the process involved in merging Virginia's black and white teachers associations. The historical method of research was utilized in this study.;On the basis of the findings of this study, the following conclusions seemed to be warranted: (1) The primary goals and purposes of the Virginia Teachers Association as well as the program which it projected were of such depth and quality during the period covered in this study that the organization was able to survive and grow. (2) Black educators used effectively the political and social mood of the 1930's and 1940's to build a network of self-help organizations and through these mechanisms contributed significantly to changing the attitudes of the members of the social and political power structure of Virginia. (3) Through the leadership of many members of the Virginia Teachers Association but specifically as a result of the leadership of Lutrelle F. Palmer and J. Rupert Picott the Association made a lasting contribution to the professionalization of Virginia's teachers by the elimination of discriminatory practices in public education. (4) The Virginia Teachers Associal seized the initiative in bringing about the merger of the VTA and the Virginia Education Association and thus gave Virginia a single professional organization of educators.;Upon the basis of this research, the following recommendations are made. (1) Many assure that most of the problems of discrimination and separation that affected educators prior to the period of desegregation and the ultimate merging of the dual teachers associations have been solved. A study is needed to ascertain the degree of real progress in human relations that has been realized since Virginia has had a single professional organization of educators. (2) The Philosophy and major activities of the merged VTA-VEA projects an identity that is different from either of the former organizations. What makes the current organization a different entity? Further study is necessary to determine the conditions that caused the new directions of the merged organization to develop. Also, to what extent have some of the primary attributes of each of the former organizations (VTA and VEA) been preserved? Finally, to what extent have the changes in emphasis and impact of the Association resulted from factors not directly associated with education or the professional development of educators in either of the former organizations. What makes the current organization a different entity? Further study is necessary to determine the conditions that caused the new directions of the merged organization to develop. Also, to what extent have the strengths of the two original organizations been retained? Finally, to what extent have the changes in emphasis and impact of the Association resulted from factors not directly associated with education or the professional development of educators. (3) The records, official documents and working papers and the VTA are scattered and housed in the archives of several institutions. For the purpose of conducting further research, in connection with the former teachers association, these records should be collected, organized and housed in a single location preferable the VEA headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. (4) This study reveals the tremendous impact of the educational and cultural improvement of the entire black community in Virginia.

This dissertation was written to examine the hypothesis that, although there were numerous factors affecting the selection of a site, it was primarily a financial decision to maintain the urban environment of the former Richmond Professional Institute campus as the basis of the new Academic Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Other factors involved in the decision include political, historical, social and academic ones.;The political factor involved a division between the City of Richmond and the County of Henrico as to the location of the Academic Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Senator William F. Parkerson, Jr., of Henrico County fought hard to win the political plum of a new university in his district located on the Elko Tract. The City of Richmond succeeded in its attempts to have the Academic Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University remain on the existing site of the Richmond Professional Institute.;Historically, the Richmond Professional Institute had always been closely bound to the City of Richmond, was named after the city, had drawn heavily upon the resources of the city for its adjunct faculty and related resources, and its student population was generally associated with the City of Richmond. The Elko Tract had no such historical ties to demand a change from urban to rural.;Social benefits associated with the Richmond Professional Institute site include the ready accessibility to business centers for student employment. No indication is given that a change in location would have preserved these social benefits which were possible by maintaining the status quo.;The major academic factor was that of an urban university which would use the city as an academic laboratory. From its inception as a school of social work, the Richmond Professional Institute had been closely tied to the urban setting.;The need to combine two distinct institutions into one new university was another significant academic factor. The proximity of the two campuses was important for students and faculty to cross campus lines and take or teach classes on both campuses.;Financial factors were the ultimate determinants of site selection. The value of the existing physical plant, regardless of condition, of the Richmond Professional Institute could not be ignored. The cost of creating a new and expensive campus was far outweighed by the benefit to be derived from using the existing one as a base for beginning a new university.

No description available.

The purposes of the study was to examine selected factors that were influential in the decline of the University College of Medicine (UCM) in Richmond, Virginia, from 1893 to 1913. UCM was created in the midst of a national medical reform movement. In ways, the institution directly contributed to the reform of medical training in Virginia.;It was the writer's contention that the decline of UCM happened because of the political pressures emerging from medical accrediting agencies, licensing and examining boards, and related organizations. The character of the institution was modified through recommendations of external organizations and coercion was felt through advancing accreditation standards. It was further hypothesized that the curricular and structural pressures from accreditation requirements became oppressive and led to the decline of the institution. Finally, it was hypothesized that the decline of UCM was affected because of the lack of a sound financial structure. Without such a structure, implementation of recommended improvements in medical education would not have taken place because of the high cost.;The historical method of research was used in writing about selected factors which affected the decline of UCM. This method allowed for the examination of primary source documents, the obtaining of oral testimony from participants and observers, and the scrutiny of relationships which existed among individuals, institutions, organizations and events.;It was concluded that what constituted an adequate medical education had changed. In addition to national demands for reform, new methods and values began to create new financial pressures for which many medical schools were not able to provide. The only financial relief apparently lay in a medical school combining itself with the scientific department of a university. Such an institution usually had either governmental support, a sizeable endowment or both. In some cases this route was followed by schools that had a university with which they could unite. For others, it meant merging with other medical schools or closing.;Further research is suggested in the area of factors affecting medical education at the Medical College of Virginia and the medical department of the University of Virginia; the impact that the departments of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy had on education in Virginia; the relationship between the Virginia Hospital and UCM; the influence of the departments of dentistry and pharmacy on the department of medicine at UCM; and the effect of political, curricular, and financial pressures on the department of dentistry at UCM.

This capstone project was part of a team project completed by two school principals in Hillsborough County, Florida. The project began because of our passion for meeting the needs of our students in urban high poverty schools being supported by varying district turnaround initiatives. We looked at our district’s previous and current attempts to increase student success in high poverty schools. We questioned the ways in which supports and resources were provided, and we explored ways through which success in high poverty schools might be increased by redefining the supports and resources provided. Our appreciative exploration of the topic was guided by the question, what successful examples of services and supports have contributed to an increase in success for students in high poverty schools? Considering that the majority of SBHCs exist in schools with high poverty rates, I was interested in what services were provided and how accessible they were. I looked for literature using the following keywords: wrap around services, school based health centers, health and student achievement. School-Based Health Centers improve access to healthcare, which can help to identify and address health risk behaviors and contribute to more stable attendance at school. More instructional seat time can contribute to improved academic outcomes. The preventative role played by SBHCs can reduce barriers to learning, such as treating undiagnosed mental and physical illnesses. School-Based Health Centers provide wraparound services so that issues impacting students such as obesity or asthma can be addressed on a school’s campus where key mental health, medical and school professionals can collaborate to meet the needs of students.

The increasing number of Latino students presents unique challenges to and infinite possibilities for the educational system. Significant numbers of second-generation Latino students are considered at risk for completing a high school credentialing program. Latino students in public and private high schools were more likely to drop out than their White counterparts, and this has curtailed the advancement of Latinos into post-secondary settings. Ultimately, this impacts economic upward mobility. Furthermore, males are more likely than females to drop out of high school, are more frequently disciplined, suspended, and/or expelled from school than their gender counterparts (Perkins-Gough, 2006; Sacks, 2005; Solórzano,Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005; Yosso & Solórzano, 2006). This phenomenologically informed multi-case study was conducted to report the recollections of second-generation Latino high school students involved in one high school credentialing option, the Adult Basic Education (ABE)/Under-aged General Education Development (GED) Program. The study relied primarily on gathering data via semi-structured interviews yielding audiotaped transcripts, engaging in recording personal notes in a journal, and amassing pertinent documents for analysis. The results of the study revealed that alternative programs such as the ABE/Under-aged GED program serve an important purpose. Students, who require a more structured environment with a lower student to teacher ratio and greater academic focus than the traditional high school context, can earn a high school credential despite obstacles which have cast them in the category referred to as at risk. Such was the case with the five Latinos who were the subjects of the study. They all successfully navigated the program, mastered the curriculum and earned a General Education Development credential. In order to accomplish this feat, these Latinos demonstrated resilience, persistence, and tenacity in the face of peer-pressure, poverty, illness, single-parent family dynamics, and self-doubt. Moreover, the development of positive relationships with and among all stakeholders must be a priority for everyone in the school building. Schools which create a culture that is caring, consistent, and comprehensible have positive influences on all school stakeholders. A school culture and climate that fosters positive student-teacher, student-administrator, and teacher-administrator relationships provides an environmental protective factor that increases the likelihood of academic and personal resilience for students. The conclusions which were constructed utilized an inquiry framework based upon a critical perspective, primarily in the Latinoa/Latino Critical Race Theory tradition. The interwoven concepts of Leadership for Social Justice and the Ethics of Accountability Practice were paramount in searching for the real-life possibilities of how educational leadership is capable of enhancing and/or hindering the educational experiences of these Latino students. A greater number of questions rather than answers were generated regarding what can be done to aid a rapidly expanding student population and even more specifically, the issues associated with Latino males who struggle to succeed in attaining a high school credential at an alarming rate

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether participation in the buddy program at a large public research university in the Southeastern United States by international students and students who have studied abroad is perceived to contribute to a keener sense of belonging, elimination of loneliness, and formation of social networks (Cheng 2004). Cheng describes these three aspects as “directly associated with his or her [student’s] sense of community” (p. 221). Through in-depth interviews, the researcher explores perceptions of community between the two populations of students.