Although several guidelines are available for designing observational procedures in both basic and applied settings, few researchers have experimentally examined and compared different direct observation methods. Such methods may have a direct impact on practitioners' ability to effectively assess strengths and challenges, set treatment goals, adjust intervention procedures, and monitor progress. The current study compared 1 and 5 min observations to 10 min observations throughout baseline and intervention phases of a parent training program for toddlers with autism. Results showed similarities with regards to variability, level, and trend in the 5 and 10 min data samples; however, clear differences were seen in the 1 min data sample, which typically showed very low occurrences of responding and displayed steady and flat trends. The findings have implications for the development of time-efficient direct observation procedures utilized in parent training programs for children with autism.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effect of a parent involvement education program on the academic achievement, school behavior, and educational motivation of Hispanic students enrolled in a bilingual education program. Fifty bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents were compared to 50 bilingual fourth-grade students and their parents who were subjected to a parent education program. The groups were randomly assigned from a stratified random sample. Students in each group were given the Student Attitude Measure prior to treatment and immediately following the parent involvement training. Parents in each group were given the Parent Opinion Inventory prior to and immediately following the parent involvement training. Students were also compared utilizing a norm-referenced achievement test. Discipline referrals were compared between the experimental group and the control group.

This qualitative study investigated parents' awareness of and involvement in their prekindergarten child's literacy development. In addition, the feasibility of parents using a home literacy portfolio for the purpose of exchanging literacy information with teachers at a parent/teacher conference was examined. Participants included six parent/child dyads, who qualified for a Texas public school prekindergarten program by meeting the requirements for either free or reduced lunches or for the English-as-a-Second Language program. Research tools included audiotaped interviews with parents and with teachers; observations at parent/child workshop sessions, which were also videotaped; and work samples, including a home literacy portfolio from each child. Findings indicate that parents are involved in their children's literacy development. Also, at home, children participate in both open-ended literacy activities and drill-oriented literacy activities, with most of the activities falling into the open-ended category. According to the findings, all of the parents were more aware of their child's literacy achievements after attending the parent/child workshop and developing a home literacy portfolio. In addition, the home literacy portfolio proved to be a useful tool for sharing information at parent/teacher conferences. Parents and teachers exchanged literacy information at the parent/teacher conference. In the process of explaining the portfolios, the parents shared information about their child's drawing development, writing development, and reading development. In contrast, the teachers shared some literacy information with the parents, but much of the information teachers shared reflected the child's participation in class or general information about the child. The findings suggest that the parent/child workshop is a cost-effective vehicle for directly involving parents in their child's education. Moreover, developing a home literacy portfolio provides a means of involving parents with their child and of helping parents' become more aware of their child's literacy development.

D.Phil. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act emphasized the importance of parents’ participation in all educational decisions concerning their children with disabilities. However, parents’ ability to actively participate in, and contribute to, their children’s special education process is influenced by a variety of parent and school related factors. For immigrant Latino parents, these factors may include additional issues related to cultural and linguistic diversity not experienced by most parents. This study examined the experiences of immigrant Latino parents when navigating the special education system as well as the impact that such experiences had on parents’ participation in the special education process of their children with disabilities. A researcher-developed survey (Special Education Parent Participation Survey, SPED-PPS) was used to collect the data. Findings indicated that, although about half of the participants were unable to communicate in English with educators, parents still communicated and collaborated often with school personnel. In addition, most immigrant Latino parents trusted professionals working with their children and had a positive perception of school personnel. A minority of parents believed that teachers knew best about their children’s needs, believed that teachers thought that parents interfered too much in their work, and/or felt uncomfortable with having many professionals in the Individual Educational Plan meetings. Immigrant Latino parents’ participation in their children’s special education process appeared to be influenced by the child’s disability as well as parents’ knowledge of the American education system, perception of school personnel, English language communication skills, and ability to confront school personnel about the child’s needs.

Orientador: Luciene Regina Paulino Tognetta / Banca: Pablo Javier Castro Carrasco / Banca: Vanessa Fagionatto Vicentin / Resumo: O cotidiano escolar está repleto de situações de violências, indisciplinas, incivilidades, muitas vezes tratadas pela escola como uma forma única de agressão. Diante disso, se intensificam os problemas de desrespeito nas relações interpessoais, em especial, nas relações entre pares, vistas em tantas vezes por educadores como "brincadeiras da idade", demonstrando o despreparo para identificar uma forma de violência específica - o bullying - e, potencialmente, para intervir adequadamente. Esse fenômeno vem sendo estudado, inclusive, buscando-se as explicações do fenômeno e as relações familiares presentes nos papéis assumidos pelos envolvidos em situações de bullying. Nesse ínterim, esta pesquisa, de caráter exploratório e descritivo, tem como objetivos: verificar as possíveis diferenças entre a percepção da disciplina de educação parental por participantes dos SAIs - Sistema de Apoio entre Iguais - e não participantes; verificar se as variáveis gênero, escolaridade e idade dos pais se relacionam com a disciplina de educação parental percebida pelos alunos; verificar se existem correspondências entre as formas de disciplina parental percebidas por adolescentes e suas participações em situações de bullying (como autor, alvo e espectador). Participam dessa pesquisa 1366 alunos do fundamental II de escolas particulares de diferentes municípios paulistas, divididos em dois grupos. Para atender a um dos objetivos específicos, 131 adolescentes foram escolhidos intencionalmente por pa... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The daily school life is full of violent situations, indiscipline and incivilities, often treated by the school as a unique form of aggression. Hence, the problems of disrespect in interpersonal relationships, specifically, the ones among peers, seen so often by educators as "jokes of age", shows the lack of training to identify a specific form of violence - bullying - and, potentially, how to step in properly. This phenomenon has been studied, also, it's been searched for statements about the relations of family in the roles assumed by those involved in bullying scenes and for bullying itself. In the meantime, the current exploratory and descriptive research aims to know the characteristics of parental education disciplines perceived by teenagers; verify if there are connections between these characteristics and their role in bullying situations (as target, author or bystander), and, finally, to know if there are connections between the forms of parental education disciplines and the participation of the teenagers in peer support systems and the ones who are not related to these services at schools. The search counts with 1366 teenagers from private schools in different cities from São Paulo state (Brazil), spread in two groups. In order to fulfill one of the specified goals, 131 students take part on the study, intentionally, for being part of a peer support system (SAIs) implanted in their schools. The other respondents in the convenience sample are a group of students who... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

The involvement and active participation o f stakeholders in school governance through a fair representation creates a sense o f accountability, ownership and belonging to a school. This study examined and assessed the roles and functions played by the School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in Lesotho Secondary and high schools. In doing this, the study investigates how the roles and functions are put into practice and find out the stakeholders perceptions about the SGBs. A case study of four high schools was carried out. To capture the stakeholders’ perception about the SGBs, the study used semi-structured interviews and unstructured observations. The opinions were sought from the following stakeholders; parents ,teachers, chiefs, proprietor’s, nominees, district education officers (DEOs) and District Resource Teachers(DRTs). In addition, this study was informed by local and international literature on school governance. The study reveals that even though tha Lesotho policy on school governance was established within a short time without adequate preparations, the structure is highly supported by the respondents. However the members o f SGBs need regular training for the duties they are expected to perform and to know the powers they have. The findings also indicate that, if there are strong bonds and partnerships between the members of SGBs, teachers, students and the community at large, there will be cooperation and commitment. The study recommends that learners should be included in the SGB because they are future leaders. If you do not take the children forward, the future will remain in the past.

This study investigated the effects of family composition and properties of children's dual language exposure on bilingual first language acquisition. Mothers of 29 toddlers (13 boys and 16 girls, M age = 25.66 months, SD = .44) kept a language diary, providing measures of the amount, the contexts, and the persons with whom the children experienced English and Spanish. Measures of the children's vocabulary balance were obtained from English and Spanish language inventories. Results showed that only children with two native Spanish-speaking parents had larger Spanish than English vocabularies and experienced more hours of Spanish-only exposure and Spanish-only conversational contexts. Analysis of covariance demonstrated that the effect of family composition on vocabulary balance was completely mediated by the balance of English and Spanish in the children's language exposure. There was no evidence of a unique effect of experiencing Spanish-only conversational contexts or partners on children's acquisition of Spanish. / by Silvia Place. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis advisor: Diana Pullin / Parents are the primary educators of their children and the consistent teachers throughout their lives. However, with raised expectations through curriculum state standards and high stakes testing for students, teachers and schools, families are being left behind. A particular turning point in students' education is during the middle school years when intellectual, character, social and emotional transitions occur and habits are formed. Therefore, this qualitative, single case study uses data sources of interviews, observations and artifacts to determine the appropriate role of parents at the middle school level as perceived by administrators, teachers with administrative duties, teachers and parents. Additionally, this research sought to determine the unique factors that impede more effective partnerships between home and school and analyze the current situation using the sociocultural theory to determine if beliefs and values match the social structures in place at this particular school and provide implications for practice. Findings reveal the parent role is defined by consistent communication between home and school for unified adult expectations. Unique factors impeding parent participation at this level are based on this particular age of the students. Using sociocultural theory, it is evident that the school community culture prevails over individual beliefs and is impeded by two underlying sub cultures of rationalizations and assumptions, which allow participation to remain infrequent. There are additional overarching issues discussed that go beyond sociocultural theory. Finally, recommendations for practice are made for this particular school and the middle school level. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

Previous studies have found that bilingual children’s vocabulary development benefits more from child-directed speech from native speakers than child-directed speech from nonnative speakers. The current study compared the native English child-directed speech of 20 English monolingual mothers, the nonnative English child-directed speech of 20 Spanish-English bilingual mothers, and the native Spanish child-directed speech of the same bilingual mothers in terms of three aspects of input previously associated with children’s language development: data-providing properties, topic contingency, and speech function. There were significant differences between native English and nonnative English child-directed speech, and between nonnative English and native Spanish. The results suggest two sources of influence shaping child-directed speech: quality differences related to native speaker status and cultural factors primed by the language being spoken. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection