Research on the development of management strategies for the establishment of an effective organizational culture in schools was conducted in the following phases. In the first place, an. attempt is made to determine the nature of organizational culture, the context in which organizational culture functions, and the transformation and establishment of an effective organizational culture. as well as to describe the characteristics and advantages of an effective organizational culture. Secondly the aspects of organizational culture are discussed on the basis of a theoretical model that has been developed from literature. In so doing, every aspect of organizational culture is spell out, the role and place of each aspect of the culture is explained, as is the contribution of every aspect of organizational culture to the efficacy of such a culture. In the third place, the degree to which aspects of the organizational culture are emphasized in schools has been empirically determined by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Fourthly, research results have indicated that the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of organizational culture are emphasized at good schools while this happens to a lesser degree at average and poor schools. It becomes clear that certain basic aspects are present in the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of the organizational culture of schools. The successful functioning of these aspects Is essential for the establishment of an efficient organizational culture In schools. Finally these primary aspects of organizational culture form the basis for the development of management strategies which can be used to establish an effective culture of organization in schools. Special mention is made of general points of departure and guidelines for developing action plans and putting them to effect. The actual plans of action are not addressed, as schools should develop their own plans according to their unique composition, requirements and environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Research on the development of management strategies for the establishment of an effective organizational culture in schools was conducted in the following phases. In the first place, an. attempt is made to determine the nature of organizational culture, the context in which organizational culture functions, and the transformation and establishment of an effective organizational culture. as well as to describe the characteristics and advantages of an effective organizational culture. Secondly the aspects of organizational culture are discussed on the basis of a theoretical model that has been developed from literature. In so doing, every aspect of organizational culture is spell out, the role and place of each aspect of the culture is explained, as is the contribution of every aspect of organizational culture to the efficacy of such a culture. In the third place, the degree to which aspects of the organizational culture are emphasized in schools has been empirically determined by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Fourthly, research results have indicated that the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of organizational culture are emphasized at good schools while this happens to a lesser degree at average and poor schools. It becomes clear that certain basic aspects are present in the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of the organizational culture of schools. The successful functioning of these aspects Is essential for the establishment of an efficient organizational culture In schools. Finally these primary aspects of organizational culture form the basis for the development of management strategies which can be used to establish an effective culture of organization in schools. Special mention is made of general points of departure and guidelines for developing action plans and putting them to effect. The actual plans of action are not addressed, as schools should develop their own plans according to their unique composition, requirements and environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Treatment recommendations within dysphagia management are highly variable. Increasing evidence to support restorative treatment approaches is leading to increased use of these approaches by dysphagia clinicians. While all decision-makers are subject to biases in their thinking, it is important that dysphagia clinicians make treatment decisions based on evidence in order to support the best outcomes for their patients. An online survey was distributed to speech-language pathologists (SLPs) participating in American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) listservs or Montana Speech and Hearing Association (MSHA) membership. Ninety-three SLPs currently treating swallowing disorders participated. Outcome measures included 1) descriptive measures of participant demographics, 2) descriptive measures of strategy recommendations made following review of MBS reports in low and high pathophysiology conditions, 3) correlation analysis measuring relationship between clinician demographic variables and treatment strategy type, and 4) chi-square analysis comparing compensatory and restorative treatment strategy selection within each condition. Results did not indicate a relationship between clinician related variables and treatment recommendation type. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

This professional project is composed of three magazine articles on the topic of Native American tourism in Montana. The first article is about Blackfeet artist Leonda Fast Buffalo Horse, a successful porcupine quill artist over the past 15 years, and the prospect of cultural tourism in Browning. The second article explores three Native American groups and how they are using tourism to create changes on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. The third article examines German tourists, the largest group of overseas visitors to Montana, and the irony as to why several groups are making a profit from the German tourists interests in the Indian culture except for the Montana tribes.

Children do not acquire adequate amounts of physical activity (PA), there for it is important to identify opportunities to increase PA. The purpose of this thesis is to characterize PA during the school day, and to determine the effectiveness of a short term recess PA intervention. Children from two schools (N=75, ages 7-10) wore pedometers for five days. A subset of subjects (N=17) also wore accelerometers. Step counts were recorded 9-10 times/day to obtain PA information for six daily periods. Males were more active than females (P<0.001, 12.331, 9439 step/day respectively). Recess contributes 30.6% of daily step counts, while PE contributes 17.2%. Sex, period duration, weather and location of PA period all were factors for PA. The intervention was effective in increasing PA by a mean 985 (±1808) steps/day (P<0.05). Recess is window of opportunity in which to improve on PA and pedometer interventions are effective in this area.

This research investigates the professional life histories of upper elementary science teachers who were identified as effective both within the classroom and in the outdoor learning environment (OLE). The narratives of five teachers collected through semi-structured and open-ended interviews provided the data for the study. Professional life histories were constructed for each teacher participant and an analysis of the teacher narratives identified the themes of teacher development across the voices of the participants. These primary themes were based on a framework for teacher development by Hammerness et al. (2005) that posits that teachers develop with in a community where they construct a vision for their practice; understandings of teaching, learning, and children; dispositions about how to use their knowledge; practices that bring together their intentions and beliefs; and tools to support their work. Implications of the research can be realized for stakeholders in the preparation of pre-service teachers as well as the development of in-service teachers. Future research regarding the early induction years of new teachers, impacts of inclusion of the OLE in pre-service teacher instruction, and teacher experiences regarding professional development relating to efforts to include the OLE in formal education should be investigated.

no abstract

The purpose of this action research study is to examine a classroom of at-risk students in transition from a traditional to a reform-based model of instruction. The teacher's role is gradually adjusted to encourage independent learning and the results are analyzed. The following research questions are addressed: 1) How can at-risk students best be assisted in the transition to a reform-based mathematics classroom? 2) How will the students' attitude, perception of their abilities, and performance change throughout the transition?

Paraeducators provide important supports and services to students, particularly those who struggle academically and/or behaviorally. This study sought to determine the professional development needs of paraeducators in the participating school, how job-embedded and personalized supports could aid in the development of instructional skills, and the ways in which collaborative processes could enhance paraeducator agency and voice. Results indicated that professional development alone may not be sufficient when considering other issues observed during pullout forms of support. These factors included the absence of a remedial curriculum, minimal degrees of guidance and collaboration, and erratic scheduling. The study did allow for a comparison of paraeducator supports between in-class and pullout forms of assistance. Also revealed was the pivotal role of instructional leadership and supervision, particularly involving appropriate job assignments for paraeducators, a commitment to adhere to scheduling, and issues related to consistency when providing pullout support services to students.

Thesis (MArchitecture)--University of South Australia, 2001.