No description available.

In this era of high stakes accountability, assessments are not only used as diagnostic tools, but they are also used to determine the effectiveness of school programs and personnel. Of the utmost importance is how principals use data to make instructional, intervention and planning decisions. The purpose of the current study was to determine principals’ perceptions regarding the importance, availability and utility of multiple sources of data in making their decisions and to determine their self-efficacy in M practices. This study was guided by 7 research questions and utilized 2 research designs. Descriptive research was used to answer research questions 1 through 6. Questions 1 through 3 sought to determine what data were available, used and important. Question 4 sought to determine the extent to principals relied on data to make decisions. Question 5 sought to determine the importance of different types of support for the effective use of data in decision-making. Question 6 sought to determine principals’ perceived self-efficacy in terms of effective data use. Question 7 was answered using correlational research to determine if principals’ measures of data use self-efficacy was related to student achievement. Overall, results showed that data surrounding student grades, attendance and discipline were most highly utilized in decision-making. All participating principals indicated that they either used data to a moderate degree or great degree when making decisions regarding development/revision of school improvement plan; inform parents of students’ progress/status/test scores; assignments of students to remedial programs; and improve classroom instruction. Data analysis further showed that principals indicated that school personnel trained in data analysis, sufficient time for data-analysis and staff development in the data analysis process are extremely important. Further analysis revealed that participating principals had high measures of data use self-efficacy and were highly certain that they could effectively use data. In the final analysis of the study, A Pearson’s r correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationship between principals’ self-efficacy scores and student achievement. It was determined that there is no relationship between measures of principals’ data use perceived self-efficacy and student achievement. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

No description available.

This study examined the relationship between the perceptions of physical competence and patterns of physical activity of 83 5th and 7th grade children in one school in rural southwest Virginia. Gender and grade level differences in perceptions of competence and physical activity patterns were also investigated. The Perceived Physical Competence Subscale for Children (PPCSC) (Harter, 1982) was modified to measure children's perceptions of physical competence (26 self-efficacy questions). Children's patterns of physical activity were measured by a modification to Sallis & McKenzie's Self Administered Physical Activity Checklist (SAPAC). Each item on the PPCSC was matched with an activity on the SAPAC scale. Modifications to both scales were made as a result of pilot testing performed with the sample population. A significant positive linear relationship was found between children's perceptions of competence and their amount of physical activity. Significant positive correlations were also found for a number of self-efficacy measures and the amount of time children chose to engage in these specific activities. Significant gender differences were found between boys and girls in overall perceptions of competence, as well as in a number of self-efficacy measures. Boys were typically higher is self-efficacy on most physical activities with the exception of gymnastics, dance, and jump rope. The 7th grade boys had the highest perceptions of competence, while 7th grade girls were the lowest of all four groups. These perceptions of competence were reflected in whether children chose to participate in an activity or not. Children generally chose to engage in activities that they perceived themselves competent . There also appear to be very powerful socio-cultural influences on the types of activities that boys and girls choose (Lirgg, 1992). Girls were significantly more active in health enhancing lifetime physical activities such as walking, jogging, and bicycling, and chose activities of a lower intensity level than boys. Contrary to the literature, this study found no significant differences in the total amount of physical activity between boys and girls. It was hypothesized that the rural setting in which this study was conducted may have influenced this outcome. No significant differences were found between grades in perceptions of competence or physical activity time. / Ph. D.

For people aged 44 and under, the primary cause of loss of life in the U.S. is not due to heart disease or cancer, but to something as common as injuries (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998). As such, injuries kill an average of 142,000 Americans and require an estimated 62.5 billion dollars in medical attention each year (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1998). This is close to three people dying and over 170 people sustaining a disabling injury every 10 minutes (National Safety Council, 1999). Every year more than 80,000 Americans are permanently disabled as a result of injury to the brain or spinal cord. Thus, unintentional injury represents a serious public health concern, and a theory-driven community, school, and organizational injury prevention technology is needed to improve the health and safety of individuals. / Ph. D.

Researchers find that teacher self-efficacy influences student performance and student academic interest (Anderson, Green & Loewen, 1988; Ross, 1992; Ashton & Webb, 1986; Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990; and Muijs & Reynolds, 2001) and that prior teaching and teacher preparation experiences influence teacher self-efficacy (Preito & Altmaier, 1994). Since the late 1990s, a significant number of teachers have been drafted to teach engineering content in secondary schools across America (NAE & NRC, 2009). Given that none of those teachers were specifically prepared for that task in pre-service secondary engineering teaching licensure programs, some—or perhaps even many—of these new secondary engineering educators might be experiencing low teacher self-efficacy, which research suggests would lead to relatively ineffective secondary engineering teaching. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate experiences/factors that might influence secondary engineering teachers' self-efficacy, to inform those who are developing new pre- and in-service secondary engineering teacher preparation programs, and educational administrators / policy-makers. The population of Project Lead the Way (PLTW) secondary engineering teachers across the U.S. was invited to participate in this study. PLTW offers the best-known secondary engineering curriculum in the U.S. It features robust linkages/articulation agreements with post-secondary engineering programs (McVearry, 2003). The data for this study were obtained by administering the Teachers' Self-Efficacy Belief System-Self (TEBS-S) instrument (Dellinger, Bobbett, Oliver, & Ellett, 2008) and a demographic instrument developed by the researcher. The following factors had a statistically significant influence on teacher self-efficacy: pre-PLTW teaching experience, PLTW teaching experience, post-secondary course hours completed, teacher licensure process, and current and past teaching schedules. Implications of these findings may be used by administrators and educators who are actively involved in recruiting, selecting and preparing secondary engineering educators. / Ph. D.

Bullying is a major issue facing school systems today. It is important to explore the extent to which school counselors feel confident in providing interventions to address bullying. This research study is designed to fill a gap in the current school counseling literature regarding our understanding of school counselors' self-efficacy to address bullying in elementary schools. The following research questions will guide the study: 1. What is the elementary school counselor's perceived self-efficacy for providing bullying interventions in an elementary school setting, as measured by the Counselor Self-Efficacy and Bullying Interventions Scale (CSBI)? 2. What is the elementary school counselor's perceived self-efficacy regarding his or her counseling skills as measured by the Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE)? 3. To what extent are (a) years of experience in the field, (b) years of training, (c) bullying-intervention training in graduate school, and (d) participation in professional development activities and/or in-services predictive of a counselor's self-efficacy for providing bullying interventions? Responses from 126 elementary school counselors employed at a large suburban school district in the Mid-Atlantic region were used to explore overall counselor self-efficacy and counselor self-efficacy related to bullying interventions. The Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE; Larson et al., 1992), and Counselor Self-Efficacy and Bullying Interventions Scale(CSBI adapted from King et al., 1999) were the instruments used to answer the research questions. Participants reported a high (M =185) overall self-efficacy as well as a high (M =71.2) self-efficacy for providing bullying interventions. However, only one variable, years of experience, was found to significantly predict efficacy expectations (B = 0.25, p <.01) and outcome values (B = 0.21, p <.05); none of the variables were found to significantly predict outcome expectations (r-squared=0.06, n.s). / Ph. D.

Teacher absenteeism, retirement, and attrition have led to a widespread shortage of substitute teachers throughout the United States , resulting in the hiring of individuals who lack teacher certification and educational pedagogy. In the past decade, West Virginia joined many other states confronted with the decreased substitute teacher pool and the hiring of non-certified individuals in the classrooms. With the <i>highly qualified teacher</i> requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), focus was situated on the adequate qualifications of substitute teachers. Many substitute teachers do not have the educational pedagogy or teacher certification necessary to be considered <i>highly qualified</i> by the NCLB. Mandatory training for non-certified substitute teachers lacking proper certification and educational pedagogy became the focus to <i>qualify</i> these individuals for the classroom. This study focuses on the self-efficacy of non-certified individuals attending the substitute teacher training in the Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) in the state of West Virginia to determine if their self-efficacy beliefs change after two days of mandatory substitute training or after classroom experience. The Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy (2001) was the instrument used to measure the self-efficacy of non-certified substitute teachers. Findings indicate that the teaching self-efficacy of non-certified substitute teachers significantly increased from pre-training to post-training, but significantly decreased from post-training to post-teaching experiences. Additionally, findings revealed that age and gender did not have a significant influence on self-efficacy from pre-training, to post-training, to post-teaching. Finally, applications and ramifications of these results are then discussed. / Ph. D.

Computer Science (CS) is a critical subject for STEM students to learn. Yet, many students struggle in Introductory Computer Science (CS1) and fail or dropout of the class. A lack of CS self-efficacy - the belief that the individual can complete a task - is frequently the cause of this failure to succeed in CS1. Solutions have been proposed to improve student self-efficacy in CS1. Unfortunately, a lack of self-efficacy in CS1 classes is still a problem. This study examines a pedagogical tool, whiteboarding, and it's affect on student perception of self-efficacy during the programming problem-solving process for novice programmers. These findings indicate whiteboarding can be a vital tool that increases student self-efficacy by improving their success at programming activities, increasing collaboration and feedback, and providing an active learning environment that is positive and holds students accountable for their work. The goal of this multiple method study was to identify the effect on CS1 students' perception of self-efficacy. Focus group sessions and researcher notes and memos were used to collect qualitative data. A pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy questionnaire was used to quantify the change in self-efficacy. The whiteboarding intervention was conducted in two AP CS A classes during the first four weeks of the year. Seventeen 10th grade students participated in the focus groups and the questionnaire. Three focus groups of four students and one focus group of five students was conducted at the end of the intervention. The three themes that emerged from the focus group sessions answered the research question: Engagement with the Problem, Engagement with Others, and Engagement with the Environment. Teaching success in the CS1 classroom requires student self-efficacy. This study has implications for CS1 course instructors. / Doctor of Philosophy / Computer programming is a critical skill for STEM students to learn. Students frequently fail or dropout of Introductory Computer Science (CS1) classes. Research implies that one of the biggest factors for student success and persistence in CS1 is self-efficacy – the belief that the individual can complete a task. General factors that influence self-efficacy include completing tasks successfully, watching others complete a task, verbal support from others, and being calm and positive when faced with a challenge. But, self-efficacy is specific to the task that the individual is trying to complete. Studies have identified some of the factors that influence programming specific self-efficacy: prior programming knowledge, computer literacy, a sense of belonging in Computer Science (CS), understanding CS concepts, and goal orientation and metacognitive strategies. There are teaching strategies in CS1 that have been developed that have been shown to increase self-efficacy for CS1 students such as peer-instruction, mental models, and teacher interaction. Teachers need more tools and strategies to help students increase their self-efficacy while they are learning the difficult task of programming. This mixed-methods study examined the use of whiteboarding by 17 students in the Advanced Placement CS A course during the first month of instruction. This study showed that whiteboarding influenced many of the factors that improve self-efficacy in the CS1 classroom. The implications of this study can lead to teachers implementing whiteboarding as tool during the problem-solving process in the CS1 classroom.

This study examines the accuracy of a context-sensitive (i.e., goal dimensions) measure of personality compared to a traditional measure of personality (NEO-PI-R) and generalized self-efficacy (GSE) to predict variance in task performance. The goal dimensions measure takes a unique perspective in the conceptualization of personality. While traditional measures differentiate within person and collapse across context (e.g., Big Five), the goal dimensions measure employs a hierarchical structure where the item level (i.e., first-order) is based on behaviors in a given context, and at the dimension level (i.e., second-order) each behavior is organized by organizational goals. As such, at the item level, the person is differentiated within context, but at the dimension-level, person is undifferentiated and the situation is differentiated by goals. To develop this measure, the behavior-in-situation items were identified, a goal taxonomy that captures the work context was developed, and the items were linked to the goal dimensions. The predictive accuracy of the goal dimensions measure was compared to that of the NEO-PI-R and GSE for performance on four tasks (creative, mundane, conflict management, and persuasive) and an overall performance composite. The results were modest in that the goal dimensions models did not perform substantially better than the traditional measure of personality. Specifically, the bivariate correlations between the goal dimensions and each criterion ranged from 0.00 to 0.30 and 19 out of 80 correlations (23.75%) were significant; compared to the absolute values of the correlations between the NEO-PI-R facets and each criterion that ranged from 0.00 to 0.24 with 26/240 significant correlations (10.83%). However, the results indicate that the goal dimensions model accounted for significant variance in task performance beyond that accounted for by the best traditional model for one or more of the criteria in the conflict management task and the persuasive task. These results suggest that future research on the goal dimensions measure is warranted. / Ph. D.