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The general purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the operant conditioner's behavior during the baseline upon subsequent operant conditioning of opinion statements emitted by freshmen undergraduate students. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following research questions: Is it possible to systematically condition opinion statements in a verbal conditioning situation that resembles a counseling interview? Does the behavior of the operant conditioner during the baseline have any influence on subsequent conditioning of opinion statements in a verbal conditioning situation resembling a counseling interview? Is there a difference in the number of opinion statements emitted in a verbal conditioning situation resembling a counseling interview for males and females? Is there any interaction between the baseline behavior of the operant conditioner, the sex of the subject, and the stage of treatment in the conditioning of opinion statements? Subjects for the study were freshmen undergraduate students. Two experiments were conducted in which each subject was seen individually twice in an "interview" setting. Treatments were administered in an ABAB design with each stage lasting twenty-five minutes. All "interviews" were taped and listeners listened to the tapes and tabulated opinion and non-opinion statements for each stage. The operant conditioners recorded opinion statements as they occurred by pressing foot switches that activated counters in another room. The correlation between the numbers of opinion statements tallied by the operant conditioners and the listeners was .98 in both experiments. In experiment one, a trained undergraduate operant conditioner administered four treatments to forty subjects. There were five males and five females in each treatment condition. Treatments one, two, and four consisted of continuous verbal reinforcement being administered for the emission of opinion statements during stages two and four. For treatment one the baseline and return to baseline conditions consisted of silence by the operant conditioner. During treatment two, the operant conditioner administered random reinforcements on an average of two and one-half minutes during stages one and three. During the baseline and return to baseline conditions for treatment four the operant conditioner and the subjects engaged in normal conversation. Treatment three subjects received silence from the operant conditioner during the baseline and return to baseline conditions and engaged in normal conversation with the operant conditioners during stages two and four. In experiment two, a different trained undergraduate operant conditioner administered three treatments to thirty subjects, five males and five females in each treatment condition. In treatment one random reinforcement during the baseline and return to baseline was followed by variable interval reinforcement administered on an average of every two and one-half minutes. Treatment two consisted of random reinforcement followed by continuous reinforcement. During treatment three non-opinion statements were reinforced on a variable interval schedule of two and one-half minutes during the baseline and return to baseline stages, and opinion statements were reinforced on a variable interval schedule of two and one-half minutes during the conditioning stages. The major findings indicated that: Verbal conditioning occurred under continuous reinforcement conditions and when variable interval reinforcement was preceeded by reinforcement of non-opinion responses. The baseline behavior of the operant conditioner was not a stastically significant factor in subsequent conditioning of opinion statements. There was no difference in the number of opinion statements emitted by males and females. There were significant interactions between the baseline behavior of the operant conditioner, the sex of the subject, and the stage of treatment in the conditioning of opinion statements.

Urban middle school students experience poor self-efficacy and poor attitudes toward school climates after being retained. Previous research has indicated that grade-level retention in primary and secondary education might cause long-term achievement gaps, school failure, and high school dropout rates. However, current research has yet to examine relationships between archival data retrieved on retained middle school students' achievement outcomes and perceptions of school climate. The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to assess the relationships between retained middle school students' self-efficacy as measured by the School Climate Survey and their performance outcomes as measured by PowerSchool®. Bandura's theory of self-efficacy maintains that an individual must have the belief, motivation, determination, and drive to persevere when challenged. The archival data were collected from 1 northeastern urban middle school in the United States representing underachieving participants (N = 45) enrolled in the Postive Academic and Behavioral Support Program during the academic school years of 2017 and 2018. Population groups of female and male students ranged in age between 11-14 years old. A repeated measure design analyzed the same participants over a 6-month period by measuring archival data on achievement outcomes from GPAs, attendance, and demographics (sex and age). Results showed significant increases in GPAs and significant increases in males' positive perceptions of school over the school years of 2017 and 2018. The results of this study can be used to promote positive social change for education professionals working in urban school districts providing support services to at-risk students facing school failure.

Today's youth have few real contacts with the work world and have little knowledge of what is expected from them. Many grade school youngsters are not aware of the type of work their parents are doing. Some do not even know where their parents work. It is difficult for most elementary students to see the relationship between their present school activities and their future life. And all too often, students can not express personal goals or plans. As students become more aware of the world of work, they should be better prepared to enter it and they should also develop an appreciation of work and a self-concept that leads to a more fruitful and satisfactory life. The career development approach is underway to some degree in every state in the Union, largely through the efforts of the United States Office of Education. It is growing in prominence in local systems and has indeed become a top priority item nationally under Commissioner Sidney P. Marland. Each state has been asked to undertake plans (with federal funds) for one or more career education projects of its own. Commissioner Marland (1972) plans that pupils in the first six grades would become familiar with the career clusters through instructional materials, field trips, and the kinds of teaching approaches now used to compliment courses in basic language, social studies, science, and mathematics. He also encourages teachers of all subjects to learn new techniques on relating their work to career education purposes. The program is expected to enhance the quality of learning in the academic subjects as a result of more realistic motivation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A & M University, 2006. / "Major Subject: School Psychology." Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.). Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: School Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2006. / "Major Subject: School Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: School Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: School Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Texas A&M University, 2005. / "Major Subject: School Psychology" Title from author supplied metadata (automated record created on Feb. 23, 2007.) Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references.