Two truancy groups were conducted for the Simpson County School System. A multifaceted group treatment approach was used with truants in an attempt to reduce school absences, increase feelings of personal and social security and change negative attitudes toward school. A contingency contract in conjunction with a modified token economy was used to increase school attendance. Group discussions were used to increase feelings of personal and social security and to change negative attitudes toward school. A comparison of group members pre- and postgroup school attendance records showed that group members significantly increased their school attendance. A comparison of group members pre- and posttest scores on the attitude and personality measures employed in this study indicated that slight increases were achieved in feelings of personal and social security. Students negative attitudes toward school appeared to become less favorable as a result of the group discussions, although these decreases were very small.

This study was designed to develop an expressive language scoring system so that the creative quality of a person's written language could be quantified and measured. Sixty fifth -grade students, 31 males and 29 females, were given the opening line, i.e., story-starter, to a story and were asked to finish the stories. Each student received two story-starters concerning the same object ("content")-- either box, string or money--but were different in "context" (usual or unusual setting). Thus, a total of 120 stories were written, with 40 stories being from each content group. These stories were then rated according to their level of creativity by ten teachers having fourth, fifth or sixth grade teaching experience. These teachers were unfamiliar with the students who wrote the stories. The teachers were divided into two groups of five, and each group rated 60 stories on a seven point scale. The stories were divided equally so that each group rated one story from each child and so that the content and context of the stories were balanced. After the teachers rated the stories, they were asked to list the criteria they used for rating the stories. In addition to the teacher ratings of creativity, each student who wrote a pair of stories was rated on general creativity by his/her classroom teacher. The teachers' lists of criteria, along with past research by Guilford (1968) and Torrance (1974), helped determine what to include in the present experimenter-developed scoring system. There were seven sub-factors used, viz., ideational fluency, associational fluency, elaboration, relevant flexibility, irrelevant flexibility, originality, and organization. The subscale scores were combined to yield a total score for each story. The relationship among the total scores, sub-factor scores, teacher ratings of story creativity and classroom teacher ratings of student creativity was analyzed using regression analyses. Results showed that the total score was the best predictor for teacher ratings. The correlation between total score and teacher ratings of story creativity was .67. This suggests that the experimenter-developed scoring system validly reflects teacher ratings of story creativity. The correlation between the scoring system and classroom teacher ratings of student creativity as .36. The low correlation between the scoring system and classroom teacher ratings could be due to biases from knowing the students and other factors which could have influenced their judgments. Another possibility is the indication that teachers are, in general, poor judges of creativity.

An investigation was done on the relative effectivness of time-out and response-cost conditions in reducing inappropriate behaviors in a token-economy classroom using trainable mental retardates as subjects. A significant difference was found between baseline levels of inappropriate behaviors in each of the two conditions but no significance was indicated between time-out and response-cost conditions.

This study examines the college readiness needs of first year college students based on experiences from students and staff involved with a first year transitional initiative program at Western Kentucky University. The purpose of the study is to share students’ college readiness needs with public school systems in hopes to intervene with these needs before students arrive at college. A total of 45 participants volunteered to be in focus groups, an interview, and complete a survey. Two research questions were proposed: What college readiness needs still exist for first time college students upon entrance to a four year public university? In what ways can understanding college readiness needs inform the work of secondary school educators? The researcher found college readiness needs exist for first time college students in connections, motivation and support, accountability, studying, college expectations, life lessons, academic help, transition to college and belonging. Implications for various school personnel to help students with these needs are provided. Limitations of the study are discussed.

This study examines how school psychology professors are preparing graduate students to evaluate research and seeks their views on problematic assessment and intervention practices. School psychology faculty members’ e-mails were identified based on the National Association of School Psychologists’ (NASP) list of Approved Programs (NASP, 2017) and a total of 127 professors responded. Each participant completed a survey that included 22 Likert scale items and three free listing items. Three research questions were proposed: What percentage of school psychology faculty members are using each of the strategies recommended by Lilienfeld et al. (2012)? What school-based assessment practices do school psychology faculty members identify as the most problematic? What school-based intervention practices do school psychology faculty members identify as the most problematic? The researcher found that the majority of programs are using the recommendations suggested by Lilienfeld and colleagues (2012), although there is room for improvement in the amount of usage for multiple recommendations. School psychology faculty members frequently listed cognitive profile analysis (CPA), projective testing, and inappropriate use of assessments as problematic assessment practices, and inappropriate use of interventions and eclectic counseling as problematic intervention practices. Implications for the use of evidence-based practices (EBP) were provided. Limitations of the study were discussed.

Reading readiness is a subject that concerns reading teachers and educators. Inadequate readiness training may cause some students to become late readers, who can be identified as students who score below their age and grade level on a standardized reading test. It is important to define reading readiness and examine the component skills and factors in order to help late readers. This examination was conducted by a study of reading-readiness literature. The reading-readiness skills include auditory discrimination, visual and visual-motor discrimination, development of language, concept formation, and reasoning skills. Readiness factors include fixed factors, social, and emotional factors. Fixed factors cannot be changed or improved by instruction, such as age, sex, I.Q., and physical health. Social and emotional factors can often be improved by manipulating the classroom environment and providing nurturing experiences.

Bullying incorporates a range of behaviours such as name-calling, physical assaults, social exclusion and verbal and physical intimidation. Engaging in and being the target of bullying is a significant risk factor for future criminal behaviour and poor mental health, making bullying a significant threat to an individual’s long-term psychological and personal development. The present investigation had three aims: (1) to create robust psychometric instruments to reliably measure bullying, bystander roles, and related constructs in adolescents: (2) to explicate the psychosocial determinants of bullying, identify characteristics which differentiate bullies and their targets, and investigate the role of other motivators in the incidence/maintenance of bullying and being bullied: and (3) to assess the effectiveness of a new whole-school anti-bullying intervention on reducing bullying incidents and enhancing pro-social attitudes and behaviour. Participants were a total of 5204 secondary school students (2277 males and 2929 females) in Years 7 to 11 and 256 teachers from six secondary non-government schools in NSW, Australia. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), reliability analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) of factorial invariance were conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the instruments used in this study. Results demonstrated that the measures developed had sound psychometric properties. Boys were found to bully and be bullied more than girls across verbal, social and physical forms of bullying. The findings have important implications for theory, research and practice. This study has yielded several measures to further advance theory and research in bullying: the identification of a reciprocal effects model that explains the relation between psychological traits such as self-concept, bullying and being bullied advanced understandings about the casual effect of bullying on negative psychological outcomes, thus highlighting the importance of intervention: and an effective anti-bullying intervention for secondary school students. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The provision of school based psychological services in Victorian primary and secondary schools dates back to well before the Second World War. Since then, however, the activities that make up the role of school psychologists have changed substantially. School psychologists' roles have become more varied than the original psychometric focus and reflect a more systemic approach to the conceptualization of student problems. Within Australia, school psychologists can be found servicing single or multiple schools in the government, independent and Catholic school sectors, fulfilling a range of functions and dealing with a diversity of student issues. However, Australian academic research into the professional practice issues associated with the provision of school-based psychological services is rare. Therefore, this thesis sought to investigate a range of professional issues associated with the provision of school-based psychological services for Victorian school psychologists working in single and multiple schools in the government and non-government primary and secondary school sectors. In addition to surveying Victorian school psychologists, principals and teachers were also surveyed in order to ascertain their attitudes towards school-based psychological services. The sample consisted of 81 school psychologists, 21 principals and 86 teachers. The results revealed that school psychologists participate in a variety of activities, including a number of activities that reflect a systemic model of service delivery. They also deal with a broad range of student issues, some of which are quite serious in nature. However, the study also revealed a number of professional issues that were in need of improvement. Some of these included a lack of participation in regular supervision for school psychologists, school psychologists' dissatisfaction with some industrial and professional conditions associated with their role and differences in attitudes between psychologists, principals and teachers regarding the activities and responsibilities of school psychologists. Results from the study provide plausible evidence for the need to support school psychologists in the valuable work that they do within schools through improved industrial conditions, appropriate professional development, and regular supervision. Furthermore the results also reveal a need to educate and participate in dialogue with the educational community in order to increase understanding of school psychologists' roles and professional responsibilities.

Supervision is essential to the development of school psychologists. Effective supervision cultivates professional competence and objectivity, enhances service delivery, encourages critical thinking and problem solving, and supports school psychologists to engage in continuous professional development activities. Yet, there is little information available about how school psychology practitioners and supervisors view supervision and in what ways actual supervision practices can improve. This study employed concept mapping, which is a structured analytic methodology that allows qualitative and quantitative data to be expressed as visual models to explore practicing school psychologists’ and supervisors’ perceptions about supervision by: (a) investigating what impediments hindered supervision efforts, (b) identifying what advocacy methods may increase supervision opportunities, and (c) examining whether and how school psychologists and supervisors agree on potential impediments and possible facilitators to improve supervision practices. Overall, participants reported that they provided or received supervision and were generally satisfied with it; however, practitioners received much less than the time recommended by national professional associations. Although, participants were generally pleased with supervision, they also believed that supervision needed more structure, ongoing formal evaluations, setting of goals, and time management. Further, few supervisors follow established models or used clinical techniques during supervision and there was a need for formal training of supervisors. Participants suggested the following to facilitate supervision in authentic school settings: (a) planning and committing to supervision, (b) setting parameters and guidelines, (c) identifying appropriate supervisors, (d) using alternative supervision formats, and (e) seeking guidance and direction from the National Association of School Psychologists. Recommendations for practice and future research are discussed.

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Marshall University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains 33 p. Includes bibliographical references p. 31-33.