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This dissertation was designed to determine whether mentoring programs which might be used in middle schools could be successful in increasing self concept in order reduce violent behavior and improve academic performance. The significance of this study lay in its intent to assess the outcomes of a semester-long intervention by collegiate mentors to effect a reduction in middle school violence by building self concept and improving academic success. Although there has been a substantial amount of literature documenting the linkages between violent behavior and self concept, and between self concept and academic success, there is little or no direct evidence that this destructive cycle can be broken through a mentoring program.;This research addressed deficiencies in earlier studies by selecting the sample pool to include only students with parallel histories of violent behavior and a lack of academic success. Students in both the treatment and control groups were evaluated in terms of self-esteem through the use of the Bracken Multidimensional Self Concept Scale both before and after treatment. Student outcomes were monitored in the same terms used to select them for participation. The results were analyzed by performing a t-test for independent means in order to determine whether there were significant differences between the experimental and control groups with regard to grades, self concept, and violent behavior after the treatment. Where initial differences were found to have existed, analysis of covariance was utilized to control for these differences. A chi-square analysis was used to determine whether there was a significant difference before and after the study in terms of expulsions and exclusions.;The study concluded that the mentored students in the experimental group showed significant increases in the dimensions of academic and total self concept. The mentored students also demonstrated a significant decline in violent incidents and exclusions. Changes in grades were not found to be significant. This study supported the idea that a low-cost mentoring program for middle school students is an effective method of raising self concept and reducing violent behavior.

Research over the past twenty years supports the teacher as the critical factor in the implementation of educational programs. The primary purpose of this mixed design study was to determine teachers' perceptions in implementing the required Algebra I program that was mandated by the state of Virginia in 1995. The research was examined through the lens of the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, becoming mathematical problem solvers, and reasoning mathematically. This study was limited to ninth grade Algebra I teachers in a school division in Virginia. Two Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) instruments were used in this research. The Stages of Concern (SoC) Questionnaire determined the teachers' concerns regarding implementation of the required Algebra I program. The Levels of Use (LoU) focused interview data supported the teachers' areas of concern. In addition, the grounded theory method was used to analyze the observation and interview data. Results were presented as narrative descriptions from which major categories of concerns emerged. Findings revealed that the NCTM recommendations of communicating mathematically, making mathematical connections, becoming mathematical problem solvers, and reasoning mathematically were not implemented in the required Algebra I program. Teachers were unaware that the required Algebra I program was designed to meet the needs of a changing population. This study supports the need for comprehensive and ongoing training for teachers if the needs of a more diverse population are to be realized in a required Algebra I program.

In response to accountability issues mandated by federal and state legislation, educators are looking at various aspects within schools to identify relationships between school variables and student performance. This study addressed this issue by investigating the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviors of middle school teachers and student achievement, and organizational citizenship behaviors of middle school teachers and school climate within 82 middle schools throughout the state of Virginia. This study also explored the relative effects of student socio-economic status (SES) and organizational citizenship behaviors on student achievement. The Organizational Citizenship Behavior in School Scale (OCBS) was used to measure teacher organizational citizenship behavior. The School Climate Index (SCI) was used to measure school climate. The eighth grade Virginia Standards of Learning math and English Tests were the measurement tools for student achievement.;A significant relationship was found between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and student achievement in both English and math. There was also a significant relationship between OCB and school climate. Additional correlational analysis found significance between organizational citizenship behaviors and each of the four dimensions of school climate: collegial leadership, teacher professionalism, academic press, and community engagement. Further stepwise regression analysis indicated that SES had a significant independent effect on student achievement in both math and English. Organizational citizenship behaviors had a significant independent effect on student achievement in English when controlling for SES.

The purpose of this study was to analyze a prominent alternative education practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia through an analysis of the Virginia Department of Education's Individual Student Alternative Education Plan (ISAEP) program and the alternative education environment it provides. This was a descriptive study using non-experimental survey research using quantitative and qualitative data to study the phenomena as it exists. Participants included 132 ISAEP program leaders attending the 6th Annual Conference in July, 2012. The study revealed that the ISAEP program is consistent with how alternative education is defined both in Virginia and nationally as it has characteristics similar to those that research informs educators about effective programs. The program blends academics, vocational, career and technical education and training and characteristics such as voluntary enrollment, student-centered individual programming, a functional curriculum with GED completion, and the presents of caring, knowledgeable adults. The program is taught by licensed staff, most of whom hold degrees higher than a Bachelor's and who hold multiple endorsements. All ten exemplary practices were seen as important and moderately positive relationships were found between program leaders' perception of exemplary practices and current practices for seven of ten practices. A weak relationship was found with the practice of leadership and current practice. Leadership was seen as the practice that could most positively impact the quality and effectiveness of the ISAEP program. There was little correlation between importance and practice with respect to Student Assessment. Collaboration with Community and Program Evaluation were practices reported to be least evident.

This study addressed the problem of poor attendance adversely affecting grades and learning. Current school policies do not address problematic attendance for all school-aged children, perpetuating trends of academic failure. The research objective was to determine if unexcused absences had a greater negative impact on a high-stakes test compared to excused absences and then develop a manual of best attendance policies to better serve all school-aged children. This study sampled 10,403 students in a southern United States county. Bivariate regression and ANOVA analyses examined the scores students earned on their first attempt at the Social Studies Georgia High School Graduation Test (SSGHSGT) in relation to these students' excused and unexcused absences for grades 9 through 11. Unexcused absences had a significantly greater impact than excused absences on SSGHSGT scores. Scores decreased an average of 1.33 points for every unexcused absence, whereas each excused absence resulted in a score reduction of only 0.47 points. Given the need demonstrated by these results, a manual of best practices was developed from initiatives that had been empirically proven successful in preventing absences. The initiatives, drawn from the theoretical foundation of family systems, employ schools, parents, neighborhoods, peers, government agencies, and teachers to cumulatively influence student decisions about attendance. By preventing students from developing problematic attendance, positively impacting student grades, raising graduation rates, and reducing delinquency-related crimes these improvements can create a positive social change for students, parents, and particularly school personnel who are held responsible for academic achievement.

This study examines why students have difficulty with inverse functions (inverse functions is the process of doing and undoing operations) and what we can do to support their learning. This was a quasi-experimental design in a math classroom in an urban comprehensive high school in California. After two weeks of instruction one group of students was taught the traditional way of inverse functions and another group was taught conceptually. About (N=80) mathematics students in the sampling were assessed before and after the study. Students were given a test to measure their learning of inverse functions and a questionnaire to measure their perspectives on the unit of study of inverse functions. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to analyze the data. The results will be discussed hoping that in this study students taught conceptually would perform better than the controlled. Also, this study will be useful for teachers and educators to recognize that conceptual teaching yields better results than direct instruction of rote instruction

This study examined social interest, social self-efficacy, and general self-efficacy levels of high school volunteer mentors and their nonmentor peers. School-based peer mentoring has become a popular method for providing support services to students. While several studies examining mentee outcomes appeared in the past decade, less research has examined characteristics of the high school mentors involved. The choice of variables was grounded in Bandura's Social Learning Theory and Adler's Individual Psychology. Thirty-seven mentors and 32 nonmentors from a suburban New York high school completed the Social Interest Scale and the Self-efficacy Scale. Mentor volunteers scored significantly higher in social self-efficacy than their nonmentor peers, t (67) = 2.98, p < .006. The relationship between being mentored and becoming a mentor was examined using a chi-square analysis, and was found to be statistically significant, chi2 (1, N = 69) = 4.18, p = .041. Females demonstrated higher levels of social interest than males, t (67) = 2.78, p < .006. The social change implications of this research include gaining insight into the characteristics of high school mentor volunteers, providing program coordinators with a mechanism for ensuring more positive outcomes for both mentees and mentors. Creating more positive outcomes for mentees may inspire them to become mentors later on, which increases the overall benefits of mentoring in the community. Providing an outlet for social interest and bolstering self-efficacy levels among mentors will increase the potential for future successful endeavors.

Research indicates that the use of cooperative learning techniques fosters higher order thinking and problem solving skills in students. However additional information is needed to determine how cooperative learning affects various groups of learners. Based in constructivist theory, this quasi-experimental study examined the effects of cooperative learning verses traditional teaching strategies on the academic performance of 216 6th grade language arts students in north central Georgia. The single stage convenience sample was divided into a control group that was instructed using traditional strategies; and a treatment group that was instructed using cooperative learning strategies. Pre and posttest scores from a standardized 73-item language arts benchmark test was used to assess the overall impact of instructional techniques across student use of conventions, literary elements, sentence structure, context clues, and vocabulary. ANOVA results indicated that the cooperative learning group made significantly greater gains than were observed for the traditional instruction group; however segmented subgroup analyses revealed no effect among economically disadvantaged students. It is recommended that educators pay added attention to the differential effects of teaching methods and strategies for specific student groups. The study contributes to positive social change by informing research-based selection of educational practices and techniques as tools for enhancing student achievement through strategic teacher training.

As the number of youth at risk for educational failure has increased, so has the debate over the appropriate nature of career and technical education (CTE) programs for such youth. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about the manner in which CTE programs within vocational schools affected secondary students at risk for educational failure. The educational theories of Pestalozzi, Dewey, and Rousseau served as the conceptual framework for this study by supporting the development of students' intellectual, social, and emotional growth through hands-on activities rather than traditional rote learning. Data for this case study were collected through interviews and observations from 9 purposefully selected students enrolled in vocational school CTE programs. Qualitative strategies of memoing and coding supported interpretative data analysis for this case study. The participants revealed that their CTE programs had a positive impact on their lives. Findings that emerged from this study centered on job security, hands-on learning, and personal growth. These findings provide important empirical evidence of the utility of CTE programs for at-risk students. This evidence contributes to positive social change by illuminating an alternative education setting that enables at-risk students to attain and maintain academic success. This evidence also holds promise for positive social change by guiding the efforts of education stakeholders in determining the appropriate educational placement for at-risk students, placements that will promote a sense of belonging rather than alienation.