This ethnographic study was undertaken in order to examine the problem of many of our E.S.L. students' slowed academic progress in high school. The study found culture shock and culture conflict, low self-esteem and poor motivation, established learning styles and unsuitable teaching techniques, personal and societal identity confusion to be factors preventing such students from achieving their full potential.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the differences and changes in integrated and segregated white students' self-concepts, racial attitudes, and academic achievements.

The role of community colleges is to provide educational opportunities to all segments of a population regardless of academic proficiency or economic ability. This openess admissions policy is meant to allow equal admission to academic and career-technical programs for all students. Due to openess admissions, economically disadvantaged community college students find themselves being admissible to community colleges with uncertain financial ability to pay for community college even though it is at a lower cost than 4-year institutions. Community college students historically face more financial and social barriers than 4-year students in attaining higher education and thus have a greater need for federal financial aid assistance. Students attending community colleges participate in federal grant-in-aid and student loan programs at a higher rate than any other type of institution. With this greater need for financial aid assistance, community college students are still held to the same federal financial aid academic standards. Students receiving federal financial aid must meet the same grade-point average, completion rate, and eligibility limit requirements as their university counterparts. These standards impact students at the community college level at an even higher rate than those at the university. The purpose of this study was to determine if students who do not meet federal financial aid academic standards and are placed on financial aid probation can be retained at the community college level using an online intervention course. The knowledge obtained from the course could facilitate the selection of optimal and cost-effective intervention strategies. Determination is necessary in order to eliminate current online intervention, adapt the intervention methods, or continue supporting intervention through allocating resources to the program that may allow for expansion and outcome inference to future student populations. This study specifically explored the retention of students who do not meet corresponding Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) indicators through the inclusion of an online intervention course. Student data were obtained from online course outcomes over multiple semesters from a community college in the Southern Region of the United States, yielding quantitative data for analysis. Educational opportunities tend to be viewed in a dramaturgical or symbolic perspective and viewed as successful based on student outcomes. It was assumed that student outcomes are tangible, and the link between means and ends are clear, meaning student outcome attainment equals employment and life success. In this instance, a return on investment study is not intended, but rather program effectiveness in influencing student outcomes. This program can be considered effective as it provides causation for increased performance, subsequent retention, and positive impact on financial aid status. The addition of an online intervention course supports causation linkage. It also supports the correlation of predicting post-semester cumulative grade point average (GPA), and the performance within the course provides inference to the participant’s future status.

The problem of this study was the effect of social mobility of teachers on the anxiety and academic progress of lower socioeconomic boys in spelling and arithmetic skills.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

We evaluated the effects of one year of schoolwide cluster grouping on the academic achievement growth of gifted and non-identified elementary students using a piecewise multilevel growth model. Scores from 186 non-identified and 68 gifted students' Measures of Academic Progress Reading and Math scores were examined over three school years. In 2008-2009 within-class ability grouping was used. In 2009-2010 schoolwide cluster grouping was implemented. In 2010-2011 students once again were grouped only within classrooms by ability and students identified as gifted were spread across all classrooms at each grade level. Results suggest that schoolwide cluster grouping influenced student performance in the year following its implementation, but only for mathematics and not the area of reading.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This study was about the change of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) administration system from a decentralised to a centralised one. The aim was to investigate the shift of the NSFAS administration system and its effect on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process at a historically Black university in the Western Cape Province. The study had three objectives. Firstly, to examine the efficacy of the NSFAS centralised application process. Secondly, to determine the impact of the process on the students' academic progress and overall well-being in the learning process. Lastly, to propose recommendations for the streamlining of the application process so that the negative impact on the students' academic performance be minimised or prevented.

This dissertation focused on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system implemented in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eight school districts were granted an implementation waiver for one year making the 2013-2014 school year the implementation year for those school districts. A mixed methodology study was designed to understand teacher perceptions in one waiver school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purposes of this study were to collect empirical evidence on the implementation of the new performance-based teacher evaluation system by comparing teachers' and principals' perceptions at three elementary schools to teachers' perceptions in the school district, identified as District Z and were to add to the research base on policy implementation theories and teacher evaluation. Findings and analysis of research questions were based on the responses of 357 teacher participants, two district directors, and three principals. Policy implementation research suggested access to resources and support along with an alignment of beliefs and values resulted in more effective implementation practices. Conclusions of this study, while limited to the district studied, suggested professional development on the new performance-based teacher evaluation system, including the Uniform Performance Standards and SMART goals, would provide teachers and principals with the increased knowledge to use as a resource during new implementation phases. Additionally, involvement in the design and modification of the teacher evaluation system would encourage participation and provide opportunities for teachers and principals to develop shared values regarding aspects of the evaluation system. / Ed. D.

Объектом исследования является учебная деятельность учащихся шестых классов. Предметом исследования является академическая успеваемость шестиклассников и ее психологические предикторы. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, трех глав, заключения, списка литературы (63 источника) и приложений, включающих в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 85 страниц, на которых размещены 6 рисунков и 12 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируется гипотезы, указываются методы и эмпирическая база. Первая и вторая главы включают в себя обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме исследования. Первая глава включает в себя описание учебной деятельности и социометрического статуса подростков. Вторая глава включает в себя теоретические основы исследования взаимосвязи показателей академической успеваемости, мотивации учебной деятельности, интеллекта и социометрического статуса учащихся 6-х классов. Выводы по второй главе представляют собой итоги по изучению теоретического материала. Третья глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования. В ней представлено описание организации и методов проведенного исследования и результатов, полученных по всем использованным методикам: методика изучения мотивации учения подростков (5-7 класс) М. И. Лукьяновой, Н. В. Калининой; подростковый интеллектуальный тест (ПИТ СПЧ), разработанный Н. А. Батуриным, Н. А. Курганским, И. М. Дашковым, Л. К. Федоровой; методика диагностики межличностных отношений (социометрия) Дж. Л. Морено. Выводы по главе 3 включают в себя основные результаты эмпирического исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования. / The object of the study is the educational activities of sixth grade students. The subject of the study is the academic performance of sixth graders and its psychological predictors. The master thesis consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, list of references (63 sources) and applications that include the forms of the methods used. The volume of the master's thesis is 85 pages, on which are placed 6 figures and 12 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the development of the problem, sets the goal and objectives of the research, identifies the object and subject of research, formulates hypotheses, specifies the methods and empirical base. The first and second chapters include a review of foreign and domestic literature on the research topic. The first chapter includes a description of the educational activities and the sociometric status of adolescents. The second chapter includes the theoretical foundations of the study of the relationship between indicators of academic performance, motivation of learning activities, intelligence and the sociometric status of students in 6th grade. The conclusions of the second chapter are the results of the study of theoretical material. The third chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study. It presents a description of the organization and methods of the study and the results obtained using all the methods used: methods for studying the motivation of the teaching of adolescents (grades 5-7) M. I. Lukyanova, N. V. Kalinina; adolescent intellectual test (PIT HRO) developed by N. A. Baturin, N. A. Kurgansky, I. M. Dashkov, L. K. Fedorova; methods of diagnosing interpersonal relationships (sociometry) J.L. Moreno. Conclusions on Chapter 3 include the main results of an empirical study. The conclusion summarizes the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as the conclusions of the hypotheses put forward, the practical significance of the study is substantiated.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the incidence of retardation or non-promotion and the relationship of various characteristics of the retarded children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades of Sunset School.