Thesis advisor: Henry Braun / Given the call for greater understanding of racial inequality in student achievement in K-12 education, this study contributes a comprehensive, quantitative, longitudinal examination of the achievement gap phenomenon, with particular attention to the organization characteristics of schools and school districts. Employing data from a large number of districts in a single state, it examines the trends in achievement and the growth in achievement after the passage of NCLB. It focuses on mathematics performance from grade 6 to grade 8. Both a traditional descriptive approach and one employing Hierarchical Linear Models were applied and compared. The purpose was not to determine which methodology is superior but to provide complementary perspectives. The comparison between the two approaches revealed similar trends in achievement gaps, but the HLM approach offered a more nuanced description. Nonetheless the results suggest that it is useful to employ both approaches. As to the main question regarding ethnicity, it appears that even if student ethnicity is confounded with other indicators, such as initial score and socio-economic status, it is still an important predictor of both achievement gaps and achievement growth gaps. Moreover, demographic profiles at the school and district levels were also associated with these gaps. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

<p> </p><p><strong><strong><p>SAMMANFATTNING</p></strong><p> </p></strong></p><p>Annie Gustavsson Lund , Anna Dahné</p><p><strong><p>Faktorer som kan påverka elevers motivation till lärande</p><p>Factors that can affect students motivation towards learning</p></strong></p><p>En enkätundersökning bland elever om olika faktorers möjliga samband med elevers skolmotivation</p><p>Antal sidor: 24</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Syftet vi har med vår undersökning är att få en större kunskap om möjliga faktorer som kan påverka elevers mo-tivation att lära samt sambanden mellan dessa faktorer. Vi vill även få en djupare kunskap angående motivation och lärande. Frågeställningarna är följande:</p><p>- Vad är motivation och lärande?</p><p>- Vilka faktorer kan påverka elevers intresse samt motivation till lärande?</p><p>- Undersöka vilka samband det finns mellan dessa faktorer.</p><p>För att få svar på dessa frågor har vi genomfört en kvantitativ studie med en enkätundersökning som genomför-des bland 111 elever, fördelade på nio klasser i år tre i Nässjö kommun.</p><p>Resultatet, från vår undersökning, visar att det finns mer eller mindre samband mellan de faktorer som vi valt att undersöka. Högst samband med de beroende variablerna engagemang, motivation, glädje samt intresse visar kon-takten med vuxna på skolan (, 520). Detta tyder på att de vuxna som arbetar på skolan är viktiga för elevernas motivation, engagemang, intresse samt glädjen att gå till skolan. Även föräldrarna spelar en betydande roll. Vän-nerna är viktiga, men med motivationen visades ingen korrelation (, 000). Lärande är en process som pågår hela livet och inte bara i skolan. Skolan är bara en liten del av varje enskild individs lärande vilket sker i alla vardagli-ga miljöer och sammanhang. Lärandet ska utveckla eleven, ge eleven kunskap och verktyg för olika situationer som kan uppstå i livet. Skolans och lärarens viktigaste uppgift är att lära eleverna att lära. Motivation kan beskri-vas som en grundläggande tanke. Motivation är alltså inte i första hand en egenskap. Motivation handlar inte hel-ler om "viljan" finns eller saknas, utan det handlar om bemötande. Motivation är en tolkning som man kan göra av den andres beteende. Detta påverkar hur det fortsatta samspelet kan utvecklas.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

The present study examined the direction and strength of the relation between three different areas academic achievement and working memory with adolescent students. The data analyzed included ratings for inattention, a diagnosis of ADHD (or not), and demographic information for race/ethnicity. Fifty children aged 11 to16 years of age participated in the study. Participants were recruited from several middle schools, homeschooling networks, and churches from a southeastern state of the United States. Each participant completed a standardized achievement test, a behavioral rating scale, and visual and verbal working memory tests. The research questions investigated: 1) the relation between visual and verbal working memory with each of three areas of academic achievement; 2) whether the relation between visual and verbal working memory was strengthened or moderated by inattention. Results found that verbal-auditory working memory (p=p=p=.01). There was a positive relation between the working memory scores and academic achievement, with higher working memory scores predicting higher academic achievement. Due to significant differences with the standardized testing scores between Caucasians and non-Caucasians, the analysis was controlled for ethnicity. The measure of inattention problems did not add significantly to or moderate the prediction of academic achievement by visual or verbal working memory after controlling for ethnicity. Future recommendations included research to support students with low working memory skills and to examine the cultural sensitivity of the working memory batteries.

SAMMANFATTNING   Annie Gustavsson Lund , Anna Dahné Faktorer som kan påverka elevers motivation till lärande Factors that can affect students motivation towards learning En enkätundersökning bland elever om olika faktorers möjliga samband med elevers skolmotivation Antal sidor: 24     Syftet vi har med vår undersökning är att få en större kunskap om möjliga faktorer som kan påverka elevers mo-tivation att lära samt sambanden mellan dessa faktorer. Vi vill även få en djupare kunskap angående motivation och lärande. Frågeställningarna är följande: - Vad är motivation och lärande? - Vilka faktorer kan påverka elevers intresse samt motivation till lärande? - Undersöka vilka samband det finns mellan dessa faktorer. För att få svar på dessa frågor har vi genomfört en kvantitativ studie med en enkätundersökning som genomför-des bland 111 elever, fördelade på nio klasser i år tre i Nässjö kommun. Resultatet, från vår undersökning, visar att det finns mer eller mindre samband mellan de faktorer som vi valt att undersöka. Högst samband med de beroende variablerna engagemang, motivation, glädje samt intresse visar kon-takten med vuxna på skolan (, 520). Detta tyder på att de vuxna som arbetar på skolan är viktiga för elevernas motivation, engagemang, intresse samt glädjen att gå till skolan. Även föräldrarna spelar en betydande roll. Vän-nerna är viktiga, men med motivationen visades ingen korrelation (, 000). Lärande är en process som pågår hela livet och inte bara i skolan. Skolan är bara en liten del av varje enskild individs lärande vilket sker i alla vardagli-ga miljöer och sammanhang. Lärandet ska utveckla eleven, ge eleven kunskap och verktyg för olika situationer som kan uppstå i livet. Skolans och lärarens viktigaste uppgift är att lära eleverna att lära. Motivation kan beskri-vas som en grundläggande tanke. Motivation är alltså inte i första hand en egenskap. Motivation handlar inte hel-ler om "viljan" finns eller saknas, utan det handlar om bemötande. Motivation är en tolkning som man kan göra av den andres beteende. Detta påverkar hur det fortsatta samspelet kan utvecklas.

This study concerns the relationship between student evaluation of instruction and student achievement in the field of management at the community college level. Purposes of the study were to determine the subjective student evaluation of instructor performance in introductory classes of management, student achievement in the class upon completion of the course, and the relationship between the student evaluation of instructor performance and student achievement in knowledge of the course. The population studied was all 10 sections of the Principles of Management course taught by 8 instructors at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas during the fall semester of 1988. A pretest-posttest design was used to determine student achievement scores. The College Board provided sufficient copies of two versions of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests for Introduction to Management for the pretest and posttest. A special statistical technique using multiple regression was used to calculate an achievement score for each student that was adjusted for entry level knowledge. Student evaluations of instructor performance were paired with the achievement scores and grades students received from the instructor. Additional confidential demographic data was obtained about the students and the instructors. Major findings of the study concluded there is no significant relationship between the student achievement scores and student evaluation of instructor performance. There was a wide variance in correlation of student grades and student achievement scores when individual sections or individual instructors were examined. The overall correlation of grades and achievement scores was statistically significant and was the highest of any of the factors studied. The study recommends using more objective measures of student achievement in evaluating faculty performance.

Title: Motivation for Practicing Judo for Children in age between 11 and 15 years. The Aim of The Thesis: The aim of this thesis was to find out which motivation factors are the most importatnt for the judo athletes in age between 11-15 years. We studied all the necessary literature, collected informations about this topic, and established quantitative questionnaire. The result of this thesis is suggestion for coaches based on received information about which motivation factors are important for children and which are not. Method: Experiment will be provided by using quantitative questionnaires established for judo athletes in age between 11 and 15. Key Words: Motivation, Achievment Motivation, Sport Psychology, Judo, Judo training

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate factors that contribute to the academic success of African American males in the Blount County Area. More specifically, the study was focused on the perception of the participants concerning noncognitive, demographic, and institutional variables associated with the academic success of African-American males. The participants for this study were attendees of four local churches: Mount Pleasant A.M.E. Zion, Rest Haven Missionary Baptist Church, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, and St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Church. Each of the four churches is located in Blount County, Tennessee. Participants were male and female adults of varied ages and ethnic classifications but were all familiar with the focus area. Research supported the suggestion that both cognitive and noncognitive variables contribute to the academic success of African American males in the Blount County Area. The data were collected and analyzed using a 27-question survey measured on a 5 point Likert scale. The last section of the survey instrument was composed of 3 open-ended questions. Seven research questions served as the bases for this study and the data were analyzed using a series of single-sample t tests. Results indicated that participants agreed that noncognitive, demographic, and institutional factors are contributors to the academic success of African American males in Blount County, Tennessee.

The problem of low achievement and failure of 8th-grade students to attain state proficiency level in science in a local school district was addressed in this case study. Data from 2012-2016 revealed that 93% of 8th-grade students in 2 suburban middle schools in the targeted state failed to meet science proficiency standards on the science Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and the state's Milestone Assessments. The purpose of conducting this qualitative case study was to develop an understanding of teachers' perceptions regarding high failure rate of 8th-grade students to meet state mandated standards in science. Piaget's constructs of developmental and operational learning were used as the conceptual framework. Guiding questions were used to explore teacher perceptions of the challenges middle school students experience in learning science, as well as developmental and operational learning characteristics affecting science achievement. Data were collected from interviews with 12 middle school science teachers at the two schools. Data were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis and were checked for accuracy through member checking. Common themes were behavioral issues, lack of concept application, lack of intellectual development, the need for relatable instructional strategies, and the need for teachers' professional development. A professional development program for teachers was constructed as a project to address each of these themes. The study may affect positive social change by providing teachers and stakeholders with a deeper understanding of student needs in science learning and improved instructional strategies for teachers to enhance students' science achievement.

Over the past 2 decades, the number of adult learners seeking an online education has dramatically increased, but student retention and degree completion rates for adult students are lower than those of other student populations. Research has shown that adult learners working full time achieve at higher levels than adult learners who are not working full time and that intrinsic motivation is positively correlated with academic achievement. However, whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement is moderated by level of work commitment has not been previously investigated. For this study, in which the composite persistence model served as the foundation, 137 online adult learners were recruited. A sequential multiple regression was used to investigate whether the relationship between intrinsic motivation, as measured by the Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and academic achievement, as measured by self-reported grade point average, was moderated by level of work commitment, as measured by self-reported hours of work per week, while statistically controlling for academic competencies, as measured by 4 subscales of the MSLQ. Intrinsic motivation and level of work commitment did not display a statistically significant correlation with academic achievement, and results showed that level of work commitment did not moderate the relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. The findings indicated the possibility that education is synergistically related to work commitment. Online programs may use the findings from the study to better support online adult learners and create positive social change by offering internships and mentorships locally that help to connect education to work commitment.

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