Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / In the United States, foster care is provided to children to avert maltreatment and abuse of children in distressed families by providing a temporary home or a foster home. Courts with jurisdiction over families have been charged by Congress to find appropriate homes when necessary circumstances occur. In fiscal year 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). When the term “foster child or foster care” is used, most individuals view the term as negative. Most statistical data reaffirms this belief and casts a negative light on the foster care system in the United States. Foster children exit the foster care system and face higher rates of substance abuse, unemployment, and incarceration, and lower educational attainment. Though foster children do suffer from uncertainty of shattered relationships, there are success stories that arise from foster care. This study examines the discovery of strengths and emerging possibilities in the State of Kansas foster care system and the conditions that make them possible. This study identifies and examines success stories of 15 former foster children in the State of Kansas and analyzes how to build on those success stories. This case study uses qualitative methods such as audio-taped interviews and an interview protocol with a pre-determined set of open-ended questions. This study identifies stories of effectiveness in the State of Kansas foster care system.

Aspectos como motivação, atendimento das expectativas e satisfação dos alunos no ambiente de ensino-aprendizagem têm sido alvo de diversos estudos naquilo que diz respeito à influência destes fatores no Ensino. Investigar a percepção dos estudantes e suas experiências em todos os níveis de escolaridade oferece dados que possibilitam a melhora de programas e dos serviços de suporte. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a motivação, o atendimento das expectativas e a satisfação dos pós-graduandos do Departamento de Bioquímica da Universidade de São Paulo, tanto pelo olhar dos alunos quanto dos docentes. A coleta de dados foi feita por meio da aplicação de dois questionários: um aos discentes e outro aos docentes. Ambos os questionários foram divididos em três seções (motivação, atendimento das expectativas e satisfação) e validados pelo Coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach e pelos Itens de Correlação Item-Total. Pode-se verificar que para alunos e docentes, a motivação intrínseca é o principal fator que leva ao ingresso no programa, seguido pela motivação influenciada pelo ambiente e pela motivação extrínseca. Tanto alunos quanto docentes têm suas expectativas atendidas pelo programa, tendo como reflexo a satisfação de ambos. Foi possível constatar uma insatisfação dos pós-graduandos e dos docentes com a bolsa e uma divisão entre os alunos com relação à carga horária e à formação, sendo que a maioria percebe que trabalha demais, discordando dos docentes, e por um melhor preparo pedagógico. Espera-se com este trabalho oferecer uma dupla contribuição: à literatura, pois explora um aspecto ainda pouco estudado e oferece um arcabouço metodológico validado; ao departamento de Bioquímica, pois se verifica a qualidade do programa por outra via, interna ao programa; tal verificação possibilita a orientação de políticas institucionais adequadas. / Aspects such as motivation, expectation attainment and satisfaction of students in the teaching-learning environment have been the target of several studies regarding the influence of these factors in teaching. Investigating students\' perceptions and experiences at all levels of schooling provides data that enables the improvement of programs and support services. The aim of this study was to analyze the motivation, expectations attainment and satisfaction of the graduate students of the Department of Biochemistry of the University of São Paulo, both for their students\' and teachers\' view. The data collection was done through the application of two questionnaires: one to the students and another to the teachers. Both questionnaires were divided into three sections (motivation, expectations attainment and satisfaction) and validated by Cronbach\'s Alpha Coefficient and Item-Total Correlation Items. It can be verified that for students and teachers, intrinsic motivation is the main factor that leads to joining the program, followed by motivation influenced by the environment and extrinsic motivation. Both students and teachers have their expectations met by the program, reflecting the satisfaction of both. It was possible to observe a dissatisfaction among graduate students and teachers with the scholarship and a division among the students in relation to the workload and training, and most of them perceive that they work too much, disagreeing with the teachers, and for a better pedagogical preparation. It is expected with this work to offer a double contribution: to literature, because it explores an aspect that has not yet been studied and offers a validated methodological framework; to the Department of Biochemistry, because the quality of the program is verified by another route, internal to the program. Such verification enables the orientation of appropriate institutional policies.

Aspectos como motivação, atendimento das expectativas e satisfação dos alunos no ambiente de ensino-aprendizagem têm sido alvo de diversos estudos naquilo que diz respeito à influência destes fatores no Ensino. Investigar a percepção dos estudantes e suas experiências em todos os níveis de escolaridade oferece dados que possibilitam a melhora de programas e dos serviços de suporte. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a motivação, o atendimento das expectativas e a satisfação dos pós-graduandos do Departamento de Bioquímica da Universidade de São Paulo, tanto pelo olhar dos alunos quanto dos docentes. A coleta de dados foi feita por meio da aplicação de dois questionários: um aos discentes e outro aos docentes. Ambos os questionários foram divididos em três seções (motivação, atendimento das expectativas e satisfação) e validados pelo Coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach e pelos Itens de Correlação Item-Total. Pode-se verificar que para alunos e docentes, a motivação intrínseca é o principal fator que leva ao ingresso no programa, seguido pela motivação influenciada pelo ambiente e pela motivação extrínseca. Tanto alunos quanto docentes têm suas expectativas atendidas pelo programa, tendo como reflexo a satisfação de ambos. Foi possível constatar uma insatisfação dos pós-graduandos e dos docentes com a bolsa e uma divisão entre os alunos com relação à carga horária e à formação, sendo que a maioria percebe que trabalha demais, discordando dos docentes, e por um melhor preparo pedagógico. Espera-se com este trabalho oferecer uma dupla contribuição: à literatura, pois explora um aspecto ainda pouco estudado e oferece um arcabouço metodológico validado; ao departamento de Bioquímica, pois se verifica a qualidade do programa por outra via, interna ao programa; tal verificação possibilita a orientação de políticas institucionais adequadas. / Aspects such as motivation, expectation attainment and satisfaction of students in the teaching-learning environment have been the target of several studies regarding the influence of these factors in teaching. Investigating students\' perceptions and experiences at all levels of schooling provides data that enables the improvement of programs and support services. The aim of this study was to analyze the motivation, expectations attainment and satisfaction of the graduate students of the Department of Biochemistry of the University of São Paulo, both for their students\' and teachers\' view. The data collection was done through the application of two questionnaires: one to the students and another to the teachers. Both questionnaires were divided into three sections (motivation, expectations attainment and satisfaction) and validated by Cronbach\'s Alpha Coefficient and Item-Total Correlation Items. It can be verified that for students and teachers, intrinsic motivation is the main factor that leads to joining the program, followed by motivation influenced by the environment and extrinsic motivation. Both students and teachers have their expectations met by the program, reflecting the satisfaction of both. It was possible to observe a dissatisfaction among graduate students and teachers with the scholarship and a division among the students in relation to the workload and training, and most of them perceive that they work too much, disagreeing with the teachers, and for a better pedagogical preparation. It is expected with this work to offer a double contribution: to literature, because it explores an aspect that has not yet been studied and offers a validated methodological framework; to the Department of Biochemistry, because the quality of the program is verified by another route, internal to the program. Such verification enables the orientation of appropriate institutional policies.

In this case study, I examine the graduation patterns of students attending Chief Dull Knife College located on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana. While comparing the characteristics of students attending this college with that of two-year colleges nationally and tribal schools throughout the nation, we begin to understand the unique situation that this community faces. With the use of logistic and linear regressions, I explored the characteristics of those who graduate and ask the question, who graduates and what makes them unique? This study found that the credits attempted per semester, the number of credits they earned divided by the number of credits they attempted, and the number of semesters enrolled were the most significant factors. Using the information collected from the literature review, this study then used linear regressions to explore the effects of the initial variables on these three significant variables.

Organization theory proposes that managers exert control over the behavior of salespeople and the outcomes salespeople are expected to deliver. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine the relationships between activity control, capability control, and outcome control and salesperson performance, as well as the moderating effects of product complexity, task complexity, and number of accounts on the control-performance relationships for business-to-business sales personnel. The framework for the study was based in the concept of organizational control. Data analysis included hierarchical regression of a convenience sample of 374 survey responses from salespeople to analyze the direct and moderating relationships between perceived sales management control and salesperson performance. Data were collected using Fluid Surveys. Although significant positive effects were identified between outcome control, activity control, and capability control on salesperson performance, as well as a significant negative effect of task complexity on salesperson performance, no moderating effects were found. Because sales management behavior impacts salesperson satisfaction, retention, and performance, identifying the positive impact of activity, capability, and outcome control, and the negative impact of task complexity on salesperson performance provides sales managers with important guidance when considering the elements of an effective approach to sales management. Finally, providing managers with specific guidance regarding management approach has implications for positive social change within organizations by improving salesperson satisfaction with their jobs, their manager, and the organization for whom they work.

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This thesis is about the Reading and Writing for Filmmaking Afterschool program, an extracurricular focus group centered around engaging urban immigrant and minority working-class high school students in a discussion about high school dropout using participatory video as a methodological tool. The program was created under the assumption that, (1) within 'free spaces' students who are encouraged to express themselves and explore their social realities through innovative methods will reveal their understanding of high school dropout and the factors contributing to it, and (2) the way these students conceptualize and talk about high school dropout is significant to understanding this phenomenon. Through participatory video, observation, interviews, and storyboard narratives, I examine the discourse of minority and immigrant students as a means of understanding their cultural assumptions and observations of school dropout. As a result, this paper illuminates the issue of immigrant educational retention and attrition in an urban public school setting.

This study examined whether the demand for more educated science and engineering workers outweighed longstanding practices of discrimination in hiring in high technology industries and science and engineering occupations. The study focused on the effects of education on the distribution of employment and wages among four racial and ethnic groups (non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics and Asians), for the period 1992 to 2002. The main data used in the analyses came from the March Annual Demographic Survey. Multinomial logit analyses were used to determine the probabilities of employment, and ordinary least squares, non-parametric regressions and t-tests were used to examine wages. The analyses showed that education was more important in determining employment in S &E occupations, when compared to its effects in other occupations; and compared to race, other demographic and labor market characteristics. The effects of education were greater in S &E jobs in the high technology sector when compared to S &E jobs elsewhere in the economy. However, the effects of education varied with race, the level of education, and the industry/ occupational group under consideration in ways that suggest that both employment and wages continue to be influenced by correlates of race. Based on the findings, the study provides recommendations for policy and future research.

Insufficient physical activity is a serious concern for the youth of this nation. In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents could be classified as either obese or overweight (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity are two major factors contributing to this epidemic. A physically active lifestyle during youth not only improves physical health, but has also been shown to improve emotional health, behavior, and academic performance. It is important that this area of research is continued and expanded so appropriate educational policies that support the health and well-being of America’s youth can be established. No research to date has explored the long term impact of physical activity levels in adolescence on educational outcomes in adulthood. The purpose of this proposed study is to address this research gap by investigating the longitudinal relationships between physical activity in adolescence and physical activity in adulthood, educational ambition, and educational attainment. In order to achieve these research goals, secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health was analyzed. Results revealed that higher levels of physical activity during adolescence are associated with higher levels of physical activity during young adulthood. Higher levels of physical activity during adolescence were also negligibly and weakly correlated to higher levels of academic ambition and later academic attainment. A discussion of the results and the limitations of the current study follow.

Thesis (M.S. in Leadership and Human Resource Development)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Alice M. Crawford, William R. Bowman. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79). Also available online.