The current period of rapid technological change, particularly in the area of mediated communication, has combined with new philosophies of education and market forces to bring upheaval to the realm of higher education. Technical capabilities exceed our knowledge of whether expenditures on hardware and software lead to corresponding gains in student learning. Educators do not yet possess sophisticated assessments of what we may be gaining or losing as we widen the scope of distributed learning. The purpose of this study was not to draw sweeping conclusions with respect to the costs or benefits of technology in education. The researcher focused on a single issue involved in educational quality: assessing the ability of a student to complete a course. Previous research in this area indicates that attrition rates are often higher in distributed learning environments. Educators and students may benefit from a reliable instrument to identify those students who may encounter difficulty in these learning situations. This study is aligned with research focused on the individual engaged in seeking information, assisted or hindered by the capabilities of the computer information systems that create and provide access to information. Specifically, the study focused on the indicators of completion for students enrolled in video conferencing and Web-based courses. In the final version, the Distributed Learning Survey encompassed thirteen indicators of completion. The results of this study of 396 students indicated that the Distributed Learning Survey represented a reliable and valid instrument for identifying at-risk students in video conferencing and Web-based courses where the student population is similar to the study participants. Educational level, GPA, credit hours taken in the semester, study environment, motivation, computer confidence, and the number of previous distributed learning courses accounted for most of the predictive power in the discriminant function based on student scores from the survey.

This mixed methods study focused on the relationship between dropout prevention programs and graduation rates in one school district in Florida during the 2010-2011 school year. The dropout prevention program data analyzed included high school principals' perceptions in regard to perceived effectiveness, fidelity of implementation, cost efficacy, structure, and student-staff relationships within dropout prevention programs and their relationship to graduation rate. The data analysis investigated the relationship between the principals' perceptions of each dropout prevention program and graduation rate. Findings from this study showed principals' perceived that the level of fidelity for on-the-job training has a relationship to increased graduation rate. In other words, when a principal believed the dropout prevention program was implemented with fidelity in their school, it likely increased graduation rate. Another important finding from this study was the varying perceptions which it existed among school leaders in this study and their varying perceptions on the relationship between dropout prevention programs and graduation rate. / by Christopher L. Simmons. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Criminologists have long since documented a connection between peer deviance and personal deviance. Some theories suggest that this connection is due to a learning process where individuals may adopt the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of those with whom they have significant interactions, such as friends. While individuals may be susceptible to learning anti-social behavior from peers, it is unclear if certain personality characteristics may affect this relationship. The purpose of this study is to determine if differences in specific personality characteristics, such as self-esteem, introversion and extroversion, can have a moderating effect on the pressures to participate in the use of drugs and alcohol that are projected on to individuals during their adolescent years. The findings of the current study can lead to new pathways in substance use prevention and personality assessment in conjunction with risk assessment for juveniles during their middle and high school years. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of this non-experimental correlational study was to determine the relationship between the type of attendance policies in the high schools of the 67 Florida school districts, the size of the school district (number of high school students), the socioeconomic status (SES) of the school district, and the average daily attendance rate of the district. Additionally, the study determined if the relationship between policy type and attendance rate was moderated by SES and size. To test the research questions, high school attendance polices were examined and coded into one of three pre-determined categories: punitive, reward, or affective. The SES level and district size were also examined. A percentage was calculated for each district with respect to the makeup of attendance policies (by type). Polices that were punitive in nature were found to be most commonly implemented (mean 81.14 percent). / No significant relationships existed among the independent variables policy type, SES level and district size when tested with the dependent variable average daily attendance rate. Furthermore, district size and SES showed no significant moderation effects on the relationship between policy type and average daily attendance rate. An additional analysis of a large urban school district showed that when examining school level average daily attendance rates, school size showed no significant relationship, while school SES level did. The conclusion of this study was that while a heavy emphasis was placed on the implementation of punitive policy, when measured at the district level, average daily attendance rates were not significantly related to the variables of policy type, SES level, or district size, nor was the relationship between policy type and average daily attendance rate moderated by SES or district size. / Recommendations for future research, school leaders, and policymakers were to assess the effectiveness of using reward and affective policies in conjunction with punitive policies, to conduct an assessment of policy effectiveness using school level data as the unit of analysis, and while attendance policies are typically created at the district level, schools should be given the autonomy to create and implement attendance programs conducive to their individual needs. / by Ryan Turner Reardon. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, FL : 2008 Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This research attempted to ascertain whether the ratings of applicants in the admissions-evaluation process of Dallas Theological Seminary (Admission Committee Rating, or ACR) were related to persistence in seminary study sufficiently to allow reasonable prediction of completion based on the strength of the ratings. Five ACRs were examined - the total ACR and its four components, strength of previous academics, personal references, potential and promise for ministry, and previous ministry experience. Other non-admissions factors were also examined to see what relationship they had to persistence. Those factors were years of matriculation, age at matriculation, gender, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, types of previous higher education, whether or not financial aid was received (if known), and the total amount of financial aid received (if known). Persistence in the study was defined as graduation from the seminary's major four-year master's degree program (Th.M.) within the time limits published for the degree. Analysis results indicated that only two of the five ACRs were statistically significant, ministry potential and ministry experience, but the relationship with completion was weak. The conclusion reached was that the relationship between the strength of the admission evaluation and persistence was practically insignificant and contributed little to the ability to predict completion on that basis alone.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-259). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-90). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xii, 93 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (University of Texas Digital Repository, viewed on Sept. 9, 2009). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Archbald Douglas, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.