The purpose of this study was to determine if specific characteristics of male students in a low socio-economic urban setting predispose them to successful high school completion. Rather than focusing on dropouts, this research focused on male students who are successful high school completers. They were compared to one another in order to find correlations among variables which made them successful in completing high school. While research exists detailing the reasons students choose to drop out of school, the factors that lead to successful graduation from high school have yet to be determined. This research addresses that gap. This study addresses two research questions: (a) are there common factors among male students from a low socio-economic urban setting which predispose them to successful high school completion and (b) what are the common factors among male students from a low socio-economic urban setting which predispose them to successful high school completion? The information found in the review of related literature and research indicated that the variables (preschool education participation, sports/extracurricular activity participation, family configuration, participation in faith-based organizations, parents’ educational attainment, sibling educational attainment, attendance, parental employment, participation in vocational studies, and participation in tutoring programs for high stakes exit exams) were appropriate for this study. An instrument was piloted to obtain information on the variables. Forty male students were randomly selected from 240 male students who graduated from Meridian High School during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. After collecting and analyzing the data using binomial distribution and chi-square analysis, the researcher drew several conclusions. Preschool participation, sibling educational attainment, attendance, family configuration, participation in a faith-based organization, parent educational attainment, parent employment, vocational program participation, and extracurricular activity/sport participation were reported by participants at statistically significant frequencies which could not be attributed to chance. The chi-square values indicate nine of the fiftyour possible variable pairs have statistically significant correlations. Conclusions and recommendations based on the findings of this study indicate that certain characteristics of students do contribute to high school completion. This study should be replicated with a larger sample in other locations to validate the findings.

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Today, regular school attendance is an important factor in school success (Rothman, 2001). Research has shown a direct correlation between good attendance and student achievement (Dekalb, 1999). Poor attendance has been linked to poor academic achievement (Ziegler, 1972). With the increase in accountability for school districts in Virginia surrounding the Standards of Learning (SOL) test and the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation of 2001, educators are faced with a significant challenge to reduce the rate of absenteeism to increase students' achievement in school. “Students who are absent from school receive fewer hours of instruction; they often leave education early and are more likely to become long term unemployed, homeless, caught in the poverty trap, dependent on welfare and involved in the justice system” (House of Representatives, 1996 p. 3). Researchers have sought to find factors that contribute to student non-attendance (Odell, 1923; Reid, 1999; Mitchell, 1993). This study investigates the impact of student attendance, socio-economic status and mobility on student achievement of third grade students in two Title I schools in a Southeastern Virginia School District, with grades PK-3, as determined by the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) English and math tests scores. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study is to present a history of the progress made in advancing the welfare of teachers, to evaluate the trends in teachers' salaries over a period of twenty years, and to show the extent to which teacher retirement and teacher tenure laws have gained momentum in the United States. Recommendations for improvement will be made in cases where deficiencies exist.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1938 K42 / Master of Science

The aim of this thesis was to investigate socio-economic status in relation to morbidity and mortality, in particular cardiovascular disease among women using data from two population based studies from Sweden. The secondary aim was to explore mechanisms potentially linking socio-economic status to health, assessing for example dental, dietary, and lifestyle factors. Samples: The Population Study of Women in Gothenburg Sweden was begun in 1968-69. A representative random sample of 1,622 women was selected according to date of birth and within the strata 38, 46, 50, 54, and 60 years of age; the participation rate was 90 percent. The Gerontological and Geriatric Population Studies in Gothenburg (H-70) are based on representative samples of 70-year olds from Göteborg, Sweden who participated in a series of cross sectional and longitudinal studies between1971 and 2000. Participation rates ranged from 86 percent for men and 83 percent for women in the 1901/2 birth cohort to 65 percent for men and 69 percent for women in the 1930 birth cohort. Main results: High socio-economic status was associated with a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease [RR 0.49; CI 0.24 – 0.99] in middle aged women independently of risk factors such as smoking and obesity;moreover opposing monotonic trends were seen for mortality from cancer and cardiovascular disease in relation to socio-economic status. Tooth loss, a proxy for cumulative lifetime oral infection was also associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in women independently of socio-economic factors such as the husband’s occupational category, income, and educational level. Among 70-year old cohorts, later-born women were heavier and had higher body mass index than earlier-born women within the high education group only. However, secular increases in waist-hip ratio were seen in both educational groups. Compared to earlier-born cohorts of 70-year old men, later-born cohorts had higher body mass index and cholesterol levels across social strata, and heart disease and diabetes mellitus became more prevalent. Among the elderly, secular trends indicated greater improvements in cardiovascular risk factors among women than men, with exception to smoking and alcohol consumption. Diet quality and food selection were assessed in relation to socio-economic status in the youngest cohort of 70-year olds born in 1930. Socio-economic disparities in diet quality were detected in men but not in women. Conclusions: From a public health perspective, it is suggested that risk factor patterns should be investigated in association with socio-economic status in order to expose health inequalities, and to develop more equitable interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Enhancing primary care is key to the Canadian health care reform. Considered as an indicator of primary care access and quality, hospitalisations for ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) conditions are commonly reported by Canadian organisations as sentinel events signaling problems with the delivery of primary care. However, the literature calls for further research to identify what lies behind ACS hospitalisation rates in regions with a predominantly urban population benefiting from universal access to health care. A theoretical model was built and, using an ecological design, multiple regressions were implemented to identify which neighbourhood characteristics explained the socio-economic gradient in ACS hospitalisation rates observed in Ottawa. Among these neighbourhoods, healthy behaviour and - to a certain extent - health status were significantly associated with ACS hospitalisation rates. Evidence of an association with primary care accessibility was also signaled for the more rural neighbourhoods. Smoking prevention and cessation campaigns may be the most relevant health care strategies to push forward by policy makers hoping to prevent ACS hospitalisations in Ottawa. From a health care equity perspective, targeting these campaigns to neighbourhoods of low socio-economic status may contribute to closing the gap in ACS hospitalisations described in this current study. Reducing the socio-economic inequalities of neighbourhoods would also contribute to health equity.

There is a paucity of research juxtaposing parental education level and teacher emotional support in a single study which examines their relative impacts on students’ academic achievements. Therefore, the first objective of this dissertation is to study the influence of parental education level, in comparison to the influence of teacher emotional support, on students’ math performance, by using more representative data and a rigorous statistical method. The second objective is to identify and examine how some important psychological traits (both affective and cognitive) mediate the effects of social factors on students’ math performance. The third objective is to examine whether those relationships are moderated by gender. Hong Kong’s survey data is extracted from the Program of International Students Assessment (2003) as organized by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on the math performances of 4,478 students at the age of fifteen. Measurement invariance was first tested, and then followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Two structural models were tested by Structural Equation Modeling using Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) 8.5 which is computer software for SEM. Results indicated that first, parental education level affects children’s math scores by providing home education resources and enhancing children’s math self-efficacy, and second the Self Determination Theory is applicable in supporting the hypothesis that teachers affects their students’ math scores by providing a cooperative learning environment, which in turn, enhances students’ affective and cognitive factors. Three important mediators, namely cooperative learning environment, math self-efficacy, and home education resources are concluded as significant mediating factors upon the effects of parents and teachers on students’ math performance. The perceived support from parents and teachers are not significantly different across gender in Hong Kong. This is consistent with recent studies that differences favoring males in mathematics achievement are disappearing. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed in the final part of the dissertation.

This thesis answers the question of whether and to what extent the goals of PISA align with the Manitoba Government’s goals and priority action areas, and whether the published results of PISA 2012 provide information that addresses the Manitoba Government’s education goals and priority action areas, within the context of mathematics. This thesis provides a qualitative analysis of three PISA 2012 documents, and explores and compares Manitoba PISA 2012 achievement data to Manitoba grade 9 mathematics credit achievement data for English and Français program students, EAL and Aboriginal students to determine whether and to what extent the goals of PISA align with the goals and priority action areas of Manitoba Education and Training, and whether the published results of PISA 2012 provide information addressing the goals and priority action areas of Manitoba Education and Training, within the context of mathematics. / February 2017