The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is Florida's annual measure of student yearly academic progress with major implications for individual students and schools. The present study explored the inter-relationships among student background and reading performance indicators and the predictive utility of those variables as a means to identify students at risk for FCAT failure. The following indicators were incorporated into this study: student demographics (gender and socio-economic status), academic history (attendance rate and number of prior grade retentions), teacher-rated evaluation of student performance (student participation in Reading activities and Reading grade), and reading skill (decoding and oral reading fluency). Decoding and oral reading fluency were measured using the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) subtests (Good and Kaminski, 2002b), three months prior to FCAT administration. The student background and performance variables were first used in a multiple regression analysis to predict FCAT Reading achievement. Among these predictor variables, ORF, student's third quarter Reading grade, and SES were found to be statistically significant predictors of Reading FCAT-SSS scores. The strong correlation found between ORF and FCAT achievement in this study was congruent with results in previous studies, whereas the addition of Reading grade and SES as significant predictors of Reading FCAT-SSS scores were new findings in this study. Next, it was of interest to determine whether any of the aforementioned indicators also predicted ORF ability. Reading grade and NWF scores were both statistically significant predictors of ORF performance. Lastly, this study examined the utility of two risk models of Reading failure that use cutpoint guidelines for student performance on the DIBELS ORF subtest to determine risk level. These cutpoint models were applied to this data set to determine the usefulness of these models in identifying students who may be at risk for reading difficulty. Both models explored were moderately effective in identifying at-risk students. However, a three-category risk model (low, moderate, high) was determined to be of greatest assistance to educators for efficiency and ease. In conclusion, this author identified limitations inherent in the present study and offered recommendations for future research directions. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2006. / Date of Defense: February 24, 2006. / Grades, ORF, High Stakes Testing, DIBELS, CBM, Failure Risk / Includes bibliographical references. / Briley E. Proctor, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephanie Dent Al Otaiba, Outside Committee Member; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Gary Peterson, Committee Member.

Many post-secondary institutions now have programs for special admission considerations for students with learning disabilities (LD's). These programs review information to determine the eligibility of students with disabilities who may not otherwise meet minimum standards for admissions. This study examines the academic success of students with LD's admitted through a Special Admissions Committee (SAC) when compared to students admitted through the "normal" process. An analysis of documentation of 45 undergraduate students submitted to an SAC indicates that they have lower high school GPA's and lower standardized test scores than their non-LD counterparts, but have similar levels of success (as measured by comparing cumulative college GPA's, number of failed courses, and outcome status three semesters after matriculation). / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: November 8, 2004. / College success, college students, learning disabilities, special admissions / Includes bibliographical references. / Briley Proctor, Professor Directing Thesis; Frances Prevatt, Committee Member; Huijun Li, Committee Member.

Historically, public colleges and universities have been thought of as places where free speech and free inquiry abound. Institutional policy makers, however, have occasionally placed restrictions on student expression. When students have challenged these restrictions, courts have used public forum analysis to delineate the balance of student rights to free speech and the institution's right to self-governance. Using legal-historical research methods, this study traced the development of the public forum doctrine in the case law and its application to students in higher education. Employing Edward H. Levi's three-stage evolutionary theory on the development of a legal concept, the study concluded that the public forum doctrine had completed the first two stages, which involved creation, development and classification. The doctrine, however, has not lost its viability, which is Levi's final stage. Other conclusions of the study: 1) Institutions have broad authority to make regulations that are consistent with their missions. 2) Despite this authority, policy makers are constrained by First Amendment principles. 3) Forum analysis enables administrators to designate areas for student speech. 4) The protection of student speech on campus is influenced by the context of the speech. 5) Administrators may exercise the greatest control over campus areas characterized as closed fora. 6) Although, the distinction between designated and limited fora remains ambiguous, courts have begun to suggest differences. 7) Content-based and viewpoint-based regulations on public forum speech are disfavored. 8) Regulations on public forum speech must be narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest. 9) The judicial characterization of student publications as limited fora is undergoing legal challenge. 10) The conflict between the students' right to free expression and the public institutions' right to govern is dynamic and ongoing. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: March 16, 2007. / College Media, University Administration, Administration, Freedom of Expression, Colleges and Universities, Freedom of the Press, Free Speech Zones, Free Speech, College Press, First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Freedom of Speech, U.S. Supreme Court / Includes bibliographical references. / Joseph Beckham, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jay Rayburn, Outside Committee Member; Jeffrey Brooks, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

Primary studies are using complex models more and more. Slopes from multiple regression analyses are reported in primary studies, but few scholars have dealt with how to combine multiple regression slopes. One of the problems in combining multiple regression slopes is that each study may use a different regression model. The purpose of this research is to propose a method for combining partial regression slopes from studies with different regression models. The method combines comparable covariance matrices to obtain a synthetic partial slope. The proposed method assumes the population is homogeneous, and that the different regression models are nested. Elements in the sample covariance matrix are not independent of each other, so missing elements should be imputed using conditional expectations. The Bartlett decomposition is used to decompose the sample covariance matrix into a parameter component and a sampling error component. The proposed method treats the sample-size weighted average as a parameter matrix and applies Bartlett’s decomposition to the sample covariance matrices to get their respective error matrices. Since missing elements in the error matrix are not correlated, missing elements can be estimated in the error matrices and hence in the parameter matrices. Finally the partial slopes can be computed from the combined matrices. Simulation shows the suggested method gives smaller standard errors than the listwise-deletion method and the pairwise-deletion method. An empirical examination shows the suggested method can be applied to heterogeneous populations. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 17, 2017. / bartlett decomposition, cholesky decomposition, conditional covariance matrix, dependency in sample covariance matrix, meta-analysis, multiple regression analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Betsy Jane Becker, Professor Directing Dissertation; Fred Huffer, University Representative; Yanyun Yang, Committee Member; Insu Paek, Committee Member.

Aging is associated with a decline in cognitive and psychomotor functions, resulting in difficulties with daily activities such as driving. Cognitive function has been found to be associated with arterial stiffening. These age-related decrements can be mitigated through routine aerobic exercise. To determine the effects of life-long aerobic exercise on cognitive function, driving performance, and cardiovascular health (i.e., arterial stiffness and thickness) among older adults (65 – 84 years old). A cross-sectional design was utilized to compare 27 endurance-trained older adults with 35 sedentary counterparts. Driving performance and cognitive function were measured via driving simulator and a cognitive battery, respectively. Cardiovascular health was assessed via a perceptually-regulated exercise test, carotid-intima media thickness (IMT) via Doppler ultrasound, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV). Fitness comparisons were made using an independent sample t-test. Cognitive function and driving performance scores were transformed to Z-scores. VO2max was higher in the endurance-trained group compared to the sedentary group (41±9 vs 25±3 ml/kg/min, p<.01). There were no differences between the groups in cf-PWV (12±2 vs. 12±2 m/s), carotid-IMT (.74±.15 vs .76±.13 mm), nor cognitive function scores (-.01±.57 vs -.09±.97). However, the endurance-trained group performed better on the driving simulator (.18±.58 vs -.28±.92, p<.05). Enhanced cardiorespiratory fitness may mitigate age-related decrements to driving performance. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 8, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Gershon Tenenbaum, Professor Directing Dissertation; Lynn Panton, University Representative; Graig Michael Chow, Committee Member; Yanyun Yang, Committee Member.

Injury in sport is a frequent occurrence that often causes athletes to experience stress, frustration, anger, depression, and pain. Mindfulness practice has shown to be efficacious in reducing stress and pain, while improving well-being. Despite this, there is limited research investigating the effects of mindfulness-based interventions with injured athletes. In the current study, the Mindfulness Meditation Training for Sport 2.0 (MMTS 2.0; Baltzell, Caraballo, Chipman, & Hayden, 2014) was implemented and evaluated with three high school female athletes. Utilizing a nonconcurrent multiple baseline among subjects design, participants completed measures of pain, stress, well-being, self-compassion, and mindfulness throughout the intervention. Two participants improved in mindfulness and self-compassion relative to baseline levels. The same two participants also reported reductions in pain and stress, and improvements in psychological well-being subscales autonomy and self-acceptance. Improvements in mindfulness and self-compassion corresponded with adherence to between-session meditation exercises. The participant with the lowest adherence reported reductions in mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being, and did not complete post-intervention follow-up assessment. Overall, results were mixed and should be interpreted with caution. Future research should continue to evaluate the impact of mindfulness and self-compassion interventions like the MMTS 2.0 with injured athletes to determine its utility. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester 2017. / November 14, 2017. / Injury, Meditation, Mindfulness, Pain, Rehabilitation, Self-Compassion / Includes bibliographical references. / Graig Michael Chow, Professor Directing Thesis; Gershon Tenenbaum, Committee Member; Angela Canto, Committee Member.

Education researchers are exploring how well-designed video games can be used to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities known as game-based learning (GBL). Current American students are not receiving adequate exposure to authentic ill-structured problem-solving scenarios in their classrooms, and schools need to address the acquisition of problem-solving skills for students in the 21st century (Shute & Wang, 2016). The present study investigated the impact of two distinct types of video gameplay, one roleplaying (Warcraft) and one brain training game (CogniFit) on students’ problem-solving skills over the course of two semesters. Students playing Warcraft significantly improved the rule application component of problem-solving skill on the posttest compared to students playing CogniFit. Implications for future studies on GBL are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2017. / September 20, 2017. / Includes bibliographical references. / Valerie Shute, Professor Directing Dissertation; Walter Richard Boot, University Representative; Vanessa P. Dennen, Committee Member; Fengfeng Ke, Committee Member.

<p> The gap between our current understanding of child development and public policies related to the early childhood education workforce continues to grow (Shonkoff, 2002). This gap may lead to the hiring of individuals who are not equipped with a foundation of child development theories which is fundamental to meeting the needs of children in the early childhood range (birth through age eight). The purpose of this study is to examine the recommendations regarding early childhood standards for preparation programs both from the literature and pre-service teacher preparation programs as found in certification/credentialing programs of early childhood pre-service teachers. </p><p> Early childhood education teacher preparation is key to building a successful foundation for future academic success for young learners (Mooney, 2013). Gordon &amp; Browne (2017) noted that becoming a professional teacher takes time, knowledge, training, and experience. Teacher preparation standards &ldquo;are intended to ensure that teachers have the skills necessary to help children master the prescribed content&rdquo; (Feeney, 2012, p. 40). Many theorists, such as Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky provide us with their findings on the importance of early childhood development (Mooney, 2013). Teachers in early childhood education should build upon these theories and apply them in their classrooms. When newly graduated teachers are in classrooms with ten or more students, they need to have the ability to connect with their students and an understanding about how their students learn and grow.</p><p>

<p> This multi-method qualitative study explored <i>why, how</i>, and <i>in what contexts</i> a group of Philadelphia teachers engaged in grassroots organizing (McAlevey, 2016). At a time when educators across the country are increasingly participating in bottom-up, grassroots movements seeking more democratic visions of education reform, this critically bifocal (Weis &amp; Fine, 2012) project situated the motivations and activities of these teacher-organizers within the larger neoliberal context of the city and school district of Philadelphia. Drawing on narrative inquiry (Chase, 2005; Connely &amp; Clandinin, 1990), critical place inquiry (Massey, 1993; Massey, 1994) and ethnography (Vargas, 2008), this dissertation provides insight into the understandings and experiences of the teachers as well as the tangible means by which they engaged in grassroots organizing in the challenging environment of Philadelphia. </p><p> More specifically, teachers of this inquiry were found to be embodying the two key elements of Freire&rsquo;s (1970) definition of praxis, &ldquo;<i> reflection</i> and <i>action</i> upon the world in order to transform it&rdquo; (p. 70, emphasis added). Pairing activities centered on learning and reflection (e.g. book groups) with activities centered on taking action and seeking change (e.g. policy campaigns), the dual elements of praxis played an essential role in actualizing McAlevey&rsquo;s (2016) model of grassroots organizing within the teachers&rsquo; work.</p><p>

The purpose of this investigation was to explore a contextual intervention of effective college advising programs for ethnic minority students that helps them acquire the skills and personal dispositions necessary to apply to, get into, and stay at selective colleges and universities. Utilizing a regression analysis, this analytical study examined 199 low-income minority high school students in a contextual college intervention program from 2014 to 2015. The central hypothesis being tested was that intervention programs that were successful at getting lower income ethnic minority youth to apply to, get into, and stay at selective colleges and universities attract and maintain students with higher levels of personal factors, especially factors of resilience such as motivation, grit, and perseverance. The research questions sought to examine the relationship between effective college advising programs for minority, low-income students (contextual intervention) and what social and emotional or resilient skills (personal factors) their students possess to become college and career ready, and whether possessing these skills differentiates those students who are accepted into highly selective colleges from those who are accepted to less selective colleges. A growing body of research demonstrates that admittance to selective colleges often leads to increased social status, higher income, and improved job opportunities. It has been demonstrated that getting into a highly selective college matters. Caucasian and minority students alike who graduate from highly selective colleges experience increased lifetime earnings and prestige (Bowen, 1998, Avery, 2003). A total of 199 minority high school student participants were surveyed during their senior year in high school. Survey items were drawn from Solberg’s Success Model Survey (2007) and Duckworth’s Grit Model (2007). Duckworth validated a self-report questionnaire called the Grit Scale where “Grit” is defined as trait-level perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Solberg’s Success Model Survey is a composite of several scales: Career Search Self-Efficacy, Goal-Setting, and Motivation to Attend School; Academic Self-Efficacy; and Social Connections. (Sample survey questions in Table section.) The dataset also included participant demographic data, program participation information, and college admit results. This investigation tested Coleman’s (2006) Minority Student Achievement Model to demonstrate that significant personal factors including academic ability, diligent use of resources, perseverance, and strategic involvement in youth development initiatives, combined with a successful college contextual intervention, were significant indicators regarding increased admittance to selective colleges.