Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-102).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

<p> This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of co-taught inclusion classrooms, using a case study design with descriptive and inferential statistics and survey data. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not students with mild/moderate disabilities experience greater academic growth from participating in full inclusion co-taught classrooms, than in non-co-taught inclusion classes. Research analysis was based on quantifiable data: summative or benchmark assessments, SRI tests, grades, attendance, discipline records, and survey data. This study focused on seventh- and eighth- grade co-taught inclusion classes containing students with mild/moderate disabilities at one junior high school within a large urban school district. The results indicated that co-taught students with mild/moderate disabilities demonstrated significantly greater growth than non-co-taught students with mild/moderate disabilities. The statistical analysis was supported by triangulating student attendance, grades, discipline records, and survey responses.</p>

<p> This study examines parents of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) children in Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings within a school in the Northeastern United States. School districts have created programs to seek feedback from the parents of ASD students to improve disconnect and confusion. The study examines the parent point of view on the IEP meetings and seeks to gain information from the parents to improve a disconnection or confusion they may be feeling. The information secured in the research provided vital information for both parents and the School District to sustain or improve the overall interactions within the IEP team. The research data focused on the experiences of the parents. The research had completed 5 interviews and 26 questionnaires to gain study information. The parents felt secure and comfortable when teachers and special education staff included them in the meeting process. The parents felt lost, confused, and insignificant when communication was not used in the meetings. The study recommends workshops, training, and education to improve communication. The study recommends transparency, workload mapping, and accountability to improve the parent and teacher relationship. The study is a unique process which gives the parents a sounding board and a voice.</p>

<p> Public safety organizations in rural communities often face unique challenges during an emergency response that differ from their metropolitan counterparts. Despite implementation of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in 2004 to better facilitate collaboration among local, state, and federal emergency response partners, many rural communities have had difficulty complying with the policy. Using a case study design, the current study considers the successful collaborative response to the 2012 Chardon, Ohio, high school shooting within the context of three foundational theories: meta-leadership, structural functionalism, and social constructivism. The perspective of the successful response comes from 10 public safety response personnel who worked for organizations in Northeast Ohio and who responded to or were familiar with the collaborative response to the 2012 shooting incident. The findings from the study consider the unique challenges faced by the Chardon emergency response community and identify the benefits of pre-disaster preparedness training as recommended by NIMS, the need to build relationships through informal channels, and, most importantly, that alternative approaches to NIMS may be necessary in small communities that lack resources or have other inherent challenges. </p>

<p> The purpose of this concurrent embedded mixed methods study is considered three-fold: (1) to analyze prior research in order to develop a reform, reculturing, and sustainability survey; (2) to inform schools as to best practices; and (3) to offer a conceptual model for sustaining reculturing and school reform efforts. The study addressed the analysis and validation of data from the Wallace Foundation School Turnaround Evaluation Grant in which three surveys were created and administered in conjunction with a Wallace Foundation evaluation pilot study conducted by contracted university personnel from University of Louisiana at Lafayette: (1) School Turnaround Principal Pilot Study, (2) School Turnaround Leadership Team Pilot Study, and the (3) Teacher Turnaround School Culture Pilot Survey. </p><p> When the principal and leadership team surveys were re-analyzed, the researcher focused on five competencies: (1) Data-Driven Planning and Decision Making, (2) Driving for Results, (3) Influencing for Results, (4) Problem Solving, and (5) Showing Confidence to Lead. Descriptive statistics for each of the teacher survey items was conducted to provide a snapshot of how Louisiana public school teachers in low performing schools felt about the culture in their schools and how they preferred it to be. The researcher used exploratory factor analysis to validate and determine the latent structure of the teacher culture survey for which two factors, <i>Leadership and Vision</i> and <i>Professional Commitment and Collaboration,</i> emerged. </p><p> The analysis of qualitative data from related interviews yielded five themes to represent reculturing and/or sustainability of reform efforts: (1) Principal Leadership, (2) Professional Teacher Teams, (3) Deliberate Use of Data, (4) Strategic and Instructionally Focused Planning, and (5) Care and Concern for Students. </p><p> The factor analysis and triangulation of the collective data allowed the researcher to prepare a revised survey instrument, the <i>Reculturing for Reform and Sustainability Survey,</i> for schools to administer to teachers to learn about the teacher&rsquo;s perceptions in regards to the school&rsquo;s culture as they sustain best practices. Given at regular intervals, the survey would serve as a reculturing gauge as the school is undergoing reform. Major findings and implications for theory and practice, educational leadership, and future research.</p>

<p>Service-learning, with a longstanding history in American higher education (Burkhardt &amp; Pasque, 2005), includes three key tenets: superior academic learning, meaningful and relevant community service, and persistent civic learning (McGoldrick and Ziegert, 2002). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created an elective classification system&mdash;Carnegie Community Engagement Classification&mdash;for institutions of higher education to demonstrate the breadth and depth of student involvement and learning through partnerships and engagement in the community (Dalton &amp; Crosby, 2011; Hurtado &amp; DeAngelo, 2012; Kuh et al., 2008; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos, &amp; Korn, 2007). Community engagement &ldquo;is in the culture, commonly understood practices and knowledge, and (CCEC helps determine) whether it is really happening&mdash;rhetoric versus reality&rdquo; (J. Saltmarsh, personal communication, August 11, 2014). The study considers the applications of three Carnegie Community Engagement Classification designated institutions to understand the institutionalization of service-learning over time by examining the 2008 designation and 2015 reclassification across institution types&mdash;a Private Liberal Arts College, a Private Teaching University, and a Public Research University located in the same metropolitan area. Organizational Change Theory was used as a theoretical model. Case study methodology was used in the present qualitative research to perform document analysis with qualitative interviews conducted to elucidate the data from the 2008 and 2015 CCEC applications from the three institutions. Using intra- and inter-comparative analysis, this study highlights approaches, policies, ethos, and emerging concepts to inform how higher education institutions increase the quality and quantity of service-learning opportunities that benefit higher education practitioners as well as community leaders. </p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes of trained and untrained school administrators toward inclusive education initiatives. The &ldquo;Principal&rsquo;s Inclusion Survey,&rdquo; developed by Cindy Praisner and G.H. Stainback, was distributed electronically to 3,250 school administrators in the southeast region of the United States and a quantitative study approach using a convenience sampling methodology was used to test the research hypotheses. In this study, the following research question was answered: What is the difference in the attitudes toward inclusion of school administrators who are trained in special education compared to school administrators who are not trained in special education? The following research hypotheses were the primary focus of the research: H1 There is a difference in the special education attitudes of school administrators who are trained in special education compared to school administrators who are not trained in special education toward inclusive education initiatives. H0 There is no difference in the special education attitudes of school administrators who are trained in special education compared to school administrators who are not trained in special education toward inclusive education initiatives. The results of the study indicated that there is no difference between trained and untrained administrators&rsquo; attitudes toward inclusive education initiatives based on their special education training. Therefore, the analyses of the data resulted in failure to reject the null hypothesis. Implications for practice based on the results of this study can be applied to university administrator training programs, school district administrators, educational leaders, and state and federal departments of education. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore the educational perceptions of Mexican parents living in the United States and how their experiences gestate Mexican student concepts of education. Additionally, the study explores the high drop-out rate among Mexican students enrolled in U.S. public education, the consequences the drop-out rate has on U.S. society, and the history and culture of Mexico that formed the environment in which Mexican parents lived their experiences. The study was administered using a qualitative, empirical, phenomenological methodology using in-depth interviews. The study sample consisted of six native Mexican parents with students enrolled in an urban school district in Utah. Data was collected using an interpreter, originally from Mexico, literate in English and Spanish. The in-depth interviews were recorded and translated, then transcribed using Dragon voice recognition software. The qualitative data was then analyzed for this study.</p><p> Two major themes were identified in the study. The leading theme ascertained within the data indicated gender roles of <i>machismo</i> and <i> marianismo</i>, as influenced by cultural proclivity, dominate family life, which is the basis of Mexican existence. The second dominant theme showed a narrow worldview inculcated by a group- or family-oriented life world experience. Recommendations to address the identified themes in the study are provided. </p>

<p> Colleges of Nursing are attempting to identify and admit those students most likely to succeed and graduate. Multiple variables have been tested in various combinations to select students who will create the workforce to address the nursing needs of the 21^st century. The purpose of this study was to answer the research question of whether a relationship exists between pre-admission metrics and post-graduation board exams. The conceptual orientation of the study originated from Systems Theory, and a new theoretical model was created to address the interdependencies of the variables. A retrospective, correlational study design with a sample size of 367 records baccalaureate nursing graduates from a College of Nursing was used. Data collection from student records spanned over a four-year period. Six hypotheses were tested using correlational analyses measured by point biserial correlations, Chi-square analysis, and logistic regression. Remediation and length of program were not significant predictors of student success. Significant findings were found between scores on ATI^&reg; Comprehensive Predictor and first time pass rates on the NCLEX RN^&reg;.</p><p> Recommendations were provided to inspire future research in MLA pedagogy to promote student success. Key words: nontraditional pedagogy, mastery learning approach, systems based theory, overall GPA score, TEAS score, interview score, ATI CARP, remediation</p>