The purpose of this study is to examine, gain, and ultimately share an understanding of certain cognitive differences, similarities, intelligence patterns, and preferences between competent monolingual (English) and multicompetent bilingual/multilingual first-year composition (FYC) college students. Within this project is an attempt to address the following questions: Do monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students show different strengths and weaknesses in their cognitive abilities? Are there learning preferences and literacy differences or similarities between monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students? Primarily, two cognitive concepts were used in this examination to provide perspectives and quantitative data in response to the above questions. First, is Vivian Cook’s (1992, 1999) multicompetence theory, which involves cognitive differences between monolingual (L1) and bilingual/multilingual (L2/L3) speakers/users; and second, Howard Gardner’s (1999, 2004, 2006) multiple intelligences (MI) theory, whereby two types of MI assessments were used to study any such differences and similarities among FYC students. To fulfill the requirements for this particular thesis, included is a conference proposal (abstract), a conference paper, and a publishable scholarly article. The necessary charts, graphs, tables, and appendices are provided, accordingly.

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This thesis investigates student-identified benefits of residential learning communities. It is a qualitative study involving matriculates living on campus who participate in Freshman Connections at Ball State University. Past assessment of the program includes faculty, residence hall director, and student surveys investigating their experiences and feedback. The literature reflects creation and implementation of living and learning communities, benefits for students, faculty and universities, and retention outcomes. The researcher used focus groups in the research design and analyzed the data by extracting relevant themes. The findings are discussed within the following themes: student knowledge of the Freshman Connections program; adjustment to Ball State University, and college, academic and interpersonal benefits of learning communities; and relationships among students and faculty. The conclusion includes discussion of how student adjustment to Ball State University and college was affected by assignment of students to the same courses and residence hall. Academic relationships among faculty and students are also explored along with discussion concerning students' overall experience in the Freshman Connections program. Finally, suggestions for further research are presented. / Department of Educational Leadership

Each new student arriving at the university or college brings an assortment of expectations, different types and levels of academic competency, different levels of psychological well-being, a variety of attitudes, values and divergent life experiences. Each adjusts at his or her own rate and experiences life as a student in unique ways. The focus of this study is on the problems that are encountered by the first year student on arrival at the institution and throughout the course of his or her first year studies. Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods that include work-shopping many issues, a questionnaire and focus group interviews, this triangulation of data-collection techniques has helped to provide a rich and deep exploration of the perceived problem areas. The study examines various factors that are perceived as limiting the potential performance and achievement of the student, specifically academic aspects and those factors and circumstances that affect psychological well-being. The psycho-educational issues found to be perceived as problematic by both students and staff members are a lack of preparation and insufficient academic competencies that are necessary for successful tertiary education. Of critical concern with the resultant necessity of immediate intervention, are the lack of accountability and a fear of failure with concomitant anxiety. Issues other than psycho-educational problem areas are highlighted such as economic and social variables. Although not part of the study, issues such as lack of finance and the impact of HIV/AIDS cannot be ignored as they may have a possible detrimental effect on first year student achievement. As academic competency development and psychological well-being are but two areas of concern within the gestalt of student development, the study is conducted from a theoretical stance that embraces holistic student development. It is in this light of developing the student as a totality that an intervention programme is suggested, affording the new student many opportunities to develop all facets of his being. / Faculty of Education / D. Ed.

A elitização da universidade pública brasileira é a preocupação central desta investigação. Com os programas de inclusão social, tem-se possibilitado maior representatividade de alunos em condições socioeconômicas desfavoráveis nestas instituições. Na Universidade de São Paulo USP, locus escolhido para esta pesquisa, o Programa de Inclusão Social INCLUSP, desde 2007, tem favorecido a entrada de alunos que cursaram todo o ensino médio em escolas públicas, majoritariamente constituída por alunos em condições menos favorecidas da sociedade brasileira. Teve-se como objetivo trazer elementos que possibilitassem pensar a docência universitária no sentido de favorecer trajetórias acadêmicas de sucesso destes alunos, entendidas como possibilidade de formação profissional, científica e política, função que atribuímos à universidade pública, que se entende concretizar-se na promoção do ensino profissional indissociado da pesquisa e da extensão. Para tanto, realizou-se a coleta de dados por meio de dois questionários abertos, respondidos por escrito pelos sujeitos, em momentos diversos. Com o primeiro questionário buscou-se identificar dificuldades de alunos ingressantes que cursaram todo o ensino médio comum em escolas públicas. Na segunda etapa, intentou-se perceber a permanência ou não das dificuldades apontadas no ano seguinte ao ingresso e a forma como os sujeitos lidavam com estas dificuldades. A coleta de dados ocorreu em três cursos da USP que apresentaram maiores índices de evasão de alunos que cursaram o ensino médio comum público, entendida como uma forma de exclusão. Foram identificadas como principais dificuldades acadêmicas, que se constituem em entraves a uma trajetória de sucesso: a exiguidade do tempo e sua má gestão; a opção por uma abordagem superficial de aprendizagem; a quantidade e complexidade dos conteúdos; o desânimo frente a situações de insucesso; dificuldades de convivência acadêmica. A partir do estudo foi possível apontar como demandas à docência a necessidade de reflexões sobre a função social da universidade e sobre a baixa representatividade de alunos em condições socioeconômicas desfavoráveis, especialmente, nos cursos mais prestigiados; identificar e refletir sobre as dificuldades dos ingressantes, tendo-se em conta a diversidade entre os cursos e entre os sujeitos-alunos; considerar aspectos relativos à gestão do tempo como conteúdos de ensino, versando sobre o como e o que estudar e aprender considerando que estes se encontram em processo de afiliação e de construção de novas formas de se relacionar com o saber; de repensar sobre as funções das atividades avaliativas, a organização do currículo e de atividades de aprendizagem e, a importância do professor criar possibilidades ou atividades que favoreçam a convivência acadêmica, contribuindo para integração e afiliação do ingressante. Tais demandas indicariam a necessidade de uma formação contínua de professores universitários, especialmente pela exigência de pouca ou nenhuma formação pedagógica para a docência neste nível de ensino, no sentido da formação de docentes reflexivos no âmbito do conceito de desenvolvimento profissional docente, favorecendo a constituição de bases pedagógicas para que o professor tenha referências mais amplas para sustentar o trabalho de ensinar. / The concentration of Brazilian public universities on the elite is the central concern of this research. Inclusion programs have provided the possibility of a greater representation of students in unfavorable socioeconomic conditions in these institutions. At the University of São Paulo USP, chosen locus for this research, the inclusion program INCLUSP, has, since 2007, favored the admission of students who studied their entire high school in public schools, which, in Brazil, are majorly composed of students in societys less favorable conditions. An objective of this research is to provide elements that promote university teaching in the sense of favoring a successful academic career for these students, which is understood as the possibility of professional, scientific and political education, role which we attribute to public universities and is perceived to be realized by the promulgation of professional teaching coalesced with research and extension. For that purpose, data was collected through two open questionnaires, which were answered in writing by the subjects of this research at different moments. The first questionnaire looked to identify the main difficulties that freshmen students who attended public high schools have in their first year at the university. The second stage sought to establish whether the difficulties brought up during the first stage lasted through the year following the subjects admission or not, and how they had dealt with these difficulties. The data collection occurred in three courses of the University of São Paulo which presented lower retention of students who attended public high schools, which is interpreted as a form of exclusion. The main academic difficulties that were identified, which constitute barriers to a successful trajectory, were: the exiguity of time and its bad management; the choice of a superficial approach to schooling; the quantity and complexity of contents; the frustration when confronted with unsuccessful situations; and difficulties with academic daily life. From the study it was possible to extract as demands of the teachers the necessities: of reflecting about the social function of the university and the low representation of students in unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, especially in more prestigious courses; of identifying and reflecting about difficulties freshmen students have, keeping in mind the differences between courses and subjects-students; of considering aspects of time management as teaching contents, emphasizing how and what to study and learn considering that the students are in a process of affiliation and construction of new forms of relating to knowledge; of rethinking about: the function of evaluative activities, how the curriculum and the learning activities are organized and the importance of the professor creating possibilities and activities that favor the academic daily life, contributing to the affiliation and integration of the newcomer. Such demands indicate the need of continuous development of university professors, especially due to the low requirement of pedagogical formation of teachers in this level of teaching, as to create reflective teachers, favoring the construction of pedagogical bases so that the professor has more ample references to support the work of teaching.

The problem of this study was to examine the effect of text structure and signaling devices on immediate and delayed recalls of freshman Arabic-speaking students after reading a text. Subjects for the study were forty-five freshman Arabic-speaking students enrolled in three freshman English courses at a state university. All subjects were male students. The subjects-were chosen on a voluntary basis. The subjects were given the Reading Comprehension Section of the TOEFL. They were then divided into groups of good, average, and poor readers according to their performance on the TOEFL. Two well—organized passages of expository text with clearly identifiable top-level structure of problem/solution and appropriate reading levels were selected for the study. Two versions of each passage were adapted — one with the signaling devices included in the passage and the other with the signaling devices deleted. Each subject read one version of each of the two passages. The immediate and delayed recalls of the subjects were scored by an unbiased scorer. The scorer was an expert teacher of English to foreign students. Hypothesis I stated that good readers would be able to utilize the writer's rhetorical mode of the text at a significantly higher level than average and poor readers. This hypothesis was supported. The results of Chi square analysis was significant at the .03 level for immediate recall, and at the .01 level for the delayed recall. Hypothesis II stated that readers of each of the three groups who followed the original rhetorical mode of the text would recall significantly more information than those who failed to do so. This hypothesis was also supported. The results of the Two-way Analysis of Variance were significant at the .01 level for both immediate and delayed recalls. Hypothesis III stated that the students of all three groups would recall significantly more information from the passage with signaling devices than from the passage without signaling devices. This hypothesis was not supported. Signaling devices helped good and average readers to recall significantly more information, while the group of poor readers was not affected by the presence of these signaling devices. The findings suggest that training non-native speakers in identifying and utilizing different rhetorical structures might facilitate their reading comprehension. There is also a parallel need in writing instruction so that writers can . offer this facility to their readers.

One purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year with outcomes of students who were not part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year. Student outcomes are defined for this study to include attendance, promotion rate to 10th grade on time, in-school suspension assignments, Algebra I End-of-Course exam scores, and English I End-of-Course exam scores. The second purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year with outcomes of 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year. 10th grade student outcomes are defined for this study to include attendance, promotion rate to 11th grade on time, and in-school suspension assignments. Data were collected from a high school located in Western North Carolina over a period of 4 years (2007 - 2011). Independent samples t-tests and one-way Chi Square analyses were used to make comparisons for each outcome of the study. Based on the findings of this study, the promotion rate of 9th grade students to 10th grade on time increased after the implementation of the 9th grade academy. In-school suspension assignments for 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year were also less when compared to those of 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy. Ninth and 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy tended to have more absences than 9th and 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy. Little difference was found in the other outcomes of the study.

The purpose of the study was to identify which factors are most closely related to academic success during the freshman year for low socioeconomic students in one urban high school. This was an ex post facto study conducted in one urban high school in East Tennessee. The subjects were students enrolled in the 9th grade during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 academic school years. Low socioeconomic students were divided into 2 groups based on academic performance during their freshman year of high school. Students with GPAs of 2.5 or higher were classified as higher performing, low socioeconomic status (HLSES). Students with GPAs of 2.4 or lower were considered lower performing, low socioeconomic status (LLSES). The higher achieving group contained 85 students; the lower achieving group had 292 students. Relationships between 9 predictor variables (ethnicity, gender, involvement in extra curricular activities, scores on 7th grade TCAP reading-language arts and mathematics tests, number of out of school suspension days, literacy scores, mobility rates, and attendance) were examined across the 2 groups. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare the 2 groups with regard to involvement in extracurricular activities, gender, and ethnicity. All remaining quantitative predictor variables were compared using independent t tests. Two sets of multiple regressions were conducted, 1 for the higher performing group and 1 for the lower performing group, to determine which of the predictor variables had the strongest relationship to students' GPAs. From the higher performing group, 10 students were interviewed to uncover the factors they credited as having the biggest impact on their academic success during their freshman year. Significance was found for 8 of the 9 predictor variables. Student mobility was the only non-significant factor between the groups. None of the variables had a significant relationship to the higher performing groups' GPA. Four variables, gender, number of suspension days, number of days absent, and involvement in extracurricular activities were significantly related to students' GPA in the lower performing group. Self-discipline, determination, and guidance from an adult to help them stay focused were the main factors cited for academic success by students during their freshman year.

The intent of this study was to identify subgroups within the college population having a heightened risk for eating disorders. The information for this analysis was retrieved from an existing data set. The two variables that were compared were self selection of college major at the initial collection during freshman year. The sample size of 1,924 was used to see if subgroups of college majors had a heightened risk. Twenty groups composed of similar majors were studied. The majors of Dance, Dietetics, Physical Education, and Communications had heightened risk according to analysis percentage of each group in the clinical range on the Eating Attitudes Test-40 (EAT-40), EAT-40 mean, and/or EAT-40 median. Results indicate that Dance, Dietetic, Physical Education, and Communications would merit additional resources to prevent eating disorders at the college level.

Each year more international students enroll in American universities, and administrators nationwide must determine how to meet students' unique writing needs. Compared to similar institutions of higher learning, Brigham Young University (BYU) has a large percentage of international students—4.3 percent of the student body, approximately 2,000 students each year from 112 countries. Prior to Fall 2004, international students were placed in courses offered through the English composition program, which focuses on "mainstream" college writers who compose in their first language (L1) and not on second language writers and their unique needs. As a result, many international students did poorly and often failed their general education freshman writing requirement. The Department of Linguistics and English Language at BYU offers some English as a Second Language (ESL) courses in an effort to prepare students for freshman writing, but since these courses are electives and do not count towards the university general education requirement, many students opt not to take them. International students need a viable alternative to the "mainstream" freshman writing course. They need a course in academic literacy, combining the rhetorical and composition elements of a freshman writing course as well as the multicultural and applied linguistic elements of writing. The needs of writers need to be discussed and met through a balanced, interdisciplinary approach. Under the direction of the Department of Linguistics and English Language, I developed a course based upon an interdisciplinary approach to second language writing and academic literacy. I researched the needs of second language writing students, evaluated current ESL programs nationwide, created, implemented, and evaluated a curriculum for an international freshman writing course. It is a course in academic literacy, called Elang 105, which was specifically designed to meet the needs of international students and is now one of the general education (GE) first year writing options at BYU.