Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-178).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Duquesne University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-298) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1996. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 23, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker, Kenneth H. Strand (co-chairs), Sarah Booth, Anita H. Lupo. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-90) and abstract. Also available in print.

xi, 69 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Research has identified the construct of student engagement as an antecedent to positive academic outcomes. In this study, the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) was administered to 371 9th grade students at a comprehensive high school to measure the cognitive and affective engagement of students. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on the 35-item SEI with best model fit matching previous research in which a five-factor model was found. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were then utilized to explore the relationships among cognitive and affective engagement and student achievement and behavioral outcomes. Findings generally supported the significance of the student engagement subtypes of cognitive and affective engagement in predicting educational outcomes. Results suggest that further study of the affective and cognitive subtypes and their development over the course of a student's education would enhance the understanding of the student engagement construct and lead to the development of interventions to mediate the effects of these subtypes. / Committee in charge: Edward Kameenui, Chairperson, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Keith Zvoch, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Keith Hollenbeck, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Robert Davis, Outside Member, Romance Languages

No description available.

This study investigated the effects of technology education, science, and mathematics (TSM) curriculum integration on the technological problem-solving ability of eighth grade technology education students. The researcher used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design to compare the performance of students receiving correlated TSM integration to those not receiving integration in an adapted Technology, Science, Mathematics Integration Project Activity (LaPorte & Sanders, 1993). The students were to design, construct, and evaluate wind collectors to generate electricity. The collectors were mounted on a generator for the pretest and posttest measurements. The measure for treatment effect was the output wattage of the generator for each student's wind collector. The samples were drawn from middle schools that had two technology education teachers in the same school, each teaching eighth graders. The pilot study sample (N = 51) was selected from a middle school in rural south-central Virginia. The study sample (N = 33) was selected from a middle school in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia. Treatment group technology education teachers employed echnological problem solving, and they correlated instruction of key concepts with science and mathematics teachers using the adapted TSM Integration Activity. The control group technology education teachers did not correlate instruction with science and mathematics teachers. There was no significant difference between the treatment and control groups for technological problem solving. Evidence suggested that students were applying science and mathematics concepts. The researcher concluded that TSM curriculum integration may promote the application of science and mathematics concepts to technological problem solving and does not hinder the technological problem-solving ability of eighth technology education students. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between career education and the career maturity of eighth-grade students as measured by the Attitude Scale and the Competence Test of the Career Maturity Inventory. A posttest only experimental design was used for the study. The subjects were selected from a population of eighth-grade students in a suburban school district in north central Texas and randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment group had a career education class for forty-five minutes each day for eighteen weeks. The control group selected an additional elective. Multiple t tests were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The hypotheses were grouped into the areas of maturity of career attitudes, maturity of career competencies, sex and career maturity, school and career maturity, and teacher and career maturity.

The purpose of this research was to study the implementation of a professional learning community comprised of one group of third-grade teachers in a Florida elementary school where the emphasis was on research-based practices in the teaching of mathematics. Investigated were the growth of teachers‟ content knowledge in mathematics, specifically in the areas of multiplication and division, and the effects of their professional learning within their classrooms. Specifically this study looked at whether or not the participation of a group of third grade teachers in a professional learning community PLC improved the mathematical content knowledge of the participants of the study. This research design called for the research to be conducted in three phases. In Phase I, the researcher interviewed all participants using a researcher-designed interview guide. A researcher-adapted survey, based upon previously released items Ball (2008) was administered as a pre-test of mathematical content knowledge,. In Phase II of the study, the researcher documented the activities that occurred within a 10-week long professional learning community (PLC) of third-grade teachers. In Phase III of the research, a post-study interview was conducted with each of the participants by an independent observer to elicit participants‟ perceptions and observations based on their participation in the PLC. A post-test of content knowledge was also administered to the participants. Several themes were identified in the research study. These themes led to recommendations for practice and future research. Themes were related to the lack of iv mathematical understanding experienced by some teachers and the lack of professional development specifically related to mathematics, the value of the professional learning community, and the benefits of sharing current research and best practices. During this study, the participants were able to read and share examples of research-based best practices in mathematics, and participants then used this new information and additional mathematics content knowledge in their classrooms in teaching their students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the performance of Title I third grade students in a central Florida School District differed on tests administered under timed and untimed conditions. Further examined was the literature on reasons for the achievement gap which centered around seven different themes: (a) standardized testing, (b) achievement gap data and identified factors (c) deficit theory, (d) cultural mismatch theory, (e) extended time accommodations, (f) test anxiety and stress, and (g) timed versus untimed tests. Six Title I schools participated in this study by assigning 194 students to take the 2006 Released FCAT Reading Test under either timed or untimed conditions. Although there were no interactions between the covariates and testing conditions, those who were in the free or reduced lunch program or were in exceptional education programs had lower FCAT scores than those who were not. However, when school was included as a moderator, there was a statistically significant interaction between testing conditions and schools on FCAT scores indicating that the relationship between testing conditions and FCAT scores varied for each individual school. A factorial ANCOVA was conducted, and it was found that the mean differences between students who took the timed and untimed 2006 FCAT Reading Test varied from school to school after accounting for the covariates. For two schools, those students who took the untimed tests scored higher than those who took the timed tests. In contrast, those students who took the untimed tests scored lower than those students who took the iv timed test for one of the schools. There was no statistically significant difference for three of the schools. A factorial MANCOVA was used to compare reading performance on the 2006 Reading FCAT between the timed and untimed groups on domain specific tests. The relationship between testing condition and FCAT scores for each domain specific test varied depending on the individual school. Therefore, it could not be concluded from these analyses that testing conditions would consistently result in increases or decreases of student performance on standardized domain specific tests.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Technology: Language Practice, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / The literacy levels in South African schools are alarmingly low. Educators are challenged in diverse classrooms with multicultural and multilingual learners as they are faced with the problems that these learners are experiencing in literacy. Educators therefore need to be able to adapt their teaching strategies to suit the needs of their learners to address learners’ different learning needs and styles. This study investigated the use of adapted teaching strategies used by grade 3 educators in literacy in selected schools in northern KwaZulu-Natal. A mixed methods research design was used which included the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to gather data. The findings which were linked to the literature review revealed that educators lacked adequate knowledge and skills to adapt their teaching strategies as they have not been adequately trained to teach literacy within multilingual contexts. Although some educators were using adapted teaching strategies they were not using them effectively in their multilingual classrooms while some educators did not have a wellstructured intervention programme at school to deal with learners who were experiencing problems with literacy. Inexperienced educators also had problems identifying learning styles and adapting their teaching strategies. This study found that teachers require continual professional development to enable them to effectively adapt their teaching strategies to suit individual learning needs and styles.