The purpose of the study was to determine at the school district level, what relationships exist, if any, between Indiana school corporation SAT mean scores (a limited output measure of student achievement and aptitude) and six intervening input variables: (1) operating expenditures per pupil, (2) instructional expenditures per pupil, (3) per capita income, (4) corporation enrollment size, (5) degree of population density, and (6) at-risk index characteristics.The study provided a review of the research and related literature on relationships between high school SAT scores, public school expenditures and other intervening input variables. The study addressed questions about relationships and effects of expenditures and other input variables upon SAT scores. The need to examine individual district variation in SAT performance was motivated by the influence comparisons of SAT scores have on public perception of education and the resultant impact on state and local education policy.A principal goal of the study was to add to the understanding of the relationships between public expenditures directed to education, specific demographic and compositional student characteristics, and education performance as measured in SAT mean scores.The study incorporated Pearson product moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression procedures to determine the existence of variation in outputs accounted for by variation in the specific inputs. Initially a Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to test each of the six null hypotheses. Statistical significance was sought in each instance at the .01 level. Stepwise multiple regressions were then used to examine the SAT output relationships with compounded variables.The following conclusions were drawn from the findings and the summary tables reported in the study: 1. Low per capita income is associated with a decline in SAT scores and higher per capita income to associate with higher SAT scores.2. Increased performance on the SAT is not dependent upon the amount spent in total General Fund expenditures per pupil, however, an increased amount spent on instruction tends to raise SAT scores.3. A high at-risk index presence is associated with lower SAT scores whereas a low at-risk index tends to be associated with higher SAT scores.4. Urban density does not effect SAT scores in a statistically significant manner.5. The size of the school corporation has no relationship to SAT scores.Overall total General Fund expenditures were not shown to significantly affect SAT scores, although such costs were not shown to be detrimental in the multiple regression analysis. More importantly, instructional expenditures per student were demonstrated to be one of three significant factors affecting higher SAT scores. The other significant variables were poverty and high at-risk factors, which were shown to be associated with lower SAT score levels.The data and the study strongly suggest that, if school authorities, legislatures, private business and parents continue to use the SAT scores as a prime barometer and target for educational success, we should immediately begin to compensate dramatically for the atrisk and per capita income deficits in individual students and impacted schools, and maximize financial resources into proven classroom instructional strategies. If the public wishes to narrow the gap in SAT scores, then policy makers need to examine the educational-environmental liabilities of low income, single parent home, and the appropriate level of instructional cost which will generate acceptable SAT results. / Department of Educational Leadership

SammanfattningTitel: Om individer får förberedande information om att arbeta i grupp, kan detta då ses kunna förändra deras upplevelse av att arbeta i grupp?Författare: Hayat Ashkar och Görgen Jansson Handledare: Ilkka Henrik Mäkinen Examinator: Hedvig EkerwaldLärosäte: Uppsala Universitet Datum: 5/1 2015Bakgrunden till den här studien bygger på tidigare forskning som visat att om en vårdsökande i väntan på sin läkartid får hjälp till självhjälp får denna patient ut mer av behandlingen, jämfört med en patient som endast fått vänta på sitt läkarbesök. Det kan då tolkas som att någon form av självhjälp, förberedelse, innan behandlingen är gynnsamt.Detta ledde till en tanke om samma princip kan gälla för grupparbeten. Om individer som ska genomföra ett grupparbete får information om att arbeta i grupp, en förberedelse, kan det då förbättra deras upplevelse av att arbeta i grupp? Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka om kunskap om socialpsykologiska begrepp kan ge någon inverkan på elevers upplevelser till att arbeta i grupp. För att undersöka om så var fallet genomfördes ett experiment med tre olika gymnasieklasser. Deltagarna fick genomföra ett grupparbete och därefter svara på en enkät som mätte deras upplevelse av arbetet. I nästa steg fick en grupp, experimentgruppen, lyssna på en föreläsning om socialpsykologiska begrepp för att därefter återigen genomföra ett grupparbete och besvara samma enkät igen. En annan grupp, kontrollgruppen, fick inte lyssna på föreläsningen men göra allt övrigt experimentgruppen gjorde, ett grupparbete med enkät samt ett grupparbete till med enkät.De teoretiska begrepp som använts för att analysera resultatet är bland annat, definition av situationen, priming och Hawthorneeffekten. Resultatet tyder på att en förändring i upplevelsen av grupparbete skett hos både experimentgruppen och kontrollgruppen, dock var den större hos experimentgruppen. / AbstractTitle: If individuals get an information about how to work in a group, could that change their experience about cooperation?Authors: Hayat Ashkar and Görgen JanssonMentor: Ilkka Henrik MäkinenSeat of learning: Uppsala UniversityDate: 5/1 2014The background to this study is based on studies that have shown that if a patient while waiting for a doctor's appointment gets help to self-help, the patient will assimilate more of the treatment than a patient who only has to wait for their doctor’s appointment. That can then be interpreted as any kind of stimuli (self-help) before treatment is favourable.That led to a wonder if the same principle might apply to work in groups. If individuals who are going to do cooperation receive information about working in groups, in terms of social psychology concepts, could that improve their ability to work in a group? The purpose of this paper is to examine whether knowledge in social psychological concepts can be seen to give any impact on students' experiences and attitudes towards working in groups. To examine this, an experiment with different high school classes was conducted. In the experimental group the students implemented a group project and then answered a questionnaire that measured the students' experience of the work. In the next step they had to listen to a lecture about social psychological concepts. After that they did another group project and answered the same questionnaire again. In the control group the students did just the same except listening to the lecture about social psychological concepts.The theoretical concepts used include social negotiation, definition of the situation and priming. The results of this study show that the experimental group showed a consistently higher average current experience of group work. That indicates that a process of change begins in the participants. It can be explained by priming.

Differences between handwritten and typed essays were examined in high school adolescents with a learning disability (LD) who have writing difficulties. Despite being experienced at writing on the computer and possessing fluent typing skills, there were no differences found between the quality of handwritten and typed essays. Essays were scored against quality indices for lower-level transcription (i.e., mechanics), higher-level text generation (i.e., organization, theme development, vocabulary), spelling accuracy, word count, and grammar. No differences were found across any of these dimensions between conditions. Correlations were also examined to determine any similarities, or differences in relationship among the measures, between the handwritten and typed conditions. Similar associations were found across both conditions for total essay score, lower-level transcription, and handwriting/typing fluency. However, higher-level text generation for typed essays correlated with the measures of working memory, lexical access, and spelling, whereas none of these measures correlated with the higher-level text generation for handwritten essays. / Graduate / 0525 / 0529 / 0710 / rachel.jalbert@gmail.com

Nationally, the outlook for African Americans in K-12 education is dismal. While gains are being made, African Americans still lag behind their White peers. The latest reports by the National Center for Education Statistics (2009) show a 31 point gap between 8th grade African Americans and Whites in mathematics. While statistics such as these are in abundance, there are few accounts of stories of success (Berry, 2005; Jett, 2009; Stinson, 2004). Studies directly related to the role of socio-emotional interpersonal relationships and the means by which African American high school students negotiated that space in terms of successful math performance were significantly limited. The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of socio-emotional factors in peer relationships between school friends and discover the ways in which students negotiated academic success through these relationships. The following research questions guided the study: How do academically successful African American high school students negotiate academic success in mathematics classrooms using peer relationships? What are the socio-emotional factors contributing to the academic success of these students in mathematics? How do students perceive the nature of socio-emotional relationships with peers that contribute to their academic success in mathematics? Using the lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT), this ethnographic study explored how African-American high school students constructed and appropriated socio-emotional relationships to support their academic success. Through the use of purposive sampling, four African-American high school students were observed in an AP Calculus AB course and interviewed over a seven month period at a high school in a southeastern state. The data collected were crystallized using researcher memos and the collection of artifacts. Data was analyzed using five coding techniques: structural, in vivo, subcoding, eclectic, and axial. The study found seven themes related to socio-emotional factors and perceptions about how the characters negotiated academic success in mathematics classes using peer relationships: 1) selective narrowing of social interaction, 2) interpersonal relationships affect academic identity and behaviors, 3) interpersonal engagement, 4) pursuit of emotionally gratifying interactions, 5) satisfaction of emotional needs through social networks, 6) effect of collaborative learning, and 7) illusion of control.

In this qualitative research study, First Nation students in high school participated in an interview study designed to (1) describe how their school experiences related to academic success and (2) to identify learning strategies used to achieve success. Participants described the importance of achieving academic success to ensure future economic security. In their approaches to learning, participants preferred multiple modes of learning. Various types of learning strategies included both visual and verbal methods such as teacher demonstrations, reading, and writing. Motivational influences were also identified as contributing to their educational success which came from a variety of sources such as teachers, parents, peers, and community leaders. Educational success for these Aboriginal students is both multi-dimension and multi-modal. Implication of the research and future direction will be discussed.

No description available.

This study examined motivation for return to school, subsequent satisfaction, and the relationship between motivating factors and satisfaction among students enrolled in five small schools in the Montreal area dedicated to the education of adolescents who wish to return. / Statistical analysis of questionnaire data revealed that major motivating factors for return to school were related to a desire for academic success rather than social or personal reasons. Younger returned dropouts were more likely to be motivated by the desire to obtain job skills than their older counterparts. / Age and sex did not account for significant differences in motivation or subsequent satisfaction with school. Returned dropouts were generally well-satisfied with their current school experience. Major components of satisfaction were academic success and a variety of items related to teacher empathy, and competence. / While there were no signficiant differences in satisfaction among participating schools, satisfaction scores were higher for those mid-way through alternative schools than for those students just beginning or nearing graduation.

This thesis explores some of the issues of adjustment of Israeli immigrant high school students in Montreal, including sociocultural, linguistic, and educational issues. It deals with the term adjustment from the theoretical and historical point and with the relationship between adjustment and immigration. It reviews existing research on the adjustment experience of immigrant students, and provides a background about the education of Jewish immigrants in Montreal. / The thesis is a qualitative study based on individual and group interviews involving 10 high school students.

The present study surveyed 644 (337 males, 306 females) high school students and found that social groups that were disidentified from schools, when compared to identified groups; (a) were perceived to be more distinctive, (b) were more sensitive to the number of competing outgroups, (c) had more closed and cohesive group structures, (d) were perceived to have more homogeneous memberships, and (e) were perceived to be more likely to enact behavioral sanctions against members who strayed from internal group norms. While members of school-identified groups had better self-esteem on average than members of disidentified (at-risk) groups, members of disidentified groups who felt closely connected to their groups had better self-esteem than those who felt more loosely associated, and, such disidentified group members had self-esteem comparable to even identified group members. The results of the present study suggest that the dominant individualistic paradigm fails to satisfactorily explain, or address the needs of socially connected at-risk students who rely on their anti-normative groups to buoy their self-esteem and define their identities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the high school students&#039 / ability on estimation and computational estimation. The study was conducted in Denizli with 153 ninth grade students who enrolled to general, Anatolian and foreign language high schools. The Estimation Ability Test was utilized. The three formats which are number format, answer format and problem format of the test were analyzedby with respect to school types and gender. The design of the present research was one group pretest-posttest design. The hypotheses of the study were tesetd by using analysis of covariance at the significance level 0.05. The results of the study indicated that: 1. There were statistically significant differences among the mean scores of students enrolled to different kinds of high school with respect to estimation ability and computational estimation in favor of Anatolian High School students. 2. There were statistically significant mean differences of students enrolled to diffrent kinds of high school with respect to sub-categories of the estimation ability test in favor of Anatolian High School students. 3. There was no statistically significant mean difference between boys and girls on estimation ability. 4. There was statistically significant mean difference in some sub-categories of the estimation test in favor of boys.