No description available.

No description available.

This phenomenological study of a First Nations to First Nations reciprocal student exchange elicited and explored the meanings of a reciprocal intercommunity exchange for grade 7 and 8 students in two First Nations schools. Representative student research participants from one of the schools shared their pictures, stories and memories of their experiences through photo-story (Truchon, 2007; Wang & Burris, 1997) and in a sharing circle (Lavallee, 2007). The students‟ journeys were not only physical and geographical, but also emotional and cultural. I also journeyed to an acceptance of my outsider/insider status growing up in a First Nations community. As a non-Aboriginal researcher, I negotiated a space between the demands of the academic institution and the First Nations community; and chose research methods that were congruent with Indigenous Research Methodology (Wilson, 2008; Kovach, 2009; Smith, 1999). The four themes that emerged from the data: community and relationships; culture and ceremony; connections with place, and confidence building are congruent with AFN‟s vision of “reciprocal inter-community exchanges promoting sharing of culture” (AFN, 2007) and with Cajete‟s (1999) vision of “igniting the sparkle.” These students said that: “learning about another culture made me want to learn more about my own.” Listening to these students share what was gained through this exchange and their dreams for the future revealed their hope and persistence. The example of a practice such as a reciprocal exchange which encouraged and iii engaged these youth could stimulate other First Nations communities to seek out similar educational practices that would benefit their youth. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-01-25 16:18:38.852

This single case study in Peace Education (PE) was conducted in Central Mexico where violence is manifest in different ways and consequently, PE may be an important intervention. The aim of this study was to acquire an understanding of the impact of PE in Mexico and to understand how students conceptualize peace and violence and how these phenomena impact their aspirations. Participants in this study were a school principal, teachers as well as 9th grade students from a telesecundaria. This research produced a number of key findings: Mexico does not have one concrete conception of PE; the student participants’ definition of peace and violence reflect their reality; and their aspirations can be commensurate with the principles of PE. One of the main conclusions drawn from this study is that although there are a several practices of PE in Mexico, the country needs one concrete proposal of PE tailored to its specific reality.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not there is a discrepancy between the parents' perceptions of children's personal problems and those of their preadolescent children.The research was designed to test eight null hypotheses which were formulated to this effect. The instrument utilized in this research was the Mooney Problem Check List (Junior High School Form) for both parents and children. The Problem Check List has 7 sub-sections which include 30 items for each area. The seven sub-sections are: Health and Physical Development (HPD), School (S), Home and Family (HF), Money, Work, and the Future (MWF), Boy and Girl Relations (BG), Relations to People in General (PG), and Self-centered Concerns (SC).The subjects for this study were fifteen sets of both parents and their eighth grade children. The children were all Caucasians and came from a rural area.The following procedure was adopted to collect the data: packages of materials were prepared and sent to each of the 45 parents randomly selected from one school. These contained two copies of the Mooney Problem Check Lists, a parents' consent form, an application form for an individual interview or family conference, and two stamped, addressed envelopes. The parents were requested to complete the forms and to return them within two weeks. This resulted in response from six single parents and fifteen sets of both parents.The mean scores for each of seven areas and the totals were obtained for the children, their fathers, and mothers separately. The group means were compared and analyzed in order to accept or reject the null hypotheses. Analysis of variance technique was applied to compare the means of the three groups--children, fathers, and mothers-on each of the seven areas and the total. In order to determine if the differences were significant, the alpha level of .05 was used. When the differences between the means were found to be significant for a given variable, the post hoc Tukey HSD procedure was used to carry out the further analysis (Kirk, 1968).The findings obtained showed that the null hypotheses of Health and Physical Development and School were rejected. Therefore, the Tukey's HSD procedures were used to determine which pairs of means differed in these areas. Post hoc analyses of the means by the Tukey's HSD indicated that the children's reports of personal problems significantly differed from the parents' report. The children disagreed with father and mother but father and mother agreed with each other in Health and Physical Development and School areas. Null hypotheses 3 through 8 were not rejected. All three groups agreed in the children's personal problems checked in Home & Family, Money, Work, the Future, Boy & Girl Relations, Relations to People in General and Self-centered Concerns areas and the total.Based on these results several conclusions were made. Parents perceived their children's Health and Physical Development and School problems differently from the way the children perceived them. Parents agreed with their children concerning Home and Family, Money, Work, the Future, Boy and Girl Relations, Relations to People in General, and Self-centered Concerns and Total areas. Parents agreed with each other on all seven categories. The differences shown in the two areas of Health and Physical Development and School as viewed by children and parents is possibly attributable to lack of communication between them. However, this study had a small sample size and interpretation must be cautious.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences existed in academic achievement, attitude toward school, and self-concept of seventh and eighth grade junior high school students in comparison to seventh and eighth grade middle school students who changed from a junior high school or an elementary school to a middle school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. A further concern of the study was to determine middle school principles of the Jonesboro Middle Schools.The subjects who furnished data for the study were 808 randomly selected seventh and eighth grade students. The students participated as control seventh and eighth grade junior high school students during the first year of the study (197576), or as experimental middle school seventh and eighth grade students during the second year of the study (1976-77). Five groups were formed for each grade. Two groups of each grade participated as the control groups, and the remaining three groups of each grade served as experimental groups.The Gordon How I See Myself Scale and the McElhinney Middle School Questionnaire Pupil Attitude Toward School scale were administered to accommodate a separate-sample-pretest-posttest control group design. Data from the Metropolitan Achievement Test and the SRA Achievement Test were used to fit a nonequivalent control group design. The data pertaining to self-concept and attitude toward school were analyzed by a multivariate analyses of variance technique. Achievement data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance. On-site interviews were conducted to determine the Jonesboro-actual-middle school principles.Six null hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of statistical significance. Hypotheses one and two were stated to compare mean achievement scores of seventh and eighth grade Junior high school students to seventh and eighth grade middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between the seventh grade junior high and middle school students. A statistically significant difference was found between the eighth grade junior high school and middle school students. The difference favored the junior high school students.Hypotheses three and four were stated to compare self-concept mean scores of seventh and eighth grade junior high school students to seventh and eighth grade middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between mean scores of either grade.Hypotheses five and six were stated to compare mean scores on attitude toward school between seventh and eighth grade junior high and middle school students. No statistically significant difference was found between mean scores of either grade.The results of the interviews indicated elimination of "inappropriate" social and physical activities, more emphasis on intramural activities, and development of extensive exploratory programs as strengths of the Jonesboro Middle Schools. The lack of provision for continuous progress, team teaching, independent study, planned gradualism and use of multi media material appeared to be weaknesses.Conclusions drawn from the findings were:1. Students who experience a rigid academic schedule of a junior high school may tend to score significantly higher on achievement tests than students who attend less rigid middle schools.2. Students who have experienced the junior high school may tend to form some negative feelings toward school if placed in a middle school, but not to a statistically significant degree.3. The attitude and self-concept of seventh and eighth grade students appeared to be unaffected by the reduction of "inappropriate" social and physical activities.4. Little change in instructional procedures of classroom teachers appeared to be apparent.5. The major change seemed to be the addition of exploratory programs in middle schools.6. During the in-service program too much emphasis may have been placed on exemplary middle school programs at the expense of providing emphasis on the best middle school for Jonesboro.

This purpose of this research study was to investigate the role of effective principals and how that role relates to the improvement of adolescent reading skills. This research study identified three strategies that were utilized by principals in an effort to develop effective reading skills in adolescent students which are: (1) effective program implementation of research-based reading practices, (2) data utilization and analysis to direct instruction, and (3) professional development for teachers. Instructional improvement ranks among the most important role of effective leaders. Instruction is the center effective curriculum improvement and implementation. The single most important strategy that can contribute to an effective curriculum is ongoing professional development. Successful staff development requires skill, sophistication, and persistence of effort according to Fullan (1991, 1993). The target population in this research study was comprised of a purposive sample of seventy-two principals from junior high and senior high schools across the state of Indiana. The sample was selected by using a nonrandom, non-probability sampling method which did not allow for the specification of each sample selected. The data from the sample population of principals who completed the survey were used to report, correlate, and analyze data collected from the Education Survey and the pre-Lexile reading scores and post- Lexile reading scores. A review of all collected data indicated the following:  Schools that utilize a scientifically based reading program were more likely to submit scores than those schools that utilize a reading program embedded in the subject content areas.  The t test data reflected a t score of 3.121 which was sufficient to reject the null hypothesis - The principal’s role has no effect on the improvement of adolescent reading skills. In rejecting the null hypothesis, it is reasonable to accept the hypothesis that the statistical difference between the pre- and post- Lexile scores is related to the role of the principal.  There is a statistical significance which would indicate that the relationship between the staff and the principal is important in predicting effective reading instruction for adolescents at the high school and/or middle high school level.  Based on the data taken from the Education Survey and the growth between pre- and post- Lexile scores, there is an indication that as effective curriculum leadership increases the predictive value of effective reading instruction decreases.  There is a statistical significance between how principal rated themselves on providing opportunities for teachers’ professional development and the growth between the pre- and post- Lexile reading scores. / Department of Educational Leadership

This single case study in Peace Education (PE) was conducted in Central Mexico where violence is manifest in different ways and consequently, PE may be an important intervention. The aim of this study was to acquire an understanding of the impact of PE in Mexico and to understand how students conceptualize peace and violence and how these phenomena impact their aspirations. Participants in this study were a school principal, teachers as well as 9th grade students from a telesecundaria. This research produced a number of key findings: Mexico does not have one concrete conception of PE; the student participants’ definition of peace and violence reflect their reality; and their aspirations can be commensurate with the principles of PE. One of the main conclusions drawn from this study is that although there are a several practices of PE in Mexico, the country needs one concrete proposal of PE tailored to its specific reality.

The decision to undertake this research was a pragmatic response to the debates which followed the introduction of a new innovative secondary education system in Ghana. This paper will investigate the said innovation during its formation since 1974, inception from 1987 and, in respect of field research, aspects of its operation from 1998 to 2000. The innovation was designed as a complex package offering an integrated approach to change educational values, orientation and learning outcomes. The changes subsumed in each aspect of the innovation have far-reaching implications for the entire education system. One element, the vocationalised curriculum, caused immediate concern at the time of implementation because of pre-existing evidence of similar attempts made previously in Ghana and other countries which yielded unsatisfactory results. This concern was increased by the complexity of subsequent changes in the examination system and in the new structure of Junior Secondary Schooling (JSS). Furthermore, there were mixed opinions regarding a new emphasis on the individual learner as the focus of school activities augmented by the introduction of guidance and counselling. The primary aim of the research was to monitor the implementation processes in as many aspects as possible. This was done in order to see what benefits might be gained, and what lessons in order to continue the innovation. In order to conduct this assessment it was necessary to examine critically the characteristics of each element of the reform and their implications, using a variety of research methods to generate relevant data. This approach yielded a substantial amount of original evidence on the dynamics of educational change. While this evaluation specifically helps to deepen understanding of the said innovation, it also makes a contribution to the literature on educational innovation in developing countries. The particular theoretical framework used to direct analysis of the processes is derived from the IAC evaluation model developed by Havelock and Huberman (1977) and is used in their study of educational innovations in the developing countries. The theory proposes that a large and complex problem requires a sophisticated level of competency to handle it. An innovative situation requires an efficient system in order to muster the relevant level of IAC factors as were required. This paper explores and extends the IAC model by incorporating the new research regarding the Ghanaian educational innovation. In this new dimension, the Ghanaian model has tended to display far more interactive and cohesive characteristics than in the original Havelock and Huberman study, thus making the measure for success relatively more complex. There is overwhelming evidence to show that by the end of its second cycle in December 1999, none of the JSS innovation components had been in any way implemented. In all respects, the level of systemic competency was far below what was demanded by the innovation. When placed in the framework of the IAC theoretical model, analysis of the conclusive empirical findings provides key recommendations for future innovative educational projects. Crucial coordinating factors must be considered and necessarily established to ensure that strategies are put in place which strengthen the infrastructure. This coordinating initiative should encompass internal and external logistics coordination for resource persons and materials, while simultaneously linking the organizational management of the project with key administrative, political, and social interest groups.

Thesis (Ed.D)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 158-166).