In this qualitative case study, I investigated eighth-grade honors students’ and their language arts teacher’s perceptions of the support provided in writing groups, the climate in writing groups, and student and teacher support that enhanced students’ motivation to write in writing groups. Eleven study participants engaged in the inquiry, 10 middle school students and one language arts teacher. I collected data during the fall semester of 2014. Data were individual interviews, classroom observations of participants in writing groups, and program-related documents. The main aim in this investigation is to discover middle school students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of the support, climate, and motivation to write in writing groups. Five domains emerged from the data: peers working together on writing, teacher facilitation with writing, student perceptions of climate, teacher perceptions of climate, and creating a community of learners. Peers working together on writing and teacher facilitation with writing correspond to research question one: In what ways do 10 language arts middle school students and their language arts teacher support students’ writing efforts in writing groups over the course of a semester? Student perceptions of climate and teacher perceptions of climate correspond to research question two: In what ways do the language arts middle school students describe the writing climate in their writing groups over the course of a semester? Creating a community of learners corresponds to research question three: What type of teacher and student support do the language arts middle school students and their teacher think may enhance students’ motivation to write in writing groups? Discoveries show student participants believed working together on writing supported their personal writing and their teacher perceived teacher facilitation supported students’ writing efforts. Perceptions of climate in writing groups were mixed, with the majority of students describing the climate as supportive, although two students did not agreed. The teacher perceived a supportive climate in writing groups. Perceptions were also mixed regarding the support students and their teacher provided that enhanced students’ motivation to write in writing groups. Eight out of 10 students and the teacher perceived collaborative writing enhanced student motivation to write, while two students did not perceive collaboration had any effect on their writing motivation. The student participants believed peer assistance helped to enhance their motivation to write in writing groups while the teacher believed student choice in group mates might enhance student motivation to write. Writing groups may affect students’ and their teacher’s perceptions of students’ writing efforts, as working together on writing led to more positive perceptions. A lack of choice in groups and working with peers with established friendships may have implications for students’ perceptions of the group climate and motivation to write, especially when some students are allowed to choose their group and others are not. Students’ perceptions of the writing group climate play a role in their writing efforts, as students who held positive perceptions of their writing group climate had positive perceptions of the support in writing groups. Working with peers as a community is important to student motivation, as the collaborative aspect can serve as a motivator for many adolescents. This study is significant because it fills gaps in the literature about research on writing and group social environments, as well as middle level research on writing groups, and motivation, and the inclusion of student and teacher voice. This inquiry also provides teacher and student insights on the ways affective climates are created in a middle school language arts setting.

This survey study utilized two self-report questionnaires for the purpose of clarifying the interdependent relationship among the following variables: (a) the academic aspirations of junior and senior secondary school students (b) their knowledge about British Columbia public college and university general academic admission criteria, (c) the geographical location of the students (urban or rural). Over all, the students who participated in the study showed high academic aspirations, but little awareness of the nature of post-secondary admissions policies. Few students were fully aware of the open admissions policies of their local community colleges and most students incorrectly identified most of the non-academic items (such as attitude and fitting in socially) as being important for admission. Students with post-secondary academic aspirations and urban students were more aware of the academic expectations of their local universities and colleges. Among males, grade nines, and students not planning to attend college or university, rural students were less knowledgable than urban students about post-secondary admission criteria. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the comprehensive school reform model core knowledge on the reading achievement of eighth grade students located in a suburban north Texas school district. The data compared the mean scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills of students attending the experimental core knowledge school with the control school that did not use the core knowledge curriculum. Students from both schools were compared for student achievement gains overall as well as several other categories. The study also used a qualitative survey that asked key faculty members at both schools questions regarding levels of curriculum implementation, staff knowledge of curriculum, etc. The data showed no significant differences between student achievement scores at the experimental school compared with students at the control school. However, the study found that the type of standardized test seems to have an impact on whether students in a core knowledge curriculum show higher achievement than students in a traditional curriculum. Students in a core knowledge curriculum show higher achievement on norm-referenced standardized tests when compared with students not attending a core knowledge school. When taking a criterion-referenced test such as the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, there is no difference in reading achievement between the two groups.

The feeling of ownership is a topic of research that has not been addressed as a component in the integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. The effectiveness of this abstract concept in relationship to digital computing is important in the evaluation of one-to-one initiatives in education. This paper reports findings of a research study conducted using a new ownership survey instrument I developed, the Laptop Usage Inventory (LUI). Also administered during the study was the Student Attitude Survey given in a pretest/posttest design. The instruments were administered to seventh and eighth grade students in a north Texas middle school in the 2007-2008 school year. The methodology used to evaluate the Laptop Usage Inventory consisted of Cronbach's alpha and various scaling methods. LUI scale scores were correlated with the results of the Student Attitude Survey to compare students' attitudes toward school before and after using a laptop computer for the school year. Implications for laptop initiatives and for the classroom are discussed and a future research agenda is presented.

This study was undertaken in the belief that a greater relationship would be revealed between the Rorschach and intelligence test scores if the factors in the Rorschach which have been found in the past to be related to intelligence could be compared as a whole with scores obtained on mental tests. The purpose of this study was to determine whether it could be demonstrated that a higher degree of relationship does exist between several of the Rorschach factors, considered as a whole, and intelligence as revealed by the California Test of Mental Maturity.

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This study is an experimental investigation of two groups of junior high school students in an effort to evaluate the advantages of workbooks in their music classes. The comparison was made with two classes composed of thirty-two students each from the two junior high schools in the Beaumont Independent School District. One class used the workbooks in conjunction with the regular singing and appreciation work, but the other class did not use formal workbooks. They discussed the theory and notation of the music in relation to the work they were doing.

Concerns over the academic success of first-time ninth-grade students transitioning into the high school setting continue to stimulate substantial interest in identifying the various factors that cause the ninth-grade bottleneck.  Extensive research shows that when ninth-grade students transition into the high school setting, students have a difficult time navigating the more academically rigorous, less nurturing, usually larger and anonymous high school setting.  Studies have shown that transition practices to help ninth-grade students are successful in making this transition smoother and more successful for incoming freshmen, thereby leading to more credits and a stronger chance for students to earn a diploma. This dissertation is a replication of a previous Virginia Tech study completed by Henry Johnson titled High School Transition Practices for Ninth Graders: A Descriptive Study of Maryland Public High Schools, but it focuses on public schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The primary data collection method was a survey that was sent to all Virginia principals.  First, results from the survey were analyzed to develop a description of the various transition practices existing in Virginia\'s public high schools in relation to school size, demographics, and community type.  Second, the survey data were analyzed to determine the various perceptions of school officials concerning the effectiveness of reported transition practices.  The data provide a description of the transition practices in Virginia's public schools.  Results from this study give administrators and policymakers an idea of what type of transition practices exist in the various public schools in Virginia as well as the perceived effectiveness of the practices in place. / Ed. D.