The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining the effects that an achievement motivation program had on changing the self-concepts and academic achievement among ninth-grade students in a triethnically mixed junior high school. The subjects for this study were ninth-grade students from a large southwestern city. The experimental program was conducted in a junior high school composed of Anglo, Mexican-American, and Negro students of approximately 30 per cent, 40 per cent, and 30 per cent ratios, respectively. The comparison school was an adjoining area with approximately the same ethnic mixture. In measuring changes in self-concept, the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was used. Teacher-assigned grades converted to numerical equivalents were used in measuring changes in academic achievement. All hypotheses were tested at the .05 level of confidence by using two by three analysis of covariance. All data were entered on computer cards, using computer services of North Texas State University.

The purposes of this study were as follows: 1. To measure selected junior high school students' creativity in art. 2. To determine the relationship between the following factors and the degree and kind of creativeness in art demonstrated by the subjects involved: ethnic group, sex, social class, community size, previous art training, cultural interest in the home and community.

In an era of accountability and increased state control of curriculum, curriculum guides have become important legal documents, and many local districts seek to produce documents as a framework for both district and state objectives . Such curriculum development is a complex process. This study examined the curriculum procedures, roles of the participants , decision-making processes, and perceptions of the resulting documents in five school districts. Qualitative data collection included taped interviews using a focused in-depth interview schedule, field notes, observation, and document collection. The study included central administrators, building administrators, and teachers. Data Analysis was an interative, on-going process using a constant-comparative analysis of coded categories emerging from the transcribed data. This comparison examined curriculum models, curriculum trends, and teacher and administrator perceptions. The study of the curriculum processes in each district resulted in the development of a five-step curriculum model: pre-planning, planning, writing, implementation, and revision. Naturalistic models developed in each district as the curriculum was impacted by various pressures and influences. Within the five areas of each curriculum model, several patterns emerged. Each district had some impetus for a new curriculum direction. All districts reported some kind of data gathering within the planning stage and intensive training of teachers during the writing stage. The curriculum writers spoke of developing goals, objectives, strategies and of deciding upon content and document format. Many mentioned a negotiation system for decision-making. During curriculum planning and development, central office administrators formulated and approved policy, teachers documented district policy, and building administrators monitored its implementation. The emerging themes suggest the effects of a school district's environment on the curriculum process and the importance of an influential person to monitor all stages of the procedure. The themes indicate the strong move toward centralization of curriculum as a result or increasing state mandates, and demonstrate that teachers derive a sense of satisfaction and "ownership" of curriculum documents as they take part in curriculum planning and writing.

The purpose of this project was to design a values package to create awareness and understanding for seventh grade students in the value system so as to achieve a more complementary classroom atmosphere. The value system is a new concept based on Clare Graves' seven levels of psychological existence: Reactive, Tribalistic, Egocentric, Conformist, Manipulative, Sociocentric, Existential. In addition, the package was designed to integrate the affective and cognitive levels of learning into an experimental learning situation. The package included written material, games, and activities which are all designed to create self-awareness and maintain relevancy for the students.

The purpose of this study was to identify certain aspects related to sight singing which tend to cause difficulty in teaching junior high school students and to suggest exercises that might be used to aid in overcoming these difficulties, Data included a questionnaire to junior high school teachers in three states. Subjects researched and discussed were the physical, intellectual, and emotional development of the adolescent; the changing voice and the range and vocal limitations of junior high singers; and rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, and other aspects of sight singing. Included were vocal procedures to be used with young voices, suggestions for choosing and/or arranging appropriate music, and original compositions designed to meet the needs and interests of junior high school students.

It is the purpose of this thesis to list and evaluate the published materials for junior high school band that the director may have a comprehensive knowledge of materials adapted to that level.

Many teachers of young adolescents face compelling pressures to dramatically change their practice. The rapid adoption of 1:1 computing, whereby each student has nearly constant access to an Internet-connected laptop, netbook or tablet, poses unique challenges to established practices in curriculum, instruction and classroom management. A growing number of teachers also confront a movement to provide students more personalized and flexible pathways to high school graduation, including experiential, blended and online learning, and allow students to apply knowledge and skills to tasks of personal interest. How teachers cope in this dynamic period may hinge on their ongoing professional development. In recent decades, a general consensus has emerged that promotes teaching as a learning profession in which teachers work together in learning communities and seek expertise not just from outside experts, but also from colleagues attuned to local circumstances. At the same time, the student voice movement encouraged schools to empower students as key collaborators in school improvement. In spite of common themes in the narratives on teacher learning and student voice—collaboration, empowerment and effective change—they seldom intersect in traditional professional development settings or in teachers' collegial learning. This dissertation proposes student consultation as a link between students and teachers in collaborative school improvement and suggests next steps toward more sustainable efforts to involve students in the preparation and ongoing learning of teachers. Three studies are presented. The first study described a weeklong summer professional development institute in which students have played a central role for more than two decades. It outlined the conditions conducive to the collaborative culture among teachers and consulting students and summarizes participants' perspectives on student consultation. The second study applied a qualitative case study design involving observations, interviews, focus groups and surveys with 72 teachers and 20 students to delve more deeply into consultations at the summer institute. Most teachers and students perceived the consultations as enjoyable and beneficial, willingly embraced shifts in authority during consultations, and noted the benefits of strategies employed to support the culture and practices of student consultations. The third study explored how teachers engaged with students as consultants in classroom action research projects initiated at the summer institute and in professional development contexts. The multi-site, collective case study examined six projects involving twelve teachers and 241 students. Interviews and focus groups with nine teachers and 22 students were coded by stages of the action research cycle and characteristics of student involvement in order to examine at which stages in the action research and in what capacities teachers involved their students. The study confirmed teachers' and students' general appreciation of consultation and suggests that parsing the subtleties of when and how students are consulted can contribute to deeper understand of student involvement and better facilitation of action research in teacher professional development. Together, this collection of studies has implications for the design and evaluation of student consultation in teacher professional development.

This case study describes one professional development approach to support technology integration at all public schools in one large county in central Virginia. Using data obtained from daily time logs, the frequency of Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) use by classroom teachers was analyzed. Descriptive statistics were used to describe overall percentage of ITRT use, the various types of professional development requested by teachers, the consistency of those activities over time, and if the frequencies of activities varied as a function of school level, Title I status at the elementary level, or subject area taught by teachers at the secondary level. Qualitative data was collected via focus group interviews of the involved ITRTs, and an exploratory attempt to understand the reasons behind their use was made. Data indicated that ITRTs were used 52% of the time offered with 5% variation over 3 years. Across school levels, ITRT time was used more at the secondary level and use varied no more than 9% over time. Google Apps for Education and web-based programs represented 73% of the training requests. Over time, fluctuations in the number of requests for assistance with different applications were explained by contextual factors. Elementary schools classified as Title I accounted for 23% of the total time elementary ITRTs were used. At the secondary level, teachers of science and language arts requested ITRT assistance more often. ITRTs made sense of these results by identifying first order barriers as more influential than second order barriers. Of these, access barriers were the most frequently cited barrier by the ITRTs followed by subject culture, institution, assessment, attitude and beliefs, and knowledge and skills. Elementary ITRTs cited more instances of barriers than secondary. Recommendations for practice and future research were made.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Robert Shoop / Teachers and administrators are struggling. They must do more with less. Children come to school from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. These issues, as well as numerous others, provoke emotions that run rampant—sometimes out of control and sometimes minimized to the point of being destructive. In turn, the school climate and learning environment is affected. Teachers need support to enhance their understanding of emotional intelligence (EI). Application of EI competencies can positively influence school climate. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to understand the perceived impact of enhancing teacher knowledge and application of emotional intelligence on school climate. The study explored teacher emotional intelligence, school climate, and the intersection of the two. Emotional intelligence instruction and education were provided to the teacher research participants during the study to support their personal growth. This study provided an understanding of the impact of teacher emotional intelligence on school climate. Results indicated that teacher emotional intelligence can be developed or enhanced and that it does affect their perception of the school climate. The impact was reflected in greater teacher awareness, intentional application of EI strategies, recognition of the benefits of EI on school climate, acknowledgement of factors impeding EI and school climate, and an altered perception of their role in the school climate. The study revealed a continued need for emphasizing and enhancing teacher emotional intelligence as a means of improving school climate. Utilizing a model such as the Six Seconds Model for Emotional Intelligence proved worth the time and effort because it enhanced teacher EI and changed teacher perceptions of school climate. A need for additional time and continued EI training was also noted as a means for additional growth in a more positive school climate.

Este trabalho consiste em uma análise epistemológica do conceito de substância apresentado, direta ou indiretamente, nos livros didáticos de 5a e 8a séries do Ensino Fundamental. O trabalho foi aliçercado na epistemologia de Gaston Bachelard utilizando, principalmente, as noções de obstáculo epistemológico e perfil epistemológico para estabelecer os critérios de análise. A partir destas considerações, procuramos identificar a presença de obstáculos epistemológicos e a existência, ou não, de uma preocupação dos autores com os diferentes momentos epistemológicos relacionados ao conceito de substância ao longo da história da evolução deste conceito. Foram analisados os livros de 5a e 8a séries, das seis coleções aprovadas pelo PNLD/2002, entendendo que estas refletem o ensino de ciências desenvolvido pela maioria dos professores das escolas públicas brasileiras, já que estes são distribuídos gratuitamente pelo governo federal. Pudemos detectar que, na maioria das coleções analisadas, prevalece a presença de obstáculos substancialistas e realistas, não havendo, também, uma preocupação com os diferentes momentos epistemológicos relacionados à evolução do conceito de substância. Enfim, a análise dos resultados indica que as coleções, em sua maioria, não apresentam uma preocupação maior com a construção do conceito de substância e, tão pouco, com as questões epistemológicas relacionadas a este conceito. / This dissertation consists of an epistemologic analysis of the definition of chemical substance given directly or indirectly in school books from 5th to 8th grades in Junior High Schools in Brazil. The dissertation was supported in the epistemology of Gaston Bachelard utilizing, mainly, the notions of epistemologic obstacle and epistemologic profile to establish the criteria for the analysis. Starting from these considerations the study seeks to identify the presence of epistemologic obstacles and whether the book authors are concerned or not about the different epistemologic moments related to the concept of substance through the history of the evolution of this concept. Books from 5th to 8th grades, from six volumes approved by PNLD/2002, were analysed. These books are considered to reflect the scientific studies developed by the majority of Brazilian public High School teachers, considering that the books are complimentarily disgtributed by the federal government. It was possible to detect that, in the majority of the volumes analysed, the presence of substancialistic and realistic obstacle prevails and that there isn''t any concern about the different epistemologic moments related to the evolution of the concept of substance. Finaly, the analysis of the results shows that most of the volumes don''t present any major concern about the construction of the concept of substance, and not even with the epistemologic matters related to this concept.