xii, 93 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Dropping out of high school may have individual as well as social implications. The process of dropping out is attributed to social and academic risk factors. Attendance, course completion and grade-point-average have been identified as key indicators of students off-track for graduation. This study utilized a single exploratory case design with embedded quantitative statistical analysis to understand the characteristics of 416 students transitioning from three middle schools to a large, suburban high school. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between 12 middle school indicators and ninth grade attendance, course completion, and grade-point-average. Findings suggested that middle school grade-point-average, course grade D, attendance, and ACT math scores were strong predictors of ninth grade performance. The major implications have highlighted key middle school risk indicators for identifying and providing intervention to transitioning students at risk of school failure. / Committee in charge: Gerald Tindal, Chairperson, Educational Leadership; Edward Kameenui, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Paul Yovanoff, Member, Educational Leadership; Robert 0 Brien, Outside Member, Sociology

This research has the subject matter of analyzing the competence of licensed teachers in biological sciences to teach a science course in the ninth grade of middle school, considering that this course covers introductory concepts of physics and chemistry. Faced with the need to understand the competence of biology teachers to teach that discipline and the replacement of licensed teachers in Biological Sciences by licensed teachers in Chemistry and Physics in private schools, we propose the following specific objectives: outline aspects of the competence of licensed teachers in Biological Sciences for the teaching of the science course in the ninth grade of middle school, and analyze the strategies used by such teachers in teaching science course in the ninth grade of middle school. In order to have those objectives achieved, an descriptive approach was adopted, outlining the main characteristics of the sample investigated, formed by 39 professionals licensed in Biological Sciences, who teach the Science discipline in the ninth grade of middle schools in public and private schools in Sergipe. In addition, qualitative and quantitative analysis of data collected through the questionnaire consisted of 23 questions applied to the sample was adopted. As a result, it was observed that most of the 39 professionals licensed in Biological Sciences do not feel prepared to teach science discipline, blaming the Degree course in Biological Sciences by not complementing more appropriately related curriculum materials or corresponding teaching practices. However, we understand that, because of their professional experience with middle school students, the Biological Sciences Professor would rather be competent to teach this discipline, since it can mobilize resources more easily to teach the science discipline in the middle school, according to what is on the curriculum of the courses of Biological Sciences graduation. / Esta pesquisa tem como objeto o estudo a analisar a competência dos professores licenciados em Ciências Biológicas para lecionar a disciplina Ciências no nono ano do ensino fundamental, considerando que essa disciplina aborda as noções introdutórias de Física e Química. Diante da necessidade de compreender a competência dos professores de Biologia para lecionar tal disciplina e da substituição dos licenciados em Ciências Biológicas por professores licenciados em Química e Física em escolas particulares propomos os seguintes objetivos específicos: delinear aspectos da competência dos professores licenciados em Ciências Biológicas para o ensino da disciplina Ciências no nono ano do ensino fundamental; e, analisar as estratégias utilizadas por tais professores no ensino da disciplina Ciências no nono ano do ensino fundamental. Para que tais objetivos fossem atingidos, adotou-se uma abordagem descritiva, delineando-se as características principais da amostra investigada, formada por 39 profissionais licenciados em Ciências Biológicas, que lecionam a disciplina Ciências no nono ano do ensino fundamental de escolas públicas e particulares sergipanas. Além disso, adotou-se abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa dos dados levantados através do questionário formado por 23 questões aplicado à amostra. Como resultado, observou-se que a maior parte dos 39 profissionais licenciados em Ciências Biológicas que não se sente preparadas para ensinar a disciplina Ciências, responsabilizando o curso Licenciatura de Ciências Biológicas por não complementar mais adequadamente conteúdos curriculares relacionadas ou práticas de ensino correspondentes. Contudo, entendemos que, em razão de experiência desses docentes com alunos do ensino fundamental, o profissional licenciado em Ciências Biológicas seria competente para lecionar tal disciplina, uma vez que o mesmo pode mobilizar recursos didáticos mais adequadamente para o ensino da disciplina Ciências no ensino fundamental, dado o que consta nos currículos dos cursos de Licenciatura em Ciências Biológicas.

The challenge of transitioning into high school is associated with social anxiety, decreased grades, increased absences, and overall motivation to learn. Based on anecdotal evidence from 9th grade teachers in the Ohio School District, teachers had poor rapport with some of their students, and 9th graders were being retained more often than were students in any other grade. Grounded in Noddings's care theory, the purpose of this mixed methods sequential case study was to explore perceptions of rapport between 9th graders and their teachers. Guiding research questions were used to discover student and teacher perceptions about their relationship as it relates to care, respect, and communication. Archived data from Gallop Poll surveys given to 9th grade students at 3 schools (n = 163) demonstrated student perceptions of their relationships with teachers. Additionally, 15 teachers were randomly selected for a focus group interview about rapport with students. The interview transcripts were coded for emergent themes related to the guiding questions. The analysis of the Gallup Poll data included calculation of the mean, standard deviation, median, item score range, mode, and raw-data frequencies/percent for responses to answer the respective research questions. Responses on the survey showed that students perceived a moderate level of bonding with teachers, while the interview data showed that there were issues related to communication with students, administrative support of teachers, and sincerity of teacher care for students. The project outcome is a professional development about communication amongst teacher and students, teachers and teachers, and teachers and administration to improve rapport and reduce the prevalence and impact of adverse events such as dropout and other forms of disengagement.

El desarrollo de las habilidades de comunicación oral es el enfoque de la educación de lenguas extranjeras de hoy, sin embargo, los pocos estudios existentes muestran que el nivel de los alumnados en el noveno grado sueco es crítico. Para comprender mejor la situación y encontrar indicaciones sobre qué actividades se prefieren, este estudio ha encuestado a 46 alumnados y cinco profesorados de diferentes tipos de escuelas de una determinada zona de Gotemburgo. El marco teórico utilizado es principalmente el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, el método del lenguaje comunicativo, la voluntad de comunicarse y la ansiedad en la teoría de lenguas extranjeras. El resultado muestra que la mayoría de los profesorados utilizan las actividades mencionadas en el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas, así como las del método del lenguaje de comunicación, que ha inspirado mucho el marco. La actividad preferida se muestra ser la práctica del habla en diferentes tipos de conversaciones informales o conversaciones sobre temas cotidianos. La actividad menos popular son las tareas preparatorias como estudiar gramática o rellenar huecos en diálogos medio hechos. Se descubrió una diferencia con respecto a los géneros, mientras que las alumnas mostraron un percibido mayor nivel de habilidad de comunicación oral, se sintieron menos seguras que los alumnados y, además, más ansiosas independientemente de la actividad en cuestión. Los alumnados varones mostraron una tendencia inversa. Aunque la correlación en este caso no es estadísticamente significativa, sí es estadísticamente importante. Si bien la percepción de las actividades y su impacto en la motivación y la ansiedad con respecto a ellas son importantes, son solo una perspectiva y una fracción de lo que un maestro puede hacer para aumentar el aprendizaje en el aula de hoy, por lo que es de esperar que se realicen más investigaciones. / Developing the skills of oral communication is the focus of today's foreign language education, however the few existing studies show that the level of the pupils in Swedish ninth grade is critical. To better understand the situation and find indications on what activities are preferred, this study has surveyed 46 pupils and five teachers from different types of school from a certain area in Gothenburg. The theoretical framework used is mostly the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, communicative language method, willingness to communicate and the anxiety in foreign language theory. The result shows that most teachers use the activities mentioned in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as well the ones from the communication language method, which has greatly inspired the framework. Furthermore, the preferred activities are practicing speaking in different types of informal conversations or conversations about daily subjects. The least popular activity are preparatory tasks such as studying grammar or filling in gaps in written dialogs. A difference was discovered regarding the genders, whilst the female pupils showed a perceived higher level of oral communication skill, they felt less confident than the male pupils, and in addition more anxious regardless of the activity in hand. The male pupils showed a reverse tendency, although the correlation is not statistically significant it is statistically important. Even though the opinion of activities and their impact on motivation and anxiety regarding them are important, they are just one perspective and a fraction of what a teacher can do to increase the learning in the classroom of today, so hopefully there will be more research done in this field.

One purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year with outcomes of students who were not part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year. Student outcomes are defined for this study to include attendance, promotion rate to 10th grade on time, in-school suspension assignments, Algebra I End-of-Course exam scores, and English I End-of-Course exam scores. The second purpose of this study was to compare outcomes of 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year with outcomes of 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year. 10th grade student outcomes are defined for this study to include attendance, promotion rate to 11th grade on time, and in-school suspension assignments. Data were collected from a high school located in Western North Carolina over a period of 4 years (2007 - 2011). Independent samples t-tests and one-way Chi Square analyses were used to make comparisons for each outcome of the study. Based on the findings of this study, the promotion rate of 9th grade students to 10th grade on time increased after the implementation of the 9th grade academy. In-school suspension assignments for 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy during their freshman year were also less when compared to those of 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy. Ninth and 10th grade students who were part of a 9th grade academy tended to have more absences than 9th and 10th grade students who were not part of a 9th grade academy. Little difference was found in the other outcomes of the study.

This study was designed to examine computer based instruction in the 9-12 public high school. All high schools included in the study were part of the original Digital High School grants, and had a student population of over 1000 students. The purposes of the study were to examine factors affecting technology implementation, to explore how teacher attitudes, expertise, and cultural and pedagogical beliefs affected adoption, to determine how critical staff development and resources were in successful implementation, and to investigate organizational variables that were in place for successful adoption of computer based instruction. The study was conducted using Everett Rogers' five stages of the innovation-decision process. Nine technology coordinators were interviewed for this study. Following the interviews, 13 categories emerged and a grounded theory was formed. The study concluded with five recommendations for practitioners who would like to successfully implement technology on their school sites.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to examine what pupils in the ninth grade eats for lunch and also whether there is any connection between their lunch habits and perceived ability to concentrate and fatigue. A further aim was to study pupils' experience of dining environment in schools.The study is based on a quantitative method with questionnaires. The study was implemented on four schools in elementary school in themunicipalityofKristianstadand Tanum. Our results demonstrate, in accordance with several previous studies conducted in the same age group, that it is about half of the pupils who eats school lunch every day and that the majority are eating school lunch 3-5 days a week. Furthermore, our study shows that the pupils who rarely eat vegetables in school feel tired and distracted to a greater extent than the group of pupils who eat vegetables almost daily. Our result also shows that the group of pupils who eat the main course 3-5 days a week feel both tired and distracted to a greater extent than the group of students who eat the main course more rarely. In accordance with previous studies our study shows that differences exist between boys and girls regarding food that is eaten instead of school lunch. Food containing empty calories is the most popular kind, it causes glucose levels to get out of balance which makes students tired and distracted.The result of our study shows that most pupils claim that they often feel tired and distracted during the school day. Hunger affects the individual's emotions, motivation and cognition (Lennernäs, 2011), which can be linked to the fact that only 6 % of pupils feel that they are getting satisfied every day after eating the school lunch. There are also many pupils who choose not to eat anything else those days they choose to skip the school lunch. Nevertheless, the majority of pupils are still happy with the environment in the school dining room and it is barely half the pupils who want bigger influence on what is served for school lunch.

This work is focused on the choice of further educational path of elementary school pupils, namely pupils of the last year's ninth grade of the elementary school Novoborská. First the theoretical part is devoted to defining the basic concepts, the specifics of the pupils of the ninth classes and subsequently the specific factors that could influence the choice of pupils' secondary school. In this sense, it also deals with the professional orientation of pupils and the system of career counseling in the Czech Republic at the level of basic education. The practical part of this thesis focuses on the process of making decisions of the students of the ninth class about the choice of further educational or professional career through in-depth interviews with individual pupils. It also examines the specific aspects that have entered this decision and the extent to which the choice of the secondary school coincided with their professional orientation. The aim of this work is to approach the issue, to describe the factors that can be the key in transferring pupils from elementary to the secondary school and to identify the specific aspects that most influenced the choice of the secondary school pupils of the last year's ninth grade of elementary school Novoborská.

The purpose of this study was to determine if any relationship existed between the change in developmental scale scores (DSS) on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) for reading and mathematics, in selected Florida school districts among charter and non-charter public high schools, for grades 9 and 10. This study also investigated if any relationship existed in student achievement based on student demographics (gender, economically disadvantaged, primary home language (ELL) and ethnicity), and examined if there was a difference in professional demographics of faculty (advanced degrees, teachers’ average years of teaching experience, and percent of courses taught by out of field teachers gender), among charter and non-charter public high schools in the state of Florida. School data were analyzed from 234 charter and non-charter public high schools, within 15 districts across the state of Florida, for the years 2007-2009. The findings of this research suggest charter high schools in the state of Florida are not keeping the pace with their traditional public high school counterparts. Over a three year period, charter high schools had significantly lower developmental scale scores on the FCAT, in both reading and mathematics, than non-charter public high schools. The findings also suggest that student demographics, with respect to male gender, economically disadvantaged, and ELL, combined with charter school status, negatively impact student achievement as measured by DSS. The disparity noted with regard to faculty demographics between charter and non-charter public high schools, only touches on some considerable differences between the two school iv types; more information is needed on the variations so parents and students can make informed choices. For future research, replication of this study with an expanded sample size of charter schools and a longer period of time for data collection was recommended. Separate studies are recommended on the differences between charter and non-charter public schools with regard to instructional time, curriculum or grade levels offered, the differences between parent and student perceptions, and the differences between funding and principal background as it relates to student achievement.