This study sought to identify major school improvement reform programs and initiatives in Louisiana during the period of 1997 to 2005. The criteria used to identify each program included: state funding that averaged at least $2 million per year in state funds; programs that affected teachers and students for school improvement purposes; and, programs that remained in place for at least two school years. The study ultimately yielded nine initiatives that met each of the above listed criteria. Some, but not all, were the result of the School and District Accountability Commission, which was established by Act 478, the 1997 Louisiana School and District Accountability Act. These initiatives in alphabetical order are Community Based Tutorial Program; Distinguished Educators; K-3 Reading and Math Initiative; Louisiana Teacher Assessment & Assistance Program; Learning Intensive Networking Communities for Success; Local Teacher Quality; Regional Education Service Centers; Remediation; and, State Testing/ Accountability. The present study was conducted in three phases. Phase One consisted of a document search and identification. Results of the document analysis provided a foundation for Phase Two. Using content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004), the text of laws passed by the state legislature, policies created by BESE, and documents published by the LDE were examined to determine the intent, goals, longevity, and sources and levels of funding of the various mandated school improvement initiatives. In Phase Three, semi-structured interviews were conducted with former personnel and officials of the LDE, which added depth to the findings from the document analysis and were used for triangulation purposes. As mentioned, the results of the content analysis conducted in Phase Two were used to frame the interview protocol used in Phase Three. Data from the document analysis and the interviews revealed three issues relevant to the states policymaking efforts in the school improvement arena: conflicts with stakeholders erupted over turf; program instability stymied effects; and, the lack of a shared mission also impacted effects. This study offers several recommendations to policy makers in Louisiana addressing these issues and concludes with recommendations for future research.

In examining the childhood experiences of professional authors, this qualitative research found some similarities: voracious reading, writing for pleasure, early awards and publishing, mentors, meaningful lessons from teachers, and journal writing. Common areas were found among the participants advice for writing teachers as well, and the suggestions were organized into six general themes: teaching the fundamentals, getting ideas down before revising, focusing on creativity, teaching the reading-writing relationship, providing rewards like positive feedback, and being a writing role model. Suggestions were offered on how to bring this advice into the classroom.

The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) is a state-funded, merit-based scholarship codified into Louisiana state law in 1997. More than $1 billion in awards have been distributed since the programs inception. By 2006, eligibility for TOPS required a 2.5 high school grade point average on a legislatively specified 16.5-unit college preparatory curriculum, and a minimum ACT score equivalent to the average of the prior years test takers. These rules were believed to promote greater academic preparedness resulting in higher college retention rates. Only recently has the six-year graduation rate for Louisianas public universities passed the 30% mark. Since TOPS eligibility requirements are intended to improve college retention, the three criteria were analyzed in a logistical regression to determine their strength of relationship to first-year retention. A socioeconomic status variable (Pell Grant eligibility) was included to account for the influence of wealth on retention. The sample consisted of more than 17,000 Louisiana first-time freshmen who began their college career in 2006. Students who entered college with TOPS were 2.825 times more likely to continue for a second year of schooling regardless of their socioeconomic status. The high school grade point average on the required courses was the greatest predictor of college retention. In addition to an explanation of results, the most current political information regarding legislative proposals about the program is provided along with policy implications within the context of Louisiana. Finally, a national listing of state-funded, merit-based scholarship programs similar to TOPS is offered.

The study was conducted to explore the characteristics of and interrelationships between teachers self-efficacy and professional learning community. Specifically, this study presents a quantitative study of ten Louisiana public schools participating in the second year of the Louisiana 9th Grade Redesign Initiative. Banduras (1977, 1986) social cognitive learning theory of self-efficacy provides the theoretical framework for the construct of self-efficacy under study. Hords (1998) dimensions of professional learning community provide the framework for the exploration of professional learning communities in this study. The School Professional Staff as Learning Community (SPSLCQ) instrument developed by Shirley Hord (1997) and the Teacher Efficacy Beliefs System Self (TEBS-S), developed by Amy Dellinger (2001) were administered to 10 schools, with 248 responses received. Based on Cronbach alpha reliability estimates, it was concluded that both scales had satisfactory reliability. This study is presented in five parts. Chapter 1 includes an overview, a brief review of the pertinent literature that supports this study, a statement of the problem, purpose and significance of the study, a description of the study variables and research questions to guide the study. Chapter 2 consists of an extensive review of the literature related to teacher self and collective efficacy beliefs and a review of pertinent studies of professional learning communities. Chapter 3 includes the methodology to be used in this study including a description of the sampling strategy, instruments to be used, data collection, and data analysis techniques to be used to address research questions presented in Chapter 1. Chapter 4 presents a summary of the results of the study. Chapter 5 offers a discussion of the results, implications of the study results and directions for further research.

This study investigated the various teaching strategies implemented by the teachers in a computer-based Mathematics course delivery model created by the LSU Math Department and applied in Louisiana High Schools. This model was referred to as R2R (Roadmap to Redesign). It was a course design that includes whole class instruction time (about 25% of class time) in addition to time spent with teacher assistance utilizing computer software (MathXL) to practice exercises, submit homework assignments, and take quizzes and tests.The study aimed to determine the proportion of teachers using the R2R model that opt to support a conceptual agenda in their whole class instruction, the proportion of teachers that had a procedural focus in their instruction, and the instructional methods used by each of these groups. The study employed a mixed methods design, where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data was collected through a survey instrument, and served to categorize teachers as potentially conceptual or potentially procedural, and determine the proportion of each category. The qualitative data were collected through observations and interviews, and served to portrait the characteristics of procedural and conceptual instruction. The survey identified 7 out of 34 teachers as potentially oriented by conceptual goals in their R2R instruction, 8 teachers as procedurally oriented, and the remaining 19 teachers as intermediate in their orientation. Procedurally oriented teachers tended to demonstrate solution methods, focusing on the quickest and most efficient approach to solve a problem. Of three potentially conceptual teachers observed and interviewed in the study, none actually displayed instructional methods that aligned with their aspirations for student learningall of them adopted procedural methods of instruction. However, one of the teachers, observed a second time during a portion of the course following the completion of R2R goals, did conduct a conceptually oriented lesson. The initial motivation for this study was to document the ways in which conceptually oriented teachers adapt the R2R format to meet their goals. The study results tentatively suggested that the time constraints imposed by the R2R curriculum render this instructional approach incompatible with conceptually oriented instruction

This study aimed to explore how the indigenous (national) culture of teaching and learning mediates teachers understandings of constructivism in China and the U.S. Thirty middle school math teachers who are self-identified with the mathematics teaching reform movement in each country participated in this study (NCTM 2000 Math Standards in the United States or the MOE 2001 Math Standards in China). Both theoretical and empirical methods were adopted for this research. Theoretical analysis led to a new cultural model that helped select appropriate cultural elements for this study. Based on emergence theory, the new model perceives Confucianism and Taoism as the most influential beliefs and values in terms of teaching and learning in China, in contrast with Behaviorism and Individualism in the U.S. This study revealed that the indigenous culture of China and U.S. greatly influenced teachers understandings of teaching and learning. Chinese participants tended to advocate Eastern belief that math learning develops through mental struggle, and is facilitated by providing hints, whereas their American counterparts tended to have faith in the Western belief that properly sequenced instruction supplemented by general encouragement of students will lead to learning. However, in some cases teachers responses defied the predictions of the cultural model. For instance Chinese and American teachers both tended to opt for the Eastern belief of creating pedagogical balance as opposed to the Western belief in choosing a single well-chosen method. The differences and commonalities between Chinese and American participants understandings of learning and teaching are thoroughly explored in this study. The key issue of transportability of recommended pedagogical practices across cultural boundaries is discussed in the Conclusions section.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the proprietary science education software, Conversionoes, on students' conceptual and visual understanding of dimensional analysis. The participants in the study were high school general chemistry students enrolled in two public high schools with different demographics (School A and School B) in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, metropolitan area. A mixed methods design was used in the data collection and analysis to provide a holistic view of the impact of the software on student learning, via a value-added design. The resulting qualitative and quantitative data indicated that the Conversionoes software enhanced the treatment groups conceptual and visual understanding of dimensional analysis. In fact, when all of the quantitative and qualitative data were viewed as a whole, the advantages of integrating Conversionoes into the general chemistry classroom appeared to have a positive impact on student conceptual and visual understanding of dimensional analysis. This was supported by the quantitative data, which indicated a significant difference between the overall pre-test and post-test scores of the treatment groups (n=14, t=-2.896, p=0.008). The treatment groups data were comprised of performance test results from Schools A and B. The descriptive statistics indicated that in general African-American students benefited the most from the software. African-American males had the highest increase in proficiency, 18%; followed by African-American females, 16%; White males, 10.22%; and White Females, 9.67%. With respect to gender, females had the highest increase in proficiency, 15.59%, males increased on average by 12.42%. More importantly the software elevated student performance in all of the ethnic groups and both genders, helping students make gains in their proficiency levels of dimensional analysis problem solving. The qualitative data also showed that most students valued their experiences using the Conversionoes software and claimed that it improved their knowledge of all aspects of dimensional analysis.

Numerous procedures have been suggested for determining the number of factors to retain in factor analysis. However, previous studies have focused on comparing methods using normal data sets. This study had two phases. The first phase explored the Kaiser method, Scree test, Bartletts chi-square test, Minimum Average Partial (1976 & 2000), Horns parallel analysis, and Longmans Parallel Analysis on normal data using the estimation methods of Maximum Likelihood (ML), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Principal Factor Analysis (PFA). The second phase explored the Kaiser method, Scree test, Minimum Average Partial (1976 & 2000), and Horns parallel analysis, and Longmans Parallel Analysis on data that contained outliers using the estimation methods of PCA and PFA. In the first phase, sample correlation matrices were generated with varied conditions (sample size, number of variables, estimation methods). Three hundred sample correlation matrices were generated for each condition for a grand total of eighteen hundred. The performance of parallel analysis and the Kaiser method were generally the best across all situations. However, the increase in variables and sample size under each condition showed a difference in accuracy among the methods. The increase in sample size resulted in little difference between estimation methods of PCA and PFA. Recommendations concerning the accuracy of the methods under each condition are discussed. In the second phase, fifty sample correlation matrices were randomly selected from each of the three hundred sample correlations matrices under each condition. An outlier was randomly incorporated in each of the fifty sample correlation matrices. The squared Mahalanobis distance was recorded for each to determine the distance at which the methods start to fail. The research conducted here indicates that Parallel Analysis and Longmans Parallel Analysis was very resistant to outliers in some specific cases. However, it was evident from the data that each method tended to make the incorrect decision on retaining the correct number of factors when the squared Mahalanobis distance reached a certain amount. A discussion of method performance is given on each of the conditions to help determine the most effective and useful combinations on dealing with the outliers.

This triangulated mixed methods study examines the construct of incivility in nursing higher education within the southeastern United States. A modification of the Incivility in Nursing Education (INE) survey (Clark, 2007) was administered to determine behaviors students identify as uncivil within the various contexts of the associate degree nursing educational environment classroom and clinical area and among the nursing education triad students, faculty, and nurses. Ten factors were isolated as a result of exploratory factor analysis. There was a statistically significant difference between beginning and graduating students perceptions regarding one factor, Abuse of Faculty Position. Beginning students described this factor as faculty showing favoritism and not caring. Graduating students described this factor as faculty being rigid and acting superior. There was a statistically significant difference between where beginning and graduating students perceived incivility occurred most frequently. Beginning students identified the classroom and graduating students identified the clinical area as venues where incivility appeared the most. Analysis of students open ended responses revealed differences in the uncivil behaviors found in the classroom and on the clinical unit. Themes emerging included the severity of consequences, harassment, and perpetrators. The consequences of incivility on the clinical unit had the potential to be more severe; there was more opportunity for harassment on the clinical unit where nurses, faculty, patients, peers, and staff were potential perpetrators. A comparison of programs with high and low levels of incivility was conducted through a content analysis of documents related to school mission, curricula, conduct codes, and faculty and by analyzing the open-ended responses on the INE. Findings revealed that programs with high perceived levels of incivility had extensive conduct codes with no student representation on appeals committees, required students to attend nursing classes during the summer, and had an environment which tolerated incivility with consequences focusing on punishment. Programs with low perceived levels of incivility had student representation on appeals committees, did not require attendance during the summer, and focused on dialoguing with those involved in uncivil behavior. Implications for nursing educators are discussed and suggestions for future research are identified.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using audience response systems (ARS) on student learning outcomes and learning processes, when the instructional strategy of using sequentially challenging questions and collaborative discussions were held constant across both treatment and control conditions. A quasi-experimental AB alternating research design was employed. Two sections of a Functional Anatomy and Kinesiology course at a small faith-based college participated in the study. One section served as control and the other section as treatment groups until midsemester, when the roles of the groups switched. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. Independent t-tests showed no significant impact of ARS in either the unit exams, or the final exam. Chi square tests demonstrated no significant difference in imbedding questions within the presentations. Most students preferred attending class where the ARS are used, citing greater engagement with the instructor, the material and their peers.