This research is a content analysis of six recently published basal reader series, each of which begins with a readiness/priming sequence that starts with letters, words, connected strings of words, and a few pages of activities which might be considered general readiness. While this concept of readiness for reading reflects a word recognition view of reading, marketing promotions include eclectic statements regarding philosophy, materials, and methods which reflect an early childhood view of child development and meaning construction. Publishers imply that reading is a process of constructing meaning, but they supply materials for both students and teachers which neither encourage nor allow for meaningfulness. While descriptions of the series studied promise special and unique approaches to readiness, they are very similar to one another in every aspect of readiness. Each provides an overwhelming proportion of activities and workbook pages with the major instructional focus on letters and words. There are minor differences in connected text among the various series, but those differences are primarily in regard to the specific type of vowel control used. Considerations about the syntactic and semantic language systems follow the same formulae throughout the industry. Publishers of basal readers hire professional educators to quote research and lend credibility to their "scientifically" designed programs, but the published materials often contradict statements made by these professionals. While there is some indication in the manuals and promotional materials that suggest knowledge on the part of editors and authors concerning research in the areas of emergent literacy and psycholinguistic theory, there is little within the materials and methods that reflects this knowledge.

The popular belief that has been held for many years has been that students who have been identified as gifted would succeed academically in college because of their previous success in high school. However, in countries with a disadvantaged and unequal school system, one that is stratified according to groups' socioeconomic status, such as Chile, this statement could be questioned. Using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the three studies presented in this dissertation have provided evidence confirming that gifted students had difficulties related to the transition to and persistence in college. Some of these difficulties were related to gifted students' initial academic performance in college and could be explained by their high school academic preparedness. Students who attended public schools had lower scores on the college entrance test (PSU) and had a lower academic performance in college than their gifted counterparts from voucher (charter) schools, as found in studies I and II. However, despite several academic difficulties, such as failing courses and falling behind their classmates, all students showed high levels of commitment, motivation, and a strong overall desire for continuing their higher education studies, as shown in studies II and III. Other difficulties were related to initial problems regarding social adaptation to college, as shown in study II. Implications for research and practice were discussed in all three studies, and include suggestions such as the creation of pre-college and within-college support programs for college gifted students who have not been provided with challenging and/or high-level opportunities to meet college academic expectations.

This comparative study explored the influence of different pre-school models on school readiness among pre-school children from different urban socio-economic status (SES) neighbourhoods. The study sampled 207 pre-school children attending different pre-school models in different SES neighbourhoods within the city of Nairobi in Kenya. In the study, school readiness was conceived as the ability of children to learn and handle primary school tasks. Assessment was done through teachers' rating of children's level of developmental and fitnctional skills using a School Readiness Assessment Instrument (SRAI), which was adopted and modified from the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The study compared school readiness outcomes amongst pre-schoolers aged five and six years. School readiness outcome was also correlated with the level of developmentally appropriate practice of the different pre-schools, assessed through observation and interviews. Major findings from this study were that, pre-school children who attended Private pre-school models outperformed their peers from public pre-schools in school readiness scores and children from low SES neighbourhoods had lower school readiness scores compared with children from middle and high SES neighbourhoods. The study recommends a paradigm shift from an academically oriented pre-school model to one that embrace a holistic approach in program and assessment of children's school readiness. It also recommends further studies on the influence of cultural variations on school readiness and primary school readiness to receive pre-schoolers.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis analyzes engineering readiness and training onboard United States Navy surface ships. On the west coast, the major contributor to training is the Afloat Training Group, Pacific (ATGPAC). The primary objective is to determine whether the readiness standards provide pertinent insight to the surface force Commander and generate alternatives that may assist in better characterization of force-wide engineering readiness. The Type Commander has many questions that should be answered. Some of these are addressed with Poisson and binomial models. The results include: first, age of a ship has no association with performance of drills and that the number of discrepancies is associated with the performance of drills; second, drill performance decreased from the first initial assessment (IA) to the second IA; third, on average, the number of material discrepancies decreases from the IA to the underway demonstration (UD) for ships observed over two cycles; fourth, good ships do well on four programs; finally, training is effective. A table characterizing ships as above average, average, or below average in drill effectiveness at the IA and UD is supplied. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

This investigation emphasized relationships between adjustment level in the intermediate grades and measures that differentiated it, or were related to it. Special attention was devoted to sex differences that might help account for the higher incidence of disturbance and school difficulty encountered by boys. Strong emphasis was given to investigating the postulation that physical inability to meet early school demands will be a frequent cause of failure and frustration, which might, in turn, precipitate a cycle of reading retardation and general underachievement.

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / The U.S. Army's Objective Force is being developed as a faster, lighter, more rapidly deployable alternative to the current force structure. The development of a strategy for the allocation of the Unit of Action's organic sensing assets is necessary to achieve the maximum situational awareness and information dominance required for successful combat operations on the future battlefield. This thesis presents a methodology for finding an appropriate mix and allocation strategy for organic Unit of Action sensors in a given scenario. Three aggregate levels are identified: sensors, platforms, and packages and performance measures are developed at each level. Two optimization models were developed, (1) a Sensor Allocation Model that, given a fixed mix or inventory, allocates assets to target areas on the battlefield, and (2) a Sensor Mix Model that suggests an organic mix of sensors for consideration in developing the Objective Force structure. These models have the additional potential for use as an operational decision support tool for unit commanders. The notional data set used for model development included ten platform types, ten target clusters, ten target categories, four enemy orders of battle, and four outcomes, however these inputs are easily modified based on the requirements of the user or analyst. / Major, United States Army

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Kenneth Hughey / Students are entering institutions across the country unprepared to meet the demands of higher education. While Kansas is above the national average for students prepared for higher education, only twenty-nine percent of Kansas seniors are considered "prepared” for college in the four determined benchmark areas, compared to the twenty-five percent national average (ACT, 2012). With this statistic, ACT indicates that only one fourth of students complete high school requirements in such a way that leads to success post-graduation. Students are not ready for the expectations of higher education, and as a result this population is less likely to succeed. Further, development opportunities targeted at underprepared students are largely unsuccessful at reaching the population. This report looks at the unprepared student population, the role of higher education, and the projected future for underprepared students in higher education. In an effort to encourage holistic development and successful support initiatives, recommendations for higher education practices and research are discussed.

Thesis advisor: Mary E. Walsh / School readiness at kindergarten is an important predictor of children's future academic success (Duncan et al., 2007). While early pre-academic and behavioral skills are important for all students, there is considerable inequality in students' levels of readiness at the start of school (Coley, 2002; Lee & Burkam, 2002; Razza, Martin & Brooks-Gunn, 2010; Ryan, Fauth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2006; Welsh, Nix, Blair, Bierman & Nelson, 2010), and research has pointed to a range of out-of-school and poverty-related factors that contribute to these inequalities (Coley, 2002; Dearing, 2008; Foster, 2002; Hill, 2001; Razza et al., 2010; Ryan et al., 2006). This study utilizes relational developmental systems theory (Lerner, 2006; 2011) to examine the individual and contextual factors that co-act dynamically to shape and predict student outcomes. Specifically, this study extends the body of research on early child development by examining the factors that predict school readiness skills within a sample of 521 young children preparing to enter the first grade from urban early education programs. Multilevel regression models indicate that student characteristics, classroom characteristics, and peer contexts each predict students' school readiness scores, and that the interactions among these variables make unique contributions to the prediction of school readiness scores as well. Implications for theory, policy, and practice are discussed along with recommendations for future research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

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