The scholastic geography of Lithuania has experienced the period of reforms during the past two decades. The imperative of the education shift has been determined by economical, social and cultural changes. The subject-matter of education and the training process have been corrected. It is a matter of great relevance to ascertain whether the subject-matter of geography education conforms to the requirements set by the documents of the Education System. The study contains the analysis of the conception of the education subject-matter and the structural parts of it. General structural model of geography science, as the basic source for the formation of the education subject-matter, is presented, the analysis of its elements is performed. The formation stages of geography science and the subject-matter of education are highlighted by emphasizing the basic periods of the education shift (scholastic geography to the education reform, contemporary scholastic geography). The content analysis of the schoolchildren achievements determined by the General Programmes and Education Standards is performed. The schoolchildren conception of geography is examined.

Lietuvoje vykstanti švietimo sistemos reforma yra viena sudėtinių modernios, demokratinės valstybės tapsmo dimensijų. Švietimo pertvarka palietė visas jos struktūrines sritis ir lygmenis. Ypač reikšminga specialiojo ugdymo pertvarka, kuri keičia ne tik iki šiol mažiausiai visuomenei pažįstamos – specialiųjų ugdymosi poreikių turinčių vaikų – grupės padėtį, bet kartu ir bendrojo lavinimo sistemą ( Galkienė, A. 2003). Lietuvos Respublikos specialiojo ugdymo įstatymas (1998 12 15 Nr. VIII 969) įpareigoja išskirtinį dėmesį skirti specialiųjų poreikių vaikų ir paauglių ugdymui. Šiame įstatyme specialiųjų poreikių asmenys įvardijami kaip „vaikai ir suaugusieji, dėl įgimtų ir įgytų sutrikimų turintys ribotas galimybes dalyvauti ugdymo procese, visuomenės gyvenime“ ( Barkauskaitė, M. ir kiti, 2001). Lietuvos Respublika kurdama modernią atvirą mokyklą vadovaujasi šalies švietimo nuostata, kad neįgaliųjų švietimas – neatskiriama bendrosios švietimo sistemos dalis. Švietimo ir mokslo ministerijos duomenimis, mokinių, turinčių specialiųjų poreikių, skaičius bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose nuo 1995 m. iki 2003 m. išaugo 2,5 karto. Nuostata į integralų bendrojo ir specialiojo ugdymo santykį vienoje švietimo sistemoje siekia realizuoti lygių galimybių principą kiekvienam mokiniui; laiduoja švietimo prieinamumą siekiant įgyti bendrąjį išsilavinimą ir profesinę kvalifikaciją bei mokytis visą gyvenimą. Ši nuostata neabejotinai aktualizuoja vidinio ugdymo diferencijavimo problemą ir tik tam... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The long lasting attitude that problems connected with special needs people is their and their family business and these people are useless to the society, the new civilized view of society changes. A person having special needs as strong as they could be has the same rights as the others: to live the same homes as the rest, to learn in the same schools, to work the same jobs and to have the same possibilities. There are the students having special needs, because in the context of life quality the learning process and self – realization are very important. One of the most complicated tasks and acute specialized as well as general pedagogic and psychology and the whole society’s problems – to prepare a person to life, future job, having in mind requirements for nowadays and future economy. Moreover, life dictates necessary conditions to prepare a special needs student, a young person for future profession, his/her working activity. It is necessary to overlook nowadays situation, raising questions, requirements, but it is obvious the need of future social and economic requirements. Knowing all these requirements we want to look through the changes in education of special needs students, providing them professional education, if the teachers gained more knowledge and competences in special education area? Research problem. Peculiarities of teachers’ work in identifying and meeting students’ special education needs in vocational training. Research aim. To analyze and... [to full text]

Forskning visar hur musiken inverkar på människans totala välbefinnande och kapacitet. Det finns studier som påvisar samband mellan musik och prestation och statistiskt sett har musikklasser bättre studieresultat än andra klasser. I denna studie har undersökts hur gymnasieelever själva upplever körsången i skolan, och rent specifikt om körsången kan påverka deras totala studieprestation. Undersökningen fokuserar kring att få en djupare inblick i hur dessa elever ser att deras egen personliga utveckling hänger samman med körsången i skolan. Vilka egenskaper och förmågor utvecklar körsången? Detta har sedan kopplats till rådande forskning om motivation, prestation och framgång. Är det så att körsången bidrar till att höja elevens totala studieprestation? Resultatet visar att körsången har ett flertal effekter, varav flera kan anses vara prestationsgrundande. På ett översiktligt plan upplevs körsången som meningsfull, och ansvarstagandet är därför högt. Körsången stimulerar både mentalt och fysiskt, och genererar positiva emotioner vilket bidrar till tillfredsställelse och välbefinnande. Körsången uppfyller flera behov såsom behov av trygghet, gemenskap och uppskattning, vilket anses vara förutsättningar för att känna motivation till att prestera. Om detta sammantaget påverkar elevens studieresultat totalt sett är svårt att påvisa, men då körsången genererar sådana egenskaper som genomsyrar en elevs totala karaktär och attityd, är det rimligt att påstå att så kan vara fallet. / Research shows how music influences our total well-being and our potential. There are studies that show a connection between music and achievement and statistically students in music programs show better academic results in all subjects than other students. This study has looked into how high school students perceive choral singing in school, and specifically if they feel that choral singing can affect their total scholastic achievements. The study focuses on obtaining a deeper perspective on how these students view if their own personal development is connected to their choral singing in school. What traits and abilities does choral singing promote? The results have been related to current research about motivation, performance, and success. Does choral singing contribute to the improvement of students’ overall scholastic performance? The results show that choral singing has many effects, whereby some can be viewed as achievement-boosting. Broadly speaking, choral singing is perceived to be meaningful by the test-subjects, which leads to a high degree of responsibility. Choral singing stimulates both mentally and physically, and generates positive emotions which contribute to feelings of satisfaction and well-being. Choral singing fulfills many needs, such as security, community, and appreciation, which are said to be prerequisites for being motivated to achieve. It is difficult to prove if this combination is responsible for affecting the students’ scholastic results, but since choral singing generates abilities that permeate a student’s overall character and attitude, it is viable to draw this conclusion.

The purpose of this study was to determine which academic and demographic factors predict students' achievement in the nursing major of a baccalaureate program. Records of 128 full time subjects were examined to extract the factors selected to be included in the analysis.Data pertaining to each independent variable were organized into three distinct groups based on the known performance of each subject following certification. One group passed all course work in the nursing major; one group failed one or more courses in the nursing major delaying completion; and one group was no longer enrolled. To investigate the differences in the group membership, discriminant function analyses were performed to examine academic and demographic predictors. A classification technique was utilized to test the adequacy of each discriminant function analysis. All classification analyses were 72.3 percent and above in probability level.Two null hypotheses guided this study: Hypothesis I proposed that academic factors do not predict attrition and/or retention in a baccalaureate nursing program; and Hypothesis II proposed that demographic factors do not interact with academic factors in predicting success. Hypothesis I was rejected , and Hypothesis II was not fully accepted based on discriminant function analyses.The following conclusions were identified from the findings of this study:1. Grade point averages in the required prerequisite courses predicted group membership (achievement) in the nursing major.2. Grade point averages of 3.0 during progression in the nursing major predicted membership in a group defined as continuing successfully in the first attempt of course work and graduating on time.3. Grade point averages of less than 3.0 following the first semester in the nursing major predicted membership in a group defined as failing at least one course, or perhaps predict membership in a group that will experience attrition.4. Ethnicity made a significant contribution with academic factors to predicting group membership for achievement.These results suggest that nursing educators and counselors need to consider the importance of not only closely monitoring each subject's semester grade point average, but also referring the identified problem to the appropriate service provider for intervention.3 / Department of Educational Leadership

A sample of 674 first-year student-athletes at Ball State University were examined for five consecutive years (2004-2008) to determine what combination of demographic, academic, and athletic variables best predicted first-year GPA and retention into the second year of college. The dependent variables of first-year GPA and retention were chosen because they are two primary components used to calculate the Academic Progress Rate, a semester by semester evaluation of team academic performance used by the NCAA (Christianson, 2004). Results revealed college student-athletes had a higher first-year GPA if they were female (r = .36), Caucasian (r = .36), attended college relatively close to their hometown (r = .09), scored well on standardized tests (r = .49), had a respectable high school GPA (r = .65), were ranked high in their graduating high school class (r = -.58), had a large high school graduating class (r = .15), declared a major upon entering college (r = -.11), were not a member of a revenue sport (r = .37), and earned a considerable amount of playing time (r = .15). Building on the relative strengths of those relationships, first-year GPA can be predicted by knowing gender (B = .16), race (B = -.26), standardized test scores (B = .03), high school GPA (B = .41), high school rank (B < -.01), and high school size (B < .01). The retention of student-athletes into their second year of college produced a slightly different set of relationships. Student-athletes were more likely to be retained if they were Caucasian (r = .16), attended college close to their hometown (r = .09), scored well on standardized tests (r = -.11), had a respectable high school GPA (r = -.14), were ranked high in their graduating high school class (r = .12), were not a member of a revenue sport (r = -.09), and earned a considerable amount of playing time (r = -.17). Predicting retention is possible with information about race (B = 1.09), distance from hometown (B = .4), type of sport (B = .82), and amount of playing time (B = -.70). / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 311-324). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S. in Leadership and Human Resource Development)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Alice M. Crawford, William R. Bowman. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79). Also available online.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Ceola Baber; submitted to the Dept. of Teacher Education and Higher Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 18, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-143).

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Andrea Hunter; submitted to the Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 5, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-74).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 31, 2006. Dissertation Committee: George Padavil (chair), Ramesh B. Chaudhari, William J. Pearch, Victor J. Boschini. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110) and abstract. Also available in print.