The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the affective consequences of grade retention and to uncover possible social and academic effects of grade retention on students’ subsequent elementary school experience. The participants were kindergarten through eighth grade students from a county in a rural area in Northeast Tennessee who had been retained for at least one year. A total of 36 students participated in the study, along with principals, school counselors, and teachers from each of the nine schools involved in the study. Information was collected through semi-structured qualitative interviews and the data were analyzed inductively using constant comparative analysis procedures. As a result of the analysis of student interview data, 10 areas of influence emerged related to students’ perceptions of the retention process. This evidence was further substantiated through extended conversations with principals, school counselors and teachers. The areas of influence were categorized into six thematic areas: Theme 1: Conditions of Acceptance; Theme 2: Importance of Timing in the Decision to Retain; Theme 3: Negative Consequences of Retention for Older Children; Theme 4: Lack of Preparation for the Retention; Theme 5: Inadequacy of Support Services After the Retention; Theme 6: Far-reaching Effects of Retention. Based on the findings, the investigator reached the following conclusions: (1) Regardless of their initial reaction to the retention decision, most students eventually accepted the decision. Parental involvement and support was wanted and needed. (2) Retention appeared to be an appropriate intervention for students whose problems stemmed from being chronologically and/or developmentally behind their classmates. (3) Retention appeared to be least appropriate for students who were dealing with behavior problems, learning disabilities, or other problems in their lives. (4) School personnel rarely prepared the child for the retention decision and rarely provided services to make sure the repeated year was successful. (5) Retained students socialized well with other students, but the retention process had negative effects on students’ self-esteem and attitude toward school. Due to the significant impact of making the wrong promotion/retention decision, grade retention should be researched from every possible angle. New approaches to curriculum development, school restructuring, and individualized student instruction should become the focus of efforts to improve student success, and “ensure that no child is left behind.”

Many high school students are unable to consider engineering as an undergraduate program of study because they have not taken the prerequisite courses required for university entrance. In order to provide the opportunity for capable students to pursue an engineering degree and subsequently enter the engineering profession, they should be more aware of the profession of engineering prior to entering high school to enable them to select appropriate courses from the very start of their post elementary education. The focus of this study is to understand how students in grade 7 perceive the profession of engineering in two example regions across Canada. Recent literature suggests that action is underway in some areas of the United States in order to create awareness and encourage students to pursue an engineering program. These initiatives range from integrating engineering concepts into the K-12 curriculum to providing outreach and design challenge opportunities outside of school. In Canada, such initiatives are only present in isolated cases, with limited reach and impact. To better understand the perspectives on engineering of pre-high school students in Canada, grade 7 students were provided with surveys incorporating a variety of questions pertaining to the engineering profession. All questions were open ended in order to promote individualized answers from the students. Survey questions were analyzed with NVIVO software to determine common themes in the understanding and perception of engineering from the perspective of the students. After the completion of the survey, select students in each location were interviewed in order to further explore their perception of the engineering profession. The questions asked during these interviews built on the themes of the written survey. In general, it was found that participants had varied and mostly inaccurate perception of what engineers do, and lacked a clear understanding of the profession. After analyzing the data, the subsequent suggested recommendations are to develop a better public perception of the engineering profession, develop programs to help teachers better relate math and science to engineering in school, and to consider further investigation of best practices from the United States and how they might be implemented in Canada. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-28 18:12:53.158

Diplomová práce na téma Návrh na udržení a zlepšení image Vysokého učení technického je založena na výzkumu očekávání a vnímání VUT českými a zahraničními studenty, což napovídá tomu, jak velký rozdíl je mezi image VUT - vytvořeným obrazem o VUT očima studentů - a realitou.