Despite the potential and increased availability of media technology, including advanced technologies such as computers and CD-ROM multimedia, teachers' actual use of technology, and particularly of the advanced technologies, in FLT/L in higher education in Korea still tends to be limited. The purposes of this study were, therefore: 1) to investigate the current patterns and contexts of teachers' (and for reference, students') use of media technology and their attitudes towards its use in FLT/L at university level in Korea; 2) to examine the cause of problems and the possibilities of improvement in its use in FLT/L; and 3) based on these findings, to suggest some solutions and strategies for applying them to the Korean context. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were adopted, i.e., questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations were used to collect the data required for this study. The subjects consisted of forty-eight teachers who teach English (and 535 students) at twelve universities in the central districts in Korea. In addition, workshopbased experiments were carried out to gather additional data on teachers' opinions and to evaluate the implications of the study. This study shows that the majority of Korean teachers (and students) have positive attitudes towards the use of media technology in FLT/L, with generally no significant gender and years of teaching experience (and academic years) differences, although they make little use of it. The study suggests that the availability of media technology equipment and appropriate materials in particular, teachers' knowledge of it, and proper teacher training have a positive impact on teachers' attitudes towards its use, and are, in addition to their positive attitudes, the other main factors influencing its successful implementation in FLT/L. It is concluded that to provide the teachers with sufficient knowledge of the capabilities of media technology and to encourage wider use, more access to hardware and software is necessary, and training to familiarise teachers with the hardware and software and its potential for language teaching is essential. Therefore, suggestions are made for the effective use of existing facilities, and for a model that could be adopted for teacher training courses.

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of visualization of natural phenomena via computer simulation and manipulations of concrete objects, in a physics laboratory, on the development of students’ inquiry skills in mechanics. A quasi-experimental method that employed the 2 Learning Tools x 2 Time of learning split-plot factorial design was applied in the study. The sample consisted of 54 Grade 11 students from two physics classes of the university preparation section in the Ottawa-Catholic School Board. One class was assigned to interactive computer simulations (treatment) and the other to concrete objects in physics laboratory (control) as learning tools. Both tools were embedded in the general framework of the guided-inquiry cycle approach. The results showed that the interaction effect of the Learning Tools x Time of learning was not statistically significant. However, the results also showed a significant effect on the development of students’ inquiry skills (indicated by the pre- and post-inquiry skills test) regardless of the type of learning tool they had used. The findings suggested that these two strategies are effective in developing students’ inquiry skills in mechanics.

Since the time of Bryan's (1974) seminal work on the social status of children with learning disabilities (LD), research has consistently shown that children with LD struggle to earn social acceptance from non-LD peers. Recently, investigators have uncovered within-group variability among children with LD suggesting that some children with LD are well accepted and even popular among non-LD peers. An appeal in the field of learning disabilities has emerged, calling for a shift from deficit-model research focusing on the deficiencies of children with LD, to the investigation of how children with LD obtain positive social outcomes. Accordingly, a study was undertaken addressing this request by examining the characteristics of peer-accepted children with LD from a multi-rater and multi-method perspective. Using the comprehensive model of social competence proposed by Vaughn and Hogan (1990) as the theoretical framework, data were gathered from teachers, peers, and peer-accepted children with and without LD in important areas of social functioning. Participants were grade four and five mainstreamed students meeting the following criteria: (a) having a researcher-identified learning disability in at least one academic area (reading, spelling, or arithmetic) and (b) peer-rated social acceptance as determined via a modified version of the Asher and Dodge (1986) sociometric classification system. Statistical analyses consisted of multivariate and univariate techniques. Findings indicated few significant differences between peer-accepted children with and without LD in specific areas of social competence as rated by peers. Significant interactions, however, between LD status and gender revealing variable profiles of social-behavioural characteristics for boys and girls with and without LD did emerge from the perspective of teachers. Implications for special education referral and placement, inclusive education, and interventions are discussed.

Recently, research has postulated that stuttering is a motor disorder that results from brain abnormalities within the central nervous system. Based on evidence of numerous irregularities within various motor systems, it has been suggested that other motor domains may be comprised. In particular, research in individuals who stutter has found fine, gross, and visual-spatial motor impairment. These studies, though, are dated, have numerous methodological concerns, or yielded contradictory results. Thus, this study investigated whether motor skills in children who stutter (CWS) were compromised. Fine motor skills are important in a school environment because students are required to utilize these skills to complete various assignments and projects, such as cutting and folding paper. Gross motor skills are equally as important as children use these skills to move around their environment. Visual-spatial motor skills are vital for children as they are often required to copy notes off of the board. Deficits in any of these areas may have potentially harmful effects on school performance. Thus, in a school setting, school psychologists are a valuable asset, as they are trained to consult and work with "at risk" populations to prevent long-term problems. Given the potential motor deficits in CWS, school psychologists can intervene and provide appropriate accommodations to remediate any motor deficits. Participants included 12 CWS and 12 children who do not stutter (CWNS). Participants were recruited from a large urban school district and were administered the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Second Edition (Bruininks & Bruininks, 2005; BOT-2). Parents completed a demographic questionnaire. One Way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) were calculated to compare group means. Results indicated that CWS performed poorer on all but one motor area. Given these results, when a child is identified with a disfluency problem, a broader consideration of issues that may be facing the child is warranted. In particular, school psychologists are in a position to intervene and provide appropriate services to an "at risk" population (i.e., CWS) by conducting a brief motor assessment to identify motor strengths and weaknesses. If warranted, school psychologists can provide accommodations and services to address any identified weaknesses in motor areas.

Previous research has demonstrated the importance of the qualities of the teacher-child relationship on children’s development. Close teacher-child relationships are especially important for children at risk. Positive relationships have been shown to have beneficial effects on children’s social and academic development (Birch & Ladd, 1997; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). Children with language difficulties are likely to face increased risks with regard to long term social and academic outcomes. The purpose of the current research was to gain greater understanding of the qualities of teacher-child relationships for young children with parent reported language concerns. The research analyses completed for this thesis involved the use of data from the public-access database of Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). LSAC is a longitudinal study involving a nationally representative sample of 10,000 Australian children. Data are being collected biennially from 2004 (Wave 1 data collection) until 2010 (Wave 4 data collection). LSAC has a cross-sequential research design involving two cohorts, an infant cohort (0-1 year at age of recruitment) and a kindergarten cohort (4-5 years at age of recruitment). Two studies are reported in this thesis using data for the LSAC Kindergarten Cohort which had 4983 child participants at recruitment. Study 1 used Wave 1 data to identify the differences between teacher-child relationship qualities for children with parent reported language concerns and their peers. Children identified by parents for whom concerns were held about their receptive and expressive language, as measured by items from the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) (Glascoe, 2000) were the target (at risk) group in the study (n = 210). A matched case control group of peers (n = 210), matched on the child characteristics of sex, age, cultural and linguistic differences (CALD), and socio-economic positioning (SEP), were the comparison group for this analysis. Teacher-child relationship quality was measured by teacher reports on the Closeness and Conflict scales from the short version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) (Pianta, 2001). There were statistically significant differences in the levels of closeness and conflict between the two groups. The target group had relationships with their teachers that had lower levels of closeness and higher levels of conflict than the control group. Study 2 reports analyses that examined the stability of the qualities of the teacher-child relationships at Wave 1 (4-5 years) and the qualities of the teacher-child relationships at Wave 2 (6-7 years). This time frame crosses the period of the children’s transition to school. The study examined whether early patterns in the qualities of the teacher-child relationship for children with parent reported language concerns at Wave 1 predicted the qualities of the teacher-child relationship outcomes in the early years of formal school. The sample for this study consisted of the group of children identified with PEDS language concerns at Wave 1 who also had teacher report data at Wave 2 (n = 145). Teacher-child relationship quality at Wave 1 and Wave 2 was again measured by the STRS scales of Closeness and Conflict. Results from multiple regression models indicated that teacher-child relationship quality at Wave 1 significantly contributed to the prediction of the quality of the teacher-child relationship at Wave 2, beyond other predictor variables included in the regression models. Specifically, Wave 1 STRS Closeness scores were the most significant predictor for STRS Closeness scores at Wave 2, while Wave 1 STRS Conflict scores were the only significant predictor for Wave 2 STRS Conflict outcomes. These results indicate that the qualities of the teacher-child relationship experienced prior to school by children with parent reported language concerns remained stable across transitions into formal schooling at which time the child had a different teacher. The results of these studies provide valuable insight into the nature of teacher-child relationship quality for young children with parent reported language concerns. These children experienced teacher-child relationships of a lower quality when compared with peers and, additionally, the qualities of these relationships prior to formal schooling were predictive of the qualities of the relationships in the early years of formal schooling. This raises concerns, given the increased risks of poorer social and academic outcomes already faced by children with language difficulties, that these early teacher-child relationships have an impact on future teacher-child relationships. Results of these studies are discussed with these considerations in mind and also discussed in terms of the implications for educational theory, policy and practice.

This study sets out to explore and describe the life experience of spirituality within the context of daily life. What is that through daily interaction of their lives, persons interviewed as part of this research experienced as a sense of meaning and wholeness, and which these persons identify and value as contributing to their sense of living spiritually? Thus daily life informed by these kinds of so-called spiritual engagements and practices may provide a way of discovering or recovering the sacred in ordinary situations and activities of their lives. Such engagements and practices may help to strengthen a consciousness that nurtures a spirituality of human development. / Spirtuality in this sense refers to the practices and learning through which individuals and societies attempt to move beyond self-centred positions of power and control, to share experiences that articulate care of the self, and of seeking meaning, wisdom, virtue, joy and harmony in, and with life. To explore the significant human experience of spirituality in daily life, the heuristic methodology developed by Clark Moustakas (1990) was employed. This approach utilizes the concepts and processes of identifying with the focus of the inquiry, self dialogue, tacit knowing, intuition, indwelling, focusing, and the internal frame of reference. The six phases of heuristic research are initial engagement, immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and creative synthesis. Seventeen participants (co-researchers) were selected from a small group of Western Australian volunteers who claimed to have experienced the topic of investigation. They were interviewed informally and conversationally with the open- ended question, “Describe as fully as possible as possible your experience of spirituality in daily life”. These interviews were analysed, yielding eleven extended descriptions of the experience, three of which make up the individual depictions, a composite depiction of the experience, two exemplary portraits of the experience, and a creative synthesis of the experience. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Bibliography: leaves 270-288 / xix, 288 leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 1984

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-133).

Diss. Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2007.