The major purpose of this study was to determine the effects of manifest anxiety, task complexity, and warm-up conditions on learning a two-phase serial type motor task. Another purpose was to consider the implications of these effects for physical educators, coaches, and others interested in improving educational practices and securing optimum performance levels.

It was the problem of this study to determine the status of recent experimental, empirical, and rhetorical studies in the teaching of persuasion. An instrument was devised which included studies related to ten major categories traditionally covered in the persuasion course.

The problem of this study was to compare the relative gains made in the development of oral language skills in two groups of first grade pupils when two different approaches to beginning reading instruction were used. The two approaches were: (a) the language experience approach, Approach A, and (b) the traditional basal reader approach, Approach B. The six aspects of oral language development considered were: extent of verbalization, spoken vocabulary, expressions of tentativeness, use of structural patterns, colorful and vivid expressions, and use of mazes.

Five learning measures used in a skills training program were related to three types of job performance measures for a sample of 163 oil field employees. Statistical analyses resulted in only modest correlations between learning and job performance criteria. Factor analyses of learning measures followed by multiple regression on factors yielded a significant R with only one criterion measure. It was concluded from these data that the training program was of minimal value. The discussion centered on strategies for better training, training research, job engineering, and correcting the two limitations of this study.

EXPLORING THE PERCEPTION OF SELF-EFFICACY AMONG TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS IN MEETING THE DEMANDS OF CONTEMPORARY SCHOOL REFORM INITIATIVES

The primary aim of this research was to investigate cooking practices and cooking knowledge in a rural environment, as well as learn how the kitchen environment may reflect and/or shape an individual‘s process when creating a meal. Qualitative methods were implemented allowing for the data to be triangulated. The research methods used included a semi-structured interview, participant questionnaire, and videotaping dinner time meal preparations by the primary meal preparer on two separate occasions. Emergent themes about the role of the rural food environment began to develop surrounding how respondents procure food. The rural Vermonter relied on using home gardens, farmers‘ markets, and community supported agriculture to procure food. Another theme that emerged was the role of the primary meal preparer, or the ―nutritional gatekeeper.‖ The nutritional gatekeeper was a huge component in controlling family meals and portion sizes inside, and outside the home, and the ingredients used in homemade meals. All rural respondents had some degree of cooking skills that began at a young age. Their skills were honed over time by necessity and/or curiosity. Rural respondents had general nutrition knowledge that was evident by their definition of a healthy meal, and procuring the freshest ingredients. The kitchen space was less of an influential factor when creating a meal than initially anticipated, but was the processing center where procured food items were crafted into a meal. The theme surrounding the environment and local foods strengthens the 21st century‘s shift of what consumers are demanding from the Nation‘s food system. Understanding how nutritional gatekeepers choose to prepare meals, and the influence of their food environment on the meal thought process, may make the domestic home a platform to disseminate healthful cooking practices. This study concluded an ongoing ethnographic study investigating peoples cooking practices, and cooking knowledge in an urban (Boston metropolis), suburban (Burlington, VT), and rural (Franklin and Lamoille County, VT) environments as an implication towards health.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management / Kevin Roberts / Restaurant managers are responsible for the daily operation, coordination of staff, and profitability in the one million plus restaurants in the United States. However, the restaurant industry has a high management turnover rate and the identification of any process that may help restaurant owners identify, hire, and retain qualified managers is vital to the success of any operation, and the industry as a whole. Clearly identifying competencies that are needed for a manager to be successful might help in lowering the turnover rate and ensure that operations are successful. Not only will the identification of competencies benefit operators, it will also provide information for faculty in hospitality programs to build and adapt curriculum to meet the demands of industry. Few studies have focused on restaurant manager competencies and most are over 20 years old, and no studies have explored future competencies. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine present and future restaurant management competencies. Specific questions include: 1. Which competencies are necessary for entry-level restaurant managers? 2. How will entry-level management competencies change in the next 10 years? 3. What is the magnitude of change between current and future restaurant manager competencies? The sample for this study included 123 restaurant managers in the United States, and yielded a 21.9% response rate. Most of the highest ranked competencies are soft skills. Managers ranked leadership skills as the most important competency, while education was ranked lowest. Interestingly, when exploring individual competencies, results of present compared to future competencies showed a slight decrease in mean score. Paired Samples T-tests were used to explore differences between present and future competencies and between the different domains. Few significant differences were found, though education was the only competency with a significantly higher future mean. Managerial implications, limitations, and directions for future studies are discussed.

Data were examined in this study from student records in a large North Texas urban school district who were taught with two different mathematics curricula to determine whether or not they had different effects on student achievement. One of the mathematics curricula, Everyday Mathematics, was developed upon national mathematic standards, written by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The other mathematics curriculum was district-approved, using a textbook from a large publisher, with a more traditional approach. The students selected for the experimental group came from six schools that had implemented the Everyday Mathematics curriculum for the 1998-99 school year. An experimental group was formed from these students. Twelve schools with similar socioeconomic ratios, ethnic makeup and 1998 Iowa Test of Basic Skills mathematic score profiles were selected. A control group was formed from this population of students that was similar to the experimental group with the exception of having been taught using the district-approved mathematics curriculum. These two groups were very similar in socioeconomic, ethnic, gender, and grade level makeup. Most importantly, the experimental group and control group were almost identical (there was no statistically significant difference) in their 1998 Iowa Test of Basic Skills mathematics scores, a gauge used to demonstrate that prior mathematics ability was equal going into the 1998-99 school year. In the statistical analysis, almost all comparisons showed that the experimental group taught with the Everyday Mathematics curriculum had higher scores on the 1999 Texas Assessment of Academic Skills mathematics test. When compared to children with similar mathematics ability at the beginning of the 1998-99 school year, the students in this study who were taught using Everyday Mathematics showed greater achievement gains than students in classes that used the district-approved curriculum.

The study is concerned with post-observation feedback and its role as an instigator of teacher learning and change. It investigates two kinds of feedback: corrective and confirmatory and explores how each kind of feedback may have contributed to the learning of a group of student teachers. It also investigates the ways in which these teachers have experienced changes in behaviour and changes in cognition. It adopts a qualitative approach to research, making use of case studies. It brings an additional perspective to the literature on change by examining changes in teacher persona, as reported by the student teachers themselves. It introduces and discusses two new concepts that emerged from the research reported in the study: convergent change and divergent change. It argues that certain kinds of feedback seem to be more facilitative of convergent change while some others seem to lead to change that is characterised as being more divergent. It considers the implications which the findings may have for teacher educators.

The educational provision for pupils with autism and severe learning difficulties (SLD) in Thailand has struggled. Families and institutions have attempted to seek an alternative pedagogy to improve children’s quality of life. This thesis introduces Intensive Interaction, developed by Nind and Hewett (1994, 2005) in the UK and from the western culture, as a new pedagogy to foster the fundamental communication of Thai pupils with autism and SLD. There is a lack of understanding regarding the application of knowledge of how the western intervention would be perceived by practitioners in different cultures. The deep understanding of practitioners’ perceptions has facilitated a rethink of educational curriculum development and action to expand the work of Intensive Interaction within the East’s pedagogy. This research explored the perceptions of teaching pre-verbal pupils with autism and SLD, focusing on factors influencing the application of Intensive Interaction in Thai culture. The research addressed the question of how Thai teachers perceive Intensive Interaction as an approach to working with pupils with autism and SLD in the Thai context. In addition, it addressed which key factors in Thai culture influence the adoption of the Intensive Interaction. A two-day Intensive Interaction training course was carried out in Thailand to recruit the participants, and follow-up workshops were arranged for teachers’ practice development. Eleven participating teachers (ten women and one man) were drawn from two special education settings and one mainstream school in the northeast region of Thailand. A hermeneutic phenomenological perspective informed by the philosophical tenets of Heidegger (1962) was used to explore the Intensive Interaction experiences of teachers. Qualitative data were gathered in the form of four in-depth semi-structured interviews from each teacher: the first − before the use of Intensive Interaction with pupils, and the second to fourth − during the Intensive Interaction implementation. Two focus groups of teacher participants were conducted after the end of the Intensive Interaction teaching programme with pupils. Both interviews were in Thai and later transcribed, with some parts being translated into English. Active participant observation was recorded in a field note and research diary throughout the period of data collection to contribute to interpretation and analysis. Thematic analysis methods were developed from the hermeneutic and phenomenological philosophy of Gadamer (1989) and the analysis process was adapted from Titchen and colleagues (1993; 2003) as practical guidance. The analysis of the teachers’ perceptions captured the significance of the Intensive Interaction implementation in a new cultural context, their perceptions of the benefit and challenging aspects of the new pedagogy and the importance of cultural values to the new teaching practice. Key themes from analysis of the interviews revealed that all teachers perceived Intensive Interaction as a worthwhile approach not only for a positive outcome for pupils, but also for an increased sense of professionalism and confidence for teachers. The data also revealed challenges to its implementation in the Thai culture. These included the role of the Thai teacher, the traditional Thai rigour of controlled-based teaching methods which derive from behavioural principles, the components of Thai culture characterised by a hierarchical structure for interaction and the role of the teacher as a second mother. These fundamentals have made the implementation of a child-focused approach more challenging for Thais. The implications for practice include rethinking education for future pre-verbal pupils with autism and SLD, in which social-communicative abilities are included as a priority in their educational curriculum. Policies for skills training and knowledge development in the areas of child-centred education are required. The policy maker has to formally address the fundamental philosophy and beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how children learn that are embedded in the preparation course for pre-service special education teachers. This needs to provide them with the appreciation of other educational philosophies and to reposition Thai cultural challenges to a child-focused approach. These approaches are urgently required to enable teacher educators to effectively provide a teacher-training course that shifts practice in line with the education reform intended by the current Thai government.