Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 30-09, Section: A, page: 3818. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1969.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-09, Section: A, page: 4584. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 31-11, Section: A, page: 5892. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1970.

The purpose of this study was to compare the controlling function of two standardized visual symbol systems used as antecedent stimuli in training manual communication to four nonverbal moderately mentally retarded school aged children. The major objective of the study was to determine if differences existed in the controlling function between Bliss and Rebus symbols in occasioning a signing response. The study was divided into two phases. During the training phase, Bliss and Rebus symbols representing the word to be signed were paired for simultaneous presentation. During the probe phase, Bliss and Rebus symbols representing the word to be signed were presented independently. Response latency was employed as the dependent measures because it is considered a sensitive measure of behavioral acquisition. Results of the experiment provide substantial evidence that a difference exists between the controlling function of Bliss and Rebus symbols as antecedent stimuli in manual communication training of mentally retarded subjects such as those participating in the study. Data supporting this conclusion are: (1) a 100% correct signing response in the presence of all 60 Rebus symbols; (2) response latencies of less than five seconds in the presence of all 60 Rebus symbols; and (3) the total absence of a correct signing response in the presence of Bliss symbols for 55 out of 60 trials. In this study, changes in the signing response were clearly evident when the antecedent stimulus was varied. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-09, Section: A, page: 3950. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two rehabilitation training programs being administered in Florida for delinquent youths. The effects of the Eckerd Wilderness Camping Program was compared with the Florida Training Schools by comparing the variables school adjustment and court contacts, as measured on a participating group and a comparison group. / The population for the study was 120 male juvenile delinquents referred to the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services by juvenile courts of Florida. The participating group consisted of the last 60 campers who successfully completed the Eckerd Program prior to January 1, 1978. The comparison group consisted of the last 60 graduates of the Florida Training Schools who completed the program prior to January 1, 1978, and who also met the criteria for acceptance into the Eckerd Program. / The design for this study was a time-series utilizing pre- and post-treatment observations. Pre-treatment data were gathered and analyzed to determine if any significant differences existed between the two groups prior to treatment. Post-treatment data were collected and analyzed on the variables of court contacts and school adjustment at 6, 12, and 18 months following release of the groups from their respective program. A significance level of .05 was used. Data were analyzed by using a chi-square test for significance and an analysis of covariance design. The pre-treatment variables which indicated significant differences (p = .05) that existed between the two groups prior to treatment were used in the post-treatment analysis. / Based on the analysis of the data for the first 6 month post-treatment period, the Eckerd group had significantly (p = .05) fewer court contacts than the comparison group. However, no differences were noted in the severity of offenses committed. Analysis of the variable school adjustment revealed that the Eckerd group remained in school significantly (p = .05) longer than the comparison group. The data also revealed that the academic achievement level attained by the Eckerd group was significantly (p = .05) higher than that of the comparison group. / During the second and third 6 month post-treatment period, the analysis of data indicated no significant differences between the two groups on the variable of court contacts. However, on the variable of school adjustment, the Eckerd group remained in school significantly (p = .05) longer than the comparison group and the academic achievement level, as measured by grades achieved in school, attained by the Eckerd group was significantly (p = .05) higher than that of the comparison group. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-01, Section: A, page: 0197. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the assessment of adaptive behavior in a sample population of Decatur County, Georgia, elementary school students and to compare the results with those used to establish norms on the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA). / Subjects of this study included 100 students from Decatur County, Georgia, elementary schools which were drawn at random and were considered representative of the elementary age school population in terms of race, sex, and socioeconomic status. / The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) was individually administered to the students drawn and the parents of the students tested were interviewed using the Sociocultural Scales and the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC) questions of the SOMPA. / Comparative studies of the sociocultural backgrounds, performance on tests of intelligence, and performance on a measure of adaptive behaviors were conducted. Differences in means and standard deviations were found for white and black students between the Decatur County sample and the California standardization sample. / The results of the study indicated that the average white and black family in Decatur County have a lower urban acculturation level than the average California family in each ethnic group. Both white and black students in Decatur County also scored lower on the WISC-R and the ABIC than those in the California sample. / These differences indicate that research on representative samples of populations in various regions is necessary in order to make accurate predictions concerning student learning potential. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-09, Section: A, page: 3985. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

This study addresses the problem of: Are there identifiable differences between learning styles and personality characteristics of a group of achieving gifted elementary students and those of a group of underachieving gifted elementary students? / From a population of 636 gifted elementary students as identified by Florida State criteria as a mental development of two standard deviations or more above the mean, a group of 97 underachieving gifted elementary students was identified as part of a rural North Florida community's gifted program for grades four to six. The criteria for underachievement were falling eight months below expected attainment on two of the four major sub-categories of the California Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) as prescribed by national norms. Differences among learning style characteristics and personality characteristics were determined by administering two instruments to both sample groups: The Learning Style Inventories of Dr. J. S. Renzulli and Linda Smith, and the Children's Personality Scales of Karyn B. Coisol, Thomas J. Jones, and Stanley R. Cohen. / The scores from these two instruments were analyzed with three two-way analysis of variance according to performance level, sex, grade level and economic levels. The personality inventory showed these significances: personality type T (Thinking) shows significance due to performance level; there were significances due to sex for personality types T (Thinking) and F (Feeling); there were significances due to grade level for personality types E (Extrovert) and I (Introvert); and there were significances due to economic levels and performance levels for personality type S (Sensing) and N (Intuitive). / Significant findings of the Learning Style Inventory were: there were significances due to sex and performance level for learning styles 2 (Simulation), 4 (Peer Teaching), and 7 (Independent Study); there were significances due to grade level for learning style 5 (Discussion). With reference to learning styles, additional findings showed that a definite ranked preference for certain learning styles appeared to exist for both achieving and underachieving gifted students which may be used to improve curriculum planning for gifted elementary students. / No dominant differences were identified which produce a complete profile of an underachieving gifted student. Further research and development of refined instruments may achieve the desired results. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-09, Section: A, page: 3993. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purposes of this study were: (1) to develop a descriptive profile of the Georgia Governor's Honors Program participants using 1975 as a base year; (2) to determine to what extent the participants were representative of the population of Georgia in regard to place of residence, family size, ethnic background, and parental educational and occupational levels; and (3) to compare the descriptive profiles of the 1975 GHP participants to that of the 1981 participants to determine the effect of the expansion of the program between 1971 and 1981. / The subjects were selected on the basis of exceptional ability and achievement. The 1975 subjects were given a questionnaire and two values surveys. Comparative data on Georgia citizens can from official 1970 census records. Additional data were compiled on the 1981 subjects using the same questionnaire administered to the 1975 subjects. / Most of the participants were Christian and Caucasian, coming from stable home environments with well educated parents in high level occupations. Most had experienced some acceleration in school. / The subjects described themselves positively as friendly and intelligent, and negatively as shy and lazy. Their perceptions of how active their parents were in community participation were about average, and their perceptions of the economic status of their families were above average. / The subjects were different from the normal population of Georgia, since they experienced more family stability, and the parental educational and occupational levels were much higher. Inequities occurred in that fewer participants were represented in native state residency, rural areas, and ethnic groups than was average for the general population of Georgia. / The changes which occurred in the expansion of the program between 1975 and 1981 had no real effect on the descriptive profiles of the subjects. / To acquire a more equitable representation of the citizens of Georgia, whose tax monies support the GHP, there must be more representation in geographic areas, of nonwhites, and in a cross section of parental educational and occupational levels. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-09, Section: A, page: 3946. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Recent research has demonstrated that vigorous exercise is effective in curbing subsequent inappropriate behavior of behaviorally disordered and autistic children of elementary through middle school levels (Evans, Evans, Schmid & Pennypacker, 1985; Kern, Koegel, Dyer, Blew, & Fenton, 1982). The research described in this dissertation examined effects of vigorous exercise on behavior in mildly handicapped preschool children served under the Emotionally Handicapped (EH) category. / Four subjects were selected for this study. They met the following criteria: (a) They were exceptional students receiving special education services in a pre-k EH classroom, but (b) had no physical impairments, and (c) received parental permission to participate. / The treatment entailed fifteen minutes of continuous vigorous exercise including jogging, jumping, hopping and other physical movements incorporated in an outdoor exercise trail. A paraprofessional conducted the exercise treatment. Three treatment conditions were compared: (a) no exercise--subjects participated in normally on-going classroom activities, (b) vigorous individual exercise and (c) vigorous group exercise. / A repeated measures multi-element baseline design (rapidly alternating treatments within subjects) (Barlow & Hersen, 1984; Sidman, 1960) was used to evaluate if a functional relationship exists between treatments and the subjects' behavior. The dependent measures, positive and negative social interactions, were directly observed daily via a partial interval recording system. Observation periods lasted 20 minutes and began exactly ten minutes after the treatment period had ended. Inter-rater reliability measures as well as procedural reliability on trainers were obtained. / The results of this research revealed the following. For one subject, solitary positive behavior decreased as a function of vigorous exercise conducted on a one-to-one basis with the paraprofessional. Although exercise appeared to differentially affect other behaviors, differences were not of great enough magnitude to substantiate a functional relationship between exercise and subsequent behavior of preschool children with behavior problems. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: A, page: 0664. / Major Professor: Mark A. Koorland. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The research described in this dissertation examined the effects of a self-instructional strategy training program on the ability of secondary educable mentally handicapped (EMH) students to transfer social skills from the setting in which they were learned to other environments. The six subjects selected for this study were students enrolled in a public school secondary program for students who are educable mentally handicapped. Subjects were selected based on teacher referral, parental permission, and student consent. The purpose of the training was to teach subjects to respond appropriately in situations that might occur outside the training environment when they interact with authority figures in school or work settings. Observational settings during baseline and transfer probes were the subjects' special education classroom(s), vocational workshop area, and mainstream classroom(s). Training, conducted by the researcher, consisted of a board game activity that used role-play and modeling to teach appropriate responses to interactions with authority figures, and a self-instructional strategy to help subjects remember the correct words and affects to use in these situations. Dependent measures, social skills responses, were directly observed during baseline and transfer, and recorded on the Social Skills Checklist (SSC). Results were assessed based on the number of correct social responses transferred to non-trained settings. Research procedures provided for interobserver and procedural reliability. The design for the study was multiple baseline across subjects. Data were analyzed by visual inspection of SSC scores displayed on graphs. Results indicated that all subjects demonstrated increases in overall correct social responses in non-trained settings during the transfer phase. All subjects save one demonstrated increases in the three skill areas individually targeted for them. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: A, page: 1197. / Major Professor: Gideon R. Jones. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.