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1997 Dissertation Abstracts: Part 12
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ORDER NO: ABA97-35950
PARTICIPANTS' PERCEPTIONS OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS LEARNED IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE JOB READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM Author: STASZEWSKI, THOMAS FRANCIS Degree: ED.D. Year: 1997 Corporate Source/Institution: UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH (0178) Adviser: JOHN C. WEIDMAN Source: VOLUME 58/06-A OF DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS INTERNATIONAL. PAGE 2030. 184 PAGES Descriptors: EDUCATION, ADULT AND CONTINUING; EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL; EDUCATION, COMMUNITY COLLEGE This study investigated adult students who completed an instructional program that included training in employability and job readiness. It identified and analyzed perceptions by program completers of their impressions of the instruction they received. Students who completed the program were asked about their perceptions of current employability skills levels and benefits gained as a result of their participation in the program. This study provides insight into participants' perceptions of the usefulness of the training, skills learned and benefits gained from participation. Comments, recommendations and suggestions from the participants are also offered. Data were collected with a survey questionnaire that used closed and open-ended questions to determine perceptions about the program's services and preparation for further education or job placement. The population consisted of 150 adult students who completed a community college sponsored job readiness program funded by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). From the population of 150 former students, 85 surveys were completed for a response rate of 56.7%. This study's literature review documented that the workplace of today has undergone substantial change and there is now an increased need for higher skill levels of employees. Precedent setting changes have led to dramatic developments in employer and employee expectations and demands. Information is also presented relating to a profile of employability skills necessary to enter or re-enter the job market. Results of the survey provide data about demographic characteristics, information regarding reasons for seeking training, current status of employment or school enrollment, and also impressions, opinions and perceptions of the training and services offered by the program. Each respondent was placed into groups based on employment and school enrollment status at the time the survey was completed. The groupings allowed the study to examine differences in the perceptions according to their status. This study provides information for use in the areas of program planning, curriculum design, and decision making as it pertains to training the unemployed in related employability skills and job readiness preparation. The findings generated provide insight into viewpoints concerning their experiences. Discussion is provided that summarizes the findings and offers implications as well as recommendations.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35946
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation between the cognitive style of field dependence and the type of visual presentation format used in a computer-based tutorial (color; black and white: or line drawings) when subjects are asked to identify human tissue samples. Two hundred-four college students enrolled in human anatomy and physiology classes at Westmoreland County Community College participated. They were first administered the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and then were divided into three groups: field-independent (score, 15-18), field-neutral (score, 11-14), and field dependent (score, 0-10). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment groups. Instruction was delivered by means of a computer-aided tutorial consisting of text and visuals of human tissue samples. The pretest and posttest consisted of 15 tissue samples, five from each treatment, that were imported into the HyperCard$\rm\sp{TM}$ stack and were played using QuickTime$\rm\sp{TM}$ movie extensions. A two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using pretest and posttest scores was used to investigate whether there is a relationship between field dependence and each of the three visual presentation formats. No significant interaction was found between individual subject's relative degree of field dependence and any of the different visual presentation formats used in the computer-aided tutorial module, F(4,194) = 1.78, p =.1335. There was a significant difference between the students' levels of field dependence in terms of their ability to identify human tissue samples, F(2,194) = 5.83, p =.0035. Field-independent subjects scored significantly higher (M = 10.59) on the posttest than subjects who were field-dependent (M = 9.04). There was also a significant difference among the various visual presentation formats, F(2,194) = 3.78, p =.0245. Subjects assigned to the group that received the color visual presentation format scored significantly higher (M = 10.38) on the posttest measure than did those assigned to the group that received the line drawing visual presentation format (8.99).
ORDER NO: ABA97-35927
The transformational/transactional leadership paradigm has been applied and tested in a variety of political, business, educational administrative and faculty leadership settings. This study examines applies the fit of the transformational/transactional leadership paradigm to faculty of a two-year community college. The sample consists of 139 undergraduate business students. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Form 5X was administered to the sample during the Fall 1996 term at a small community college to determine the effect of perceived faculty leadership on the outcome variables effectiveness, extra effort, and satisfaction. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyze the transformational leadership variables idealized influence (attributed), idealized influence (behavioral), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration, as well as the transactional leadership variables contingent reward, management-by-exception (active) and management-by-exception (passive), and the laissez-faire leadership variable with their relationship to the outcome variables. The results of the study were consistent with previously published studies and demonstrates the applicability of the transformational leadership paradigm to the two-year community college classroom environment. The study concludes that the transformational leadership variables contribute more to the three outcome variables than the transactional or laissez-faire leadership variables. Implications and limitations of the use of the MLQ-5X for community college leadership research are presented.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35884
This study provides a descriptive summary of Utah's early high school graduates with the aim of determining the extent to which the program prepares them with an adequate foundation for future endeavors when compared with traditional graduates. Data compiled from the 1995 transcripts of 1,000 Utah high school graduates were used to examine the level of preparation for early and traditional graduation. The transcripts were obtained from eight randomly selected public high schools. The sample consisted of 910 traditional graduates and 90 early graduates. The study yielded the following results: (a) Students of all achievement levels participate in the early graduation option. Average achieving students represent the highest percentage followed by high-and then low-achieving students. (b) Early graduates earn fewer credits than do traditional graduates (M = 25.09, 26.20). While credits earned in basic-level courses are virtually equal, traditional graduates earn more credits in middle- and advanced-level courses. (c) Early graduates earn fewer credits in subjects classified as "new Basics" in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence, 1983) than do traditional graduates. Science and mathematics are the subjects with the largest mean differences. The moderate to large effect sizes of the mean differences $({-}.32,$ science; ${-}.27,$ mathematics) indicate an area of concern in the preparation of early graduates. The mean numbers of credits earned by both groups in science and foreign language were below recommended credit levels from A Nation at Risk, while the other subjects were equal to or above the levels. (d) Approximately 5% of all credits earned by the graduates were Advanced Placement and/or concurrent enrollment credits. A higher percentage of traditional graduates (47% to 43%) earned credits in these programs. Generally, this descriptive study indicates that the level of preparation of Utah's early graduates appears to compare favorably with that of traditional graduates. However, areas of concern include early graduates earning fewer credits in middle- and advanced-level classes, as well as the low number of credits earned in math and science courses. Recommended follow-up studies include evaluating standardized test data, examining the motivation for early graduation, and tracking early graduates longitudinally beyond high school to work or college.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35827
The purpose of this study was to find out what happened when middle school ESL students approached the reading of literature from the instructional model called reading rescue. Developed by Clay (1985) as reading recovery, Lee and Neal (1992-93) adapt the model and refer to it as reading rescue. Reading rescue is a tutoring strategy of one-on-one sessions in which experienced readers work with troubled readers to improve reading comprehension and word recognition skills. The sample for this study consisted of three middle school ESL students at a north Florida middle school, who were tutored during the school day. Tutors were two graduate students and one undergraduate student from the English Education program at the university I attended. I trained these tutors in reading recovery, reading rescue, and ESL issues. Each tutor and student participant pair engaged in reading rescue sessions for forty minutes twice each week for eight weeks. Participant pairs read and discussed multicultural young adult literature. I used qualitative methods in a case study analysis to investigate any observable effects of reading rescue on three elements of ESL student reading comprehension: (1) linking prior knowledge to new knowledge; (2) developing strategies for comprehending texts; and (3) monitoring and evaluating an understanding of texts. I observed sessions, examined tutor session reflections, and interviewed students and tutors twice during the period of treatment. This qualitative data was enhanced by a quantitative analysis of each student's pretest and posttest score on a state-approved reading assessment test. I compared these scores as ordinal data to assess any growth in student reading comprehension scores during the period of treatment. Findings indicated that each student linked prior knowledge to new knowledge in reading rescue sessions and that reading rescue aided each student in monitoring and evaluating an understanding of texts. Two of three students developed strategies for comprehending texts. One out of three students' reading comprehension scores improved during the period of treatment. Based on these findings, I offered several implications for teachers. I offered recommendations for teachers, teacher educators, and school districts and recommendations for further research.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35793
The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of nontenured Florida teachers and building principals as to performance factors deemed pivotal to granting a professional services contract. The populations consisted of 150 nontenured teachers and 150 building principals randomly selected from 14 median sized counties in the state of Florida. An additional research question investigated the importance placed on selected teacher competencies by building principals as compared to those selected by professors of teacher preparation courses in the state universities in Florida. A survey instrument was developed, piloted, and implemented by the researcher. Thirty-seven performance factors were rated as to their importance in obtaining a professional services contract or renewing an annual contract. Levels of ratings were: (1) Never a cause for dismissal, (2) Creates a minor level of concern, (3) Written improvement plan instituted, (4) Unsatisfactory evaluation, (5) Most assuredly dismissed. Secondly, six areas of teacher competencies including classroom instruction, administrative activities, effects on pupils, knowledge of subject matter, personal attributes, and professional responsibilities were ranked 1-6 as to their importance. College professors completed the competency ranking, substituting percentage of teaching time for rankings. Data obtained from nontenured teachers and building principals were analyzed using ANOVA to determine a significant difference in perceptions of importance for each performance factor. Significance was tested at the.05,.01 and.001 levels. Ratings of performance factors were considered pivotal if the mean score was above 3.0 in the 5-point scale. Rankings of competencies were compared using means of competencies, as well as means of performance factors linked to each competency. The following results were obtained from this research. Twenty one of 37 performance factors were significantly different in importance between principals and nontenured teachers. In each case, where there was a significant difference in importance of performance factors, principals rated the performance factor higher than nontenured teachers. Twenty seven of 37 performance factors were considered pivotal by building principals. Thirteen performance factors were considered pivotal by nontenured teachers. College professors ranked classroom instruction as the most important competency. Principals ranked effects on pupils as the most important competency.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35781
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of judges' test performance and characteristics on test ratings and standards for certification examinations through the use of the Angoff (1971), and Ebel (1972) techniques. This study extends previous research by using judges from clearly defined categories and providing the judges' test scores along with test difficulty and job relatedness values. The judges for the study were 169 teachers at a University or public school system, based on their responses to a background questionnaire, judges were classified into 5 categories. The categories consisted of: (1) work setting; (2) highest degree earned; (3) years of teaching experience; (4) race; (5) gender. Participation in the study involved Judges taking the test, using the modified Angoff (1971), and modified Ebel (1972) for a full version of the Educational Testing Service Examinations of the National Teacher Exam (NTE) and the PRAXIS II Series Examinations. All judges received instructions for using passing score procedures and an explanation and training for the concept of minimum competence and job relevance as they relate to these examinations. Analysis of variance, regression, and correlational analysis were undertaken to investigate the effects of the independent variables on judges' performance scores. Judge characteristics and test ratings of judges did not contribute to significant differences among standards set. However, the judge's test performance influenced his/her final standard. Pattern analysis within groups confirmed that test performance was the largest contributor to the variability in standard setting recommendations. These results were discussed in relation to further investigations of these variables and conducting judgmental, standard setting activities.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35757
The purpose for conducting this study was to assess the effectiveness of a college -credit, student success course by attempting to identify possible significant differences in persistence rates and academic achievement between students who successfully completed the course and students who did not enroll in the course. Additionally, the study was designed to determine whether there were any gender-related or race/ethnic origin differences in academic achievement and persistence between students in both the control group and the treatment group. Data were collected through multiple sorts and searches conducted on the institution's management information system from the fall quarter 1993 through the summer quarter 1995. The two groups of 50 students were matched based upon placement examination scores, gender, race/ethnic origin, academic major/discipline, and geographical distance from campus. In consideration of the public's demand for accountability and the clarion call from government leaders regarding more responsible administration of education funds, institutions must respond to every opportunity to improve their effectiveness. The study's results can be used to assist administrators in higher education with the evaluation of initiatives employed to improve student and institutional success. The findings of this study revealed that a student success course did not positively impact the persistence rate or academic achievement of a purposefully selected group of full-time, degree-seeking students who completed the course, as compared to a matched group of students who did not enroll in the course. Additionally, findings indicated that participation in the student success course, based on gender or race/ethnic origin, had no significant impact on academic achievement or persistence. The study concluded that the benefit of using such a course to enhance student success by improving persistence and academic achievement is called into question. The study also revealed that consideration should be given to utilizing the course to increase acculturation to college rather than as a retention device. Finally, the study results suggest that if the student success course is to facilitate social and academic adaptation to college, consideration should be given to the reevaluation of instructional methods and the course's role in the institution's plan to enhance student success.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35707
The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of seven perceptual learning style preferences within the adult student population at Walker Technical Institute. The study examined single and dominant perceptual learning style preferences among this population. Dominant preferences were further examined as they related to student choice of academic major. The perceptual learning style preferences of entering students were compared with those of graduating students to determine any significant differences. The Multi-Modal Paired Associates Learning Test III (MMPALT III) was used to measure seven individual perceptual learning style preferences: print, aural, visual, interactive, kinesthetic, haptic, and olfactory. Eighty subjects participated in the study, 16 from each of the following five academic majors: computer science, drafting, licensed practical nursing, machine tool technology, and secretarial science. Subjects were equally divided between entering and graduating students. All seven perceptual learning style preferences were exhibited in this adult student population. Subjects demonstrated dominance in six of the seven perceptual learning styles. Different patterns of single and multiple dominant capacities were found within the population. Students in four of the five academic majors under investigation did not exhibit similar patterns of perceptual learning style dominance. Only subjects in the licensed practical nursing program demonstrated a particular style dominance as a group. There were no significant differences on the mean scores of the seven subtests of the MMPALT III for entering students when compared to those of graduating students. A discussion of these findings as related to adult learning theory is presented. Four recommendations for practice, concerning teacher preparation programs, instructional methodology, learning style testing for college admission, and career counseling, are discussed. Five recommendations for further research in the areas of learning style dominance and academic major choice, learning style and academic achievement, changes in learning style dominance, the elevation of weaker styles, and the use of multimedia technology to address learning style differences in the classroom, are suggested.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35702
The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the childhood home and school experiences and reading material preferences of adult avid leisure readers and literate non-readers in order to determine the factors that may have contributed to the development of their current reading habits and attitudes and future reading plans. Three young adult avid leisure readers and three literate non-readers were selected by using an "extreme" or "deviant" case sampling approach. Only those who were especially avid readers or extreme non-readers were selected for participation. The primary research instrument used in this study was the interview, and the methodology was qualitative in nature. An interview guide consisting of open-ended focus questions was created in order to elicit appropriate information from the participants. As a result of the data analysis, 10 major themes emerged. Four of these were characteristics common to the avid leisure readers: supportive home literacy environment, engagement in the pursuit of knowledge, benefits of book ownership, and specific reading material preferences. In addition, there were three themes related to the characteristics of literate non-readers: inadequate home literacy support, anxiety of text format, and surprising college leisure-reading discoveries. Finally, three themes represented commonalities that both groups shared. These were unpleasant experiences with librarians, negative classroom experiences, and a desire to foster a love of reading in children. Several implications for parents, teachers, librarians, and higher education were made. These included increasing the availability of reading materials at home and in classrooms, reading aloud to children, and engaging in literacy activities such as visiting the library. Classroom reading methodologies including reading aloud, using textbooks and basal readers, and grouping homogeneously for reading instruction should be avoided. Children should be encouraged to read series of books that are similar in terms of authorship, genre, or characters. In-services for parents should be provided to assist them in helping their children engage in and enjoy leisure reading. Librarians should attempt to create a relaxing and non-threatening environment for their clients. College instructors should include and integrate fiction reading into their courses.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35694
Although the United States military has traditionally placed great emphasis upon the integrity and honesty of its members, there has been little research done to assess the effectiveness of its formal military ethics instruction. The purpose for conducting the study was to assess the effects of the military ethics instruction provided by the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) upon its students' perceptions of honesty. The data for the study were derived from a survey of freshman and senior AFROTC students at eight selected universities. The data analysis indicated that respondents held overall positive perceptions of honesty as a personal and professional value. The respondents expressed an overall negative perception on one survey item which dealt with an absolute value statement about honesty. This finding was validated by the neutral perception that the respondents indicated toward ethical relativism in response to another survey item. There were no statistically significant differences in the total Likert-type item mean scores. The means of the five item categories (lying, cheating, stealing, military ethics, and general ethics) also indicated no significant differences in the perceptions of freshman and senior respondents. These results did not validate the effectiveness of the AFROTC military ethics curriculum in changing the perceptions of AFROTC students toward the value of honesty, but did indicate that the ethical perceptions of the senior students had possibly been reinforced through their exposure to the AFROTC military ethics curriculum. The results also indicated that the senior respondents may have developed a perception that the military careers upon which they were about to embark required a higher ethical standard than that of their civilian counterparts. The influence that had made the strongest impact on the ethics and values of the majority of the respondents was perceived to be the family, with religion as the next most common influence selected. Formal education and AFROTC were both selected by less than 10% of the respondents. The results of the study indicated that the influence of AFROTC instruction in relation to other factors in the students' lives was limited.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35676
The purpose for conducting this study was to measure faculty perceptions of accessibility and quality of college graduate programs offered via Internet. Current literature revealed that the number of colleges offering college credit courses via distance education is increasing. In particular, educational use of the Internet to deliver courses and course materials is on the rise. This study attempted to determine whether faculty teaching graduate courses delivered via Internet perceived those courses to be of high quality and to provide additional accessibility to potential graduate students. This study utilized the snowballing technique to produce a nationally gathered sample of college faculty who have taught graduate courses using the Internet as the primary delivery medium. The process produced a sample of 64 potential respondents who were surveyed electronically to determine their perceptions of quality and accessibility of graduate education delivered via Internet. This study was exploratory and descriptive in nature. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine whether significant differences existed among perceptions of faculty toward access and quality based on perceived environmental characteristic preference. Environmental characteristics include teaching/learning culture, course/program administration, instructional quality, learner involvement, and course delivery. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance test was used to determine whether differences existed between tenure status and the faculty's perceptions of quality and accessibility of graduate courses offered via Internet. Several findings were reported. There were no perceived differences among any of the environmental factors regarding quality or accessibility of graduate programs offered via Internet. Further, there were no perceived differences between tenured and nontenured faculty in either quality or accessibility. However, a majority of those faculty responding to the survey were in agreement that graduate courses offered via Internet were of good quality and generally made graduate education more accessible. When these same individuals were asked whether they considered themselves to be adequately prepared to teach graduate courses via Internet, an overwhelming majority answered affirmatively. A total of 18 different areas of research were reported to be important areas of research in the next decade, with student learning being the most frequently reported by the respondents.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35634
Ethical dilemmas are complex or perplexing situations that require a difficult choice of action which involves the application of professional or moral rules of conduct and behavior, or codes of ethics. Ethical dilemmas can and do arise in all areas of professional endeavor. The literature supports the need to teach students in professions such as psychology both to recognize ethical dilemmas and to solve them systematically. Empirical data supporting the relative efficacy of different methods to teach ethical decision making is lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare two different methods to teach ethical decision making to students. The two methods that were compared were the didactic/lecture method and the case-based method. One hundred thirty-two graduate and undergraduate students from a state university volunteered to participate in this investigation. These participants were randomly placed into either the case-based treatment group or the lecture/didactic treatment group. The material presented in the lecture format covered a definition of ethics, the eight-step method for solving ethical dilemmas, and information about the topics of confidentiality and competence from the American Psychological Association Code of Ethics. The case-based group received parallel information presented as cases for discussion. The outcome variables were attitudes relative to making ethical decisions, knowledge base, and ability to solve an ethical dilemma. The findings suggest that the students who participated in the lecture/didactic presentation learned more of the factual information than did the students in the case-based group. There were no differences demonstrated between the two groups on the variables of affective attitude and ability to solve a dilemma. Limitations of the study include homogeneity of the sample, tools of measurement constructed by the investigator, strength of treatment, and a significant difference at the time of the pretest between the two groups on the variable of knowledge. Suggestions for future research would include expanding the treatment over a longer period of time, increasing the diversity of the sample, and designing tools to better assess attitude change in the area of ethical decision making.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35632
Materials presented for instruction often incorporate techniques to alert the student to important points. This research investigated the effect two cuing techniques had on learning when using computer-assisted instruction. Computer-assisted materials use cuing techniques such as color, dynamic visuals, and sound in much the same way that print, film, and video use cuing. Ninety-one university students were subjects for the study. A computer-assisted lesson using color cuing and dynamic visual cuing was presented to the subjects. Immediate and delayed posttests measured the effect the two types of cuing had on recall and comprehension of technical information. The analysis was conducted using a mixed four-factor ANOVA with color cuing and dynamic cuing as between factors and question-type and test session as repeated measures. This study failed to support the use of cuing for introductory materials viewed by adult subjects. No significant difference was indicated on either the immediate or delayed posttest when analyzed for cuing effect. However, post hoc analysis indicated significance for question-type and test session. The researcher concluded that the format of the computer-assisted lessons effectively "cued" one key concept for each screen. The adult subjects used for this study received no additional help from the cuing technique when learning recall or comprehension level information. The comprehension level learning indicated by the subjects' delayed posttest scores were at the same level as the subjects' immediate posttest scores. Lack of decline in comprehension test scores led to conclusions that either the materials did not assist in learning at the comprehension level, or learning did occur and the subjects' ability to comprehend information was less volatile than recall ability of the subjects.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35576
The purpose of this study was to describe some beliefs that secondary teachers had about the curriculum and students of courses intended to be equivalent to Algebra I. In order to identify common and diverse beliefs among these teachers, a 16-item survey questionnaire was sent to 200 teachers of algebra-equivalent courses in two Southeastern states where Algebra I or its equivalent was a requirement for graduation. Twelve teachers were selected to take part in a series of interviews and classroom observations to better understand how beliefs about the curricula and their students affected practice. This study applied qualitative methodology using an phenomenological research perspective. While many teachers believed that Applied Mathematics and Fundamentals of Algebra (two course that met the algebra graduation requirement) were not equivalent in content or depth to Algebra I, they did believe that these two courses were an improvement over general and remedial mathematics. Beliefs about students appeared to influence teacher practice more than beliefs about curricula and this determined how teachers implemented the intended curriculum. The beliefs teachers held about their students seemed to determine to what degree they felt responsibility for their students learning. Teachers in this study described students enrolled in algebra-equivalent courses as "different" from college -intending students. This difference was caused for despair and discouragement for some teachers while others accepted it with an optimism that they incorporated into their practice.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35513
This study focused on a traditional teacher and her eleventh grade college preparatory English class which read and studied literature throughout a school year. It addressed the concept of a community, or multiple communities, of speakers, readers, writers, and members of social groups evolving in part through shared experiences, shared perceptions, and shared language during classroom discussions of literature. The perspectives on multiple communities--the social communities, speech community, and reading communities--which emerged in this class, provided a means for considering how these disparate, interrelated factors influenced the reading and study of literature in this classroom. The use of multiple ethnographic methods, including participant observation, audiotaped classes, reconstructed class discussions, accounts of observed activities, field notes of class observations, and transcribed interviews with all participants, provided grounded evidence for the examination of the several dimensions of instructional and social context in the classroom. The multiple disparate, interrelated communities, in particular, the social communities, speech community, and reading communities, which emerged in the teacher's classroom, were influenced by students' earlier reading experiences, expectations, goals, and membership in various social, and cultural groups and were governed by rules and attitudes established by both the teacher and the students. Response to literature in this class was governed by the rules and standards of the speech community, the interests and attitudes of the readers in the various reading communities, the rules and attitudes of the social groups which influenced the meaning making process in the study of literature. The teacher-controlled structure of class discussions, her dual agenda which emphasized factual information, and the mismatch between students' interest and skills and literary selections encouraged students' continued allegiances to their communities. Only when literature selections matched students' interests and needs were their allegiances to their communities supplanted by the interests, concerns, and goals of the emerging classroom community. The findings raise questions about the ways to address possible multiple, interrelated groups of speakers, readers, writers, and social groups in the classroom and to match curriculum and instruction to the needs of these students.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35479
The purpose of this study was to determine if the Georgia State University /Gwinnett County Public Schools' Collaborative Preparation Program (CPP) was equal to or more effective in training teachers than the Georgia State University Department of Early Childhood's Traditional Teacher Preparation Program (TTPP). Effectiveness for the purpose of this study was measured in three dimensions of the Georgia Teacher Observation Instrument (GTOI): (1) Provides for Instruction, (2) Assesses and Encourages Student Progress, and (3) Manages the Learning Environment. The Student Teaching Summary Sheet was used to evaluate both groups of students--the 14 in the TTPP and the 7 in the CPP. Each student was formally evaluated during the student teaching quarter on each of the three dimensions listed above. Additionally, the students (interns) participated in the CPP as well as the cooperating teachers and instructors responded to a questionnaire related to program satisfaction. The sample for this study consisted of two groups of students participating in these programs. The first group, the experimental group, contained all interns participating in the CPP. The second group, the control group, was chosen from a pool of 68 students enrolled in the TTPP. The control group was matched to the experimental group using race, sex, age, and grade point average. Difference did surface for the second dimension, Assesses and Encourages Student Progress. In analyzing the responses to the questionnaire, it was found that overall satisfaction with the extensive field-based nature of the CPP was high among the three groups surveyed. The questionnaire also asked the three groups to assess the interns progress in several areas. Cooperating teachers and the interns often rated the achievement of the intern's performance significantly higher than the instructors.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35474
Researchers have documented the prevalence of academic dishonesty in American higher education. Missing in the literature are studies addressing two-year college faculty concerns. This study sought to determine factors impacting response to academic dishonesty among faculty at a multi-campus, two-year college. This research investigated faculty: (1) perceptions of the extent of academic dishonesty, (2) perceptions of, and attitudes toward Academic Dishonesty Policy and policy implementation, (3) responses to academic dishonesty, (4) attitudes concerning values education, and (5) attitudes about responsibility for reducing academic dishonesty. Further, differences in perceptions, responses and attitudes among faculty grouped by (1) employment status, (2) campus, (3) years of service, and (4) discipline were considered. Fifty-three percent of instructional faculty returned usable data on a researcher-designed instrument. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA techniques adjusted using the Bonferroni method. Results indicated that faculty: (1) don't perceive academic dishonesty to be a serious problem, (2) believe themselves to be familiar with current policy and procedure, (3) are not concerned with policy implementation, but have minor concern with personal and ideological issues, (4) believe they have a primary role in values education, (5) have suspected (86%) and been certain of (65%) academic dishonesty in their classroom; (6) don't regularly follow institutional policy; most handle incidents of cheating and plagiarism alone, (7) believe that the responsibility for reducing academic dishonesty lies primarily with students; and faculty, and (8) statistically significant differences emerged among subgroups (employment status, campus, years of service, discipline) in perceptions of the seriousness of academic dishonesty, and by employment status in concerns with policy implementation. Implications and recommendations for policy usage, values education, reducing academic dishonesty, multiple campuses and part-time faculty are considered. Recommendations for addressing academic dishonesty at a two-year, multi-campus college, and suggestions for future research are offered.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35473
The purpose of this study was to understand how the classroom experiences of African American women who teach mathematics to adults perpetuate or transcend the myth of the universal teacher. Seven African American women mathematics teachers from four southeastern states who taught at either a community college or a technical school were chosen as a purposive sample for this qualitative study. Two methods of data collection were used to gather information about the details of the experiences of the women in this study. Initially a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant. Then observations of their classroom teaching was done. Following the observations a second interview occurred to discuss the classroom observations. The data reveal themes surrounding these African American adult educators' teaching philosophies, credibility, teacher-student interactions, and teaching practices. These themes were inter-related in that teaching philosophies, issues related to credibility, and teacher-student interactions, all of which are informed by their race and gender, influenced the teaching practices of these African American adult educators. These African American women mathematics teachers had a teaching philosophy based on the marginality that they experienced as learners in the mathematics classroom and accordingly their goal became the promotion of equity in the mathematics classroom. Facing a need for perceived credibility by their students, these women have developed a coping mechanism of self-validation as well as methods of proving and evaluating their credibility. Their teacher-student interactions were influenced by student expectations relating to the race and gender of the teacher along with these teachers' desire to facilitate equity in the mathematics classroom. These African American women mathematics teachers reflected and drew from their own experiences in the classroom as learners to inform their teaching practices and strategies. Accordingly they have developed teaching practices that contain two major focuses--accessibility and the empowerment of learners. Major conclusions from these findings are: (1) the race and gender of these teachers affect their teaching -learning environment and (2) the myth of the universal teacher is inaccurate because not all of the experiences of these African American women mathematics teachers are universal.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35345
This research determined the effect that general education assessment undertaken for the Performance Funding Program has had on general education at the public two-year institutions of higher education in Tennessee. Data was collected for the time period spanning 1982 through May 1996. Data came from three sources: a questionnaire, participant interviews, and document analysis. Participants were public two-year higher education institution personnel knowledgeable of general education assessment and/or the Performance Funding Program. Findings from this research show that the public two-year institutions of higher education in Tennessee have used the results from the general education assessment to make changes in curriculum, instructional delivery strategies and methods, and student learning experiences and activities. While every institution in the study has not consistently used the results of general education assessment to improve all areas mentioned above, all institutions have used the results for the improvement of general education at some point during the time period of the study. Participants said that their institutions intend to continue using assessment results to improve or are looking for ways to begin using the results. Participants also said they desire a multifaceted approach to assessing general education with more institutional control over the instruments used for general education assessment. Data revealed that institutions that provided in-depth analysis of the general education assessment results and a thorough dissemination of the analysis had better utilization of the assessment results. The participants also believe that it would be beneficial for the state to determine a common core of general education competencies students would achieve during the lower division courses.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35304
Educators, business leaders and economists have expressed concern about the lack of basic economic understanding of high school graduates in the United States. Tennessee is one of 15 states requiring at least one semester of economics for high school graduation. Marketing education teaches economic principles in an applied setting. The Tennessee Department of Education allows one full year of marketing education to satisfy the economics graduation requirement. This study was conducted to determine if students taking marketing learn economic principles at the same level as students taking economics. The study also compared the level of economic understanding of Tennessee students with nationally normed levels of economic understanding using The Test of Economic Literacy developed by the National Council on Economic Education. The findings of the study led to the following conclusions: (1) Students taking traditional economics courses appeared to have a better understanding of economic concepts than students taking marketing education. (2) Students enrolled in traditional economics courses had higher grade point averages than students enrolled in marketing courses. Grade point average had a direct correlation to test scores. However, grade point average did not account for the entire discrepancy in test scores. (3) Although economics teachers held the statistically more positive attitude toward economics, both groups viewed economics with a positive attitude. The literature indicated that teachers with an indifferent attitudes negatively affected student learning while teachers with normal and enthusiastic attitudes produced similar learning outcomes. The lack of direct correlation between teacher attitude and test scores supported the literature. (4) Marketing and economics teachers appeared to have similar levels of exposure to college economics courses. (5) Local education agencies have greater control in determining when students take high school courses. This freedom had not changed the make up of either economics or marketing classrooms. These classrooms were still composed primarily of juniors and seniors. (6) The results indicated the ability of secondary students to know, understand, apply, analyze and evaluate economic concepts fell short of expectations. Tennessee should strengthen the economics curriculum for both economics and marketing because both groups scored lower than the national norm.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35298
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of interactive television as a medium of instruction on the mathematics attitudes of developmental community college students as measured by the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale. Specifically the study attempted to determine if the mathematics attitudes of developmental elementary algebra students so taught differed from the attitudes of students taught in the traditional classroom. In addition, the study identified some teaching methods utilized in the traditional developmental elementary algebra classroom that differed from the teaching methods utilized in the interactive (ITV) elementary algebra classroom. The subjects (n = 21) were students enrolled in two sections of elementary algebra. One section (n = 9) was taught in the traditional classroom and the other section (n = 12) was taught through interactive television. Pre and post attitude scales consisting of five of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics were administered. A non-parametric test was used to compare the scores of the pre-traditional to post-traditional, pre-interactive to post-interactive, and post- interactive to post-traditional. No significant differences were found for any of the comparisons. The gain scores for the two groups were computed for each group and compared. No significant differences were found in the individual scale scores; or for the total scores. Each class was observed twice during the study to see if any observed differences in attitudes or in the teaching methods were noted. Information from the interviews and observations was analyzed and indicated than the attitudes of the post-interactive class were slightly more negative that the attitudes of the post-traditional. The differences in teaching methods noted were in the way the instructor communicated to the class and in the instructor's use of one-to-one instruction in the traditional class. The results of the non-parametric tests and the results of comparing the gain scores revealed no significant differences in the post-study attitudes for the two groups. However, information gathered from the interviews and observations showed that some changes had occurred and that some differences in attitudes did exist between the two post-study groups.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35294
This study investigated the effects of using student response keypads as a tool to provide the critical factors necessary for student motivation. Keypads provided students with a means to actively participate in instruction and receive immediate feedback and reinforcement. They also provided systematic and useful feedback for the teacher, so that student misunderstandings or errors in the lesson could be corrected before they accumulated. Using a time-series research design, student motivation was evaluated in terms of student achievement levels on daily classwork, unit tests, and a comprehensive final exam. A questionnaire was used to evaluate student self-efficacy and goal setting. The effects of treatment were determined by evaluating the patterns in the data collected for nine weeks before treatment and during the nine weeks treatment period. Eighty nine students in five preexisting Biology classes (three college prep and two general level classes) from a north Georgia county high school participated in the research. During the treatment period, student motivation increased to the point where students studied more than twice as many chapters and did twice as many classwork assignments. At the same time that students were studying substantially more, they were also earning higher grades. Grades for classwork went from a mean of 71% to 92%; unit test grades went from 60% to 84%, and the final exam grade went from 55% to 92%. The students and the class teacher expressed amazement at the amount of work students were doing and how easy it was for them to learn. Student self-efficacy ratings increased 20.3% and personal goal setting increased 26.5%. As grade means increased, the gap between the lower level students and the upper level students decreased substantially. The significance of this research is that it demonstrates how to do what, research says, educators should be doing. It demonstrates that the tools are presently available and applicable in a natural classroom setting to substantially and significantly improve the quality of instruction ; thus, improving student motivation and academic achievement, while at the same time promoting a sense of worth and well-being for students.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35240
The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of traditional sex-role stereotypes and educational environment on computer attitudes of college women. The study considered three measures of computer attitude: anxiety, confidence, and liking. It classified as sex-typed women having the combination of high measures of femininity, and low measures of masculinity, using a sex-role inventory. All other women in the sample were classified as non-sex-typed. The sample consisted of 150 women at a single-sex college and 104 at a coeducational school. Students were in their second through fourth years of study. Both colleges were highly selective. The research investigated differences between sex-typed women and non-sex-typed women on computer attitude measures in two situations: no distinction between educational environment, and controlling for math anxiety and computer experience. It also investigated differences among sex-typed women on computer attitude measures between single-sex and coeducational environments. The findings of the study are: (1) The only computer attitude measure significantly related to sex-role perception was computer confidence. Sex-typed women were less confident about computers. Measures of anxiety and liking were not significantly different between sex-typed and non-sex-typed women. (2) Computer attitudes of sex-typed women at the single-sex college were more positive than those of sex-typed women at the coeducational college. Single-sex students were more confident and less anxious about computers. (3) Math anxiety and computer activity were consistently identified as significant predictors of computer attitude. Controlling for math anxiety and computer activity, there was no statistically significant difference between women in the sex-typed and non-sex-typed groups in computer anxiety and computer liking. There was significant difference in computer confidence. These results have several implications. First, social behavior such as sex-role, influence computer attitudes and must be acknowledged. Second, an educational environment supportive of women's learning styles can improve computer attitudes. Finally, the design of computer instruction curricula should consider anxiety about mathematics, and computer experience, in order to encourage women's achievement.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35231
This study examined the efficiency of eight types of classroom instruction on self-control aimed at improving the decision-making skills of inner-city, seventh grade students. The research population consisted of 345 seventh grade youngsters from two middle schools in Boston, Massachusetts. The eight, 45-minute lessons on self-control were arranged in a Taguchi-style L8 design. The lessons were taught by students from the Boston College Graduate School of Education. Seventh grade youngsters were randomly placed into nine groups at each middle school. One group from each school received all eight lessons. Seven groups from each school received four of the lessons in a variety of combinations. A control group from each school did not receive any of the lessons. Five areas were chosen for testing following the teaching of the lessons: locus of control as measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale; self-control as measured by the Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale; academic achievement as measured by grade point average; absence from school as measured by attendance data; and major disciplinary infractions as measured by discipline records. Seventeen null hypotheses were used to test the data. The major findings of the study rejected two hypotheses in the area of locus of control at the.05 level of significance. Youngsters who received all eight of the lessons scored significantly more internal on the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale than did the control groups that did not receive any of the lessons on self-control. In addition, youngsters who received four of the lessons on self-control scored significantly more internal than did the control groups when measured by the Nowicki-Strickland Children's Locus of Control Scale. It is recommended that further research be conducted in the area of developing additional lessons that teach self-control skills. It is further suggested that more concrete guidelines be established for measuring the effects of self-control curricula in the areas of academic achievement, attendance, and discipline.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35198
This qualitative study examines the learning aspirations of the senior management of a Fortune 500 company. Senior managers concerned with rejuvenating the company's ability to amaze customers with new products find a solution to continuously re-engineer the organization. Senior managers create a "Company College ", the bridge between senior and junior managers, to allow the voices of junior managers be heard. Three research questions guided this investigation. The principle question was "Does the process of improvement in an organization depend upon company's overall commitment to learning at all levels?" Other questions contributing to this inquiry were (a) Does the process of improvement in an organization depend upon its managers' ability to learn? and (b) Does the process of improvement in an organization depend upon continuous improvement and innovation of the learning process itself? The unit of analysis in this study consisted of forty three interviews with senior managers and resulted in 1,139 pages of text. Data collection methods employed in the study were (1) conversational and standardized interviews and (2) documents. Five action/interaction sequences for 17 categories were identified and related at the broad conceptual, and property and dimensional levels for each major category. Five contexts were identified: Low-Improvement contexts one and two, and High-Improvement contexts one, two, and three. The process-oriented, analytical paradigm model depicting the Company College as the catalyst for organizational learning was built. Three factors emerged from the findings as being most important in encouraging competitiveness of the organization. These are: (1) the fundamental ability to rethink managerial frames and regenerate core strategies comes through senior managers working collectively as faculty in the Company College ; (2) the company's market share in the future depends largely upon senior managers' ability to learn continually about their company, customers, and competitors; and (3) learning and teaching in the Company College becomes an intentional process of knowledge acquisition whereby each stage of repeated learning provides senior management with more knowledge and advances it to a different level of knowledge as the new learning spiral begins.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35197
This was a qualitative study of the impact of a collaborative alternative teaching certification program on adult learners. This program has been designed specifically for instructional assistants or substitutes who work in the elementary schools in the urban area of River City. Upon completion of this program each of these candidates will receive their teaching certification. This is a two year masters level program in elementary education consisting of university coursework and a full year's internship. All candidates must be at a postbaccalaureate level. Twenty of the 42 program participants were interviewed. From this group there were six participants who volunteered to participate in a focus group, all of the interview and the focus group data was recorded, transcribed and coded. A domain analysis was performed on all the data and major categories and subthemes were determined. There are three major findings in this study. Respondents believed it necessary for teachers to understand children in the urban setting and the backgrounds from which they come however, they should not have low expectations of their ability to learn. It is critical that teachers reach out to different learners, develop rapport, acknowledge diverse learning styles, and develop appropriate pedagogy styles. Participants believed that their past experience plus their internship totally prepared them to work in the urban schools.
ORDER NO: ABA97-35045
The purpose of this study was to establish a baseline of information about instructors and students taking advantage of the Internet as a method of delivery for community college course work. The study examined perceptions of students and instructors of the effectiveness of Internet education and the technical issues involved in construction, development, and delivery of Internet courses. The instructors had relatively high computer and technical skills but generally did not consider themselves experts. Most courses being taught over the Internet were constructed with some type of interactive communication tool, and the courses required a substantial amount of writing. Female instructors were significantly more likely to answer that there was 'much more' interaction than in traditional classrooms. Finally, the instructors believed that teaching Internet courses was very satisfying and that they were very likely to teach another Internet course in the future with no significant differences between responses of males and females. The demographic profile of students also revealed a 2 to 1 male/female ratio. They were as likely to be married as single, and most were employed with a high level of full-time professionals with corresponding high incomes. Significantly more males responded that they had higher levels of technical expertise than females. Males also were more likely to respond positively that Internet courses were constructed in a user-friendly manner. Females in the study were more likely to respond that courses they took contained adequate rigor, and males were significantly more likely to indicate that they would take another Internet course in the future. Some implications of the study included: (1) Establish a review board at each community college offering Internet courses to ensure consistent quality; (2) establish a template of some very well-designed Internet courses that would be posted on the Internet and be accessible to anyone interested in Internet course development; (3) use an Internet discussion group to establish a forum for the analysis and exchange of ideas regarding the proctoring of exams and assignments that are delivered and taken over the Internet; and (4) establish training modules intended to teach potential Internet instructors the fundamentals of on-line instruction.
ORDER NO: ABA97-34803
The purpose of this analytic paper is to examine the role of the president in shaping curriculum at one college over an extended period of time. The specific institution is Middlebury College, a highly selective, four-year private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Three Middlebury presidents, including the current president and two prior presidents, have participated in developing the school's curriculum since 1963. The 4-1-4 academic program was introduced through reforms in 1968-1970. Subsequent curricular changes occurred in 1976-1978, 1988-1990, and 1994-1995. Given that most American college curriculum in this century has been planned, developed, and implemented by the faculty, the goal of this research is to clarify what role, if any, each president played, describe how each executive worked with the faculty, document the extent to which each president shaped the curriculum, and analyze their respective leadership roles. The four research questions that guide this study are: (1) What were the major curricular changes at Middlebury from 1968-1995? (2) What were the evolving institutional contexts in which these major curricular changes occurred? (3) What roles, if any, did each president play in shaping what happened with the curriculum, how, and why? (4) How did the perspective of the presidents on their roles compare to the view of others on campus (e.g., faculty) about presidential involvement? The data from this qualitative case study suggest that the expressed academic intent, organizational framework, and personal leadership style of the president play critical roles in determining how the president participates in shaping the curriculum. From the faculty perspective, in particular, the perception of the president's genuine interest in and commitment to curricular matters appears to be crucial in affecting how the faculty feel about presidential involvement. This study discovered that two presidents worked closely with the faculty to help lead curricular change. The third president did not work with the faculty on the curriculum, but supported the faculty's curricular reforms. The analysis in all three cases suggests that presidential involvement in shaping undergraduate curriculum is principally a matter of individual academic leadership by the president more than anything else.
ORDER NO: ABA97-24307
This dissertation historicizes modernist childhood through the public school movement in the US. As a Foucauldian history of the present it posits childhood as an effect of power. It traces the discursive conditions which enabled both romantic childhood and mass public schooling to emerge. It examines a shift from a romantic form of childhood-as-rescue to a developmentalist redemption in the latter stages of the nineteenth century. It posits the Child-study movement (1880-1910) as the major forum through which developmentalism and its associated child-centered pedagogy took place. It deconstructs Child-study's centering of the child as a discourse network embodying systems of inclusion/exclusion. It suggests that developmentalism ushered in new ways of reasoning about education which had circulating within them productive and repressive possibilities. It posits that the circulation of power through educational discourses bound the reconstitution of race, gender, and ability to new kinds of psychologized children with newly differentiated childhoods. The dissertation traces this reconstitution into teacher training institutions that were differentially located in regards to race matters at the turn of the twentieth century. It examines the appropriation of developmentalist childhood in teacher training at Howard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It examines the new identity space of the child-centered teacher-as-redeemer that developmentalism made available. It explores how State policy reconstituted childhood in relation to the governing of races after Child-study's loss of popularity. It brings the history into the present by questioning current reasonings about childhood-as-rescue and teacher-as-redeemer in the National Education Goals 2000, in the Holmes Reports, and in pedagogies of the Left. And last, it explores the methodological tensions inherent to a Foucauldian analytics of power and the positing of childhood as a political site.
ORDER NO: ABANN-19718
The trend in medical education and in general, among health professionals, is based, on the current changes of health systems aimed to improve relevance equity, and cost effectiveness of health care. With respect to human health resources, there is lack of agreement among the competence level, performance and the needs of both the system using them and the target population. Therefore, it is important and necessary to consider both the community and health services as partners in the task of defining these changes and in the provision of health services to meet the above mentioned criteria. The main purpose of this partnership is to encourage efforts to promote, oversee, and apply the actions in each one of the instances in order to improve training of human resource, strengthen local health systems, and empower the communities. Human resource competence and performance, the capacity to provide services, and the degree of community participation and commitement to health, are key elements in improving service quality. The philosophy of current curricula reform at the Valle University stresses the partnership relationship between academic institutions, services centers, and the community, in the training of health professionals. The proposed investigation focuses on the community-based training aspect of student performance assessment and its relation to the health care system and academia. Specifically, the study will focus on designing valid and reliable instruments for community assessment of student performance, using both qualitative and quantitative aspects of data collection and analysis to assess "patient satisfaction" as an indicator of quality of care. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed assessment activity will allow the educational and health services institutions to have relevant and dynamic information as feedback for planning and adjustment of their programs. At the same time, it will allow the community to participate in an effective way in aspects related to their health care. The results of this study will be used as a basis for producing guidelines for involving communities (users) in the health care students evaluation process.
ORDER NO: ABANN-19009
This research is an interpretive study of planned educational reform in Sierra Leone. The reform studied is the "National Dissemination of an Innovative Primary School Curriculum Adapted to the Local Environment in Sierra Leone," a project initiated in 1985 by the national government to repudiate the Eurocentric colonial education model. This model has been criticized as inadequate to address the socio-economic needs of the country and tailored toward grammar-type secondary education and subsequently the university (Sierra Leone Government, 1973). This study was designed to address the following objectives: illuminate the innovative features of the reform, determine the factors that foster and constrain implementation, assess and evaluate the extent to which the reform has succeeded in achieving its goals, and determine the reform's effects on education in Sierra Leon. Three main sources of information have been employed for this study. Theoretical and empirical literature on educational reform in general and the National Dissemination Project in particular were analyzed. These include project proposals, seminar papers, research reports, refereed journal articles, position papers by the Sierra Leone Government, and 'expert' opinion by UNDP/UNESCO personnel. Interviews were conducted with community leaders and members, parents of school children, elementary school teachers, students and college lecturers, and key administrative personnel of the reform. Concurrently, observations of classroom activities in two local elementary schools, as well as the forums of instruction in a teachers college were undertaken. The study confirms that substantial progress has been realized in the attempt to develop and implement a cultural and an environmentally responsive curriculum. It also establishes that the National Dissemination Project is innovative and solution oriented because of the nature of the reform, government commitment, external assistance, community based actors, college lecturers and students, and elementary school teachers. Although some progress has been realized in institutionalising the reform, certain conditions were deemed necessary to sustain its viability. It will all be for naught if there is not the willingness and ability of the national government to sustain the reform with material support and continued emphasis on training and monitoring. | ||||||||||||
