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Relationships of Student Behaviors with Class Percentile Rank of Iowa High School Seniors
Get PDFiv, 114 leaves. Advisor: Jan McMahillThe Problem. Low academic performance in schools cannot be resolved by the educational systems alone. Individual student behaviors, school factors and attitudes of students' families have been found to be related to achievement. Significant relationships between changeable student behaviors and student academic performance exist. Changing those factors could prove
to be conducive to the improvement of student academic performance.
Procedures. This study examined student behaviors of high school seniors in North Central Iowa. Students were selected from one of four size
categories, utilized by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. A survey was utilized to gather data concerning seven student behaviors described in the review of literature. The behaviors categories included attendance, television, homework, reading, job, co-curricular participation, and rules.
Findings. This study utilized an ex-post facto research design. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine relationships between
behaviors and academic performance. Stepwise regression analysis was conducted to determine ranked strength of relationships between behaviors
and academic performance. R-squared value of all seven behaviors forced into the regression equation was .331. Three behaviors, participation, homework, and rules, were significantly related to class percentile rank with P-values of .0001, .0001, and .0187, respectively.
Conclusions. It was evident that student behaviors do significantly relate to class percentile rank. Nearly one-third of the variability of class percentile rank was explained by the seven student behaviors selected for this study. With
one-third of the variability of class percentile rank explained by seven behaviors of this study, it appears that collaborative efforts of schools and parents to improve student performance would be most effective.
Recommendations. It is the task of the school systems to capitalize on public opinion which demands improvements in student academic performance and foster cooperative relationships between home and school. This study suggests that parents encourage students to participate in those behaviors which positively relate to higher academic performance and discourage student
behaviors which negatively relate to academic performance
An Evaluation of the Teacher Education Program at William Penn College
Get PDFvii, 148 leaves. Advisor: Edward Hakanson.The problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the undergraduate teacher education program at William Penn College based upon a survey of the graduates' perceptions of the program from 1983-1987, as to the effectiveness and expected benefits of the program.
Procedure. Graduate records were used to identify the names and addresses of all William Penn College teacher education graduates from May 1983 through August 1987. All students were identified as having graduated with a teaching certificate from the state of Iowa. The number of graduates
who comprised the total population under consideration was 194. The survey was designed to obtain perceived achievement of program objectives and of program objectives relating to
job importance. The original mailing was followed by three sets of phone calls to all graduates. These calls resulted in a return of 74 percent of the surveys to graduates. The data represented the percentage of responses and mean values of the program objectives. The data was divided between
elementary graduates, secondary graduates, elementary supervisors, and secondary supervisors according to the seven stated hypotheses. MANOVA tests and a nonparametric test were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings. The graduates' perceptions of their program objectives were significant for each of the seven hypotheses. Significance (P<.05) was found between the mean values by groups. Graduates were satisfied about the perceived achievement of program objectives. There were significant
differences between groups.
Conclusions. There is a relationship between the
graduate's major (elementary, secondary) and the graduates perceived achievement of certain program objectives and their job importance regarding the concepts by which the education program was founded upon at William Penn College.
Recommendations. Further research is recommended to continue as a follow-up study of the teacher education program based upon the program objectives. These studies may determine areas of change due to changing demands placed upon
the teaching profession
Personality and Addiction Tendency: An Initial Comparison of Graduate Students of Nursing and Nurse Anesthesia
No full textvii, 111 leaves. Advisor: Lawrence E. FanningProblem Statement. There is much support in the literature that for the fact that
anesthesiologists, as a group, are much overrepresented in programs that specialize
in the treatment of physicians for drug and alcohol abuse. It is also clear that there is
considerable support for the view that the nurses most likely to become involved in drug and alcohol abuse are high achievers and those who work in high stress areas. Although nurse anesthetists are a group likely to be both high achievers and work in high stress areas, little is found in the literature relative to personality traits or to
~ddiction in this group of nursing specialists whose work is so closely related to another documented high risk group, namely anesthesiologists.
Procedures. This study measured 3 personality facets and addictive tendency in 2 groups of graduate students. The control group was graduate nursing students not in an anesthesia program. The study group was graduate students in nurse anesthesia educational programs. The facets of Impulsiveness, Assertiveness, and Excitement
Seeking were measured using questions from the NEO Personality Inventory and compared between groups using ANOVA and MANOVA. Addictive tendency was
determined by the MacAndrew Scale of the MMPI.
Findings. If data from the pilot group (first sample) and the study group (second sample) are combined, the following facts are revealed. The anesthesia group (n=81) was less Assertive (p=.002),. no different in trnputstveness (p=.792) and much more Excitement Seeking (p=.OOO) than the non-anesthesia (n=69) group. Further, the number of positive MacAdrew Scores (addictive tendency) in the anesthesia group was 18 (22.2%), while the non-anesthesia group had only 4 (5.8%). These figures represent a significantly higher (p=.OOO) propensity for addiction in the group of
anesthesia students. It would seem that in these groups, Excitement Seeking is positively associated with addictive tendency.
Conclusions. There are significant differences in personality facet scores between nurses who seek to specialize in anesthesia and those who do not. Further, there is a much greater number of students with a positive addictive tendency score among the anesthesia students.
Recommendations. It is possible that those who have positive addictive tendency scores may be at higher risk to develop addictive difficulty with drugs or alcohol when exposed to the stress and drug availability associated with anesthesia training. Preventative educational programs should be a part of the nurse anesthesia curriculum
The Effect of School Starting Age, Parent Education, and Gender on High School Academic Achievement and Extracurricular Participation
Get PDF49 leavesThe problem. Is there a long-term effect of
starting age on academic achievement, participation in athletics, student government and organizations, and fine arts, and the continuation of post-secondary education?
Procedure. The graduates of a small rural high
school over a five-year period made up the study sample. The students were first divided by the age at which they entered kindergarten into an older and younger group. The older group turned six before March of their
kindergarten year. Records were examined and assistance was received through survey information concerning the number of activities each student participated in,
standardized test scores, grade point average, and parental education levels.
Findings. No significant effect was found in
student participation, academic achievement, or
post-secondary education, due to school starting age.
Conclusion. The age at which a student begins
school is not, in itself, a significant factor at the high school level on any aspect of the student's success or participation.
Recommendations. There was a slight indication that age, gender, and parent education, when considered together, may have an effect on ACT performance. This could be interesting to investigate further with a larger sample group
The Relationship Between Resistance to the Fungal Toxin Cercosporin and Grey Leaf Spot Disease Resistance in Corn (ZEA MAYS L.)
Get PDF65 leaves. Advisor: Michael E. MyszewskiThe problem. Corn is infected by the fungus "Cerospora zeae-maydis" which causes the disease Grey Leaf Spot. The fungus produces a toxin,
cercosporin, whose role in the pathogenicity of the disease is not known. The first step in determining the importance of the toxin to the fungus is to screen corn inbreds to see if any disease resistant inbreds are also resistant to the toxin.
Procedure. Thirteen corn inbreds were tested for their degree of resistance to the fungal toxin cercosporin. The level of tolerance to
cercosporin for each inbred was then compared to the inbred's level of resistance to Grey Leaf Spot. Resistance to cercosporin was determined by
measuring the increases in the conductivity of water containing leaf tissue slices following exposure to cercosporin. Ion leakage is an indicator of cellular damage, so resistant tissue would be expected ro have a lower level of
conductivity increase than susceptible tissue. Resistance to Grey Leaf Spot disease had been previously determined by field test conducted by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Findings. The ion leakage assay showed that the inbreds which were more disease resistant tended to have a lower tolerance for cercosporin than
did the less disease resistant inbreds (correlation coefficient = 0.5524).
Conclusion. Based on the lack of a positivc relationship between disease susceptibility and cercosporin susceptibility it was concluded that
cercosporin resistance does not have a significant role in the prevention of Grey Leaf Spot infections among the tested inbreds
The Prevalence of Elder Abuse in Iowa
No full text100 leavesThe prevalence of abuse of the elderly in the state of Iowa, as well as the nature and characteristics of the abused and their abusers was investigated. The sample included 500 randomly selected heads of household age 65 years old and older residing in the state of Iowa. They were mailed an elder abuse survey designed by the researcher. The response
rate was 80.8%. The majority of respondents were 65-to-74-year-old urban-dwelling males that were living with a spouse and had no impairments. None of the respondents reported
being a victim of abuse. Slightly over 2% of the respondents reported 16 cases of abuse of elderly acquaintances. The majority of elders reported as being abused were impaired females. Support was provided for the
dependency theory as a cause for elder abuse. Suggestions for further research and implications are discussed
Sexism in the Classroom: The Effect of Simple Informational Awareness on the Gender Bias of Teachers' Feedback to Students
No full textviii, 176 leaves. Advisor: Dr. Barry SteimThis study investigated the effects of: (1) student gender, (2) teacher gender, (3) attendance at a simple informational awareness session, and (4) teachers' knowledge of their own gender bias patterns; on the frequency and types of teachers' feedback to female and male students. The research study involved a one-group, pretest-posttest
experimental design. Twenty-six public school
classrooms were observed, with an equal representation of female and male teachers, and an equal distribution of teachers at each grade level (kindergarten through twelfth). After the initial observation, teachers completed a pretest measure on their knowledge of gender bias patterns in
classroom communications, and they attended a simple informational awareness session on gender equity in teacher and student interactions. Following the inservice, the quiz was readministered and each teacher was observed a second was readministered and each teacher was observed a second time.
The t. test results for the first observations indicated that teachers gave male students significantly more feedback than female students in seven of nine categories: total feedback, praise of intellect, total praise, criticism of
intellect, criticism of behavior, total criticism, and assistance. There was not a significant difference in the amount of neutral and praise of behavior feedback given to female and male students. After attendance at a simple informational awareness session on gender bias is classroom communications, a significant change was observed in teachers' knowledge and their feedback to female and male students. Although there
was a significant change in teachers' behavior, and they changed their biases in a majority of the feedback categories, they did not make significant progress toward giving equal amounts of feedback to female and male students in most categories. In most feedback areas, there was not a significant difference between female and male teachers.
It is recommended that researchers who are
contemplating future studies use a larger sample, and observe teachers for longer periods of time. Also of interest would be the investigation of the effect of the observers' gender on the teachers' behavior
Perceptual Learning Style Preferences and Their Relationship to Language Learning Strategies in Adult Students of English as a Second Language
Get PDF90 leaves ; Advisor: Dr. Edward E. HakansonThe problem. In exploring the differences that exist among second language learners, researchers have focused on different aspects of cognitive learning style--an individual's preferred means of processing information. Within the cognitive domain, perceptual learning style emerges as a neglected, yet significant factor in second language acquisition. Through the learner's perceptual channels, classified as auditory, visual,tactile and kinesthetic, information is taken in, encoded and stored. It was the purpose of this study to investigate the interplay between an individual's dominant perceptual style and the strategies he/she employs in learning a
second language.
Methods. Using a sample of 147 adult immigrants, two areas were researched. The first involved the relationship between an individual's learning style preference and factors in his/her background including age, sex, native language, level of English proficiency, educational background,
period of residence in the United States and work history. The second area of investigation focused on the interrelationships among learning style
preference, background variables and learning strategies.
The subjects were enrolled in community college English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. The linguistic backgrounds represented were (1) Chinese, (2) Laotian, (3) Vietnamese, (4) Spanish and (5) Other (a sampling of different languages).
The study was based on an analysis of data derived from a several sources. Two self-assessment instruments designed specifically for ESL
students were used-the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire and the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL).
English proficiency levels were established using scores from the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to gather background data on the subjects. To investigate the relationship among the variables, stepwise multiple regression, chi-square and multivariate analyses were performed.
Findings. The findings consist of relationships among the variables in each of the two areas of investigation. First, It was shown that perceptual
learning style preference is influenced by factors in the learner's background, particularly native language. Overall, the dominant learning
style preferences for the sample were tactile and kinesthetic. Second, relationships were found between learning styles and strategic approaches
to second language learning. The strongest correlation existed between visual learning style and visualization strategies. In general, the study has shown that a complex system of interactions exists among background characteristics, learning style preferences and language learning strategies
Education in England : A Study of Cardinal Pole School
Get PDFiii, 111 leaves. Advisor: Barry SteimThe problem: The purpose of this study was to research the secondary educational process at Cardinal Pole School, London, United
Kingdom. The research examined the day to day educational process at the school.
Procedure: The research was conducted during a Fulbright Teacher Exchange assignment to Cardinal Pole School in London. Several methods of
research were used to gather data. The project began August 5, 1986 with a five day seminar at American University in Washington, D.C., which focused on a general overview of the British educational process was presented.
The data for the school structure, curriculum and flnance were gathered through observation and participation in daily school activities,
and interviews with the people responsible for specific areas of the educational process.
Findings: Research was divided among several areas within the educational structure. A history of British Education was examined to establish an evolutionary basis for the present educational system. Other educational areas described in this research were philosophy, educational structure, the national examination system, the Cardinal Pole School structure of staffing, students, curriculum, and finance.
Conclusion: Following the historical evolution of education in England, competency based testing is a logical development. The present national testing scheme separates and benefits the academically talented students. It would be difficult and certainly a slow prorcess, to develop any other educational system
Relationship Between The Team Approach and Stress Management Among Hospice Workers
No full textv, 142 leaves. Advisor: George S. Lair.This study was designed to determine the validity of the assumption that participation in an interdisciplinary team reduces the stress and lessens burnout of the hospice worker. On-site, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a nurse, social worker, and chaplain from each of seven Medicare-certified hospices in Iowa. Both qualitative and demographic data were gathered. Data indicate that differences exist in perceptions of team integrality and the degree the three professional groups of hospice workers. Literature related to the study was examined. The field research and the literature indicate that the interdisciplinary team reduces stress to a greater degree than it increases stress team approach in all hospices will reduced the stress experienced by workers and benefit patient and family recipients of hospice services