Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
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The role of the school social worker: a comparative analysis of the perceptions of teachers, counselors, psychologists, and social workers in an urban school system, 2001
Get PDFThe purpose of this investigation was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers in the importance of the role of the school social worker. National, state, and local system job descriptions of the social worker were used to develop a survey sent to teachers, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers. All of the subjects in this study worked in the same large metropolitan school system. The findings of this investigation suggested that the three categories of professionals, school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers, appeared to be clear concerning their respective job duties and responsibilities, but elementary teachers seemed unclear concerning the differences of school social workers and school counselors. This researcher further concluded that this confusion on the part of elementary classroom teachers might also be responsible for students' failure to receive needed services from the school social worker. To alleviate the problem of teacher confusion about the job responsibilities of the school social worker and the school counselor, staff development sessions might be a part of a series of informational initiatives used by the school district to assist in clarifying duties and responsibilities. This researcher also recommends additional examination of the perceptions of other school administrators regarding the duties and responsibilities of these professionals to determine whether similar confusion exists
An exploratory study: an outcome evaluation of Community Concerns, Inc., Odyssey III Safe Haven Transitional Housing Program, 2006
No full textThis study evaluated the efforts of Community Concerns, Inc., Odyssey Ill's Safe Haven Program and its effectiveness on improving the Daily Living Activities (DLA) scores of African-American men residing in the program. Odyssey III Safe Haven provides transitional housing and supportive services for homeless men who are diagnosed with chronic and persistent mental illness. The measure used is Georgia's Performance Measurement and Evaluation System (PERMES) Adult Mental Health Daily Living Activities (DLA) scale. Consumers are rated on a scale from 1 to 7 in each of the 20 performance areas. One equals none of the time and seven equals all of the time. Daily activities rated include health practices, housing maintenance, communication, safety, managing time, managing money, nutrition, problem solving, family relationships, alcohol/drug use, leisure, community resources, social network, sexuality, productivity, coping skills, behavior norms, personal hygiene, grooming and dress. The DLA is used by psychiatric case management staff to rate each consumer in these areas on a monthly basis. Outcomes are measured by comparing the scores of three DLA's on each consumer, administered at entry, in the middle of their stay and the most current DLA administered. A sample of 10 African-American men who were consumers of the program was used. A t-test was used to interpret the frequency data collected on consumer outcome variables related to DLA scores. The use of Systems Theory allows for cases to be examined individually, while also considering the consumer's interactive relationships with various services and agencies within the community partnership collaborative of Odyssey III Safe Haven. This systematic approach provides a greater understanding of the different systems involved with each consumer. A brief narrative discusses the results of the study. This evaluation also provides a discussion of the implications for social work practice that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a supportive transitional housing program for homeless African-American men diagnosed with chronic and persistent mental illness, who traditionally have been difficult to engage in psychiatric treatment and have very poor compliance rates with psychiatric treatment, once they are engaged
The effects of curriculum alignment on the mathematics achievement of third-grade students as measured by the Iowa Tests of basic skills: implications for educational administrators, 1998
Get PDFThis study involved over 4,000 third-grade students in a large suburban-emerging urban school district. The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of curriculum alignment on student achievement in mathematics as measured by the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) after one year of implementation in the school system. Curriculum alignment was the treatment or independent variable in the study. Its implementation was designed to address the problem identified in the study: the misalignment traditionally associated with classroom instruction and test items on standardized tests. This study presents a new model which depicts the four pronged historical roots of curriculum alignment in Effective Schools Research, measurement/standardized testing, curriculum, and learning theory. Within these four areas was found a common mantra: what is taught should be tested and what is tested should be what is taught. As simple as it may sound, this quest, originating from dissimilar camps, has struggled for legitimacy. The struggle to legitimize curriculum alignment is centered around the use of standardized tests to quantify accountability and short students. This study focused on those variables that serve as known predictors of poor performance on standardized tests: poverty, race, gender, and school size. Therefore, a key issue of this study was whether equity is a by-product for the alignment process. There were five research questions with parallel null hypotheses. The statistics used to examine these hypotheses were a t test and analysis of variance. Of the five hypotheses examined, one proved statistically significant. There was a statistically significant difference in the overall scores of matched third-grade students on the ITBS after one year of implementation of curriculum alignment with a NCE mean gain of 5.12 points in mathematics. According to the results, curriculum alignment appears to be an effective strategy in increasing student achievement with third graders in mathematics. It also appears to weaken the predictability of variables in student performance. For these reasons, the study concludes with a reference to curriculum alignment as a potential curriculum equalizer
A study of job satisfaction and burnout among African American family preservation workers, 1998
Get PDFThe objective of this study was to examine the affects of burnout and job satisfaction among African American Family Preservation Workers who service Fulton and DeKalb Counties in Georgia. To obtain this objective, various dimensions of job satisfaction and burnout were addressed.This study was an attempt to provide a clear understanding of the factors associated with burnout, how it affects the family preservation worker, and the factors that are associated with job satisfaction. The results showed that burnout was not prevalent among family preservation workers who were satisfied with their jobs. There appeared to be a relationship between job satisfaction and burnout but not a strong relationship
An exploratory study on the relationship between depression and suicidal gestures among African American adolescents, 1996
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depression and suicidal gestures among African American adolescents. To attain this objective, a questionnaire was administered to twenty subjects. Twenty were administered to African American adolescents who attended Fulton County Public School System. The study revealed that the African American adolescents are suffering from chronic depression and therefore suicidal gestures are attempted to ease the emotional pain and they see no other alternative. However, the study showed that it is important for professionals and parents to act quickly when they notice the signs of depression. Depression usually results when problems remain unresolved and adolescents are unable to cope. The degree of danger involved in suicidal gestures depends on how specific and definite they are. If after talking to a person it is felt that there is a high potential for suicide several steps can be taken. Research indicates that many adolescents experience only mild forms of anxiety and demonstrate adequate coping skills which enable them to adjust to changes with minimal turmoil
An efficient dynamic programming algorithm for detecting edges of noisy images, 1989
Get PDFThere are several techniques available in the literature for detecting edges and boundaries of noisy images, including the dynamic programming procedures. Such procedures seem to perform better than others, although demands of storage and CPU-Time are tremendous. This inhibits the practical utility of dynamic programming techniques. A segment boundary can be detected against the noisy background using the concept of a "good� boundary. This procedure has an optimization formulation in terms of objective functions depending on edge strengths and low curvatures. In the absence of convexity conditions, the problem becomes that of unconstrained dynamic programming. The research consists of the design of a computational technique which requires reasonable amounts of storage and computer time, thus making the procedure effective as well as efficient in the presence of noise
The effects of principals' interpersonal skills on school climate and student achievement, 1987
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine the effect of principals' interpersonal skills as perceived by faculty on school climate and student achievement in the DeKalb County School System. The study was intended to determine the effect of (1) principals' interpersonal skills on school climate, (2) principals' interpersonal skills on student achievement, and (3) climate on student achievement. The DeKalb County School System, in its effort toward school improvement, administered the Profile for Assessment of Leadership (PAL) to administrators throughout the school system. During the 1984-85 school years, faculties of fifty-two of the seventy-six elementary schools assessed their administrators. Concurrently with this assessment, the DeKalb County School Climate Survey was used to evaluate school climate. Results from the assessment as well as sixth grade California Achievement Test scores for the same year from each of the schools were collected and analyzed. The analysis of the data revealed: (1) principals' interpersonal skills had a positive relationship to school climate (principals' ability to promote positive relationships showed � = 62, to respect the opinions of others showed � = .61, to manage conflict showed � = .68, and to maintain integrity showed � = .68); (2) principals' inter-personal skills showed a low relationship to student achievement (� = .19, � = .14, � = .24, and � = .32, respectively); and (3) in a stepwise multiple regression analysis, using student achievement (CAT scores) as the dependent variable, climate was the only independent variable that made a significant contribution (B = .55). The main conclusion was that, while in a Pearson product-moment correlation both climate and interpersonal behaviors were related to student achievement, in the regression only climate was a significant contributor when all the variables were interactive. This was because climate itself was interactive with interpersonal skills. Principals were able to manipulate results by learning the appropriate behaviors necessary for a positive response on the descriptive PAL instrument. The attitudinal nature of the climate survey made it difficult for manipulation of responses to occur. Therefore, the responses on the climate survey represented the true feelings of the faculties. The two main recommendations as a result of this study were: (1) staff development programs should strive to enhance school climate because of its strong impact on student achievement, and (2) a study should be done to include all nine of the leadership competencies of the PAL instrument with climate and student achievement
Robbery arrest rates by age, period and cohort, 1965 - 1984, 1987
Get PDFThis thesis examines the relationship of robbery arrest rates to three variables: age, time period, and cohort over a 20 year period, 1965-1984. The study also tests Richard Easterlin1s cohort thesis as applied to robbery arrest-rate statistics from the U.S. Uniform Crime Reports. Easterlin's hypothesis suggests that crime rates will fluctuate according to the relative size of cohort, and that cohort is more closely related to crime rates than age and period. In short, large cohorts generate higher arrest rates than small cohorts. We tested this thesis as it is applied to robbery arrest rates. The findings disclose that both age and cohort, but not time period, have a significant relationship to robbery arrest rates. The variable, age, has a stronger relationship to robbery arrest rates than does cohort. Therefore, Easterlin1s cohort thesis is only partially confirmed. Males from 18 to 24 are more likely to commit robbery than any other age groups. Consequently, this age group should be targeted for prevention, control, and treatment programs
