UNT Theses and Dissertations - 17 Matching Results
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- An Analysis of Program Options for Gifted Middle School Students
- The purpose of this study was to compare three different types of programming options for identified gifted and talented middle school students.
- A Comparative Study of School District Expenditures in Texas Since the Enactment of Senate Bill 7
- The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine the effects of Senate Bill 7 on expenditures in Texas school districts, (b) compare similarities and differences in expenditures among property-poor, medium-wealth, and wealthy-districts, (c) analyze spending patterns in light of equalization efforts, and (d) provide useful data to researchers in the area of equalization and adequacy.
- A Comparison of the Academic Intrinsic Motivation of Gifted and Non-gifted Fifth Graders Taught Using Computer Simulations and Traditional Teaching Methods
- This study investigated the use of interdisciplinary computer-based simulations compared to traditional teaching methods. The academic intrinsic motivation of gifted and non-gifted students was analyzed using a quasi-experimental design, similar to a pretest/posttest design.
- From Theory to Practice: A First Look at Success for Life - A Brain Research-Based Early Childhood Program
- Success For Life (SFL) is a brain research-based program for children, birth through age six. This research examined the development and implementation of SFL in 13 early childhood settings. Participants were 24 female early childhood teachers and 146 (73 male) children. Teachers included seven infant, four toddler, nine preschool and four kindergarten teachers. Children included infants(n=29), toddlers(n=27), and prek/kindergartners (n=90). A Request for Proposals was disseminated to identify possible implementation sites. After participation was confirmed, teachers attended a full day's training which included a description of brain development/function, the latest brain research, how to implement SFL and other logistics of the study. Program implementation occurred over approximately four months. A field site coordinator visited each site bimonthly to provide on-going technical assistance. This was an intervention project with a pre and post implementation design. Four instruments were used: a teacher questionnaire, a classroom environment measure, a child measure and teacher journals. Results suggested that teachers became more knowledgeable about brain development research and about how children grow and learn. Teachers were better able to make connections between brain research findings and how to apply these findings to their programs and daily activities. Likewise, the environment measure indicated that teachers were better able to arrange environments for learning. They reported that children showed significant increases in skills development and performance in the following areas: physical mastery, social relations/interactions, cognitive development, and language/communications. Additionally, teachers reported improvements in emotional expression and well-being among infants and toddlers. Toddlers and preschoolers showed significant increases in creative/ artistic expression. Finally, teachers indicated that preschoolers showed increases in initiative, use of logic/mathematics skills, and musical coordination and movement. Research findings suggest that Success For Life is able to bridge the gap between theory and practice and benefits children, teachers and programs.
- A Study of the Effects of Using Complete Hypertext Compared with the Effects of Using Focused Hypertext in the Delivery of Computer Based Instruction
- The purpose of the study was to examine the impact that hypertext and hypertext design on the cognitive process. The study used two identical computer based lessons. One set of lessons used a complete set of hypertext resources that supported all of the learning objectives throughout the lessons. The other set of lessons focused the hypertext resources by limiting them to the immediate learning objective.
- The Effects of the Advance Organizer on Student Perception of Teacher Communication Competence
- The problem of this study was to determine whether the advance organizer would affect students' perception of instructor communication competence. The study also sought to determine any effect the organizer would have on student achievement.
- Strategies Employed by School Administrators to Prevent or Reduce Gang-Related Activity and Violence in Selected High Schools in a North Central Texas School District
- This research investigated the strategies used by school administrators in selected high schools to prevent or reduce gang-related activity and violence. Interviews were conducted with six high school principals, six assistant principals, fifteen staff members and eleven students. All of the students were gang members. The results of the study showed that there are gang members in all schools, but that their gang activity at school is curtailed by some specific strategies.
- A Study of Relationships Between University Interscholastic League Participation and Selected School Characteristics
- The problem of this study was to determine whether differences exist between elementary and middle school campuses that participate in University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic activities and similar campuses that do not participate. The Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) furnished data from 1993 through 1997 for this ex post facto comparative research. Using all Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) scores for grades 3 through 8, economically disadvantaged population data, attendance rates and campus accountability ratings, 12 hypotheses and 4 research questions were addressed.
- A Comparative Analysis of Curricular Programs in Private, Public Choice, and Public Attendance-Zone Schools in San Antonio, Texas
- The purpose of this study was to examine curricular programs in private, public choice, and public attendance-zone schools to determine whether differences exist among curricular programs in the three types of schools. The findings from the student survey data indicated that private school students reported their curriculum to be more challenging than public school students, but no other significant differences were noted. Findings from the teacher survey showed more positive results for private schools in indicators of a challenging curriculum, expectations of students, school climate, and external support than public schools. This study showed that of the types of schools examined, Catholic schools exhibited the most consistent and well written curriculum that reflected the four research questions. Future research needs to be done to establish whether these indicators of a challenging curriculum result in higher student achievement.
- Reading Informational Tradebooks Aloud to Inner City Intermediate Fourth and Sixth Grade Students : A Comparison of Two Styles
- This study measured the effects of reading aloud informational books to fourth and sixth grade students in the inner city.
- Stereotype Vulnerability in Elementary Aged African American Students
- This study explores a link between "stereotype vulnerability" and the documented under performance of African American students on standardized tests. The subjects were 41 third grade African American students matched according to language arts grades with 41 third grade Anglo students. The students were from predominately middle class suburban schools, with similar educational experiences. The data suggest that third grade African American and Anglo students from predominately middle class schools, with approximately equivalent language arts grades and similar educational experiences, will score comparably to one another regardless of testing conditions. The data also suggest that this sample of third grade students are confident in their academic ability and are not affected by negative stereotyping.
- A Comparison of Personality Types of Alternative and Traditional Campus Students
- The purpose of this study was to determine personality characteristics of students who are successful on traditional campuses and students who are successful on alternative campuses. With this knowledge, more students may be served on the traditional campus without the necessity for alternative education.
- Latin Vocabulary Acquisition : An Experiment Using Information-processing Techniques of Chunking and Imagery
- The purpose of the study was to determine the effect on student performance and attitude toward high school Latin by Latin I students when provided with vocabulary instruction through chunking and imagery.
- The Perceptions of Site-based Management by the Principal
- The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of principals who had served in their positions prior to and since the state-mandated implementation of site-based management. The study sought to determine if the state mandates impacted the principals' perceptions regarding the pre-existing site-based management in their district. The study also sought to determine relationships between support or lack of support and the principals' gender, age, ethnicity, years as principal, and educational level.
- Texas School Librarians' Perceptions on Censorship and Intellectual Freedom
- This study was conducted to ascertain library media specialists' perceptions of the trends in challenges to intellectual freedom in Texas public school libraries and the factors influencing the outcome of challenged materials.
- Texas Public School Mission Statements : a Factor in the Involvement of Parents, Family, and/or Home in Educational Reform
- Despite site-based decison making (SBDM) educational mandates, research determined the virtual exclusion of parents, family, and/or home as co-authoritative voice in Texas public school district mission statements. Qualitative analysis determined six parent roles within 155 inclusive mission statements through rhetorical deconstruction, a text-based grammatical evaluation procedure; quantitative analysis determined no significance between inclusive and exclusive districts in factors of size, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. The implications of this study add further support to the growing parental insistence for greater educational decision-making options: ie., home schooling, voucher system, and charter schools.
- A Descriptive Study of Student Assistance Programs in the State of Texas
- The purpose of this study is to examine the four basic student assistance models and determine their distribution in Texas, describe the student assistance programs in place in public school districts in Texas including the program's goals, objectives and components, and explore the perceived effectiveness of student assistance programs as a viable means of drug and alcohol education for students enrolled in public school districts in Texas in kindergarten through twelfth grade.