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open access

Early Literacy: An Examination of the Principal Behaviors That Impact Reading Achievement

Description: Literacy is fundamental to formal education, learning, and training for future career related skills. It provides not only the means of acquisition of information and skills during schooling, but it is a vital predictor of a person's general level of education in school as well as successful completion of schooling. Literacy skills serve as the major foundational skill for all school-based learning and without it, chances for academic and occupational success are limited. Despite the efforts of… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: Baker, Brenda
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Study of Factors Related to Teacher Retention

Description: Teacher attrition is a problem with a number of implications, not the least of which is the teacher shortage. Almost half of all new teachers leave the profession within the first five years, creating a difficult model where more teachers leave the teaching profession compared to teachers entering the profession. Part of the problem is a result of career progression. However, most of teacher attrition is a result of factors such as inadequate pay, administrative support, workplace conditions, s… more
Date: December 2003
Creator: McKee, Kerry Lyn
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Interim Evaluation of the UNT/Dallas Public Schools Leadership Development Program: A Working Model

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if, after one year of operation, the UNT/Dallas Public Schools Leadership Development Program was progressing in accordance with the goals set out for the program. Questionnaires administered to 26 interns and 10 mentor principals and follow-up focus group interview sessions provided answers to the study's five research questions that explored the following: selection process; how interns' involvement in campus-based decision-making had changed; how me… more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Newman, Carol A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Effects of Teacher Certification on Freshman High School Students' Algebra I Achievement

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine whether students taught by certified teachers and those taught by uncertified teachers had significantly different achievement on a state Algebra I End of Course examination. The specific research questions were: (1) Does type of teacher certification impact Algebra I End of Course (EOC) Exam scores for high school freshman when controlling for students' past mathematics success as measured by 8th grade TAAS mathematics test scores and teachers' years … more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Ringrose, Laura Chamberlin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A study of the technology leadership of Texas high school principals.

Description: Effectively integrating technology into school requires the presence of informed and visionary leadership. Past research on change in schools demonstrates the importance of the principal to that process. In that research it is obvious that the principal must possess more than skills and knowledge about the change, he or she must also possess leadership skills to lead the campus through the change. Despite this finding, very little research has been attempted to determine the leadership knowledg… more
Date: May 2004
Creator: Seay, D. Alan
Partner: UNT Libraries

The significance of supportive structure in improving student achievement in knowledge of the history of the Christian church in a Kenyan Bible college.

Description: The problem of this study was to determine whether Kenyan Bible college students who receive instruction using a modified (highly structured) mastery learning model will demonstrate greater achievement in knowledge of Christian Church history as compared to Kenyan Bible college students who receive instruction using a traditional (minimally structured) non-mastery learning model. The subjects were 17 second-year Kenyan Bible college students enrolled in a course on Christian Church history, and… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2004
Creator: Duncan, David D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Predicting student performance on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Exit Level Exam: Predictor modeling through logistic regression.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate predicting student success on one example of a "high stakes" test, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills Exit Level Exam. Prediction algorithms for the mathematics, reading, and writing portions of the test were formulated using SPSS® statistical software. Student data available on all 440 students were input to logistic regression to build the algorithms. Approximately 80% of the students' results were predicted correctly by each algorithm. The da… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Rambo, James R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Analysis of the Effect of Distance Learning on Student Self-Efficacy of Junior High School Spanish Students.

Description: Prior to the development of interactive television, schools that were either geographically isolated or financially restricted were often unable to provide courses that may have been essential for students. Interactive television has helped such school districts provide appropriate courses for their students. Because student self-efficacy is a significant indicator of student success, the relationship between distance learning and students' self-efficacy requires research. The problem of the st… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Vroonland, David W.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Analysis of Advisory Committee Activities in a Successful Public School Bond Election

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived effectiveness of specific advisory committee activities during a school bond proposal and election process. The study began with an extensive review of the literature on the use of advisory committee activities in school districts for the purpose of promoting a school bond issue. This revealed that school officials maintaining a low profile, the presence of a diverse community task force, focusing on YES voters, involving the committee in… more
Date: August 2004
Creator: Waters, Philo W.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

From inside the Arab family: What literacy practices occur when raising bilingual and biliterate children?

Description: Living in the United States creates unique challenges in biliteracy and bilingualism for the Arab family. While extant literature provides insight into the literacy interactions and experiences of families from many other cultures now living in the U.S. , there is next to nothing regarding the Arab family literacy experience. Thus, knowledge about the literacy activities Arab families engage in as they gain access to and knowledge of a new culture and language is important. The purpose … more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Alshaboul, Yousef Mohammad
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Impact of Core Knowledge Curriculum on Reading Achievement

Description: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Core Knowledge curriculum, a Comprehensive School Reform model, on the reading achievement of elementary students located in a north Texas suburban school district. A repeated measures, matched-comparison design was employed using longitudinal data over a three year period. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to determine if there were any significant differences in student achievement scores as measured by the Tex… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Brading, Aungelique R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Reading Together™ cross-age tutoring program and its effects on the English language proficiency and reading achievement of English language learners.

Description: This dissertation provides research and data based on a study of cross-age tutoring and its effects on English language proficiency and English reading achievement of English language learners. The subjects for the study included native Spanish-speakers enrolled in third-grade bilingual classrooms in four elementary schools. The research study focused on the implementation of Reading Together™, a cross-age tutoring program published by The Learning Together Company. The 30-session tutoring prog… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Jennings, Cheryl
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Teaching of Children's Poetry: An Exploration of Instructional Practices in University Courses of Children's Literature, English, Language Arts, and Reading Education

Description: There are no studies which focus on the instructional practices employed in the teaching of children's poetry at the university level. This project aimed to describe the instructional practices utilized in the teaching of children's poetry at universities across the United States. Limited to the practices of the university professors and adjunct instructors who were members of the Children's Literature Assembly (CLA) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) at the time of this stud… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Jacko, June Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning on Second Language Composition of University-Level Intermediate Spanish Students

Description: Today's global culture makes communication through writing in a foreign language a most desirable tool to expand personal and professional relations. However, teaching writing is a complex, time-consuming endeavor in any language. Foreign language teachers at every level struggle to fit writing into an already full curriculum and need the most effective methods and tools with which to teach. Technology may provide a viable scaffold to support writing instruction for teachers and students. The … more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Oxford, Raquel Malia Nitta
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Placement in the prekindergarten bilingual and English as a second language programs as a predictor of reading achievement of 3rd grade students.

Description: At the beginning of the 21st century, few challenges for educators compared to that of meeting the academic needs of the growing number of limited English proficient (LEP) students. Divergent views on whether those needs were best met through instruction in the student's first language and English, known as bilingual education, or instruction solely in English, compounded the challenge and led to varied language support programs. The present study looked at the prekindergarten (preK) language s… more
Date: December 2004
Creator: Vannoy, Martha
Partner: UNT Libraries

Equity of access: Exploring Internet connectivity within Oklahoma public schools.

Description: The purpose of this study was to ascertain if conditions or combinations of conditions existed within Oklahoma public schools that created inequities in the availability of classroom Internet connections. A stratified random sample of the 471 school districts was used to identify 300 specific schools for the purpose of data analysis. Data was gathered utilizing a database provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and a researcher developed questionnaire. The database provided… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Garrett, Galen
Partner: UNT Libraries

Religiousness, current substance use, and early risk indicators for substance abuse and dependence among nursing students.

Description: The purposes of this study were to examine the prevalence of current substance use and early risk indicators for substance abuse and dependence, and to investigate the relationships among religiousness, current substance use, and early risk indicators among nursing students at seven Seventh-day Adventist colleges. Data for this descriptive study were collected through Efinger's Alcohol Risk Survey (EARS) (Efinger, 1984), the CAGE Questionnaire ( Ewing , 1984), and the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revi… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: December 2004
Creator: Gnadt, Bonnie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Character Education Programs and Student Suspension Rates from School: Do Character Education Programs Decrease Student Suspensions from Regular Instructional Public Elementary Schools in Texas?

Description: The purpose of this study was to determine if character education programs impact the suspension rates of students from regular instructional public elementary schools in Texas. The data was also examined to determine if the number of years since a school's implementation of a character education program has an impact on the effectiveness of the programs as measured by the suspension rates of students from school. Finally, the study sought to determine if the socio-economic status of the scho… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Grinage, Adam L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

A Comparison of Academic Achievement of Economically Disadvantaged Elementary Students Served in Title I Part A Programs: Targeted Assistance Versus Schoolwide Models

Description: This study analyzed test scores of economically disadvantaged students who attended two elementary schools implementing different types of Title I models from 1999-2001. Test scores from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) and the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9) were analyzed. One school implemented the targeted assistance model (less than 50% poverty), which focused resources on students were identified as failing or at risk of failing. The… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Hinojosa, Marco A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The implementation of international education in colleges and universities in the state of Texas: A follow-up study.

Description: This study is a follow-up to a study completed by Dr. Thomas Barker in 1994 entitled The Status of the Implementation of International Education in Texas Four-year Colleges and Universities: A Comprehensive Study. A survey of 35 Texas universities and 6 out-of-state benchmark universities revealed information regarding the international programs at these universities in four areas. The four areas surveyed include: (a) administrative, (b) instructional, (c) international student support service… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Hodges, Sarah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Parental decision-making regarding their child's participation in a middle-school talent search.

Description: The present study sought to identify variables that predicted parental decision-making regarding their child's participation in a national gifted and talented identification program for middle school students and subsequent participation in recommended educational options. One hundred sixty-nine parents of students who qualified for either the 2001-2002 or 2002-2003 Duke Talent Identification Program participated in the study. The students were drawn from two large public school districts and … more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Ray, Janet
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Mainstream Success Following Placement in a Modified Type II Setting

Description: The topic of alternative schools is widely available in the literature; however, once a student has been labeled a "troublemaker" and has been placed in a District Alternative Education Program (DAEP), a Type II setting, there is limited information about the overall success of students upon their return to the mainstream. This study compared the success of students formerly placed in a modified disciplinary Type II setting, once they have returned to the mainstream, with their success prior to… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Reeder, Richard C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The school reform movement and high stakes standardized testing: An analysis of factors impacting the academic outcomes of students receiving special education services.

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate special education outcomes in relation to state standardized testing. It specifically sought to determine if a relationship existed between selected data from the Texas Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) comparing district students receiving special education services TAAS scores with selected district demographic, fiscal, and special education data. The population for this study consisted of all 2001-2002 grades 3-8 and 10 public school stu… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Roach, Robert G.
Partner: UNT Libraries

The Constitutionality of Dress Code and Uniform Policies

Description: This dissertation proposes to delineate the criteria for determining the constitutionality of public school dress codes based on an examination of relevant case law. The study addresses the following underlying questions: (1) Do students have a constitutional right to freedom of choice regarding their personal dress and grooming in public schools? (2) If so, what is the origin of the right? (3) What justification does a school district need in order to intrude upon the right? (4) Does the e… more
Access: Restricted to UNT Community Members. Login required if off-campus.
Date: May 2005
Creator: Stromberger, Joanne
Partner: UNT Libraries
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