Perceptions of Doctoral Students Regarding Factors Contributing to Student Success

This third and final phase of a sequential exploratory mixed methoddesign sought to investigate doctoral student perspectives regardingsupport services that impede or assist in the completion of an Ed.D.program at a small, northeast university. Qualitative methods includedindividual interviews and qualitative reflections to probe studentperceptions regarding support program improvements, using their\u27stories\u27 to provide rich, descriptive details. Students emphasized theneed for better pre-enrollment preparation, a comprehensive orientationand advising program, and ongoing academic support services includingwriting assistance, research skills development, and networking andmentoring. Tinto\u27s (1987) integration theory provides the framework forthis study, using his six transformative dimensions for growth anddevelopment to interpret the findings

Assessment of Personality Factors (Behavioral Motivators) & Attitudes Toward Group Experiences

The freshman experience typically requires a profusion of challenging adjustments relating to a new and demanding college environment. One significant force of attrition is transition or adjustment difficulties for freshmen. Successfully influencing freshmen includes efforts that focus on helping students make an academic, personal, and social adjustment to college. Group work provides opportunities for patterns of interaction (Evans, Forney, & Guido-DiBrito, 1998; Tinto, 2005; Upcraft, Gardner, & Associates, 1989). It is believed that there is intensity in temporary group environments due to a need for individuals to quickly evaluate and adjust to other members, with speed and accomplishment as driving factors (Huff, Cooper, & Jones, 2002; Meyerson, Weick, and Kramer, 1996). Individuals with low levels of urgency, however, prefer taking a slow and methodical approach when adjusting to unfamiliar people and new environments (Praendex Corporation, 1999). The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between and among personality factors relative to levels of urgency and student attitudes toward group experiences. The research question was: What are the differences between and among personality factors relative to levels of urgency and freshman attitudes toward group experiences?. This study took place with hospitality students at a midsize, private university in the Northeast. This quantitative, descriptive study employed two instruments: one measured student attitudes toward group experiences; the second measured personality factors utilizing the Predictive Index. Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency, measures of variability, and frequency counts were run and t-tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in attitudes toward group experiences based on personality factors. Freshman students (n=98) with low levels of urgency reported significantly less positive attitudes about trustworthy attributes in others (M=2.99, t=-3.21, p=.01, d=.65) than those without the factor (M=3.50); significantly less positive attitudes about benefits of groups (M=3.75, t=-1.97, p=.05, d=.40) than those without the factor (M=3.99); and significantly less positive attitudes about valuing other students (M=3.34, t=-2.37, p=.01, d=.47) than those without the factor (M = 3.70). This study provided an institution with proposed practices designed to influence freshman group experiences positively based on findings about student attitudes when taking into account personality relative to low levels of urgency. Recommendations include adjusting group experiences, by means of, inserting practices to address issues with temporary groups, and assigning freshmen to consistent groups during the crucial freshman adjustment period

Patterns of District Performance in Student Achievement: Connecting Resources to Student Achievement

This presentation is the first sequence of a three-phase study using a mixed method sequential explanatory strategy (Creswell, 2003). The study is research in-progress that investigates how resources can increase or diminish the value resources as they move through the education delivery system contributing in variations in its overall performance (Porter, 1985). The study is unique, because it combines, and is based on microeconomic and complex adaptive theories to examine resource utilization within school districts. This first sequence has two analytical goals and steps: (1) to verify the significant correlation, but with patterns of variability for district performance measured by student achievement as the dependent variable and Socioeconomic Status (SES) indicators as the independent variable Gaudet, 2000; Walberg, 2006); and (2) to identify distinct patterns of district performance over multiple years that include sustained over-performance, stagnation, decline and possible turnarounds. This is a simple regression analysis that utilizes SES as a predictor variable for district performance. The patterns of district performance are measured by comparing a statistically-predicted performance value with actual performance. The variability of performance over multiple years will inform the second sequence that examines the nature and strength of patterns of resource decision-making and utilization compared outcomes among school districts along the spectrum of socioeconomics, demographics and scale. Gaudet’s (2000) explanation for the variance between actual and SES-predicted student achievement for outperforming districts supports the central tenet, which is that, “some school districts add value to the learning readiness of their students” (p.3)

Connecting Resources to Student Achievement: Assessment of the Indeterminacy of District Performance

The purpose of this study is to conduct cluster analyses, resulting in groupings of N=113 districts based on socioeconomic status (SES), which is the independent variable and primary correlate of performance. It is a quantitative analysis of N=113 districts in Massachusetts for the period from 2000 to 2005. The study conducts cluster analyses to evaluate district performance as measured by student achievement. The problem is stated by National Research Council (1999) that: “Indeterminacy characterizes education production”. Indeterminacy is represented by variation in the N=113 districts’ performance. The groupings of performance obtained from the cluster analyses provide information about the types and magnitude of indeterminacy. The methodology is based on inductive pattern recognition (Trochim (1985). Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) is used to group districts along a performance continuum and assess variability between SES and district performance. The hypothesis of the study is that variation in performance relates to change in capacity which derives from positive or negative transformation of resources as they are processed by organizations (Porter, 1985

An Investigation of a Methodology to Assess District Performance

This study investigates a resource-based methodology to assess district performance as an indicator of student achievement on standardized assessments. The problem that this investigation addresses is that performance measurement and the associated decision-making is indeterminate. There is a lack of empirical research that relates decision-making about resource utilization to performance. The study utilizes structuralism to assess the relationship between the independent variable of resource utilization and the dependent variable performance. Complex Adaptive System theory is used as a framework for Concept Mapping methodology. The study is grounded in theories from Complex Adaptive Systems and Microeconomics that state that performance is a function of capacity. An adaptation of the generic value chain (Porter, 1985) is designed as a representation of the education delivery systems for N=7 districts. Previous sequences in this research project have established performance levels and variations from the independent variable of socioeconomic status (Simpson, Kite, & Gable, 2007). The concept maps illustrate the nature, magnitude, strength and underlying relationships for thematic patterns of resource utilization for the N=7 districts. The concept maps provide an explanation for some of the variation in performance that does not relate to socioeconomic status. The explanation of variability in performance represented by the concept maps is intended for diagnostic applications, not to establish best-practices that can be transferred from high performing to low performing districts. The primary application of the methodology is for strategic or intervention planning

Assessment of students\u27 knowledge of Internet risk and Internet behaviors: Potential threats to bullying and contact by Internet predators

Given the serious issue of bullying, this study sought to assess middle and high school students\u27 knowledge of appropriate use and their behaviors on the Internet and social networking sites, especially regarding behaviors that may lead to cyberbullying or contact with potential Internet predators. Three school districts (urban, suburban, and urban ring) with grades 6 - 12 are participating in this study. Differences among and between grade levels, gender, and school demographics at the dimension and item-level will be presented

Parental Involvement in Students’ Safe Use of the Internet

The purpose of this study was to investigate if parental involvement in digital activities relates to middle school students’ knowledge of appropriate use of the Internet and social networking sites. Parental involvement, measured using a three-item dimension on the 40 item instrument, asked students to report on their knowledge of their parent’s involvement with their internet activity. The aggregate score on this dimension was used to measure the relationship among several dimensions. Furthermore, demographic items, such as grade level, having an older sibling, and getting in trouble at school, were also investigated. Over 71% of adults in the United States use the Internet (Horigan, 2007). Research suggests that adolescence (namely teens), are heavier users than adults (Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield, & Gross, 2001). Actually, in the United States, it is estimated that 21 million teens use the Internet. This represents 87% of this age group (Lenhart, 2005). Student have access to the Internet readily available, be it school, home, or library. This ease of access may increase the potential for students to become victims of Internet sexual predators or other students who engage in inappropriate cyberbullying behaviors. Rainie (2008) found that 32% of teens reported being contacted on-line by a stranger. Furthermore, 23% (of the 32%) stated that the contact made them feel scared or uncomfortable. There is a myriad of evidence to support the need for parental involvement in a child’s internet activities, from filtering access to monitoring activity, supervision is paramount (Lenhardt, 2005; Raine, 2008; Shariff 2008). Aside from the fact that predators are seeking young predators, teens are also reporting inappropriate behaviors. In fact, Lenhardt found that 81% of parents and 79% of teens agreed that “teens are not careful enough when sharing personal information on-line” (pii). Furthermore, when asked if “teens do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about” (pii), 65% of the parents and 64% of the teens agreed with the statement. The knowledge of the issue is evident from both parties, so now what do we do with it? This line of research aims to understand the status of behaviors and views of middle school students and the influence parents have on these behaviors. It is hoped that the results may assist schools in developing educational programs and safeguards to protect students

Surviving a Doctoral Program: Student Perspectives of Support Services

This sequential exploratory mixed method design sought to investigate doctoral student perspectives regarding support services that impede or assist in the completion of an Ed.D. program at a small, northeast university. First phase qualitative methods utilized focus groups to identify student opinions and recommendations regarding program improvements. Students emphasized the need for better pre-enrollment preparation, a comprehensive orientation & advising program, and ongoing academic support services through program completion (writing assistance, research skills development, mentoring). Tinto’s (1987) interaction theory provided the basis for this study, using his six transformative dimensions for growth and development to frame the findings

Higher level peer editing: an investigation of the use and quality of peer editing in an MBA program

This mixed methods study investigated the use of peer editing to improve writing among graduate students with a high percentage of non-native speakers of English. Following a modified version of the Van den Berg et al. (2006) Optimal Model of peer critique of university coursework, statistically significant gains were realized between the initial draft and final proposal for each of the measured items: support, audience focus, writing conventions, and organization. During the qualitative phase, students were observed to identify how peer editors engaged in discovery mode (Lockhart & Ng, 1995) interactions. The modified model and pedagogical practice proved effective for the diverse student population