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1
Mazza, Rose, and n/a. "Multicultural education and A.C.T. government high schools : an investigative study." University of Canberra. Education, 1987. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060907.142249.
Full text
2
Overton, Deidre, and n/a. "Understanding teachers' responses to educational change in ACT high schools: developing professional voice and identity." University of Canberra. Education & Community Studies, 2004. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20051205.130321.
Full textAbstract:
This research identifies those practices and/or conditions that facilitate (or hinder) school and/or system based innovation in ACT high schools. It examines teachers� ways of making meaning of change in their working lives. It draws on narrative inquiry and teacher in-depth interviews. The work story is used to engage teachers� individual agency as a way to conceptualise the requirements of innovation. The data is represented as teachers� narrative categorized as the Red Hots and Unfreezables. The primary themes or motifs emerging in the teachers� talk�teacher agency, resistance and leadership�provide collective insight into teachers� working lives and the capacity of schools to cope with change. Analyses of the �lived experiences� of teachers suggest that innovative practice is linked to teacher agency and the presence of professional learning communities, and that those leading change must focus on the realities of the teachers implementing change. This study also explores the culture of teacher resistance, supporting the research that school cultures are characteristically and strongly resistant to change from within the organization. As a result of this study, we have an improved understanding of the conditions that
contribute to effective school change, and the importance for teachers to conduct their own research. This study contains important recommendations for governments and education systems implementing change initiatives.
3
Williams, Daniel Bryn. "The teaching, assessment and examining of English language and literature from the Education Act of 1944 to the Education Reform Act of 1988." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1998. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11144/.
Full textAbstract:
In the Preface, the focus is on the word 'standards' itself: the ineradicable human element in marking and the degree to which all marks and grades, particularly in the subject of English, are dependent upon a subjective evaluation of the quality of response - an essential component in the establishment and maintenance of standards. The various implications of the word 'standards' and the ease with with resultant ambiguities can lead the unwary commentator into wholly misleading statements are considered, and a definition is offered to serve as a touchstone for the thesis as a whole. The main body of the thesis is divided into two sections and a conclusion. Section One (containing Chapters 1-3) is largely based upon published writings about education: books, reports and papers issued by Government-appointed Committees and Councils, and officially ratified educational statistics; illustrated where appropriate by my own experience and research into the unpublished archives of Examination Boards. Section Two (containing Chapters 4-6) deals specifically with the development of GCE '0' and 'A' level examinations in English, and is very largely dependent upon my interpretation of evidence derived from examination papers, marking schemes, examiners' reports and candidates' scripts ... The Conclusion is an attempt to provide an answer to the obvious question as to why, if evidence of a widely-alleged decline in standards is as difficult to establish as the previous six chapters suggest, the charge is so widely accepted as proved. To do this it is necessary to see the matter of standards from a broader perspective than a factual focus on examination papers, candidates' scripts, examiners' reports, comparability studies and educational statistics. From the inception of the concept of a state education system there has inevitably been a political dimension to any discussion of standards, and political dimensions equally inevitably tend toward expediency and subjective reaction rather than objective assessment of perceived shortcomings. This is certainly true of the last two decades during which the political dimension has become more overt than ever before, and the gulf between political interpretation of educational achievements and that of the professionals involved has never been wider. It is the contention of the Conclusion that a key to this disparity lies in the history of the development of the National Curriculum, the nature of the political interventions therein, and the indications that these are based upon a consistent philosophy – which elevates knowledge above understanding, 'pencil-and-paper' testing above carefully weighted assessments, results above performance, and which supposes that the reintroduction of selective schools would be an automatic panacea. The Conclusion therefore looks forward beyond the stated 1988 terminal point of the study to examine the developments of the 1990s, and backward beyond the stated starting point of the 1944 Act to examine the reality of grammar school achievement. It is the final contention of this thesis that it is the fallacy and self-deception of the nostalgia for the grammar school tradition which underlies and accounts for the falsity of the claims, about declining standards.
4
Phipps, Michelle R. "Precalculus and ACT: A Quantitative Study of Five Tennessee High Schools." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3393.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine if students scored significantly higher on the ACT after taking precalculus than they had scored on the ACT prior to taking precalculus. The researcher investigated whether there is an increase, not only in ACT composite scores, but also in ACT math subtest scores after high school students completed a precalculus course. The researcher also investigated differences regarding gender, socio-economic status, and race.
Five Tennessee high schools from four counties and five different districts were used in this study. The study involved 208 participants and covered a span of three years. The findings indicated a significant difference in mean ACT composite and mathematics subtest scores for students after completing precalculus. The data were also compared by gender, race, and socioeconomic status for students who completed precalculus. The data indicated a significant difference in ACT composite scores for students completing a precalculus course regardless of gender or socioeconomic status.
5
Weddell, Peter, and n/a. "Student perceptions of decision making in A.C.T. high schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061110.114343.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of the study was to survey students in
Australian Capital Territory High Schools regarding
their perceptions of who makes and who should make
decisions in their schools, the effectiveness of
present decision making structures and the relative
importance of a range of concerns that might be
affected by decisions made in their schools.
The survey instrument comprising of five separate
questionnaires (Parts A, B, C, D and E) was
administered to a random, stratified sample of 384
students drawn from three A.C.T. High Schools.
Variables included (a) School, (b) Year Group and (c)
Gender.
Part A and Part B of the survey instrument were
developed specifically to explore the perception of
students towards the involvement of parents, teachers,
the principal and students in school decision making
processes; particularly as this is evidenced in School
Board operations.
The results for each of the five questionnaires were
compiled into separate frequency and ranked percentage
tables. The tables were analysed in terms of the total
responses recorded for each questionnaire and as a
school by school comparison of responses. Use of the
Cochran Q Test indicated a positive statistical
significance in the overall shift of student
perceptions of decision making from Part A (What
happens in my school) to Part B (What should happen in
my school) of the survey instrument.
The findings of the study indicate that students are
concerned about their role in the decision making
process, and issues that affect their schooling and
would like a greater say in how their schools are run.
In particular, students would like to participate to a
greater degree than at present in decision making that
affects homework, the timetable, how teachers teach,
subjects offered, text books, and school sporting
activities.
As regards knowledge about decision making structures
within the school and about student representatives,
the findings indicate that the students surveyed are
not fully aware of the purpose or function of the
school board or its representatives. However the
majority of students surveyed indicate they would like
to have a greater say in how their schools are run.
In the comparative analysis of data recorded for each
of the schools surveyed, a considerable degree of
similarity is found in the responses to all Parts of
the survey instrument. Of major concern is the uniform
lack of knowledge and interest in survey items
connected with the School Board in each of the schools
surveyed. A more encouraging result is that in all
three schools respondents perceive that they are
encouraged to become involved in the School Board and
the Student Representative Council (SRC).
The survey findings demonstrate that the students would
like greater participation in a wide variety of issues
and concerns. However current official structures
which are designed to include students as equal
partners in school based decision making do not appear
to interest the majority of students surveyed in this
study.
6
Moore, Peter Joseph, and n/a. "Two school-based evaluations at a Catholic high school in the ACT a review." University of Canberra. Education, 1986. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061019.091214.
Full textAbstract:
The completion of two school-based evaluation reports at a
Catholic High School in the ACT highlighted the need for
support structures both for evaluating staff and for the
management of an evaluation report. The writer (a school
principal) felt a need to review school-based evaluations
in a more professional manner, and to ensure that
evaluations were managed with greater support for the staff
involved.
In the absence of known Australian checklists, designed to
review school-based evaluations, two recognised evaluation
checklists, those of Russell and Maling-Keepes, are tested
as instruments of review, by applying them to the two
school evaluation reports. Four evaluation reviews are
documented, in all. The main purposes of this research
were:
(1) to determine the merits of the completed evaluations by
applying the checklists of Russell and Maling-Keepes,
(2) to test the relevance of the evaluation checklists of
Russell and Maling-Keepes as instruments of review at
the school level,
(3) in the light of this research, to be in a better
position to recommend
a) a suitable review method for use by Catholic
School Principals,
b) support structures, both at a system level and a
school level, to assist the development of
school-based evaluations.
7
Goodwin, Maryna, and n/a. "Identifying and overcoming barriers to the implementation of student development programmes in ACT high schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050801.165422.
Full textAbstract:
My study is of the provision of career education, health education, personal development
and student development programmes for students from Years 7 to 10 in ACT high
schools.
My purpose was to identify why these programmes are not available to all students and
what can be done to make them available.
The methods I used were an examination of a longitudinal case study of "Bellbird" High
School in parallel with a survey of the current system perspective.
Although the study focuses on the ACT in Australia, reference is made to the international
literature, as well as local, regarding the attitudes of students, parents and teachers to
career education, health education, personal development and student development
programmes; data collection and interpretation; and the implementation of change.
I have used data from three different survey instruments administered at "Bellbird" High
School, at five year intervals, in 1978/79, 1984 and 1989. I have used another instrument
at system level twice, in two consecutive years, in 1988 and 1989. Each of the
instruments was developed for a specific purpose and not for gathering data for this
study.
All three surveys at "Bellbird" High School were designed to determine the attitudes of
students, parents and teachers to aspects of the curriculum. They provided both
quantitative and qualitative data.
Basically, I have compared the 1979 and 1989 numerical data, and used the 1984 material
for confirmation of significant issues. In addition to using qualitative data from these
three instruments, I have also used comments from curriculum committee and School
Board documents and evaluation reports from the Living Skills Programme.
At system level, a questionnaire was designed to gather data about the provision of career
education and health education in high schools in the ACT. This instrument, included
questions about barriers to these programmes and strategies for overcoming the barriers.
The findings were distributed to the schools. The procedure was based on the 'Research,
Development and Diffusion' model.
People associated with the successful implementation of the programmes under
investigation were interviewed to find out what barriers they had faced, how they
overcame them and what suggestions they had for overcoming other baniers to these
programmes.
Using the data CO-jointly with the literature and my own knowledge of cumculum
implementation, I have proposed an action plan for "Bellbird" High School to extend the
provision of its student development programme to all students.
In conclusion, the suitability of the proposed action plan for use in other ACT high
schools is appraised and general principles for the system are drawn out.
8
Myers, Ian, and n/a. "The relationship between pupil control ideology and subject faculties in ACT government high schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1985. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061027.123030.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of the study was to establish that a
relationship existed between teacher Pupil Control
Ideology (PCI) and membership of a practical subject
faculty or of a humanities subject faculty in ACT
government high schools. It was hypothesized that
teachers in practical subject faculties and teachers
of practical subjects would be custodial in their
PCI. Teachers in humanities subject faculties and
teachers of humanities subjects would be humanistic
in their PCI. A subsidiary purpose was to replicate
earlier research findings of a relationship between
PCI and years of teaching, sex, position in the
school administration, and type of school.
The PCI Form was administered to a population sample
of 116 teachers from five high schools in the Belconnen
area of Canberra. The results were subjected to t-test
and one-way analysis of variance. Statistically
significant relationships were observed between PCI
and teacher variables of subject faculty, subject
taught, and sex of teacher. Earlier findings for other
variables were not replicated.
The direction of findings was surprising. Teachers
in practical subject faculties and of practical
subjects were more humanistic than humanities
faculty and subject teachers. Female teachers were
more custodial than male teachers. An analysis of
variance showed no interaction effect between
variables sex and faculty, and sex and subject taught.
More research on possible causes of the relationships,
such as student attitude to subject, and teacher
sense of achievement, is needed before the findings
can have practical application.
9
Osborne, Sally, and n/a. "Preferences of pupils and teachers for service delivery of learning assistance in ACT High Schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050816.100411.
Full textAbstract:
Students who have learning difficulties generate a resource to assist
them with their schoolwork. This resource has been delivered in a number
of different ways. In the last decade the introduction of inclassroom
assistance has been adopted in several states in Australia including the
Australian Capital Territory. This method of service delivery of the
resource has been considered to be helpful as it allows the student to
remain in the classroom while still receiving the necessary assistance.
The proponents of this delivery method believe that the students prefer
remain in the classroom. Critics of this delivery method consider that it
is not easy to address basic skill deficits in the classroom and that
students find being helped in the classsroom embarrassing. This study
examines the preference for service delivery model of three groups of
population, students, classroom teachers and teachers of students with
learning difficulties. A survey was used to ascertain the preference of
these three groups, why they preferred a model, which model they
regarded as most efficacious and why. Other specific questions were
asked of each group. Interviews were also conducted with ten percent of
each group and also with the principal and the counsellor from each
school. Some illumination of school climate and other variables which
may affect data was sought from the interviews. Teachers were found to
prefer a mixed model of service. Students' results showed a preference
for two models over a third, small classes, which was not favoured.
Students also saw these two models as most efficacious. Interviews
revealed a satisfaction with the service amongst students but some
concerns about the delivery of the service and the decision making
processes amongst teachers.
10
David, Veronica Anne, and n/a. ""A gleam in the eye..." : An investigation : self-esteem of high school teachers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government Schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060704.120747.
Full textAbstract:
This study attempted to investigate the
self-esteem of high school teachers in the Australian
Capital Territory (ACT). Its purpose was to measure the
self-esteem of high school teachers in the ACT, identify
perceptions of life-stage factors that might contribute
to teachers' self-esteem and to identify teachers'
perceptions of job-related factors that contribute to
their self-esteem.
The sample consisted of 219 teachers (94 male,
124 female, one of unidentified sex) in 12 of the 17 high
schools in the ACT. A questionnaire based on that used
by Swafford Jolley (1985) was used. It consisted of 4
parts - Part 1 demographic data, Part 2a Barksdale
Self-Esteem Index No. 69, Part 2b Life-stage
Characteristics, Part 3 Job-related characteristics, Part
4 - three related questions for open responses.
Data were analysed using the SPSSX data recording
and analysis system (Norusis 1983). Means and
differences between means were computed to establish
discrepancies. Pearson product moment correlations were
employed. Multiple linear regression analyses were used
to isolate the best predictors of self-esteem from among
the 34 work-related factors. A rank discrepancy index of
affect on self-esteem was also computed.
Findings show that eighty per cent of the
teachers may be hindered by low self-esteem. There is no
difference between male and female average age (39) nor
between the male and female average self-esteem index
(62.2). Younger teachers were found to be just as likely
to have low self-esteem as older teachers. The factors
which most affect teacher self-esteem and which are
closest to the ideal were found to be feelings of
competency as a teacher, pride in one's work,
establishment of specific personal goals and the
opportunity to determine one's own teaching methods. The
factors with the greatest discrepancies were found to be
the opportunity to advance professionally, positive
representation by the media and prestige of the teaching
profession.
It was concluded that in no one area are the
self-esteem needs of high school teachers in the
Australian Capital Territory being adequately met.
Responsibility lies with the individuals themselves and
with the ACT Schools Authority to work out joint ways of
enhancing teacher self-esteem and development. It is
argued that this cannot be left to chance by the
organisation but must be planned for as a matter of
urgency. Recognition of the individual is seen as the
key in any such planning but organisational objectives
also need to be considered.
11
Mauragis, Rasa Emilija, and n/a. "Arts education access in high school scheduling." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060907.102648.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of curriculum policy
regarding eight key learning areas in ACT government high schools with particular
analysis concerning the Arts.
The study sought to identify the discrepance between school curriculum policy and
timetable allocation to the mandated curriculum areas.
Analysis of time allocation to learning areas as defined by the timetable allocation of
time was considered to be an appropriate method of examining curriculum practice in
ACT government high schools. Fifteen ACT government high school timetables were
analysed in conjunction with school curriculum documentation. Mandatory time
requirements for the eight key learning areas was identified. Timetable structures were
analysed in terms of allocation of time to key learning areas, pastoral care, assemblies,
activities and electives. Formulae were developed in order to make comparisons
between schools possible.
Results indicated that disparities existed between time allocation to key learning areas
within key learning areas and mandatory time (i.e. minimum guaranteed access time)
requirements for key learning areas.
12
Buckshaw, Stacey. "Ready Schools: Assessing the Value of Social Context Variables as Predictors of Schools' Readiness for Children." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1177341024.
Full text
13
Ugochukwu, L. C., and n/a. "Catholic education in practice : a case study of a Catholic high school." University of Canberra. Education, 1988. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061109.161949.
Full textAbstract:
An aspect of Australian education is the continued presence
of the Catholic schools including those in the Archdiocese of
Canberra and Goulburn. They have continued to be a
significant part of Australian education after decades of ups
and downs. The question today is not whether Catholic
schools will survive but rather how effective they will be
despite the changes which have taken place over the last few
decades. Catholic schools still aim to provide all the
elements of a State education, and in addition, to offer them
within a Catholic setting. They have tried to create an
environment that will continue to reflect the cultural values
of its members.
The Theses is on Catholic Education in Practice: A Case
Study of a Catholic High School in the A.C.T. The Theses is
based on historical and analytical approach. The results of
a case study involving random sampled students, their
parents/guardians and teachers in a Catholic High School in
the A.C.T. sets out to investigate what factors still attract
them to the Catholic school despite the significant changes
that have taken place since Catholic education was introduced
into Australia. By examining these three groups of
people who are directly involved in Catholic schools, it
is hoped that a more balanced assessment of the extent
to which ideals and practices of Catholic education have
been retained.
The results show that students attend Catholic schools
for a variety of reasons including academic and
religious and because of the traditional approach to
areas such as discipline. The religious values continue
to be an important part of the school which makes it
distinctively Catholic, but the integration is not as
pervasive as previous due to the change in the nature of
staff and students at the school.
14
Paul, Anne, and n/a. "Maintaining teacher morale in amalgamating schools : factors which have a positive effect on teacher morale & factors which have a negative effect on teacher morale." University of Canberra. Education, 1998. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061031.143504.
Full textAbstract:
This study arose out of an experience with an amalgamation of two high
schools in the ACT in the early 1990s. The amalgamation process took two and
a half years from the time the decision was made to close one of the schools
until the new school was consolidated on one site. The change processes
impacted on many areas of teachers' work and this, combined with the
emotional aspects of being in a school which was closing, flagged teacher
morale as an issue requiring attention.
The study involved seeking responses to a questionnaire and interviewing
teachers involved in the amalgamation. The interview data was then grouped
by issue and the responses from teachers analysed and compared with related
research literature.
Research indicated that leadership style and effectiveness impacts most
heavily on the morale of teachers undergoing major change such as school
closure/amalgamation. This was substantiated by this study. The decision, by
the principal, to close both schools and create a new school, retaining aspects
of the culture of the original schools was clearly favoured over the alternative
suggestion, by the ACT Government, of the swift closure method and the
absorption of students into an existing school. The outward signs of a new
school; name; logo; uniform; the involvement of the community, the degree of
shared decision-making, the refurbishment of the buildings, the new curriculum
and associated policies and the management of resources were found to
contribute positively to teacher morale.
A lack of consultation prior to announcing the closure decision, a failure to
acknowledge the need of some teachers to grieve for the loss of their school
and a lack of activities to mark the final days of the schools involved have been
identified as having the greatest negative effect on teacher morale in this study.
Maintenance and effective use of the buildings vacated by a closing school has
also been raised as an issue affecting the morale of the teachers from that
school.
This study has implications for future school closures or amalgamations from
the points of view of maintaining of the morale of teachers, and also that of
students
15
McKinnon, Gregory Colin, and n/a. "Supply of faculty teachers to individual high schools within the A.C.T. Schools' Authority, over the period 1983-1984 : an analysis of needs satisfaction." University of Canberra. Education, 1985. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061003.122421.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation investigates the supply of
and demand for High School teachers, working in
prescribed faculty areas in Government schools in the
A.C.T., over the period from January 1983 to July
1984, for all new temporary teachers appointed to the
Service.
Statistical details of vacancies for assistant
teachers, in the 12 defined faculties of this study, were
obtained from the Assistant Principals (Staffing) of the
17 A.C.T. High Schools, as well as from records
maintained by the Staffing Officers of the A.C.T. Schools
Office.
The levels of High School teacher demand, for
the period under investigation, are compared with similar
statistics obtained for previous years in the A.C.T., as
well with other Australian and international figures on
teacher supply and demand. Through these comparisons,
suggestions are made regarding emerging trends of teacher
shortage, in particular faculty areas. Historical
parallels are presented to supplement these arguments
and to give underlying reasons for the projections that
are made.
The potential supply of faculty teachers over
the period is investigated through an analysis of
teacher faculty waiting lists. Numbers from these
lists are compared with the actual demand statistics
previously collected and a potential supply to vacancy
ratio collected for each faculty area.
A major part of the study is the construction
of supply satisfaction indices, under the headings of:
"Overall Satisfaction, Teaching Skills, Academic
Qualifications, Other Requirements and Recruitment".
These indices were derived from Likert type rating scales
completed by the Assistant Principals, in respect of
each of the 397 temporary teachers employed.
After obtaining an average rating in each faculty,
for the five measures of satisfaction, as determined by
the Assistant Principals, observations are made as to how
closely these indices match the corresponding potential
supply indices.
Particular emphasis is placed on the comparisons
between the recruitment satisfaction index (i.e. - how
quickly recruitment was expedited) and the potential
supply ratio for each faculty. Reasons are advanced for
any significant differences detected, and the overall
findings interpreted in terms of possible future trends.
The study concludes with an analysis of
factors affecting the market for teachers. Recommendations
are made for future planning that may offset problems
which were detected in the A.C.T. market for High School
teachers.
16
Dunnan, James W. Klass Patricia Harrington. "Comparison of block scheduling and traditional scheduling effects on ACT and IGAP scores in Illinois high schools." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p3006618.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2001.Title from title page screen, viewed April 25, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Patricia H. Klass (chair), Al Azinger, Ramona Lomeli, Carol Struck. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78) and abstract. Also available in print.
17
Owner, Ann, and n/a. "A study of communications between the system and service delivery sectors to learning centres in ACT high schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1991. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20050629.095537.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of
communication between the Operations branch, the Student Services
Section and High School Learning Centres within the Services Division of
the ACT Department of Education.
Data was collected from administrators and educators alike. The survey
instrument was designed specifically to examine the perception of the
effectiveness of organisational communication between the bureaucratic
administrative group within the ACT Department Education Department
and the personnel within the ACT High Schools Learning Centres
responsible for service delivery to students in Learning Centres. The
survey instrument addressed five factors. These factors included
Horizontal and Vertical Communication, Personal Feedback, Media Quality
and Barriers to Communication.
The findings from the survey were organised into six major findings and
four subsidiary findings and discussion on each finding followed.
The findings of the study indicated that, effective co-ordination in a large
organisation requires some centralized direction. The relationship that
exists between the three organisational domains of the Act Department of
Education responsible for the delivery of effective service to Learning
Centre clients in ACT High Schools had been shown to be an impersonal
mechanism of control designed by the Policy and Management domains in
part, and a culturally diffuse but personal mechanism of control used by
the Service domain personnel within the Learning Centres themselves.
What has emerged from the study is evidence that would suggest that there
is lack of an effective link between the more bureaucratic Policy and
Management domains and the more open and less formal Service domain
sector.
The findings have implications for the bureaucrats involved in the change
process which has been part of regionalisation. The findings of the study
indicate that regionalisation does not appear to provide a panacea for the
major difficulties associated with communication as revealed in this
study.
18
Hinson, Sandy, and n/a. "An ethnography of teacher perceptions of cultural and institutional practices relating to sexual harassment in ACT high schools." University of Canberra. Education, 1993. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060724.141946.
Full textAbstract:
This two year, topic-oriented ethnography documents teacher perceptions of
cultural and institutional practices relating to sexual harassment in 12 co-educational,
government ACT high schools. Participants include over one hundred and forty
teachers, seventy eight of whom have contributed formal interviews.
Through analysis and triangulation of ethnographic interviews, participant
observation data and school and Departmental documents, the study identifies cultural
and institutional practices which, according to teacher perceptions, contribute to:
� encouraging sexual harassment;
� discouraging reports of sexual harassment; and
� discouraging implementation of sexual harassment policy.
Emerging cultural and institutional practices include blame attribution, silencing
and gender construction which contribute to the marginalisation of some female
teachers (in terms of their career); some female students (in terms of their education)
and some male students who are perceived to be "gay" (in terms of their friendship
groups).
The usefulness, limitations and capacity to explain sexual harassment of a range
of theoretical approaches are discussed. These approaches include Attribution, Role,
Reproduction and Feminist theories. It is argued that, although accounting for the
majority of sexual harassment, these theories are limited in their ability to fully account
for:
a) all kinds of sexual harassment practised in ACT high schools;
b) the relationship between sexual harassment and other kinds of harassment
in ACT high schools; and
c) the extent to which some women teachers appear to support the practice of
sexual harassment.
Emerging Poststructuralist Feminism is proposed as a potentially useful
theoretical framework for explaining and responding to sexual harassment in ACT high
schools.
It is hoped that this study will contribute to informing the decision making of
those responsible for developing and/or implementing sexual harassment policy in ACT
high schools, including teachers, school counsellors, principals, and administrators.
19
Webb, Paul B. "The Associations between the Scores on the ACT Test and Tennessee's Value-Added Assessment in 281 Tennessee High Schools." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2005. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1062.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between and among various demographic and test score data with American College Testing (ACT) scores in 281 Tennessee high schools. This study also addressed which high school characteristics were related to the number of students meeting the ACT requirement for Tennessee lottery scholarships. In addition, this study examined Tennessee Value Added Assessment System's (TVAAS) assessment of ACT scores and its distribution of grades to Tennessee's high schools based upon its Value-Added analysis.
The researcher performed correlations and multivariable linear regressions using socioeconomic status, ethnicity, dropout rate, graduation rate, attendance, average daily membership, per-pupil expenditure, teacher salary, Gateway exams, English I scores, and math foundations scores as independent variables and ACT scores as the dependent variable. The strengths of the correlations were examined and the best combination of independent variables was used to predict future ACT scores. Schools were divided into quartiles, based upon average daily membership and attendance rates, in order to analyze the differences in r2 values among the quartiles when running regressions to predict ACT scores. Quartiles, based upon the percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced meals, ethnicity, and average daily membership were used to study the difference in TVAAS' grade distribution based upon its assessment of ACT scores.
The findings indicated that English I and II scores are most strongly associated with ACT composite scores including the four ACT subtests: math, English, reading, and science. English scores were found to be more strongly associated with ACT math scores than Algebra I scores and more strongly associated with ACT science scores than biology scores. It was found that the 21 composite ACT score requirements of Tennessee's lottery scholarships predominantly favored Caucasian students who did not qualify for free/reduced-priced meals. It was also discovered that TVAAS' ACT grades were unevenly distributed when schools were divided into quartiles based upon the percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced-priced meals, ethnicity, and average daily membership. Only one school in the quartile containing the schools with the highest percentage of students qualifying for free/reduced-priced meals scored above the state's average gain in the reading section of the ACT test.
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Guthrie, Janice Marie. "The effect of the use of Christian-published science textbooks on the ACT Science Reasoning Subtest Scores of Midwest Christian High Schools." Lynchburg, Va. : Liberty University, 2009. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu.
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Dawson, Caroline, and n/a. "The use of Coopersmith self-esteem inventory." University of Canberra. Education, 1987. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060704.125254.
Full textAbstract:
This study investigated whether the conditions in which the Coopersmith Self-Esteem
Inventory was administered had any effect on subjects' scores on the Inventory. The
study also examined normative and reliability scores in the ACT, the effect of various
demographic variables and the relationship between happiness scores and self-esteem.
The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory was administered to groups of year seven
students from a Canberra high school under two different conditions: friendly and
impartial. After five weeks the Inventory was readministered to rearranged groups under
the different conditions. No significant differences were found in the scores from the
students in the different conditions. No significant differences were found on an
indication of student happiness under each condition.
A normative value was calculated combining scores from the first testing sessions and
a test-retest reliability correlation calculated from combined scores from the first and
second testing sessions.
The validity of the lie scale and the use of the Inventory in Australia are discussed.
With a few reservations it appears that the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory measures a
relatively stable trait and is a reliable measure of overall self-esteem. A summary of recent
literature using the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory is included.
Mean self-esteem scores on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory were compared
with students grouped by sex, socio-economic status, birth order, whether they came
from a single parent family or whether their mother worked. Significant differences were
found with SES and birth order but recent literature shows that these variables are often
interrelated and results may be instrument dependent. New self-concept tests (based on a
sound theoretical framework) are being developed which acknowledge the
multidimensionality of self-concept and appear more able to detect variation in facets of
self-concept.
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Nield, Robert, and n/a. "Alientated students' perceptions of school organizational health." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060824.130208.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explores alienated students' perceptions of the organizational health of a
Year 7 to 10 A.C.T. high school. The study emerged at the theoretical level from a
concern that school effectiveness studies focussed too narrowly on student academic
attainment as an indicator of an effective school. A broader view of effectiveness
would hopefully show that in the case of comprehensive co-educational government
high schools, student alienation could have a powerful effect in undermining the
achievement of academic goals in such schools.
Because these schools have little control over their student clientele and require
compulsory student attendance until age 15, it seemed a degree of alienation was
inevitable. The task for high school administrators, it was hypothesized, lay in
minimizing these alienation levels in order to reduce the impact such student
alienation might have on other school effectiveness indicators like teacher
commitment, teacher morale and time on task in classes.
My experience as a practitioner, in the Student Welfare area of a large ACT
government high school, also indicated that the traditional "top down" strategy of
much research in the field of Educational Administration that concentrated on the
perspectives of principals and teachers only gave one view of the processes within a
school. The other, complementary "bottom up" view came from students. In
particular, it was hypothesized, the perspectives the most alienated students in a
government high school held towards the organizational health of the school might
represent an unusual test of school effectiveness.
This was because the commitment of such students towards the school and its stated
academic goals was most problematic. The promotion of a school "culture" or
"ethos" that could integrate low level and high level alienation students, and thereby
foster school effectiveness, appeared to be possible only to the extent that high level
alienation students could be kept on side or neutralized by high school
administrators.
These speculations were largely confirmed in this study. Apart from the interaction
of sex and year level with alienation, the other major finding was that teacher
consideration, or the extent to which teachers show concern for students as
individuals, was the only organizational health dimension that produced a significant
difference between students on the basis of alienation level.
In short, the study is not concerned with student alienation as such. Rather it is
concerned with understanding how alienated students perceive a relatively effective
school. This would hopefully enable that alienation to be minimized and managed.
23
Houser, Shirley Ann (Delp). "*Policy analysis of state and federal educational accountability legislation and its implementation in California high schools." Scholarly Commons, 2007. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2349.
Full textAbstract:
This analysis of California's Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) and the federal government's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation reviews the components, implementation timelines, and impact these two accountability policies have had on secondary schools and more specifically secondary schools located in Tulare and Kings Counties of the San Joaquin Valley of California. The study identifies both Immediate Intervention for Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) schools and similar schools that did not elect to enter the program Non-II/USP schools. Quantitative analysis of Academic Performance Index (API) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) from 1999 to 2006 is statistically compared. Summary interviews with site administrators from all schools within the study reflect how these two populations II/USP schools and Non-II/USP schools addressed the requirements and met the challenges of the PSAA and NCLB legislation. Conclusions draw into question the state and federal legislations implementation timeline, readiness to support changes needed in the secondary schools starting in 1999, and recognition of communication issues with secondary schools concerning the expectations of the accountability legislation. Finally, issues are outlined concerning the effectiveness of the timeline and funding process associated with the state sanctions of II/USP and SAIT programs.
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Luggya, Daniel. "A case study of stakeholders' perceptions of the management implications of the discipline provisions of the 1996 Schools Act in a rural Eastern Cape high school." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006156.
Full textAbstract:
South Africa's education management system has undergone a long history of transformation from the promulgation of the Bantu Education Act of 1953 to the realisation of democracy, and in this context, the South Mrican Schools Act (SASA) of l996. Apartheid legislation and the new democratic legislation have had a profound impact on the education leadership and management of schools, in which authoritarian management practices have been replaced by democratic management practices. However, democratic management practices have not yet had a significant effect in the leadership and management of schools, especially in the schools of previously disadvantaged areas. This thesis seeks to examine perceptions held by education stakeholders in the light of the rights of students as stipulated in the discipline provisions of the Schools Act of 1996, in one of the rural high schools in the Northern Region of the Eastern Cape Province. One of the most important discipline provisions is the ban on corporal punishment in schools. My intention in carrying out this research was not to generalise my findings but to understand the experiences and perceptions of the stakeholders in this school regarding the discipline provisions of the SASA. The data suggest that authoritarian education practices, especially corporal punishment, are still a factor in the maintenance of student discipline in this rural school. Stakeholders still believe in the use of corporal punishment as the only way of maintaining discipline and an orderly environment for teaching and learning. Such beliefs, assumptions and values concerning the use of corporal punishment are held by the principal, teachers, students and parents and have not changed since 1996. Beliefs, assumptions and values on the exclusive use of power by the principal on issues of suspension and expulsion are still being held by the above stakeholders in the school. The vision of the SASA that schools become autonomous institutions with democratic leadership and management practices does not seem to be practical because of the centralisation of power in the hands of the Provincial Head of the Education Department. This centralisation of power denies the principal and other stakeholders of the school the power to decide on crucial matters like the expulsion of misbehaving students, because it is the provincial Head who decides on the seriousness of offences committed by misbehaving students and subsequent expulsions. Apart from the location of power in the Provincial Head of the Education Department, the stakeholders of this school are also powerless on expulsion of students, or any other form of punishment because of the implication of the "right" to education in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The education department has to devise programmes that change the beliefs and assumptions of stakeholders on corporal punishment and decision-making on expulsions and suspensions. Unfortunately corporal punishment persists because parents use it in the home and support its use in school. Programmes on alternatives to corporal punishment are required for the smooth implementation of the SASA.
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Littleford, Anne Runyan. "Principal Leadership and Its Perceived Influence on Teacher Morale in Elementary Schools." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2007. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2138.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this qualitative study was to construct a theoretical framework explaining the connection between principal leadership practices and the phenomenon of teacher morale. The study also focused on principal leadership practices and the perceived effects that style has on how teachers feel about themselves and their jobs. First, a review of extant literature defined what constitutes effective leadership in school related environments. Second, the researcher defined teacher morale, both high and low, and how it relates to work performance. Third, the researcher attempted to explore how teacher morale and the leadership style of their principals relate.
This qualitative study was conducted using interviews of teachers from 7 public elementary schools. Post interview journaling was also conducted by the researcher to capture immediate author perspective. The teachers were interviewed to gain their perceptions of leadership practices that motivate them to enjoy their jobs and work beyond status quo. With information gleaned from teachers, the desired outcome of this research was for principals to self-evaluate their leadership strategies and style and to find importance in building high teacher morale for the betterment of everyone.
The researcher coded transcripts into themes, patterns, and the following theoretical constructs: (a) change, (b) leadership practices, (c) mandated testing, (d) stress, (e) communication, (f) acknowledgment, (g) professionalism (h) identifying with teachers, and (i) building community.
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Carr, John D. "Florida school indicator report data as predictors of high school adequate yearly progress (AYP)." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2011. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4864.
Full textAbstract:
The focus of this research was to identify variables reported in the 2008-2009 Florida School Indicator Report (FSIR) that had a statistical impact, positive or negative, on the likelihood that a school would achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading or mathematics using the logistic regression technique. This study analyzed four broad categories reported by the FSIR to include academic, school, student, and teacher characteristics. FSIR and AYP data was collected for 468 Florida high schools that were categorized by the Florida Department of Education as presenting a comprehensive curriculum to grades 9-12 or grades 10-12. It was determined in this study that academic data associated with ACT results and the grade 11 FCAT Science were effective predictors of a school's academic health in reading and mathematics. Student absenteeism showed the greatest impact on a school obtaining AYP in reading while the percentage of students qualifying for free and disabled populations within a school showed the greatest impact on a school obtaining AYP in mathematics. Teachers teaching out of field were identified as having a negative influence on AYP in reading and mathematics while a teacher's experience was considered a positive influence on AYP in mathematics only. Further research is necessary to fully explore the use of logistic regression as a predictive tool at the state, school district, and school level.ID: 029809839; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 241-250).
Ed.D.
Doctorate
Teaching, Learning and Leadership
Education
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Carter, Pauline J., and pjcarter@chariot net au. "Factors affecting the engagement of experienced teachers in schools." Deakin University. School of Education, 2007. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20080404.105756.
Full textAbstract:
With the changing age profile of teachers in Australian schools, considerable numbers of experienced teachers need to feature as educational leaders, before their workplace knowledge and expertise will be lost to schools with retirement. Stereotypes of veteran teachers depict individuals, wearied by decades of work experiences, entering professional decline when educational systems need these experienced practitioners to remain connected, communicative and motivated in their work.
This thesis explores the careers and contemporary professional lives of experienced practitioners predominantly classroom teachers currently working in a school with a long standing commitment to student-centred education. The research identified the factors that influenced their career pathways and affected their engagement with their work. Critical incidents in the teachers careers and professional lives are discussed in relation to the theories of motivation and the nature of Professional Learning Communities. The study showed that necessary factors for engagement were: mutual alignment with a well-articulated and practised ethos; supportive leadership; experiencing professional influence; opportunities for learning; and variety in work. Disillusion resulted if school actions were contrary to the espoused ethos. Severely negative experiences of performance management were survived by withdrawing, and enduring management tenures but these remain very poignant memories. The teachers had few career regrets yet reflection revealed the arbitrary nature of their career progression.
The research identified a need to recognise the global and societal factors influencing the nature of teachers work. It is argued that schools and systems need to have a greater alignment between these external forces and their internal goals whilst recapturing the moral purpose of education. Furthermore, it is asserted that educational systems need to provide better human resource management for the teaching workforce through emphasising life-balance and well-being. Additionally, professional appraisal and staff management would benefit from strong recognition and deployment of the workplace knowledge and expertise of experienced teachers. A serendipitous outcome of the research was the benefit participants gained from reflecting on their careers which proved extremely affirming, and contributed to enhanced professional identities and changed career plans.
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Mueller, Fiona Jane. "Separate but equal? the enduring appeal of the single-sex public high schools of New South Wales /." Access electronically, 2007. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080303.145544/index.html.
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Newman, Mairette T., and n/a. "Practitioners' Meanings of School Leadership: Case Studies of Jamaican High School Principals." Griffith University. School of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20040910.144727.
Full textAbstract:
Guided by the symbolic interaction premise that meaning is found in the interaction of individuals with their world, this study set out to describe and analyse how selected high school principals in Jamaica understand and practise school leadership by exploring how they view their circumstances, and how their meanings of leadership are modified by the contexts of their work. To gain insight into how Jamaican principals conceptualise and experience leadership the study adopted a qualitative, collective case-study design. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to select four exemplary high school principals such that gender, school location and organization were varied. Data were sourced from semi-structured interviews, non-participant observation sessions and integrative diagrams as well as from school, principal and official Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture documents. Within-case and cross-case analyses were conducted using grounded theory modes of analysis, specifically the systematic processes referred to as open and axial coding. Findings from the within-case analysis are presented as four individual cases that communicate the salient features of each principal's leadership and context. In the first case entitled Mother of the Poor, the principal defines school leadership as the pursuit of excellence within a framework of valuing and caring for students. The principal at the centre of the second case, The Reculturing Principal, portrays leadership as transforming school culture so that it is receptive to change and committed to growth and improvement. The principal featured in the third case understands leadership as a response to students' social problems, diminished self-concept and dysfunctional community relationships - hence the title The Principal as Social Architect. The final case presents The Community Principal who conceptualizes leadership in terms of building caring, co-operative relationships among all involved in the schooling process with a view to developing community connectedness. Findings from the cross-case analysis are presented as two broad themes that characterize the principals' conceptualization and interpretation of school leadership. The first theme - 'Leadership as values-driven' - identified care and respect, social justice and excellence as the common values that defined the principals' leadership, permeating their interactions and informing their decisions. The second theme - 'Leadership as responding to and acting on context' - revealed that dynamics related to personal, school-community and policy contexts also entered into and interacted with their understandings of leadership. While all four principals in this study were guided and informed by common values, they applied them to their leadership in individual ways, modifying their approaches and emphases in response to a range of contextual elements that were both dynamic and unique. Generally, the principals conceptualized leadership as a moral undertaking, and values together with context emerged as powerful influences on how they defined, interpreted and enacted school leadership. Findings from this study contribute to local knowledge about principals and school leadership. Currently, perspectives on what constitutes school leadership depend on frameworks developed for other environments even though the extent to which these are applicable to a Caribbean context is unknown. Furthermore, in the context of recent shifts in policy, it is important to understand what and how principals think about leadership. In this respect, the findings may serve as a guide for future decisions about leadership training and professional development for principals and aspiring principals.
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Jackson, Colleen Anne, and cjackson@outreachdev com au. "A salutogenic approach to the management of critical incidents an examination of teacher's stress responses and coping, and school management strategies and interventions." Swinburne University of Technology, 2003. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20050224.113610.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis addresses the identification of critical incidents in schools, the factors influencing teachers' coping, and the implications for crisis intervention and management. An argument is developed that school communities may be best served by a salutogenic (wellness) perspective for crisis response and recovery, which focuses on the personal and collective resources that contribute to successful coping and mental health. Three aims were addressed. First considered was the potential for commonly occuring events (e.g., the death or injury of a teacher or student, assault, vandalism or damage to school property, professional misconduct on the part of a teacher), to evoke stress, grief, or trauma responses in individuals and organisations. Emphasised was the nature of individual differences in responses to such critical incidents, and ways of dealing effectively with the varying character and intensity of such responses. The second aim was to examine the influence of pre-existing personal wellbeing and resources on individuals' responses, adjustment and growth after an incident. The third aim was to explore the interface between the individual and the organisation following critical incidents, and the nature and impact of intervention and management strategies on an individuals' sense of wellbeing and ongoing investment within the organisation. Two related studies investigated the impact of critical incidents on teachers. In Study 1, 245 teachers completed a self-report questionnaire that gathered quantitative data comprising three measures of personality and positive functioning (Psychological Wellbeing & Sense of Coherence), demographic data, and teachers' previous experience of critical incidents. Teachers also provided an autobiographical account of a personally significant critical incident. Results showed that commonly occuring events, such as the death of a student or teacher, and other issues such as professional misconduct of a colleague, professional conflict, theft and vandalism were regarded as critical incidents by teachers. The four distinct response categories indentified (negative feelings, positive cognitions, negative conditions, & negative impact on functioning) were characteristically grief or stress responses rather than those associated with psychological trauma. Significant relationships were identified among the personality variables and the measures of positive functioning. Extraversion was positively related to positive functioning, and introversion negatively related. The findings point to personal and collective issues that have the potential to facilitate and enhance coping and recovery after a critical incident. In particular, six management strategies (Wellness Factors), comprising both personal and organisational components, emerged as potential contributors to ongoing psychological wellbeing, sense of coherence, and posttraumatic growth outcomes. These Wellness Factors were identified as: (a) emotional and practical support; (b) active involvement; (c) responding according to individual need; (d) access to information; (e) readiness; and (f) leadership. Study 2 involved a more detailed examination of the experience of 30 teachers following a critical incident subsequent to the completion of Study 1. This study examined personality, posttraumatic growth and personal trauma history (gathered through a self-report questionnaire), in conjunction with the pre-event personal characteristics gathered in Study 1. The second component of Study 2 consisted of a semi-structured interview that explored the teachers' personal experiences of the critical incident. Results revealed that PCI Extraversion showed significant positive relationships with Psychological Wellbeing and Sense of Coherence. PCI Emotionality showed a significant positive relationships with Posttraumatic Growth. Interview data showed that 22.5% of teachers reported a high incidence of Acute Stress responses (DSM-IV-TR criteria). In addition, anger directed at the school's leadership, and conflict between disillusionment with authority and the impact of the event. Strong negative relationships were identified among Extraversion and Openness, and the Wellness factors. Results showed that moderate stress responses are associated with Posttraumatic Growth at a personal level. However, the same responses can evoke disillusionment and cynicism at an organisational level. The findings are discussed in terms of the personal and organisational factors that contribute to healing and recovery following critical incidents. Implications for critical incident management planning, intervention and recovery are considered, along with directions for future research.
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McQuillan, Paul, and res cand@acu edu au. "The limit experience of senior high school students: A study across four catholic high schools." Australian Catholic University. Shool of Theology, 2001. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp9.25072005.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of the research reported in this thesis is to investigate the occurrence and recognition of limit experience among some Catholic High School students in their final year at selected secondary colleges in Brisbane. Limit experience was defined as an experience that reveals a reality of life beyond the self, beyond the here and now. It may be recognition of our own fragility and vulnerability as much as a joyous awareness of a reality beyond our normal encounter with life. The research work of the Alistair Hardy Research Centre and of Hay (1987) in particular has centred on the question, asked in various ways: Have you ever been aware of, or influenced by, a presence or power, whether you call it God or not, which is different from your everyday life? The survey instrument for this research was designed to divorce questions on such experiences from the direct reference to the term religious, although individuals might indeed interpret them as religious. To approach the issue, an extensive open-ended survey was administered to senior high school students. It was designed first to determine the extent of recognition of such experiences among the students and second to examine whether factors such as home background, regular religious practice, type of school, subject choice or co-curricula activities may make a difference in enhancing the awareness of such experience. This research has also been designed to enable comparison with similar studies. Major research in Australia by Flynn (1975, 1985, 1993) highlighted the factors above as influencing student achievement. Flynn also made connections to religious practice and attitudes to church but not to religious experience as such. Robinson and Jackson (1987) had undertaken extensive research on religious experience in Great Britain that also has important parallels to this research. Some of the techniques of both studies and in some cases actual questions have formed part of this research instrument. This research has gone further than both studies by incorporating the Hay (1987) categorisation of types of religious experience to form the basis for direct questions on student experience. The data gathering, treatment and analysis focused on four catholic secondary schools in the Brisbane Archdiocese. While the research focus was by definition limited, and while the results have of necessity to be treated with some caution before wider generalisation, the outcomes of the research do illuminate some of the important issues identified in the literature. The results of the survey showed that over 90% of the respondents could affirm some association with a limit experience along the lines of the Hay (1987) framework. With significant strengthening of criteria to allow for meaningful statistical analysis, this reduced to 76% of respondents. Results for this smaller group were shown to be essentially independent of home background, type of school attended, co-curricula programs and level of religious practice. With the significant exception of religious education, their recognition of limit experience was also independent of subject choice. This last is in contrast to the earlier work of Robinson and Jackson (1987). Exploratory analyses of the data enabled comparisons to be made with a suggested framework for spiritual sensitivity and the context of relational consciousness, both of which were first proposed by Hay and Nye (1998). This suggests some possible directions for further research into adolescent spirituality. The exploratory analyses also highlight some of the conflict between the reality of these experiences for students and their experience of dissonance with institutional religion.
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Hodgson, David. "Boys in and out of school : narratives of early school leaving /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2006. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20061019.140656.
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Sun, Lianqun. "How High School Records and ACT Scores Predict College Graduation." DigitalCommons@USU, 2017. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/6226.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis is based on the data analysis of a large public university’s admission and graduation records between 2006 and 2014. Probit regressions were applied to analyze the relationship between high school GPA, class rank, ACT scores, and Advanced Placement (AP) test credits, and college graduation. All of the aforementioned variables were found to be significant predictors to college graduation rates. In both controlled and uncontrolled models, class rank had the largest predictive magnitude power to college graduation compared to other variables at the same significance level, followed by high school GPA, ACT scores and AP credits. In reviewing data from ACT component scores, ACT English and ACT Math were the only significant predictors to college graduation. There was heterogeneity for these variables across race, sex and residency, but at different significance levels.
34
Grills, Derek. "The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and High School Obesity." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1381.
Full textAbstract:
United States high school student obesity rates have doubled in the past 30 years to 13%, threatening the health of millions of adolescents. To mitigate the epidemic, Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) in 2010, which mandated significant changes to school nutrition and physical education. From a public policy perspective, the HHFKA changed school nutrition and exercise policy to affect obesity rates by changing intake and energy expenditure at school, though no study using national-level data examined this relationship. As such, the purpose of the study was to examine whether HHFKA policy compliance had a statistically significant effect on high school obesity rates. The theoretical framework for this study was the energy imbalance theory (EIT), as developed by James Hill, Holly Wyatt, and John Peters. The research questions focused on the relationship of HHFKA nutrition changes and childhood obesity rates. The study used Pearson's Product-moment correlation to test for a simple correlation between Compliance Scores and High School obesity rates. Findings revealed no statistically significant correlation between state high school student obesity rates and HHFKA compliance scores. Future research is needed to validate the findings after more time has passed with the HHFKA mandates in effect. The implications for social change include informing the debate over the efficacy of implementing the HHFKA as currently written to mitigate childhood obesity.
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Tracy, Peter, and n/a. "Design and Problem-Finding in High Schools: a Study of Students and Their Teacher in One Queensland school." Griffith University. School of Vocational, Technology and Arts Education, 2005. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20051110.154602.
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The study challenges current literature, which views the notion of problem-finding as the initial identification of a problem to be solved. The concept of problem-finding in this study is that problem-finding continues throughout the problem-solving process and is not distinct from it. This thesis aims to develop a better understanding of problem-finding by examining high school students using problem-finding to solve industrial design problems. The study seeks to find out what types of problem-finding exist and what roles they play in solving design problems. To explore problem-finding, this study uses a Think Aloud methodology to examine the thinking of three high school industrial design students and one high school industrial design teacher solving an authentic industrial design problem. Protocol data was gathered from the subjects and then transcribed, segmented and analysed in three ways, each of which became progressively more specific: Firstly, a macroscopic examination which identified problem-finding episodes occurring throughout the design process; secondly, a microscopic examination which identified four categories of problem-finding; and lastly, a microscopic examination which looked at the role played by the different problem-finding categories in solving design problems. The findings of this study are fourfold. Firstly, problem-finding was found to be used throughout the entire design process. Secondly, there were four categories of problemfinding. Thirdly, each category played an important role predominantly through interaction with other categories. Lastly, the more experienced a person was, the more able they were to use problem-finding effectively to solve design problems. Many current practices use trial and error methods to solve design problems. The importance of this study is that through a better understanding of problem-finding, designers may be able to use metacognitive strategies more efficiently in the process. Similarly, in educational practice, high school design students may be able to learn to think about the methods they use to solve design problems, and this may result in more creative designs.
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Davies, Michael, and res cand@acu edu au. "The Search for Success in a Charismatic Environment: senior teacher’s responses to high stakes testing in academically successful Christian Brothers’ schools." Australian Catholic University. Education (VIC), 2008. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp193.19032009.
Full textAbstract:
In Australia, traditionally a wide range of measures have been used to identify academically successful schools. The mix of these measures has varied from state to state. But recently, added to this mix, and perhaps becoming the most influential factor, has been the examination results of senior students. These have become far more available to the prospective parents and governing bodies. They are used to gauge the ranking of the school, and to whether parents can expect their children to gain entry into the more prestigious tertiary programs available. But these scores are also being used to rank staff, and in turn, the ‘quality’ of staff becomes yet another factor in identifying an academically successful school. In other words, the notion of high stakes testing is gaining wide spread use across all forms of schooling in Australia, including State, Independent and Catholic schools. This thesis is about teachers in academically successful Christian Brothers’ schools. It is an interpretive study that seeks to understand how these teachers respond to this form of assessment: high stakes testing. Their responses include emotional responses, how they change their teaching style and how they feel about teaching in Christian Brothers’ schools striving for academic success. In this research I interviewed teachers and administrators at three academically successful Christian Brothers’ schools in three different states in Australia. I developed three cases from these interviews and document searches, one drawn from each school, that indicate the range of issues that emerged, for them, as teachers in academically successful Christian Brothers’ schools. The specific use of high stakes testing was found to be very different in each of the schools. One school used high stakes testing as an accountability measure for staff, another used it as an accountability measure for students, and the third had no history of using high stakes testing. The study concludes that academic excellence can be achieved in Christian Brothers’ schools whilst remaining faithful to the ethos that underpins these schools: the Charism of Edmund Rice. Significant factors in the determination of the successful implementation of high stakes testing in these schools were found to be: the effect of senior management; influence of the media; the influence of culture; and changing culture and the nature of the schools. The thesis concludes with a blueprint for a hypothetical Christian Brothers’ school to follow that may lead to academic success.
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Mulford, David John. "The secondary head of department : professional development requirements, expectations and directions /." Canberra, 2007. http://erl.canberra.edu.au/public/adt-AUC20081201.154838/index.html.
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Reeves, Cynthia. "HIGH STANDARDS FOR ALL STUDENTS? THE KENTUCKY EDUCATION REFORM ACT AND IMMIGRANT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS." Lexington, Ky. : [University of Kentucky Libraries], 2004. http://lib.uky.edu/ETD/ukyanth2004d00170/CRdis.pdf.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kentucky, 2004.Title from document title page (viewed Jan. 6, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 224p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 200-220).
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Milner, William Aaron Reed Cynthia J. "Alabama high school principals' knowledge level of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act discipline mandates." Auburn, Ala., 2006. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2006%20Spring/doctoral/MILNER_WILLIAM_16.pdf.
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Suliman, Rosemary. "The motivational and linguistic context of the school achievement of Lebanese-background students in high schools in south-western Sydney /." View thesis View thesis, 2001. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030409.153226/index.html.
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Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2001."A thesis submitted to the University of Western Sydney in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy" Bibliography : leaves 224-240.
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Thompson, Gregory Francis. "Swings and round-abouts : discourses of connectedness in secondary schools /." Access via Murdoch University Digital Theses Project, 2003. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20040820.124631.
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Day, Ariane. "ACT Scores and High School Cumulative Grade Point Average as Indicators of College Graduation at one High School in East Tennessee." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2020. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3791.
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The purpose of this quantitative study was to see if there was a significant difference in the mean American College Test (ACT) scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA) between students who attained a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of starting college and those who did not attain a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of starting college. Data from 2005-2013 high school graduates from one high school with only academic course choices were used. A series of independent t-tests were used to compare the mean ACT scores and HSGPA of students from both groups.
The goal was to find out whether high school educators can use existing high school data to know whether students who intend to continue their postsecondary studies at degree granting postsecondary institutions have the necessary preparation not just to be admitted to a postsecondary institution, but to attain a bachelor’s degree. The results showed that for this group of participants, the mean ACT scores and HSGPA were significantly different between students who attained a bachelor’s degree within 6 years and those who did not. Using Cohen’s d to calculate the effect size for the results, ACT Composite, ACT English, ACT Science, and HSGPA were found to have a large effect size, and ACT Math and ACT Reading were found to have a medium effect size. HSGPA had the largest effect size.
The implications from the results are that high school personnel at all high schools should examine available data to see if it can be used as indicators of bachelor’s degree attainment with the purpose of providing additional support to students who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree, but whose data indicate that they may not have the necessary preparation to successfully complete a degree.
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Wilson, Steve. "Student participation and school context : a case study of Barracks High School /." View thesis View thesis, 1998. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030528.124201/index.html.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1998."A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." "May, 1998." Bibliography : leaves 250-277.
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Li, Te-yuan, and n/a. "Effective reading for senior high schools in Taiwan." University of Canberra. Education, 1992. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20060817.102417.
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Reading has always received a great deal of
attention at both junior and senior high schools in
Taiwan. However, reading ability of English after six
years' learning is not satisfactory. The main problem is
that students do not read for the main idea nor for the
relationships between sentences. In addition, English
reading skills, even at the college level, are limited to
referring to the dictionary and analyzing sentence
structures. The purpose of the present study is to
explore this area; in particular, to determine the causes
of and to provide solutions to the problem of reading
difficulty by conducting a content analysis.
This study focuses on a content analysis in four
areas:(1) Analysis of reading comprehension questions,
(2) analysis of gradation of readability, (3) analysis of
gradation of structures, and (4) comparison of cohesive
ties between Chinese and English written texts using
similar topics.
The text samples to be examined included two areas:
(1) Book Six of The Standard English Textbook. This is
the final volume of the series currently prescribed for
senior high schools in Taiwan, and (2) three texts
written in Chinese and English, with similar topics. It
is hoped that some implications will be drawn from this
study for improving the effectiveness of teaching reading
in English at the secondary level in Taiwan.
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Deece, Alan Thomas. "Secondary school organisation a view through the lens of a principal /." View thesis, 2004. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20051220.130153/index.html.
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Miranda, Janet Young. "A Study of the Effect of School-Sponsored, Extra-Curricular Activities on High School Students' Cumulative Grade Point Average, SAT Score, ACT Score, and Core Curriculum Grade Point Average." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2001. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2879/.
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This study investigated the effect of school-sponsored, extra-curricular activities on academic achievement for students at a private school in north central Texas. Students selected for this study were graduates from the classes of 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. With a minimum participation of two years during grades nine through twelve, students were categorized into subgroups of activities. After eliminating students who participated in more than one of the extra-curricular activities of music, drama, visual arts, and athletics, three hundred sixty-one students were represented. The identity of students was encoded and information was recorded for gender, school-sponsored, extra- curricular activities, cumulative grade point averages, SAT Scores, ACT Scores, and cumulative grade point averages in core curriculum subjects. A two-way ANOVA test with a two-by-five factorial design was completed for research questions one through four. A one-way ANOVA with a one-by-five factorial design was completed for research question five. When a significant F was found, Scheffe and LSD post hoc tests were completed to determine pair wise interaction. Statistical differences did exist when comparing school-sponsored, extra-curricular activities and cumulative grade point averages with musicians having a significantly higher cumulative grade point average, SAT scores, and ACT scores than athletes. A significant difference was found among the activity subgroups regarding the cumulative grade point averages in the core curriculum subjects of foreign language, history/English (an interdisciplinary subject at the studied school), mathematics, and science with musicians scoring significantly higher than athletes in all subjects. It is recommended that further studies be conducted to investigate the impact of activities on student achievement. Studies might include larger and different populations, the impact of participation at a younger age, and the impact of other activities on student achievement.
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Robertson, Cathy. "Restructuring High School Science Curriculum: A Program Evaluation." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/270.
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One rural Midwestern high school discovered a discrepancy among school, state, and national science skill attainment, verified by ACT scores. If students do not acquire vital science skills, they may not perform proficiently on science tests, thus impacting future college options. Inquiry based instruction and constructivism provided the basis for the theoretical framework. This study questioned associations between ACT scores, inquiry science technique usage, and ACT standard usage (Phase 1), and teachers' views on science instruction (Phase 2). This sequential explanatory mixed methods program evaluation included 469 ACT scores, surveys sent to 9 science teachers, and 8 interviews. Phase 1 used the inquiry science implementation scale survey and an ACT college readiness standards workbook to determine proportional associations between datasets. Descriptive statistics, one-sample t tests, and binomial tests were used to analyze Phase 1 data. Phase 2 interviews augmented Phase 1 data and were disassembled, reassembled, and interpreted for parallel viewpoints. Phase 1 data indicated that teachers use a slightly above average amount of inquiry and science ACT standards in the classroom; however, most science students did not test above the curriculum and there were inconsistencies in standards covered. Phase 2 data revealed teachers need time to collaborate and become skilled in inquiry methods to rectify the inconsistencies. The project was an evaluation report. This study will foster positive social change by giving the district a plan: adapt the science curriculum by integrating more ACT and inquiry standards and participate in more professional development that applies inquiry as a tool to increase science skill proficiency, thus generating locally competitive students for college and the workforce.
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Fawcett, Lillian M. "School's out adolescent 'leisure time' activities, influences and consequences /." Connect to thesis, 2007. http://portal.ecu.edu.au/adt-public/adt-ECU2007.0040.html.
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Tingey, RaShel Anderson. "High-Stakes Testing Under The No Child Left Behind Act: How Has It Impacted School Culture?" Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2009. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd3090.pdf.
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Stephens, Gregory Demond. "The effect of selected student profile variables in the 2005 American College Test (ACT) on academic performance of Mississippi high school graduates as measured by the sub-scales in the ACT." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2007. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-04092007-143914.
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