The effectiveness of an online workshop on behavior management as a professional development tool for teachers

The current study examines the effects of an online workshop pertaining to classroom behavior management on teacher self-efficacy, attitudes, motivation, knowledge, and practices. In addition, information about teacher utilization of the Internet, their opinions about professional development, and experiences with classroom management were collected. Participants included 57 1 st through 5th grade special and regular education teachers. Eligible teachers were those who teach an academic subject and had at least one child in the classroom they considered as disruptive. Teachers were randomized to either a training or waitlist group. Classroom observations of teacher practices and questionnaires were utilized. Teachers in the training group participated in two assessment points, baseline and post-workshop, and received access to the online course immediately following the baseline assessment. Teachers in the waitlist group participated in three assessment points, baseline, post-workshop, and follow-up, and received access to the online course immediately following the post-workshop assessment. Findings show that all teachers had access to the Internet at home and at school and used it on a daily basis. The majority of teachers indicated having some past training on all the techniques that were presented in the online workshop. All teachers expressed satisfaction with the workshop, indicating that it should be offered again. Post-workshop, findings showed significant group differences in knowledge with a large effect for the training group scoring higher than the waitlist group on a quiz. Secondly, group differences in self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes with teachers’ past-training as a moderator, was examined. Past-training was not found to be a significant moderator of self-efficacy, knowledge, or attitudes. However, the main effect for training group was significant for attitudes. In addition, teacher attitudes, but not knowledge and self-efficacy, significantly predicted motivation to implement. Next, the moderating effect of barriers on motivation and classroom management skill implementation was examined. Barriers were not found to be a significant moderator. Lastly, the training group was observed to be significantly more effective at giving commands compared to the waitlist group. The current study demonstrates the potential of a low-intensity online workshop on classroom management to enhance the accessibility of teacher professional development. ^

Online education, accrediting standards, and student success: An examination of the relationship between the southern association of colleges and schools commission on colleges standards for online education and student success

Prior to 2000, there were less than 1.6 million students enrolled in at least one online course. By fall 2010, student enrollment in online distance education showed a phenomenal 283% increase to 6.1 million. Two years later, this number had grown to 7.1 million. In light of this significant growth and skepticism about quality, there have been calls for greater oversight of this format of educational delivery. Accrediting bodies tasked with this oversight have developed guidelines and standards for online education. ^ There is a lack of empirical studies that examine the relationship between accrediting standards and student success. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on College (SACSCOC) standards for online education in online courses, (a) student support services and (b) curriculum and instruction, and student success. An original 24-item survey with an overall reliability coefficient of .94 was administered to students (N=464) at Florida International University, enrolled in 24 university-wide undergraduate online courses during fall 2014, who rated the presence of these standards in their online courses. The general linear model was utilized to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that the two standards, student support services and curriculum and instruction were both significantly and positively correlated with student success but with small R2 and strengths of association less than .35 and .20 respectively. Mixed results were produced from Chi-square tests for differences in student success between higher and lower rated online courses when controlling for various covariates such as discipline, gender, race/ethnicity, GPA, age, and number of online courses previously taken. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the curriculum and instruction standard was the only variable that accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in student success. Another regression test revealed that no significant interaction effect exists between the two SACSCOC standards and GPA in predicting student success. ^ The results of this study are useful for administrators, faculty, and researchers who are interested in accreditation standards for online education and how these standards relate to student success.^

Romantic relationships and adjustment in early adulthood: The role of cross-sex experience in the context of social norms and support

Attachment and interpersonal theory suggest a sequential pattern of relationships beginning in the earliest stage of development and progressing to social and eventually romantic relationships. Theoretically, cross-sex experiences have an important role in the progression of interpersonal relationships. Despite the prevalence of these theories about the nature of romantic relationship development, the linkage of cross-sex experience (CSE) to romantic relationships has not been established. Indeed, it is an intuitive assumption, especially within Western society and these theories do not consider socio-cultural factors that may influence CSE and relationship satisfaction. This study addresses the varying contextual factors that may contribute to relationship satisfaction and adjustment, aside from CSE, and is divided into two parts. Study 1, addresses CSE, relationship satisfaction, and adjustment in a unique population, ultra-Orthodox Jews. Among this population, social or romantic CSE is limited and sexes are effectively segregated. Study 2, expanded the study to a larger sample of U.S. college students, to assess the linkage of CSE to romantic relationship satisfaction in a more typical Western population. It included social norm and support variables to address the contextual nature of relationship development and satisfaction. Results demonstrated clear differences in the relation between CSE and relationship satisfaction in the two samples. In the first sample CSE was unrelated to relationship satisfaction; nevertheless, relationship satisfaction was associated with adjustment as it is for more typical populations with greater CSE. These results suggested the importance of specifying how social norms and social support relate to CSE, relationship satisfaction and adjustment. The results from the second sample were consistent with the theoretical framework upon which the social/romantic literature is based. CSE was directly connected to relationship satisfaction. As anticipated, CSE, relationship satisfaction, and adjustment also varied as a function of social norms and support. These findings further validate the influence of socio-cultural factors on relationship satisfaction and adjustment. This study contributes to the romantic relationship literature and broadens our understanding of the complex nature of interpersonal and romantic relationships.^

Implications of a theoretical framework on stress and burnout for the development of graduate nursing education curricula

This study had two purposes: (a) to develop a theoretical framework integrating and synthesizing findings of prior research regarding stress and burnout among critical care nurses (CCRNs), and (b) to validate the theoretical framework with an empirical study to assure a theory/research based teaching-learning process for graduate courses preparing nursing clinical specialists and administrators.^ The methods used to test the theoretical framework included: (a) adopting instruments with reported validity, (b) conducting a pilot study, (c) revising instruments using results of the pilot study and following concurrence of a panel of experts, and (d) establishing correlations within predetermined parameters. The reliability of the tool was determined through the use of Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient with a resulting range from.68 to.88 for all measures.^ The findings supported all the research hypotheses. Correlations were established at r =.23 for statistically significant alphas at the.01 level and r =.16 for alphas.05. The conclusions indicated three areas of strong correlation among the theoretical variables: (a) work environment stressor antecedents and specific stressor events were correlated significantly with subjective work stress and burnout; (b) subjective work stress (perceived work related stress) was a function of the work environment stressor antecedents and specific stressor events, and (c) emotional exhaustion, the first phase of burnout, was confirmed to be related to stressor antecedents and specific stressor events. This dimension was found to be a function of the work environment stressor antecedents, modified by the individual characteristics of work and non-work related social support, non-work daily stress, and the number of hours worked per week. The implications of the study for nursing graduate curricula, nursing practice and nursing education were discussed. Recommendations for further research were enumerated. ^

A comparison of a distance education and locally based course in an urban university setting

The purpose of this research was to compare the academic performance and attitudes of students at the instructor-based site of a televised course and the distant site. An earlier pilot program indicated the need for certain technical and structural interventions at the distant site such as multiple "press-to-touch" microphones, a site-administrator and participative seating arrangements. At the beginning of the class, demographic data were collected from the students at both sites through a questionnaire and supplemented with information from students' records. Factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, number of children, current class status, major, work status and CLAST scores (achievement tests) were examined. There were no significant differences between the students at the sites except ethnicity and reading CLAST scores. The instructor-based site had a higher percentage of Hispanic students and the distant site had a larger percentage of Caucasian and Black Americans. The distant site scored significantly better on the reading section of the CLAST achievement test. An evaluation instrument was distributed to both sites, at the midpoint of the semester, measuring their attitude toward the organizational, technical, and pedagogical factors of the course. A second evaluation instrument, measuring similar factors, but more in-depth, was distributed to both sites near the end of the term. Nine students at the distant site were interviewed along with the site administrator to collect additional information.^ Course completion rates, dropout rates, pass rates and final grades of students at both sites were compared. There were no significant differences in academic performance between the students at both sites, however, there were significant differences in their attitudes. Those at the instructor-based site gave better ratings to most of items in the evaluation instruments. Problems at the distant site included audio and visual clarity, lack of available assistance, too much nonrelated talking, not enough opportunities to ask questions or to interact with the instructor during class. ^

The effect of mentoring electronic mail on student achievement and attitudes in a graduate course in educational research

This exploratory study of a classroom with mentoring and neutral e-mail was conducted in a public commuter state university in South Florida between January 1996 and April 1996. Sixteen males and 83 females from four graduate level educational research classes participated in the study.^ Two main hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis One was that those students receiving mentoring e-mail messages would score significantly higher on an instrument measuring attitude toward educational research (ATERS) than those not receiving mentoring e-mail messages. Hypothesis Two was that those students receiving mentoring e-mail would score significantly higher on objective exams covering the educational research material than those not receiving mentoring e-mail.^ Results of factorial analyses of variance showed no significant differences between the treatment groups in achievement or in attitudes toward educational research. Introverts had lower attitudes and lower final exam grades in both groups, although introverts in the mentored group scored higher than those introverts in the neutral group.^ A t test of the means of total response to e-mail from the researcher showed a significant difference between the mentored and neutral e-mail groups. Introverts responded more often than extraverts in both groups.^ Teacher effect was significant in determining class response to e-mail messages. Responses were most frequent in the researcher's classes.^ Qualitative analyses of the e-mail and course evaluation survey and of the content of e-mail messages received by the researcher were then grouped into basic themes and discussed.^ A qualitative analysis of an e-mail and course evaluation survey revealed that students from both the neutral and mentoring e-mail groups appreciated teacher feedback. A qualitative analysis of the mentoring and neutral e-mail replies divided the responses into those pertaining to the class, such as test and research paper questions, and more personal items, such as problems in the class and personal happenings.^ At this point in time, e-mail is not a standard way of communicating in classes in the college of education at this university. As this technology tool of communication becomes more popular, it is anticipated that replications of this study will be warranted. ^

The effect of the advanced placement examination for credit policy by the Florida State universities on the acceleration of a student's postsecondary education

The purpose of this research study was to determine if the Advanced Placement program as it is recognized by the universities in the Florida State University System (SUS) truly serves as an acceleration mechanism for those students who enter an SUS institution with passing AP scores. Despite mandates which attempt to control uniformity of policy, each public university in Florida determines which courses will be exempted and the number of credits they will grant for passing Advanced Placement courses.^ This is a descriptive study in which the AP policies of each of the SUS institutions were compared. Additionally, the college attendance and graduation data on members of a cohort of 593 Broward County high school graduates of the class of June, 1992 were compared. Approximately 28% of the cohort members entered university with passing Advanced Placement scores.^ The rate of early and on time graduation was significantly dependent on the Advanced Placement standing of the students in the cohort. Given the financial and human cost involved, it is recommended that all state universities bring their Advanced Placement policies into line with each other and implement a uniform Advanced Placement policy. It is also recommended that a follow-up study be conducted with a new cohort bound under the current 120 credit limitation for graduation. ^

An investigation into factors that influence the sense of competence of six high school girls

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of environment, behavior, capabilities, beliefs and values, and identity, based on Dilts' (1990) levels of cognitive alignment, on the cognitive construct of sense of competence and related constructs of self-efficacy, motivation, expectations, and goal-setting among adolescent girls. An individual who is aligned is free from conflict among the interaction of these levels. In addition, academic achievement, adolescent culture, parental involvement, and school environment were four of several issues in the lives of adolescent girls examined to explore how these issues might interact with the levels of alignment and sense of competence.^ A case study approach used in-depth interviews with six female seniors from private single-sex and mixed-sex high schools organized around the levels of alignment and school environment. Response patterns were analyzed to determine each girl's varying evidence of alignment or freedom from conflict within her environment.^ The findings indicated that none of the girls were able to meet the conditions for alignment in Dilts' model or a sense of competence. School environment, parental involvement, and adolescent culture were important factors influencing the extent to which conflict was experienced by each girl. The girls with domain-specific successes developed strategies that concentrated their efforts in the domains in which they could demonstrate their best abilities. The results contribute to current theory and research on adolescent girls: and have value for practitioners working with adolescent girls in developing strategies to improve their self-efficacy, motivation, expectations, goal-setting, and overall sense of competence. ^

Making Life Choices Program: A psychoeducational intervention for promoting critical cognitive and affective competencies in adolescents at-risk for problem behaviors

The long term goal of the work described is to contribute to the emerging literature of prevention science in general, and to school-based psychoeducational interventions in particular. The psychoeducational intervention reported in this study used a main effects prevention intervention model. The current study focused on promoting optimal cognitive and affective functioning. The goal of this intervention was to increase potential protective factors such as critical cognitive and communicative competencies (e.g., critical problem solving and decision making) and affective competencies (e.g., personal control and responsibility) in middle adolescents who have been identified by the school system as being at-risk for problem behaviors. The current psychoeducational intervention draws on an ongoing program of theory and research (Berman, Berman, Cass Lorente, Ferrer Wreder, Arrufat, & Kurtines 1996; Ferrer Wreder, 1996; Kurtines, Berman, Ittel, & Williamson, 1995) and extends it to include Freire's (1970) concept of transformative pedagogy in developing school-based psychoeducational programs that target troubled adolescents. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses indicated trends that were generally encouraging with respect to the effects of the intervention on increasing critical cognitive and affective competencies. ^

The impact of the New University Code on the physical education curriculum of four-year colleges and universities in Taiwan, Republic of China

With the establishment of The New University Code in 1994, Taiwan's colleges and universities were mandated to shift physical education from a required course to an elective. The four-year colleges and universities are now responsible for either developing new physical education programs or removing existing programs from their curriculum. Planned change and curriculum leadership are considered in light of policy changes regarding required physical education programs enacted by the Ministry of Education. ^ This study compared the organizational structure and the curriculum of physical education at accredited colleges and universities in Taiwan. Chairpersons of physical education departments from 60 four-year colleges and universities were surveyed using a modified version of the Hensley's Basic Instruction Program (BIP) Questionnaire. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and crosstabs. The findings confirmed that physical education programs were effected by declining enrollment and administrative decisions to eliminate them. However, at the same time, chairpersons expressed strong support for the maintenance of the traditional physical education curriculum. ^

Working adult students' perspectives on persisting in college

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain working adult undergraduate students' perspectives on persistence in college in order to address the applicability of retention theory to a specific group of college students. Retention of college students is a major concern in higher education where persistence rates have continued to decline for the last 16 years and changing student demographics have influenced enrollment patterns. ^ A qualitative research design was used. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with nine working adult undergraduate students. The participants were selected to include diversity in age, race/ethnicity, family roles, career/work levels, college majors, and educational histories. ^ Triangulation was performed on data from the interviews, participant data forms, and a research journal. Open and axial coding were used to generate emerging themes. Member checking was used to verify the interpretation of the participants' perspectives. A peer reviewer corroborated the data analysis. Three major themes emerged from the data which explained how the students stayed motivated, engaged in learning, and managed the institutional aspects of college. ^ Five conclusions were drawn from the findings of this study. First, working adult students described their core experience of college as both positive and negative, creating tensions and often conflicts that influenced their persistence. Second, persistence factors associated with working adult students included personal aspects, such as having clear career/life goals, self management skills, and supportive relationships; learning aspects, such as interactive teaching methods, connections to prior learning, and relevance to career/life goals; and institutional aspects, such as customer service orientation of staff, flexibility of policies and procedures, and convenient access to information. Third, current retention theory was applicable to working adult students. However, working adult students described their experience of academic and social integration differently from that of traditional college students found in the literature. Fourth, findings from this study supported the developmental components of the Adult Persistence in Learning model (MacKinnon-Slaney, 1994). Finally, the study findings indicated a clearly active role required of the institution in the persistence of working adult students by providing flexibility and accessibility in procedures and services. ^

Academic achievement orientation of West Indian American parents and adolescents

Literature addressing academic achievement orientation of Black adolescents in the United States often depicts poor school related attitudes and adaptation patterns, low academic achievement, and deficient family backgrounds. However, some researchers maintained that certain Black immigrant groups possessed positive academic achievement orientations and exemplary academic achievements (Ogbu, 1991; Gibson, 1991; Vernez, & Abrahamse, 1996). In this study, I attempted to combine qualitative data from multiple sources (surveys, interviews, observations, literature, and document analysis), using standard case study methodology and the constant comparative method of analysis to understand the relationship that existed between the academic achievement orientation of a select group of West Indian American parents and adolescents in Broward County, Florida. The sub-sample of 11 families, comprising 15 adolescents and 13 parents, was selected through maximum variation sampling from a pool of 23 families. The findings were presented as a single composite case study. The participants possessed specific, longstanding educational and career goals for the children. The parents were deeply involved and were knowledgeable of their children's schools and academic progress. While mothers were the parents most actively involved in the schools, fathers were strong authoritative figures. Families evidenced a strong moral religious base with set rules of behavior, firm parenting practices, and established chains of authority. Family members emphasized education over material things; reading over audiovisual or social activities; family cohesion over individual wishes; and academics over extracurricular activities. The parents' strong positive academic achievement orientation was communicated to the children and reinforced by relatives, family friends, and others. In turn, the adolescents possessed positive school-related attitudes and attributional styles. While they admitted their parents were somewhat strict, they voluntarily complied with the rules and were highly motivated to succeed because they believed their parents deeply cared for them and that education leads to success and upward mobility. Each adolescent was pursuing an academic track and planning for college and specific profession. The findings support Ogbu's cultural ecological model (1991). I recommend these findings to teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, and others working with West Indian American families. ^

Understanding the cycle of violence: An examination of bully and victim social roles in early childhood

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of bullying and victimization in a metropolitan area. A cross-sectional study with kindergarten (n = 127) and first grade (n = 126) children was conducted in two Miami-Dade County Public Schools and three private schools in the same area. Bullying and victimization behavior and social acceptance were assessed through peer nomination and the mental health outcomes of depression and anxiety were assessed through children's self-report. Teachers and parents also completed a social behavior scale for each child. Three areas of analyses were conducted pertaining to membership classification of social roles and the social acceptance and mental health outcomes associated with those roles, reporter agreement within the social roles, and the psychometric properties of the Childhood Social Behavior Scale. Results showed an overall negative pattern of adjustment for children identified as a member of any of the negative social roles. Also, the results support a new analytic approach to the investigation of social roles. The implication of these findings for early identification, social policy, and effective prevention strategies are discussed. ^

Heteronormativity and teaching: A phenomenological study of lesbian teachers

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand what impact “heteronormativity” has on a lesbian teacher's perception of her instructional style, content, and context of curriculum taught. Through taped interviews with lesbian educators, this research examined the lived experience of the lesbian teacher. The framework for this study included theories related to historical, sociocultural, and psychosocial development while the methodology included a qualitative design using primary elements of a phenomenological study outlined without ignoring the influence associated with contextualism. Due to the sensitive nature of the study nine women who were the focus of this research were volunteers with the first serving as a “gatekeeper” to assist in the pilot study. The subsequent group evolved as a result of “snowballing” to gain more participants. ^ The data in the form of narrative derived from the interviews was transcribed, color-coded, and organized into four themes and associated sub-themes, based upon the perceptions of these educators. These themes characterized the coming out process of a lesbian, which directly paralleled the personal and professional development of the lesbian educator, emerged as a result of the analysis. They included: (a) self-acknowledgement; (b) self-indentification; (c) coming out to other lesbians by overcoming fear and establishing relationships; (d) coming out to others by overcoming heteronormativity by using support groups in defining a lesbian's role as a teacher. ^ The results of this study showed that the acceptance of the lesbian culture, shared with the acknowledgement, rather than compliance or defiance, of cultural hegemony can allow the lesbian educator to develop a curriculum and a classroom climate that will foster understanding and even generate social change among colleagues, parents, and students, one person at a time. ^