Causal attributions for success or failure by passing and failing students in College Algebra

Success in mathematics has been identified as a predictor of baccalaureate degree completion. Within the coursework of college mathematics, College Algebra has been identified as a high-risk course due to its low success rates. ^ Research in the field of attribution theory and academic achievement suggests a relationship between a student's attributional style and achievement. Theorists and researchers contend that attributions influence individual reactions to success and failure. They also report that individuals use attributions to explain and justify their performance. Studies in mathematics education identify attribution theory as the theoretical orientation most suited to explain academic performance in mathematics. This study focused on the relationship among a high risk course, low success rates, and attribution by examining the difference in the attributions passing and failing students gave for their performance in College Algebra. ^ The methods for the study included a pilot administration of the Causal Dimension Scale (CDSII) which was used to conduct reliability and principal component analyses. Then, students (n = 410) self-reported their performance on an in-class test and attributed their performance along the dimensions of locus of causality, stability, personal controllability, and external controllability. They also provided open-ended attribution statements to explain the cause of their performance. The quantitative data compared the passing and failing groups and their attributions for performance on a test using One-Way ANOVA and Pearson chi square procedures. The open-ended attribution statements were coded in relation to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck and compared using a Pearson chi square procedure. ^ The results of the quantitative data comparing passing and failing groups and their attributions along the dimensions measured by the CDSII indicated statistical significance in locus of causality, stability, and personal controllability. The results comparing the open-ended attribution statements indicated statistical significance in the categories of effort and task difficulty. ^

Characteristics of effective clinical and theory instructors as perceived by LPN to RN versus generic students in an associate degree nursing program

The purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics of effective clinical and theory instructors as perceived by LPN/RN versus generic students in an associate degree nursing program.^ Data were collected from 508 students during the 1996-7 academic year from three NLN accredited associate degree nursing programs. The researcher developed instrument consisted of three parts: (a) Whitehead Characteristics of Effective Clinical Instructor Rating Scale, (b) Whitehead Characteristics of Effective Theory Instructor Rating Scale, and (c) Demographic Data Sheet. The items were listed under five major categories identified in the review of the literature: (a) interpersonal relationships, (b) personality traits, (c) teaching practices, (d) knowledge and experience, and (e) evaluation procedures. The instrument was administered to LPN/RN students in their first semester and to generic students in the third semester of an associate degree nursing program.^ Data was analyzed using a one factor mutivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Further t tests were carried out to explore for possible differences between type of student and by group. Crosstabulations of the demographic data were analyzed.^ There were no significant differences found between the LPN/RN versus generic students on their perceptions of either effective theory or effective clinical instructor characteristics. There were significant differences between groups on several of the individual items. There was no significant interaction between group and ethnicity or group and age on the five major categories for either of the two instruments. There was a significant main effect of ethnicity on several of the individual items.^ The differences between the means and standard deviations on both instruments were small, suggesting that all of the characteristics listed for effective theory and clinical instructors were important to both groups of students. Effective teaching behaviors, as indicated on the survey instruments, should be taught to students in graduate teacher education programs. These behaviors should also be discussed by faculty coordinators supervising adjunct faculty. Nursing educators in associate degree nursing programs should understand theories of adult learning and implement instructional strategies to enhance minority student success. ^

Social service provision, efficiency labor and economic development

This dissertation provides a theory of the effects and determinants of an economy's level of social services. The dissertation focuses on how the provision of social services will affect the effort decisions of workers, which will ultimately determine the economy's level of output. A worker decides on how much effort to contribute in relation to the level of social services he/she receives. The higher the level of social services received, the lower the cost—disutility—from providing effort will be. The government provides public infrastructure and social services (i.e. health services) in accordance with the economy's endowment of effort. In doing so, the government takes the aggregate effort endowment as given. Since, with higher individual work effort the higher the economy's total level of effort, failure by workers to coordinate effort levels will result in possible instances of low effort, low social services and low output; and, other instances of high effort, high social services and high output. Therefore, this dissertation predicts that in the context of social services, coordination failures in effort levels can lead to development traps. ^

Predicting success or failure of tax -base revenue sharing attempts: A comparative analysis

To promote regional or mutual improvement, numerous interjurisdictional efforts to share tax bases have been attempted. Most of these efforts fail to be consummated. Motivations to share revenues include: narrowing fiscal disparities, enhancing regional cooperation and economic development, rationalizing land-use, and minimizing revenue losses caused by competition to attract and keep businesses. Various researchers have developed theories to aid understanding of why interjurisdictional cooperation efforts succeed or fail. Walter Rosenbaum and Gladys Kammerer studied two contemporaneous Florida local-government consolidation attempts. Boyd Messinger subsequently tested their Theory of Successful Consolidation on nine consolidation attempts. Paul Peterson's dual theories on Modern Federalism posit that all governmental levels attempt to further economic development and that politicians act in ways that either further their futures or cement job security. Actions related to the latter theory often interfere with the former. Samuel Nunn and Mark Rosentraub sought to learn how interjurisdictional cooperation evolves. Through multiple case studies they developed a model framing interjurisdictional cooperation in four dimensions. ^ This dissertation investigates the ability of the above theories to help predict success or failure of regional tax-base revenue sharing attempts. A research plan was formed that used five sequenced steps to gather data, analyze it, and conclude if hypotheses concerning the application of these theories were valid. The primary analytical tools were: multiple case studies, cross-case analysis, and pattern matching. Data was gathered from historical records, questionnaires, and interviews. ^ The results of this research indicate that Rosenbaum-Kammerer theory can be a predictor of success or failure in implementing tax-base revenue sharing if it is amended as suggested by Messinger and further modified by a recommendation in this dissertation. Peterson's Functional and Legislative theories considered together were able to predict revenue sharing proposal outcomes. Many of the indicators of interjurisdictional cooperation forwarded in the Nunn-Rosentraub model appeared in the cases studied, but the model was not a reliable forecasting instrument. ^