Factors positively influencing academically successful, highly motivated African -American high school students

The purpose of this study is two-fold: (1) to investigate the common factors positively influencing academically successful, highly motivated African-American high school students in their educational pursuits; and (2) to determine ways in which educators can facilitate an increased positive impact on minority students' achievement motivation and transition to higher education. ^ Three sources of data inform the qualitative study. Short autobiographical essays address the topic of antecedent factors influencing the students' selection of an academic program of study. Individual interviews using a semi-structured format elicit discussion of prior experiences and influences related to the research sub-questions. Focus group interviews elicit discussion of emergent patterns perceived by the researcher from the autobiographical essays and individual interviews. ^ Results indicate a generic model for success for high achieving African-American students. Students prioritize education as a means to success in life. They receive strong support for educational aspirations from at least one adult within the home. The students are focused on a professional career in the future. The students realize and desire the financial benefits of academic success. The students desire academic challenge. Students have feelings of control over their academic choices; however, they frequently seek the counsel of family members. Prior experience in honors, gifted, or magnet programs did not meet needs. ^ Recommendations for improved educational experiences include: Increase teacher and counselor responsiveness to students. Provide classroom activities which afford more interaction among the students and teacher and relate curriculum to topics of interest. Increase involvement of parents and Black community members in establishing goals and visions of opportunity. Recognize and revere diversity among students within the classroom environment. Set a climate that assumes more individual student responsibility and sets higher academic expectations. ^ The factors influencing academically successful, highly motivated African-American high school students echo the patterns of experiences of many groups. Pride in achievement, emotional support for efforts, expectations of success, independence in thought, and consternation with mediocrity and malaise drive the students to excel academically just like all others who succeed. ^

Perceptions of students, teachers, and parents of the student disciplinary code in Ying -Ko Vocational High School, Ying-Ko, Taiwan

Ying-Ko Vocational High School prepares students to become trained craftspeople to support the local industry. At the School it is understood that part of the mission is to build good citizens who will work and live in the emerging democratic society in modern Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of the students, parents, and teachers regarding their understanding and appreciation of the code of student conduct currently in use at the school. A three-stage sample clustering was used to obtain the samples of students (N = 2,216), parents (N = 100), and teachers (N = 115) who were surveyed using three distinct but comparable questionnaires. Data were analyzed using t test and ANOVA. ^ After reviewing the results of the analysis of the questionnaire no significant differences were noted which set any one group apart from the others. Each group demonstrated acceptance of the code as written and implemented. It was concluded that Chinese culture and tradition might be stronger than initially thought. This is an important finding as schools in Taiwan move toward teaching democracy and independence to their students. ^

The *validation of an instrument for the assessment of study behaviors of high school students

The purpose of this study is to validate the Study Behavior Inventory-High School, an instrument designed to measure study behaviors of high school students and to determine the stability of its scores across populations and across grades. Numerous studies have shown the relationship between the level of students' use of appropriate study behaviors and their levels of academic achievement and this is particularly relevant at a time of increasing demands for school and teacher accountability for their students' academic achievement. ^ The instrument was administered to 3,336 students in grades 9 through 12 in four high schools in diverse parts of the United States. Factor analysis yielded a four factor structure for the instrument and evidence for its construct validity was obtained using convergent and discriminant methods. The four factors include academic self-perception and feelings of low self-efficacy, academic preparation behaviors, time management, and the social nature of taking tests and studying. Internal consistency reliability for the scores on each of the four factors was calculated and found to range between .68 and .87. Finally, confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable levels of fit between the factor structure obtained in this study and an earlier one obtained during a pilot study using 800 participants. ^ The SBI-HS appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for the measure of study behaviors in high school students. ^

Participation in a positive youth development program and multi -problem alternative high school students' transformative goals: An investigation of the theoretical and methodological utility and validity of the Transformative Goal Attainment (TGAS)

There is a growing body of literature that provides evidence for the efficacy of positive youth development programs in general and preliminary empirical support for the efficacy of the Changing Lives Program (CLP) in particular. This dissertation sought to extend previous efforts to develop and preliminarily examine the Transformative Goal Attainment Scale (TGAS) as a measure of participant empowerment in the promotion of positive development. Consistent with recent advances in the use of qualitative research methods, this dissertation sought to further investigate the utility of Relational Data Analysis (RDA) for providing categorizations of qualitative open-ended response data. In particular, a qualitative index of Transformative Goals, TG, was developed to complement the previously developed quantitative index of Transformative Goal Attainment (TGA), and RDA procedures for calculating reliability and content validity were refined. Second, as a Stage I pilot/feasibility study this study preliminarily examined the potentially mediating role of empowerment, as indexed by the TGAS, in the promotion of positive development. ^ Fifty-seven participants took part in this study, forty CLP intervention participants and seventeen control condition participants. All 57 participants were administered the study's measures just prior to and just following the fall 2003 semester. This study thus used a short-term longitudinal quasi-experimental research design with a comparison control group. ^ RDA procedures were refined and applied to the categorization of open-ended response data regarding participants' transformative goals (TG) and future possible selves (PSQ-QE). These analyses revealed relatively strong, indirect evidence for the construct validity of the categories as well as their theoretically meaningful structural organization, thereby providing sufficient support for the utility of RDA procedures in the categorization of qualitative open-ended response data. ^ In addition, transformative goals (TG) and future possible selves (PSQ-QE), and the quantitative index of perceived goal attainment (TGA) were evaluated as potential mediators of positive development by testing their relationships to other indices of positive intervention outcome within a four-step method involving both analysis of variance (ANOVA and RMANOVAs) and regression analysis. Though more limited in scope than the efforts at the development and refinement of the measures of these mediators, the results were also promising. ^

A comparison study of the English III/American Literature success of African American high school students and that of students whose home language is Haitian Creole

The purpose of the study was to compare the English III success of students whose home language is Haitian Creole (SWHLIHC) with that of the more visible African American high school students in the Miami Dade County Public Schools System, in an effort to offer insight that might assist educators in facilitating the educational success of SWHLIHC in American Literature class.^ The study was guided by two important theories on how students interact with and learn from literature. They are Reader Response Theory which advocates giving students the opportunity to become involved in the literature experience (Rosenblatt, 1995), and Critical Literacy, a theory developed by Paolo Freire and Henry Giroux, which espouses a critical approach to analysis of society that enables people to analyze social problems through lenses that would reveal social inequities and assist in transforming society into a more equitable entity.^ Data for the study: 10th grade reading FCAT scores, English III/American Literature grades, and Promotion to English IV records for the school year 2010-2011 were retrieved from the records division of the Miami Dade County Public Schools System. The study used a quantitative methods approach, the central feature of which was an ex post facto design with hypotheses (Newman, Newman, Brown, & McNeely, 2006). The ex post facto design with hypotheses was chosen because the researcher postulated hypotheses about the relationships that might exist between the performances of SWHLIHC and those of African American students on the three above mentioned variables. This type of design supported the researcher's purpose of comparing these performances.^ One way analysis of variance (ANOVA), two way ANOVAs, and chi square tests were used to examine the two groups' performances on the 10th grade reading FCAT, their English III grades, and their promotion to English IV. ^ The study findings show that there was a significant difference in the performance of SWHLIHC and African American high school students on all three independent variables. SWHLIHC performed significantly higher on English III success and promotion to English IV. African American high school students performed significantly higher on the reading FCAT.^

The effects of an augmented art curriculum on the attitudes of high school art students toward diversity in art

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an augmented art curriculum on high school art students to determine if those receiving it had more positive attitudes toward diversity in art and used diversity in their art more than students receiving traditional instruction. This study was conducted in a South Florida public high school, with beginning art students. Using a posttest-only control group design and ANOVA (a = .05), it was found that students (n = 54) receiving an augmented art curriculum did not have significantly higher scores on the Attitudes About Art questionnaire than students (n = 57) receiving traditional instruction F (1, 91) =.00, p > .05. However, using the Checklist of Cultural References in Student Art to evaluate student work it was found that there was a significant teacher effect F (1, 30) = 14.14, p

An evaluation of a curriculum response to the State of Florida mandate for computer literacy at a large comprehensive high school in Dade County, Florida

Minimum Student Performance Standards in Computer Literacy and Science were passed by the Florida Legislature through the Educational Reform Act of 1983. This act mandated that all Florida high school graduates receive training in computer literacy. Schools and school systems were charged with the task of determining the best methods to deliver this instruction to their students. The scope of this study is to evaluate one school's response to the state of Florida's computer literacy mandate. The study was conducted at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, located in Dade County, Florida. The administration of Miami Palmetto Senior High School chose to develop and implement a new program to comply with the state mandate - integrating computer literacy into the existing biology curriculum. The study evaluated the curriculum to determine if computer literacy could be integrated successfully and meet both the biology and computer literacy objectives. The findings in this study showed that there were no significant differences between biology scores of the students taking the integrated curriculum and those taking a traditional curriculum of biology. Student in the integrated curriculum not only met the biology objectives as well as those in the traditional curriculum, they also successfully completed the intended objectives for computer literacy. Two sets of objectives were successfully completed in the integrated classes in the same amount of time used to complete one set of objectives in the traditional biology classes. Therefore, integrated curriculum was the more efficient means of meeting the intended objectives of both biology and computer literacy.

High school sexuality conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

High school sexuality conference

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Emotions run high upon hearing of ERA defeat

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

High school speak-out

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Cabinet-making class at a vocational high school

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

Carpentry shop at Eli Whitney vocational high school

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].

High school students

Inscriptions: Verso: [stamped] Photograph by Freda Leinwand. [463 West Street, Studio 229G, New York, NY 10014].