The impacts resulting from the integration of students with moderate-to-severe disabilities into a contemporary technology education program are described in this study. The research centered around questions that addressed impacts on students with disabilities, on regular students, on teachers, and on parents of students with disabilities. The study took place in a ninth-grade technology education class and involved two students with moderate-to-severe disabilities. One subject was a 15-year-old male student who was autistic, had a speech handicap, and was mildly retarded. The other student was a 17-year-old male who was emotionally disturbed and learning disabled. Data were collected through classroom observations, videotaped sessions, and interviews with teachers and parents. Notes taken during observations and from videotaped sessions were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Interviews were also transcribed. The transcripts were reviewed, and significant data were transferred to interview synopsis sheets for incorporation with the other findings. No major problems were found with the integration of the students with disabilities into the technology education program. The students with disabilities caused no discipline problems and were readily accepted by the regular students. However, because the students with disabilities were not actively involved in many of the activities of the class, much of their …

The State of Texas implemented the No Pass-No Play Rule within House Bill 72 in the spring semester of 1985. The addition of this section to the state education code was a part of the state's efforts toward educational reform. The perceived rationale implied in House Bill 72 is that extracurricular activities can inspire student motivation and increase student achievement. The No Pass-No Play Rule seems to imply that there is a relationship between student achievement and extracurricular activities, and further implies that a student can be motivated to achieve by the desire to continue to participate in extracurricular activities. The problem of this study was a comparison of academic achievement for high school pupils involved in extracurricular activities and those who did not participate in extracurricular activities under the Texas No Pass-No Play Rule. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of extracurricular activities on the academic achievement of high school students, specifically looking at the years 1983 through 1986, when the No Pass-No Play Rule was implemented. This study was an ex post facto study with data obtained from a cooperating Texas school district. Students were matched on critical variables, and their scores on a …

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the scores on the quantitative portion of the SAT for 110 students and these students' math teachers' ratings on the TTAS, (2) to determine the nature of the relationship of the students' SAT scores to their teachers' TTAS ratings, and (3) to determine the nature of the relationship of the students' SAT scores to their sex. It was hypothesized that (1) there would be no significant relationship between a student's math score as measured by the quantitative portion of the SAT and the effectiveness of the student's math teacher as measured by the TTAS, and (2) there would be no significant relationship between a student's math score as measured by the quantitative portion of the SAT and the student's sex. The 110 subjects (60 males and 50 females) In this study took the quantitative portion of the SAT during the 1986-87 school year. This sample was drawn from a large suburban high school in the North Texas area. The effectiveness of the math teachers who taught the 110 students was measured by the Texas Teachers Appraisal System (TTAS). The statistical analyses indicated that (1) there was no significant relationship between a …

Comparison and contrast of perceptions of current and ideal levels of Involvement with 50 tasks by 45 district level school library media supervisors in Texas public schools was accomplished using a survey instrument eliciting information in three areas: Curriculum and Instruction, Public Relations and Communication, Actainistration and Budget. Using tasks based on a Texas Education Agency publication, i, tests for correlated means were used to determine statistically significant differences between means for current and ideal levels of involvement for supervisors grouped by age, degree and certification as well as for the group as a whole. Findings showed that most demographic groupings perceived a need for greater involvement with various curriculum planning and design activities, evaluation of noncertlficated library media personnel and with various public relations activities.

The purposes of this study were (I) to determine the relationship of teacher temperament to effectiveness in the classroom and (2) to determine the relationship of the teacher's temperament to the teacher's sex, to the grade level taught, to the area taught (special education or regular education), and to the subject taught. It was hypothesized that (I) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and his effectiveness in the classroom, (2) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and sex, (3) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and the grade level he teaches (elementary or secondary), (4) there is no significant relationship in the teacher's temperament and the area he teaches (special education or regular education), and (5) there is no significant relationship between the teacher's temperament and the subject he teaches.

One purpose of this study was to determine whether any differences in immediate achievement or retention existed between students using manipulatives and students not using manipulatives. Also addressed in this study is whether or not the use of manipulatives is more beneficial for girls than boys and whether the use of manipulatives is more beneficial for low-ability students than for high-ability students. Students selected for this study were from a large suburban school district in Texas. The students were from eight intact classes, four of which were designated as the experimental group and the other four as the control group. The sample consisted of one hundred eighty-seven students. All students were tested with a test developed by the researcher. This same test was administered as a pretest, posttest, and retention test. The following supplemental data were also gathered on the students: mathematics scores from the California Test of Basic Skills and scores from the mathematics section of the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills test. Analysis of the data revealed no statistical difference in the mean scores of students instructed with or without manipulatives when the test was administered immediately after instruction. Nor was there any statistical difference in the …

The primary purpose of this study was to compare regular classroom instruction which used Guided Mental Imagery (GMI) to a non-GMI teaching method. This comparison was expected to yield data which would provide insights relating to the potential of GMI as a useful and effective instructional strategy. Quasi-experimental research methods were followed. The experimental design was a modified "post-test only control group design." Two-hundred-four students in naturally occurring in tact classes formed the experimental and control groups. All groups received instruction in identical science/health content. Two parallel post-tests were administered to all students. Post-test "A" was given immediately after instruction to measure learning acquisition. Post-test "B" was given four weeks later to measure retention of learning. Means for test scores were grouped according to treatment and sub-grouped by the variables: IQ, handedness, identified learning disability, and intellectual giftedness. T_ tests for differences between independent means were conducted. Students' acquisition of basic academic content, when instructed with GMI methodology, was found to differ significantly from students' acquisition of the same content with non-GMI instruction. No statistically significant differences based on instructional methodology were found for content retention. The investigator concluded that GMI instruction may increase learning. Although measures of retention did …

The purpose of this study was to determine whether any differences in academic achievement existed between full-day and half-day kindergarten students at the end of their kindergarten and first-grade school years. Two public schools considered comparable in size, philosophy, and socioeconomic levels of a large school district in Texas participated in the study. One of the schools provided a full-day kindergarten program; the other school provided a half-day kindergarten program. Kindergarten students from each of the two schools were match-paired according to birthday and sex. The total sample size was fifty students. All students were tested in December, 1985, with the Metropolitan Achievement Test. Preprimer Level, and in May, 1986, the end of the kindergarten year, with the Primer Level of the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Metropolitan Achievement Test. Primary I Level, was additionally administered to the subjects in April, 1987, at the end of their first-grade school year. During each testing period, the subjects were administered the Reading, Language, and Math subtests of the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The following supplemental data also were gathered on the students: The Metropolitan Readiness Test II scores and the TEAMS test scores. The data obtained from the testing batteries were statistically analyzed using …

The problem of this study was to determine if the teachers of Algebra I rated highest and lowest according to the Texas Teacher Appraisal System differed significantly in a measure of achievement. The analyses indicated that there were significant differences in achievement between the classes taught by the highest and lowest ranked teachers.

The purpose of this study was to describe factors affecting the use of instructional ideas by secondary teachers in the academic year following a series of staff development sessions designed to present information on effective teaching practices. The research questions addressed the characteristics of information selected for use in classroom practice and the characteristics and relative degree of influence of salient factors affecting the use of ideas. Ten teachers from a large suburban school district in North Texas were selected for this study. Qualitative techniques were used to collect data. Each teacher was interviewed three times and observed in the classroom setting. Documents such as lesson plans were analyzed as a third source of data. Several factors evolved from the data. In varying degrees, these factors predicted teacher use of new instructional practices. Some factors dealt with the teacher's level of understanding and internalization of the information. These factors were labeled as instrumentality, congruence, and analytical thinking. Two other factors which were fairly strong predictors were labeled cost and intrinsic motivation. Cost concerned the amount of time or effort required to implement new ideas versus the perceived benefit to either teacher or student. Intrinsic motivation concerned the personal desire a …

Test items supplied with seven textbooks approved for use in Computer Science I and II curricula in Texas public schools were categorized by Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Eating was done by a panel of ten judges selected from a group of participants at a taxonomy workshop. The selection criterion was demonstration of at least 80 percent competency in item classification. Judges received a small stipend for completing the rating task. Of 2020 possible items, 998 were randomly selected for analysis. Equal percentages of items from each text were then randomly assigned to each rater. All statistical analyses were computed using SPSS/PC+ (version 2.1). In both courses, CLD frequencies decreased through the three lower levels. The percentage of questions falling in these levels was approximately 83 percent for both courses. However, the higher-level course contained almost 10 percent more Knowledge level questions than did the lower course. At the higher taxonomic levels, the decline was roughly five percent per level in CS I but erratic in CS II. Analysis by book also revealed wide differences within each course.

The problem of this study was to determine if study habits can be used to predict academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between selected study skill habits and attitudes and achievement of secondary students in English, mathematics, and spelling. The sample for this study consisted of 82 secondary school students participating in Upward Bound programs at two universities in the north Texas area in a six week period during the summer of 1988. Eighteen different high schools were represented in the study. The sizes of the schools ranged from small to very large. Instruments used were the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes, (SSHA) the Stanford Test of Academic Skills, (TASK), and the Otis-Lennon Mental Abilities Test (OLMAT). The statistical analysis indicated that the four subscores of the SSHA are not accurate predictors of academic achievement. However, some of the correlations among the subscores for the SSHA and the TASK were significant. Most noteable of these were work methods and mathematics, teacher acceptance and mathematics, and work methods and spelling. The recommendation is made that the SSHA should not be used to predict academic achievement in Upward Bound programs. Improving study habits and attitudes …

There has been extensive criticism of schools for allowing counselors to be used for duties that lie beyond defined counselor roles. The purpose of this study was to determine if counselors are still being misused today as they have allegedly been in the past. The problem was divided into nine questions in order to ascertain differences in actual and ideal roles of secondary school counselors as perceived by counselors, principals and counselor educators. The study was limited to secondary schools in the Region X Education Service Center in Texas. The study included brief definitions of roles and an extensive review of literature. Twenty-three schools from the Region X Education Service Center in Texas were chosen using a random, stratified selection process. A counselor and the principal from each of these schools were interviewed using a Q sort. Three counselor educators were randomly selected to participate from each of three universities in the area. The Q-sort technique was used in order to determine differences in actual and ideal perceptions of the counselor's role as held by counselors, principals, and counselor educators. Cohen's equation for Q sorts was used to establish correlations between the different perceptions. A t distribution for correlation was …

The purpose of this study was to determine if students who participated in language arts remediation which was infused with critical thinking activities and metacognition would make greater gains in skills and achievement than those students who were remediated with a regular language arts curriculum. The population for this study was a group of at risk students who were fourteen to sixteen years old and who were participants in the 1987 summer Youth Opportunities Unlimited project at the University of North Texas. Their progress was measured with California Achievement Test and Iowa Test of Basic Skills pretests and posttests. The organization of the study includes a statement of the problem, a review of the literature, the methods and procedures used to collect the data, the analysis of data, and a summary of the findings, conclusions, educational implications, and recommendations tor additional research. Data from the eight hypotheses were treated with an analysis of covariance. The analysis of data revealed the following: 1. The infusion of critical thinking activities and metacognition did not improve students' skills or achievement in the following areas: spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. 2. The infusion of critical thinking activities and metacognition did not improve students' skills in …

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences in basic skills maintenance between Algebra I students who used calculators during classroom mathematics instruction and Algebra I students who did not use calculators during classroom mathematics instruction. Another purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any differences in algebra achievement between Algebra I students who used calculators during classroom mathematics instruction and Algebra I students who did not use calculators during classroom mathematics instruction. This study also investigated the effects of the use of the calculator in Algebra I classes on students' attitudes toward mathematics.

The Inclusion of Texas Literature in Texas Public School Curricula advocates the organized inclusion of Texas literature in Texas public schools. The first chapter, the introduction, establishes the study's contention that Texas literature, an internationally admired body of literature, is worthy of an organized state inclusion. Another contention in the introduction is that this inclusion would offer its own needed content while reinforcing concepts and skills already mandated for social studies and English and language arts classes.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between teachers' or principals' effectiveness and their risk tendency. The population consisted of 57 principals and 115 teachers from the state of Texas from average and exemplary campuses. The exemplary campuses were those nominated by Texas Education Agency to participate in the National Exemplary School Recognition Program for the past four years. Data was generated by sending a survey packet to the 57 campuses requesting that the principal and two teachers (one who had been recently been recognized as teacher of the year and one who had never been so honored) complete the instruments. Teachers responded to a 16 item Risk Tolerance Questionnaire and principals responded to the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire and a Styles of Leadership Survey. The hypothesis that exceptional teachers will not take more risks was not upheld. It was determined that exceptional teachers do take more risks; however, there was no significant difference in scores on the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire of principals from average and exemplary campuses. The findings were that 1) exceptional teachers do take more risks, 2) age and years of experience of teachers was not significant, 3) principals from average and exemplary …

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare specific writing assignments provided in the four basal mathematics textbook series, grades six through eight, accepted by the state of Texas in 1990. The student and teachers' editions by each publisher were analyzed (1) for the total number and types of writing assignments provided, (2) to compare how the writing assignments compared with the four purposes of writing mandated in the English Language Arts Framework, Kindergarten through Grade 12 for the state of Texas, (3) to compare how the writing assignments compared with the recommendations for communication opportunities stated in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics for grades five through eight, and (4) to compare the number and types of writing assignments among the four publishers. The total number of writing assignments varied among publishers ranging from 151 to 316 in the student editions and from 147 to 523 in the teacher's editions. The findings of this study indicate that from 80 to 98 percent of the writing assignments in the student editions and from 72 to 96 percent of the writing assignments in the teacher's editions corresponded to the Informative purpose …

This research sought to discover whether minority and economically disadvantaged students are underrepresented in gifted and honors programs. Another goal was to ascertain attitudes of students and teachers currently participating in gifted and honors programs regarding: admission criteria; adequacy of teacher preparation to meet special needs of gifted and honors students; levels of needs satisfaction of gifted and honors students; perceptions of students and teachers about program modification.