Browsing by Subject "Academic achievement"
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Item A comparative study of over-achieving and under-achieving ninth-grade students(Texas Tech University, 1961-05) Darter, Clarence Leslie,Not availableItem A comparative study of student retention and academic success based on participation in orientation and support programs(Texas Tech University, 1989-05) Logan, Suzanne GatewoodInstitutions of higher education now realize the necessity of assisting underprepared freshman students in order to enable them to adjust and persist at their chosen institutions. Universities and colleges are experimenting with various types of programming for these students. Developmental theories assert that the students' present stages of development and past developmental resolutions, whether positive or negative, affect the resolutions of future developmental tasks. Orientation or support programs must be based on the developmental theories in order to meet the students where they are developmentally and assist their continuing developmental process. Environmental "fit" also has a bearing on students' adjustments to a chosen institution. Opportunities to interact with the environment are needed parts of orientation or support programs. The amount of experience students have with their chosen envirormient may play an important role in the degree of college adjustment, perseverance, and success, or conversely, maladjustment, attrition, and failure. The multifaceted adjustment process is critical for retention at an institution of higher education and success in a chosen program. Programs that enhance freshman adjustment have far-reaching effects on freshman students. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a positive affect on academic performance, persistence, and/or social adjustment and institutional attachment as a result of participation in Transition, a three-week summer program, or in Freshman Orientation, a two-day orientation program. Comparisons were made of matched pairs of conditionally-admitted students having participated in the two programs.Item A comparison of the self concepts of exceptional and nonexceptional students in various classroom settings(Texas Tech University, 1978-05) Barger, Janice Diane FrizzellNot availableItem A model of college instructors' demandingness and responsiveness and effects on students' achievements outcomes(Texas Tech University, 2003-08) Mullen, GayleThis study attempted to answer the question, "How do students' perceptions of the demandingness and responsiveness of instructors directly and indirectly affect students' achievement outcomes in their college classes through the psychological components of motivation and use of metacognitive strategies?" This question is based on studies conducted by Baumrind (1971, 1991) that identified correlations between the demandingness and responsiveness of parents and adolescent behavior, and Williams (2000) who examined the relationships between demandingness and responsiveness of advisors and graduate students' experiences. It is also based on research about the components of self-regulation and the roles these factors play in students' academic achievement. Using a survey instrument to measure students' perceptions of learning, satisfaction, motivation, use of metacognitive strategies, and instructors' demandingness and responsiveness, analysis of the data was then conducted using SPSS and LISREL.8. Latent variables of responsiveness, motivation, metacognitive strategy use, and students' achievement outcomes were defined by three observed variables each. The latent construct of demandingness was represented by one observed variable. Although the observed variables measuring demandingness should be expanded, the results of this study did find latent variables were well defined by the observed variables and that relationships did exist between the latent variables as predicted. Responsiveness and demandingness of college instructors also appeared to influence, directly and indirectly, the achievement outcomes of students. Areas that need further research include examining the relationship between demandingness and responsiveness as well as studies of samples in which there is a larger variability in students' grades so that problems in these areas could be investigated more thoroughly. This study is important because improvement in instructors' teaching will benefit students. If the results of the study can help identify the processes used by academically successful learners, instructors may be able to adopt methods of teaching that will assist students to succeed in this environment. Creating an environment in which instructors' set high expectations for students while nurturing and supporting students, should increase students' satisfaction and learning in the college course and add to the knowledge base about students' motivation and use of metacognitive strategies leading to positive achievement outcomes.Item A profile of persisters: a study of the participants in the Texas Tech transition program for conditionally-admitted students(Texas Tech University, 1991-05) Copeland, Judy Ann CaldwellFor four years from 1987 to 1991, the researcher would encounter conditionally-admitted students from the Texas Tech Transition Program in the library, at the University Center, in the bookstore, or in line at the bursar's office. The students reported enjoying classes and making progress toward their chosen degrees and they asked about the status of the Transition Program as well as commenting on how it had helped them. Logan's 1989 study of the effect of the Transition Program after a year found that in comparison to a control group of conditionally-admitted students who participated in Freshman Orientation, the Transition Program made no significant difference in the first year academic performance, persistence, or social adjustment and institutional attachment of the participants. This finding, however, did not seem to be congruent with the personal reports of the participants. Dewey (1933) defined a problem as anything that "perplexes and challenges the mind so that it makes belief ..uncertain" (p. 27). Guba (1978)defined conceptual problems as ones that stem from "two juxtaposed elements that are conceptually or theoretically inconsistent" (p. 45). The apparent success of these conditionally-admitted students perplexed and challenged the concept of conditional admission, and the success of the participants seemed inconsistent with the findings of the first evaluative study of the Transition Program.Item A study of the relationship between mental ability and academic achievement(Texas Tech University, 1968-08) Kelsey, Ann EliotNot availableItem Academic disidentification in African American college students : an exploratory investigation of the role of teacher trust, parental racial socialization, and gender(2014-08) McClain, Shannon Elizabeth; Cokley, Kevin O. (Kevin O'Neal), 1969-The purpose of this study was to explore whether academic disidentification (i.e., the relation between ASC and GPA), differed based on students’ gender and reported level of parental racial-ethnic socialization and teacher trust. This study was exploratory in nature, as few researchers have examined the relation between parental racial-ethnic socialization and academic outcomes or the relation between teacher trust and academic outcomes. Secondary goals of this study included and examination of (1) the relation between racial socialization and academic outcomes, (2) the relation between teacher trust and academic outcomes, (3) the relation between parenting constructs (i.e., racial socialization and parental warmth) and teacher trust, and (4) the role of parental warmth as a variable that potentially buffers negative child outcomes or enhances positive child outcomes. Participants included 319 African American students (120 males, 199 females) recruited from a large, southwestern, predominantly white university. Results indicated the presence of academic disidentification as unique to upperclassmen males (i.e., the relation between ASC and GPA was significant for females and underclassmen males, but not upperclassmen males). Parental messages of promotion of mistrust were found to significantly moderate the relation between ASC and GPA. Further, in examining the influence of the combination of teacher trust x sex on the relation between ASC and GPA, a significant three-way interaction was present. Teacher trust was also found to be a significant predictor of GPA, with gender significantly moderating this relation. Gender differences were present for teacher trust, but there were not differences between underclassmen and upperclassmen. Racial socialization variables were not found to significantly predict GPA. However, two types of racial socialization (promotion of mistrust and egalitarianism) and parental warmth were found to be significant predictors of teacher trust. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.Item Achievement relevant personality : relations with the Big Five and validation of an efficient instrument(2012-08) Briley, Daniel Andrew; Tucker-Drob, Elliot Max; Buss, David M.A plethora of personality constructs have been proposed, and associated measures developed, to capture behavioral tendencies relevant to academic achievement. For example, individual differences in aspects of motivation, curiosity, studying behaviors and evaluations of the importance of school have been linked with achievement. However, there is little understanding of whether and how different achievement-relevant personality measures (APMs) relate to one another or to broader dimensions of personality. The current project examined the dimensionality of achievement-relevant personality constructs, their associations with the Big Five personality traits, and associations with academic performance. In Study 1, 214 college students were measured on 36 independent APMs along with a well-established, measure of the Big Five traits. Factor analytic results supported the convergent and discriminant validity of five latent dimensions: performance and mastery approaches to learning, self-doubt, effort, and hungry mind. Each factor and the individual scales that composed the factors possessed a distinctive pattern of associations with the Big Five. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience had the most consistent associations with APMs. Based on the results of the first study, we next constructed a more efficient scale of APMs – the Multidimensional Achievement-Relevant Personality Scale (MAPS). In Study 2, we replicated the factor structure of the MAPS and its associations with the Big Five in a sample of 359 individuals. Additionally, we validated the MAPS with four indicators of academic performance. Although the factors assessed by the MAPS overlap somewhat with general indicators of personality, there was some evidence of incremental prediction of achievement.Item Addressing the social nature of how students learn and teachers teach : promoting healthy socioemotional development and academic success in the classroom(2009-08) Ice, Charlotte Lee; Schallert, Diane L.; Svinicki, MarillaThis report will illustrate the positive and negative aspects of the social nature of learning through a review of sociocultural related research. In consideration of the billion dollar issues associated with the current state of students’ mental health, and the poor educational experiences of low income students, it seems the current focus on academic achievement in isolation, isn’t working. Socioemotional elements underlie the cognitive processes involved in all higher levels of thinking and problems solving. From a sociocultural perspective, for optimal learning to occur, teachers and students must establish positive affective relationships. Through greater understanding of effective teaching practices that consider the socioemotional elements involved learning, and universal interventions promoting positive child and youth development, schools can promote children’s social and emotional wellbeing while simultaneously improving academic achievement.Item Administration of high school competency requirements for chemical and petroleum engineers(Texas Tech University, 1984-12) Rollins, James ThaydasNot availableItem Adolescent academic achievement in Chinese immigrant families : the direct effects of individual and dyadic acculturation processes and the indirect effects of family obligation and academic engagement(2011-08) Ammon, Natalie Younok 1981-; Kim, Su YeongThe Asian immigrant population is growing more rapidly than any other group in the U.S. (Social Science Data Analysis Network, 2004), and Chinese Americans represent the largest Asian subgroup (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). Assuming recent trends continue, the number of first- and second-generation Chinese children will increase dramatically, and their developmental needs will demand special attention. Using structural equation modeling to analyze two waves of data from a study on 444 Chinese families, this project aims to provide a better understanding of the relations between family members’ adaptations to life in the U.S. and adolescents’ academic grade point average (GPA). Chinese children of immigrants have been found to succeed in school (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999). However, little is known about the ways in which their academic achievement may be related to acculturation, the process through which an individual or group makes socio-cultural or behavioral adjustments through repeated contact with another group or culture (Gordon, 1964; Berry, 2003). Exploring the variation in acculturative processes among Chinese immigrant family members and identifying how the various acculturative strategies may relate to adolescent academic achievement would bridge a gap in the extant literature. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to assess whether fathers’, mothers’, and adolescents’ individual acculturation to American and Chinese cultures were related to adolescents’ GPA. The second goal was to test for moderation effects in these relations. Interaction terms were created for parents’ acculturation in relation to adolescents’ acculturation to test whether the connections between adolescents’ acculturation to the American and Chinese cultures and adolescents’ GPA were conditional on either fathers’ or mothers’ American or Chinese orientation. Third, this study included two culturally salient factors as mediators of potential relations found between individual and dyadic acculturative processes and adolescents’ academic achievement. These mediators were adolescents’ sense of family obligation and adolescents’ level of behavioral academic engagement. The fourth and final objective was to assess whether there was invariance by adolescent gender in the structural model.Item The age and condition of Texas high schools as related to student academic achievement(2008-12) Blincoe, James Maurice, 1963-; Ovando, Martha N., 1954-There are many inadequate high school facilities in Texas, and unfortunately many of these are found in areas of low socioeconomic status and high minority percentages. According to a Texas Comptroller’s Office (2006) report on the conditions of school facilities in Texas, roughly 40% were considered in the categories of fair, poor, or needs replacing, with the average age of these facilities being 34.5 years old. Most states, including Texas, have not properly assessed high school buildings for indoor air quality, lighting, acoustical control, heating and air conditioning, electrical systems, or secondary science laboratories. It is also not clear if these conditions and the age of the building have an impact on student academic achievement in Texas. This study investigated three research questions: (a) the relationship between the building condition of public high schools in Texas and student achievement scores in science, mathematics, and English language arts as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS); (b) the relationship between the building age of public high schools in Texas and student achievement scores in science, mathematics, and English language arts as measured by TAKS; and (c) the relationship between building age and condition of public high schools in Texas and graduation rate? This quantitative study utilized an ex post facto methodology to examine the relationship between the high school facilities and standardized test scores. This study sampled high schools whose data were presented in the 2006 Texas Comptrollers report and compared to TAKS data. The instrument utilized was developed and tested by the Texas Comptroller’s Office. This study utilized an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a regression model. Statistically significant findings showed a relationship between excellent condition of a school, as compared to schools in lesser condition, and student TAKS scores in science, math, and English language arts scores. Age of the school also had a significant relationship: Schools over 49 years old had a significant impact on student TAKS scores in science, math, and English language arts. Similar findings showed a negative correlation between schools over 49 years old and graduation rate. Schools in excellent condition had a positive correlation to student graduation rate. Determining the effect of inadequate high school facilities on student achievement can help inform the education and legislative communities of any correlations between the condition and age of a high school building and the academic achievement of the students in these buildings. Providing school facilities that are safe and provide quality learning conditions are issues that must be addressed in Texas.Item Am I as smart as I think I am?: A study of the relationship among metacognition, academic skills, and academic achievement of college freshmen(1991-05) Platt, Gail Malone; Broderick, Victor; Bell, Nancy; Sorell, Gwen; Anderson, Edward; Runnels, Mary TallentThis study investigated the relationships among metacognition, academic skills (In reading and writing), and academic achievement for college freshmen. Metacognition, defined as Introspective knowledge including person-, task-, and strategy-specific Information about cognitive states and their operation or "knowing about knowing" (Brown, 1978), has been found to be a characteristic of cognitive efficiency and effectiveness; moreover, developmental differences in metacognltive knowledge have been identified with the research literature indicating that immature or mentally-Impaired learners fail at cognitive tasks, not because they lack the ability to perform basic mental calculations, but because they lack metacognltive knowledge. Developmental theorists also have identified metacognltive knowledge as an Important factor In adult cognitive behavior. A pen-and-paper Instrument to measure metacognltive knowledge pertinent to college was developed and administered to 134 college freshmen; these freshmen also had taken the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) test, and their semester grade point averages (GPAs) were collected. As predicted, there was a significant relationship between students' introspective knowledge about their own skills and their GPA; for the 13-item Likert-scale measure of general person-, task-, and strategy-knowledge, the relationship with GPA was not significant. Although introspective knowledge about skills was weakly related to achievement. Introspective knowledge was not as strong a predictor of grades as were academic skills (TASP scores in reading and writing) or age. However, Introspective knowledge about skills was a significant determinant of grades, independent of age. Support was not found for the hypotheses that academically-skilled students would have greater metacognltive knowledge than would academically-unskilled students or that older students would have greater metacognltive knowledge than younger students. Age was found to be predictive of achievement. Results are discussed, and recommendations for future research are presented.Item An analysis of sex-role stereotyping and pupil achievement(Texas Tech University, 1980-12) Whitfield, CNot availableItem An analysis of the retention rate among seventh graders in a random sample of junior high schools in Texas(Texas Tech University, 1985-08) Hannel, Clarence WayneNot availableItem An investigation into reading habits of Texas middle and high school english language arts teachersDonaldson, Tammy Cene FrancisItem Arts participation and academic achievement(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Morgan, Jimmie SalesArts education is a controversial topic in the realm of education reform: the need for it, the value of it, the teaching of it, which students receive it and at what point in their education are all areas of interest about arts education. New theoretical concepts about cognition and learning have spurred new research into creativity/divergent thinking/imagination which in turn has led to attempts to reform arts education. Ongoing research indicates that arts education may be far more important than previously considered. In order to promote changes in the perception of the value of authentic arts education in current educational practice, evidence that students who participate in authentic arts education can do as well or better on accountability measures of the core curriculum for reading, writing, mathematics and elementary science is needed. This evidence can also point out one effective method of developing creativity: arts education. If, as has been proposed, the survival of the human species has always depended on creative innovations and solutions to physical and social complexities, then encouraging the development and training of creativity through the process of education is perhaps the most important goal of the process. This study was conducted in a private school. The academic achievement of thirty-four participants in a theatre arts program were compared with thirty-three students who did not participate in the theatre program. The statistical analysis of the study consisted of two parts, the descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study provided at least partial support for the enhancing effect of theatre education on student academic performance. Students who participated in the program had better academic performance in mathematics and general academic performance defined as the Total Grade Equivalent Score and the Total Normal Curve Equivalent scores produced by the Terra Nova standardized test than those who do not participate in the theatre education program.Item Arts participation and academic achievement(2005-12) Morgan, Jimmie S.; Lan, William; Price, Margaret A.; Marks, Jonathan; Dolter, Gerald T.Arts education is a controversial topic in the realm of education reform: the need for it, the value of it, the teaching of it, which students receive it and at what point in their education are all areas of interest about arts education. New theoretical concepts about cognition and learning have spurred new research into creativity/divergent thinking/imagination which in turn has led to attempts to reform arts education. Ongoing research indicates that arts education may be far more important than previously considered. In order to promote changes in the perception of the value of authentic arts education in current educational practice, evidence that students who participate in authentic arts education can do as well or better on accountability measures of the core curriculum for reading, writing, mathematics and elementary science is needed. This evidence can also point out one effective method of developing creativity: arts education. If, as has been proposed, the survival of the human species has always depended on creative innovations and solutions to physical and social complexities, then encouraging the development and training of creativity through the process of education is perhaps the most important goal of the process. This study was conducted in a private school. The academic achievement of thirty-four participants in a theatre arts program were compared with thirty-three students who did not participate in the theatre program. The statistical analysis of the study consisted of two parts, the descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study provided at least partial support for the enhancing effect of theatre education on student academic performance. Students who participated in the program had better academic performance in mathematics and general academic performance defined as the Total Grade Equivalent Score and the Total Normal Curve Equivalent scores produced by the Terra Nova standardized test than those who do not participate in the theatre education program.Item Assessing the effectiveness of a computer-based, online social-networking intervention for adolescents with test anxiety(2010-08) Baker, Richard Wes, 1977-; Sander, Janay Boswell; Keith, Tim Z.; Stark, Kevin D.; Robinson, Dan; Spinuzzi, ClayThis dissertation investigated the effectiveness of a newly designed intervention for adolescents with test anxiety. This CBT-based intervention is comprised of two parts: self-guided psychoeducational computer modules, and an online social networking group. The intervention was designed to provide adolescents with an effective means of reducing test anxiety symptoms, delivered through a familiar medium—the Internet. This study was conducted in classrooms in Houston, TX, with high school student participants. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: those receiving the computer modules component only, those receiving the computer modules and social networking group, and those receiving no treatment (control). Test anxiety levels were assessed with the self-report Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, et al., 1980). Changes in test anxiety levels over time were compared to changes in a measure of academic achievement. The author compared changes in test anxiety level among the three groups using repeated measures ANOVA. It was hypothesized that participants in the two treatment groups would show improvements in test anxiety symptoms over time, while those in the control condition would not. It was further hypothesized that decreases in test anxiety symptoms would correlate with increases in academic achievement. Participants in all three groups showed some decrease in anxiety symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences between groups; however, there were some intriguing trends in the computer module only group, which showed a clinically meaningful, but not statistically different, decrease in anxiety. There was no association between changes in test anxiety symptoms and academic achievement. Results of this study suggest that this intervention may not currently present an effective option for treating the symptoms of test anxiety. Results may be used to make data-driven improvements to address the limitations and unforeseen weaknesses of this intervention approach.Item Assisting students for lecture preparation: a web-based approach(2005) Herrick, Brad Jay; Lagowski, J. J.Students continue to arrive at universities with poor study and time management skills: they are not proactive in their studies while professors are not willing to hold them accountable for their shortcomings. The result is a ‘dumbing down’ of the course. This can be defeated by student preparation prior to attending lecture, especially in very largelecture classrooms (N>400). In fact, it provides a process to ‘dumb up’ the course. A Web-based system for providing content specific lecture preparations (termed ‘Previews’) was developed and tested in three courses in a large southwestern research institution. Significance was found in final course achievement by treatment levels, including variations by the total number of participations in the lecture preparations. Method of implementation and results are discussed, including future considerations.