An examination of reading and mathematic achievement among second grade students who have received instruction from either teachers who have been trained in choice theory/reality therapy methods or teachers who have not been trained
by Hale, Jane V., Ph.D., DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY, 2011, 107 pages; 3466459

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to see if second grade students who were taught by teachers trained in choice theory/reality therapy (CT/RT) methods had higher achievement scores in mathematics/reading compared to students who were taught by teachers who were not trained. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model suggests that school counselors need to active in the systemic processes of the school to provide comprehensive services to a large number of students (ASCA, 2005). According to Hatch & Bowers (2002), the primary mission of school counselors is to support and encourage academic achievement. The intent of this study was to gain information about the effectiveness of the CT/RT training program through measuring student achievement scores. Interaction effects of gender were also examined.

This study was descriptive in nature and used retrospective data. The participants (N=83) consisted of second grade students who took the TerraNova, Multiple Assessments test in April 2008. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted using IBM SPSS 19 to measure the main effect of achievement in mathematics/reading and CT/RT training status of teachers. A separate ANOVA was utilized to measure the interaction effect of gender on mathematics/reading achievement and training status of teachers. No significance was found in both analyses. Based on existing research, there is a lot of support for using CT/RT methods in education to improve the social climate (Glasser, 2010), which ultimately has a positive effect on achievement (Brookover, Beady, Flood, Schweitzer, & Wisenbaker, 1977; Haynes, Emmons, & Ben-Avie, 1997). Concurrent with other research studies on teacher trainings, lack of intensity often has an effect on the implementation of new learning to the classroom (Jacob & Lefgran, 2004). The teacher training program in this study was only six hours and did not offer follow-up trainings, or a collective plan to put new knowledge into practice. The findings are discussed related to current research, limitations, and recommendations for future studies.
 
AdviserJoseph Maola
SchoolDUQUESNE UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 72-11, p. , Sep 2011
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsMathematics education; Early childhood education; School counseling; Reading instruction
Publication Number3466459
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