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Character, computers, and classroom community: A technology-based approach for building classroom community in Title I elementary schools
DISSERTATION

, Capella University, United States

Capella University . Awarded

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of character education delivery modes in creating learning communities in selected Title I elementary schools. School accountability reports provided data to match two Title I schools in Volusia County, Florida. Invited parents, guardians, teachers, and intact groups of students from Grade 4 and Grade 5 completed informed consent forms prior to participation. Three hypotheses were tested: (a) There was no significant difference in the number of inappropriate classroom behaviors of fourth- and fifth-grade students who were instructed in character education using the technology-based delivery mode and of students who received paper-based instruction, (b) there was no significant difference in students' perceptions of classroom community resulting from technology- and paper-based character education instruction, and (c) there was no significant difference in teachers' perceptions of classroom community resulting from technology- and paper-based character education instruction. Technology-based and paper-based delivery modes of the MindOH! character education program were presented to participants, employing the quasi-experimental, counterbalanced design. Teacher and student paper-based surveys, administered three times during the study, measured their perceptions of the relative effectiveness of delivery modes in creating classroom community. Nonparametric chi-square analysis was used to determine the relative effectiveness of character education delivery modes in reducing the number of inappropriate behaviors. Data analysis resulted in the failure to reject the first null hypothesis (Ho1). Analysis of variance was employed to determine the relative effectiveness of the technology- and paper-based delivery modes for student and teacher perceptions of classroom community development. The researcher rejected the second null hypothesis (Ho2), as student perceptions of the relative effectiveness of the paper-based treatment were statistically significant. Analysis of the study data failed to support rejection of the third null hypothesis (Ho3). The data did not support the relative effectiveness of the technology-based treatment. Research studies documenting the use of technology as a means to implement character education are limited. A multiple classroom study of character education implementation using common and equivalent program training with varied modes of delivery, technology- and paper-based, contributes to the body of knowledge regarding the instructional effectiveness and the development of classroom community.

Citation

Adragna, S.R. Character, computers, and classroom community: A technology-based approach for building classroom community in Title I elementary schools. Ph.D. thesis, Capella University. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from .

This record was imported from ProQuest on October 23, 2013. [Original Record]

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