Digital Commons Network^™

Supporting Student Connectedness And Social Satisfaction During Recess, Elizabeth Teasdale Wells

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This project examines the effects of how recess preparation and reflection can be focused on providing students an opportunity to connect socially and strengthen overall happiness. By investigating the role social satisfaction plays in a child’s life during recess, educators may gain knowledge about how to foster social connectedness for every child. While most studies about recess focus on a child’s level of physical activity or negative behaviors, researchers have yet to investigate recess as a place to improve a child’s well-being and social satisfaction. This study was conducted at a public elementary school through qualitative interviews and observations. Teachers, …

How To Best Support Individuals Growing Up With A Special Needs Sibling, Lauren Mcdonell

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study was to understand the emotions of a neurotypically developing sibling. This study also attempted to understand how caregivers can best support the neurotypical sibling in the areas of self-concept and overall well-being. The gap is knowledge is how to better support neurotypical developing siblings specifically in the areas of self-concept and overall well-being. Three participants were interviewed to gain insight about their experiences with their special needs sibling. Participants who participated in a support group for neurotypical developing children with a SNS were surveyed to gain insight about their experiences with the support group. Through …

Trauma Informed Teaching To Support Student Social And Emotional Needs, Tara Williams

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how a trauma informed approach to behavior that supports the emotional growth of students and meets their needs for discipline and structure within a school environment affects teachers’ negative perspectives of student behavior. This study examined the impact Rainbowdance had on teacher perception of student behavior before teacher training and after training. The participants are three lower elementary teachers at Country Charter School and additional information is provided by the International Trauma Center (ITC) staff members who are implementing Rainbowdance. The data collection was done through narrative interviews, field notes and …

The Phenomenon Of Teacher Burnout: Mitigating Its Influence On New Teachers, Kaila Sanford

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Burnout is a psychological condition with physical, emotional, and mental dimensions. Burnout often includes feelings of exhaustion, long-term fatigue, negative self-concept, despair or hopelessness, frustration, and a lack of productivity at work.

Teacher burnout is a well-known and researched field. It has been documented in the literature that teachers experience high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion, which leads to high levels of burnout and professional attrition. This study examined the incidence of burnout in new elementary school teachers and offered recommendations for changes to organizational structure that may reduce professional burnout.

For the purpose of this study five new …

Factors In Public School Settings That Result In Teacher Agency, Jessica Hadid

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns, and applies its learning outcomes to active problem solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize teacher ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teachers’ sense of personal and professional agency. Literature suggests that internal forms of motivation are likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of actions and behaviors. This mixed methods study examined five public schools in a small K-12 district through the lens of self-determination theory. An initial set of quantitative data were collected …

Eighth Grade Mathematics Intervention: Improving Student Self-Esteem And Content Knowledge Of Targeted Mathematic Skills, Stephanie Hart

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

By eighth grade some students believe they are “not good” and never will be successful at mathematics. Discouraged by poor grades, negative feedback from teachers or demoralized by repeated academic failure, these students disengage from their mathematics classwork. In some cases, mathematics intervention classes are a last chance to get them back on track to qualify for Algebra I in 9^th grade. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies to reengage students by increasing their academic content knowledge in mathematics and boosting their self-esteem and sense of belonging in the school setting. The review of the literature …

Identifying Supports For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah Rushworth

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) lack social and communication skills, leading to challenging behaviors. This impacts family functioning and can lead to parents being isolated and feeling stressed (Russa, Matthews, & Owen-DeSchryver, 2014). The parents of these children must learn how to handle the challenges that come along with the disorder. Parents of children with ASD need to have more supports in place to feel more supported (Nealy, O’Hare, Powers, & Swick, 2012). The literature revealed that the programs implemented today focus mainly on the child outcomes, lacking focus on parent needs (Samadi, McConkey, & Kelly, 2012). Parents find …