Digital Commons Network^™

Policy Alternatives To Increase Access To Early Childhood Education And Care In Massachusetts, Meghan Lemay

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Access to early childhood education not only leads to improved social, academic, and health outcomes for children, but can also carry the same benefits into adulthood. Early education and care programs can work against some of the negative effects of social factors such as socioeconomic status, discrimination, social support, and work demands which have been linked to physical and mental health outcomes. Early education programs could intervene not only in the life of a child, but also impact parents, families, and populations. This thesis will review the research showing early childhood education leads to better social and health outcomes and …

The Impact Of Nutrition Education On Food Security Status And Food-Related Behaviors, Jamie A. Farrell

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Food insecure individuals do not always have access to adequate food for a healthy lifestyle and are at high risk of detrimental health outcomes. Researchers hypothesize that food insecurity leads to changes in dietary practices, including greater overall food purchase in times of adequate resources and purchase of low-cost, unhealthful foods when resources are constrained. Most measures of food insecurity do not measure changes in dietary practices and dietary quality. Research findings suggest education that provides alternative strategies to manage resources and improve dietary practices can improve food insecurity.

We assessed the relationship between 1) food security and ability to …

Implementation Of Aquaponics In Education: An Assessment Of Challenges, Solutions And Success, Emily Rose Hart

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponic technology to grow both fish and plants together in a closed-loop system. While aquaponics can play a role in increasing food security, it may also be a potential educational tool because of its interdisciplinary nature and required technological skill set. With aquaponics, students could conduct hands-on activities involving chemistry, physics and biology to solidify their understanding of a range of theories. Beyond standard science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) principles, aquaponics may be related to projects on sustainability, environmental science, agriculture, the food system, health, economics, business and marketing. The interdisciplinary nature …

Western Massachusetts Head Start Preschoolers' Vegetable Consumption In Response To A Puppet-Based Nutrition Education Intervention Focusing On The Sensory Properties Of Vegetables, Arielle M. Magro

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Multi-sensory nutrition education interventions aimed at promoting children’s preferences for vegetables have the potential to positively impact children’s intake of essential micronutrients and phytochemicals. We implemented our intervention in Western Massachusetts Head Start preschool classrooms, as part of Massachusetts Farm Fresh research project. Social cognitive theory, early childhood developmental milestones, and the play approach to learning provided the framework. During the 4-week intervention, eight vegetables were matched by appearance and growing process to create vegetable pairs (green bean-sugar snap pea, broccoli-cauliflower, beet-radish, and carrot-parsnip). Each week, two animal puppets introduced the children in the classroom to the vegetable pairs by …

Rewriting The Balkans: Memory, Historiography, And The Making Of A European Citizenry, Dana N. Johnson

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis explores the work of historians, history teachers, and NGO employees engaged in regional initiatives to mitigate the influence of enduring ethnocentric national histories in the Balkans. In conducting an ethnography of the development and dissemination of such initiatives, I queried how conflict and controversy are negotiated in developing alternative educational materials, how “multiperspectivity” is understood as a pedagogical approach and a tool of reconciliation, and how the interests of civil society intersect with those of the state and supranational actors. My research sought to interrogate the field of power in which such attempts to innovate history education occur, …

Subversive Representations Of Education In Francophone Novels Of The Colonial Maghreb, Whitney Bevill

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Much work exploring alterity and hybridity in the Maghreb ignores representations of education which confront seminal formative experiences, specifically education. French colonial education was problematic because it granted access to the colonizer’s culture, yet it also created a rupture in self-identity for Maghrebi students. In this thesis, I interrogate the literary representations of sites and sources of education by analyzing how these representations discuss the tension between formal French education and informal Maghrebi education.

My thesis begins with a historical overview of colonial education in the Maghreb. I then discuss literary methods of negotiating identity, contrasting Arab and Western autobiography …

Rethinking Reiche, Tracie J. Reed

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Part I of the study examines the differences between two environmental assessment methods for the K‐12 education sector: the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Schools Version 3.0 and the British Research Establishment’s (BRE) BREEAM Education issue 2.0. Credit requirements are compared side‐by‐side and against recommendations from researchers in areas such as acoustics, lighting and indoor environment quality. Strengths in the two schemes and areas for improvement are highlighted, with acknowledgement that each scheme offers components and techniques from which the other could benefit. Part II of the study introduces the Howard C. Reiche Community School in Portland, Maine. …

Reading In A Second Language Classroom: A Pedagogical Report On Sociocultural Strategies For Reading Texts In The Elementary French Classroom, Kimberly Buescher

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis focuses on reading in a second language (L2) classroom and specifically on Sociocultural strategies for reading texts in the elementary French classroom. This pedagogical report first outlines the theoretical basis of the two pedagogical experiences presented which include Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory of learning and development (SCT), specifically Cole’s (2003) Question-Asking-Reading (QAR) approach, traditional reading approaches and a literacy approach to teaching reading. The key concepts of SCT that influenced these pedagogical experiences include the zone of proximal development (ZPD), mediation, the shift from interpersonal to intrapersonal, prolepsis, and shared activities based on a specific division of labor. Cole’s …

A Humanistic Philosophy Of Education As Applied To The Teaching Of An Introductory Psychology Course., Michael H. Berkowitz

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Inter-Relationships Among Pre-Schooling, Mental Test Scores, School Marks And Practical Success, Elizabeth Anne Lynch

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

No abstract provided.

Smithdale And Physical Education; : A Study In Rural Health, Education And Recreation., Esther Watson Tipple

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

No abstract provided.

A Method For Supervision Of Rural Schools In Hill Towns Of Massachusetts, Harold C. Bales

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

No abstract provided.