Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of The Diversion Program On Student Resilience, Mandi L. Merrill

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current study examined whether The Diversion Program is associated with an increase in student resilience. Fifty-one students 10- 18 years old participated in this study. Participants completed a resilience measure reflecting the multiple pathways and processes embedded in different contexts. A pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effects of the Diversion Program on students' resilience. As predicted, students’ resilience increased significantly from the pretest to the posttest. Results demonstrated the promise that resilience depends more on what we receive than what we have. This study serves as a beginning point to guide future resilience research, practice, and implementation …

Where Will I Sleep Tonight? A Qualitative Case Study Of Homeless And Displaced College Students, Andria Lynn Coleman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to identify the needs of undergraduate students who are homeless or displaced, as well as examine the policies, procedures, and systems of Mountain University, a public four-year university, that may support or hinder students’ retention and progression. This study will be driven by the following research question: How do students who are homeless or displaced, but earned a scholarship, grant, or both navigate the policies, procedures, and systems of Mountain University during their first two years? Using Resiliency Theory and Hope Theory as the theoretical frameworks, this qualitative multiple case study seeks to identify …

Nos/Otrxs Que Fuimos Separados: Recovering Testimonios Of Separation And Resistance, Marcela Rodriguez-Campo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the U.S. xenophobia has been on the rise and current immigration policies have increased the occurrence of family separation. Experiences with family separation profoundly impact children and have a detrimental effect on their development and educational outcomes. However, limited research has been conducted exploring the long-term impacts of family separation on education, particularly as it relates to Latinx tender-age children (below the age of twelve). In the current political climate, Latinx children are precariously positioned to live under the constant threat of family separation due to anti-immigrant policies and xenophobic school climates. This hostile environment can have devastating effects …

Examining The Relationships Between Internalizing And Externalizing Problems And Academic Achievement, Lara Elizabeth Conrad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The relationship between internalizing and externalizing problems and academic achievement for children and adolescents has been inconclusive. Particularly the relationship between the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) reports of internalizing and externalizing problems and academic performance on the Woodcock-Johnson, Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III:ACH). The current study examined the self and parent reports of internalizing and externalizing problems as measured by the BASC-2 and the relationship with academic skills as measured by the WJ-III:ACH. The referral source (private practice or school setting) was evaluated for severity of presenting internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Secondary data analysis was …

Identity Status: The Impact On Academic Performance, Milan Jelenic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand how environmental factors contributed to identity achievement with potentially positive effects on academic performance for fifth grade students. Early adolescents have not been studied partly because of the predominant acceptance of Erikson's (1968) theory of identity development. Four questions guiding the study were (a) whether adolescents acquired an Achieved identity status earlier than previous research has suggested, (b) if environmental issues such as familial obligations expedited identity achievement, (c) if identity status impacted academic performance, and (d) what was the impact of an Achieved identity on academic performance. Participants were …

Beliefs In Action: Ideologies, Motivations, And Capital Among English As A Second Language Learners, Damon Lasiter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Language learning motivations among immigrants are tied - via language ideologies - to socio-economic position, social networks, and problems encountered by the language learners in their everyday lives. Research into immigrants' reasons for language learning has often overlooked these factors (see Klassen & Burnaby, 1993, and Norton, 1995), but I offer in this thesis that the above factors are foundations for many immigrants' language ideologies - beliefs that people have about language. These language ideologies are, in turn, the foundations upon which one's motivations to learn a language are based. Using a Bourdieuvian paradigm, where inequitable positions of power exist …

Exploring Heterosexist Bias And Oppressive Bullying In Anti-Bullying Prevention Programs, Shayna Yamashiro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Children in the K-12 school environment who identify in the sexually underrepresented groups experience the effects of heterosexism, which is a manifestation of oppressive bullying. This work explores and analyzes the results of Anti-Bullying Prevention Pilot Program (ABPPP) which is a large-scale three-year evaluation. This study analyzed qualitative data (structured interviews) by utilizing a Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) and Mixed Methods approach to find the emergent theme of heterosexism. Grounded Theory was then used to code that information. This work found thick descriptions which illustrated the presence of heterosexist bias in the qualitative data. Thus, this writer proposes a model …

Students' Conceptions About Climate Change: Using Critical Evaluation To Influence Plausibility Reappraisals And Knowledge Reconstruction, Doug Lombardi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2007) reported a greater than 90% chance that human activities are responsible for global temperature increases over the last 50 years, as well as other climatic changes. The scientific report also states that alternative explanations (e.g., increasing energy received from the Sun) are less plausible than human-induced climate change. These climate scientists have made their plausibility judgment--which I define as the relative potential truthfulness of alternative explanations--based on the evaluation and coordination of multiple lines evidence with competing theoretical perspectives.

Climate change is a highly relevant and gravely serious topic; in an educational setting, …

Students With Reading Disabilities Participating In Literature Discussions: A Case Study, Elysha Patino O’Brien

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This qualitative case study addressed a lack of research concerning literature discussions for students with learning disabilities in reading. Fourth and fifth grade students with reading disabilities participated in twice-weekly literature discussions, 30- to-60 minutes each, for 12 weeks. The students attended a Title I school and most were Hispanic males. Together, they read and discussed five postmodern picturebooks. The purpose of the study was to understand (a) reader responses to the illustrations, text, and postmodern features of the books, and (b) the individual reader’s response habits. Situated within a sociocultural frame, the theories guiding this study pertained to language …

Biofeedback Assisted Relaxation Training Program To Decrease Test Anxiety In Nursing Students, Catherine Andrea Prato

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Nursing programs have been cited as being among the most stressful undergraduate programs. Students' knowledge and skills are consistently tested and monitored, and students may fail a course or be dropped from their nursing program if scores are not above a certain standard. Anxiety reactions are common to situations perceived as threatening; however, excessive anxiety may paralyze an individual and interfere with effective learning, functioning, and testing. Numerous studies have found increased anxiety causes physiological changes including increased respirations and heart rate, and decreased peripheral skin temperature. The purpose of this study was two fold. First test anxiety was measured …

Attrition Of Esl Foreign-Born Hispanic Students At Csn, Luis B Ortega

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative naturalistic study examined the retention barriers for foreign-born Hispanic English as Second Language (ESL) students that dropped out of the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) ESL for-credit program and the need for services they perceived would have helped them succeed. The participants for this study were foreign-born Hispanics who were taking ESL 110B, ESL 111B and ESL 120B (levels 1, 2, and 3) during the 2005-2006 academic year and have since dropped out. The main focus of the study was on institutional and social factors that affected the retention rate of this population at CSN. Four in-depth interviews …

Knowledge Of Personal Energy Requirements In College Students, Aurora Maria Buffington

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored whether university students enrolled in health science classes were able to estimate their energy requirements within a range of calories equal to predicted Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) +/- two standard deviations. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and a participant survey were given to a convenience sample of 63 male and 92 female undergraduate students (19-23 years) with subsequent measurements of height, weight and body fat percentage. Results from the IPAQ yielded metabolic equivalents which were converted to physical activity coefficients for use in the EER equation. Students significantly underestimated their EER by an average of 700 …

The Athletic, Academic, And Social Experiences Of Female Intercollegiate Team Sport Student-Athletes, Jason Michael Frank

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Intercollegiate athletics at the Division I level in the United States have developed into highly publicized forms of entertainment and business (Hill, Burch-Ragan, & Yates, 2001), while often generating conflicts and dilemmas within universities when the goals of the athletic department clash with the goals of the school (Sperber, 1990; Zimbalist, 1999). In the middle of it all are student-athletes, young adults whose title combines two distinct roles into one. Balancing these roles can be difficult (Adler & Adler, 1987; Adler & Adler, 1990; Miller & Kerr, 2002; Miller & Kerr, 2003), but student-athletes who do balance their roles and …

Analysis Of The Application Of First Amendment Jurisprudence To University Student Fees *Policies, Christine Chairsell

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The allocable student activity fee represents a fee imposed by the university administration and is paid at the time that tuition is paid. The administration or the elected student government body representatives disperse these collected fees to groups that have made application for funding and have passed the review process. Sometimes students object to their mandatory activities fees being diverted to certain groups because they are either political or advocate opinions with which the students disagree. Thus, the controversy becomes a free speech challenge; The purpose of this study was to provide a historical case study about the legal controversies …

The Effects Of Students' Asynchronous Online Discussions Of Conceptual Errors On Intentionally Flawed Teacher-Constructed Concept Maps, Magdalena Sas

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Research shows that online discussions are often unfocused and without providing much benefit to students' learning outcomes. One of the reasons behind this phenomenon is the lack of or inadequate scaffolding or guidance provided to students when participating on asynchronous discussion boards. The collaborative misconception mapping strategy is a tool that was designed to mediate cognitive and metacognitive processes via feedback provided by peers and a teacher-created concept map that contains intentional conceptual errors; This study evaluated the effects of collaborative misconception mapping as compared with those of a traditional online discussion activity, where students post responses to discussion questions. …

The Impact Of Interactive Factors On Romanian Students' Understanding Of Place Value, Madalina Tanase

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Students' mathematics achievement is believed to be influenced by a variety of factors (Brenner, Master of Engineering (ME), Herman S., Ho, H.Z. & Zimmer, J.M., 1999; Cai, C. 2000; Huntsinger, C. & J., P.E., 2000; Ma, 1999; Miura, 1987; Stevenson, L. & Stigler, J.W. 1986). As such, the performance gap in mathematics between students from different countries was attributed in turn, to the teachers' subject matter and pedagogical knowledge (Ma, 1999, Perry, 2000), curriculum development (Li, 2000; Valverde, Bianchi, Wolfe, Schmidt, Houang, 2002), native language (Miura, 1987), as well as parental raising and teaching strategies (Dornbush, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & …

The Nature Of Epistemic Climates In Elementary Classrooms, Florian C Feucht

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the nature of three epistemic climates in a fourth-grade classroom (i.e., a science and a reading lesson) and a sixth-grade classroom (i.e., a reading lesson). An epistemic climate is defined as the nature of knowledge and knowing emerging from the personal epistemologies of: (1) students, and (2) teachers, as well as from the epistemological underpinnings of (3) knowledge representations (e.g., curricula and textbooks), (4) instruction, and (5) their reciprocal relations. An epistemic climate is unique to individual classrooms and subject to change. A variety of qualitative methods were applied to tap the five data points of each …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Curricular Characteristics Recommended By Recognized Authorities And Curricular Characteristics Found In Existing Programs For Academically Gifted Students, Andrew R Nixon

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The study surveyed the 190 largest school districts in the United States and 18 recognized authorities in the field of education for the academically gifted. Each of the school districts was presumed to have a program which served the academically gifted; The recognized authorities were given a list of 48 curricular characteristics and were asked to check the degree to which they would select each characteristic for inclusion in a program for the academically gifted. The school districts were given the same list of 48 curricular characteristics and were asked to check the degree to which each characteristic was included …

Risk-Taking Behavior Of Skateboarders And Traditional Sport Participants In Students Ages 13--16 Years, Charles A. Hackenheimer

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The researcher examined sensation-seeking behaviors of middle school and high school physical education students. The purpose of this study was to find the difference in sensation seeking behaviors between traditional sport participants, skateboarders, non-sport participants and among traditional sport participants and skateboarders. Traditional sports participants for this study consist of students who have played team baseball, basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, track & field, swimming, or softball. Skateboarder for this study consists of students who ride at least three times a week and favor this activity over others. Non-sports participants consist of students who do not play any type of traditional …

Traditional/Nontraditional Students' Use Of Goal Orientations And Coping Strategies, Marcus Lee Johnson

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study sought to improve upon the definition of nontraditional student status, and to identify relationships between student status, goal orientations, and coping strategies. Two of this study's hypotheses included the expectation that nontraditional students would employ more adaptive goal orientations (e.g. mastery-approach) more often than traditional students; and students who use more adaptive goal orientations would employ more adaptive coping strategies (e.g. task-oriented coping); This study involved 180 undergraduates, and used a participant information questionnaire, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), and the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ). Factor and cluster analyses revealed that the variables age, marital status, …

Effects Of Music Therapy On Prosocial Behavior Of Students With Autism And Developmental Disabilities, Catherine L De Mers

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This research study employed a multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the effects of music therapy intervention on hitting, screaming, and asking of three children with autism and/or developmental disabilities. Behaviors were observed and recorded during 10-minute free-play sessions both during baseline and immediately after music therapy sessions during intervention. Interobserver agreement and procedural fidelity data were collected. Music therapy sessions were modeled on literature pertaining to music therapy with children with autism. In addition, social validity surveys were collected to answer research questions pertaining to the social validity of music therapy as an intervention; Findings indicate that music …

The Influence Of Collective Efficacy On Reporting Crime Among College Students, Violet Angelina Colavito

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Colleges and universities often aim to create a sense of community and a neighborhood feel for students. University campuses are designed in ways that reflect the factors of social cohesion measured by Goudriaan, Wittebrood, and Nieuwbeerta (2006). Crime on college campuses is an important social issue. Data from the NCVS suggest that between 1995 and 2002, college students experienced an estimated 400,000 to 530,000 violent crimes each year; yet only about 35% of violent victimizations against college students were reported to the police (Baum 2005, and Hart 2003). Yet, research exploring the effect of social cohesion and collective efficacy on …

Effects Of Possible Selves Instruction On Self -Determination Of Students With Learning Disabilities, Jennifer L Stringfellow

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Students with disabilities face a difficult transition from high school to adult life. In the areas of employment and post secondary education students with disabilities have difficulty being successful (National Council on Disability, 2004; U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). The need for students with disabilities to be adequately prepared for the transition from school to adult life has been stated in government reports and research (Raskind, Goldberg, Higgins, & Herman, 1999; Wehmeyer, 1999; Field, Sarver, & Shaw, 2003, National Council on Disability, 2004; Reiff, 2004); The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the Possible Selves program (Hock, …

Handheld Computers: Do They Support Or Constrain Nursing Students At The Point -Of -Care?, Deborah I Carr-Warner

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Technology has made a significant impact within the healthcare system over recent years. As technology continues to evolve and becomes a major driving force within the healthcare system, so will the need for preparing technologically competent healthcare professionals. Also within the healthcare system, changes such as a decrease in the length of hospital stay, the aging population, and the multi-disease processes of the aging population, presents a challenge to nursing faculty to adequately prepare tomorrows' nurse. One of the most promising technological devices being used by healthcare professionals is the handheld computer or personal digital assistant (PDA). Although the current …

Transformation Of Identity Of Four Female Japanese International Students, Chizu Matsubara-Jaret

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Every year, thousands of students worldwide leave home for the purpose of participating in an educational experience in a country other than their own. Drawing on a multiple case study design with an ethnographic approach, this study examined the connection between learning a second language (L2) in naturalistic contexts and possible transformations of identity for four female Japanese international students in the United States. The investigation centered around three basic research questions: (1) what are some of the effects of adaptation to the U.S. culture on the identity transformation of female Japanese international students; (2) what elements of communicative competence …

Exploring The Effects Of Online Instructional Models On The Writing Achievement Of High School Students With And Without Disabilities, Bradley Jon Kaffar

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of three online models for teaching a paragraph writing strategy to students with and without disabilities. A learning strategist instructor implemented The Paragraph Writing Strategy (Schumaker & Lyerla, 1993) using three treatment groups that included the following online models: (a) Power Point media, (b) streaming video, and (c) multimedia (Power Point and video). Participants were 121 high school students in grades 9 through 12 enrolled in an online charter school program; there were 27 students with disabilities and 94 students without disabilities. Data were collected to answer five research questions …

Student-Athlete Recruitment At The University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Christi Smith Dewaele

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

With the impact winning athletic teams have on a university it is not surprising that pressure to produce winning teams is enormous. Coaches are expected to recruit the most athletically talented players to provide the university with winning seasons (Letawsky, Palmer & Schneider, 2005). In order for institutions to bring in athletes who are able to excel academically and athletically, it is important for coaches to understand what characterizes the college selection process for student-athletes. Therefore, an important step in this regard would be to develop instrumentation to measure this process. Hence, the purpose of this study was to conduct …

The Effects Of Perceived Teacher Empowerment On Student Achievement, Florence Barker Aitken

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived levels of teacher empowerment in schools showing an increase of student outcomes as well as a decrease of student outcomes on standardized proficiency tests in reading/language arts and mathematics over a three-year period. The relationship between the levels of teachers' perceived empowerment to student achievement was studied as well as specific dimensions of teacher empowerment connected to student outcomes. The instrumentation used in this study was the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) that was developed by researchers Short and Rinehart (1992) and contained six theoretical dimensions of teacher empowerment: (a) …

Social Skills Of Students With Emotional Disabilities: A Technology -Based Intervention, Therese M Cumming

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Students with emotional and behavioral disabilities can be some of the most difficult students to keep in the regular school setting, let alone include in general education classes (Desbians & Royer, 2005). Often, higher percentages of students with emotional disabilities are placed in the most restrictive settings (e.g., homebound, hospitals, and residential settings) than students with any other disability (Nelson, Jordan, & Rodrigues-Walling, 2002). One of the keys to success for these students is consistent and systematic instruction in the areas of behavior and social skills (Williams & Reisberg, 2003); The use of multimedia, student-generated social skills lessons coupled with …

Development Of An Instrument Designed To Measure Student Perception Of School Connectedness, Nicole Jennifer Smith

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design and validate an instrument to measure student perception of school connectedness. The intended use for this instrument was to evaluate school-based health interventions such as "Planned Approach to Healthier Schools" (PATHS; Lounsbery, Gast, & Smith, 2005), and to potentially examine other important correlates of student perception of school connectedness, such as attendance in school, referral rates, as well as school drop out and graduation. The development of the instrument included a series of steps which comprised (a) identification of a purpose, (b) specification of an underlying theory, (c) item development, (d) content …