Digital Commons Network^™

Squaring The Circle: Talking About Accessibility At Discovery World, Ariel Butler

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, museums have made a concerted effort to consider accessibility and the needs of the broader community in their programming. This thesis analyzes how Discovery World, a science and technology museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, can better accommodate diverse learning styles and disabilities in their 2023 Summer Camp program through a case study of implementation. The thesis analyzes the impact of the plan to improve accessibility and inclusivity in the classroom for children in grades 1-8, focusing on how staff conceptualize the ideal setup and aims to provide valuable insights to enhance inclusivity and accessibility in informal educational settings. …

Rethinking The Role Of Cultural Empowerment In African Identity, Madina Tall

Theses and Dissertations

Narratives pertaining to the cultural inferiority of Africans have plagued the mindsets and consequently, the actions of millions around the world. The undermining beliefs of societies globally towards the African continent and its people has historically created opportunities for colonialism, imperialism and various other forms of exploitation. Various educational, political and socio-cultural gaps have manifested themselves in disguise of fundamentally/intrinsically poor African management. Examples range from more educational and socio-cultural issues such as cultural rejection/dissociation to everyday manifestations of identity displacement which can be understood as western cultural mimicry. Throughout this thesis, I shall argue that the core of the …

Impacting Positive Breastfeeding Attitudes Of Prelicensure Nursing Students Using An Evidence-Based Breastfeeding Module, Stephanie D. Uhr

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Robust evidence demonstrates optimal breastfeeding behaviors provide unmatched short- and long-term health outcomes. Therefore, breast milk feeding is more than a feeding decision; it is a significant public health concern. Breast milk is species-specific nutrition for a developing infant. The health impact of providing breastmilk extends to the lactating parent. However, the existing breastfeeding education is often inadequate to support the care of the breastfeeding dyad. The dissertation examines the role breastfeeding plays in prelicensure nursing education and analyzes the use of an evidence-based breastfeeding educational module (EBBM) on breastfeeding attitudes.Method: An integrative review analyzed the current state of …

Beyond “Through The Looking Glass” Borders: A Content Analysis Of North Africa/Southwest Asia In College-Level World Regional Geography Textbooks, Parisa Meymand

Theses and Dissertations

Many college teachers have a required textbook(s) for their courses, yet textbooks often misrepresent facts both directly and indirectly — through both the perspective and possible bias of the author(s) and/or the omission of information and events. As textbooks are primary sources of knowledge, and students believe the information to be true, it is important to examine their content. Thus, seven editions of Geography: Realms, Regions and Concepts were analyzed to address the sense of place and portrayal of North Africa/Southwest Asia. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative Content Analysis based on seven selected editions of World Regional Geography textbooks, this …

Supports And Barriers To Universal Design For Learning In Schools Implementing Integrated Comprehensive Systems For Equity, Maxwell Long

Theses and Dissertations

These two qualitative descriptive case studies investigated supports and barriers to integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as an instructional methodology in language arts and social studies departments at an urban and a suburban high school in Wisconsin. Integrated Comprehensive Systems (ICS) implementation was determined through the Four Cornerstones – Cornerstone One: Focus on Equity, Cornerstone Two: Align Staff and Students, Cornerstone Three: Transform Teaching and Learning, and Cornerstone Four: Leverage Funding and Policy. Classroom observations were conducted of the eleven participating teachers in this study. These teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews designed to explore supports and barriers to …

Her-Story: Black, Middle-School Girls Exploring Their Intersectional Identities, Crystal Latanya Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

While intra-racial-group comparisons have lead scholars to argue that Black girls are succeeding academically and therefore require less explicit focus in educational research, there is little literature that focuses on the ways that Black girls’ experiences in formal educational spaces shape their emotional wellbeing and sense of intersectional identity—specifically, from their own perspectives (Paul, 2003; Townsend, Thomas, Neilands, and Jackson, 2010). In recognizing this relative invisibility, my research redirects focus to obstacles that typically go relatively unnoticed and unaddressed. Utilizing focus groups and diary/follow-up interviews as methods, I explore the subjective experience of Black girls within the educational context. Placing …

Did Magnet Schools Improve Student Educational Outcomes As A Tool Of Desegregation?, Maureen Elizabeth Pylman

Theses and Dissertations

Magnet schools were implemented in American school districts beginning in the 1970s as part of desegregation plans often required by court order. Magnet schools had three primary goals: provide innovative educational programming, attract students from across school districts, and assist with desegregation. Research evaluating the implementation of magnet schools found that they did effectively desegregate schools (Arcia 2006; Steel and Levine 1994). However, the educational outcomes of magnet schools have not been evaluated, particularly using longitudinal student data, to evaluate magnet school effectiveness. Popular press, the use of effective pedagogy, selection procedures, and exclusivity lead to expectations that magnet schools …

Radical Reflection: Toward The Transformation Of Everyday Teaching And Learning In English Composition, Royal Brevvaxling

Theses and Dissertations

Education is a necessary component in the emancipatory transformation of current capitalist society, with its exploitative social relationships, to one which is based on promoting and supporting human growth and potential. A libertarian education, as Paulo Freire writes of it, "must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students" (Pedagogy of the Oppressed 59).

An additional impediment to developing education useful for this transformation is the separation of thought from action in educational theory and practice. The field of composition studies similarly operates according to …

Past And Present Milwaukee Civil Rights Education: The Significant Arenas Of Community Activism And Current Digital Archival Collection Assessment, Kathryn Otto

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores civil rights education as practiced by civil rights activists from the 1960s to the present day using the city of Milwaukee as a geographical focus. The first part of the thesis focuses on the civil rights historical narratives employed throughout the second half of the twentieth century, with a focus on activists in Milwaukee. The first chapter describes the various social realms in which activists employed civil rights education including law, religious organizations, and schools. The second chapter uses 1964 Milwaukee Freedom School curricula as a case study to analyze a historically significant form of civil rights …

Predictors Of Mexican American Nursing Student Academic Success, Belva J. Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

The shortage of nurses in the United States has been an ongoing concern. The need to meet the overall demand for qualified nurses is compounded by the lack of minority representation in nursing. While there are disparities in the representation of all racial/ethnic groups in nursing the lack of Hispanic nurses is of special concern. Hispanic's in the United States, at 16 percent of the total population, constitutes the nation's largest racial/ethnic minority (U.S. Census 2010). Within the Hispanic population those of Mexican American ancestry account for 63 percent of the total population. To address the health needs of America's …