Digital Commons Network^™

The Kindergarten Environment: Finding Alternatives To Reduce Overcrowded Classrooms, Jay Rodriguez

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

This study will address the difficulties young children have when are placed in overcrowded kindergarten classrooms. Creating an effective and constructive learning environment for the early childhood years must be in a positive learning climate in a school for young children. Motivation, skills and communication amongst teachers, students and parents is a place where children receive guidance and encouragement, security and trust from the responsible adults around them.

A major element that establishes a child’s learning and guides their success is the physical environment where he/she is. When teachers cannot engage their young students in learning activities, then the teaching-learning …

Way Out Voices: A Phenomenology Of Interbeing, Beth Hagens

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

Interbeing is a foundational teaching of Thien Su (Zen master) Thích Nhất Hạnh, beloved Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist who has worked closely with Chan Khong, an expatriate Vietnamese Buddhist nun. Together they founded Plum Village retreat center in the Dordogne region of France. This volume of invited essays—taken as a whole—reveals the inspirational power of the word interbeing as a focus for creating common ground within scholarship for voices not so often heard. Metaphorically, this phenomenology is what Nhất Hạnh might call a “hugging meditation.”

Leveraging The Demands Of Edtpa To Foster Language Instruction For English Learners In Content Classrooms, Laura Baecher, Marcus Artigliere, Teresa Bruno

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This article provides insight into how a required, clinically based national teacher performance assessment for candidates becoming English-as-a-second-language specialists in many U.S. states, the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA), engenders a focus on language instruction in the content-based classroom. This assessment’s focus on language within the content areas provides a positive washback opportunity to strengthen teacher candidates' language instruction in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) preparation programs connected to partner schools in which classrooms often provide sheltered content with minimal language instruction. We share how, in our large Masters of Arts program in TESOL, we have purposefully …

Professional Development As A Process Of Cultural Brokering: Positioning Coaches As Cultural Brokers, Tasha R. Wyatt, E. Brook Chapman De Sousa, Sarah C. Mendenhall

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Teachers who serve diverse students must navigate two “worlds.” One world is that of standardized curricula and pedagogy and the other is culturally relevant education. To effectively navigate these worlds, teachers need assistance from “cultural brokers” who can help make sense of the tension that emerges when these two educational worlds interact. This study analyzes the work of two Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence coaches who worked as cultural brokers to help teachers integrate multiple pedagogical models. The results indicate the coaches shifted their strategies depending on teacher preferences, and helped teachers overcome constraints within their classrooms …

Book Review: 57 Ways To Screw Up In Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons For Graduate Students, Christiana Horn

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The selection of and transition to graduate school can be a daunting task for many students. Once accepted into a program, students continue to be faced with an assortment of challenges that they must overcome to graduate. Kevin Haggerty and Aaron Doyle, in their book, 57 Ways to Screw Up in Grad School: Perverse Professional Lessons for Graduate Students, offer graduate students key pieces of advice to propel them toward success. The book’s coverage of all stages of a graduate degree from applying to colleges to graduation and professional jobs makes it applicable for all graduate readers. Key points of …

Immigrating To Northeast America: The Kenyan Immigrant's Experience, Jane Kabuiku

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Immigrants lose their unique psychosocial context when their experiences are subsumed under panethnic labels such as Hispanic, Latina/o, Asian, or African. The stress from navigating different cultural contexts becomes problematic when immigrants operate within mainstream cultural norms that are in conflict with their traditional values. The number of Kenyan immigrants to the United States has steadily increased since the 1980s. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to study the lived experience of Kenyan immigrants by focusing on their integration experience and how the integration processes may have affected their mental functioning. Transition theory and social constructionism theory were …

Translation And Validation Of The Spanish Version Of The Rapid Estimate Of Adult Literacy In Dentistry-30, Wilma Luquis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low or marginal health literacy affect nearly 90 million citizens in the United States, compromising health outcomes, including oral health. Oral health literacy has been studied in diverse populations, yet the assessments used were developed and validated for English-speaking populations. A validated Spanish-language oral health literacy assessment was needed to help researchers and practitioners evaluate oral health literacy in the Hispanic population. Using the oral health literacy framework, the purpose of this study was to translate, culturally adapt, and validate a Spanish version of a previously validated English-language oral health literacy. A translation-back-translation process was applied to the English version …

Return On Investment Of The Cftp Framework With And Without Risk Assessment, Anne Lim Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, numerous high tech companies have developed and used technology roadmaps when making their investment decisions. Jay Paap has proposed the Customer Focused Technology Planning (CFTP) framework to draw future technology roadmaps. However, the CFTP framework does not include risk assessment as a critical factor in decision making. The problem addressed in this quantitative study was that high tech companies are either losing money or getting a much smaller than expected return on investment when making technology investment decisions. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between returns on investment before and after adding risk …

Impact Of Childcare Center Programs On Reading Achievement Of English Language Learner Students, Valerie Keil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some children struggle to learn the academic skill of reading. Providing effective assistance to struggling students, especially to English Language Learners (ELLs), can be a challenge for teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of childcare programs on the reading achievement of ELLs in kindergarten and first grade. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory along with developmentally appropriate practices constituted the theoretical framework. The overarching research question examined differences in overall reading achievement of ELLs based on the completion of formal childcare programs. A causal-comparative design was used with a cluster sample drawn from a United States federal database …

Relationship Between Admission Criteria And Program Completion In A Radiation Therapy Program, Adrienne Mae Dougherty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor completion rates in the radiation therapy associate's degree program offered through a community college did not meet the standards set by the college and damaged the program's reputation. The relationship between admission criteria and program completion was not known. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any relationships between the admission criteria (GPA in prerequisite courses, interview scores, writing sample scores, and preadmission testing scores) and students' completion of a radiation therapy associate's degree program. This correlational study used 2 stages of Tinto's retention theory: (a) recruitment and admission to college and (b) pre-entry assessment …

Effects Of A One-To-One Ipad Initiative Program On 11th Grade Standardized Test Scores, Brendan James Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The iPad and other mobile devices have become so popular over the past few years that many school districts are purchasing these devices and implementing them in the classroom with little to no research. Because there has been no previous research at one rural school district in Michigan, the primary purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to investigate the effects that a 1-to-1 iPad initiative program has had on only 11th grade student achievement and determine if 11th grade students' test scores on the Michigan Merit Exam in the areas of mathematics, science, and social studies for each school …

The Impact Of Transitional Justice On Conflict Resolution And The Maintenance Of Peace, Joe Lambongang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ethnic conflicts persist in Ghana despite the efforts of governments to resolve them. Governments are increasingly concerned not only about their massive human rights abuses and wide-scale destruction of property that characterize these conflicts, but also the difficulty of resolving them and restoring permanent peace. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to provide a deeper understanding of the processes and mechanisms of transitional justice implemented in Dagbon after war broke out in 2002 and explore the conditions under which these initiatives can be more effective in resolving the conflict and maintain peace. Data were collected through individual …

Teachers' Perceptions In Developing Robust Vocabulary Instruction At An American International School, Cathleen S. M. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an international school in Taiwan, English learners have struggled to meet the U.S. national average in vocabulary on standardized testing instruments. This problem has become more significant since 2009. The purpose of this research was to conduct a case study on successful vocabulary teachers to determine their perceptions of effective teaching. Knowles' andragogy, Brookfield's self-directed, experiential learning, and Vygotsky's social constructivist framework provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of why they were successful in teaching vocabulary in English. The study site had access to quantitative data regarding previous standardized testing results; …

Teachers' Knowledge Of Dominie Reading And Writing Assessment Portfolio Word-Level Reading, Maxine Y. Kershaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is confusion among teachers in a school district in a southeastern state about the instructional use of the state-mandated Dominie assessment for word-level reading and phonemic awareness skills for kindergarten and first-grade students. Recent assessment data indicated that 20% of students tested in kindergarten and first grade needed remediation. The purpose of this qualitative, bounded case study of a primary school was to understand teachers' perceptions about using the Dominie assessment for instruction, and how these perceptions contribute to the decline in reading scores. Using constructivism as a conceptual framework, the research questions focused on the trends in students' …

Teaching Abroad And Implementing Culturally Appropriate Instructional Practices, Denise Ryan Mason

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increasingly diverse population of the United States is reflected in classrooms across the country. Teachers often struggle with understanding students' cultural differences in the classroom and therefore also struggle with implementing culturally appropriate instructional strategies. The results of this study provide educational leaders with a viable option to enhance intercultural competence for implementing culturally appropriate instructional practices through the experiences gained in teaching abroad programs like Apufram International. This exploratory case study investigated how teaching experiences abroad contributed to implementing culturally diverse instruction in multicultural classroom settings. The multicultural educational theory of Banks was the theoretical framework used for …

Effects Of Instructional Pedagogy On Eighth-Grade Reading Students, Barbara Ward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Education is the foundation for the future, and a successful education begins with strong literacy skills. The 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that only 36% of eighth-grade students in the United States were classified as reading on a proficient level, and 22% of eighth-grade students were unable to read and comprehend text at the basic level. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental, post hoc analysis was to determine whether a difference existed in the change in test scores of the reading portion of the Criterion Referenced Competency Test from the 2011-2012 academic year to the 2012-2013 academic year …

Instructional Practices Of Upper Elementary General Education Teachers Of English Learners, Jamie Lynn Cardwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For the past 7 years in a public Midwestern school district, 75% of the English learners (ELs) in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades have performed below proficiency on the state examination. To address the declining academic achievement, district administration required that K-5 teachers attend professional development (PD) that featured culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) instructional practices for ELs. Despite district wide PD, school administration did not monitor implementation of these practices and student achievement continued to decline. This qualitative bounded case study was grounded in Vygotsky's constructivism and Krashen's second language acquisition theories. The purpose of this study was to …

Educators' Perceptions Of Best Practices For Increasing Literacy Among High-Poverty Students, Giuseppe Di Monte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The local problem addressed in this study was the low reading achievement of high-poverty fourth-grade students in a small rural school in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the perceptions of the campus principal and teachers at a sampled high-poverty and high achieving elementary school to determine best practices for meeting literacy needs of high-poverty students. This knowledge is important because student success in reading achievement contributes to overall academic success. The neo-sociocultural conceptual paradigm of Wertsch, del Rio, and Alverez, which links cognitive and cultural learning processes, was …

Examining The Role Of Emotional Intelligence In The Work And Life Balance Of Foster Care Workers, Pamela Applewhite Applewhite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Foster care workers are an important part of the social service system, as they are the first line of support for children without families or who have been subjected to tragic events leading to their need for foster care. Foster care workers often experience work-life boundary issues due to the emotional nature of their work. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between (a) emotional intelligence and absenteeism and (b) emotional intelligence and work-life balance with foster care workers. Data was collected from foster care workers in the state of South Carolina employed with the Department …

U.S. Army Drill Sergeants' Response To Sexual Harassment And Sexual Assault Of Gay, Lesbian, And Bisexual Recruits, Marin Vesselinov Nikolov

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even with the repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (DADT) policy, the U.S. Army has seen increased cases of sexual harassment; sexual assault; and discrimination of gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) service members by other service members. Despite this trend, few studies have explored the experiences of victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault of GLB recruits before, during, and after the repeal of the DADT policy. Using the bystander effect as the theoretical construct, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences and interactions with a sample of 11 drill sergeants (DSs) who witnessed GLB …

Culturally Responsive Teaching Of Indigenous Students In Canada's Northwest Territories, Francis Amprako

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to describe the teachers' perceptions of pedagogy and examine their cross-cultural strategies regarding culturally responsive

teaching of K-12 students. Indigenous students of the Northwest Territories (NWT) face academic challenges in a Eurocentric educational system. Tribal critical race theory and Eurocentric diffusionism provided the conceptual framework in this study. Six participants were interviewed and their narratives were triangulated by a 5-member focus group. The research questions focused on the teachers' strategies for building bridges between the Eurocentric and Native ways. Participants were interviewed and their responses created individual stories, which added to the …

Ask A Busy Person? A Reexamination Of Cognitive Performance Under Load, Graham Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A longstanding folk belief suggests that 'busy' people possess the ability to get more done than others. Busyness, defined as the demands of everyday life, has been shown to generate cognitive load, which has been called 'cognitive busyness.' Although most cognitive theory would deny the possibility that cognitive load may enhance performance, some recent research may support the possibility. Cowan's 1988 information-processing model was used to study how measures of everyday busyness correlated with performance on cognitive tasks. The research question addressed whether any combination of such measures, in combination with working memory, could predict performance on such tasks. 92 …

Cultural Sensitivity In The Performance-Based Learning Environment, Monique Matleen Hazzard-Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Georgia Department of Education requires students to earn 4 course credits in the area of mathematics in order to graduate from high school. Academic success for mathematics students in a school district in southern Georgia has been encumbered because teachers lack cultural competency in mathematics instruction, which has hindered minority students from developing reasoning, critical analysis, and problem-solving skills needed to earn these required math credits. The purpose of this project study was to examine teachers' perceptions of using culturally relevant teaching strategies to influence the academic performance of minority students in the mathematics classroom. The conceptual framework was …

Understanding The Importance Of Culturally Appropriate Patient-Provider Communication In Diabetes Self-Management, Anita Mwalui

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes. Among those 29.1 million people, 21 million have been diagnosed, but 8.1 million have not. Changing demographics in the United States and the prevalence of diabetes are projected to be burdens on the health care system through 2050. Guided by the social cognitive theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the importance of culturally appropriate patient-provider communication to the self-management of Type 2 diabetes by patients who are African immigrants. Culturally based health care has unique challenges when …

Sociocultural Context And Determinants Of Treatments For Hemorrhoids Among The Nigerian Police, Oyo State Command, Abolaji Azeez, Uche C. Isiugo-Abanihe

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Hemorrhoids or piles, culturally known as Jedijedi among the people of southwestern Nigeria, are an anorectal disease surrounded by misconceptions. The consequences of these misconceptions are enormous. Therefore, the main objective of the present study is to understand the sociocultural explanation of piles among selected personnel of the Nigeria Police Force. We recruited 302 police officers for the exploratory survey through a multistage sampling technique. Five key informants were interviewed at the study area based upon their professions and proximity. Data interpretation was done through chi-square and content analysis. Results indicated a high prevalence (73%) of and misconceptions about hemorrhoids …

Impact Of The Childcare Setting And Caregiver Education On Toddler Language Environment, Snejana Nihtianova

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Young children's early language development is strongly related to their school performance, and slow language growth may predict later academic problems. The link between the language quality and amount of speech that children hear and their language development is well documented; however, the factors that impact variability in linguistic input are not well understood. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the association between childcare settings and childcare provider education level and toddlers' language environment. The study sample consisted of 29 Bulgarian children. The study used a new technology called Language Environment Analysis, which is the preferred method …

The Influence Of Culture On Hiv Disclosure Among Gay Asian Males, David C. Doan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

HIV-positive, Asian Pacific Islander (API) men who have sex with men (MSM) experience triple minority stigma including HIV, sexual orientation, and minority ethnicity. To date, there is no research that examines the influence of cultural factors, level of acculturation, social determinants of health, and other confounding variables (e.g., age, education, level of income, and length of time since diagnosis) on HIV-positive disclosure behaviors, attitudes, and intentions to casual sexual partners for API MSM. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Hofstede's original cultural values and Triandis's cultural dimensions. In this 2-phase, mixed methods, sequential explanatory study, 24 API …

Puerto Rican Women Living With Hiv And Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence, Sharon Danesa Cuba-Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Puerto Rican women experience increased risk of bio-psychosocial challenges due to their ethnicity. This phenomenological study examined Puerto Rican HIV-positive women's perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV), which consists of physical, sexual, verbal, and psychological abuse. Although HIV-positive status and IPV have been a focus of previous research, specific research examining the phenomenological experiences of HIV-positive Puerto Rican women who experienced IPV has not been studied. The basis of the study was feminist intersectionality theory, which supported the process used to explore and understand the essence of the participants' experiences. Feminist intersectionality theory examines intersecting social systems including gender, ethnicity, …

The Impact Of Stigma On Hiv/Aids Testing Among Kenyan Diaspora Women, Phyllis Catherine Nyotta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have considered HIV/AIDS in Kenya as the largest HIV pandemic in the world, with about 6.3 million individuals living with the disease as of 2013. About 25% of new HIV patients are adult women, aged 15 to 24 years old. Guided by the health belief model (HBM), the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey research study was to explore the influence of various dimensions of HIV/AIDS stigma (public, self, enacted, and structural) on the uptake of HIV testing among Kenyan Diaspora women in United States. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to test if there was a correlation between …

Examining The Impact Of Art-Based Anchor Charts On Academic Achievement In Language Arts, Kimberly Ivette Fontanez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The students at 2 middle schools in County SD, NHMS and WMS are not scoring on or above grade level on the information text portion of the English Language Arts (ELA) standardized SC Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) test given annually in South Carolina. The teachers developed and implemented art-based anchor charts to help close the achievement gap among the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. There has been no formal exploration of the teachers' experiences regarding the use of anchor charts. Using the elements of problem-based learning as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this project study was …