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The Motivations And Work-Life Balance Of Paid Home-Based Caregivers Of Clients Experiencing Dementia, Cheraire Lyons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With an expected increase in demand for professional caregivers for the growing older adult and aging population, caregivers need balance in their lives so they can provide quality patient care. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore what motivates paid, professional home-based caregivers of clients with dementia to maintain their work–life balance. The caregiver ambition framework was the guide for exploring home-based caregivers’ work life issues along with caregivers’ motivations for work–life enrichment. Interview data were collected from five interviews that were analyzed first manually by exploring the transcribed interviews for commonly seen words and phrases. …

Positive Deviance Behaviors And Definition In Nursing, Stacy L. January

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The concept of positive deviance (PD) has not been studied in the context of nursing. Grounded in narrative inquiry and combined with vocabularies of motive and symbolic interactionism, the purpose of this study was to explore whether PD behaviors existed in nursing, and if so, to develop an operational definition of PD for nursing. The research question addressed what PD behaviors, if any, were present in nurses’ workplace stories. Using posted flyers, eight participants either self-selected or were selected by snowball method to participate. Interviews were conducted in locations decided on by each participant. Interview data were obtained, transcribed, then …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Effect Of Their Attire On Middle-School Students' Behavior And Learning, Elizabeth Clemons Sampson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers' Perceptions of the Effect of Their Attire on

Middle-School Students' Behavior and Learning

by

Elizabeth Clemons Sampson

M.A., Valdosta State University, 1987

B.S., Albany State University, 1974

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

February 2016

Teachers were once held to a professional dress code. This code has become lax, resulting in teachers dressing in more casual attire. A local middle school in rural Georgia was experiencing complaints about teachers' unprofessional attire from other teachers, administrators, and parents. Teachers play an integral role in modeling cultural and behavioral …

Training And Experiences Of General Educators Who Have Students With Externalizing Behaviors, Sheila Ruann Lachelt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In California classrooms, general education teachers have experienced stress due to an increasing number of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). This study used a hermeneutical phenomenological inquiry approach to explore teachers' perspectives of their pre-service professional development (PD), in-service PD, and classroom experiences with students who have externalizing EBD. The theoretical framework centered on social constructivism. Research questions addressed the teachers' perceptions of their pre-service and in-service PD on students with EBD and their experiences with students' externalizing behaviors. Twenty California general education teachers, each from a different school district, volunteered to participate in face-to-face interviews. Stratified purposeful …

Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Community Maturity In Catholic Schools, Jane-Marie Fetty Koelsch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many Midwestern Catholic schools have implemented professional learning communities (PLCs) to enhance teacher quality and attain school goals. However, not all schools have aligned practices essential to increase maturity in the five PLC dimensions, as defined by Hord. Guided by Hord's framework, this research study investigated teachers' perceptions of PLC maturity in select Catholic schools. A convenience sample allowed an examination of schools engaged in an initiative that included PLCs. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the Professional Learning Communities Assessment - Revised was administered to 42 teachers in 4 schools. Quantitative survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data …

The Impact Of Common Core Professional Development On Teaching Practices, Elisabeth S. Kannenberg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Mathematics represents a challenge for public educators due to the broad scope of required instructional change. This case study investigated the implementation of a professional development (PD) series across 11 elementary schools, designed to address the problem of insufficient teacher preparation in CCSS pedagogical shifts. Grounded in Vygotsky's social learning theory and constructivism, the training was intended to enhance teacher skills through collaborative, inquiry-based learning. The research questions included in the study examined math teaching practices before and after the implementation of the district training. Through questionnaires and interviews, perceptions …