Digital Commons Network^™

Gender And United States Army Leadership Doctrine: Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadets’ Experiences With Leadership, Sarah M. Griffin

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study provides a comparative analysis of female and male Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets' experiences with the United States Army leadership doctrine, given the hypermasculine Army culture with deeply engrained gender norms and expectations that have long privileged men and masculinity. Using Risman's (2004) theory of gender as social structure, I explore the historical, hyper-masculine cultural norms and expectations of Soldiers in the Army at the structural, interactional, and individual levels. In particular, I study the Army leadership doctrine (structural) as experienced by ROTC cadets, including their self-perceptions of leadership ability and attitudes about leadership (individual) and their perceptions …

An Abrupt Transition To Remote Learning: The Tenuous Educational Experiences Of First-Generation College Students Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic, Beth Ellen Taylor-Nolan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACTAnd just like that, on March 11th 2020, the university released a startling update informing the campus community that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person instruction would not resume after Spring Break and that all classes would shift immediately to remote instruction. What does remote instruction mean? What happened to these students as a result of the university’s sudden transition to technology-enabled and online courses? What was their academic and social experience really like throughout emergency remote learning? Of particular concern to me were first-generation college students who relied upon the university’s infrastructure to meet their needs. Consequences associated with …

The Gradual Disappearance Of Financial Literacy In Today's World. What Is Financial Literacy And Why Is It So Important? My Own Story Of Acquisition, Eileen Gertrude Cammilla Kristiansen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

There is a growing concern in this country that the middle class is disappearing and not in the way one would hope. Instead of families moving into a higher socio-economic class and being able to provide richer life experiences for themselves and their children, vast numbers are shifting to a lower socio-economic status level. The gap between the affluent and those barely eking out an existence is increasing at an alarming rate. This trend will directly affect who can successfully attend college and who will be available and capable to perform the blue-collar jobs that are vital to the continuation …

Online Cross-Cultural Mentorship In A Health Career Pipeline Program, Nicole Lapointe

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This phenomenological study of cross-cultural mentoring is set in an online health workforce development program for youth from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URIM). The purpose of this study is to understand how personal and contextual factors influence the experiences of medical student mentors. This study provides insights into how mentoring programs can support the development of positive cross-cultural relationships in online environments. A literature review identified individual and contextual influences that contribute to mentoring relationship quality. How these factors translate through online modalities is underexplored in the literature on youth mentoring. This research used mixed methods in a case-selection variation …

Mapping Out Student Support: An Exploration Of Student Disability Programs And Practices At Selective Higher Education Institutions, Meghan A. Jaird

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

There are currently over 200,000 students with disabilities enrolled in post-secondary institutions. This reality places demands on higher education institutions and requires considerations related to service delivery and policy (US Government Accountability, 2009). In response to the growing number of matriculating students with disabilities, higher education institutions are incorporating service centers to provide additional academic and non-academic supports to address the unique needs for these students. There is a gap in existing higher education literature in mapping the existing landscape of programs and service delivery models at the higher education level and what is effective so institutions can serve students …

Making Meaning Through Leadership: An Exploration Of College Men, Masculinity, And Motivation To Lead, Katharine Stango

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In my previous role as the Assistant Director for Campus Programs at the University of Vermont, (UVM) I noticed fewer and fewer college men pursing leadership opportunities during their time in college. Student affairs practitioners and scholars recognize the benefits and enhanced outcomes students gain by participating in meaningful activities in college (Astin, 1984; Dugan, 2006; Komives et al., 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Quaye et al., 2019; Tinto, 1987). When college men are responsible for higher numbers of conduct violations, sexual misconduct issues, and high risk drug and alcohol use in college (Harper & Harris, 2010; Young et al., …

Envisioning Equitable Access To Secondary Literacy Learning Through Sociocultural And Critical Approaches To The Implementation Of Multitiered Systems Of Supports, Audrey Flynn Richardson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

The acquisition and operationalization of literacy are of critical importance to all learners. The use of literacy and language abilities including reading and writing as well as critical thinking and communication are essential to accessing one’s human and civil rights (Goodwin & Jiménez, 2019). Because the acquisition of these skills and abilities does not always happen with automaticity or in the same way for all students, public schools are asked to provide layers of comprehensive support for students in their literacy learning. Since the reinstatement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004, state and federal educational …

Understanding Differences In School District’S Identification Rates For Children Receiving Special Education With An Emotional Disturbance: A Case Study In Vermont, Maria-Elena Graffeo Horton

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Nationally, there is a mounting interest in better understanding students identified as having an emotional disturbance. Since 2005, clinical diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues in children has trended upward. Nationally, over that same timeframe, the number of students who qualify for special education due to an emotional disturbance (ED) has stayed relatively level while the percentage has been increasing in Vermont. Despite a greater awareness about how various circumstances and events, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect children’s mental health, emotional disturbance is still not well understood.

The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting …

A Case Study Of A School-Based Expanded Learning Summer Program, Karen S. Scott

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

For the Expanded Learning Summer Program (ELSP), at a midsized public school system in the Northeast, providing high quality programming that engages student interest and fosters active learning by all children was a top priority. This case study, undertaken during the summer of 2017, provided insight into how the ELSP aligned with the relevant literature on high quality programming for youth-focused summer learning programs and suggested improvements to improve quality. Using a case study research design, I sought to understand how the ELSP, funded through a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, aligned with benchmarks of high quality short-term …

"Well, You Could Be A Murderer..." And Other Reasons Why I Should Stop Using Dating Apps: A Personal Narrative About Dating In The Age Of Technology, Gabriella Granillo

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Dating isn’t easy. I’m sure we’ve all had that thought before. How are we even supposed to meet people nowadays? In the grocery store? At the mall? In a library? No! Why not utilize the one thing that we, as humans in the 21st century, can’t seem to live without, our cellphones! We have just about everything else at our fingertips, why not have the next best thing, a relationship, a hookup, or just a friend with just a swipe and a touch of the phalanges?I have been using dating apps off and on for about six years, and I …

Networked Improvement Community Hub Leadership: A Unique Case Study Of State Education Agents Of Change, Lori Dolezal

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) are emerging, yet few empirical studies have examined implementation factors, efficacy, and outcomes. Fewer have examined structures, dispositions, and behaviors of NIC hub leadership, especially hubs led by State Education Agencies (SEAs). This unique, qualitative case study explores adaptive leadership and emerging improvement leadership models in the context of a NIC hub operated exclusively by an SEA. Through semi-structured interviews and document reviews, this study investigates how SEA hub leaders establish conditions to build educator capacity for continuous improvement within a NIC model, focusing specifically on leadership structures, behaviors, and mental models. Provisional findings demonstrate alignment …

Opportunities And Challenges Of Utilizing Restorative Practices (Rp) With Students With Disabilities: Exploring Special Educators’ Experiences With Rp, Mika Moore

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Restorative Practices (RP) are rapidly being adopted in PreK-12 schools throughout the United States as these institutions seek ways to both improve school climate and utilize alternatives to harsh zero-tolerance discipline policies. RP offers a proactive, relational, and reactive framework in which schools can intentionally build community, foster trust, and provide opportunities for students, staff, and community members to address and repair harm when it occurs. As more schools move towards implementing RP, it is important to consider the experiences of teachers tasked with implementation. In particular, special educators represent critical implementers of RP as they can accommodate and modify …

The Triple Burden: Black Women Leaders In Predominantly White Institutions Of Higher Education, Nadia Mitchell

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Black women face greater challenges than their white female, Black male, and white male colleagues within predominantly white institutions of higher education (PWIs) because institutional and systemic oppression encourages ideologies that promote white supremacy culture. As such, Black women remain severely underrepresented in positions of leadership in PWIs. This narrative inquiry reports the stories of five Black women’s experiences as leaders in PWIs in the northeast region of the United States and sheds light on the factors that impact their empowerment and sustainability.

Black women leaders navigate a number of issues in PWIs. The burden of taking on additional work …

Vermont Special Educators’ Perceptions On The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities In Universal Positive Behavioral Interventions And Supports (Pbis), Cassandra L. Townshend

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

AbstractOver the last 25 years, there has been an increased body of research on best practices to address the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of all students in schools. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) has consistently demonstrated effectiveness in attending to all students’ social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing – including students with disabilities (Simonsen et al., Feb., 2020). Despite PBIS being implemented in over 27,000 schools in the United States (Horner & Sugai, 2015) and in over 50% of schools Vermont, minimal research has been conducted on the experiences of special educators and their perceptions of PBIS practices on …

Restorative Supervision: Experiences Of Mid And Senior-Level Professionals In Using Restorative Practices As Supervisors In Residential Life, Brandin Howard

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Student affairs professionals often enter their first supervisory positions with little to no training on how to effectively supervise others (Calhoun & Nasser, 2012; Shupp & Arminio, 2012). As professionals advance to mid- and senior-level positions, they often inherit direct and indirect supervisory responsibilities over multiple levels of staff of which they must attend to the performance, development, and morale. How student affairs professionals supervise and build supervisory relationships is essential to the success of departments and can significantly impact the development, morale, and retention of student affairs professionals (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Davis & Cooper, 2017; Winston & Creamer, …

A Qualitative Study Of School Transiency Among Students With Disabilities, Laura R. Nugent

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative multi-phase study explores the impact of school transiency on students with and without disabilities through interviews with teachers and administrators in six school districts in Vermont. The goal of the study is to describe the effects of school transiency on the education and socioemotional development of students with disabilities, expose the causes of school transiency, and provide guidance to educators on mitigating the impact of these factors on student growth. Repeated interviews were conducted with 11 teachers and administrators between 2017 and 2020.

This research was primarily focused on determining whether students with disabilities are more likely to …

The Intersection Of Organizational Form And Employee Relationships: A Social Network Analysis Of Rural School Educators, Randi Beth Lowe

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Public schools in the United States are organized in a formal structure with a principal serving as a hierarchical lead, teachers in a variety of professional roles reporting to them and paraeducators supporting the work of teachers. As is seen in an increasing number of organizations, there are informal networks built on the inter-personal relationships of the members of the community (Krackhardt, 1993). The purpose of this study is to measure and describe four types of informal networks, to compare these networks to each other, and to learn about how professional roles influenced the formation of the networks. This study …

The Challenges Of Inclusive Education Policy Implementation In Ghana: Stakeholders’ Perspectives, Sefakor Grateful-Miranda Ama Komabu-Pomeyie

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

People with disabilities (PWDs) from countries around the world, including Ghana, deserve the right to education, but are often deprived of it. Statistics from the World Report on Disability in 2011 estimate that literacy rates for PWDs may be as low as 1%. The World Bank Report also reports that more than one billion people may experience some form of disability. Individuals with disabilities typically have worse socioeconomic outcomes than those without disabilities. They often have poorer health, lower levels of employment and earnings, and higher poverty rates. In developing countries, the prevalence of disabilities and its impacts on …

As The World Interns: The Impact Of Identity And Social, Economic, And Cultural Capital On College Student Internship Engagement, Amanda Chase

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Internships have become a critical credential for employment, and college students with internship experience reap significant gains compared to their non-interning peers. Students who have engaged in internships are more likely to find work post-graduation, earn higher starting salaries, have better retention and engagement while still in college, and are more engaged in their workplaces many years after their internship experience has concluded. Companies who hire interns benefit from a steady pipeline of new talent, cost-savings in the hiring process, and employees who stay longer and are more engaged. Despite the significant advantages of internships, limited information exists about the …

College Coaches’ Experiences, Knowledge And Attitudes To Support Student-Athlete Mental Health, Cathy Rahill

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of college coaches’ experiences with student-athlete mental health concerns, knowledge to address these concerns, and dispositions and attitudes toward student-athlete mental health. Although student-athlete mental health has been the subject of previous research, this is the first study to ask college coaches their perspectives on the topic. Data for the study were collected using a Web-based survey with a sample of college athletic coaches who coach male and female student athletes at Division I athletic programs in the Northeastern United States. The study’s findings confirm coaches’ concern and care …

Resilience Amidst Adversity: The Sine Qua Non Principle For Meaningful And Effective Leadership In Education, Jennifer Jang Helgesen

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Have you ever encountered difficult moments that trigger you? Do you find it difficult to monitor your internal dialogue after a setback? Do you struggle to find meaning and purpose amidst all the hardship? As leaders in higher education, we must prioritize others, often giving ourselves away in the process only to find there is nothing left within. We might feel empty, beaten down, and exhausted as others need us to repeatedly and reliably show up as competent leaders. I believe the art of cultivating resilience is the antidote for us as leaders to be meaning-filled and effective at work …

The Upsides & Downsides Of College Athletics Within The Ncaa: An Analysis Of The Rules And A Personal Account Of The Power Of Resilience, Cassidy Evelyn Derda

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

ABSTRACT

For the past five years, I have been a Division I Women’s Basketball player under the National Collegiate Athletic Association. I have played at two different schools, I have spoken to numerous investigators and lawyers, and I am now on my third set of college basketball coaches. Most athletes that enter college have one set of four-five coaches during their four-five-year period, I have had thirteen. College basketball has presented countless challenges for me mentally and psychically. For a while I thought that the adversity that I was facing as a young woman playing a high level of athletics …

Implementing Proficiency-Based Learning In Vermont High Schools: How Administrators Support Teacher Sensemaking Of Education Reform, Andrew Jones

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The Vermont Educational Quality Standards, passed in 2014, require students to graduate high school based on proficiency not merely by the accrual of course credits. The deadline to implement this policy is 2020, and thus, high schools across Vermont are feverishly revamping their systems and structures to support this change. Like many reforms, teachers are at the forefront of putting this policy into practice. The purpose of this study is to understand how teachers experience the shift to implement proficiency-based learning practices in their classrooms and how administrators support teachers in making this transition.

Two Vermont high schools were selected …

Drive: My Motivation For Becoming A Holistic And Authentic Leader And Supervisor Of College Students, Alisha Ami Oguri Lewis

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

In sixth grade, I did an art project where I painted a self-portrait. I decided to paint myself looking in a mirror. On the right-hand side of the canvas was the back of my head. On the left-hand side was a reflection of my face looking back at me in the mirror. During one session with my art teacher, she looked at my painting and paused before asking, “what happened?” She paused again before continuing that at one point the painting was on the right track, implying since that point, something had gone terribly wrong. I mean what was looking …

Bhutanese Refugee Students: Their Perceptions Of High School And Challenges Of Accessing A Four-Year College Degree In The U.S., Hemant Tamang Ghising

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The recent trend of refugee resettlement in the U.S. has presumably shifted to a new and more hopeful life for refugees. However, refugees experience another phase of challenges once they resettle in the U.S. Their transition from a life of statelessness to that of the citizen in a developed country is a painful experience, yet life has improved economically, especially after years of living in poverty in a refugee camp. The fact that Bhutanese refugee parents choose to resettle in the U.S. is primarily motivated by their hopes for a better education for their children. The following qualitative research study …

Latino College Student Athletes As Nepantleras: Fostering Academic Success And Athletic Identity At Two Ncaa Division Ii Institutions, Carlos Enrique Vega

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Collegiate athletic programs at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Division II institutions in the United States serve a two-fold purpose. They offer aspiring

student athletes access to college and opportunities to play competitive college sports.

Consequently, student athletes at Division II institutions experience personal and

institutional pressures to compete for championships while achieving academic success.

Increasing demands on today’s college student athletes’ athletic participation and

performance has a multitude of consequences that could influence their academic

performance and success in college. Simultaneously, these institutions and athletic

programs are also witnessing another phenomenon – a transformation in their student

population. Latino …

Transformative Preparation: Measuring The Intercultural Competence Development Of Higher Education And Student Affairs (Hesa) Students And Exploring The Intercultural Learning Experience Across Assistantship Sites, Rafael A. Rodriguez

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Today’s college student body reflects, among many things, the outcome of policies geared towards increasing access and diversifying the academy, efforts to recruit international students, the vast social, political, and economic disparities among marginalized populations, and the extreme cultural polarization of our times. Students on campuses have broad and individualized perspective, approaches, and values, which are culturally rooted, embedded within our socialization and often times conflict with the experiences of other students or the student affairs professionals tasked with supporting students. Student affairs practitioners must enter the field possessing a degree of intercultural competence, defined as an appropriate skillset and …

Online First-Generation Students: A Qualitative Study On Retention, David Michael Dearden

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Higher education institutions face several complicated and difficult challenges and one of those challenges, student retention, has been around for many years. Tinto (2006), a major researcher on college retention whose research has spanned over four decades, suggested that one of the most widely studied areas of higher education is student retention. Since the inception of higher education, institutions have explored and researched retention strategies to combat attrition. Many of the strategies and theories that address retention focus solely on the campus-based student. With the growth of technology, online education has become a new avenue toward earning a college degree, …

Mind The Gap: Preparing For The Future Leaders Of Small Private Colleges In New England, Jennifer Ann Sweeney Nicholls

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

At a time when the higher education as a whole is experiencing an incredible leadership turnover and a narrowing pipeline of prepared or willing leaders to step into these important roles, the industry is also experiencing more scrutiny than ever before, creating a challenging time for the leaders of these institutions. Small private colleges in New England, in particular, have their own unique set of complications, which makes finding the right kind of future leaders particularly important. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 14 small private college presidents amidst an incredibly unique set of factors which substantially complicate …

Culturally Responsive Adult Education For Non-Western Learners, Asma Ali M. Abunaib

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Although education theory in general includes important insights related to the relationship between multiculturalism and pedagogy, a critical analysis of what are considered culturally responsive western adult education methods, such as Experiential Learning Cycle & Dialogue Education (ELC) suggests significant adaptations should be made when applied in settings with non-western learners. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities of utilizing adult education methods as a framework in delivering learning opportunities in non-western settings or for non-western, new American communities in western settings. Specifically, the author discusses her experience in one Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Darfur, Sudan, presenting her …