Education Commons^™

Sexuality Education In Central Maine High Schools: What's Happening Now And What's Changed In Two Decades?, Morgan Inman

Honors College

This qualitative study aimed to examine sex education in Central Maine high schools. Through interviews with seven teachers who are directly involved in instruction, this study sought to understand the current state of sex education in those schools. Interviews with teachers explored their background and experience, as well as their goals, the topics they cover, and any other sexuality-related programs or services available in their schools. Findings from these teacher interviews were compared to those of a similar study conducted over two decades earlier to look for trends and changes across time. Finding revealed that teachers share many of the …

Teaching Gender: Analyzing And Transforming The Limitations Of The Gender Binary In Pre-Medical Education, Elliott Hooper

Honors College

Pre-medical education’s traditional orientation of teaching gender as a binary results in future medical providers who are not prepared to adequately care for trans* and gender-nonconforming patients (Snelgrove et al., 2012). To address this issue, I conducted an autoethnographic study of my educational experiences in the pre-medical program here at the University of Maine. I also investigated current pedagogical approaches in the field of pre-med and medical education, as well as scientific and social understandings of sex and gender, to create a tool to reflect on the gender inclusivity of course curricula and classroom environments. The tool draws on and …

Relational Supervision: Jegnaship And Eldering As Emancipatory Pedagogy For Black Teacher Supervision, Michael Strozier Jr., Melanie M. Acosta

Journal of Educational Supervision

The case delves into the historical and cultural roots of African education, emphasizing the vital role of elders and community in the learning process. It examines the impact of African educational philosophies, particularly from the Nile and Niger river valleys, on the development of character, humanness, and spirituality. The case explores the adaptation of these philosophies by African people during the Middle Passage and their application in Western contexts for the supervision of African American teachers. By interweaving culture, history, education, and storytelling, the authors aim to highlight the unique contributions of African American educational experiences. They argue that these …

The Effects Of Peers For Young Adults On Anxiety And Quality Of Life For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alysha Cecile Dagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills deficits as well as comorbid anxiety are two characteristics commonly experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1 (ASD-1; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics are also both contributors to a lower quality of life for young adults (Smith et al., 2019). The current study aimed to identify how the quality of life and anxiety are affected by social skills intervention, specifically the PEERS® for Young Adults program (Laugeson, 2017). PEERS® for Young Adults is an evidence-based social skills intervention intended to support individuals with ASD-1 (Laugeson, 2017). Prior research has demonstrated its success in both …

Developing An Lgbtqia2+ Affirming Curriculum And Testing Its Impact On Allyship, Tausif Karim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Why are some conversations considered more difficult in learning spaces than others? What is the potential for educational interventions strengthen our capacities for such challenging conversations and for allyship? Guided by these broad questions, the present thesis focused on LGBTQIA2+ affirming education and sought to specifically test how an intentionally queer online learning experiences impacted the participants’ self-perceived allyship efficacies.

In my thesis, I draw on literature exploring how the “civility, teacher immediacy, or teacher credibility” (Chen & Lawless, 2018, p. 376) of Western education has prevented instructors from bringing topics related to race, gender, immigration, sexuality, and others in …

Document Analysis Of Behavior Expectations And Disciplinary Action Policies Of Public Preschools In Maine, Kristin Davies

Honors College

Student handbooks from public preschools in the state of Maine were collected to analyze what behavior expectations, disciplinary actions, suspension policies, expulsion policies were included, and to what degree of detail these policies were explained in student handbooks. A document analysis framework was utilized to collect and interpret the data. The document analysis framework has two different content analysis techniques, and a content analysis technique was utilized to determine the number of times specific words or phrases were utilized in each of the 72 student handbooks. Key terms were chosen in order to quantify the frequency of words used in …

Identity In The Classroom: How Opening The Classroom Door Opened My Eyes To Keeping Humanity In Education, Maija Overturf

Honors College

Education can be a dehumanizing experience for both students and teachers. Teachers hold a great responsibility to ensure that student identities are validated in school and to this end, must create a safe and welcoming learning environment. This thesis analyzes common dehumanizing practices in schools and ways in which teachers may unconsciously invalidate their students or be invalidated themselves. In a personal reflective manner, this thesis focuses especially on the text Opening the Classroom Door (Chapter 1 of Teaching Towards Democracy) by Ayers et. al (2017) as I evaluate my experiences in the classroom both as a student and teacher, …

Middle School Science Teachers' Vulnerability In The Written Discourse Of A Professional Learning Community, Eliza Jacobs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vulnerability is omnipresent in personal and professional human experiences (Gilson, 2011; Lasky, 2005) and an unavoidable condition of work as a teacher (Bullough, 2005; Kelchtermans, 1996). It plays a role in teachers’ interaction with themselves, their students, and their professional communities, as they engage in making sense of their role in these social environments (Uitto, Kaunisto, Kelchtermans, & Estola, 2016). This study examined the written reflection journals by 12 middle school science teachers in a professional learning community (PLC) in New England. Teachers engaged with each other to co-construct knowledge and emotional understanding of their practice within this professional community. …

The Impact Of Project-Based Learning On Students In High School Chemistry In Rural Maine, Brianna Degone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is promoted throughout education for its use of active learning and ability to connect to real-world applications. Studies have been conducted on PBL ranging from early elementary grades through graduate courses, however little research considers the effectiveness of PBL at the secondary science level. This thesis considers the use of PBL and describes the implementation of a PBL unit in a rural Maine 11th grade chemistry classroom. The thesis aims to better understand the impact PBL has on students’ content learning and additional skills acquired through the PBL learning process. Along with …

Liminal Surfaces, Georgina E. Grenier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The poet Ben Okri wrote: “Stories are the secret reservoir of values: change the stories individuals and nations live by and tell themselves, and you change the individuals and nations.” (Stibbe)

In the early 21st Century we are facing numerous environmental problems that are being caused by human activity. This era is termed the Anthropocene , a time when accumulated pollutants are causing detrimental ecological change. Ocean creatures are threatened by increasing seawater temperature, acidifying pH levels and melting ice. On land we are experiencing droughts, alteration of biomes, extinctions and an atmosphere that contains less oxygen per breath than …

Discourses Of Developmental English Education: Reframing Policy Debates, Aaron R. Tolbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the National Educational Longitudinal Study, an estimated 28% of academically underprepared students who take developmental courses (preparatory, not credit-bearing) graduate within 8.5 years (Attewell, Lavin, Domina, & Levey, 2006), far below the national average graduation rate of near 60% of students for all postsecondary institutions (USDE, 2016). Given these statistics, some conclude that developmental education itself contributes to the low graduation rate of developmental students (Bailey, Jaggars, & Jenkins, 2015). Indeed, the causes of this attainment gap are the focus of vigorous debates by scholars from numerous disciplines, defining whether the problems exist within the organizational structure and …

Increasing Access And Success In The Stem Disciplines: A Model For Supporting The Transition Of High School Students With Disabilities Into Stem-Related Postsecondary Education, Martie Kendrick, Marnie Bragdon-Morneault, Janet May, Alan Kurtz

Transition-Age Resources

This publication (191-page PDF) contains a package of evidenced-based transition supports that can be used by educators or instructors with high school students with disabilities who are interested in pursuing STEM-related postsecondary education and careers. The publication contains information and instructional activities related to the following: self-advocacy and self-determination; exploring STEM careers; disability disclosure; the accommodations process in college; identifying assistive technology; mentoring relationships and internships; and using student- and family-centered planning to prepare for college.

How Service-Learning Can Counter Cultural Narcissism, Gretchen Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis defines and describes cultural narcissism as a societal syndrome and details the causes and perpetrators of this cultural shift in the United States. More specifically, it explores the implications of cultural narcissism in our youth and the educational system. Next, it looks at the responsibility of public and private schools as civic education centers. This thesis proposes service-learning as a viable solution for the educator to combat cultural narcissism.

Gk-12: Nsf Graduate Teaching Fellows In K-12 Education At The University Of Maine, Susan H. Brawley, Stephen A. Norton, Barbara J. Cole, Michael Vayda, Eric N. Landis, Susan J. Hunter, Ruey Yehle

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Eight districts in central Maine that comprise the Penobscot River Educational Partnership (PREP); four of them, including Maine Indian Education, partners in a current GK-12 project, have joined with the University of Maine to form Fellow-teacher teams to introduce K-12 students to experiments, field trips, and discussions in areas such as chemistry, climate change, marine sciences, molecular biology, geology, food sciences, and ecology. The program is: a) helping teachers and students reach the State of Maine's legislatively-mandated standards for Science & Technology (the Maine Learning Results), b) strengthening Fellows' communication and teaching skills, c) providing professional development for Teachers, d) …

Explorations, Vol. 2, No. 1, Linda J. Kling, Robert A. Cobb, Walter G. Mcintire, Philip A. Pratt, Richard A. Cook, Merrill Elias, Michael Robbins, Peggy K. Schomaker, R. D. Blake

Explorations — A Journal of Research

Cover: The painting reproduced on the cover is a 22” by 30” acrylic on paper entitled Passage-10, by James Linehan, Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Maine at Orono, where he teaches painting. ©James Linehan, 1985.

Articles include:

"Polyunsaturated Fats: are they killing us?" by Linda J. Kling

"Where are the Dreamers: aspirations of Maine's rural high school students," by Robert A. Cobb, Walter G. McIntire, and Philip A. Pratt

"Elsewhere in Education: a research sampler"

• "Physical Education and Handicapped Children," Stephen A. Butterfield
• "School Climate and Teacher Efficacy," Theodore Coadarci
• "The Principal Principle," Gordon A. Donaldson, Jr. …