Education Commons^™

Book-Sharing As A Context For Fathers And Mothers To Enhance Language Development Of Their Preschool Children, Yagmur Seven

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poor reading levels is a pervasive problem in the US. For example, two of every three eigth grade students in the US are estimated to demonstrate insufficient reading comprehension skills. Early use of decontextualized language, in which the language expressed is removed from the here and now, serves as a precursor of academic language proficiency. Starting as early as the third year of life, decontextualized language is less likely to be practiced in lower socio-economic status (SES) households. Although storybooks offer a rich context for practicing the language with young children, reading storybooks alone is not adequate to promote conversational …

Promoting Healthy Sleep Practices Among Parents Of Young Children: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial, Kristin Lynn Edwards

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the most significant and underrecognized public health concerns in young children is related to the consequences of inadequate sleep. Inadequate sleep may result in problems related to behavioral regulation, executive functioning, and academic performance. ‘Sleep hygiene’, a term that describes consistent daytime and nighttime practices that promote healthy sleep, has been found to significantly increase sleep duration and improve sleep quality in the pediatric population. Researchers have found that many parents have a poor understanding of sleep hygiene. The purpose of this study was to determine if an educational intervention increased parental knowledge and practices of sleep hygiene …

Achievement Motivation In Emerging Adulthood: An Examination Of Overparenting, Need Satisfaction And Frustration, And Goal Complexes, Erin D. Turner Carson

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, helicopter parenting, or overparenting, has become an increasing concern on college campuses. Research has linked overparenting to a variety of maladaptive characteristics and outcomes among emerging adults, but little is known about how overparenting predicts achievement goals. This study used an integrated framework of self-determination theory (SDT) and the hierarchical model of achievement motivation from the achievement goal approach (AGA) to examine how overparenting and the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness predict the endorsement of achievement goal complexes. Participants were 176 emerging adult college students who completed an online survey. Data were analyzed using …

Cognitive, Neural, And Educational Contributions To Mathematics Performance: A Closer Look At The Roles Of Numerical And Spatial Skills, Zachary C.K. Hawes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The principal aims of this thesis were to (1) provide new insights into the cognitive and neural associations between spatial and mathematical abilities, and (2) translate and apply findings from the field of numerical cognition to the teaching and learning of early mathematics.

Study 1 investigated the structure and interrelations amongst cognitive constructs related to numerical, spatial, and executive function (EF) skills and mathematics achievement in 4- to 11-year old children (N=316). Results revealed evidence of highly related, yet separable, cognitive constructs. Together, numerical, spatial, and EF skills explained 84% of the variance in mathematics achievement (controlling for chronological age). …

Examining Relations Between Executive Functions And Decoding: A Meta-Analytic Investigation, Teresa Ober

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Introduction: The Simple View of Reading (SVR) is one of several established models of reading that present decoding and linguistic comprehension as critical skills in the development of reading competencies. Previous research has highlighted the connection between reading comprehension and cognitive skills, including those which fall under the term of executive functions (EF; for a review, see Follmer, 2018). EF may also be critical in the development of decoding. According to the dual route model of word recognition (Coltheart, 2006), decoding involves two separable processes; the phonological route, involving encoding and retrieval of letter-sound associations (also called phoneme-to-grapheme correspondence rules), …

Deaf Cultural Socialization: Exploring The Role Of Parents In Deaf Cultural Identity Development, Macrae Husting

Theses and Dissertations

There is an assumption in the Deaf identity literature that suggests that parents’ hearing status determines the cultural identity and well-being of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. This dissertation challenges that assumption. It does so by proffering an alternative explanation of the role that parents play by introducing two forms of socialization as mechanisms through which parents influence their child’s cultural identity development and well-being. Deaf cultural socialization is the process by which parents transmit messages to children regarding the importance and meaning of Deaf culture and membership in the Deaf community. Minority status socialization is the process by …

Should Twins Share An Elementary School Classroom?, Heather S. Amundson

Master of Education Applied Research Projects

In any child’s educational experience, there are positive and negative aspects. However, when jealousy and competition, identity and dependence, separation anxiety, and a host of other emotionally charged aspects of school life, are added to the situation, the elementary classroom becomes a minefield for all involved, especially for twins. It is this minefield that parents, states, and educational professionals walk students through, all while seeking each child’s best interest. However, there are conflicting opinions, research, and practices that mark the historical landscape of whether to educate twins in a shared elementary school classroom. The historical trend within the greater United …

Uniquely U: The Effects Of Tertiary Education Disciplines On The Development Of Dual Self-Construals And Its Impact On Conflict Management Tendencies, Wan Yee Choo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

While the effects of self-construal on one’s conflict management tendencies are well-documented, the effects of dual self-construals on conflict management tendencies are under-explored. In present paper, two studies were conducted to explore how tertiary education disciplines could influence the development of dual self-construals among Singaporeans which, in turn, determine their conflict management tendencies, as well as, how context influences the switch of different self-construals and conflict management styles. Our findings revealed that individuals from business disciplines displayed greater competitive conflict management tendencies than their peers from social science disciplines and this relationship is mediated by their endorsement of independent self-construal. …

Child Welfare: Trauma Informed Practice At Time Of Child Removal, Ester Garcia

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

As of 2018, approximately 442,995 children are in the foster care system in the United States according to the federal statistics from the Children’s Bureau. Entry into the foster system involves the removal of children from their home, making it a traumatic experience. The purpose of this study was to examine social workers’ perceptions of what trauma informed practice means and what it looks like in child welfare removals. The study also clarifies what trauma informed practice (TIP) is and how it can be applied in child welfare’s organizational structure. This was a qualitative study in which child welfare social …

“To Be Men, Not Destroyers”: Developing Dabrowskian Personalities In Ezra Pound’S The Cantos And Neil Gaiman’S American Gods, Michelle A. Nicholson

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Kazimierz Dabrowski’s psychological theory of positive disintegration is a lesser known theory of personality development that offers an alternative critical perspective of literature. It provides a framework for the characterization of postmodern protagonists who move beyond heroic indoctrination to construct their own self-organized, autonomous identities. Ezra Pound’s The Cantos captures the speaker-poet’s extensive process of inner conflict, providing a unique opportunity to track the progress of the hero’s transformation into a personality, or a man. American Gods is a more fully realized portrayal of a character who undergoes the complete paradigmatic collapse of positive disintegration and deliberate self-derived self-revision …

Empowering The Plus Size Body Using Dance As Therapy, Ashley Sampson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In Western society, having the “ideal” body image and size is a societal issue. It is advertised throughout media outlets that the “ideal” body is what should be desired, and any other body type is “abnormal”. This capstone thesis focused on the effectiveness of dance as therapy and changing the perspectives of all body types, to support and empower all bodies including plus-sized bodies. The use of individual interviews, in an open dialogue model, with a select few members (3) of Soul thru Sole, including the CEO of the dance company; which focuses on empowering women no matter their age, …

Supporting Pre-Service Teachers With Skills From Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Almut K. Zieher

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Mindfulness trainings, which tend to include daily home meditation practice, have been found to improve in- and pre-service teachers well-being, but findings indicate that participants struggle to complete the recommended home meditation practice. A mindfulness training based on Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills may be a more feasible training format for teachers because the home practice is informal and easily integrated into daily life. DBT skills are also discrete and easy-to-understand and directly relate to the intrapersonal and interpersonal challenges teachers face. Although DBT skills-based trainings have been used with non-clinical populations, to date no study has been identified exploring …

An Initial Development Of A Hardiness Scale For Elementary School Students, Stephen Ferrara

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

There are limited studies that have investigated levels of hardiness in children. There is even less information on finding hardiness scales that have been normed on children in elementary school. The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the Hardiness Scale for Children (HSC), which assesses the three subscales of hardiness: Challenge, Control, and Commitment. 121 elementary school students (2^nd-5^th grade) were selected to complete the HSC. Their parents were also asked to complete a three-item scale to measure their child’s hardiness. The results indicated that older children tended to give themselves …

Rural Adolescent Education Reframed: Can Social Justice, Lewin’S Topology, And Aesthetics Aid Reform Efforts?, Judith F. Upjohn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze how changes in classroom-level conditions can help underperforming students thrive despite established school structures that discriminate against and exclude those students from learning opportunities.

Every year, millions of US public school students fail to graduate high school (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2018), despite numerous ongoing education reform efforts (Berkshire & Schneider, n.d.; Strauss, 2017). A large percentage of these students attend rural schools (Arnold, Newman, Gaddy, & Dean, 2005; Status of Rural Education, 2018). The rural conditions of adolescent students adversely affect their educational performance and achievement (Howley …

The Role Of Teacher Autonomy Support Across The Transition To Middle School: Its Components, Reach, And Developmental Effects, Julia Sara Dancis

Dissertations and Theses

Building upon self-determination theory, this study sought to ascertain the reach of teacher autonomy support beyond its well-documented impact on student autonomy and engagement to include student competence and relatedness, as well as to parse apart specific teacher behaviors that comprise autonomy support (i.e., respect, choice, relevance, coercion) and their unique influences on the multiple motivational outcomes, surrounding the transition to middle school. These questions were examined using information from 224 fifth graders, 339 sixth graders, and 345 seventh graders attending elementary and middle schools in a predominantly Caucasian working and middle class school district.

Regression analyses, predicting change in …

The Effects Of Parental Engagement In Early Childhood On Academic Achievement In Adolescence, Alex Velez

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement and engagement have been used interchangeably in research regarding the academic outcomes of children. The current study assessed parental engagement and its relationship to academic achievement in adolescence. Specifically, the study looked at parental engagement with children aged 3 and its effects on academic achievement at age 15 in 1-parent and 2-parent homes. Exploratory analyses were also conducted to examine the effect of ethnicity on the relationship between parental engagement and academic achievement. Data were taken from participants (N = 3350) who were a part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, a longitudinal dataset. Findings showed …

The Association Of Victimization And Depression: An Investigation Of The Implicated Factors Of Social Anxiety, Body Esteem, And Social Support, Jacqueline Jo Klossing

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Victimization is an experience that affects a substantial portion of the adolescent population, and it is well established that it is associated with a host of negative outcomes, including depression. While the relations between victimization and depression have been researched extensively, there are a number of factors that may contribute to this association. Furthermore, both internal and external factors can play a role. Internally, the unique attribute of being socially anxious as well as the perceptions one carries regarding their appearance (i.e., body esteem) are implicated as potential mediators between victimization and depression. Externally, the social support an adolescent perceives …

The Impact Of Four-Day School Weeks And Fifth-Day Programs On Delinquency And Problem Behaviors In Adolescents, Emily Collins

Scripps Senior Theses

In recent years, tightening budgets have forced school districts to find new ways to save money. One way that has become increasingly popular is to shorten the traditional five-day school week to only four-days a week. This change is budget friendly and may act through efficiency wage theory as a recruitment tool for better teachers. Despite the increasing prevalence of districts running on four-day weeks, many of the effects of the shorter week on students are still unclear. Utilizing district-level panel data from the Colorado Department of Education, Study One took a difference-in-differences approach to determine the effect of the …

Exploring Higher Order Thinking Strategies In Georgia's Top Performing Middle Schools, Karen Kister

Ed.D. Dissertations

Developmental psychologists defined adolescent cognitive development as a period of time when individuals learn to mentally separate from adults and establish a self‑sufficient identity capable of the autonomous thought necessary to apply higher-order thinking. In contrast, college professors of the millennial generation stated that students demonstrate increased immaturity levels inconsistent with those of prior generations. Hence, the focus of this study was to examine the higher-order thinking strategies that teachers of adolescents have implemented within the five top performing middle schools in the state of Georgia. The findings offered a potential coexistence of higher-order thinking abilities and autonomous behavior and …

Developmental Dynamics Of Students' Perceptions Of Classroom Practices, Their Identity, And Academic Engagement, Krystal R. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

As the student body in the United States continues to become more diverse, it is critically important to understand the factors that influence African American and Latinx students’ engagement, including what they bring to the classroom, and their perceptions of what is occurring in the classroom. During early adolescence, youth are making meaning and internalizing the proximal influences their classrooms have on their sense of self and subsequent academic outcomes. Among school variables, teaching quality accounts for some amount of variation in student achievement.

This dissertation project explored whether there were gender differences among 205 middle school students’ perceptions of …

Bully-Victimization, Depression, And School Connectedness In Early Adolescent Students, Irene Gonzalez-Herrer

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

During early adolescence, schools play a significant role in the development of students. An issue that continues to be a serious concern for students, parents, teachers, and school officials in the U.S. and around the world is bullying. The primary purpose of this study was to examine school connectedness as a mediator between bully-victimization and depressive symptomatology in early adolescence. The secondary purpose of the study was to explore how gender and bullying classification groups (i.e., bully, victim, bully-victim, and non-involved) may relate to levels of reported school connectedness. The current study found low school connectedness partially mediated the relationship …

Building Young People’S Capacity For Critical And Transcendent Engagement: Examining The Institution, The Community, And The Individual As Protagonists Of A School Setting, Livia Dittmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a powerful socializing force in Western society, schools have significant influence on young people’s development into adulthood. As powerful agents of societal maintenance and change, adolescents have significant influence on communities and institutions such as schools. In this embedded case study, I use structuration theory, German Critical Psychology, and systems thinking to examine the dynamic relationship between institutional structures and student agency in a school setting. I specifically examine the influence of this relationship on young people’s capacity for critical and transcendent engagement, constructs described further in this work. In the setting of Nancy Campbell Academy (NCA), an international …

Learning, Attitudes And Perceptions: Evaluating Teachers Acquiring Competence With Online Literacy Programs For Children, Constanza Uribe-Banda

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Given the prevalence of computer software in educational settings, it is important to establish the efficacy of software for teachers in the classroom. One free software program, ABRACADABRA (ABRA), has been demonstrated to be effective in the development of literacy skills in young children (e.g. Wolgemuth, et al., 2014). The present study evaluated the impact of teachers’ literacy knowledge and comfort with technology with respect to professional development workshops providing training in the implementation of ABRA. Two cohorts of teachers were drawn from Canada and one from Kenya. A total of 64 female teachers (Mage= 38.26, SDage =11.22) completed two …