Education Commons^™

From Foster Care To College: Student Stories Of Success, Tory Nicole England

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the different factors that empower young adults that were in foster care to be successful in a college environment. It has been documented that foster youth have significant challenges during secondary education (Conger & Rebeck, 2001; Geenen & Powers, 2006). Due to these challenges, foster youth attend and graduate higher education at a lower rate than their peers. The perspectives of foster youth currently enrolled in higher education is critical to determining which factors and programs have helped with their educational success. Five participants completed semi-structured interviews about their secondary education, …

Developing A Competency-Based Framework To Guide Elementary School Teachers' Efforts In Helping Bullied Children, Samantha Gregus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study aimed to develop a competency-based framework designed to assist elementary school teachers in their efforts to help bullied children. Drawing from extant research, Gregus and Cavell (2017) created an initial draft of the framework that contained 25 components representing a mix of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. In Study 1, I obtained input on the framework from practicing elementary school teachers (n = 26) and researchers who study school bullying (n = 14). Teacher input was gathered via a series of focus groups and researchers responded using an online survey. Both teachers and researchers viewed the framework positively …

Perceptions Of Belongingness In Stem Subjects And Career Development For Middle School African American Girls, Anya Woronzoff Verriden

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the hypothesis that African American girls’ early perceptions of support in middle school influences their narrowing or broadening of interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects and careers. As previously researched the belief that boys excel at math and science while girls do well in the humanities is not supported by findings. Therefore the purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction of contextual factors such as teacher, parent, and peer support for African American middle school girls and their interest in STEM subjects utilizing a qualitative research method. Students are making decisions about their …

Contemplative Practices And Post-Secondary Well-Being: Potential Methods For Reducing Test Anxiety, Shannon S. Hayden

MSU Graduate Theses

Students encounter numerous sources of stress in college from school work to examinations. A proposed method for reducing test related anxiety is contemplative practice (namely, mindfulness meditation and expressive writing). These interventions were used immediately prior to an exam to determine effectiveness on students’ mood and test grade. Although the study produced few statistically significant results, a promising trend in utilizing these interventions for increasing exam grades, increasing positive mood, and decreasing negative mood was uncovered. Each intervention appears to have dissimilar effects on different types of students (i.e., varying degrees of dispositional mindfulness and cognitive test anxiety; for example, …

Maintenance And Generalization Of Preschool Teachers' Use Of Behavior Specific Praise Following In Situ Training, Zachary Charles Labrot

Dissertations

This study tested the efficacy of in situ training via a multiple baseline design across participants for increasing four Head Start teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in classroom settings while evaluating concomitant changes in their classes’ behavior. Of further interest was the extent to which Head Start teachers maintained and generalized use of BSP in untrained settings. The results of this study indicate that in situ training was effective for increasing Head Start teachers’ use of BSP above baseline rates and generally maintained above a predetermined criterion (i.e., .5 BSP statements per minute). Data also indicate that Head …

The Good Behavior Game: Effects On And Maintenance Of Behavior In Middle-School Classrooms Using Class Dojo, Komila Dadakhodjaeva

Dissertations

Classroom management is one of the key components for successful instruction and affects both instructors and learners. Although most frequent discipline strategies in schools involve punitive actions, research suggests that using positive statements to teach and reinforce desirable behaviors is more appropriate and effective. A form of a group-oriented contingency that focuses on desirable behaviors is a positive variation of the Good Behavior Game (GBG). The GBG has been used widely in its original form, focusing on undesirable behaviors, and more research is needed on its positive version. Another strategy that can be used within classrooms is Class Dojo, a …

Tootling With A Randomized Independent Group Contingency In A High School Setting, John Dylan Ken Lum

Dissertations

Tootling is a procedure where students report their classmates’ positive and prosocial behavior. The present study examined the effects of tootling on students’ disruptive and academically engaged behavior in three general education high school classrooms. An A-B-A-B withdrawal design was used to assess the effects of the intervention. Students wrote tootles anonymously on paper slips and placed them into a marked container. Unlike previous tootling studies, a randomized independent group contingency procedure was used to reward the students to reduce the number of steps required to implement the intervention. At the end of the class period, teachers randomly drew three …

The Efficacy Of An In-Vivo Chaining Procedure Compared To Pov-Vm Chaining Procedure To Teach A Task To Children With Autism, Elaine M. Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder which includes symptoms such as repetitive or restricted patterns of behavior, and deficits in social communication (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and affects approximately 1 in 68 children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Children with this disorder face unique challenges when it comes to learning academic and social skills (Gardner & Wolfe, 2013). Chaining is an effective intervention for teaching individuals with disabilities a variety of skills (Cuvo, Leaf, & Borakove, 1978; Horner & Keilitz, 1975; Shrestha, Anderson, & Moore, 2013; Tarbox, Madrid, Aguilar, Jacobo, & Schiff, 2009). Video modeling, where …

Evaluation Of A Positive Version Of The Good Behavior Game Utilizing Classdojo Technology In Secondary Classrooms, William Blake Ford

Dissertations

Appropriate and effective classroom management skills are critical in supporting students’ academic, social, and behavior development in schools; however, teachers often cite needing help with classroom management as their greatest need. Given this concern, school psychologists need effective and efficient strategies to offer to teachers and school staff dealing with classwide behavioral difficulties. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an empirically supported interdependent group contingency intervention providing explicit classroom management techniques aimed at improving student behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a positive version of the GBG utilizing ClassDojo technology on classwide academically engaged …

Effects Of A Tiered Intervention Package To Increase Teacher Behavior Specific Praise, Hannah Jeanne Cavell

Dissertations

Disruptive behaviors have been shown to impact academic performance in the classroom. Praise is a commonly prescribed intervention to decrease classroom disruptive behaviors and increase academic engagement. In this study, an intervention package consisting of large-group training, verbal reminders, and visual performance feedback (VPF) combined with contingent preferred rewards was used to target three elementary school teachers’ use of behavior specific praise (BSP) in the classroom during a selected intervention period. Disruptive behaviors as nominated by teacher report were additionally assessed to determine if increased praise would lessen the frequency of class wide disruptive behaviors.

Using a multiple baseline design, …

Yoga And Mindfulness In The Inclusion Classroom, Maria Petruzzelli

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the effectiveness of implementing mindfulness and yoga techniques in two sections of fourth grade inclusion language arts classes. More specifically, this paper examines the effectiveness of yoga and mindfulness techniques on the frequency of off-task behaviors and academic achievement. It was hypothesized that off-task behaviors would occur less frequently and that academic performance in writing would improve after a yoga and mindfulness intervention was implemented.

Using a pre-post no-control design, thirty-six students, eighteen per class, from a public elementary school in Southern New Jersey participated in this investigation. Baseline and post implementation data were collected using On-Demand …

Exploring The Caregiver-Child Relationship In Institutional Care Facilities In South Sudan, Jennifer Joy Telfer

MSU Graduate Theses

Institutional care for children separated from parents is expanding in Africa, but little research exists on caregiving at these institutions. This study explores the caregiver-child relationship in two residential institutions in South Sudan by investigating how caregivers experience their role and how children experience their lives in the institution. Semi- structured interviews assessed 14 caregivers’ backgrounds, parenting experience, attitudes, education, and motivations. The Orphans and Vulnerable Children Wellbeing Tool (OWT) assessed 98 adolescent residents, who also gave feedback about their answers. Caregivers employ parenting styles used by their parents and report treating non-relative children the same as biological children. Children …

The Lived Experiences Of Counseling Graduate Students And The Impact Of Their Studies In Their Marital Satisfaction, Vania S. Palacios

Theses and Dissertations

Due to high levels of stress that students find throughout graduate programs, professional and personal lives are at times not prioritized. The heuristic study focused on analyzing common themes among counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the coping mechanisms students have used to improve their marital/relational satisfaction, and common stressors in their marriage as a reflection of the counseling graduate program. The researcher provided a personal narrative for the study and analyzed transcriptions of the interviews of four counseling graduate students at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Defining Problematic School Absenteeism Using Nonparametric Modeling, Kyleigh Kay Skedgell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Contemporary classification models of school absenteeism often employ a multitier approach for organizing assessment and treatment strategies. Researchers have yet to agree, however, on how to objectively define problematic school absenteeism and identify demarcation points for each tier. The present study aimed to inform a multitier approach by determining the most relevant risk factors for problematic school absenteeism. The most useful targets of assessment for problematic school absenteeism are also addressed. The present study examined problematic school absenteeism defined at three distinct cutoffs: 1%, 10%, and 15% of full school days missed. The present study evaluated interactions among several youth- …

College For The Sake Of What? Promoting The Development Of Wholly Educated Students, Michael P. Yoder

Industrial-Organizational Psychology Dissertations

There is increasing pressure on institutions of higher education to accurately measure student success. What was once thought of as a way to develop students holistically via a liberal arts degree, higher education is now often regarded as a means to an end: a well-paying job. Lost in the drive for quantifiable data is the holistic development of individuals who are capable of interacting with and influencing the world around them. Thus, higher education struggles to respond to market pressures while maintaining a focus on wholly developing individuals. In this research study, it is proposed that student “success” should include …

Capturing Peers', Teachers', And Parents' Joint Contributions To Students' Engagement: An Exploration Of Models, Justin William Vollet

Dissertations and Theses

Building on research that has focused on understanding how peers contribute to students' engagement, this dissertation explores the extent to which peer group influences on students' engagement may add to and be contextualized by qualities of the relationships they maintain with their teachers and their parents. To focus on how each of these adult contexts work in concert with peer groups to jointly contribute to changes in students' engagement, the two studies used data on 366 sixth graders which were collected at two time points during their first year of middle school: Peer groups were identified using socio-cognitive mapping; students …

Examining The Effectiveness Of A Sentence Construction Intervention Combined With Self-Regulation Instruction Using A Regression Discontinuity Design, William Furey

Doctoral Dissertations

The Language and Writing strands of the Common Core State Standards place a heavy emphasis on sentence-level conventions including syntax/grammar and mechanics. Interventions targeting these foundational skills are necessary to support struggling writers as poorly developed sentence construction skills inhibit more complex writing tasks. This study examined the effects of a supplemental intervention on the writing skills of fourth grade students identified as struggling writers. The intervention used explicit instruction and the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) framework to teach students a sentence construction strategy along with self-regulation procedures. A regression discontinuity design was used to test whether students included in …

Residence Directors As Residential Crisis Workers: Exploring The Role Of Campus-Based Critical Incident Stress Management In The Mitigation Of Compassion Fatigue, Noga Flory

Doctoral Dissertations

Residence Directors, as a result of repeated exposure to their students' trauma, are prone to developing compassion fatigue. Research on the use of college-based Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has been shown to foster collaboration, consultation, and increased stress debriefing among staff who respond to critical incidents on campus. CISM can teach Residence Directors means of recognizing work-related triggers, contribute to the normalization of stress reactions, and improve healthy coping and self-care strategies. CISM can also potentially help reduce or diminish the incidence of compassion fatigue and burnout, thereby improving Residence Directors' overall professional and personal quality of life and …

Traumatic Brain Injury In Adolescence: The Relationship Between High School Exiting And Future Productivity, Jeffrey S. Garofano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents. Brain injury survivors are often left with persistent impairments that have the potential to impede daily functioning, delay or prevent the attainment of developmental milestones, and subsequently limit future productivity in adulthood. A shared goal of both neurorehabilitation and the educational system is to prepare youth for a productive adulthood with both systems of care having substantial, yet independent, literature bases regarding factors associated with productivity (e.g., engagement in employment or post-secondary education). It is currently assumed that because type of high school exiting …

Success Of Secondary Special Education Students Outside Of Classroom In Integrated Occupational Learning Environments, Erik Yost

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to highlight the benefits of vocational work outside of the classroom for special education students, primarily those who are in enrolled in secondary school. It also questions how effective a vocational setting is compared to a traditional classroom setting for special education students nearing the end of their initial educational track. It was hypothesized that special education students, primarily enrolled in secondary or high school, benefit from a learning environment outside of a normalized classroom setting due to the first-hand experience gained in a real-world setting is more conducive to long-term success after completing …

Conceptual Model Of Career Counseling For Better Preparing Students For The Transition From School To Work, Brian Christopher Preble

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to design a conceptual model of career counseling for high school counselors to assist students with the school-to-work transition. A framework addressing the nature and substance of interactions and activities that support workforce preparation was needed. Qualitative research was conducted. Four focus groups comprised of unemployed individuals searching for work, gainfully employed artisans and skilled technicians, managers and employers from business and industry, and high school counselors were held to collect data. Two coders established intercoder agreements and a kappa was calculated to determine interrater reliability. Economic data obtained from interviews with business specialists …

Breaking The Silence: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Secondary Traumatic Stress In U.S. College Student Affairs Professionals, Robert Jason Lynch

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Breaking the Silence: A Phenomenological Exploration of Secondary Traumatic Stress in U.S. College Student Affairs Professionals is a qualitative-intensive mixed methods study using phenomenology and art-based research techniques to uncover the essence of secondary traumatic stress in U.S. college student affairs professionals. Researchers in the fields of psychology, counseling, social work and other helping professions suggest that repeated exposure to individuals experiencing trauma, or hearing repeated details of an individual’s trauma, have negative outcomes on professional helpers. Coined secondary traumatic stress, this phenomenon may be defined as “the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering …

The Effect Of Narrative Feedback On The Learning And Transfer Of Complex Communication Skills, Rebecca A. Kennedy

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the present research was to examine the effects of narrative performance feedback on learning and transfer of intercultural communication skills learned in an experiential training task. It was predicted that feedback based on a narrative structure, especially from a first-person perspective, would enhance learning by providing schemas for memory organization, contextual information, and emotional content. Using a healthcare-related training task, participants learned the CRASH principles of intercultural sensitivity and then performed a low-fidelity, text-based simulated conversation with a patient and patient’s family member. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three kinds of performance feedback: didactic, third-person …

Associations Between Ethnic Identity, Academic Efficacy, Achievement Goals And School Belonging Among Early Adolescents, Leah Bonilla

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is experiencing a major shift in the population as more students who are considered ethnic minorities enter the school system. These students are at an increased risk for school failure due to language barriers, challenges with experiencing potential discrimination, and debating their identities across two cultural contexts. Although students who are considered ethnic minorities risk many potential stressors, the literature has shown that ethnic identity is a factor that facilitates positive academic adjustment and engagement among this population. Previous literature has also documented mixed findings regarding the relationship between ethnic identity and school outcomes. The current study …

The Effects Of Students' Ability To Recall Information Based On Teacher Methods, Keanna Marie Ross

Theses and Dissertations

Technology runs the modern day world. Children whom are born in this generation are highly dependent and easily soothed by the electronics and television. Statistics show that children from ages 6 to 11 spend around 28 hours a week watching television. 71% of adolescents 8-11 have a television in their bedroom. (Television TV and Children: Your Child, n.d). Is it possible that this dependency on electronics have infiltrated our children's awareness in the classroom? Smartboards are very popular in schools today. In some schools, they are used throughout the entire day. Smartboards are used for basic instruction, interactive classroom games, …

An Examination Of Collegiate Extracurricular Activities And Career Aspiration Levels, Chelsey Lynn Ingram

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to evaluate the career aspiration levels of college students who participated in college-related extracurricular activities compared to students who did not participate in extracurricular activities. Additionally, this study compared each domain of extracurricular activities (e.g., athletics, the arts, service clubs, etc.) to determine which domain has the highest levels of aspirations. Survey responses provided a representation of participants' intended future career achievements and perceptions of participation in collegiate extracurricular activities. Data was collected from a sample of undergraduate students through online survey responses via Rowan University's SONA system. Bivariate correlation tests in SPSS for Windows were utilized …

Predictors Of Identified And Introjected Religiosity In Upper Elementary Age Children, Heather Ingersoll

Education Dissertations

The rise of research investigating children’s spirituality along with the emerging

view of children as social actors in their development provides the impetus to expand research investigating children’s voices around their religious experiences. A significant number of children regularly attend Christian education in church and yet there is limited research investigating how those programs support children’s faith (Bunge, 2006). The investigator designed this study to fill a gap in the literature by investigating the church as a context which supports children’s religiosity. The study was guided by theological reflection on the human spirit and self-determination theory as the theoretical framework. …

Sports Involvement And Academic Functioning In College Students, Mikala Connery

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine positive academic behaviors between college student athletes and non-athletes. Over 460,000 students participate in college sports yearly (NCAA, 2016). Early research shows sports involvement has a negative impact on academic achievement; however, current research contradicts those findings. Sports has become a popular extracurricular activity, so it is important to determine the actual relationship between sports involvement and academic functioning. This study examined that relationship by comparing grade point averages, academic self-efficacy, and motivation between student athletes and student non-athletes in a northeast university. An online self-reporting survey was administered to gather the …

The Relationship Between Mindfulness And Stress Among College Students, Elizabeth Marie Vonderheyde

Theses and Dissertations

College students who have high levels of stress have reported difficulties with functioning on a daily basis, whether it be high anxiety due to classes or an increase in unhealthy habits like smoking or overeating. Studies have shown that those who practice mindfulness every day learn how to live with accepting the stresses in their lives (Siegel & Allison, 2016). This study explored the relationship between mindfulness and stress in college students from a medium size public university in the northeast. Two self-report measures were used to collect data though an online survey. Data were subjected to descriptive and inferential …

Encountering Place, Pedagogy, And Culture: Study Abroad And Experiential Learning In Morocco And Indonesia, Jennifer M. Pipitone

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Efforts to globalize higher education have resulted in study abroad climbing to an all-time high in the United States. Amidst this growth, emergent bodies of literature have uncovered problematic trends in study abroad that reproduce hierarchies of power and colonialism, perpetuate views of an exotic cultural “other,” and privilege tourism over education. In my dissertation, I respond to these problems by exploring ways of teaching and learning in study abroad that embrace the pedagogical power of place to foster awareness of the self in relation to other, cultivate relationality, and deconstruct the exotic. Rather than focusing on the individual as …