Education Commons^™

A Discourse Analysis Of Parents' And Teachers' Social Constructions Of School Readiness And Transition To Kindergarten For Children With Disabilities, Ronica Senores Toyota

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examined parents’ and teachers’ social constructions of disability, school readiness, and the transition to kindergarten process for children with disabilities who participated in a self-contained preschool special education (SPED) class, called a special day class (SDC). The 12 participants included parents of children with disabilities (i.e., three with autism and one with Down syndrome), four preschool SDC teachers, two kindergarten SDC teachers, and two general education kindergarten teachers. They were recruited from a large urban school district in Southern California. Semistructured interviews were conducted to invite participants to share their experiences working with students with disabilities and their …

The Relationship Among Social And Psychological Inclusion, Marginalized Group Membership, And Student Outcomes, Katheryn Munguia

Education (PhD) Dissertations

As diversity grows in the United States, schools are tasked with supporting diverse students. This dissertation explored the concept of social and psychological inclusion as a potential protective factor for marginalized students. It examined the variables of inclusion, marginalized group membership, and student outcomes using the California Healthy Kids Survey administered to secondary students. Marginalized group membership included examining race, ethnicity, and the presence of bullying for a disability. Student outcomes included self-reported grades and attendance. This study revealed that the degree of inclusion affected students’ self-reported grades and attendance, with students reporting higher grades and attendance with higher degrees …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Autistic Adults, Sneha Kohli Mathur

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Although there is a plethora of autism-related research, research related to transition and support needs for autistic adults remains limited. The purpose of this study was to understand the hopes, dreams, aspirations, challenges, and lived experiences of autistic adults. Academic literature has largely emphasized autism as a medical deficit, and use of first-person narratives to understand needs of people on the autism spectrum is rare. To fill this gap, I conducted a narrative study through a social model of disability lens and centered voices of autistic individuals. The narrative component of this research allowed readers to understand the subjective experiences …

An Examination Of Chinese Private College Students’ Intercultural Competence, Li Li

Education (PhD) Dissertations

With globalization being a focus of the 21st century, the primary approach for responding to global challenges for higher education institutions is to adopt an internationalization strategy and accelerate the internationalization pace. To cultivate “global-ready” graduates, developing students’ intercultural competence (IC) has become one of the core missions of international and Chinese higher education institutions. Given the scarcity of quantitative studies on Chinese private college students’ IC and inconsistent findings on the relationships between foreign language capability, international experience, and IC in the extant literature, a quantitative study was conducted in a Chinese private college to explore 1,983 undergraduate students’ …

California Elected City Council Women Of Color: Building A Collaborative Vision With Inclusive Voice, Beatriz T. Valencia

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Following the U.S. presidential race of 2016, large numbers of women—particularly women of color—made the decision to run for political office for the first time at both the national and local levels. It is imperative that these women’s campaigns and victories are studied as a means to resist essentialism and honor the unique perspectives and histories of the voices of women of color in these political roles—roles highly underrepresented in literature and society at large. This dissertation focused on the victory speeches of 48, first-time, California city council, elected women of color (EWOC) with the aim of understanding their campaigns …

School Psychologists As Leaders In Professional Practice: An Examination Of Leadership Roles And Perceived Support, Jodi Lachance

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The professional role of a school psychologist leader is a topic of interest for those in the field. Since 1940, state or national associations have outlined recommendations and guidelines for school psychology leadership roles. School psychology leadership aligns with the NASP training and practice model and is critical in promoting best practice. However, we know very little about school psychology leadership in professional practice, and the school psychology leadership literature is relatively void of research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of school psychology leadership in professional practice, identify fundamental components (NASP competencies) perceived to …

School Psychologists And School Counselors’ Perceptions Of Preparation Received For The Provision Of School-Based Mental Health Services, Sherika Mckenzie

Education (PhD) Dissertations

School psychologists and school counselors are increasingly playing an essential role in the provision of school-based mental health services (SBMHS). This is especially true in California. Unfortunately, there are a few studies that have examined how California school psychologists and school counselors perceive their training to provide SBMHS, how they perceive their role in providing these services, and what they regard as their needs for professional development. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which California school psychologists and school counselors believe that their formal pre-service education and later in-service professional experiences have prepared them to …

Vietnamese Resilience Assessment: Exploratory And Confirmatory Factor Analysis For Scale Validation, Loan Le

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This study examines the validity of the Vietnamese Resilience Assessment (VRA), the Vietnamese-translated version of the Resilience Youth Development Module (RYDM), which is considered to be a reliable and reasonable instrument to survey the levels of external and internal assets for American students; its appropriateness to be used with Vietnamese students has yet been determined. To assist in validating the VRA, this study carried out both an exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis using the dataset that was obtained from the results of the Healthy Student Survey-Vietnam study (HSSV; Hass et al., 2014). Specifically, the study sought out to …

Experienced Pediatric Oncology Nurses Using Self-Reflective Practices In The Clinical Setting: A Descriptive Phenomenological Investigation, Daniel Josue Bonilla

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Pediatric oncology nurses can develop hazardous feelings of burnout over decades of clinical practice (Boyle & Bush, 2018). Interventions that help decrease burnout and improve professional development are reflective practices (Caldwell & Grobbel, 2013). Currently, there is a paucity of information on pediatric oncology nurses with 10 or more years of experience and how they use self-reflection to cope with workplace stressors. The purpose of this study was to explore how expert-level pediatric oncology nurses describe their experiences using self-reflective practices in the clinical setting. An interview-based exploration of the lived experiences of participants was necessary to understand the unique …

The Media, Education, And The State: Arts-Based Research And A Marxist Analysis Of The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Meng Zhao

Education (PhD) Dissertations

By 2019, the Syrian civil war has lasted for nearly eight years and it has created the largest humanitarian crisis since WWII (Achlume, 2015). Using the siege of Aleppo in 2016 as a case study, the author applied a Marxist-humanist theoretical framework and incorporated arts-based research methodology to examine how US news media supports capitalist social relations. The research question for this study was: how do the US media depictions of the siege of Aleppo, Syria in 2016 reflect capitalist social relations? There were three sub-questions that followed: (1) Which elements of the siege of Aleppo in 2016 get the …

Exploring Gender Roles And Gender Equality Within The Evangelical Church, Christopher Bishop

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This research aims to facilitate better understanding of perceptions of gender roles and gender equality among members of the Evangelical Church and to determine whether these perceptions differ by gender. The evangelical community’s ideologies and values have come to shape social and political dialogues within the United States. A key component of the faith is understanding the role each member plays within his or her family unit and community at large. The evangelical faith’s organizational structure and ideologies are informed by a patriarchal model that’s placed women at internal and structural odds, based on research exploring evangelically informed organizations. However, …

#Blackqueerlivesmatter: Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Black Gay Male Leaders In Los Angeles, Christopher Jackson

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The Black community and the gay community have historically experienced marginalization from society, public and private institutions, federal government agencies, and law enforcement. Black gay male leadership is not a conversation within leadership academia. This phenomenological study focuses on understanding the lived experiences and leadership among Black gay men who are leaders in Los Angeles County. This study found that the lived experiences such as oppression, mentorship, community involvement, and advocacy have influenced their leadership development and leadership identity. This study identifies how Black gay men define leadership, based off their lived experiences. It also identifies themes of leadership development …

An Analysis Of Mentoring And Job Satisfaction In Public And Private College And University Academic Libraries In California, Kevin M. Ross

Education (PhD) Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to determine how mentoring correlates with job satisfaction for library employees in academic college and university libraries throughout California. A secondary purpose is to determine if mentoring predicts job satisfaction in library employees who participate in this study. A tertiary purpose measures the relationship between mentoring, job satisfaction and the demographic variables of gender, age range, ethnicity, longevity, and level of position.

The library related literature includes an abundance of secondary resources on the individual concepts of mentoring and job satisfaction, but the association between these two concepts has not been discussed in …