Education Commons^™

Animal Assisted Therapy And Support Animals, What Mental Health Professionals Know And Understand, Alexandro H. Velez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Animal-assisted therapy can greatly benefit mental health professionals with clients in and out of the school settings in many ways. It is believed mental health professionals are successfully implementing Animal Assisted Therapy, even though some are not. Mental health professionals who are not using Animal Assisted Therapy are not doing so as the result of various variables, such as lack of information, knowledge, training, certification and policies, which prevents them from using Animals Assisted Therapy with clients and the community. It is also believed some mental health professionals are using animals as part of therapeutic interventions without proper training. The …

Motivation And Online Information Literacy Instruction: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Francesca Marineo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Information literacy skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving skills, are imperative for academic, personal, and professional success. Unfortunately, many students graduate only to be more daunted than ever by the vast amount of information available to them and increasingly rely on convenience over quality in their information-seeking behaviors. This study hoped to address this by increasing students’ motivation for engaging in an online information literacy module. Using self-determination theory (SDT) from the field of motivation, motivationally-supportive modules were designed to support students’ feelings of autonomy and competence and ultimately grades on their final research assignment. Experimental conditions included providing relevance, …

College Student Depression: An Examination Of Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Gender And Sexual Orientation Diversity, And Help-Seeking Willingness, Sharon Jalene

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Depression is a serious illness characterized by persistent low mood, reduced cognitive capacity, and fatigue. Although treatable, depression is the leading cause of disability and ill-health worldwide and a significant contributor to suicide, the second leading cause of death for young Americans. In any given two-week period, 8.1% of adults in the United States had moderate to severe depression (2013-2016). The rate of depression for females was twice that of males and compared to the majority, sexual and gender minorities (SGM) were at a threefold risk. Furthermore, evidence suggests that depression incidence is three times higher in college students than …

Beyond Right Or Wrong: The Influences Of Thinking Disposition And Item Difficulty On Student Behavior During High-Stakes Testing, Kristina Lindquist

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A hallmark of clinician decision making is the ability to know when to make quick decisions and when decision making should be slowed to account for complicating factors. Throughout the physician training process, multiple choice test items are used to assess student knowledge however, these items do not assess the process used by a student to arrive at the answer choice. If an important characteristic of decisions in clinical practice is timing, then decision timing could be an important consideration for medical school assessments. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to investigate factors that may affect the amount of …

Examining The Training Transfer Practice Of A Financial Institution: An Action Research Study, Maria Lourdes Lourdes Gutierrez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many organizations rely on training to improve the skills and knowledge of its human resources. The underlying assumption is that employees will use what they learned when they return to the workplace. Although there is evidence that learning occurred it does not always result in transfer (Mosel, 1957). Transfer is an issue of concern for training practitioners. If despite the significant investment no return is realized, then the training is not effective and the investment is wasted. This action research study was conducted in a financial institution in the Southwestern United States. The purpose of this study was to (1) …

Conversational Movement Dynamics And Nonverbal Indicators Of Second Language Development: A Microgenetic Approach, Kristine Marie Bragg

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation study extends on current understandings of gesture and embodied interaction with the eco-social environment in second language development (SLD) while introducing new aspects of movement analysis through dynamical modeling. To understand the role of embodiment during learning activities, a second language learning task has been selected. Dyads consisting of a non-native English-speaking student and a native English-speaking tutor were video recorded during writing consultations centered on class assignments provided by the student. Cross-recurrence quantification analysis was used to measure interactional movement synchrony between the members of each dyad. Results indicate that students with varied English proficiency levels synchronize …

The Impacts Of Acculturation Patterns And Processes On Immigrants' Success In Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study Of 1.25-Generation Third-Wave Iranian Immigrants To The United States, Fereshteh Rezaeian

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The United States of America is inherently a pluralistic society composed of various groups of immigrants. As scholars (Camarota & Zeigler, 2016; Gibson, 1998) state, the number of immigrant children accounts for 20% of the total number of school-age children. Despite all attempts to provide the best education to such a great number of immigrant students, the achievement gap between immigrant and non-immigrant students still exists (Baum & Flores, 2011; Rong & Preissle, 2008). Some scholars (e.g., Ramos & Sanchez, 1995) have proposed that the key factor for immigrants to be successful in the United States is to adapt to …

The Roles Of Biophilic Attitudes And Auditory Stimuli Within Attention Restoration Theory, Jason B. Boggs

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Attention Restoration Theory indicates that interacting with nature allows one’s fatigued, directed attention to be restored. This effect has been documented and produced through directed interaction with nature, such as a walk in the park, as well as through indirect interactions (e.g., photographs). The current dissertation was designed to: 1) investigate whether and how biophilic attitudes affect the attention-restoring effects incurred from interactions with nature, and 2) extend the research on ART by assessing the impact of nature-related audio stimuli. A total of 184 participants completed an assessment of biophilic attitudes, engaged in attention fatiguing exercises, and participated in one …

Having Or Serving: Perceptions Of Hsis, Rebecca Gates

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite substantial growth within the Latinx population and its access to higher education, there are still significant gaps with regard to degree attainment. In 2015, 36% of U.S. adults aged 25 and older had at least a bachelor’s degree. However, only 15% of those adults were Latinx, the lowest percentage amongst any racial/ethnic minority (NCES, 2016). While 67% of non-Hispanic White students entering four-year colleges complete their degree in six years, only 47% of Latinxs do so (Carey, 2009). These gaps represent an attainment disparity within higher education based upon population demographics. The purpose of this study was to address …

Malingering Undetected Successfully: Does Extrinsic Motivation And Coaching Have A Significant Impact?, Jennifer Golanics

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The present study examined the effectiveness of a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) coaching (i.e., providing information about mTBI symptoms) and motivational incentive (i.e., a $50 gift card lottery) on the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) test performance. The sample included a total of 162 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: coached plus warning instruction and motivation incentive, coached instruction and motivation incentive, uncoached instruction and motivation incentive, coached plus warning instruction and no motivation incentive, coached instruction and no motivation incentive, and uncoached instruction and …

Reimagining High School Writing: A Multi-Case Examination Of The Impact Of External Pressures On High School Writing Contexts, Nicole Elizabeth Klimow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Research concerning teachers’ pedagogical beliefs shows a strong relationship between planning and instruction; however, the sources of pedagogical beliefs have not been researched thoroughly. Because teachers bring their histories and experiences to their interactions with students, their pedagogical beliefs may also be present in their instruction, mediating the relationship between knowledge (planning) and action (writing instruction). Framed by Sociocultural Theory (SCT), the purpose of this qualitative, multi-site, multi-case case study was first to understand teachers’ expectations for teaching writing based on their beliefs about learning. A secondary intent was to examine ways in which high school English teachers’ learning expectations …

Media Portrayals Of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cars2 And Frame Analysis Of The Sesame Street Character Julia, Sallyann Ficarrotta

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Media Portrayals of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A CARS2 and frame analysis of the Sesame Street character Julia Media portrayals of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are grossly exaggerated and inaccurate. Julia, a Muppet with ASD, is not depicted as having high-functioning autism, but most of the exaggerated portrayals depicted in movies and television are of a person on that end of the spectrum. The current study, a quantitative content analysis of Julia from Sesame Street, draws from framing theory, most importantly stigmatizing cues, and utilizes the professional assessment tool, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2). The tool was used to rate …

Beyond The Bench And The Bedside: Examining Women’S Success In Stem Via Active Learning Projects, Sarah E. Thoman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gender inequality is a persistent challenge in fields related to science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) in the U.S. The current study aims to advance the literature in a burgeoning area of inquiry by identifying factors that may help to account for women’s success in STEM. To evaluate STEM success, I used a mixed methods design to investigate STEM identity, career identity status, career commitment, and both individual and situational resilience among women undergraduates. Students were engaged in two project-based STEM programs organized at a large, diverse, research intensive university in the Southwest U.S. Associations between resilience and career commitment, …

Race, Resilience, And Resistance: A Culturally Relevant Examination Of How Black Women School Leaders Advance Racial Equity And Social Justice In U.S. Schools, Tonya Evette Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This culturally relevant qualitative examination of the leadership of Black women educational leaders (BWEL) committed to advancing a social justice leadership agenda within the contested spaces (Stovall, 2004) comprising United States (U.S.) P-12 schools, employs an African centered emancipatory methodology (Kershaw, 1990, 1992; Tillman, 2002), situated in a conceptual framework grounded in the research on applied critical leadership (Santamaria, 2013). It examines, highlights, celebrates, and makes transparent, the unique leadership of BWEL. Engaged to rebuke the silencing and marginalization of women educational leaders of color in the educational leadership discourse, this study bridges engages a multiple case study approach, phenomenological …

Student Expectations And Motivation In Spanish For Heritage Speakers Programs, Sergio A. Guzman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The changing demographics in the United States and the growing need for multilingual individuals originated by globalization, among other reasons, have contributed to the emergence of a new field within the area of Applied Linguistics: The Teaching and Learning of Heritage Languages. Due to historical and geographic causes, Spanish for Heritage Speakers (SHS) is currently the largest and most established of these programs. However, the curricula, like those of most college courses, has been developed from professors’ perspectives, largely ignoring what students want to learn and/or their motives for enrolling in these classes. The lack of student input is especially …

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- …

The Impact Of Supportive Parenting On Career Confidence Of Young Adults, Salma Ettefagh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite freedoms for women in modern economies, there remains a large disparity between female graduation rates and women achieving high-ranking positions in the business world. Confidence may be one factor why women are underrepresented in the executive class.This

exploratory research investigated if supportive parenting has an effect on self-reported career confidence among undergraduates. A quantitative ANOVA analysis found that instrumental support factors (for example, money and tuition) overall were significant in predicting performance-based confidence, particularly for males. However, qualitative results showed that supportive parenting and confidence are not always correlated.

An Examination Of Differences In Division I Fbs Student-Athlete Academic And Athletic Performance, Marissa Katherine Nichols

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The student-athlete literature if rife with studies that examine the factors that appear to improve or inhibit academic or athletic performance. However, internal characteristics that may influence variations in performance have been understudied, and athletic performance tends to be examined separately from academic performance. This study examined how different types of Division I FBS performers – high academic, high athletic; high academic, low athletic; low athletic, high academic; and low academic, low athletic – differ on three theoretical and conceptual frameworks representing internal factors. Each of the frameworks, Mindset, Personal Growth Initiative, and Student-Athlete Experiences, have positive attributes relative to …

Maintaining Nurses' Currency In Informatics, Jennifer Alaine Strawn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Technology has changed how registered nurses (RNs) provide care at the bedside. As more technologies are utilized to improve quality of care, safety of care, maximize efficiencies, and decrease costs of care, one must question how well the information technologies (IT) are fully integrated and utilized by the front-line bedside nurse in his or her practice. Despite the pervasiveness of IT in healthcare, there is a paucity of literature on how Chief Nursing Officers (CNOs) assure the ongoing education and training for nurses to maintain IT competencies in the practice environment.

From this author’s lived experience as a CNO, it …

Preventing Deaths By Writing: In Search Of A Prescriptive Software Solution For Curing Student Writing Ills In Postsecondary Nursing Education, Donald Allen Deever

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Life and death represent the nursing field, and to a number of educators, helping nursing students to develop effective writing skills is equally seen as a life and death matter. A lack of proficiency in writing may literally be the death of a nursing student’s college hopes, but more importantly is the thought that a lack of proficient writing skills by nurses may mean the death of patients. Peer-reviewed studies suggest that 440,000 patients die annually in hospitals due to mistakes called adverse events (AE’s). According to research, a lack of proper communication, including written communication, represents the third leading …

De-Colonizing Language Needs: A Critical Ethnographic Study Of Former And Current Teachers’ Language Dispositions And How Taking A Multicultural Education Course Mediates Those Dispositions, Ravijot Singh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this critical ethnographic research was to examine how taking a Multicultural Education course mediated teachers’ language dispositions. Particularly, this study examined how language and culture have a profound connection that is largely unrecognized in the American education system, and how lack of respect for the home language of students by their teachers leads to negative attitudes towards the children and impedes students’ academic progress.

This study used a theoretical and conceptual framework that incorporate intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991) as its research paradigm to understand the interaction and overlapping roles of language and culture in society, and how neoliberal …

Corporatized Higher Education: A Quantitative Study Examining Faculty Motivation Using Self-Determination Theory, Aaron Dale Brown

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The intent of this research is to offer a quantitative analysis of self-determined faculty motivation within the current corporate model of higher education across public and private research universities. With such a heightened integration of accountability structures, external reward systems, and the ongoing drive for more money and institutional prestige, this study examines faculty attitudes towards their work and the institution using Deci and Ryan’s (1985) self-determination theory (SDT).

Under the corporatized model of higher education, a gap is found in the literature that explores the role of SDT’s three innate needs (i.e., autonomy, competency, and relatedness) and their effect …

Thinking About Those Who Value You Based On How Smart You Are: Effects On Effort And Test Anxiety, Lucie Vosicka

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The work examined whether activating a domain of a close other’s contingency of acceptance leads to more anxiety in anticipation of an evaluative performance in that domain (Study 1), and greater effort toward improving oneself in that domain (Study 2). In a between-group experimental design, contingencies of acceptance were manipulated by a guided visualization of a close other whose acceptance was perceived either as non-contingent (intrinsic), contingent on a task-irrelevant domain (physical appearance), or contingent on a task-relevant domain (competence). The effects of the acceptance contingency condition on anxiety and effort were not statistically significant. However, in Study 1, six …

The People's College? An Examination Of Who Governs Community Colleges At The Local Level, Katheryn Christine Brekken

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Community colleges are playing an increasingly important role in national and local postsecondary education and economic development policy arenas. These two-year institutions educate 46 percent of American undergraduates, including the majority of African American, Hispanic and Native American undergraduate students. However, community colleges are failing to graduate students, particularly students of color (AACC, 2012). Given the national demand for graduates, policymakers are struggling to help more under-represented groups succeed and complete their college degrees. Therefore, an examination of who is governing community colleges and making important policy decisions to address student success is critical. While there are a variety of …

The Impact Of Successful Ncaa Division I Athletics Programs On The Social Capital Of Urban Communities, Paul Woody

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined how urban communities might grow social capital from the passion and support offered by a college athletics program. Given the increasing emphasis on fiscal responsibility from local governments and public universities, recognizing how college athletics programs influence local community social capital, such as anchor attachments formed by alumni and fans, is an important perspective. Historically, the exhausted conversation has focused on economics, such as the economic impact of athletic venues and franchises. (Coates, 2007; Crompton, 2004). Through decades of research, social capital has been measured at various depths and viewed through social, economic, psychological, and even historical …

The Role Of School Boards In Addressing Opportunity And Equity For English Learners In The U.S. Mountain West, Carrie Sampson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Locally-elected school boards in the United States may be the public’s closest democratic link to public education. Yet, little is known about how school boards balance their representational obligations with their responsibilities to address educational inequities. The purpose of this study is to examine how school boards address policies and practices for one of education’s most vulnerable populations, English learners (EL). Applying the conceptual framework of social construction theory for policy design, which assumes that policy is heavily influenced by the social construction of target groups, this multiple-case study includes data from 30 interviews, four years of school board meeting …

The Concordance Of Caregiver-Teacher Perspectives On The Behavior Of Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Allison Werlinger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Diagnosing a child with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a complex process that can require the collaboration of many individuals. Gathering information from multiple informants has been essential for diagnosis (CDC, 2012). The Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher Rating Form (TRF) have been used in research to determine cross-informant agreement within various clinical populations, but little research has studied the concordance of caregiver-teacher perceptions on the behavior of children with FASDs. Data from 139 participants diagnosed with an FASD through the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada were included for analysis. Interrater Pearson r …

Understanding Contingent Faculty: A Quantitative Study Of Engagement, Satisfaction, Commitment, And Mentoring Needs, Heidi Batiste

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The representation of contingent faculty in higher education is prevalent, as a result of changes in the staffing practices in academia. The American higher education system currently employs roughly 4 contingent faculty members for every one, which is tenured or on the tenure-track. As a result of an extensive study on part-time academic faculty, Gappa and Leslie (1993) developed a typology as a way to categorize them. The typology consisted of four employment profiles based primarily on academic background, employment history, and career motivations: career-enders, specialists/experts/professionals, aspiring academics, and freelancers (Gappa & Leslie, 1993). This quantitative study used survey research …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Peer Networks And Peer Video Modeling On Positive Social Interactions Performed By Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Conrad Oh-Young

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A concern that parents of children with disabilities have is whether or not their offspring are able to interact and be accepted by children who do not have disabilities. Unfortunately children with developmental disabilities (DD) may experience difficulties when interacting with typically developing peers. One method of addressing this issue has been to ensure that children with DD receive instruction in the same school setting as their peers. However, simply attending the same school as children who are typically developing may not be enough. Hence the need for interventions such as peer network (PN) and peer video modeling (PVM), that …

Impact Of Universal Social-Emotional And Behavioral Screening Among Middle School Students: A Multistage Approach To Identification, Kristen M. Ballinger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mental health problems often have an onset during the school age years and significantly impact the development, academic achievement, and future success of children and adolescents (Kessler et al., 2005). Less than half of the 10% to 20% of youth believed to be emotionally and behaviorally at-risk receive the mental health services they need (Bradshaw et al., 2008; Gresham, 2007). As a result, universal screening for mental health risk has been recommended as the best initial step to identifying and intervening with at-risk students. Numerous screeners and methods of implementation exist, but a widely accepted and utilized process has failed …