Education Commons^™

Implementation Of Tuning In To Kids Social-Emotional Learning Program In The Kyrgyz Republic, Anasatsiia Iun

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

To date, no research on the influence of social-emotional learning (SEL) instruction on school violence and academic performance in the Kyrgyz Republic has been published. However, the current levels of school violence and poor academic performance in Kyrgyz schools warrant action. According to the UNICEF report (2012), 83% of students reported witnessing or experiencing instances of violence at school. Research has shown positive results of SEL instruction on reducing school violence in various countries (Taylor et al., 2017). Therefore, the goal of this study was to pilot the implementation of a Russian translation of the Tuning in to Kids program, …

An Actionable Step: Evaluating The Impact Of A Text-Based Vocabulary Intervention To Support Middle School Emergent Bilinguals’ Vocabulary Growth, Annisha R. H. Susilo

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Research over the last two decades has shown middle school EBs are at risk for academic failure due to compounded systematic challenges that prevented them from acquiring reading proficiency level required to succeed in academic setting (Bowman-Perrott et al., 2010; Deussen et al., 2017; Sheng et al., 2011; Slama, 2012). EBs face shortages of qualified teachers, lack of access to quality instruction, and lack of appropriate assessment tools (Carnoy & Garcia, 2017; Sanchez, 2017; Umansky, 2016). This crisis is particularly acute for middle schoolers, as academic content often requires extensive reading. Middle school EBs are falling behind academically in comparison …

Impacts Of Attribution Style On Academics, Personal Relationships, And Extracurricular Activities: A Mixed Methods Study Of Learned Helplessness In Secondary Students, Joslyn Vendola

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The phenomenon of learned helplessness is the state in which an individual no longer views their outcomes as contingent upon their effort in response to previous failure outcomes and stressful events which were out of their control. Learned helplessness symptoms are often observed amongst students who experience other challenges simultaneously, such as low academic achievement, emotional disability (ED) diagnosis, and/or low-socioeconomic status (low-SES). The existing LH research focuses on identification, labeling, and offering interventions, such as learned optimism (LO) and attribution retraining. The lack of qualitative data, specifically student input, is a gap in the current body of research that …

The Careful Educator, Linwood Jackson Jr.

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Inward balance is experienced when one is able to make sense of various thoughts and feelings conjured by experience. My time in the Critical & Creative Thinking program at the University of Massachusetts Boston has introduced me to a possible formula giving me an answer as to why such an inward balance is, and especially for educators, both so liberating and so necessary. With “philosophy” being a key part of the equation, the balance to be experienced is for educating in a way where former experience sheds light on present and future goals. Passing this experience to our students, allowing …

Assessing The Role Of Motivational Factors In Facilitating Artists’ Personal And Professional Development, Ece Gurler

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Various factors exert influence on an artist’s impetus. If artists can learn about different ways to use these both external and internal factors to facilitate their personal and professional development, their creative process and productivity will be affected positively. According to the research, individuals display three types of orientation during the exploration and development process -and so creative process: The desire to be effective (White, 1959), autonomous (DeCharms, 1968), and related to significant others (Deci & Ryan, 1991). Effective-oriented personalities tend to be motivated by extrinsic rewards or punishment, whereas autonomously oriented people are more intrinsically motivated. However, understanding the …

Meaningful Engagement Via Robotic Telepresence: An Exploratory Case Study, Tommy Lister

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

Recent advances in robotic telepresence have created new opportunities for students that are unable to engage in traditional classroom environments physically. Although these technologies are still being tested in application, early indicators support the idea that robotic telepresence enhances the learning experience by allowing greater autonomy and depth of engagement with peers. This exploratory case study examines the experiences of a fifth-grade student who was limited in her ability to attend school due to illness. It utilizes a qualitative investigation into the experiences of robotic-telepresence from the perspectives of the remote student, peer students in the classroom context, and the …

Experiences Of Trust In Longer-Lasting Formal Youth Mentoring Relationships, Michelle Levine

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal qualitative study was to investigate youth experiences of trust and mentor experiences supporting youth trust in longer-term formal youth mentoring relationships. Trust was defined as youth relying on and confiding in their mentors based on experiences of mentor reliability, honesty, and emotional sensitivity and protection from emotional harm. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview data from a longitudinal dataset, involving analysis of narratives from interviews (n=147) with youth, mentors, and parents for mentoring matches that lasted at least two years. Overall, participants in this study identified multiple ways trust was experienced by youth and supported …

The Living Classroom: A Professional Learning Session, Albert P. Buckley Jr.

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

The American public school classroom has begun moving from the traditional furniture of education (hard plastic chairs attached to desks) to flexible mobile furniture as part of a holistic approach to creating a learning environment that enhances learning for its students. This project describes the process derived in the development and delivery of an asynchronous professional learning session aimed at helping teachers acclimate and engage new or adapted physical and psychological attributes to the learning environments in their care. The program is backed with research demonstrating why the progressive classroom improves the learning experience for both students and teachers. The …

Supervisory Dyads In School Psychology Internships: Does Personality Difference Affect Ratings Of Supervisory Working Alliance, Supervision Satisfaction, And Work Readiness?, Sheila P. Desai

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The internship is a critical part of graduate training and often the only opportunity to receive on-site clinical supervision during school psychology practice. Nonetheless, the process of pairing interns with field supervisors is not standardized and sometimes relies on factors such as logistics and supervisor credentials rather than a consideration of interpersonal variables that could optimize the internship experience. Related fields have found mixed evidence for a relationship between personality similarity within a supervisory dyad and outcomes such as a strong supervisory relationship, satisfaction with supervision, and supervisee effectiveness. This study examined the influence of personality similarity on ratings of …

Fostering The Spiritual Development Of Undergraduates Through Service-Learning, Michelle C. Sterk Barrett

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

By integrating spiritual development theories with Sanford's theory of challenge and support and study findings, this mixed methods study examines how spiritual development may be occurring through service-learning. The relationship between service-learning participation and spiritual growth is analyzed by addressing the following research questions: 1) Does spiritual growth occur among undergraduates participating in service-learning? 2) Which aspects of the service-learning experience relate to the occurrence of spiritual growth? 3) What role do "challenge" and "support" play in the process of spiritual growth?

The 272 study participants are drawn from the Boston College PULSE Program, a service-learning program that requires 10-12 …