Education Commons^™

Comparing Higher Order Value Differences By Religious And Spiritual Association And Implications For Counseling: An Exploratory Study, Gregory C. Lemich

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The spiritual but not religious (SBNR) population in the U.S. has grown into a significant minority demographic (27%; Lipka & Gecewicz, 2017). Despite this emergence, scant literature has addressed this population and how it differs in values from others, specifically, how SBNR groups differ from those who identify as spiritual and religious (SAR), religious but not spiritual (RBNS), and not spiritual or religious (NSOR). To help this deficiency, this dissertation study explored the intersection of spirituality, religiosity, spiritual and religious categories (SRC; i.e. SAR, SBNR, RBNS, NSOR), and the theory of basic human values (Schwartz, 1992, 1994; Schwartz et al., …

Examining Self-Contained And Integrated Physical Education Experiences Among Individuals With Visual Impairments, Rebecca Coffey

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Introduction. While research to date has examined the views of individuals with visual impairments toward integrated public-school physical education, little attention has been given to examining perspectives toward experiences at residential schools for those with visual impairments. By understanding the perspectives of those who attended physical education in both contexts, researchers can gain valuable information about particularities that can make experiences meaningful or challenging. The purpose of this study was to examine how individuals who experienced physical education in both integrated and residential school settings viewed their physical education class experiences. Methods. This study utilized a retrospective interpretative phenomenological approach …

A Comparison Of Academic Outcomes In Courses Taught With Open Educational Resources And Publisher Content, Diane N. Ryan

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The academic outcomes of retention, completion, persistence and final exam scores between courses taught with open educational resources (OER) and courses taught with publisher content (non-OER) were investigated in this mixed method sequential study. The perceptions and experiences of the instructors who taught the courses were also explored. The participants were 215 community college students enrolled in an online section of Introduction to Communication (CST 110), Western Civilization (HIS 111), Applied Calculus (MTH 270) or Introduction to Psychology (PSY 201). Four instructors volunteered to teach an OER section and a non-OER section within each discipline. Students were randomly divided into …

Globalization, Culture, And Online Learning: An Exploration Of The Sociocultural Perspectives Of Indian Students Participating In U.S.-Based Online Courses, Mitsue S. Shiokawa

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study correlates the impacts of globalization on higher education and the generation of online learning programs offered to global audiences. Concomitantly, it examines the sociocultural experiences of international students participating in United States based online courses. Of specific interest is the socialized culture of learning students from India bring with them into an online learning course, and how that socialized culture is negotiated through strategies of acculturation alongside the student’s perceived American culture of learning. The overarching focus of the study explores the advent of cybercultures within online learning course environments as a potential result of the intermingling of …

Mothers’ Voices In Early Childhood Education: A Dual Case Study Of Resettled Refugee Mothers’ Perspectives, Rebecca John

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. admits approximately 70,000 refugees each year. Many of these are families with young children. Refugee populations differ from broader immigrant populations in their background and experiences, yet they are rarely disaggregated from other immigrant populations within educational studies. Many refugee families meet the eligibility guidelines for early childhood educational programs, such as Head Start or public PreK programs; however, they often have difficulty navigating the enrollment process (Gross & Ntagengwa, 2016; Hooper, Zong, Capps, & Fix, 2016). To date, little is known about the specific experiences of resettled refugee mothers and their perspectives of navigating the early childhood …

Association Between Fiscal Effort Above Required Local Effort And Accreditation In Virginia Schools, Daniel C. Soderholm

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study expands on previous research regarding the adequacy of educational funding in order to reach a desired academic outcome. Specifically, this study examines Virginia policies of Standards of Quality and Standards of Accreditation to see if local fiscal effort above the minimum required by Virginia has an association to the desired minimum academic outcome of school accreditation.

The research in this study shows that when using a linear regression analysis or an ANCOVA there is no relationship between effort above Required Local Effort (RLE) and the percentage of students attending an accredited school. However, when looking at the non-linear …

Building Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (Ese): How Undergraduate Students Make Meaning Of Their Entrepreneurial Experiences, Amy Kurfist

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative, interview-based research study explores how undergraduate students at a single research university make meaning of their experiences in curricular and co-curricular university entrepreneurship programming. The study focuses on the developmental relationship between entrepreneurship education and feelings of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) and how feelings of ESE relate to future entrepreneurial intentions. I explore three of Bandura’s (1977) predictors of self-efficacy: mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion interwoven with the six dimensions of ESE developed by De Noble, Jung, and Ehrlich (1999) to determine how undergraduate students make meaning of their entrepreneurial experiences.

Through the analysis of data collected …

A Utility Framework For Selecting Immersive Interactive Capability And Technology For Virtual Laboratories, Shuo Ren

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

There has been an increase in the use of virtual reality (VR) technology in the education community since VR is emerging as a potent educational tool that offers students with a rich source of educational material and makes learning exciting and interactive. With a rise of popularity and market expansion in VR technology in the past few years, a variety of consumer VR electronics have boosted educators and researchers’ interest in using these devices for practicing engineering and science laboratory experiments. However, little is known about how such devices may be well-suited for active learning in a laboratory environment. This …

Factors That Influence Students’ Decisions To Enroll In Initial Vocational Education And Training (Ivet) Lyceums In Tajikistan, Farid Safarmamad

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the factors influencing students’ decisions to enroll in IVET lyceums in Tajikistan. The researcher administered a paper-based survey to collect data from a stratified random sample of n = 541 students in IVET lyceums. Data were analyzed by performing descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, chi-squares tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and principal axis factoring (PAF). The findings showed that IVET students are mainly male (70%), from rural areas (60%), economically disadvantaged (60%), and enrolled after 9th grade (68%). There was a strong relationship between gender and program enrollment, meaning female and male students …

Examining The Relationship Between Expectancy-Value Motivation, Barriers, And Physical Activity Engagement Among Adults With Visual Impairments, Tiffany Nicole Kirk

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Despite the documented benefits associated with physical activity, adults with visual impairments tend to participate in insufficient physical activity for health promotion. Current literature suggests that barriers to physical activity, or factors that constrain participation in physical activity, may inform the physical activity participation of adults with visual impairments. The purpose of the first study was to develop and validate a brief scale designed to measure the magnitude of barriers to physical activity for use among adults with visual impairments. Expectancy-value theory may offer insight into physical activity by examining adults with visual impairments’ expectancy beliefs and subjective task values …

Collaboration And Community In Undergraduate Writing Synchronous Video Courses (Svcs), Kimberly Fahle

English Theses & Dissertations

From the 2013 Position Statement of Principles and Example Effective Practices for Online Writing Instruction (OWI), OWI Principle 11 suggests, “Online writing teachers and their institutions should develop personalized and interpersonal online communities to foster student success.” Previous discussions of synchronous modalities have suggested interpersonal benefits of this mode could aid in creating these communities and could minimize the isolation and transactional distance students can experience in asynchronous instruction, which in turn can impact their persistence and learning. However, with little research on this modality, it is difficult to corroborate this assumption or design synchronous courses to best exploit these …

The Psychometric Properties Of The School Counseling Internship Competency Scale, Melanie Ann Burgess

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Counselor education programs aim to adequately train competent pre-service counselors to fulfill a myriad of roles and responsibilities associated with their specialty area. In accordance with professional organizations, gatekeeping is an ethical responsibility of counselor educators and supervisors to protect the welfare of clients and the health of the counseling profession through ongoing evaluation of pre-service counselors. Presently, no standardized evaluation tool exists to assess school counseling interns comprehensively, attending to school counseling competencies, dispositions, roles, and responsibilities. The purpose of the study is to attend to the gap in literature through the creation and validation of The School Counseling …

Principal Influence On Collective Efficacy: A Single Case Study Looking At Principal Efficacy Influence On An Elementary School Through The Perspective Of Teachers, Jennifer Anne Banks

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study explored ways in which self-efficacy beliefs and actions of a principal contributed to the shaping of school’s collective efficacy through teachers’ perceptions. A general qualitative methods approach was used. The study featured a single embedded case design highlighting one high-poverty school achieving state accreditation standards for student proficiency levels in English and math. The study population consisted of 14 elementary school teachers in a district in a state in the mid-Atlantic region. Data were collected through a survey, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group to answer the following research questions: (1) What experiences/elements were influential in developing the …

Sustainability Of Study Abroad Programs At Rural Community Colleges, Michelle Lieberman

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

In this era of increased globalization, it is important to prepare students to participate in world issues and a worldwide economy. Study abroad increases knowledge regarding international affairs, boosts access to valuable cross-cultural experiences, and promotes academic success, retention (Raby, Rhodes, & Biscarra, 2014), cultural awareness (Clarke, Flaherty, Wright, & McMillen, 2009), and professional growth (Younes & Asay, 2003). Community colleges educate nearly half of the nation’s undergraduate students, but offer disproportionately few study-abroad programs (Hardy & Katsinas, 2007). Little existing research has documented the study abroad experiences of community college students. Even fewer studies have addressed sparse community college …

Political Culture And Policy: The Impact Of Culture And Values On School Choice Legislation, Heather Leigh Neal

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Policy actors unite political culture, power, and values to make substantial decisions which are often subjective in nature. Politics and policy are about collective decisions, which rely on the arrangement of a group of people. As values can influence policy actors in their attempt to solve problems, it is important for policymakers to establish a balance among the most essential values. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate how, and what ways, political culture influenced how state stakeholders interpreted or implemented policy. Power and values were explored as both can connect for the implementation of policy. If values, …

High School Student Attributions, Interest, And Self-Efficacy In Fitness Testing, Summer Davis

Human Movement Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the extent to which (a) healthy weight and overweight/obese high school students differ in Progressive Aerobic Cardiorespiratory Endurance Run (PACER) and push-up test performances, (b) attributions for PACER and push-up test outcomes differ based on weight status and performance (in the healthy fitness zone [HFZ] vs not in HFZ), (c) attribution dimension scores differ based on student weight status and performance, and (d) content-specific motivation constructs including personal interest, self-efficacy and attribution dimensions predict PACER and push-up test performances. High school students (n=185) first completed questionnaires assessing their interest and self-efficacy for the PACER and push-up fitness …

An Experimental Study Of Research Self-Efficacy In Master’S Students, Nicola Aelish Meade

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Engaging master’s counseling students in the research literature and facilitating an environment that strengthens their research identity development are necessities for counselor educators. This need is juxtaposed with over 20 years of research, which found that counseling students appeared to lack confidence and have low interest in this topic (Gelso, Baumann, Chui, & Savela, 2013; Phillips & Russell, 1994). Low research self-efficacy was presented as an important explanatory factor. Thus, this experimental study deployed a pedagogical intervention based on the work of Albert Bandura and his social learning theory. Two sections of the required research course in a southeastern university …

An Exploration Of Professional Preparedness Of Instructional Designers To Evaluate, Philena V. Devaughn

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Formative, summative, and confirmative evaluation of instructional products determine whether learner objectives have been attained and substantiate the value of the instruction. The ability to implement an evaluation plan is classified as an essential skill for instructional designers by the International Board of Standards for Training and Performance Improvement (IBSTPI). Previous research has ascertained that entry-level instructional designers have failed to master the skills required to create evaluation plans.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the professional preparation received by instructional designers, for instruction evaluation, through graduate level programs. The data collected for this study was the …

Networkings Role In The Informal Learning Of Elementary Principals, Joshua J. Ringling

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Formal learning is an important aspect for school principals in the era of federal and state accountability. These formal learning opportunities provide the conditions for leadership development and personal growth. Although formal learning has been a consistent focus of educational leadership research, informal learning has not. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative case study methodology to gain a better understanding of in depth Social Networking amongst school principals with varying levels of experience, as well as capturing the what and how of knowledge transfer amongst principals. This study found that a principal’s informal learning opportunities are just …

Science In The School Library Inquiry Model (Sslim): A Mixed-Methods Case Study Of The Implementation Of A Science And Information Inquiry Curriculum In An Elementary Library, Bree L. Ruzzi

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Data indicate that students in the U.S. may start school with lower levels of science understanding and that these levels may consistently remain lower throughout their public-school career. With deficits in science achievement starting in the earliest years of students’ education, benefits may be gained by exploring alternate resources and alternative environments that can support young student’s science education and achievement. A largely unexplored area for science instruction is in the school library. This dissertation, a mixed-methods, case study, examined the creation and implementation of a novel information and science inquiry model and curriculum, SSLIM. This curriculum was created and …

The Impact Of A Teacher’S Implementation Of The Readworks Digital Reading Program On Second Graders’ Reading Fluency And Comprehension Test Scores, Cynthia Molina

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Since elementary school student performance on the end-of-year summative Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Standards of Learning (SOL) reading test is vital in impacting school accreditation, computer-assisted instruction has become popular. Online reading programs have existed in many elementary schools in Norfolk Public School district since 1996, such as Breakthrough to Literacy (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002), Istation in 2014 (Mathes, Torgesen, & Herron, 2015), and the i-Ready program from 2015 to 2017 (Curriculum Associates, 2014). The problem is that there is insufficient empirical research supporting the use of the ReadWorks program at several Norfolk, Virginia’s elementary schools.

The purpose of this …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …