Education Commons^™

Pediatric Anxiety Disorders And Their Accommodation In The Classrom, Olivia Hobson

Honors Theses

This project is an exploration of the origins, neurology and impacts of pediatric anxiety disorders, as well as the research-backed best practices for their accomodation within the school classroom setting.

Implementation Of A Standardized Suicide Screening Process In A University Student Health Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project, Addie Grace Strong, Kathryn Dambrino, R. David Phillippi, Linda Wofford

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among college age students, prompting the need for evidence-based screening tools like the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to enable early detection and timely intervention. Inconsistencies in suicide screening may pose a risk of missed intervention opportunities. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project specifically aimed to improve the quality and consistency of suicide screening in a university student health clinic by implementing the C-SSRS tool into the clinic workflow during mental health appointments. Methods: Employing a quality improvement framework, this scholarly project followed the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Model for Improvement …

Balancing Wellness And Leadership: Exploring Black Women Administrators’ Subjective Well-Being, Resilience, And Radical Self-Care In Higher Education, Lashae Grottis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leaders in higher education experience high and unrealistic demands for their skills, time, and energy, causing stress, competing priorities, burnout, compromised health, and attrition. However, unlike other racial and gender groups, Black women higher education administrators experienced these challenges more intensely. As a result of chronic stress associated with being undervalued and overworked, discriminatory and unwelcoming workplaces, and intersectional biases, Black women leaders are leaving higher education workplaces. Despite the link between gendered racism and unwellness, little is known about the problem from a positive leadership perspective. This study addressed the lack of knowledge of the wellness strategies Black women …

The Shifting Landscape Of Adolescent Wellness In Boarding Schools: Can Time Spent Off Screens And Outdoors Improve Adolescent Wellbeing?, Kristen H. Peterson

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

For nearly twenty years I have worked directly with adolescents as an independent school educator. Whether in the classroom, on the field, or in the dorm, I have observed and supported students through their middle and high school experiences. During this time, I have witnessed an alarming shift in adolescent physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. Concurrently, I have observed a dramatic increase in the amount of time students spend using screen-based devices, and a decrease in their time spent outdoors.

Using research to ground my anecdotal accounts in empirical understanding, my thesis examines whether or not screen use might help …

Lived Experiences Of People With Substance Use Disorder As Healthcare Education To Develop Empathy For This Population, Whitney Bynum

Nursing | Senior Theses

The negative attitudes and feelings of healthcare workers towards patients with substance use disorder are well documented. These include, but are not limited to, believing a person with this disease is “drug seeking”, “violent”, and “unmotivated”. While this population has challenging issues to address, these beliefs can decrease the quality of care provided and results in less people seeking out needed treatment. Reducing stigmas through alternative education methods, like learning the life story of a patient, can help health care workers develop feelings of empathy and compassion. Subsequently, this education can result in better care and outcomes for these patients. …

Overcoming Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: Practical Approaches In The Classroom, Sarah Day

Honors Projects

Foreign language speaking anxiety is a prevalent issue impacting language learners' confidence, participation, and overall language acquisition. With personal experiences as a language learner, a Spanish teacher in the United States, and an English teacher in Spain, I have observed how foreign language speaking anxiety affects learners from various demographics. Using a combined approach of personal observations, experiences as a language learner and teacher, and secondary research this project aims to address the primary sources of foreign language speaking anxiety among high school students and how both students and teachers can work to lessen the negative effects of foreign language …

Implications Of California State Standards In Relation To Disordered Eating For School Aged Children, Jessica De Mott

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Food is a part of people’s lives, even when it is not acknowledged. It is distinctly tied to various cultures, ethnicities, and religions; with elements of restriction and gluttony abundant. Then, there is the complication of modern nutrition and health education that is taught in American, and more specifically in Californian schools. But, the education received on this issue has failed some students. Many school aged children reported that they experienced disordered eating, and learning content has further exacerbated this issue. This senior capstone research will examine the implications of California State Standards in relation to disordered eating for school …

Crossing Schools, Language, And Migration Borders: The Experiences Of Latinx And Caribbean Emergent Multilingual Mothers In K-12 Public Schools, Michelle Angelo-Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anti-immigrant sentiment and "English-only" ideologies have a significant impact on educational policies, practices, and processes. This includes parental engagement, the quality of education and life opportunities offered to immigrant children, and families’ well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine how Latinx and Caribbean mothers in Florida with various immigration statuses (i.e., undocumented, asylum seekers, refugees, international students, and mixed-status) and often with limited financial resources attempt to steward their children through the U.S. educational system. The research question was: How did emergent multilingual immigrant mothers experience the K-12 education system in Florida? The sub-question was: How did schools …

The Relationship Between Organizational Culture And Working Parent Burnout, Ryan S. Monroe

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to explore working parent burnout (WPB) and the relationships between organizational culture and WPB. Data were collected from working parents living with children <18 years in the United States (N=284) and analyzed using descriptive and statistical techniques to answer the research questions. The study had excellent internal reliability and yielded several key findings. The perceptions of study participants’ WPB was statistically significant. Gender, ethnicity, work schedule, work shift, income level, and marital status had statistically significant effects on WPB. Organizational culture types reflected statistically significant response effects for perceptions of WPB, with two reflecting very large response effects (clan and hierarchy) and two reflecting large response effects (adhocracy market). The results suggest that WPB was significant upon sample population and varied by different demographic variables. In addition, WPB appears to be significantly related to organizational culture; however, WPB cannot be predicted by organizational culture type. This study is the first known research to look at the relationship between WPB and organizational culture. While the study yielded several results, further research is needed to look at WPB and organizational cultural factors that may impact burnout among working parents.

A Post Pandemic Analysis Of Covid-19 And The Impact On Mental Health Of High School Student-Athletes—Today, More Than Ever Minds Matter, Pastora Hernandez Barbee

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

The cancellation of sporting opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic caused many student-athletes to feel deprived of the only outlet they had, which held a significant component of their personal and athletic identities (Grubic et al. 2021). This study aimed to answer the following research question: What are the experiences of high school student-athletes in a Pacific Northwest school district with access and support for holistic wellness in a post-pandemic COVID-19 school environment? The research methodology used was the wellness theory framework (Adams, Bezner, & Steinhardt, 1997). A total of seven student-athletes participated in the study through in-depth interviews. From the …

Exploring Methods To Reduce Stress In College Students: Dog-Assisted Therapy, Ashley A. Green

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Many young adults find their college years to be highly stressful. The American College Health Association (2021) found 48% of college students reported moderate to severe levels of psychological stress. Research has found that chronic stress, commonly found in the college population, can adversely affect the health and academic performance of college students (Campbell & Svenson, 1992). Universities have begun experimenting with and adopting a variety of strategies to help students manage stressors associated with college attendance. These initiatives have included relatively well-researched procedures such as meditation and yoga as well as emerging practices. Recently, some colleges have begun testing …

Transforming School-Based Mental Health To Heal The Collective Soul Wound, Andrea L. Holowka

The Dissertation-in-Practice at Western University

Pervasive well-being concerns of youth in Alberta are steadily contributing to society’s collective soul wound. In response to this growing need, K-12 systems are faced with increased demands for school-based mental health services. Public Prairie School Division (PPSD) provides student mental health intervention needs through onsite access to school-based teacher counsellors and referrals to centralized psychologists. However, decisions regarding mental health practitioner allocations or practice standards are often left to individuals and generally follow historical practice. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) problematizes PPSD’s lack of system-wide approaches to mental health interventions that can provide assurance of improved efficacy and equity …

Meet Me In The Middle: A Scoping Review On Understanding Adolescent Needs In Climate Communication, Gwendolyn Monica Hoff Anderson

Master's Projects and Capstones

The greatest effects of climate change are likely to be felt by youth. Young people are disproportionately affected by climate change due to their critical developmental stage and lack of power, and they experience both higher severity and prevalence of mental health issues related to climate change. Strong emotions have long been recognized as potential catalysts for action, or they may lead to paralyzing feelings of being overwhelmed. Climate communication is a critical tool to spark climate concern and encourage action. Activism, in turn, may help youth manage their anxiety about climate change. This scoping review examines emerging evidence on …

On-Campus Mental Health Service Use Among College Students With Autism: A Case Study Applying The Andersen Behavioral Model Of Health Services Use, Estella C. Lilyquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The unique set of impairments and limitations presented by students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make the accessing of campus-based nonacademic resources more difficult and complicated than their typically developed peers. Each year, the rate of students entering college with disabilities continues to grow, but their mental well-being is relatively poor. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to apply the conceptual framework of the Andersen behavioral model of health services use (ABMHSU) to the experiences of college students with ASD to understand and predict their utilization of campus-provided mental health resources. The participants were seven college students with …

Bipolar Disorder In Children (Including Gifted And 2e Children), Ed Malin

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Between the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 and the DSM-IV in 1993, 277 new disorders were created and made available for life-altering diagnoses. Should it be surprising that, since the late 1990s, psychiatrists in the United States have invented the diagnosis of Childhood-onset Bipolar Disorder? Common practice before that time (and still, in Europe) was that 18 was the earliest age of onset for Bipolar Disorder, based on extensive observation and family history. While lithium and anticonvulsants had been in use to treat adults with Bipolar Disorder, by the late 1990s children …

Moving At The Speed Of Trust, Sun Ho Lee

Masters Theses

Moving at the Speed of Trust is a workbook of strategies — practices, definitions, and techniques — to nurture community-building in support of inbetweeners who live between power structures and cultures and are often left out. Inbetweeners are those individuals whose lives are in transition through recent immigration or forced translocation from Asia to America.

These strategies revolve around threads of trust: kin, giggles, vulnerability, and shared experience. With these threads, we can question power. We can preserve stories, expand the ways we connect, shift perspectives on what is “standard,” and cultivate a community rooted in understanding. To understand each …

Using Drama Therapy To Foster Peer Support Among Nurse Leaders, Chyela Rowe

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study explored the use of drama therapy to support the social-emotional experiences of nurse leaders at a mid-sized regional hospital system in the Southeastern United States. Nurse leaders have experienced profound changes to their work environments in recent years and burnout has been at an all-time high among healthcare workers globally. Organizational supports for nurses and nurse leaders are both inadequate to meet the needs and under-resourced. The research questions explored 1) whether the drama therapy peer support initiative improved outcomes and 2) whether there was a significant relationship between measures, and 3) what nurse leaders described as facilitators …

The Effects Of Peers For Young Adults On Anxiety And Quality Of Life For Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Alysha Cecile Dagg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social skills deficits as well as comorbid anxiety are two characteristics commonly experienced by people with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1 (ASD-1; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These characteristics are also both contributors to a lower quality of life for young adults (Smith et al., 2019). The current study aimed to identify how the quality of life and anxiety are affected by social skills intervention, specifically the PEERS® for Young Adults program (Laugeson, 2017). PEERS® for Young Adults is an evidence-based social skills intervention intended to support individuals with ASD-1 (Laugeson, 2017). Prior research has demonstrated its success in both …

Teaching As Accommodation: The Benefits Of Teaching All Children Through A Trauma-Informed Lens, Megan Retzloff

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are an epidemic in our society. In 2021 alone, an estimated 600,000 children in the United States experienced abuse or neglect, with 90.6% of all reported cases documenting one or both parents as the perpetrator (HHS, 2023). As educators, we play an important role in preventing and mitigating the effects of ACEs in our students. When a child’s home life is unstable, schools and teachers are the next line of defense. Throughout the United States, schools are the constant; they are a universal provider even in areas that otherwise have limited access to support. Schools are …

From Inpatient Facility To The Everyday Classroom - Examining The Process Of Reintegration For Arkansas Youths, Grace Webb

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on analyzing the current policies set in place within the state of Arkansas for student reintegration following a prolonged absence from school due to mental health issues. It is designed to explore what barriers and disconnections there are between mental health care and continued care after discharge of youths from an inpatient mental health facility and re-entry into the classroom. Within this thesis, current conditions impacting youth mental health and education are explored, as well as current school counseling plans throughout four school districts in various regions across the state. To my knowledge gathered from my findings, …

Uplifting An Invisible Population: How We Can Combine Psychology And Policy To Improve The Educational And Mental Health Outcomes Of Homeless Youth, Melissa Hamilton

Washington Semester Program

The goal of this thesis is to a) explain why homeless youth are frequently linked to poor mental health and education outcomes, and b) offer evidence-based suggestions that ought to be considered when developing any intervention aiming to improve the education and mental health of homeless youth. To accomplish this, prominent theories in both the psychology (ex: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) and political science (ex: failed implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act) fields that pertain to student homelessness were reviewed, and a comparative analysis of existing intervention models was conducted. Three key trends were identified across successful homeless youth intervention models …

Measuring Awareness Of Spd And Interprofessional Collaboration And Practices Among Professionals In An Elementary Public School Setting, Kyra Resende

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological condition in which the brain has trouble receiving and responding to sensory information, which can lead to sensory dysregulation (Rodden, 2023). Because everyone constantly receives sensory input, having SPD can impact a child’s life in numerous ways, such as academic and social success. Research indicates that 5% to 16% of students may have this neurological condition (Bunim, 2013), which is significant enough to expect that school professionals have appropriate awareness about SPD. Additionally, there is usually an overlap of professionals who serve students experiencing SPD, resulting in a need for interprofessional collaboration (IPC) …

Therapeutic Approaches To Working With Perinatal Loss Clients: A Grounded Theory Study, Heather H. Olivier

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Perinatal loss (i.e., miscarriage, stillbirth, termination, and infant death) is commonly referred to in the literature as an invisible loss, non-loss, and even medical event. It is an ambiguous loss exhibiting the dialectical contradiction between the physical absence and psychological presence of the baby accompanied by disenfranchised grief, a reaction to a loss that is unacknowledged by society. Despite the likelihood of mental health clinicians working with clients who have experienced perinatal loss, there has yet to be a therapeutic model designed specifically for the unique grief and trauma reactions presented in this population. Existing grief models do not address …

Increasing College Students Awareness Of Technologies Impacts In Their Daily Lives, Melissa Gutierrez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many college students today may spend an excessive amount of time on technology. Excessive technology may leave an impact on their mental and physical health leading to poor eating habits or obesity, anxiety and can even have an impact on their academics. When college students learn about how to manage their technology use, it is likely they will focus more on the negative impacts to benefit their health and wellbeing. To address the overuse of technology, I created a one-day workshop for Theta Alpha Sigma sorority college students at Cal State Monterey Bay.

The Investigation Of First-Year Wellness Programming In College To Reduce Stress And Anxiety Levels, Charlotte Muriel

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The COVID-19 pandemic brought mental health to light, although college students have long been experiencing mental health struggles. First-year experience courses have been shown to relieve some of the stresses associated with the college transition (Holliday, 2014); however, the existing programming does not meet the needs of college students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the increased need for mental health services and counseling on college campuses, there is a need for additional support for students dealing with wellness concerns.

This action research study used a three-phase exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Phase One included two audio-recorded focus group …

Promoting Well-Being Among Intercollegiate Student-Athletes: A Gratitude Intervention Using Positive Psychology, Laura Kruger

Dissertations and Theses

Intercollegiate student-athletes face rising stress and pressures which challenge their well-being and mental health, and sometimes with alarming concerns. Over the years, supportive services and resources specifically available to student-athletes have not evolved at the same pace as student-athlete needs. Also, barriers and stigmas hinder student-athletes from readily accessing supportive mental health services. The high stress of student-athletes can contribute to the development of negative mental health symptoms and impairs positive well-being. Evidence supports how outreach initiatives help student-athletes. Positive psychology, including gratitude as a positive psychological state, has shown benefits to well-being. This experimental study design researched if the …

Binge Drinking In College: A Phenomenological Study, Kristin Andrews

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological research study examined the personal experiences, habits, and perceptions of post-secondary students who binge drink. This study was guided by 3 research questions as well as pre-existing research into collegiate binge drinking. The experiences shared by participants showed that despite serious negative outcomes, students binge drink because they feel negatives are far outweighed by the positive social interactions and fun drinking creates. While all of the participants in this study are considered binge drinkers who abuse alcohol, none of the participants considered their drinking to be problematic. The participants shared their intent to stop their current drinking patters …

The Role Of Porn Literacy In Comprehensive Sex Education To Reduce Endorsements Of Gendered Sexual Violence And Support Healthy Adolescent Development, Kiana Harnish

Scripps Senior Theses

Due to stigmatization of sex and insufficient sexual education, modern-day adolescents rely on free online pornography as a source of education about sex and relationships. This thesis provides a review of the connections between adolescent porn use and the socialization of sexual violence (SV) and coercion against women, comprehensive sex education (CSE) and healthy adolescent sexual development, and porn literacy (PL) and sexual attitude or behavior changes. Porn literacy aims to equip adolescents with tools to critically analyze sexualied media and messages, to empower them to make informed decisions to engage or disengage with porn and their sexuality in a …

State Level Mental Health Education Compared To Suicide-Related Behavior In Adolescents, 2019, Sonia Rao

Honors Theses

Objective: Determining correlations between state level mental and emotional health (M&E) education and suicide prevention (SP) education to suicide-related behaviors (I.e. feeling sad or hopeless, suicide ideation, making a suicide plan, suicide attempt, suicide attempt treated by medical personnel, and death by suicide) within high school adolescents aged 15-19 within the United States in 2019.

Methods: State level education policies, M&E and SP, were retrieved from the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE). Self-reported adolescent suicide related behaviors were retrieved from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Data on deaths by suicide of youth aged 15-19 …

Interactions Of Sexuality Training, Sexual Awareness, And Comfort With Sexual Discourse In Counselors-In-Training, Katie Adeline Rodenkirch

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since the initial call to action nearly half a century ago, sexuality training has not been made a core component of counselor education. Despite this, upon graduation counselors are expected to be able to handle diverse client needs, some of which are likely to be sexual in nature. Nevertheless, there is limited research regarding counselor sexuality education or factors influencing counselor-in-training comfort with sexual discourse. The purpose of this research study was to determine the relationship(s) and interaction(s) between counselor-in-training sexuality training experience, sexual awareness, and comfort with sexual discourse. The study also explored group differences based on gender and …