Education Commons^™

Pillars Of Youth Drug Abuse Prevention: Parents, Police, And Project Dare (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), Jonathon Stuever

Theses and Dissertations

In 1983 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials teamed with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) health curriculum specialist, Dr. Ruth Rich, to redesign an anti-tobacco curriculum, Project Self-Management and Resistance Training (SMART), into Project Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). In the first four years of Project DARE, local, state, and, federal government branches endorsed the program as an efficient tool in the local and national fight against youth drug abuse. Early program evaluations, conducted by the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI), demonstrated DARE’s ability to change attitudes of students, school faculty, and parents concerning social tolerance of underage drug …

Student Perceptions Of Icc Development And The Reasons For It During Casa@Auc, Stephen Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Research has described how studying abroad has become a major goal in the Arabic world, focusing on understanding the ideas and way of life of another culture and people. Study abroad programs increase students' “Intercultural communicative competence” as indicated by researchers like Maharaja (2018) and Lee and Song (2019). The current study is a case study involving three participants. It focuses on students' perceptions of the influence of the CASA@AUC study abroad program on their intercultural communicative competence (ICC) as reflected by ACTFL performance indicators they are capable of executing. Results of the study indicate that they have reached advanced …

Students' Perceptions Of Non-Native Arabic And Native Arabic Teachers, Mohamed Firgany

Theses and Dissertations

Educators teach Millions of Arabic language learners worldwide, most of whom are not native speakers. Despite their efforts in teaching, developing educational materials, and significant contributions to scientific research, there is a lack of research on them within the context of the Arabic language.

In this project, I explore students' perceptions of teaching practices for native-speaker teachers (NSTs) and non-native-speaker teachers (NNSTs), along with the advantages and disadvantages associated with each. Additionally, I aim to understand the impact of certain variables such as gender, age, nationality, language proficiency, and the purpose of studying on these perceptions.

Through 173 survey responses …

Ripe Spoils, Yan Cynthia Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Chen’s practice primarily focus on sculptures and installation. She explores the interplay between the idea of nature and the constructed environment, by examining how language informs what we know. The central thesis, "Ripe Spoils", employs citrus fruits as symbols for bodily experiences and personal identity, investigating their cultural and historical significance. Her sculptures summon the qualities and embedded meanings in materials like paper pulp and clay, wax and citrus fruits, often resulting in abstracted forms evocative of the human body. This thesis paper and exhibition reflect on themes like mortality and the essence of self.

Chinese-English Dictionary Enable Select Search …

Hagwon: Shadow Education In The Korean American Community, Minkyu Kim

Theses and Dissertations

Asian and Asian American students are achieving academic success at disproportionate rates, even when faced with low social capital (i.e., English is not the primary language spoken at home) and high rates of poverty (especially in urban settings like New York City). A contributing factor to their academic success is shadow education. Shadow education (SE) is defined as systemized learning that occurs outside of compulsory schooling, at private cost, with the objective of guiding students through and providing them with a competitive edge in school admissions—often with a focus on high-stakes standardized academic exams (Bray, 1999, 2013). In Korean, shadow …

Drawing About Writing: Exploring Egyptian Middle School Students’ Writing Motivation And Perceptions, Maryam Elbayady

Theses and Dissertations

The principal aim of this study is to explore Egyptian middle school students’ perceptions of their writing experiences using artistic expression, specifically drawings. It also aims to understand their levels of writing motivation using the Self-Beliefs, Writing-Beliefs, and Attitude Survey (SWAS) (Wright et al., 2019). Finally, it examines the relationships among participants’ perceptions, motivation, and their narrative writing performance. The view that students’ voices are valuable to research geared towards school improvement has largely propelled this study (Bland, 2018; Zumbrunn et al., 2017). In addition, due to the limited literature about middle school students enrolled at private Egyptian schools, this …

Afl Students’ Perception Of Using Mnemonics As A Strategy To Enhance Their Vocabulary Acquisition And Retention, Elsayed Elsisi

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of language teaching and learning reveals that mnemonics is one of the most effective language learning strategies for vocabulary. Researchers like Rasiban, et al. (2019); Levin (1993); Zulfa (2019); Kayaaltu (2018) suggest that using mnemonics to learn new vocabulary has a positive effect on vocabulary retention and retrieval. Research also shows however that students’ perceptions may encourage or inhibit the usage of any learning strategy depending on their perceptions of its effectiveness. Hence the importance of detecting learner perception about any learning or teaching device. Despite the above there is limited research about students’ perceptions about …

Breaking Bridges: A Latina's Role In Familismo And Higher Education, Desiree Trejo

Theses and Dissertations

This research and collective experiences have been recorded to bring together an autoethnography that demonstrates my personal experiences of being the eldest daughter in a Latino family and how these experiences situate within a social context. The primary purpose of this autoethnography is to provide insight on Latino culture expectations placed upon first born daughters. My own experiences connect to my research covering Latino culture and gender expectations to further understand social meanings and understandings of this culture. This autoethnography presents qualitive research that allows me to self-reflect and apply these findings to my personal experiences within my family to …

Historical Trauma: Literary And Testimonial Responses To Hiroshima, Mariam Ghonim

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of trauma is controversial in literature. While one may be able to come up with ways to describe trauma in fiction, representing historical trauma is a hard task for writers. Some argue that trauma can not be described through those who did not experience it, while others claim that, provided some elements are added, one can represent trauma to the reader. This thesis focuses on twentieth-century historical traumas related to a nuclear catastrophe and explores the different literary and testimonial responses to the catastrophic man-made event of Hiroshima (1945). In this thesis, Kathleen Burkinshaw’s historical fiction The Last …

Language Borrowing Among Syrians Speaking Arabic In The United States: Arabization Of English Words, Joanne Stephen

Theses and Dissertations

Immigration to the United States from different Arab countries have been occurring for the past couple of centuries. Arabs from many countries are still migrating to different States in America. Getting adapted to a whole new place, new culture, and especially a new language could be difficult. Cultural and language contact in some cases causes what is called “language borrowing”. This study identified and examined different words that Syrian Arabic speakers in the United States of America borrow from the English language and arabize them. This study investigated the different approaches that native Arabic speakers follow in order to adapt …

The Influence Of Bolded Keywords In Online News Texts On Reading Speed And Comprehension For Heritage+ Learners Of Arabic, Marwah Khost Aljarkas

Theses and Dissertations

Learners and readers of Arabic, especially Heritage Language Learners, suffer more than ever from the lack of focus while reading online texts. This becomes a challenge that negatively impacts their overall learning process. This paper explores the influence of one salience feature - bolded keywords - over reading speed and comprehension amongst Heritage+ Learners of Arabic. Heritage+ refers to Arabs living in the Arab world, but who have minimum exposure to the language. Thirty-two students, who are Heritage+ Learners of Arabic, currently studying at the American University in Cairo and belong to Generation Z (18-25 years), participated in the study. …

Toward A Cultural Rhetorics Praxis Of Care For Digital Storytelling Projects About Reproductive Justice, Danielle Marie Koepke

Theses and Dissertations

Recent events have drawn national attention to the fight for reproductive rights. However, Black women, Indigenous women, Women of Color, and LGBTQ+ people have long been fighting for reproductive justice, which connects reproductive rights to issues like immigration rights, fair wages, housing, quality education, and safe neighborhoods. There has also been a shift towards reproductive justice scholarship in rhetoric and writing studies. This dissertation focuses on the efforts and experiences of the Promotores de Salud, Latinx health promoters working for reproductive justice in Wisconsin. By constellating rhetorics of reproductive justice, cultural rhetorics, and queer and feminist scholarship, this dissertation builds …

Subjective Excess: Aesthetics, Character, And Non-Normative Perspectives In Serial Television After 2000, Jessica Sellin-Blanc

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to fill gaps in contemporary television scholarship with regards to aesthetics and character subjectivity. By analyzing eight series that have all aired after 2000, there is a marked trend in series that use an excessive visual and aural style to not only differentiate themselves from other programming, but also to explore non-normative perspectives. Now more willing to explore previously taboo topics such as mental health, addiction, illness, and trauma, the shows featured in this dissertation show how a seemingly excessive televisual aesthetic works with television’s seriality to create narrative complexity and generate character development. Chapters are arranged …

Breaking Glass: A Pedagogical Approach To Understanding Voice In Media, Casey James O'Ceallaigh

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims to examine the remediation of voices in media, specifically focusing on the reproduction of voices across different genres and the pedagogical approaches used to teach writing and media literacy. Much of the extant media is created with practices that historically have excluded minority groups, such as people with disabilities and people who speak other languages in addition to English in the US. This project develops a theory of interstices, which are both physical and metaphorical spaces in genres that can become sites of intervention through the composition process. These interstices are burdened by their many complex relationships …

Students’ And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Using Memes In Esl Classrooms, Fadwa Youssef

Theses and Dissertations

Using humor in the language classroom has proven to be an effective pedagogical teaching tool that builds rapport between students and teachers. It also reduces anxiety and affective filter as well as increases students’ performance and willingness to communicate in class using their L2 (Azizinezhad & Hashemi, 2011; Banks, 2014; Soares, 2015). Previous studies used humor broadly starting from humorous comments in class to funny TV shows, movies, or songs. Some studies went further using funny memes in class and fewer studies went all the way making students create memes as part of their class requirements (Purnama, 2017). Results of …

Religiously Responsive Pedagogy In Christian Schools: A Qualitative Exploration Of Faculty Perceptions Of Faith Integration, Andrea R. Woodard

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study introduced a theoretical framework of Religiously Responsive Pedagogy (RRP) and explored the ways in which RRP is enacted in Christian schools, along with the barriers and supports that may exist for effective RRP within those schools. The study investigated PK-12 faculty perceptions of faith integration, responsiveness to students, and school support in order to develop this new framework. Twelve teachers participated in a semi-structured interview via Zoom, which included four scenarios to probe teacher perspectives on RRP. The data was coded recursively using Boeije’s (2002) constant-comparative method.

The primary research questions addressed were:

• How do teachers at …

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Adapting Higher Education: Revamping Curricula For The Inclusion Of Theatre Students With Disabilities, Kevin Kemler

Theses and Dissertations

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion initiatives in higher education have been largely driven by administrators who have little to no contact with the students for whom they are working for. This top-down approach negatively impacts marginalized students and disproportionately affects the quality of experience for students with Disabilities, an often-overlooked demographic. For Disabled students enrolled in performance programs, barriers to access and inclusion don’t just exist at the institutional level, they also exist in the traditional classroom or studio as well. Through a dismantling of ableist structures inherent within higher education (i.e., American grading practices, the Western and Theatrical Canons), I …

Discovery: A Visual Arts Elementary School, Cindy J. Perdomo

Theses and Dissertations

On average, school-age children spend more time in the classroom environment than they do at home. Why not provide environments that stimulate children’s curiosity to learn through visual arts? Including visual arts in educational programs can enhance students’ cognitive development, problem-solving abilities, cultural awareness, and critical thinking skills.

As someone who has attended various public schools in Florida, I’ve found that incorporating arts education into the curriculum can enhance students’ overall engagement with learning. Unfortunately, many students lack access to arts education due to a lack of funding and resources. Traditionally, the arts have been viewed as an opportunity for …

Exploring Challenges Of Undocumented Students In Their Pursuit Of Post-Secondary Education, Yveline Gaspard Dulis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the mindsets and challenges faced by undocumented Latino students who are pursuing a post-secondary education. The study sought to explain the challenges of the DREAM Act and DACA and its challenges for approval in Congress. This study also sought to examine how undocumented students pursue a college education without financial assistance. Understanding immigration laws helped shape Americans’ perception of undocumented Latino students’ status, struggles, and financial hardships. Three leading factors that contribute to undocumented students’ persistence were analyzed in this study: financial assistance, academic issues, and legal issues. This study was conducted …

Novice Teacher Experiences Of Online Reading Instruction During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Deyanira M. Echevarria Candales

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation documented novice teacher experiences providing online reading instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the researcher captured educators’ first-hand accounts of their experiences shifting to fully online reading instruction, adapting instructional materials that were designed for in-person instruction for online learning, confronting challenges and successes during this period of uncertainty, and transitioning back to in-person instruction amidst the then ongoing pandemic.

The following research questions were posed: 1. How do novice elementary reading teachers, in a large public school district in South Florida, describe their experiences teaching reading online during a global pandemic? 2. How do novice elementary …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences And Teaching Strategies Of Private Music Instructors Working With Elementary School Students, Ana Maria Fusu-Kommidi

Theses and Dissertations

The lack of consistent elementary musical education in the United States has sustained a steady demand for private music instruction. Private instruction, however, does not usually align with the general music education standards, or the school requirements. There is a lack of research about private music instructors’ role in music education for elementary-aged students. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and teaching strategies of private music instructors who supplement elementary students' school-based music education. The two research questions were

RQ1: What are the experiences of private music instructors who supplement elementary students' school-based music education?

RQ2: …

Generational Theory As A Lens For Approaching Musical Theatre History, 1943-2023, Or A Strange Loop, Ben J. Lundy

Theses and Dissertations

In 1991, William Strauss and Neil Howe published generational theory in Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069. Though critiqued, Strauss and Howe’s generational theory suggests that American history occurs in cycles characterized by four distinct generational turnings or moods that occur approximately every eighty years, roughly the span of a human life. Though the theory has been applied to American history, usually through a political and economic lens, this thesis will focus on the most recent Millennial Cycle and apply the theory to the development of Broadway musical theatre history. Innovative musicals such as Oklahoma! (1943), Hair (1968), Rent …

The Experiences Of Parents In A Christian Spiritual Parenting Program, Zili Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Christians face a rising problem in faith transmission to the next generation (Kinnaman & Hawkins, 2016). Research indicates that younger generations are less religious than their parents in many countries, especially in the U.S. (Pew Research Center, 2018b). Even though most American Christians say that faith is vital in their life, educating children in religion is critical because it provides moral guidance and appropriate values (American Enterprise Institute, 2019). However, most Christians find it challenging to perceive and articulate the relationship between faith and daily life even though they attend church regularly (Bunge, 2008). Also, many parent-child spiritual programs organized …

Characteristics Of Leadership Of Selected Historical Leaders In Music Education In The United States With An Exploratory Study Of The Explicability Of These Characteristics To Modern Music Education Leadership In Elementary Schools, Ashley Loren Stringfield

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this multicase, qualitative study dissertation was to describe how the leadership characteristics of the founders of the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) inform today’s music educators’ leadership abilities. During the 1907 Keokuk conference the founding members discussed the first set of guiding principles for various subjects within the music discipline including chorus, band, and piano. For this study, the research questions are focused on the similarities in leadership styles of music education leaders past and present. Suggestions for improvement of teacher and administrator leadership characteristics were revealed by the leaders themselves.

Eight public elementary school music teachers …

Does Race Still Matter? An Exploration Of Race And Mentoring Relationships From The Perspective Of Early Career Teachers Of Color And Mentors, Franchesca R. Ho Sang

Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring has been attributed to lowering attrition rates of teachers. At present, the majority of teachers in the United States are White and female. The national teacher workforce does not represent the student body. Although there have been recent initiatives to improve the diversity within the teacher workforce, by explicitly recruiting teachers of color (TOC), the attrition rates of these teachers are negating the effects of recruitment efforts. Previous research has pointed to the need to consider race in novice TOC mentee and mentor matches, as cultural capital theory suggests common knowledge and experience may lead to stronger mentor relationships …

Policy Evaluation Of The Role Of Extracurricular Activities On Students' Character Building And Academic Excellence: A Case Study Of Cairo's Schools, Nanis Yousry

Theses and Dissertations

The Education policies have usually been given the highest priority globally. This research reflects that the Egyptian educational system currently faces a bottleneck in applying its policies due to significant budgetary constraints. This is seen in public schools, unlike international ones. The research compares and contrasts three educational systems (public, community and international) with the purpose of examining the impact of policy processes on education. This thesis aims to explore how far the existence of extracurricular activities, as a component that complements academic education, is capable of supporting students to acquire the 21st century life skills and fulfill some of …

What's Holding Them Back? The Different Voices Of The Adolescent Treble Singer, Genevieve Michels

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent treble singers in choir programs are often overlooked due to their higher numbers compared to non-treble voices. While physically present, treble voiced students at the high school of study, consistently demonstrated lower volume and lighter tone production compared to their non-treble voiced counterparts. This mixed methods research was based on the question: what causes the treble singer to hold back their volume/tone during a choral rehearsal? Literature revealed four areas to consider: singing confidence, voice change, self-confidence, and social influences, which became the basis for a quantitative survey given to sixty-three students across age and grades. Students who "agreed” …

Assessing L2 Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (Eca) Learners’ Intercultural Communicative Competence, Ahmed Said Mohammed Elgebaly

Theses and Dissertations

This study assesses L2 Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) Learners' Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). The study participants were 19 L2 (ECA) learners who completed one semester at least in Egypt. The participants were only from two proficiency levels; the advanced and high-intermediate levels. The current study used a mixed methodological approach for data collection, beginning with an ICC test and concluding with a series of follow-up semi-structured interviews with ten participants. The ICC test employed in the current study was created based on a model that includes ten features of the ICC. The current study's findings revealed that although high-intermediate learners …

Meet And Run, Gia M. Binner

Theses and Dissertations

A defense for Gia Binner’s MFA Thesis, Meet and Run, argues that accessible art, known in this paper as commercial dance, is a meaningful vehicle for social change and that it has the ability to dismantle the outdated, European concert dance dominance by modeling the interdependency of both worlds.

An Action Research Study On Lms Assessment Tools And Faculty Practice In English Composition Courses Of A Community College, Sophia Mitra

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods action research study aimed to understand the use of LMS assessment tools by faculty teaching English Composition (Eng 101) at a New Jersey Community College in order to increase that use for assessment of outcomes. In spite of administrative push for faculty to use the LMS for data based decision-making, there is still limited use of LMS tools. In writing-intensive fields like Eng 101 grading and feedback could be accelerated along with monitoring student performance on outcomes using LMS assessment tools. Forming a virtual faculty learning committee that collaborated in the study's data collection and analysis, volunteers …