Education Commons^™

Advocating For Advocacy: How Academia Affects Students' Civic And Political Engagement Outcomes, Chandler S. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationship between classroom interaction and students' behavioral outcomes. To investigate this relationship, the research applies the theory of planned behavior to identify civic engagement outcomes produced by teaching and classroom exposure. The results indicate that there is no significant relationship between the forms of teaching (i.e., active or passive) and behavior outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy). Nevertheless, results supported previous literature by showing that attitudes, self-efficacy, and subjective norms can predict behavioral intent. The results also showed a possible fatigue effect due to overexposure to civic and political engagement in the classroom.

Exploring The Relationship Between Faculty Perceptions Of Chairperson-Faculty Member Communication Exchanges And Department Climate, Jodi Lynn Hallsten Lyczak

Theses and Dissertations

Leadership communication has many consequences: those that affect an organization and its outcomes, and those that affect the followers. In academia, one of the most important leadership roles is that of the departmental chairperson. Through her or his communication, the academic chairperson influences nearly every aspect of departmental life for faculty, including organizational climate. In fact, it can be argued that the chairperson helps both create and sustain the department climate for faculty.

One perspective of leadership and communication posits that leadership is enacted in the dyadic communication that occurs between the leader and the follower. According to Leader Member …

Mckinney Vento Legislation: A Policy Analysis Of The Evolution Of Homeless Law In Illinois, Cathleen J. Weber

Theses and Dissertations

This policy analysis looks at the evolution of homeless education laws both through federal legislation and state laws. A policy analysis was utilized to show changes through the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Act.

One aspect of this analysis utilized qualitative data from four individual administrators in four central Illinois school districts. The qualitative data reviewed the training received by each administrator and the policies guiding their enrollment procedures.

Another aspect provided in this analysis is the changes established in response to court cases filed when school districts violated the provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act. The reauthorizations that followed each finding …

U.S.- Educated Multilingual Students In Community College: Transitioning From Esl To English 101, Melinda S. Harrison

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on U.S.-educated multilingual students as they transition from a community college academic English as a Second Language program to and through a semester-long first-year composition course. Research on non-native English speakers has indicated that U.S.-educated multilingual students have both similar and varied background and literacy experiences compared to native English speakers and international students; they also often present unique literacy needs compared to their peers. These various and shifting similarities and differences sometimes complicate placement and instruction in college courses.

My case study focused on three U.S.-educated multilingual students' experiences in the final semester of a community …

Assessing Students' Attitudes Towards Geography In A Problem-Based Learning Environment, Andrew Jasper Quain

Theses and Dissertations

Problem-based learning is an instructional strategy that is a growing trend in geographic education at all levels. The benefits of problem-based learning and how it improves students' content knowledge are well established in the literature. However, a gap in the literature exists in regards to the impact problem-based learning has on students' attitudes towards geography. This study focused on determining if high school students' attitudes towards geography improved after enrollment in a course taught with problem-based learning instruction. The study assessed other factors, such as preference for group work and problem-solving efficacy, which are associated with problem-based learning instruction. The …

Investigating Children's Intuitive And Analytical Thinking About Path Length As A Developmental Phenomenon, Cheryl Lynn Eames

Theses and Dissertations

Children's conceptions of length measurement has been the focus of research that has built on the work of Piaget and his colleagues to produce developmental accounts for the acquisition of conceptual and procedural knowledge. Prior research focused on children's developing conceptions of length measurement for straight or rectilinear paths; however, little is known about how these conceptions grow beyond the elementary grades. The present study increased the scope of this research beyond elementary grades to include middle and secondary level students, exploring the development of students' intuitive and analytical thinking for determining the length of a curved path across a …

Pre -Service School Psychologists' Racial And Weight-Related Biases And The Relationship That Taking Diversity Courses Has On These Biases, Shaerica Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown that racial and weight-related biases are present in school settings and can have a negative impact on students. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of racial and weight-related biases upon judgments that school psychology graduate students make about Black and overweight students who were having problems in school. The problematic behaviors exhibited by the student in the case study were based on symptoms often seen in children with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We also examined the extent to which implicit and/or explicit attitudes moderated the degree of school psychology graduate students' attributions of …

Factors Influencing The Major Satisfaction And Leadership Aspirations Of Men And Women In Traditional And Nontraditional Fields, Jennifer Yeoward

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of an online survey study that examined the associations of role model influences, support/guidance, and socioeconomic status (SES) with college students' major satisfaction and leadership aspirations. Of the 558 students who responded to the survey invitation, data from 494 students who had provided responses on the main variables were included in the major analyses. Contrary to hypotheses, SES and the nontraditionality of students' majors were not significantly related to leadership aspirations or major satisfaction. The results did support the hypotheses that support/guidance and inspiration/modeling would be associated with students' leadership aspirations and major satisfaction, but …

Latino Emergent Bilingual Students' Experiences With The Middle School Transition, Kerry Pecho

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the findings of a qualitative study that examined how Latino emergent bilingual students anticipate and experience the transition from a bilingual elementary school program to middle school. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who were native Spanish-speakers participated in focus group discussions. Overall, participants described positive transition experiences, and much of the content was not unique to these students (e.g., feeling nervous, looking forward to more activities). Other content, though, revealed transition experiences that may be unique to this population (e.g., dramatic shift in ethnic and linguistic backgrounds of peers). Participants' responses suggested that they experience a …

The Sprouts Early Childhood Program: An Evaluation Of Child Outcomes, Lauryn Michele Toby

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examines the cognitive, adaptive, communicative, social and autism-related outcomes for those enrolled in an early childhood intervention program for children age three to five with autism spectrum disorders. First, relevant literature on autism spectrum disorders, early intervention, evidence-based practice, and published investigations of existing comprehensive treatment programs for young children with autism are reviewed, the current investigation is outlined, and results and implications are discussed.

Using developmental trajectory analyses to investigate changes in each child's trajectory over time, as well as by comparing changes in scores over time on standardized measures of communication, adaptive skills, cognitive skills, social …

Exploratory Study Of The Perspectives Of Midlife Adults With Intellectual Disability, Their Parents, And Case Managers Regarding Quality Of Life And Needed Supports And Services, Jane L. Lurquin

Theses and Dissertations

Given that all people are living longer, increased opportunities are needed for services and supports to enhance one's quality of life both at midlife and in later years. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the quality of life perspectives of individuals with intellectual disability in midlife, their parents or guardians, and their day program case managers. Using an interview process, the study participants provided quality of life descriptors for participating individuals with intellectual disability, as well as perspectives regarding needed current and future supports and services.

The study included three triads, each consisting of an individual with …

Understanding The Role Of Post-Secondary Coaches In High Schools: A Social Capital Analysis, Lynne Haeffele

Theses and Dissertations

The research problem for this study was to understand the role of a new category of institutional agents, post-secondary coaches in high schools, who facilitate students' college readiness. This comparative case study focused on two post-secondary coaches in two high schools participating with a university in a state-funded grant project to improve college readiness. Data collection included structured interviews with coaches, students, and other school and external personnel; written descriptions by coaches of how they do their jobs; observations with field notes taken while shadowing coaches; and relevant documents, websites and artifacts. Data analysis involved both open coding and the …

Engaging Engagement: Framing The Civic Education Movement In Higher Education, Chad Woolard

Theses and Dissertations

Civic education in higher education is housed in various types of institutions (i.e. community colleges, four year universities, public and private institutions), institutional offices, academic departments, and larger, cross-campus initiatives and organizations. Civic education programs promote numerous activities to foster student engagement both inside and outside the classroom. Many in higher education have embraced the civic education movement; however, as with other social movements, the civic education movement is still a contested area. Defining civic education (i.e. civic engagement, service learning, political engagement, community engagement, etc.) becomes problematic because there seems to be as many terms for civic education as …