Education Commons^™

Developing The Whole Teacher: A Phenomenological Case Study Of Student Teachers' Emotional Experiences In One Teacher Education Program, Kathleen M. Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student teaching serves as the culminating field experience in the majority of teacher education programs, and studies have revealed the need to investigate the connection between pre-service teachers and the emotions they experience, express, and manage. Therefore, the overarching purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine how one Early Childhood (PreK-5^th) Education Program addressed and prepared teachers for the emotional dimensions of teaching, as well as to examine the emotional experiences of the student teachers. The results of this study revealed the need for teacher education programs to amend the ways in which they prepare pre-service …

The Influence Of Middle School Teacher-Student Relationships On Future Academic Decisions Of African American Males, Andrea R. Williams-Baugh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of middle school teacher-student relationships on students’ future academic decisions after dropping out of high school. With a national dropout rate of 30% and in some urban areas of 50%, among poor black minority youths, it is crucial that educators strongly consider the possibility that teacher-student relationships may play a vital role in the future decision-making or planning of middle school students (Kafele, 2012). Middle school research suggests that indicators of student disengagement can be traced back as early as elementary school when student reading and math scores begin …

The Relationship Between Secondary Schools' Plc Characteristics And Literacy Achievement, Jennifer C. Topper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study examined the relationship between secondary school staff perceptions of their school’s effectiveness and the change in student literacy over a one year period. The staff perception data was elicited through an anonymous, electronically administered survey, the SEDL’s School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire (SPSLCQ) (Hord, 1996). Perceptions were gathered and measured based on the responses to descriptors in the five PLC domains of shared and supportive leadership; shared vision and values; collective learning and application of learning; supportive conditions; and shared personal practice. The populations whose perceptions were measured were the staffs of middle …

An Exploration Of The Impostor Phenomenon And Its Impact On Black Women Administrators In Higher Education In The South, Marian Muldrow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies document Black student and faculty underrepresentation in higher education and the obstacles blocking their access to the classroom either as students or as instructors. As Black women students work toward graduate degrees, Black women administrators are needed so these students can see their identity reflected in their academic leaders.

As a result, this study focused on the particular challenges that limit upward mobility to senior-level administrative positions and highlighted some of the obstacles and conflicts that arise when Black women pursue leadership positions at institutions of higher education. The highlighted historical events related to education, as well as …

Dystopian Identities: Exhuming The World Of Zombies Through The Camera's Eye: A Documentary, Julie Kimble

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to understand how engagement in zombie media culture helps its participants to navigate their everyday fears, develop identity, and form meaningful communities through this interaction. Curriculum studies enables us to see that knowledge is fluid and we often learn more from our interaction with our world outside of the expected sites of education—like schools. Media and pop culture provide a place for this knowledge to begin. Participants in zombie culture invest themselves and connect in ways that transcend entertainment and seem to become sites of transformation. Standardization and testing have become the driving force in education, creating …

Exploring The Connection Between Christian Colleges' Mission And Finance, Farrah Rachele Senn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two main issues currently threatening Christian colleges include mission conflict and financial viability, and research suggests that there is a relationship between these two. However, current literature about the relationship between mission and finance is mostly qualitative in nature, either being case studies or observations of practice. This research set out to establish the nature of the relationship between mission fidelity and financial health using quantitative methodology. A survey instrument was used to quantify mission fidelity for 81 colleges in the Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a national organization of Christian colleges, using Benne’s (2001) Typology of Christian …

Teacher Empowerment Through Instructional Coaching: A Qualitative Study On The Theory And Application Of Partnership Principles, Aviva Goelman Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to understand how instructional coaching in schools affects teachers and, specifically, whether increased teacher empowerment was associated with instructional coaching based on the framework of the Partnership Principles (Knight, 2007). A goal of the research was to find out whether, and to what extent, teachers identified themselves as empowered. Using Critical Theory (Freire, 2012) as the theoretical framework for this analysis, the study also sought to develop an understanding of how teacher empowerment may develop as a result of working with instructional coaches who utilize the Partnership Principles. Six teachers in a rural district …

Deans Of Students’ Responsibilities In Campus Crisis Management, Patrice B. Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to discover the responsibilities of the dean of students in managing campus crisis. The literature clearly identifies the dean of students as a member of the crisis management team (Benjamin, 2014; Zdziarski, 2001, 2006, 2016). However, a gap in the literature exists concerning the specific responsibilities of the dean of students in responding to campus crisis.

The five phases of crisis management as defined by PPD-8 are Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery (US Department of Homeland Security, 2011). In signing PPD-8, President Obama mandated all state and federal organizations develop comprehensive …

El Mito Y La Leyenda Como Expresiones De La Cultura E Identidad Llanera, María Del Pilar Rocha González, Ángela María Sierra Bernal

Maestría en Docencia (Yopal)

Este estudio se inscribe en la línea de investigación, Educación, lenguaje y comunicación y en el macroproyecto Expresiones culturales e identidad regional. Se llevó a cabo en la ciudad de Villavicencio con el objetivo de Determinar las características del mito y la leyenda que permiten evidenciar la cultura e identidad llanera. Se enmarcó en un enfoque cualitativo de carácter descriptivo que permitió hacer una aproximación global de las situaciones sociales para explorarlas, describirlas y comprenderlas de manera inductiva, a partir de la información suministrada por las personas seleccionadas como muestra representativa, mediante la aplicación de la entrevista en profundidad como …

Pautas De Crianza En La Familia. Una Expresión De La Cultura E Identidad Del Municipio De Maní, Casanare, Sandra Patricia Camacho Romero, John Henry Pacheco Plazas

Maestría en Docencia (Yopal)

Esta investigación se enmarcó dentro de la propuesta de macroproyecto “Expresiones culturales e identidad regional”, adscrito a la línea de investigación: “Educación, lenguaje y comunicación”. Se llevó a cabo con una muestra de cinco informantes oriundos del municipio de Maní, Casanare quienes representan las familias fundadoras de este municipio, seleccionados a partir de unos criterios establecidos por los investigadores. Tuvo como objetivo caracterizar las pautas de crianza como expresiones de la cultura, para encontrar en ellas unos rasgos identitarios de la familia maniceña. La investigación fue cualitativa de carácter descriptivo, porque permitió hacer una aproximación global al objeto de estudio …

Sophomore Student-Athletes' Perceptions Of Athletic Academic Support Services, Lindsey Sturm

Masters Theses

Student-athletes' are faced with a unique set of challenges to balance both athletic and academic responsibilities. Many colleges and universities have provided their student-athletes with support services to help assist them in achieving academic success. This study focused on sophomore student-athletes perceptions of their institution's resources and their identity as a collegiate athlete. Chickering and Reisser's (1993) theory of identity development was used to better understand the new experiences and development of student-athletes' during their transition from freshman to sophomore year. The results of the present study indicated that without the athletic academic support services, student-athletes felt they would not …

A Photographic Study On College Student Sense Of Belonging, Sean Sheptoski

Masters Theses

Finding one’s sense of belonging has the capability to serve as the tipping point between success in college, and failure. According to McMillian and Chavis (1996), sense of belonging can be defined as the sense of community that members feel when they are in an environment and around other members. A way to achieve premier sense of belonging is by the creation of a caring, supportive and welcoming environment within the university. This study was designed to focus on the importance campus space plays in the creation of sense of belonging. Using a qualitative approach known as photovoice, the researcher …

To Teach Reading And Writing Well: "Genre Awareness" In Basic Writing, Tara Peck

Masters Theses

In this thesis, I argue that a "genre awareness" approach should be implemented into basic writing instruction because it enables students to unpack ideologies and beliefs inherent in genres that basic writing students read and write. Because basic writing students often have little to no prior knowledge reading and writing in academic genres, instructors should teach basic writing students how to broaden their understanding of reading and writing to include readers, writer, context, and text; even more, instructors should teach basic writing students to see the connection between the larger scene and situations in which genres arise. My argument's foundation …

Developing The Whole Student: Campus Ministry's Impact On Spiritual Development, Zachary D. Samples

Masters Theses

College students at both public and private institutions across the country are involved in campus ministry organizations; however, not much is known about how such involvement translates into the students' faith and spiritual development. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of how students are involved in campus ministry organizations, how faith and spiritual development is affected, and how students are generally impacted by campus ministry organization involvement. The researcher conducted six interviews with juniors and seniors involved in three different campus ministry organizations. Results showed that participants have grown in their faith and spirituality through membership in campus …

Examination Of The Internal Structure Of The Learning-To-Learn Scales (Ltls) In A Primary And Secondary Education Sample, Michelle Restko

Masters Theses

Assessment of children’s learning behaviors is a method to inform academic skills development and create successful interventions (DiPerna, Volpe, & Elliott, 2001; Malecki & Elliott, 2002; Schaefer & McDermott, 1999). Learning behaviors are motivational and behavioral mechanisms that children use in order to be successful when engaging in learning tasks (McDermott et al., 2011). Learning behaviors are an research to address noncognitive factors of academic achievement. It is necessary that constructs a scale proposes to measure such skills is known. The present study investigated the factor structure of the Learning-to-Learn Scale (LTLS; McDermott et al., 2011). Analyses included item based …

Factors Influencing Student Major Selection At A Community College, Kellie Jean Keck

Masters Theses

College students are influenced by many different things the moment they arrive on campus. This study was an exploratory study that examined what factors influenced student major selection at a rural Midwestern community college. Qualitative interviews were conducted with (N = 6) sophomore level participants that were previously undecided but had since declared a major. Participants were asked a series of questions about their major selection process including their experiences as an undecided student, who, and what may have influenced their major selection, what role monetary returns played in their major selection, and how comfortable they are with their …

A Quantitative Examination Of Alcohol Consumption Motivation Between Fraternity And Non-Fraternity Men, Brinton B. Vincent

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine the differences in motivation between fraternity and non-fraternity freshmen males. The researcher hypothesized that there would be no significant motivational factor to consume alcohol among the population and no significant difference between fraternity and non-fraternity freshmen males. To better examine differences, a quantitative study was conducted by surveying the population of freshmen males at a mid-sized, Midwestern, 4-year, public institution. The Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) was used to measure four types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and amotivation. Out of the 58 participants, 48 surveys were usable (N = …

Understanding The Management Of Sustainability On One Public Midwestern College Campus, Eric Swinehart

Masters Theses

Environmental sustainability is a substantial issue within our world today that is on the forefront of policy makers' minds. Implementation of sustainability initiatives on a college campus comes in many forms and different scales, which falls upon the question of who manages all the moving pieces to make these initiatives successful. This study was designed to gain an understanding of how administrators are defining and implementing environmental sustainability initiatives on their campus, to understand their role in managing these tasks. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed a purposeful sample of four higher education administrators from one public Midwestern university. …

The Recruitment Of Sexual Minority Students In Higher Education, Jorge El-Azar

Masters Theses

In a time when universities actively recruit diverse groups of applicants, some universities are seeing the need for a diverse student population and advancing their recruitment initiatives to recruit specific groups of students. The LGBTQ+ community has been perceived as an invisible community (Cegler, 2012) by some universities, but other higher education institutions are seeing the value of specifically recruiting students who identify as a part of this community. This study was designed to focus on the initiatives universities are implementing to effectively recruit students who identify as LGBTQ+. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed six participants who identified …

Idealism, Pragmatism, And Student Motivation: Implementing Grading Systems, Practices, And Policies In Context, Kaleigh Mcroberts

Masters Theses

This thesis argues for the implementation of contextually-appropriate policies and practices that not only clarify the meaning of grades for teachers, parents, and students, but also give students more autonomy and improve their intrinsic motivation to learn. The literature about motivation reveals that the conventional wisdom—the use of contingent rewards—works when students are asked to complete simple, algorithmic tasks such as turning in assignments on time, but not when they're asked to complete complex, heuristic tasks such as those articulated by the Common Core State Standards. The literature about grading and grading systems reveals similarly misleading conventional wisdom: Educators often …

Impact Of Employment On Undergraduate Academic Achievement, Canaan Daniels

Masters Theses

The purpose of the research was to examine the relationship between employment and academics among undergraduate students attending a mid-sized Midwestern institution. Though current literature was mixed on this relationship, the researcher developed research questions to further explore if such variables were related. From data presented by prior research on employment and academics, hypotheses were formed to see if employment had any relationship to students' academic achievement. A questionnaire was then distributed to over 8,000 students so that results from participants could be examined to find if any relationships existed. An SPSS analysis using 421 responses was conducted that resulted …

Holography In The Secondary Physics Curriculum, Stephen P. Hogan

Masters Theses

This paper presents a unit plan for effective implementation of a holography learning activity in the secondary science physics classroom. The study of holography has traditionally been limited to collegiate optics courses due to financial and physical constraints. Recent developments in the technology of holographic film has eliminated these two limiting factors. Recent secondary educators who have introduced holography with their secondary science classes have completed the activities, without much discussion or explanation regarding the scientific principles that allow the phenomenon to occur. In this paper we develop a foundational unit plan that finishes with holography as the pinnacle activity, …

Analysis Of Middle Level Trade Books With Gender And Sexual Minority Content, Jena Borah

Masters Theses

Middle school is often the time students become aware of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and in many schools, perceived nonheteronormative behavior is penalized through bullying. One way schools can reduce bullying and increase successful learning environments is to include trade books that feature gender and sexual minorities. State and national standards set expectations for social and emotional learning as well as critical analysis of high quality reading materials. This research analyzed trade books from the 2013 and 2014 Rainbow Lists which were chosen by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association as …

A Quantitative Study Of The Source Of Stress For First Generation Freshman Female College Students, Amber Byrley

Masters Theses

This study compared the sources of stress between first-generation and continuing-generation freshman female students, Caucasian and non-Caucasian freshman female students, and straight and non-straight freshman female students. This study was conducted at a rural, Midwestern, four-year, public institution, 101 first time freshman students living in on-campus housing participated in this study. A quantitative study was designed using Higbee and Dwinell's (1992) Developmental Inventory of the Sources of Stress (DISS) questionnaire which measures stress in five sub-categories including time management, physical lifestyle, academics, interactions, and chemical stressors. Results of the study indicated that overall, first-generation freshman females experience more total stress …

Development Of Learning Objectives For An Undergraduate Computer-Aided Drafting And Design Animation Using The Delphi Technique, Gavin M. Wilk

Masters Theses

This study reflects on learning objectives created for an advanced computer aided drafting (CAD) learning module(s) or course with the emphasis on simulation and engineering animations. These objectives were derived by using the Delphi technique by access the support of a panel of subject matter experts (SME) from academia and industry that are interested in CAD. The results of this study are intended for the use of creating instructional modules for undergraduate studies.

A panel of experts were chosen through an electronic listserv of engineering and technology supporters. Two rounds of two different Delphi survey instruments were utilized to complete …

A Summer Bridge Program's Impact: Social Engagement And The Building Of Self-Efficacy, Stephen L. Roach

Masters Theses

This two phase study sought to investigate the impact that a summer bridge program (SIHL) at a midsized, public institution at had on participants' academic success through an examination of its effect on their self-efficacy. In addition, this study sought to gain an increased understanding of how the program impacted self-efficacy, by providing a new conceptual model for examining the program and similar programs. Lastly, this study expanded on the research conducted by Lucas (2012), by incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants in Phase 1, the quantitative phase, were 322 students of varying ages, races and ethnicities, genders, and …