Education Commons^™

Teaching Academic Concepts In A Play-Based Preschool Environment: A Case Study Of Guided Play Across Three Classrooms, Lisa M. Hansen

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study examined interactions between preschool children and teachers during guided-play activities. These interactions were studied through observations and interviews in a case-study format. Classrooms were observed for 1 hour per week over the course of 4 weeks. Teachers were interviewed following each observation. All three preschool classrooms were located in northern California and belonged to the same chain of schools. A total of six teachers and 75 students participated in the study.

Three main research questions drove the course of the study. The first research question examined the types of interactions between experienced preschool teachers and students during …

Improving Medication Calculation Competence In Nursing Students Through Schema-Based Dimensional Analysis Instruction, Laureen Turner

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was aimed at improving the medication calculation competence of nursing students through a schema-based workshop in which dimensional analysis was used as the calculation method. The overreaching goal of this work was to improve the teaching of medication calculation in nursing education and prevent future medication errors.

This two-group descriptive posttest study included a historical comparison between fall 2016 and spring 2017 students. Spring students had the option to attend a newly designed workshop while fall students did not. Primary comparisons were of (a) percentage of students achieving 100% on the first attempt, (b) number of errors, and …

Mentoring And Academic Advising Experiences Of Female Ph.D. Students With Children: A Qualitative Study, Alyssa Ferree

Doctoral Dissertations

Ph.D. student mothers often face challenges when balancing their academic obligations and family responsibilities. For students with children, there is a correlation between increased family obligations and decreased productivity (Brus, 2006; Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004; Lynch, 2008), but academic, social, and financial support can positively impact satisfaction and progress in the Ph.D. program. Faculty advisors play a crucial role in the Ph.D. experience and can positively or negatively impact a student’s experience and productivity. The purpose of this study was to explore the academic advising and mentoring experiences of female Ph.D. students with children. This qualitative study included ten …

Nuestros Conocimientos: Life Lessons And Cultural Knowledge For A Successful College Transition, Yesenia Mendoza Muller

Master's Projects and Capstones

For the past 40 years, first generation college students have been the topic of scholarly research aiming to improve college persistence models. Because of the shifting ethnic demographics, an increase in underrepresented minority students continues to diversify the population of first generation college students. The debate ensues when existing dominant persistence models fail to address the multidimensional challenges students from underrepresented backgrounds experience when transitioning to college. The focus of dominant persistence models is in encouraging first generation students to assimilate by leaving their old identity to gain a new identity and learning the “ins and outs” of how to …

Bearing Witness To The Lived Experience Of Chinese Exclusion: An International Baccalaureate Inquiry Unit For Critical Literacy Through Photovoice, Wesley Schoenherr

Master's Projects and Capstones

This field project used Kurasawa (2007)'s action-theoretical framework of "modes of practice" for human rights, together with Ewald (2012)'s "Memories of Past Centuries" unit to create an outline of an inquiry unit for a Humanities course within the International Baccalaureate's MYP. As the intended students are at IB schools in Xi'an, China, bearing witness to the lived experience of Chinese Exclusion at the Angel Island Immigration Station was chosen as the content.

Unlocking Creative Potential: Catholic Elementary School Principal Perceptions Of Creativity, Kellie Scherer

Doctoral Dissertations

Church documents and scholars affirm that traditional pedagogies are ineffective in preparing students for the demands of the 21st century (CCE, 2014, p. 13, Darling-Hammond, 2010; Hartley, 2003; Kampylis, 2010; Skiba, Tan, Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2010). A review of the literature revealed that a gap in research on the Catholic elementary school principal’s understanding of and commitment to creativity exists. Even teachers who value creativity cannot fully support its development in the classroom without proper training. Continuing education coordinated by principals is one of the few opportunities for teachers to identify and confront their creativity misconceptions. The purpose of this …

An Investigation Of The Developmental Growth Of Preschool Children With Disabilities Being Served In Inclusive Settings In Comparison With Noninclusive Settings In California, Elizabeth Nicole Schroeder

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to perform a secondary data analysis to investigate the relationship between preschool setting and the developmental growth of all children receiving state-funded preschool special-education services in California in inclusive settings compared with all children receiving state-funded preschool special-education services in California in noninclusive settings.

To accomplish this purpose, a secondary data analysis of a longitudinal data set was conducted using the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP, 2015) to measure progress across eight domains of child development over a 2-year time span and four assessment time points. This study used individual growth modeling to analyze …

Measuring Cogency In Argument In The Seventh-Grade English Classroom, Millie Gonzalez-Balsam

Doctoral Dissertations

Constructing a cogent argument that addresses real-world problems aids students in the development of critical thinking and requires students to present multiple perspectives in a credible manner. Yet, rubrics do not always measure students’ reasoning. The purpose of this study was to create a valid and reliable instrument to measure cogency in argument. I created a Teacher Designed Rubric Measuring Cogency (TDRMC) based on Toulmin’s model of argument for its emphasis on context-specific warrants, and I used Wilson’s framework for assessment to operationalize the construct of cogency. I compared the TDRMC to the current standardized assessment rubric for the Common …

Perceptions Of African American College Students In San Francisco Bay Area Community Colleges On Their Developmental Training To Participate In Civic Engagement During High School, Melvin Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The democratic practice of representative government in the United States is supposed to represent and protect its citizens. Since the United States abolished legalized slavery with the 13th Amendment in 1865, individual states have made many attempts to impede the civil rights and voting rights of African American citizens. Several pieces of legislation were designed to protect citizens, such as the Civil Rights act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In addition to overt legislated actions to thwart voting rights, the 26th Amendment of 1971 afforded citizens at least 18-years old the right to vote. Studies, however, …

Vocabulary-Learning Strategies Of Students Learning Chinese As A Foreign Language In An Intensive-Training Setting, Yan Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

Compared with the research on vocabulary-learning strategies in the field of teaching English as a second or a foreign language, the research on the strategy use of Chinese-as-a-foreign-language (CFL) students, especially CFL students in an intensive-training setting, is scarce. The relationship between CFL students’ vocabulary-learning-strategy use and their learning outcomes remains underresearched. Therefore, this mixed-methods study was conducted to investigate the strategy use of CFL students in learning Chinese vocabulary words in an intensive language program and its relationship to students’ learning outcomes.

A total of 137 beginning to advanced students enrolled in the program participated in the study. The …

Teaching Complex Content In Healthcare: A Comparison Of The Effect Of Three Types Of Multimedia Pretraining On Schematic Knowledge And Near Transfer, Melisa Patrice Kaye

Doctoral Dissertations

Challenged to teach complex content to students, university educators in healthcare disciplines face a practical need for effective pedagogical approaches. The preponderance of multimedia and digital resources in and beyond college classrooms suggests that solutions to teaching complex content should leverage educational technology and multimedia resources. The multimedia principle of pretraining is one effective way to augment complex content learning. The pretraining principle specifies that learning is more effective when the names and characteristics of main terms and concepts are introduced before more nuanced and complex content is presented.

The purpose of this study was to investigate three approaches to …

Exploring The Relationship Between Students' Perceptions Of The Jesuit Charism And Students' Moral Judgement, Scott Swenson

Doctoral Dissertations

Jesuit education has long focused on developing leaders of conscience, competence, and compassion. There is a gap in the literature examining if aspects of the Jesuit charism influence moral development. The Ignatian Identity Survey (IGNIS), and the Defining Issues Test – 2 (DIT-2), were administered to seniors at an all-male Jesuit high school. The IGNIS was used to explore students’ perceptions of five aspects of the Jesuit charism: 1) Openness to growth and educational excellence (OGEE), 2) Religious education and formation (REF), 3) Collaboration (COL), 4) Faith and justice (F&J), and 5) Active Reflection (AR). The DIT-2 was used to …

Preserving Catholic Identity In Catholic Secondary Schools And The Impact On Catholic Identity By Non-Catholic And International Students, Stephen Frederick Baccari

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of Catholic education has always been to educate students on the mission of the Catholic Church which is evangelization. This study examined the prospect of preserving Catholic identity in Catholic secondary schools that enroll non-Catholic and international students. Research revealed there was limited material available on non-Catholic students, but there was no study conducted on international students. It is precisely because there is no research on the experiences of international students in Catholic secondary schools that this study directs its attention. Specifically, the focus of research is directed on Catholic identity: what Catholic identity is; how one instills …

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of African American Male Presidents In California Community Colleges, Tyree L. Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

Current research has shown racial disparities and inequities among African American men who desire to be community college presidents in California, or already hold the position. This study explored why California has only 7 African American community college presidents on 115 campuses; how to overcome obstacles to attain the presidency position; what life/work experiences assists current presidents in their leadership positions in higher education, as well as each president’s trajectory that ultimately led them to the presidency. The study explored factors that have kept African Americans out of higher education leadership roles such as the presidency.

Peace Education In Kenya: Tracing Discourse And Action From The National To The Local Level, Kathleen Louise Zanoni

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent Presidential elections in Kenya (2017) resulted in a contested re-run election and demonstrated the presence of systemic corruption, a culture of impunity, and a continued rift among civil society. Deep wounds were awakened during this recent election triggering past grievances from the post-election violence in 2007-08. It is critical and timely to explore various cross-sectoral peacebuilding approaches at the national and local levels to increase the capacity of individuals to act as agents of peace. However, peacebuilders often overlook the possibilities that exist within formal education to foster spaces of resistance against direct, structural, and cultural forms of violence. …

The Influence Of Multimedia Podcast-Aided Video-Analysis To Transfer Evidence-Based Practices And Alter Novice Special Education Teachers’ Schema Development, Jason Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

The Federal mandates established under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) requires special education teachers to use evidence-based practices to support diverse student needs. With this legislation came an increase in research to identify practices that are effective with this population. While this work has identified a number of evidence-based practices, there is little evidence showing these practices are transferred to the classroom. Researchers and educators have long sought to understand how to reduce the gap between research findings and teacher practice. For special education, the federal mandate further emphasizes this need and puts closing the gap between research …

Perceptions Of Primary School Principals In Singapore About Their Role As Justice Agents, Kit Wah Antonia Teng

Doctoral Dissertations

Justice in school is central to both the Catholic church and the government of Singapore. Both institutions have expectations of principals as justice agents to serve the needs of every student by means of equality and equity in educational provision to all students. There is limited research on how principals of Catholic and government primary schools in Singapore perceive their role as justice agents and how they fulfill this expectation.

This qualitative research examined the experiences of primary school principals in Singapore in their enactment of educational leadership for justice. Of the 10 principals interviewed, 4 were principals of Catholic …

A Geospatial Analysis Of A Transit Program On California Community College Students, Alicia Kathryn De Toro

Doctoral Dissertations

Subsidized transit policy is a strategy used to lessen environmental impacts and increase institutional accessibility in higher education. Program funding to support this subsidized transit policy can vary between institutions. This research focuses on the geographic analysis of Eco Pass, a student led initiative implemented in the Foothill De Anza Community College District in California to offset transportation costs for students. Through the use of Environmental Science Research Institute software, the research aimed to determine which geographic areas, if any, were of high and low probability of Eco Pass use from data during 2011-2017 using Tobler’s first law of geography. …

Access Without Equity: Institutional Logics Of University Middle Managers And Valuing Diversity, Emerald Templeton

Doctoral Dissertations

Institutional barriers to Black student success (e.g. a history of exclusion, inaccessibility, and inequity) that exist at the undergraduate level, persist at the graduate level. Though traditionally marginally students have gained access to predominantly and historically White colleges and universities, Black graduate students continue to be marginalized by institutionalized oppression and inequitable structures. When the values, attitudes, and beliefs of individual actors who serve these students are at odds with an institutional mission of equity and inclusion, misalignment and competing priorities emerge. This study seeks to understand the logics university middle managers use in operationalizing equity and inclusion, specifically, in …

And At Once My Chains Were Loosed: How The Black Panther Party Freed Me From My Colonized Mind, Linda Garrett

Doctoral Dissertations

The Black Panther Party was an iconic civil rights organization that started in Oakland, California, in 1966. Founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Party was a political organization that sought to serve the community and educate marginalized groups about their power and potential. This study examined the seminal texts about the creation of the Party that were written by the Party’s founders: Seize the Time (Seale, 1970), Revolutionary Suicide (Newton, 2009) and War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America (Newton, 1980). Document analysis of these texts identified the main themes of preparation, connection, love the …

Use Of Multimedia Games For Biology Vocabulary Instruction, Ian Murray

Doctoral Dissertations

Vocabulary knowledge is considered fundamental to learning. However, students typically find learning scientific vocabulary quite difficult, and that is especially true for biology vocabulary. Games are well established as effective tools for vocabulary instruction. Multimedia instruction is likewise recognized as aiding vocabulary learning. To date, however, there seems have been little examination of the use of multimedia games in biology vocabulary instruction. This study, therefore, compared the effectiveness of digital multimedia games and traditional instruction in teaching biology vocabulary.

A two-group, quasi-experimental study was carried out over the course of 61 days. Participants were a convenience sample of 10 high …

Investigating The Causes And Cures For Unclear Scholarly Writing, Marlene Ingrid Mahony

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation investigated possible causes and cures for unclear scholarly writing. For this study, a stipulative definition of unclear scholarly writing, or “academese,” is that the language tends to be vague and verbose. The problem, according to the included literature, is that people who use or accept vague language have less academic, social, professional, and civic power. Academese, some say, can detach readers and that can accordingly diminish collective exchange. Because higher education is meant to share knowledge, promote agency, and prepare students to communicate powerfully within and beyond the university, this study researched the causes and cures of …

Experiences Of Women Stem Professors Who Are Considering Leadership Positions At Research Universities, Cheri Liebow

Doctoral Dissertations

Empirical evidence is needed to discern the reasons for inequities among those with doctorates hired in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. It is necessary to create a successful and motivational atmosphere for various types of female leaders who are seeking opportunities to become leaders, especially in STEM fields. This qualitative-method study used an exploratory design. The study first sought to gather information about female STEM professors’ experiences through open-ended qualitative interviews to explain gaps in details of women’s experiences as professors in STEM departments of universities. Second, the researcher sought to discern common themes in interview responses for …

Critical Peace Pedagogies At The American Center For Civil And Human Rights And The Canadian Museum For Human Rights: A Comparative Case Study, Ion Vlad

Doctoral Dissertations

The struggle for racial equity in the United States and Canada is ongoing. Troubled historical legacies in both countries have present-day implications. African Americans and Indigenous Canadians are still two of the most marginalized populations from the standpoint of socioeconomics and political representation (Giroux, 2013; Vickers, 2012). In order to redress these problems, human rights and peace education have to pose structural questions and expose systemic unbalances. In the recent past, neoliberalism has had a major influence on the organization and content of American and Canadian formal education, obscuring some of these structural questions (Ravitch, 2013). In this context, human …

Using Multiliteracies To Engage And Empower Students With Complex Support Needs, Sudha Vaghul Krishnan

Doctoral Dissertations

Using Multiliteracies to Engage and Empower Students with Complex Support Needs This dissertation is comprised of two studies:

• Creating New Learning Spaces Using Multiliteracies with Students with Complex Support Needs

• Transforming Narrative Identity through Multiliteracies

Students with complex support needs (SCSN) are frequently denied access to meaningful and challenging literacy instruction. These studies explore how student- authored narratives in the individualized education plan (IEP), implemented during a multiliteracies curriculum, can simultaneously engage and empower SCSN. These studies are based on the qualitative research that I conducted from November 15, 2018 to February 11, 2018 at a special day …

An Examination Of Bullying In Catholic Middle Schools In The Pacific And Mountain States In The United States, Margaret Murphey

Doctoral Dissertations

Every child has a right to feel safe at school. The highest prevalence of bullying occurred in middle school grades 6 through 8. In a school environment, bullying can inhibit student learning, as it may cause a great deal of pain, anxiety, and stress for the victim. Bullying and aggressive behavior have negative effects on student learning and students’ attitudes toward school. The occurrence of bullying can change the expectation of security in a school climate. Schools need to teach acceptance toward all differences, an appreciation of diversity, and the significance of various collective customs and social characteristics that all …

Exploring Factors Influencing The Willingness To Communicate Among English-As-A-Second Language University Students, Chi-Fang (Michelle) Chang

Doctoral Dissertations

This present study anchored its inquiry in English oral communication and learning English as a second language. The purpose of the study was to explore the factors that influence the willingness to communicate (WTC) of ESL university students from the perspectives of both the students and their oral communication professor. Since the 1980s, WTC among ESL university students has attracted increasing attention because helping them communicate authentically is essential. WTC is correlated with overall English language proficiency because of its equal weight with the other language skills. Therefore, ESL students have targeted WTC as a vital skill. However, research on …

School Leaders' And Educators' Perceptions Of Ignatian Identity At Jesuit Cristo Rey Schools, William Bludgus

Doctoral Dissertations

This study utilized a mixed-methods, embedded multiple-case study approach; school leaders and educators were invited to complete the study’s survey, and three in-depth interviews were conducted at each school. The six Jesuit, Cristo Rey schools in the study were those, which are solely sponsored by the Society of Jesus, and which have existed for at least eight years. The study’s survey instrument, the CRIGNIS, is an adaptation of the Jesuit Schools Network’s IGNatian Identity Survey; each item of the CRIGNIS was validated for alignment to one of the ten “distinguishing criteria” from What Makes a Jesuit High School Jesuit? (Jesuit …

What Do We Really Know About Grit? A Multivariate Statistical Investigation On The Construct Validity Of Grit, Christine M. Collaco

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to collect evidence on the construct validity of grit using convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity principles. To accomplish this purpose and extend previous research on grit, college students from two schools completed an instrument comprised of a cognitive ability test, and a questionnaire. The questionnaire was comprised of existing and multiple measures of grit, interest, self-efficacy, locus of control, and conscientiousness along with a number of college success measures. Structural equation modeling was used as the primary statistical analysis technique. Factor analysis, correlation analysis, and path analysis were also used.

First, the results …