Education Commons^™

Self Regulation In College-Level Mathematics Classes, Jenny Lee

HMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the need for improvement in mathematics education at the college level in the US regarding equitable practices in instruction. In particular, it focuses on understanding the role self-regulation can play in the classroom dynamics, and how self-regulation can be a way to empower students. Also included is a case study in an introductory linear algebra class at a liberal arts college and is meant to provide a investigation into a way of incorporating self-regulation by using self-paced assessments. Results of this study suggest a possible question to consider in reforming mathematics education for a more equitable environment …

Schools Uniting Neighborhoods: Sustainability And Racial Equity In A Community Schools Initiative, Rachel Geller

Scripps Senior Theses

Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN), a collaborative initiative in Multnomah County, Oregon, combines the increasingly popular community school model with an innovative organizational structure to further two key goals: sustainability as an initiative and furthering racial equity. This thesis situates SUN within the context of American public education reform and existing literature on the positive outcomes, organizational structures, and leadership components of community schools. Building on past reviews of SUN and its outcomes, I use results from qualitative interviews with key stakeholders to provide insight into how its organizational structure contributes to the goals of sustainability and racial equity. I discuss …

Choosing God, Choosing Schools: A Study Of The Relationship Between Parental Religiosity And School Choice, Aimee Leukert

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Over the last several decades, school choice – in the context of educational systems that are available to choose from as well as the reasons why parents choose what they do for their child – has become a topic of interest to both educational researchers and the public at large. The Seventh-day Adventist school system, like other faith-based institutions, is uniquely positioned in this subject, as it is an educational organization framed by a religious denomination. In addition to the typical factors such as academic standards, curricular offerings and peer influence, the issue of school choice within this context also …

Organizational Culture And Outward Bound: Perspectives Of Instructors And Participants, Sophie M. Burns

Scripps Senior Theses

Outward Bound stands out amongst the rest of the wilderness organizations not only for its time-honored contribution to the field of wilderness education, but for its fundamental process and theories which contribute to its success. Academic attention in the field of wilderness programs largely overlooks the role of organizational culture. To fill the gap in our knowledge, this study synthesizes the academic conversation on Outward Bound programs and integrates it with the most consistent findings about organizational culture. Interviewing the participants and instructors of a 72-day long Outward Bound course conducted in 2015 provides clear insight into the role of …

A Lesson In Learning: Improving Learning Outcomes In India Via Pedagogical Innovation, Rhea Handa

Scripps Senior Theses

When delivered well, education is key to addressing a host of individual and societal ills, from poverty and disease to crime and poor voter engagement. India has demonstrated considerable progress in improving various aspects of its primary education system, including infrastructure and buildings, teacher-student ratios, and school enrollment. However, student learning outcomes remain consistently low across the country. A review of the literature surrounding learning outcomes has highlighted gaps in school instruction and has shown the dire need for innovations in pedagogy and curriculum to improve student learning. This paper assesses the long-term impact of one such pedagogy, called Teaching …

Llevo Resilencia En La Frente: The Influence Of Community On The Thriving Of Latinas In College, Clarisse Salazar

Scripps Senior Theses

Latinas in college are systematically disadvantaged and face many unique stressors and adversities such as race-related discrimination and family stress; however, perceived availability of social support has been shown to have positive effects on students, such as positively influencing adjustment and academic persistence. In an effort to determine what factors help Latinas thrive in college, an experimental study with a 2x2 factorial design is proposed to investigate if in the face of adversity, does peer support/community preserve the thriving of Latinas in college. Community is defined by sense of membership and validation, and both will be manipulated in the in-lab …

Going Further On That Walk: Examining The Internationalization Of Public And Private Not-For-Profit American Higher Education, Lucia Maria Greve

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the field of internationalization by investigating the differences in the outputs (the amount and types of activity undertaken in support of internationalization efforts) and outcomes of internationalization (results of the process of internationalization) between public and private not-for-profit American higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2011 and 2016.

Using a mixed methods approach, the quantitative strand of this research uses data from the American Council on Education (ACE) 2011 and 2016 Mapping Internationalization surveys to examine through descriptive statistics the differences in the outputs of internationalization of public and private not-for-profit HEIs. …

Evaluating The Effects Of Nutritional Intake During Adolescence On Educational Attainment And Labor Market Earnings As An Adult, Mikaela Connell

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I analyze whether nutritional intake at the time of adolescence can impact academic attainment and earnings later on in life. Millions of children in the United States are living in food insecure households and do not have access to an adequate nutritious diet. Since adolescence is a time period of intense growth and development, it is essential to meet nutritional needs at this time. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I measure the nutrition of a nationally representative sample of youth in the United States through their daily food intake, …

Can A Comprehensive Transition Plan To Barefoot Running Be The Solution To The Injury Epidemic In American Endurance Runners?, Michael A. Scarlett

CMC Senior Theses

Fossils belonging to the genus Homo, dating as far back as two million years ago, exhibit uniquely efficient features suggesting that early humans had evolved to become exceptional endurance runners. Although they did not have the cushion or stability-control features provided in our modern day running shoes, our early human ancestors experienced far less of the running-related injuries we experience today. The injury rate has been estimated as high as 90% annually for Americans training for a marathon and as high as 79% annually for all American endurance runners. There is an injury epidemic in conventionally shod populations that …

Learning To Live And Love Virtuously, Henry Deruff

CMC Senior Theses

John Stuart Mill and Immanuel Kant authored two of the most famous pieces of work in ethical theory (Utilitarianism and Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, respectively), yet both fail for various reasons to give us direction by way of living good lives. This thesis begins by outlining those shortcomings, before offering Aristotelian virtue ethics as the solution. Virtue ethics, as conceived by Aristotle, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Julia Annas, delineates a process – grounded in our real lives – by which we may improve as people and therefore flourish, or live good, moral lives: the habituation of the …

The Educational Opportunity Structure And Stratification Of College Counseling At Southern California Public High Schools, Adriana Ceron

Pitzer Senior Theses

This study documents how organizational strategies underlying college counseling departments modify counselors’ ability to perform their academic and college advising duties. To examine this, fifteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews with public high school counselors in Southern California were conducted. A district’s commitment to college access and opportunity, as well as parents’ expectations for maintaining a college-going culture, shaped the nature of college counseling and organizational habitus in a school. Counselors reported that access to different forms of institutional support and resources diminish or exacerbate the structural constraints known to surface in public schools. This influenced when and how counselors advised students, …

Seeking Justice: Mobilizing The South Asian Community In The Face Of Sexual Assault, Sagarika Gami

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis looks at how the rule of law fails to achieve justice for Indian-American survivors of domestic violence in a multitude of ways, corresponding to class and religious positionality, as well as documentation status, and how the Indian community mobilizes in response to these failures by creating alternative modes of justice for survivors. Historically, these alternatives have taken form as direct service organizations, providing culturally and linguistically accessible services to survivors. I contend that these are helpful on an individual level, working to interrupt cycles of violence, but not at the collective level – stopping these cycles altogether. Given …