Education Commons^™

Implementing Food Science-Based Instruction In Career Technical Education Courses, Jasmine D. Hendrix

Theses and Dissertations

Students are exposed to food concepts in agriculture-based career technical education (CTE) courses which provide a gateway for students to become more aware of food science career pathways. Professional development for Mississippi (MS) CTE teachers is needed to effectively implement food science-based instruction since there is not a food science curriculum framework adopted in MS. The objective of this study was to assess a food science professional development training for MS CTE teachers that would increase their self-perceived knowledge of food science, self-perceived ability to conduct food science skills, and their self-efficacy to implement food science-based instruction. Thirty-one teachers participated …

The Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of The Hybrid-Online Hatch-Out Program, Tannah Leigh Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s society, the majority of our population lacks knowledge about agriculture and its importance. Therefore, there is a demand for agricultural programs to increase a general knowledge of agriculture. This study aimed to develop, pilot test, and evaluate the Hybrid-Online Hatch-out Program. Due to limited resources with the current Hands-on Hatch-out program, this Hybrid-Online Hatch-out Program could reach a larger population of youth and aid in educating more youth about poultry (one of the largest sectors of agriculture). The RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) was utilized to guide the evaluation process. The program was pilot-tested in …

School Transportation Protocol And Procedures Related To Students’ Safety And Discipline: Reflective Experiences Of School Bus Drivers And School Administrators, David Luke

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation deals with the protocol and procedures related to students’ safety and discipline while on a school bus as experienced by school bus drivers’ and school administrators’ experiences as a guide for changes to the existing programs. The following was the overarching research question that guided the study: How do school bus drivers and school administrators describe their reflective experiences related to bus driver training and protocol and procedures associated with student safety and discipline?

A qualitative research design was selected for the study. A case study approach was used to collect and analyze data for the study.

Participants …

Using Bst To Increase Interview Skills Among Emerging Adults With Autism Via Telehealth, Johnna L. Dowdy

Theses and Dissertations

he purpose of the current study was to evaluate the use of behavior skills training via telehealth to teach job interview skills to emerging adults with ASD. Additionally, the study examined if following intervention, skills were able to generalize to new interviewers. 2 undergraduate and 1 graduate student with ASD participated in the study, and received intervention for 3 behaviors: (1) appropriately answering questions, (2) asking appropriate questions, and (3) engaging in appropriate body language. The current study used a multiple baseline design across behaviors. Results from the study indicated BST via telehealth was effective in teaching job interviews skills. …

A Longitudinal Analysis Of Pathways To Computing Careers: Defining Broadening Participation In Computing (Bpc) Success With A Rearview Lens, Mercy Jaiyeola

Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to increase the participation of groups historically underrepresented in computing studies, and in the computing workforce, are well documented. It is a national effort with funding from a variety of sources being allocated to research in broadening participation in computing (BPC). Many of the BPC efforts are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) but as existing literature shows, the growth in representation of traditionally underrepresented minorities and women is not commensurate to the efforts and resources that have been directed toward this aim.

Instead of attempting to tackle the barriers to increasing representation, this dissertation research tackles the …

More Than Just An Internship: One University’S Collaboration With A Rural School District To Attract, Develop, And Retain School Counselors, Rawn Boulden, Christine Schimmel

The Rural Educator

This promising practice describes an innovative collaboration between West Virginia University, a land grant institution situated in the middle of rural Appalachia, and Kanawha County Schools, located in Charleston, WV. The partnership aimed to assist the rural school district by supporting children in three elementary schools and by providing the university’s school counseling students an immersion experience in rural schools, with the hope of retaining them in the school district following graduation. The collaboration fulfilled the original mission of the program in two ways; first, the school district retained one-third of the school counseling students who participated. Secondly, the collaboration …

A National Rural Postsecondary Research Agenda, National Rural Postsecondary Research Agenda Working Group

The Rural Educator

No abstract provided.

Rural Principal Perspectives Of Leadership Development Needs, Tommy Wells, Madeline Chimka, Sukhdeep Kaur

The Rural Educator

Rural school principals often face issues of professional isolation and lack of access to leadership development opportunities. To address these challenges, the Elgin Children’s Foundation launched its Principal Support Program (PSP) in 2017 to support the development of effective school leaders in three states with high rural student populations in the Appalachian region. The PSP posited four components as essential for principal development: professional development, networking, mentoring, and learning plans. The aim of this qualitative study was to determine what PSP participants believed to be the most effective in terms of principal development. Results indicate that because of PSP training, …

Growing Your Own Educational Leaders: Implications For Rural School Districts And Institutions Of Higher Education, John Mcconnell, Benita Bruster, Cheryl Lambert, James Thompson

The Rural Educator

The purpose of this article is to examine a ‘grow your own’ model of leadership preparation and placement of educational administrators in the state of Tennessee. The growing need for school and district administrators in the rural counties of Tennessee mirrors a nationwide issue, and state policymakers and practitioners must respond appropriately to sustain adequate K-12 educational leadership that is representative of state demographics. Recommendations for policy and practice are provided for state and local education agencies as well as principal preparation programs in higher education.

Will They Stay Or Will They Go? Leadership Behaviors That Increase Teacher Retention In Rural Schools, Matthew Frahm, Marie Cianca

The Rural Educator

Hard-to-staff rural schools often struggle to attract and retain promising educators. Experts have consistently identified administrative support in rural schools to be of unique importance for recruitment and retention, yet a lack of clarity continues to surround the specific leadership behaviors that new teachers interpret as supportive. This qualitative study collected data from three focus groups; including superintendents, principals, and teachers in a program for aspiring administrators; and found that rural schools have to try much harder and in more active ways to retain new teachers because of the constraints existing within rural education. Rural school support for new teachers …

Esl Programs In Rural High Schools: Challenges And Opportunities, Todd Ruecker

The Rural Educator

Rural and small-town communities in the United States have been rapidly diversifying over the last few decades and rural schools have faced challenges in supporting changing populations. This article builds on a limited body of education research that has focused on diversity in rural areas, driven largely in the U.S. by Latinx immigrant populations. This research draws on several data sources from multi-week visits in a mixture of new and established immigrant destinations to profile the challenges educational leaders faced developing ESL programs in five rural high schools and explores challenges such as how schools struggle to recruit and retain …

Exploring Rural Engineering Students’ College-Choice Process At Two Land-Grant Universities, Rachel Worsham, Ashley Clayton, Joy Gaston Graves

The Rural Educator

This qualitative case study examines the college choice decisions of rural students enrolled in engineering majors to understand what conditions and experiences led rural students to pursue engineering at their institution. We found four themes that help illuminate rural engineering students’ college choice journeys (1) The Inextricable Nature of College, Major, and Career Choice (2) “The Smart Person Thing to Do:” The Power of Prestige, (3) “Are You Sure You Don’t Want to Change your Major?” Dissonance Between Aspirations and Expectations, and (4) School and Community as Crucial Resources in College and Major Exploration. These findings have implications for those …

Commentary: Times Article On Rural School Misses Half The Story—Educational Success, Mara Casey Tieken, Sheneka Williams

The Rural Educator

Despite lack of funding, rural schools can serve as sites of learning, community, and excellence. We need to understand both the problems and opportunities to make good education policy. This commentary was originally published in the October 6th edition of The Daily Yonder.

Innovative Approach To Measure Effectiveness Of Handwashing Education In School-Age Children By Extension Educators, Katie Hoffman, Surine Greenway, Julie Buck, Grace Wittman, Jang Ho Kim

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

University of Idaho Extension educators developed an innovative approach to analyze the effectiveness of handwashing lessons taught to school-age children. A protocol was designed to determine if there was a significant decrease in bacterial Colony Forming Units (CFUs) before and after implementing an educational handwashing lesson. The protocol allowed Extension educators with limited to no research experience to validate their handwashing lessons with scientific research. A 79% reduction in Mean CFU counts pre- and post-handwashing was found, excluding an outlier. The results support the effectiveness of Extension handwashing lessons using a novel quantitative approach

Barriers To Becoming Case Certified As Seen By Agriculture Educators, Kristin Witte, Nathan W. Conner, Bryan A. Reiling, Mark A. Balschweid, Christopher T. Stripling

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

There is a need to improve science comprehension in the United States. Incorporating scientific principles into the study of food production provides context to engage youth in STEM education. The Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education (CASE) is an inquiry-based program that stimulates scientific engagement. While agriscience teachers believe in the concept, less than 20% are certified in Nebraska to teach CASE. Twenty-five active agriscience teachers, who were not CASE certified, individually discussed their reluctance to become CASE certified. Most research participants had a positive view of CASE but were concerned about the apparent stringent program structure. They questioned individualizing the …

Process Evaluation Of The Early Implementation Stages Of Thenational Diabetes Prevention Program Through Kentucky Cooperative Extension: Perceptions Of Adopters And Potential Adopters, Nicole Breazeale, Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Katherine Counts, Lovoria B. Williams

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

With the growing demand for lifestyle change programs that prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes onset, community organizations with broad reach should be explored for national dissemination of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP). This study evaluates the early implementation of the NDPP through Cooperative Extension in four Kentucky counties and explores the feasibility of scaling up the program to additional counties. Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 12 Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Agents – four who were participating in the pilot (adopters) and eight who had no experience with the NDPP (potential adopters). Five …

Full Issue, Volume 9, Number 3, Donna J. Peterson, Scott Cummings

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

No abstract provided.

A Systematic Review Of Research On Rural College Access Since 2000, Stephanie Sowl, Andrew Crain

The Rural Educator

Aligning with the NREA's "college and career readiness" research priority, this article presents a systematic literature review of 134 publications regarding the state of rural college access and choice research between the years 2000 and 2020. We use Perna's (2006) college choice model to guide our comprehensive summary of current themes as well as remaining challenges and opportunities. We find that publications generally failed to articulate the rural context in sufficient detail, that studies in the Appalachian region were overrepresented, and that a majority of publications focused on the roles of rural habitus or K-12 and community context in shaping …

Meeting Students Where They Are: Trauma-Informed Approaches In Rural Schools, Maria Frankland

The Rural Educator

Twenty-five percent of U.S. schoolchildren attend a rural school. Yet, rural school issues are typically subsumed by debates focused on urban problems and the misguided notion of ample resources available for their remediation. These assumptions belie the reality of the spatial mismatch that exists for rural schools, especially around mental health supports. Adverse childhood experiences and trauma disproportionately affect rural schoolchildren, putting them at greater risk of academic underachievement and other negative throughout the lifespan. Trauma-informed approaches in rural schools may mitigate the effects of childhood adversity and help close achievement gaps for rural students. Rural schools and students have …

Relatively Good News Amid Covid-19, Jesse Moon Longhurst, Michael Thier

The Rural Educator

This study examined publicly available data from The Institution of Education Sciences (IES) survey of school leaders concerning modes of instructions offered and subgroups prioritized during the Covid-19 pandemic. We asked: Do national data regarding instructional modes (i.e., remote, hybrid, and in-person) during the Covid-19 pandemic reveal different approaches of U.S. elementary and secondary schools in rural areas versus peer institutions in cities, suburbs, and towns? Our analysis showed that schools in rural areas are more readily and equitably offering in-person instruction than schools in suburbs and cities, particularly in regard to students of color. Additionally, we found that rural …

Conceptions Of Choice, Equity, & Rurality In Educational Research, James Bridgeforth, Kate Kennedy, Jacob Alonso, Taylor Enoch-Stevens

The Rural Educator

School choice is often thought of as a rural issue, however, rural communities have also engaged in forms of school choice decision-making. Limited research has explored rural school choice and there is a need for further exploration of rurality and school choice. This review is not intended to advocate for an expansion of school choice policies. Rather, we call for additional research that seeks to better understand how school choice policies are currently operating in rural areas and their implications for educational equity. In this piece, we review the existing literature on school choice and rural education, provide key recommendations, …

This Old House, Anthony Olson

The Rural Educator

In this essay, I explain how I switched the lens of my sophomore research unit to one that focuses on rural issues. This essay follows the unit from beginning to end. I explain what I do to raise awareness through the use of daily articles along with providing models for their own research. The essay then details the writing portion and how it has changed over time. The essay ends with a reflection of my work and choices.

What We Know And Where To Go: A Systematic Review Of The Rural Student College And Career Readiness Literature And Future Directions For The Field, J. Kessa Roberts, Phillip Grant

The Rural Educator

College and career readiness has become a national education policy priority. With more than 9.3 million rural students in the United States, the college and career readiness of rural students is a warranted priority for rural education researchers. Using a combination of Conley’s (2012) college and career readiness model, Perna’s (2006) nested model of college choice, and Social Cognitive Career Theory (Lent et al., 2014), we systematically reviewed and analyzed the extant literature on rural students’ college and career readiness. In addition to providing a comprehensive discussion of the prominent themes in the literature, we provide recommendations for future research …

Technology Storylines: A Narrative Analysis Of The Rural Education Research, Eizabeth S. Wargo, Jeff Simmons

The Rural Educator

This piece offers a systematic review of rural (P-12) education technology literature. Drawing upon a social change frame (Ogburn, 1922), current rural education technology research within the subfield is collected, examined, and synthesized. Findings explicate that methodological diversity is a strength; however, some populations (e.g., middle school teachers) have thicker coverage than others (e.g., high school students). Additionally, many studies lean on rhetorical structures about what could and should be happening in rural schools, rarely delving into the how’s and whys associated with actual technology use in rural contexts. The piece concludes with a call for scholarship which assists in …

Expansion Of A Financial Education And Family Asset Protection Program For Latinos In Rural Minnesota, Antonio Alba-Meraz, Aysegul Baltaci, Carolina De La Rosa Mateo, Gabriela Burk, Jose Lamas, Francisca Mendoza, Monica Cruz-Zorrilla, Oswaldo Cabrera-Vidal

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

The University of Minnesota Extension, in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Saint Paul, Minnesota, expanded the Ventanilla de Asesoría Financiera -Financial Education and Family Asset Protection Program to serve families in rural areas. The financial education services were expanded to 25 rural counties in Minnesota during 2017 and 2018. Participants were primarily low-income Latino families of Mexican ancestry. The program consisted of financial literacy education workshops and one-to-one meetings to build and protect participant assets. Participants reported an increase in their confidence in five financial core topics. Conditions for the success of this program were (a) the existing …

Full Issue, Volume 9, Number 2, Donna J. Peterson, Kathleen Kelsey, Scott Cummings

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

No abstract provided.

Foundational Rhythms For Drum Circles, Robert J. Damm

College of Education Publications and Scholarship

Many drum circle facilitators use foundational rhythms to start a jam, establish a groove, and provide a structure within which other participants can improvise in a relatively freestyle manner. Twenty drum circle facilitators shared a sampling of foundational patterns drawn from universal drum rhythms, culturally specific drum styles, and speech rhythms.

#Black Boy Joy: The College Aspirations Of Rural Black Male Students, Loni Crumb, Crystal R. Chambers, Jessica Chittum

The Rural Educator

Too often research on Black boys emanate from deficit orientations and take a problem centered approach which overemphasizes stereotypes or pathologizes Black male students, overlooking their aspirations and successes. Utilizing the High School Longitudinal Survey of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we examine the postsecondary goals of Black male ninth graders as well as the relationships among their educational aspirations, college knowledge, and supportive school personnel using Community Cultural Wealth as the conceptual framework. We found that the educational aspirations of Black male ninth graders are high; however, their knowledge of college falls short of their educational aspirations and their relationships with …

“My Language Learners Seemed Like Ghosts”: A Rural Teacher’S Transformational Journey Implementing The Seal Of Biliteracy, Nidza Marichal, Arelis Rosario Roldán, Maria Coady

The Rural Educator

This paper describes the personal and professional journey taken by one secondary Spanish teacher to implement the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) for English learners (ELs) in a rural Florida school district. The teacher’s goal was to promote bilingual pride among her ELs and to validate their bilingual abilities, which had been frequently unrecognized in the community. This promising practice in a rural Florida district demonstrated two important transformations: first was the teacher’s personal views about bilingualism as an asset rather than a deficit, and second was the instructional practices she employed and fierce advocacy for the ELs in her rural …

How Professional Development In Co-Teaching Impacts Self-Efficacy Among Rural High School Teachers, Tori Colson, Yajuan Xiang, Moriah Smothers

The Rural Educator

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of professional development in co-teaching on teacher self-efficacy among general and special education rural high school teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to survey 256 rural high school teachers from the South and Midwest regions of the U.S. to measure their self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional practices, and classroom management. One-way analysis and independent samples t-test was used to analyze these data using SPSS statistical software. The results indicated a significant difference between teachers with and without experience in a co-teaching classroom regarding their efficacy in using instructional practices. …