Education Commons^™

Academic Resource And Social Emotional Advisory Period: Promoting Communities Of Care And An Equitable Learning Environment, Mary Jane Lucas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological, single case study was to evaluate the innovative programming of an Academic Resource and Social Emotional Learning (AR/SEL) Advisory Period at one large suburban public high school in the southeastern United States. The AR/SEL Advisory Period incorporates academic, mindfulness, and mental health initiatives, in tandem with relationship building tools for adults and students. The AR/SEL Advisory Period aims to provide an equitable learning environment where all students have an opportunity to develop high quality relationships with adult mentors and peers, as well as experience a sense of belongingness and community of care. The question that …

Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Knowledge And Attitudes Toward Students With Disabilities In Higher Education, Yanlys De La Caridad Palacios

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Students with disabilities are entering higher education at increased rates (National Center Educational Statistics, 2016). The aim of this study was to investigate graduate teaching assistants’ knowledge, attitudes, and professional development needs regarding students with disabilities in higher education. A modification of Sniatecki’s (2015) Faculty Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding College Students with Disabilities Survey was used to gather responses from graduate teaching assistants through an online format. Results of the study indicate that graduate teaching assistants have positive attitudes towards students with disabilities yet lack specific knowledge on accommodations, disability law, and disability support services. Further, respondents expressed a willingness …

Mapping Narrative Transactions: A Method/Framework For Exploring Multimodal Documents As Social Semiotic Sites For Ethnographic Study, Anne W. Anderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work grew from my attempts to find a method for studying a body of editorial cartoons—multi-modal documents producing cross-modal responses—that were created and published in an earlier time period, in order to answer questions about the culture in which the cartoons were produced and read. Initially my questions included wondering about the topics cartoonists addressed, the narratives cartoonists created to address the topics, how the narratives were framed, and in what ways the narratives might have been seen as attempts to shape the larger cultural discourse around the topics. However, given the number of possible combinations of information streams …

Making Meaning Of A Whole School Transformation Model: A Policy Ethnography Of A Schools Of Hope Legislation Implementation, Adam Charles Rea

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cheryl High School (CHS) is a geographically large county in Florida that received funding through the state of Florida's "Schools of Hope” grant. The grant’s parameters called on Carter County Schools (CCS) to partner with an external consultant and a research university to help improve teacher and school administrative capacity. The district chose Scientific Pedagogy Services (SPS) and to continue their existing relationship with Tampa Bay State University (TBS). The consultant’s mission was to improve school performance through a unique form of professional development. TBS was charged with developing an on-site program that funded staff efforts to obtain advanced degrees …

Mtss Implementation In High Schools: Expert And Stakeholder Perspectives, Julie Daye

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the perspectives of experts and school-level stakeholders on MTSS implementation in high schools. Despite evidence of MTSS implementation effectiveness in elementary and middle school settings, MTSS implementation still lags in high schools. In reviewing the literature on high school MTSS implementation, those who have worked to implement MTSS do not all do so with the same priorities and/or emphases. I collected and examined qualitative data that reflects the perspectives of experts and school-level stakeholders. Specifically, I also reviewed articles or book chapters written by some high school MTSS experts and interviewed them. I interviewed stakeholders working in …

Epistemological Developmental Level And Critical Skill Thinking Level In Undergraduate University Students, Monnie Huston Wertz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Epistemological development and its relationship to critical thinking has been postulated in educational psychology since the 1970’s. By empirically examining epistemological development in relationship to thinking critically, a richer understanding of overall student development and instructional needs could be achieved. By taking into account a student’s epistemological development, issues unique to these stages could inform how to most effectively work with students to promote critical thinking development.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential relationship between collegiate epistemological development and critical thinking skills by examining differences in critical thinking skills at different levels of epistemological development. The …

Influence Of Language Arts Instructional Practices On Early Adolescents’ Motivation To Read: Measuring Student And Teacher Perceptions, Sarah E. Pennington

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Early adolescence is a critical time for examining academic motivation, specifically motivation to read (Hervey, 2013). In order to support self-determined motivation to read, students’ needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness must be met within the classroom context (Miller & Faircloth, 2014). Since classroom instructional practices are a key component of adolescents’ daily experiences in the classroom, research which investigates the influence of these practices on students’ self-determined motivation to read is needed. In addition, the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the degree to which classroom instructional practices meet students’ needs as well as the influence of classroom instructional …

Funeral Service Employers' Perceptions Of Body Art And Hireability, Tanya E. Scotece

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine whether there were biases among funeral home and cemetery professionals with regards to hiring mortuary science graduates with tattoos.

An anonymous survey including a photograph of either a male or female with various degrees of visible body art, ranging from none to extreme, was sent to 1484 members of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association. The primary methodology used to determine whether biases existed regarding visible body art were a semantic differential and a hireability scale. The survey was designed to gather information related to the following three research questions:

1. …

Youth Character Strengths, Peer Victimization, And Well-Being: Understanding Associations Between Positive Traits, Social Experiences, And Positive Psychological Outcomes, Michael James Frank

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The advent of positive psychology has increased awareness of factors that lead individuals to thrive in life, allowing for a more comprehensive model of mental health service delivery. However, while measurement and understanding of character strengths and well-being have improved over the last decade, the interaction of these factors with social risk factors is not entirely understood. The current study analyzed an archival dataset consisting of self-report data from 425 high school students, to examine the extent to which high school students' specific character strengths (i.e., social competence, self-regulation, responsibility, and empathy) are associated with positive psychological outcomes (i.e., gratitude, …

Adolescent Behavioral Adjustment In Girls Adopted From China: Examining Pre-Adoption And Post-Adoption Factors, Derek Justin Powers

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite research that indicates that internationally adopted children are at greater risk for poor developmental outcomes than their non-adopted peers (Bimmel, Juffer, IJzendoorn, Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2003; Juffer, & van IJzendoorn, 2005), girls adopted from China into Western culture tend to thrive, exhibiting high self-esteem, low behavior problems (i.e., both externalizing and internalizing), and excelling academically (Rojewski, Shapiro, & Shapiro, 2000; Tan & Jordan-Arthur, 2012). However, few studies have examined whether this trend continues into adolescence, as well as to what factors lead to these positive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate predictors of mental health outcomes among internationally …

Beyond The Skilled Application Of Know-How: Pedagogical Reasoning As Phronesis In Highly Competent Teachers, Kathryn Boney

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the teacher-as-technician view and the instrumentalist values that pervade professional schools, practices, and policy decisions (Kinsella & Pitman, 2012a; Zeichner, 2012) with regard to teacher qualification, evidence-based practices, and scripted curricula, there is growing concern that something of fundamental importance and moral significance is missing from the vision of what it means to be a professional, particularly in the field of education. In order to articulate teacher practical knowledge in a way that reflects the complexities of practice, a framework that captures the complexity of teaching practice and helps to define the type of knowledge beyond content and technique, …

Insights Into Reflection And Pre-Service Teacher Education: An Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Andrea M. Gelfuso

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With recent calls for teacher education programs to increase both the quantity and quality of field experiences (NCATE, 2010), it is important for teacher educators to understand how pre-service teachers create meaning from those experiences. Reflection is a mode of thought historically associated with creating "warranted assertabilities" (Dewey, 1938, p.15) from experience. Therefore, reflection is a common component of many teacher education programs (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Despite the abundance of research that has been conducted about reflection and teacher education, little is understood about the process of supported reflection as it is experienced by pre-service teachers. In this hermeneutic phenomenology, I …

The Impact Of A Short-Term Review Treatment Program On Student Success In A College Algebra Course, Frances Clementi Hopf

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether conducting a short-term online review of college algebra prerequisite skills at the start of a college algebra course concurrently with the normal course instruction and assignments would have a significant influence on student success. When failure rates in an entry-level college course such as college algebra can range from 20% to 60% or higher, it could present problems for the student and the institution (Burd & Boser, 2009). Research indicates that students who cannot pass entry-level college math courses have decreased chances of obtaining a college degree and it can …