Education Commons^™

Exploring Zero Tolerance School Policies And Their Effects On African American Males: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Jacqueline Renee Noble-Dial

Masters Theses

My interest in schools’ zero tolerance policies as a method of discipline arose out of the manner in which my son’s behavior was singled out as troubling to his teacher. In addition, the fact that my daughter, despite her proclivity to socialize during classes has never been labeled by any of her teachers as troubling aroused my parental curiosity. I noted how teachers related differently to my son than they did to my daughter and discovered through my interest in this subject that African American males are being displaced from the educational system and routed to alternative schools or directly …

The Differential Effects Of Performance-Contingent, Completion-Contingent, And No Reward Conditions On Math Performance, Voluntary Task Participation, And Self-Reported Interest In Math, Renee Oliver

Masters Theses

Researchers have repeatedly found that performance-contingent and task-contingent rewards can be used to increase both math accuracy and completion rates. However, researchers have not directly compared the differential effects of these two types of reward contingencies. Although researchers have examined the differential effects of performance-contingent and task-contingent rewards on intrinsic motivation to perform an activity, this research has consistently focused on the dependent measures of self-reported interest and free-choice participation. To this point, researchers have not thoroughly investigated the differential effects of performance- and task completion-contingent rewards on academic accuracy when these contingencies are in place and after teachers remove …

An Interpretive Analysis Of The Formative Period Of Journal Publications Related To Multicultural Education: 1977-1987, Renard B. Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of multicultural education in educational literature over a ten year period, 1977-1987. The evolution of multicultural education since its first inclusion into the Education Index, 1977, was of major concern. The researcher wanted to know how the development of multicultural education was influenced by the scholarly writing of that period.

Two hundred-twenty articles listed under the multicultural education heading in the Education Index from 1977-1987 were used as data for this study. Sixty-two articles that appeared in journals in 1977 were used to identify the early common themes of multicultural …

It Permeates The Whole Fabric Of Your Life': The Experience Of Scholars Who Have Studied Self-Directed Learning, Robert Clark Donaghy

Doctoral Dissertations

Self-directed learning has been one of the most widely studied topics within the field of adult education over the past three decades. It has gone from being a revelation for some to a topic heavily criticized by others. For those who have studied the concept, it has been a continued area of scholarly writing and research, while for others it is no longer a core area of interest. Some have even suggested this area of study is dead and it is time to move on. Little has been done to investigate how self-directed learning has developed over the years. The …

A Study On The Influences Of The U.S. News And World Reports: America's Best Colleges Rankings On Policy And Decision-Making At Southern Comprehensive Colleges, John D. Head

Doctoral Dissertations

For over a century, colleges and universities have been the subjects of numerous attempts to provide a ranking system for use by the general public. These rankings have examined a variety of indicators in an attempt to determine quality. Everything from the accomplishments of graduates in the workforce, their success on entering graduate schools, and the reputation of institutions among their peers, have all been examined at one time or another in an attempt to measure quality.

Public demand for a ranking system is evidenced by the millions of dollars spent each year on rankings. Publishers are eager to provide …

The Interrelationships Among Marital Hostility, Parental Depression, Compromised Parenting Behaviors, And Youth Maladjustment: A Mediated Model, Karen Lillemor Franck

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among marital hostility, parental depressive affect, compromised parenting behaviors, and youth maladjustment. Youth perceptions of compromised parenting behaviors (i.e., harsh behavioral control, psychological intrusiveness, inconsistency, lower acceptance, and less knowledge of the youth’s friends and activities) were examined as potential mediators of the associations between marital hostility, parental depressive affect, and youth externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. Questionnaire and observational data were collected from 416 mothers, fathers, and a 6^th grade youth. There was evidence that marital hostility and parental depressive affect were related to youth outcomes both directly …

Internet Purchasing Decision Behavior And Product Involvement, Jung-Im Seo

Doctoral Dissertations

Internet sales were less than 2 percent of total consumer spending in 2004 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004) and are projected to increase to 15-20 percent of total consumer spending by 2010 (The Economist, 2000). Some researchers note that the future of retailing depends on the Internet. The Internet is also an important tool for college students because it provides entertainment, socializing and study sources. Although college students were early adopters and heavy users of the Internet, there is a lack of theoretical and empirical research about college students' Internet shopping behaviors. It is important to study college students' Internet shopping …

Tennessee Higher Education Accountability Policies & Practices: A State Legislative Perspective, Kristi Roberson-Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

This purpose of this descriptive, exploratory study was to describe Tennessee legislators' perceptions of higher education accountability policies and/or programs. Legislators' perceptions of the following: What it means and what is expected for accountability (research question 1), What is considered to be prime and important evidence of accountability (research question 2), To whom should higher education institutions be accountable (research question 3), and whether current policies and/or program are effective (research question 4) were all answered by the emerging research themes of this study.

A sample (approximately half) of Tennessee Senate and House legislative members serving on their respective education …

Razor Wire Cuts Both Ways: Teaching Inside A Juvenile Institution, Betty B. Ragland

Doctoral Dissertations

The researcher is an educator working in a juvenile correctional facility. In this study she invited 12 of her colleagues as co-researchers to explore their shared practice and to foster change in the workplace culture. Each participant engaged in a phenomenological interview designed to elicit perceptions of teaching in a correctional institution. The researcher then facilitated group sessions in a collaborative learning effort to construct shared meaning of their joint practice. Follow-up interviews, as well as thematic and language analysis of data obtained from audiotaping and transcribing interviews and group sessions, suggest changes in participants' perceptions of their practice and …

Analysis Of Teacher Candidates And Faculty Evaluations Of The Utility Of A Single Digital Portfolio System, Thillainatarajan Sivakumaran

Doctoral Dissertations

The Virtual Anthology Shell, a digital portfolio shell, was piloted tested in four programs in the University of Tennessee’s College Education, Health and Human Sciences. The University of Tennessee teacher education program is a five year program in which pre-service teachers enter into their internship year already having completed their undergraduate degrees in other disciplines. The sample of participants for the research was taken from the intern teacher population and faculty at the University of Tennessee for the 2003-2004 academic year. There were eight faculty members using the VAS with their interns during the 2003-2004 academic year. From these eight …

The Duties, Responsibilities, And Challenges Of Opening A New Elementary School, Kathy Dykes Sims

Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the challenges of principals who opened new elementary schools and to identify the essential responsibilities and duties they encountered. Identifying the role and latitude of the principal at different phases of the school construction was also examined. This research was guided by the research question: What are the duties, responsibilities, and challenges that principals encounter when charged with the task of opening and organizing a new elementary school?

The sample for the study included three principals from three Tennessee public elementary schools who opened a new school for the first time …

The Effectiveness Of Accountability Policy In Higher Education: The Perspectives Of Higher Education Leaders, Sharon J. Tanner

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe Tennessee higher education leaders’ perceptions of accountability policies and programs. Perspectives of fifteen higher education leaders from six public colleges and universities throughout Tennessee were collected in one-on-one personal interviews over a three-month period. Both presidents and chief academic officers from three universities and three community colleges were included in the study.

While the leaders concurred that accountability is an essential and premier policy within the higher education structure, there was a general dissatisfaction expressed with current accountability policies and programs. Findings revealed that almost all of the leaders interviewed were particularly …

Examining Race And Educational Reform In America: History, Strategies And An Ethnography, Sidonia J. Alenuma

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the topic of educational reform in the United States, concentrating on the intersection of reform initiatives and issues of social difference and discrimination. It involves four interrelated phases. The first involves a historical survey of educational reform. The second is a tex.tual analysis of two contemporary reform measures (namely magnet schools and professional development schools). Third is a discussion of critical multiculturalism as a viable tool for critiquing both magnet school and professional development school initiatives. The fourth phase is an ethnography of a local school that operates simultaneously as a magnet school and a professional development …

Playing With Stories: Sporting Narratives And The Deliberation Of Moral Questions, Matthew A. Masucci

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the relationship between sporting narratives and morality. More specifically, I investigate how people can draw upon sporting experiences, as expressed in narrative form, to help shape and inform their moral choices. Moreover, I argue that reflecting on sporting experiences in a particular way can have a profoundly valuable impact on our moral choices, thus, helping to improve us morally. In addition, I argue that sporting narratives play a crucial moral role due, in large part, to their pervasiveness and accessibility. Drawing from, and expanding on, the practical tradition of narrative ethics, and …

Division I Female Athletes’ Experience Of Team Cohesion, Vanessa Regina Shannon

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on previous research, it is clear that we do not yet have a firm understanding of female athletes’ perceptions of cohesion. Evidence suggests that women define themselves in terms of relationships whereas men define themselves in terms of personal attributes (Gilligan, 1982; Mathes & Batista, 1985). Other studies suggest that female athletes are more socially oriented when it comes to their team than are male athletes (Kidd & Woodman, 1975). However, female athletes’ perceptions of cohesion have likely been minimized in previous sport research, from the development of questions (Carron & Chelladurai, 1981) through the analysis of data (Schutz, …

Moving Toward Social Justice Through Sport: An Exploration Into The Ability Of Intercollegiate Coaches Of Women’S Teams To Effect Social Change, Elizabeth A. Slator

Doctoral Dissertations

At the present time, a great number of American schools and certainly the majority of American sport teams are not taking on the responsibility of teaching young women and men the value of cooperation, democratic citizenship, and critical thinking. Because of this, critical educators have begun advocating for a movement in the education system called critical pedagogy, in which it has been theorized that schools can become sites for social transformation and emancipation (McLaren, 2003). There is a similar movement in physical education teacher education programs (Fernandez-Balboa, 1997; Cushion, Armour, & Jones, 2003), but no such actions have been taken …

Mapping A Journey To Change: Teachers And Facilitator Learning Together, Lorna B. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes the perceptions of workshop participants’ experience and their perceptions of their facilitator in four workshops held in three separate settings where we worked together to collaboratively construct knowledge. The purpose of the study was to learn about my practice through critically reflecting on how my personal history, experiences, practical theory and assumptions influenced my role as facilitator and to learn about my practice through the reflected gaze of workshop participants. Data were derived from three sets of daily journals from three workshops and from one focus group interview. I separated the quotes from each workshop into two …

Efficacy Of Pilates Exercises As Therapeutic Intervention In Treating Patients With Low Back Pain, Laura Horvath Gagnon

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the efficacy of Pilates exercises as a therapeutic intervention in treatment of low back pain (LBP). Pilates exercises have been integrated into many rehabilitation programs for those with LBP; however, no clinical research was found that supports its efficacy.

Twelve subjects who presented for physical therapy with LBP, were randomly assigned to either the traditional lumbar stabilization exercise group (A, n=6) or the Pilates exercise group (B, n=6) and completed participation in the study. The mean age for group A was 30.33 (SD 12.40) for group B was 36.00 (SD 11.43) P=0.430, …

Transgressing The Closets: Female Coaches Negotiations Of Heteronormativity In Sport, Kerrie J. Kauer

Doctoral Dissertations

Heteronormativity, the ideology that heterosexuality is the only “normal” or natural sexuality, is insidious within the sub-culture of sport. Within this oppressive ideology, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered coaches must negotiate their identities through a continuum of hegemonic or transgresssive discourses. As previous literature indicates, female coaches with nonhegemonic sexualities have been threatened, fired, harassed, and silenced within the context of sport (Griffin, 1998; Krane, 1997; Krane & Barber, 2005; Veri, 1997). Male hegemony in sport perpetuates the production and management of heterosexism and heteronormativity in order to maintain a privileged status in sport.

Queer and feminist poststructuralist theories posit …

The Experience Of Participants In An Online Collaborative Learning Environment, Gina Phipps Roberts

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the experience of participants in an online collaborative learning environment, including the experience of the technical facilitator. The study was conducted from an action research perspective using Peters' (1997, 2002) DATA-DATA model and a qualitative case study methodology.

Data were collected through participant interviews, document analysis, and participant observation. The inductive analysis model of Hatch (2002) was employed to reveal five themes that describe participants' experience of the online collaborative learning environment: establishing a comfortable environment, perceptions of other participants, participating in collaborative learning, making sense of the experience, and learning outcomes.

The experience of the participants …

Sett Framework Exploration By Tennessee Public School System Assistive Technology Service Providers, Nancy Lynne Mohrlyn

Masters Theses

This descriptive study focused on assistive technology (AT) service provider exploration of the Student, Environment, Tasks, Tools (SETT) Framework during assessment and decision-making. Review of the literature is suggestive that employment of an effective model to structure team assessment, such as the SETT Framework, can prevent the phenomenon of device abandonment. Participants used for this study were identified as AT service providers through their participation in Tennessee sponsored training opportunities. All participants were involved in the provision of AT services in public school settings. Completion of an on-line survey designed to assess SETT Framework exploration was required of all participants. …

Marriage Myths And Dysfunctional Relationship Beliefs Among Undergraduates, Mary Lynn Edmundson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to (a) explore what single undergraduate university students who never have been married believe about romantic relationships and marriage myths; (b) determine if there were any gender differences, age differences, or differences between students from divorced and intact families of origin in beliefs in myths about marriage, as well as dysfunctional relationship beliefs; and (c) investigate the possibility of influence by sociodemographic variables on students’ beliefs about marriage. The sample for this study included 164 university students who were classified as undergraduates and who had never been married. Sociodemographic data indicated that 33% of …