Education Commons^™

The Knowledge And Utilization Of Trauma-Informed Care By Educational And Mental Health Professionals Who Serve Children In A Texas City, Mashelle Ancell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand the knowledge and utilization of trauma-informed care by professionals serving children within schools, social service agencies, or child therapy in a middle-sized Texas city. Previous studies acknowledged the prevalence of trauma and the need for systemic trauma-informed care in communities. The theoretical framework used to guide this study was attachment theory due to the emphasis on securely attached relationships, which is consistent with trauma-informed care. Data collection methods included an online open-ended questionnaire and semistructured personal interviews. Data analysis was completed using reflexive thematic analysis to develop themes from participant …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Exploring Parental Involvement At Alternative Schools In Eastern North Carolina, Irv Glenn Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the perceptions of caregivers and teachers regarding parental involvement at alternative schools in Eastern North Carolina. The lack of parental involvement at some schools is a systemic issue that involves continued efforts by school staff to include caregivers in promoting student success. The difficulties of engaging parents of alternative students result in little interaction between caregivers and educators. It is essential to understand how caregivers and educators perceive parental involvement and assess the quality of parental participation in an alternative educational setting. A qualitative research method was chosen to comprehensively examine …

Moving Past ‘One Size Fits All’: Developing A Trajectory Deviance Index For Dynamic Measurement Modeling, Yixiao Dong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic Measurement Modeling (DMM) is a recently developed measurement framework for gauging developing constructs (e.g., learning capacity) that conventional single-timepoint tests cannot assess. Like most measurement models, overall model fit indices of DMM do not indicate the measurement appropriateness for each included student. For this reason, other measurement modeling paradigms (e.g., Item-Response Theory; IRT) utilize person-fit or model appropriateness statistics to indicate whether a measurement model appropriately describes the data from each individual student. However, within the extant DMM framework, no statistical index has yet been developed for this purpose. Thus, the current project advanced a person-specific DMM Trajectory Deviance …

Professional Ethics, Decision-Making, And Interdisciplinary Collaboration: An Exploration Of Teacher Preparation Programs And Practice, Brittany Mccreary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this research was to explore the prevalence, methods of instruction, and perceived value of professional ethics, ethical decision-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration in teacher preparation programs throughout the U.S. These factors were addressed using the Ethics Training and Curriculum Survey (ETCS). Participants for the ETCS included teacher educators (n = 977) from CAEP accredited preparation programs. Survey results suggest that professional ethics is widely addressed throughout CAEP accredited programs, but that instruction in ethical decision-making varies considerably. To connect these findings with practice, a second purpose of this study was to explore how educators make ethical …

Contrast Dependent Knowledge Development In Contrast Supported Scientific Observation, Maura B. Foley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of contrasts between phenomena can influence how people think and reason about them, so learning contrasts is important in school science. Building knowledge through a process of construction is a common framework through which school science is taught. However, telling phenomena apart through differentiation also plays an important role in learning and may be underused as a teaching framework. An effective way to learn contrasts is to use them to perceptually differentiate similar-looking phenomena presented side-by-side. However, little is known about the persistence/usefulness of knowledge generated during perceptual differentiation over short periods of time and its usage in student …

The Phenomenon Of Abstract Cognition Among Scholastic Chess Participants: A Case Study, Brent C. Laws

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of abstract cognition among a purposive sample of 5 secondary scholastic chess club participants. The case study enabled the researcher to explore the faculties of abstract cognition among students of contrasting skills and abilities in playing chess. The study also allowed for the consideration of potential visual-spatial, logical, academic, social competency and life benefits of chess play. Through analysis of interviews, chess simulations, blindfold chess play, and narration of chess lines and sequences, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code schemata into a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of …

Stress Levels In Tenure-Track And Recently Tenured Faculty Members In Selected Institutions Of Higher Education In Northeast Tennessee, Amanda R. Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the stress, strain, and coping levels between pretenured faculty and recently tenured faculty in institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee. Aging faculty population combined with talented people leaving the area is common in rural parts of the United States. There is a need to better understand the occupational factors within the faculty roles in order to better recruit and retain faculty in this region.

Four different institutions of higher education in Northeast Tennessee, producing 92 responses, participated in this study. The Occupational Stress Inventory – Revised (Osipow, 1998) was used …

The Factors Associated With The Use Of Computers In The K-4 Classrooms Of The Maryville City School System., Jesse A. Robinette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of computers for instruction in the K-4 elementary schools of the Maryville City School System. A survey was distributed to every regular education classroom teacher in each of the four elementary schools of the system. Respondents were asked to provide: (a) demographic data in regard to age, gender, years of teaching experience, grade level taught, level of education, home computer ownership, and technology committee membership; (b) an implementation score based on teacher response to grade-level student performance indicators provided by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE); and (c) …

Public School Teachers’ And Principals’ Knowledge Of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Judy Blevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level (general, etiology, assessment, treatment) of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/ADD) of principles, regular education teachers, and special education teachers in the First Educational District in Northeast Tennessee. The study further the amount of instruction on ADHD/ADD that educators received as part of their teacher training and after they began teaching, the number of books and articles they read on ADHD/ADD, the number of students with ADHD/ADD they worked with, and the number of students they worked with who were on medication. The study also revealed teacher beliefs about ADHD/ADD …

The Development Of The Parent Effectiveness Test (Pet), Sharon S. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Not Available.

The Relationship Of Right Brain/Left Brain Hemispheric Dimensions Of Cognitive Style Between Teachers And Principals In Northeast Tennessee, Thomas S. Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Problem of this study was to determine if the cognitive style of elementary school principals affects the principal's evaluation of a teacher when there is a match or mismatch between the principal's and teacher's cognitive style. Using the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey, the dimensions of right brain/left brain hemispheric dimensions of cognitive style were measured for the sample population. The sample population included 40 elementary school principals and 120 elementary school teachers. The 120 teachers were made up of teachers selected by each of the 40 principals as the most effective teachers in the school. The statistical analysis of …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Power Style, And Locus-Of-Control For Selected Academic Deans, Carla E. Warner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The concept of locus of control, as an aspect of the human personality, has remained of interest to researchers since its identification by Julian Rotter in the 1960s. Beginning with the work of French and Raven in the 1950s, the concept of power and its interrelationship with leadership ability has also continued to be of interest to social scientists and educators. This study was completed in response to the lack of previous research on the relationship of locus of control to power style usage and preference. Four hundred and eighty academic deans from one hundred and nine Comprehensive II institutions …

A Comparison Of Left And Right Brain Hemisphere Processing And Brain Related Sex Differences In Kindergarten Children, Margaret K. Hickerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to (1) compare the performance on left and right hemisphere processing tasks of male and female kindergarten students from three instructional approaches, and (2) to determine the effectiveness of an educational application: the use of "hands-on" inquiry-oriented science activities designed to engage the right hemisphere in improving left and right hemisphere processing. Subjects included 79 students enrolled in intact kindergarten classes representative of three instructional approaches: (1) the Traditional-Conventional Instructional Approach, (2) the Montessori Approach, and (3) the Open Activity-Centered Instructional Approach. The students were randomly assigned for treatment to experimental and control groups. …

Personality Characteristics Of Dramatics Majors At Selected Institutions Of Higher Education In Tennessee, Marguerite G. Parris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the study was to determine significant differences and likenesses in personality characteristics of dramatics majors. A secondary purpose was to ascertain whether personality studies of this type might be effectively used by supervisors, departmental heads, and/or instructors in guiding students interested in dramatics in their choices of majors, colleges, and ultimately careers. Eighty-seven female dramatics majors and seventy-two male dramatics majors enrolled in nine colleges and universities in Tennessee volunteered to participate by taking the Omnibus Personality Inventory, the measuring instrument used for data gathering. The one-way analysis of variance was used to ascertain any significant …

An Investigation Of Student Teaching Anxiety About Discipline Using The Psychological Stress Evaluator (Pse), Paul P. Dearman Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.