Education Commons^™

The Concept Of Mattering As Critical To Nursing-Student Recovery, Ronald Steven Hutchins

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study using a phenomenological case study and grounded-theory design was conducted to examine the phenomena of nursing-student recovery following a failure in a clinical nursing course. For the purpose of this study nursing-student recovery was defined as: The academic progression of a student who failed a core clinical nursing course, and subsequently successfully completed the course, the nursing program, and passed the NCLEX-RN exam. A literature review was conducted focusing on student academic recovery, and three conceptual theories that support transitional change, growth and stability: Neuman System Model (NSM), Self Determination Theory (SDT), and Schlossberg's Transitional Theory (STT). …

Insights Into The Processes And Practices Novice Professors Use To Continually Develop Their Pedagogical Skills, Kerri Pilling Burchill

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the processes and practices three novice professors used to develop their pedagogical skills after attending formal professional development activities or programs. Data for the study included transcriptions of two interviews, pedagogical artifacts, and field notes of classroom observations. The data set was analyzed using a combination of systematic coding, thematic analysis, and the development of grounded theory. The study found that participants instinctively developed their pedagogical skills by engaging in a learning cycle that involved preparing to teach, teaching, reflecting on their teaching experiences, developing new pedagogical strategies that enhanced their instructional practice, and implementing …

Voices Of Persistence: Stories Of Success From One Urban Public Charter High School, Diane Joy Maodush-Pitzer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Analysis of the data revealed the importance of relationships at the heart of each of the interviewee's responses with a family member or neighbor who encouraged and supported at home; a principal who encouraged them to consider a specific high school and then continued to follow them through their high school experience; an advisor who guided them during all four of their high school years; teachers, who not only challenged, supported, and encouraged during classroom hours, but also opened the door of their classrooms before and after school to be in deeper relationship with their students; or a community program …

Characteristics Of Effective Communicative Partners For Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd), Mardee Anne Kohlmann

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study identifies communicative and non-communicative characteristics of spouses of veterans with PTSD as discussed by the participants. Due to the exposure to traumatic events, language abilities of soldiers are often affected, commonly delaying the retrieval of memories, as well as analysis and production of everyday speech. These symptoms make it difficult to perform the communication behaviors that are conducive for healthy relationships. Improved acceptance and acknowledgment of PTSD in veterans by the armed services has increased the demand for preventative and therapeutic methods being used to treat returning veterans assimilating back into society. Qualitative methodology was used in this …

An Examination Of Student-Support Team Practices In One Urban Elementary Public-School Academy: A Model Of Intervention, Sherall Elaine Wade

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Under the federal laws, No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2004), school districts throughout the United States must provide struggling students with intervention strategies prior to diagnosis and placement into special-education programs (National Center on Educational Outcomes 2006). In 2004 Congress made many changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and from it Response to Intervention (RTI) became one of the most notable terms (Hale 2008). RTI is conceptualized as a multi-tiered service delivery model, which includes primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of support. The focus of the first tier is intervention at …

Study Of The Effectiveness Of Instant Activities On Student Behavior In Elementary Physical Education, Jerry Ray Leonard

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to assess how the use of instant activities as a physical education classroom warm-up impacts student behavior during the elementary physical education class period. The study examined whether or not the use of instant activities reduces the number of off-task student behaviors during a physical education class period. The research study focused on two fourth grade elementary classes that came to the physical education classroom twice a week for two months as part of this study. One class performed an instant activity every day before the start of the instructional period. The other …

School Attrition And Dropout Recovery Ameliorated By Literacy, Engagement, And Resilience, Janice Carol Mccarthy Voss

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors and feelings that contribute to students leaving school and later returning to adult education programs to attain a General Educational Development (GED) credential. This process was found to be ameliorated by the positive factors of literacy, engagement, and resilience. These factors were selected because of their importance to the success of the schooling process and their interrelatedness. When these factors were self-reported at low levels combined with negative social circumstances, it was much more difficult for students to avoid school attrition or to reengage in dropout recovery. An explanatory sequential mixed …

The Impact Of A Mentoring/Financial Incentive Program On At-Risk High School Students, Sean Timothy Galvin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed methods study describes some outcomes of "Champions of Wayne," a privately funded mentoring/incentive program at an impoverished high school near Detroit. Over 500 students enroll in the program annually. The program involves providing high school students who choose to participate both adult mentoring and a $200 incentive to improve one's grades each semester. The quantitative component of this study analyzes GPA data, while a multiple case study of six participants explores mentoring relationships and experiences. In a comparison of the GPA of participants versus non-participants, program participants significantly improve their grades when compared to those student who do …

Performing Radical Black Womanhood: Black Women Artists As Critical Public Pedagogues, Nicole April Carter

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This project draws from research on critical public pedagogy to explore the pedagogical experiences of Black women artists and performers from Detroit, Michigan, using qualitative methodological components from autoethnography, ethnography, phenomenology, and art-based inquiry. The researcher used criterion sampling in order to select six of the women who were part of this project. The researcher attempts to explore how Black women counter stereotypical representations of Black womanhood, the role that art and performance play in maintaining or countering those representations, as well as how artistic endeavors transform the social, cultural, and political experiences of Black women. The findings demonstrate that …

Nursing Faculty Shortages: Perspectives From Deans And Directors Of Bsn Programs, Diane Porretta Fox

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the shortage of nurse faculty in one Midwestern state. The purpose of the study was to identify facilitators and barriers to recruiting and retaining nurse faculty. Case studies were conducted, with the primary data source being semi-structured interviews with deans and directors of six nursing programs that offer the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. The interviews and a review of institutional artifacts informed the study.

Rich, descriptive data gathered in this study revealed strategies employed by deans and directors, as they struggled to recruit and retain faculty at a time of burgeoning demand for the …

Self-Efficacy And Instructional Leadership: Does Mentoring Make A Difference?, Julie Diane Helber

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The responsibility of principals has shifted significantly over the past few decades. During 1960s and 1970s school leaders were expected to be organizers and managers of schools and to serve as buffers to the organization to protect a weak technical core. Standards-based reform, beginning in the 1980s, was in direct conflict with this mindset. Instead of protecting a weak technical core, school leaders had to focus on instruction guided by standards and demonstrate alignment to such standards. Today, there is an increased attention on academic achievement and accountability in schools (Leithwood, Jantzi, & Steinbach, 1999). Principals are being held responsible …

Patient Adherence To Smartphone Weight Loss Applications: A Dietitian Perception Study, Kathleen Abernathy

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Background: Dietitians play an important role in weight management. Self-monitoring of food intake is an effective tool for weight management. As smartphones gain popularity, many individuals are using smartphone apps for diet tracking to lose weight.

Objective: To determine the dietitians’ perception on whether their involvement with the use of smartphone weight loss apps results in increased patient/client adherence and increased weight loss.

Methods: An online survey was completed by 2,532 weight management dietitians. Paired t-tests were used to determine dietitians’ perceptions on patient/client adherence and weight loss using smartphone apps with dietitian intervention compared to without dietitian intervention (p …

A Study Of Principals’ Perceptions As Implementers Of Michigan’S Mandated Teacher Evaluation Policy, Linda K. Foran

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and develop an understanding of the relationships between the perceptions of principals regarding the Michigan mandatory annual teacher evaluation policy and job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and stress as principals navigated the roles of building manager, instructional leader and policy implementer. This quantitative study asked 3,009 Michigan public school principals to share their perceptions regarding the teacher evaluation policy. A total of 426 principals responded to a questionnaire published in a web-based format using a Likert scale. Interest in this study by the Michigan Department of Education Research Department allowed access to all email …

Understanding Quality Professional Development: Effects On Teacher Practice, Shanna R. Speakman-Spickard

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This quantitative study explored the degree to which three systems of quality professional development (PD) design synthesized from the literature contribute to teachers' perceived use of student-centered instructional practice (SCIP) in the context of Reading Apprenticeship. The three systems used to define quality PD were professional community, support system, and delivery system. The goal of this study was to determine what impact PD had on SCIP and what teacher characteristics had an impact on SCIP. Interaction effects were also explored. The study utilized survey data from teachers in Livingston and Washtenaw Counties in the State of Michigan and analysis was …

Educated Guesses That Affect Access To Educational Resources Beyond Early Childhood, Pamela Colton

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Misconceptions about cognitive development cause damaging assumptions that affect access to academic intervention after middle childhood, especially for older students who also have significant disabilities (Aos, Lieb, Mayfield, Miller, & Pennucci, 2005). In this study, possible sources for reduced expectations for post-middle childhood students are discussed and evaluated. Brigance test scores of seven adult students labeled with severe cognitive impairment are documented at the beginning of a regular school year, and then compared to scores at the end of the school year. Target students received regular school based speech language therapy and occupational therapy, as well as direct academic instruction …

The Experience Of Individuals Who Transitioned From Teacher To Assistant-Principal, Mara Hoffert

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The transition from teacher to assistant-principal is complex. The purpose of this study was to better understand the phenomenon of transition to leadership roles in high schools by investigating the experiences of four teachers who moved from teacher to assistant-principal positions in suburban school-districts in the State of Michigan. This multiple case-study comprises an in-depth examination of four teachers within their first four years as an assistant-principal. Interviews also included one central-office cabinet member from three of the four districts and one teacher in each of the assistant-principals’ schools. Interviews were guided by research questions regarding motivation for successful teacher …

Career-Technical Students In Baccalaureate Programs: Predictors Of The Intent To Persist And Satisfaction With Educational Pathways, Julie Uranis

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research explores the intersections of descriptive attributes, expectations, and influences (independent variables) and the degree to which they predict the intent to persist and satisfaction (dependent variables) of students enrolled in career-technical programs at four-year institutions. Little research exists for this population, and nothing based on the theoretical frameworks of Bean and Metzner (1985) and Lent, Brown and Hackett (1994). Expecting a significant relationship among several factors contributing to the intent to persist for career-technical students in degree programs, this research explores predictors for persistence in this population. This research revealed that there are simpler relationships among the variables …