Education Commons^™

Enacting A Third Space Pedagogy In An Art Museum Setting: Strategies, Intersections, And Values, Claudia Patricia Orjuela Borda

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic case study investigates the theory and practice of third spaces in relation to a

professional development program for K-12 teachers in an art museum setting, with emphasis on

arts-based programming, lived curriculum, contemporary art, and critical teaching strategies. I

investigate how museums negotiate the transition from a pedagogy of place towards a pedagogy

of third spaces. The questions guiding my study were: how a third space is valued by educators

and museum staff? What are the components, strategies, and methodologies that allow for the

emergence of third spaces in professional development programs? What does a third space

pedagogy …

Underrepresentation Of Hispanic Bilingual Students In Gifted And Talented Programs: The Role Of Teacher Expectations, Melissa I. Leon Leal

Theses and Dissertations

There is currently an underrepresentation of Hispanic and bilingual students in Gifted and Talented (GT) programs. The present study examines the role of teachers’ expectations and preconceptions of what constitutes a gifted student as possible contributing factors to the underrepresentation of Hispanic and bilingual students in GT programs. Participants will include approximately 100 pre-service teachers and currently practicing teachers in the community. Measures will include a demographic survey, vignettes for identifying giftedness which describe bilingual and monolingual potential gifted students across three ethnic groups, and a survey about student qualities that includes both quantitative and qualitative items. Results and implications …

Motivators And Barriers To Health Behaviors In African American Women, Teresa M. Depratt

Theses and Dissertations

Women who identify as African American are at particularly high risk of developing obesity and associated health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancers. Eating healthfully and engaging in a minimal amount of physical activity are known to be both preventative and curative. Based on review of research, this study investigated potential constructs of Motivators and Barriers to health-supporting behaviors as they are perceived in African American women. The study also constructed a novel scale, Motivators and Barriers to Health Behaviors (MBHB), which intended to capture some constructs of each domain via two surveys. Also of interest was if …

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Program On Children’S Social Skills, Problem Behavior, And Emotion Regulation, Jessica Bartley Willenbrink

Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental wait-list control study examined the effects of a mindfulness-based program on students in two open-enrollment public charter schools located in a mid-sized urban city. Participants (n=176) were 3rd through 6th grade students. Students were identified as 54% Hispanic/Latino, 39% African American, and 7% other (e.g., White, Asian, American Indian). Three classrooms at each school served as the treatment group, and three classrooms at each school served as the control group, for a total of 12 participating classrooms. Students and teachers reported on students’ social skills, problem behavior, emotion regulation, and mindfulness before and after the program. The mindfulness …

Applying Conditional Distributions To Individuals: Using Latent Variable Models, Feng Ji

Theses and Dissertations

This study proposes a new method to interpret individual results of psychological test batteries. The Mahalanobis distance is a commonly-used measure of how unusual an individual’s profile of scores is compared to a population of score profiles. In models in which there is a set of predictors and a set of dependent variables (e.g., cognitive abilities predicting academic abilities), it is useful to distinguish between a profile of dependent scores that is unusual because its profile of predictor scores is unusual and a profile of dependent scores that is unusual even after controlling for the predictors. The conditional Mahalanobis distance …

The Relationship Between Recidivism Rates And Post Release Employment, Richard Louis

Theses and Dissertations

The Relationship Between Recidivism Rates and Post Release Employment. Richard Louis 2018: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. Keywords: Ban the Box; Conviction, Incarceration, and Recidivism; Disparate Impact; Human Resources and Negligent Hiring; Parole, Probation, and Ex-Offenders

This applied dissertation was designed to study the relationship between recidivism rates and post release employment. This study utilized three survey instruments with human resource or hiring officers, probation or parole officers, and direct service providers as the respective participants. The survey instruments were distributed anonymously to each of the populations via Survey Monkey. The research study and …

A Critical Interpretation Of Study Abroad, Participant Identity, And Second Language Learning, Laura Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

In this study I explore the history of study abroad as a sojourn for the privileged, notions of whiteness, institutional racism and inequality, and nationality and linguicism, and apply theory from critical applied linguistics and post-colonialism to analyze and interpret data collected from five participants of either a semester or year-long study abroad at the Centre International d’Études Françaises (CIDEF) in Angers, France. The principal research questions are: What is the nature of how students negotiate their identities (racial, national, and gender), L2 learning, and engagement (or lack of) with various communities of practice while studying abroad in a non-English …

Comparison Of Discrete Trial Teaching And The Verbal Behavior Approach In Early Learners With Autism In A School Setting, Irene Chan

Theses and Dissertations

There are many different interventions available to individuals with autism, and the benefits of each therapy may vary for each student. Two vastly different treatments are discrete trial teaching (DTT) and the verbal behavior approach (VBA). While both are based in the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), VBA relies more on naturalistic teaching opportunities to teach language in context than DTT, which is conducted in structured instructional sessions. The literature supporting DTT is extensive, with many randomized control trial studies to corroborate its effectiveness. Meanwhile, VBA lacks empirical support as a package; though many studies demonstrate the success of …

An Anti-Deficit Approach To Examining The Career Choice Of African American Men In College, Gary Young

Theses and Dissertations

Awareness of congruence and discrepancies within an individual’s pathway from career interest to occupational choice offers significant insight into the process of conciliation and foreclosure (i.e., psychological disposition toward a circumscription of career options). Given the significant role of careers, understanding the career developmental process is of particular importance. Career interests to occupational choice mediated by self-efficacy are key components in the process of attaining career related goals. Lent, Brown, and Hackett (1994) proposed in the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) that under optimal conditions, career interests give rise to congruent occupational choice goals. Altogether, this leads to goal action …

Dignity For Boys And Men Of Color: An Exploration With Practitioners In The Field Of Human Services, Monique Liston

Theses and Dissertations

Through “Shaping a Cooperative Vision for Boys and Men of Color” the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Research Center of Urban Education Leadership Development found that organizations working with boys and men of color need tools to conceptualize and measure their efforts towards creating equity as an outcome and indicator of success. The data collected in this research revealed that organizations attribute aspects of their success to the dignity of the boys and men of color that they serve. However, this “dignity-work” is not accurately measured or evaluated. Successful organizations that attribute upholding the dignity of boys and men of …

Research On Communicative Practices In An Alternative Classroom, Maria Alice Bonilha

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies communications in an alternative classroom in the United States. Using an ethnographic approach and drawing from conversation analysis, the study describes the school’s model of education and analyzes students’ classroom initiations, particularly those in which students responded to the teacher’s question with a question.

Designing, Developing, And Implementing Real-Time Learning Analytics Student Dashboards, Robert Gordon Bodily

Theses and Dissertations

This document is a multiple-article format dissertation that discusses the iterative design, development, and evaluation processes necessary to create high quality learning analytics dashboard systems. With the growth of online and blended learning environments, the amount of data that researchers and practitioners collect from learning experiences has also grown. The field of learning analytics is concerned with using this data to improve teaching and learning. Many learning analytics systems focus on instructors or administrators, but these tools fail to involve students in the data-driven decision-making process. Providing feedback to students and involving students in this decision-making process can increase intrinsic …

Academic Persistence Among Native American High School Students, Tianna Jeanne Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative interviews with 12 Native American high school junior and senior students who grew up on reservations identified the following themes related to their persistence in college: (a) faculty support, (b) structured social support, (c) family support or the lack thereof, (d) motivation to be better, and (e) encountering racism. The results indicated a need for clear academic expectations between the school district and the tribal liaisons, multicultural training to foster positive relationships from the primary to secondary level, and structured college preparatory instruction designed for Native American students. Results also indicated a need for further research into the educational …

Academic Persistence Among Native American High School Students, Tianna Jeanne Buckley

Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative interviews with 12 Native American high school junior and senior students who grew up on reservations identified the following themes related to their persistence in college: (a) faculty support, (b) structured social support, (c) family support or the lack thereof, (d) motivation to be better, and (e) encountering racism. The results indicated a need for clear academic expectations between the school district and the tribal liaisons, multicultural training to foster positive relationships from the primary to secondary level, and structured college preparatory instruction designed for Native American students. Results also indicated a need for further research into the educational …

Young Adults With Visual Impairments And Driver's Education: Journeys Of Self-Efficacy, Identity, And Transition To Adulthood, Molly Pasley

Theses and Dissertations

A person’s ability to travel independently can determine whether he or she transitions successfully from one life stage to another. One critically important aspect of independent travel is coming to understand how vehicles move in the built environment. For youth without visual disabilities, this information is addressed in depth in driver’s education courses. In the case of adolescents with visual impairments, the acquisition of this information is more complex and raises a number of complicated questions. In this qualitative study, seven adults with visual impairments ages 18-27 and six of their family members are interviewed to determine the impact of …

Out And Queer: Independent School Teachers Navigating The Personal And Professional, Caroline C. Dunnell

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer (Queer) community has experienced unprecedented acceptance in U.S. culture. Yet, education, historically slow to change (Fullan & Miles, 1992), continues in many states to promote a heteronormative culture that does not recognize nor promote equity for the queer community that exists within their schools (Barrett & Bound, 2015).

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological heuristic inquiry was to explore my experience, and those of eleven other queer out independent school educators, to understand how we makes sense of, and navigate, the heteronormative, traditionally male-dominated, independent school environment. This study used in-depth …

Examination Of The Role Of Dehumanization As A Potential Mechanism Underlying The Racial Disparities In School Disciplinary Measures., Ebony A. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Schools should be safe and supportive spaces for all students, yet Black students tend to face biased treatment in the education system, which often results in harsh disciplinary measures. This research examined the role of animalistic dehumanization (i.e., perceiving others as animal-like and uncultured and denying uniquely human characteristics), in predicting choice of harsher disciplinary measures for Black students as opposed to White students. It was hypothesized that individuals who dehumanize Black students to a greater degree would be more likely to believe that Black students need to be disciplined through harsher measures. Additionally, it was hypothesized that the link …

Factors Contributing To Juvenile Crime Leading To The Disparity Of The Risk Levels For Secure Detainment, Dawn Prystajko

Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this research was to explore the factors that contributed to juvenile crime which in turn caused disparity in secure detainment among juveniles. This was based upon the alternate hypothesis that there is a noticeable disparity with minority youths being more securely detained opposed to majority youths. Therefore, the research was designed to examine raw data obtained from the Juvenile Justice Services Planner/JDAI Coordinator of the excel database of juvenile arrests/detainment.

The findings revealed several key points. The finding revealed that useable data extracted from the excel database was not able to neither agree with nor support …

Differences In Spatial Visualization Ability And Vividness Of Spatial Imagery Between People With And Without Aphantasia, Anita Crowder

Theses and Dissertations

Mathematics education researchers have examined the relationship between visualization and mathematics for decades (e.g., Arcavi, 2003; Bishop, 1991; Duval, 1999; Fennema & Tartre, 1985; Presmeg, 1986). Studies have linked spatial visualization ability, such as measured in mental rotation tasks, directly to mathematics self-efficacy (Pajares & Kranzler, 1995; Weckbacher & Okamoto, 2014), which in turn influences mathematics achievement (Casey, Nuttall, & Pezaris, 1997). With the important role that spatial visualization plays in learning mathematics, the recent identification of congenital aphantasia (Zeman, Dewar, & Della Sala, 2015), which is the lack of mental imagery ability, has raised new questions for mathematics education …

Secondary Student Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Vs. Performance, Jen Spisak

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of information in the world has grown exponentially in the last generation. Students often believe that growing up as digital natives means they have advanced information literacy skills. However, school librarians are not seeing evidence of this in their schools. The purpose of this study was to determine if secondary students overestimate their information literacy (IL) abilities, if relationships exist between IL self-efficacy and performance, and if grade level or self-efficacy level changes those relationships. To accomplish this, data were collected from two middle schools and three high schools from a total of 397 students in grades 6, …

The Experiences That Promote Success For Students With Intellectual Disability In Postsecondary Education, Kimberly S. Handsome

Theses and Dissertations

This in-depth qualitative, phenomenological (Smith & Fowler, 2009) research study attempted to understand the experiences of young adults with intellectual disability who had completed a 2-year, inclusive postsecondary education program. 13 participants (4 former students with ID, 5 parents, and 4 Postsecondary Education staff members) participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were coded to provide themes amongst each individual group of participants. A document review was also conducted to better understand the program components and add validity to self-reports from interviews. Results were analyzed and used to provide implications for future research and program development.

The Experiences Of School Counseling Directors In Relation To Job Satisfaction And Leadership, Robyn Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

The current literature on school counselor job satisfaction does not address the experiences of school counseling directors. This is a unique set of counselors due to their role as leaders and supervisors in the building. Therefore, this study sought to better understand the experiences of school counseling directors in relation to job satisfaction and leadership. The researcher collected data through 10 interviews with participants having met the criteria of serving as a school counseling director of a middle or high school, supervising a department of at least two counselors, and working in the role for at least two years. Data …

A Bibliometric Analysis Of The Proceedings Of The Association For Educational Communications And Technology (Aect) For The 1979-2009 Period, Vandy L. Pacetti-Donelson

Theses and Dissertations

Traditional journal analysis for the identification of disciplines is limited in developing areas of study due to the lack of journals specific to that area of study. Identifying knowledge domains worthy of study for the identification of developing disciplines has been difficult.

Conferences are at the forefront of building knowledge in scientific communities, particularly in technology related sectors, but less than 10% of conference proceedings are available in conventional knowledge databases. As a result, conference proceedings as a previously unconsidered knowledge domain, may provide the knowledge domain worthy of analysis to identify developmental and incremental change within developing areas of …

Adult Nursing Students’ Perceptions Of Social Presence In Facilitator-Created Subject- Specific Videos In An Online Nursing Course, Jamie Anne Marcus

Theses and Dissertations

The literature established that online instruction consists of cognitive, teaching, and social presence. Studies on the element of social presence linked text-based delivery of instruction with learners’ feelings of isolation and disengagement. This research findings prompted this facilitator creation of five-to-seven-minute companion videos that aligned and complemented weekly text-based learning modules to ascertain students’ perceptions of these videos as a medium for channeling social presence.

Post-video viewing surveys yielded responses to pragmatic and emotional questions. Pragmatic questions were aimed at the visual impact of professor’s delivery of information. Emotional questions gauged the students’ feelings of connectivity with the facilitator. Triangulated …

Effectiveness And Impact Of The Sheltered Instruction Observational Protocol On Ell Student Academic Achievement, Gladymar Soto-Huertas

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effectiveness of using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol with fidelity for English Language Learners (ELL) and its impact on student academic achievement through FCAT Reading and FSA scores. In a high school located in Central Florida that served approximately 2,244 students there were 1,129 (50.6%) students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs), by the 2016-17 school year the school expected to have 62% of their entire student body passing state mandated assessments in order to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) (PCSB, 2013).

In order for the aforementioned to take place it was …

Language, Literacy, And Conscientização In American Public Schools, Julie Ward

Theses and Dissertations

Language, Literacy, and Conscientização in American Public Schools synthesizes poststructural language theory to critique literacy teaching and assessment norms in American public schools in order to theorize a pedagogy of racial and economic justice that embraces globalization and immigration. Chapter I creates a theoretical framework for language that rests firmly on both Lev Vygotsky’s and Jacques Lacan’s sociohistorical approach to language acquisition and language use. Mikhail Bakhtin’s work demonstrates the heteroglossic nature of discourse, while Antonio Gramsci politicizes this framework through an understanding of hegemony. Chapter II sketches ethnographic research on teaching practices of various American communities, focusing on ideology …

Once A Felon….Always A Felon? A Comparative Case Study Of The Experiences Of Convicted African-American Fathers, Douglas Bates

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, African-Americans account for 12.3% of the U.S. population but represent 38% of the prison population (The Sentencing Project, 2016). Of the many African-American males sent to prison each year, there is limited research that explores the impact a conviction has on African-American fathers. Within the literature, researchers (Laakso & Nygaard, 2012; Miller, et. al., 2013, Flouri & Buchanan, 2002; Lee, Sansone, Swanson, & Tatum, 2012; Johnson & Easterling, 2015; Miller, 2006; Lopez & Bhat, 2007; Aaron & Dallaire, 2009) only focus on the effect incarceration has on children and the experiences of fathers while incarcerated (Roy & Dyson, 2005; …

Measuring The Effects Of A Mindfulness Intervention On Counselors’-In-Training Dispositions, Strength Of The Therapeutic Relationship, And Client Outcomes, Therese Louise Newton

Theses and Dissertations

Using a multiple baseline single case research design, the present study sought to measure the effects of a mindfulness intervention on counselors’-in-training facilitative dispositions of: (a) empathetic understanding, (b) level of regard, (c) unconditionality of regard, and (d) congruence (as observed through weekly in-session engagement with clients), and client outcomes (as measured by the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II; [Robitschek et al., 2012] and the Outcomes Questionnaire-45.2; [Lambert et al., 1996]). In addition, the investigation examined the influence of counselors-in-training participation in a brief mindfulness intervention on clients’ perception of the strength of the therapeutic alliance (as measured by the Barrett-Lennard …

Assessing Research Productivity From An Institutional Effectiveness Perspective: How Universities Influence Faculty Research Productivity, Michael M. Rawls

Theses and Dissertations

Faculty research productivity studies typically focus on the scholarly performance of the individual researcher, although environmental and organizational conditions that are largely outside of the researcher’s control can significantly impact that performance. From an institutional effectiveness perspective, it is imperative for the higher education administrators and leaders who share the responsibility of managing and supporting their university’s research enterprise to understand how the institutional environment itself impacts the productivity of its research community. In this sequential mixed methods study, a quantitative framework was tested for assessing institutional effectiveness in research administration based on the assertion that this concept can be …