Education Commons^™

Type Vs. Turnout: Correlations Between Types Of Higher Education Institutions And Student Voter Turnout, Janea Mccoy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Voter turnout in the youth demographic has been the subject of increased attention and research in the past several years, with many questions left unanswered. The 18-25 age demographic can play a crucial and impactful role in elections. However, many young adults do not vote. Higher education has often been viewed as a catalyst for civic engagement amongst this age demographic, with correlations between enrollment in higher education and increased rates of voter turnout being evident. Given there is much variation between different kinds of institutions, however, this raises the question: what types of institutions and their respective characteristics correlate …

We Have Arabic At This School?: The Impact Of Neoliberalism And Orientalism On Arabic Education In The United States, Ella V. Pastore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research examines Arabic education in the United States at the undergraduate level, highlighting the question: How do forces such as Orientalism, globalization, and neoliberalism affect the way that the Arabic language is taught and recognized in the United States? The Arabic programs of three highly accredited American universities are presented, in relation to their Japanese programs. While Japanese is a language that faces its own Orientalisms and imperial history with the West, Japan is currently not a country that is prioritized through national security interests, with Arabic being designated as a “Critical Language”. Through examination of the advertisement of …

A Literature Review On Teaching Text Comprehension To Students With Intellectual Disabilities, Abigail Combs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this review is to determine if particular instructional strategies, from a sufficient number of studies, are qualified as an evidence-based practice (EBP) for teaching text-based comprehension skills across content areas for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). This focused review will be added on to the previous review conducted by Mims et al. (in submission) where the search ended in 2018. Due to the time gap in the searched literature, the studies included within the Mims et al. study is no longer comprehensive. Therefore, this focused review of the literature will fill the gap of literature that was …

Do College Students Have A Lack Of Awareness Around Human Trafficking?, Tessa Cavender

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Human Trafficking is an epidemic around the world, but if you ask the average person, they know little more than what is shown in media. To try to understand this, we asked the questions of whether college students also have a lack of awareness around trafficking, and if so, is education the best way to fix this? Our literature review found many professions, such as healthcare and K-12 education, are pushing for human trafficking curriculums to be implemented in their fields. To determine if this method would be effective on a college campus, five college students were interviewed to determine …

Comparing The Use Of American Sign Language And Speech Generating Devices For Children With Developmental Disabilities, Joseph Hendrick

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study compared the acquisition and maintenance of an Augmentative and Alternative device (iPad application, LAMP), and American Sign Language when teaching a 6^th-grade student with an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and limited functional vocal verbal speech to make a request. A single-case alternating treatment design was applied to compare the acquisition rate between the two strategies. The system of least prompts was used to teach the student how to perform the request using the AAC device and ASL (American Sign Language). Results showed the student required fewer sessions to reach mastery when making a request using …

The Fight For Equality: Black Lives Matter, Success, & Social Media, Metyia K. Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis strives to assess how social media has impacted the success of the Black Lives Matter movement. By conducting a survey between September 30th, 2022 - October 12th, 2022, respondents were asked questions to gauge their attitudes about the Black Lives Matter movement, social media usage, and the success of the movement. The results of the survey (n=571) in conjunction with a 2016 Pew Research Center survey (n=2,144) were used to evaluate how social media has impacted the success of the Black Lives Matter movement. The survey was taken by a nonrandom group of respondents because I distributed the …

Becoming A More Empathetic Leader And Person, Rachel Shellstrom

Undergraduate Honors Theses

When defining empathy, the most common definition is “stepping into someone else’s shoes.” Along with this definition, many also share that it is important to have empathy and be an empathetic person. Yet, when thinking about its importance and this definition, a few questions arise: can we actually step into someone else’s shoes? Can we truly understand what someone else is feeling and experiencing if we are not them or do not hold the same identities that they do? Through a deeper exploration of existing empathy building certificate programs and empathy research, this thesis project explores these exact questions and …

Inclusion And Deliberative Dialogues: Exploring Outcomes Of Transformative Experiences For Adolescents, Hadley Robertson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore outcomes of participating in a deliberative dialogue for adolescents. Participants attended a deliberative dialogue facilitated by the primary researcher. After the dialogue, participants completed journal prompts that asked about their experience participating in the dialogue. Results indicated that participation in the dialogues impacted adolescents’ confidence and open-mindedness. Findings also indicated components of atmosphere that contributed to willingness to engage, and strategies participants can use in future conversations. Deliberative dialogues are an avenue for transformative experiences and the data from this study can help experience designers understand these types of experiences for adolescents. …

Assessing Perceptions Of Disability Knowledge Of Campus Police At Inclusive Universities, Hannah Shultz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of knowledge of campus police on intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including autism, in inclusive college programs. A survey was sent to both campus police and representatives of 50 inclusive higher education programs across the United States. These questions involved perceptions of campus police knowledge, training, and the safety of students with I/DD.

The Boys Are Back In School: Increased Chinese Import Exposure’S Effect On Community College Enrollments, Georgiana Reece

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I analyze how Chinese import competition impacts community college enrollments in US commuting zones by using the variation of import exposure across the United States. After controlling for broader changes in the US economy, the findings show that there is fairly large and positive effect on enrollments for men between the years 1990 and 2007. The results for female enrollments are small or negative. However, these results for both men and women are imprecisely estimated. The findings of this paper resemble previous findings in the literature, namely Greenland and Lopresti (2016), Ferriere et. al (2021), and Lee (2021) which demonstrate …

The Journey Of Unlearning: A Close Reading Of Civil War Pedagogy In Alabama And Virginia, Michaela Hill

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis is a close reading of Civil War pedagogy in Alabama and Virginia with special attention given to Black history during the Civil War era. Through an examination of Civil War history, it is evident that slavery was the main cause of the War. The development of the Lost Cause narrative, a reaction to Blacks gaining Civil Rights that aimed to prove the Confederate war effort was honorable, is still promoted in southern schools. Alabama and Virginia both provide state standards, outlines of the minimum required knowledge to be obtained on a given subject by the end of the …

Collaborative Teaching And Inclusion In Northeast, Tn, Sherianne Pigeon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

Collaborative teaching is a commonly used, research-based method to support inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, there is a lack of research describing current teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of collaborative teaching and inclusion. Results from a survey disseminated to teachers in Northeast TN school systems revealed that 64.3% of respondents have either never co-taught a class or have co-taught only one or two classes. Additionally, respondents agree that collaborative teaching is beneficial to support inclusion, enhance delivery of instruction, improve teacher relations and improve classroom management. However, teachers expressed collaborative teaching is more …

The Effects Of The Transition From Pre-Nursing To Nursing On Mental Health, Andrew J. Davis, Paige R. Mullins, Kimberly A. Sell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Mental health is an ever-growing crisis among adolescents and young adults, with suicide as second leading cause of death and the number of those negatively affected continually on the rise. Transitions are one of the major stressors prevalent among these age groups, placing individuals at risk for mental health deficits. This quantitative voluntary response comparative study assesses the transitional mental health of pre-nursing students and students in the nursing program at East Tennessee State University. Emailed to all with a declared major of pre-nursing or nursing, this study measured mental health using evidenced based assessment tools. The PHQ-9 for depression …

Teachers’ Unions And School Choice: A Binary Regression Analysis On The Impact Teachers’ Unions Have On State-Level School Choice Legislation, Robert Jackson Hester

Undergraduate Honors Theses

School choice dominated discourses within educational policy in the last year; some have even described 2021 as “the year of school choice.” School choice allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. This is often summarized by its advocates as “funding students over systems.” Generally, school choice allows market forces to influence education by providing more competition in the education market. Teachers’ unions have fought against school choice measures for years, but what impact do they have? This undergraduate thesis compares 49 states to determine if the proportion of public school …

The Cognitive & Educational Implications Of Color Use In Drawing To Learn, Juliana F.M. Cantarutti

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Drawing to Learn (D2L) is a learning aid that encourages STEM students to interact with abstract concepts in STEM by sketching. D2L is not an intuitive skill, and researchers strive to provide students with guidelines on how to master this method. One potential way to enhance the D2L method for students is by incorporation of visual cues, specifically color. While many students choose to incorporate color into their models without explicit instruction to do so, we have found no research on: a) why students use color in sketching, b) its effects on D2L. This study used interviews, surveys, and course …

Variability In Variables: An Analysis Of Variable Use In A Middle School Mathematics Textbook, Annalisa G. Lavin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Variables are an important part of mathematics as they allow mathematicians to generalize and more easily express mathematical ideas, however research has shown that students struggle with understanding variables. One way to study variable use is to classify variables into different types based on how they are used. This study uses variable types to investigate variable usage in a middle school mathematics textbook. This study identified 9 variable types and 3 algebraic processes that variable types are tied to. This analysis also found evidence of a growing complexity in variable use, starting with sophisticated variable use in grade 6 and …

Educating The Future Of The Arts, Anna Hollingsworth

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Theatre impacts the youth in a positive way. By helping with social connections, learning skills to tell a story, and getting to utilize their imagination. This thesis looks at what comes into creating a lesson plan for grades fourth-sixth grade. Each grade will focus on different themes that pertains to what they are learning in their literature classes and what is more relevant topic in their age group. To take what they learn from the classroom and apply it to a real-life scenario. To help those children explore through learning it academically and getting to devise their own shows. It …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, And Perceptions Of Gender In The Classroom, Victoria Mcilquham

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This qualitative study examined the knowledge of gender definitions and attitudes toward gender that pre-service teacher candidates possess. Participants were students in an undergraduate elementary education program at a southeastern university. The participants responded to an open-ended paper survey. The survey consisted of questions asking about the definition of gender, gender roles, perceived differences between boys and girls, as well as plans for their future classrooms. Data was analyzed through a qualitative lens with the development of codes, categories, and themes. Responses varied, but the overall data suggested that teacher candidates have misconceptions about the definitions of gender, conflicting views …

Constructing History: Richard Iii And The Wars Of The Roses: A Teaching Unit, Lawson Hammock

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The entirety of modern academia is founded on some form of historical authentication and interpretation. Historical exploration, in fact, represents the necessary element for the cognitive linking of interdisciplinary learning. At essence academic historiography is first - the product of intrigue - and then its contemporary expression. But though the field of academic history poses the perfect union of science and literary arts, modern instruction has sometimes grappled with finding and striking the optimal balance for effectively teaching historical authentication and its interpretation. Recognition and application of both aspects are essential to the effective demonstration of history as a viable, …

Preserving Safety While Upholding The Integrity Of Medical Education And Practical Skills: The Impact Of Covid-19 On Teaching Human Anatomy, Anna Cowan

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 placed constraints on several aspects of normal life, especially those of higher level education. While many programs moved to teaching in a strictly online format, there are some courses in which this structure was not appropriate. This study observed the outcome of the adapted course structure employed at Quillen College of Medicine during their Gross Human Anatomy course. Through a voluntary survey and multiple independent t-tests, it was demonstrated that the students who took the adapted course performed, on average, 2 points lower on each exam than previous classes. Also, this study showed that …

Tennessee High School Band Directors' Knowledge, Perceptions, And Training Regarding The Teaching Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd): An Initial Inquiry, Cameron L. Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In hopes to add to the existing, yet limited literature surrounding music educators’ experiences with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), our study surveyed n=62 high school band directors currently serving in the state of Tennessee about their knowledge, perceptions, and training regarding the teaching of such students. By administering an originally designed, twelve-item survey, it was discovered that the majority of respondents had been underprepared in both their preservice and in-service training to effectively address the needs of students with ASD. Despite their lack of preparedness, an overwhelming amount of the surveyed band directors reported their students experiencing social, …

“All Is Quiet In Arlington”: The Desegregation Of Arlington County Public Schools And How We Remember It, Ella Benbow

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Brown v. Board of Education overturned the long-enforced “separate but equal” doctrine forcing school systems to decide exactly how much they would comply with the holding that segregated public schools were no longer constitutional. Several states, Virginia among them, relied on pupil placement boards to deny the transfer of many Black students to primarily white schools. Some localities’ violent resistance to any desegregation is still reflected in the prevalent de facto school segregation 66 years after Brown. My thesis examines the reaction of Arlington County, a small, liberal area just outside Washington, D.C. that boasts about being the first integrated …

Creating Statistical Testing Tools In Digital Testing Environments: Eliminating Confirmation Bias And Improving Pedagogy In The Humanities Testing Lab At Byu, Robert Hatch

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Humanities Testing Lab at BYU is a computer testing environment for humanities students and professors. Statistics are useful in a pedagogical sense because they present unbiased information about the progress of the class. The Humanities Testing Lab did not previously have a statistical tool, making it the perfect place to monitor the change in teacher perspective when a statistical tool was introduced. In an effort to better the BYU Humanities Testing Lab, an ideal statistical tool was researched, created, and delivered to participating professors. Their interactions with the tool were measured through a set of before and after surveys. …

A Cross National Comparison Of Family Friendly Work Policies: The Potential Influence Of Cultural Values, Adeline Grace Hardten

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Around the world people must work for a living, but also must raise their families. To balance these obligations, parents need high levels of support. But the existence of family friendly work policies, defined as paid parental leave and affordable, high-quality childcare, vary significantly across nations, making it difficult for many to obtain the necessary support. Research indicates that countries providing supportive family friendly policies see economic benefits, increases in profitability, and stronger overall youth development. Even though research reveals strong positive outcomes, there is a deficiency of exploration into why more countries still lack comprehensive policies that support working …

Tidytouch: An Interactive Visualization Tool For Data Science Education, Jonah E. Devaney

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Accessibility and usability of software define the programs used for both professional and academic activities. While many proprietary tools are easy to grasp, some challenges exist in using more technical resources, such as the statistical programming language R. The creative project tidyTouch is a web application designed to help educate any user in basic R data visualization and transformation using the popular ggplot2 and dplyr packages. Providing point-and-click interactivity to explore potential modifications of graphics for data presentation, the application uses an intuitive interface to make R more accessible to those without programming experience. This project is in a state …

An Exploratory Survey Of Teacher Candidate Knowledge Of Special Education, Emilee Spann

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has played a critical role in providing educational opportunity to students with disabilities. As the principles of the IDEA are foundational to teaching students with disabilities, it is necessary that both general education and special education teachers have an understanding of special education policy. This study examines teacher candidates’ knowledge of special education policy and their attitudes and perceptions of special education. The survey was distributed to teacher candidates in their final year of their teacher preparation program at a public university in the Southeast. Results indicated that teacher candidates in all teaching …

Teacher Interpretation And Enactment Of Writing Instruction: A Case Study Set Within Two Elementary Classrooms, Audrey Sanders

Undergraduate Honors Theses

From the minute a student walks into her first day of kindergarten, she is learning to read and write. Reading and writing are reciprocal in nature, using the same composing processes (Roe, Smith, & Kolodziej, 2019). Interchangeable thinking skills are essential for both reading and writing, such as analyzing, identifying, inferencing, evaluating, and comparing (Roe, Smith, & Koldziej, 2019). Published research over time suggested that instruction focused on teaching students the craft and mechanics of writing significantly contributed to the overall improvement across the spectrum of literacy development (Cutler, 2015;Raphael, 2019; Wright, 2016). However, studies also suggested that teachers of …

The Effectiveness Of A Fitness Mentoring Program On Life Skills In At-Risk Youth, Delaney Dunlap

Undergraduate Honors Theses

BACKGROUND: The Aspire program is an eight-week program for troubled youths around the Canberra, Australia community that is run by former Canberran of the year and Canberra Raiders Captain Alan Tongue. The program aims to build self-esteem, develop social skills, help teach the effects actions have on others, understand how practice and hard work provide support, give purpose in life, and teach other practical, lifelong skills. During the program, Alan uses a combination of various activities including fitness, teamwork, discussion, writing, and self-reflection to help youth see their potential. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the lasting …

Kanji Acquisition Techniques For L1 And L2 Japanese Studies, Amber Richardson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Kanji are ideograms, a morphographic system borrowed from the Chinese language and used in Japanese writing. 2,136 kanji are used in the average Japanese newspaper, required for academic certification and for expat job placement. A qualitative study was conducted to observe the optimum methods to learn and acquire kanji. Japanese native speakers who were educated by the Japanese school system grades 1 through 12 are classified as L1 or first language speakers. American students, L2 or second language speakers, must have been educated in the American education system grades 1-12. L1 speakers were students attending Central Washington University (CWU) study …

Movement In Elementary Education, Elizabete Bosse

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Movement in Education explores the impact of movement on the quality of a student’s learning experience in education. This thesis is the culmination of four years of study from 2019-2023 in East Tennessee State University’s education and dance programs. Participating in these programs has provided me with many opportunities to explore the impacts of movement pedagogy in elementary education. The research portion of this thesis focuses on the educational benefits of incorporating movement into classroom activities and assessments. The experiential portion of this thesis focuses on both observations and data collected from students in a 3rd grade classroom who participated …