Education Commons^™

Investigating The Impact Of Reflexive Practices On College Students In A Science Laboratory Course, Chandrani Mishra

Dissertations

Emphasis on professional practices to develop students’ professionalism is currently a major focus of higher education. Studies have shown the benefits of reflexive practices in classroom to facilitate the development of students’ professional attitude or identity in some fields. Reflexive practices involve students in self-reflection where he/she reflects on his/her own actions. Little investigation about the benefits of reflexive practices in the development of students’ scientific identity in a science class led to my investigation. Development of a scientific identity of students and their overall interest and motivation in science is deemed essential for retaining students in STEM fields.

My …

Identities And Motives Of Naturalist Development Program Attendees And Their Relation To Professional Careers, Jennifer A. Mraz

Dissertations

In recent years, there has been much concern over the decline of biologists who actually identify themselves to be naturalists, which negatively impacts the field of conservation and the study of biology as a whole. This could result in a decrease in individuals who participate in naturalist-like activities, such as informal environmental education and environmental volunteerism. The purpose of my study was to determine what discourse identities were held by naturalist development program participants, how these discourse identities related to their volunteer motives in environmental settings, and how discourse identity related to professional careers. I defined identity through the lens …

Overcoming The Loss Of Nonverbal Cues Encountered By The Adventitiously Blind: Reconstructing Relationships And Identity, Vernon Floyd Humphrey

Dissertations

In this study, couples shared their experiences adjusting to one of the members loss of sight. Through interviews, their narratives expressed their values, actions, inactions, successes, failures, needs, obstacles, and feelings. Participants explained their standpoint/perspective about vision loss, when it happened, how it affected them, how they reacted and responded, through hindsight how they thought they should have responded, and how they reconstructed a shared interpersonal relationship. Narratives about situations and events after the loss of sight revealed descriptions of their relationships and interactions with each other and other people in their circle. Through constant comparative analysis the individual narratives …

Impact Of Athletic Identity And Emotional Competence On Athletes’ Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help, Garett V. Weatherhead

Dissertations

Athletes have been found to have more negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help than non-athletes (Watson, 2005) despite experiencing comparable amounts of mental illness (Markser, 2011). The purpose of the present study was to examine factors that are associated with athletes’ help-seeking attitudes, including athletic identity and emotional competence. A sample of 144 college student-athletes from a small, private Midwestern college in the United States participated in the study. The athletes competed at the NCAA Division III level. Participants were asked to complete the following measures: Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993), Attitudes Toward Seeking …

The Great Divide: The Perceptions And Dynamics Of The Faculty And Staff Professional Relationship, Meredith L. Skaggs

Dissertations

The college community is built with several necessary components. When considering the faces of a college campus one visualizes the administration, faculty, staff, and students. Through these roles, each serves a function impacting the mission of the institution. Utilizing qualitative methods of interviews, observations, and document analysis this study examined the dynamics and interactions of two roles on a community college campus. The research sought to understand the perceptions of faculty and staff regarding one another and the ultimate impact on the community college campus culture. The data revealed a gap not only exists in the available literature on the …

Teacher Transformation: An Exploration Of Science Teachers' Changing Professional Identities, Knowledge, And Classroom Practices

Dissertations

This qualitative, multiple case study examines five teachers’ experiences with a National Science Foundation-funded professional development (PD) program focused on science literacy. Using a three dimensional conceptual framework combining transformative learning theory, communities of practice, and sociocultural conceptions of identity it explores: the ways the “Science Literacy through Science Journalism” (SciJourn) project built professional community and influenced teacher learning; the influence of the project on participating science teachers’ professional identities, knowledge, and classroom practices; and the ways teachers were or were not transformed by participation in the project. To this end, data from surveys and phenomenological interviews were analyzed through …