Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ready For Life — An Evaluation: Factors Relating To Truancy And Promising Practices, Clayton Nichols, Shenita Harper, Maria Thomas, Mikaela Louve, Christina Vela

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Truancy has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults. Truancy is one of the most common factors leading to dropout and students not meeting graduation standards. Nevada has arguably the highest high school dropout rate in the nation. This evaluation was prepared for Ready for Life: A movement created by Nevada Public Education Foundation (NPEF), to connect youth to school and work by age 25, but can be of use to several audiences. Practitioners who work with struggling students, court representatives and parents, teachers and administrators, and anyone who has …

Cyberbullying In Schools: A Research Study On School Policies And Procedures, Brian Wiseman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A mixed-methods research design first using quantitative then qualitative data was used in order to explore what cyberbullying policies are being employed by principals in the state of Nevada. Electronic surveys were given to all 118 middle school principals in Nevada. Middle school was chosen because it is the age where cyberbullying behaviors are most prevalent. Out of the 118 surveys that were deployed, 66 principals responded. A series of independent t-tests and a chi-squared analysis was conducted using the survey data. The survey concluded by asking principals if they were willing to participate in a one-on-one interview regarding the …

The Impact Of Socioeconomic Status On Second Grade Reading Levels, Amanda Jill Knight

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to examine if low SES students respond differently to Tier I and Tier II interventions than Non-Low SES students. The study also seeks to determine the effect Tier I and Tier II interventions have on a group of second grade students. Forty-four Tier I and Tier II Caucasian second grade students from a rural Ohio elementary school were included in this study. No significant differences were found between the reading levels of low-SES and Non-Low-SES students prior to or afterimplementation of RTI. Significant differences were found between the AIMSweb fall and winter benchmarks as …

Aware: Analyzing The Impact Of An Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy Curriculum Using Sixth Grade Students In Colorado, Alex Kornelius Monroe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Human trafficking is an international problem that penetrates every society on the globe. Trafficking in children for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, and domestic servitude occurs in every state of the United States. Education is key in preventing human trafficking and American students lack proper knowledge of the issue. This study seeks to bridge this shortcoming through the creation and implementation of a holistic anti-trafficking advocacy curriculum that not only informs and motivates students and educators toward advocacy, but also meets Colorado state academic standards. Case studies using sixth grade students in Denver show the impact that …

Instructional Practices That Hinder And Support Esl Students In The Self-Contained Esl Classroom And The Mainstream Classroom, Ebru N. Bozburun

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes the academic challenges that many English Second Language (ESL) students must deal with from the moment they start attending a bilingual program at elementary school until they finish the last step of their academic experience. These students continually struggle to keep up with their peers, often fail the state mandated tests, and eventually, drop out before receiving their high school diploma. For the past three years, both as a self-contained ESL teacher and an ESL certified co-teacher in the mainstream classroom, I taught ESL Language Arts to Spanish- speaking students at a public junior high school in …

Paradise Lost, Found Or Created? Expectations Between Teachers And Vulnerable Children: Case Study On Peace House Secondary School, Northern Tanzania, Kelli Bee

Capstone Collection

The orphans and vulnerable children of northern Tanzania are offered a unique opportunity of education if selected to attend Peace House Secondary School. The school selects the most needy of this ostracized demographic and offers high quality education by focusing on student-centered techniques.

This study investigates the expectations between students and teachers using ethnographic methods carried out in 2010 and 2011, including student-wide survey, classroom observations and interviews with both teachers and students. Student perspective was intentionally of particular focus in data collection.

The study found that expectations which were shared by all participants revolve around passing exams. Students are …

Three Sisters Exchange: Building Alliances And Promoting Justice From The United States To Ecuador, Ariel Climer

Capstone Collection

This paper presents a proposal for a social justice and action-based study abroad program with foundations in the short-term reality tours of the education and human rights-based NGO, Global Exchange, a far-reaching non-profit with friendships built on solidarity against the spread of elite globalization. The program is called the Three Sisters Exchange to honor the sustainable design of indigenous crop planting prevalent around the world. The design comes at a time when international educators offer few programs with foci in social justice. The international education field needs more sustainable programs that take into account global systems. A propagation of such …

Funding The Fundamentals: A Peace First Teacher’S Recommendations For Increased Quality Sixth Grade Curriculum To Effectively Engage And Educate An Increasing Quantity Of Students., Pamela Gonzales

Capstone Collection

In the United States, the top 20% of the population owns 85% of the wealth. This leaves only 15% of the wealth for the rest of the population. This clear disparity of wealth, in combination with the common practice of racial segregation (created by 300 years of inequality) has direct correlations to violence in United States cities. Boston is one of these cities. Impoverished minority neighborhoods are struggling because they exist in a society that is essentially ignoring them. There are fewer opportunities in poor minority neighborhoods, particularly for young people. As a result, a cycle of violence has continued …

History Education And Identity Formation: A Case Study Of Uganda, Takako Mino

CMC Senior Theses

History education builds the foundation of a common past necessary for the formation of group identity. Evaluating History curricula is important because group identity guides people’s political behavior. This Uganda case study demonstrates how different actors have manipulated History education in order to enhance the saliency of ethnic, national, and regional identities. The expansion of nationalized education and the teaching of Ugandan, East African, and African history have contributed to fostering the rise of national consciousness in Uganda. Greater awareness of national identity has promoted national integration while marginalizing non-school educated people.

Positive Discomfort: Structured Student Reflection In International Service-Based Programs: A Social Justice Curriculum, Stephanie K. Kraemer

Capstone Collection

In the fall of 2009, Princeton University launched the Princeton Bridge Year Program—a service-based, international, pre-freshman “bridge” or “gap” year for 20 accepted students sent to four different countries. Princeton chose the international social enterprise ProWorld Service Corps as its partner organization to run the Bridge Year Program in Urubamba, Peru. Princeton University and ProWorld Peru both state a very clear intention in running this program: to transform participants. Their explicit goal is to turn out students who have a global perspective and are compassionate, humble, aware, innovative and inspired.

But how should program-providers, out in the field, actually accomplish …

“Holla If You Hear Me”: A Conversation With Black, Inner-City Youth On Career Preparedness Programs, Theressa N. Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study specifically addressed; how vocational preparedness programs effect the career aspirations of Black youth, within the context of the Middle Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America’s Exploring program. The goal of this research is to represent Black youth participating in a vocational preparedness program. Interviews, journals, and rich, thick descriptions are utilized in this work.

Using the lens of narrative inquiry and cultural studies, I hoped to further the field of career development through the experiences of some of its key players, African American youth. Within the context of their stories five major themes surfaced around the ideas: …

Grass-Roots Struggle In The "Culture Of Silence": Collective Dialogue And The Brazilian Landless Movement, Genny Petschulat

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Making Waves With Critical Literacy, Carolyn Fortuna

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

A qualitative study undertaken in 2007 that explores the application of critical literacy pedagogy within English language arts classes of an upper middle class public high school. Results demonstrate that when students recontextualize their own modalities, literacies, and cultures as part of their learning experience, they begin to understand the concept of social justice for all.

How Esol Teachers Become Aware Of Communicative Peace, Josette Leblanc

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the implications that the relationship between teacher language awareness and communicative peace may have on educational programs for teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The evaluation begins by analyzing proposals set out by the applied peace linguist Francisco Gomes de Matos, who suggests that ESOL teachers should teach communicative peace as an element of communicative competence, and also that education programs should provide training to support this approach. By juxtaposing current literature on structural and linguistic violence with Gomes de Matos' classroom techniques, the hypothesis is made that teachers who would teach communicative peace …

“The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” An African Centered Historical Study Of The Selfethnic Liberatory Education Nature And Goals Of The Poetry Of Langston Hughes: The Impact On Adult Education, Sarah E. Howard

Dissertations

The purposes of this historical study were to 1) document the Selfethnic Liberatory adult education nature and goals of the poetry of Langston Hughes (from 1921 to 1933); and 2) to document the impact this poetry had on members of the African Diaspora. In addition, the goal of this research was to expand the historical knowledge base of the adult education field, so that it is more inclusive of the contributions of African Americans.

This study addressed the problem that the historical and philosophical literature of the field does not to any significant degree include the intellectual and adult education …

Barriers In Educating Homeless Children And Youth, Gloria Elaine White Adams

Dissertations

Across America, homeless students face a myriad of barriers that impede education and school access and success of homeless children. The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to enrollment and school success for homeless students. The ultimate goal was to provide information to parents, teachers, administrators, and school districts that could serve as a vital resource tool in educating homeless students while removing barriers.

The participants consisted of 215 certified teachers, school administrators, and homeless liaisons in 23 school districts representing the populations that provide afterschool instruction to homeless students. The study was conducted in the spring …

An Evolving Change In Public Schools: An Assessment Of Teachers' And Administrators' Perceptions And Classroom Changes Concerning High-Stakes Testing., Selena Marie Kiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this study was to investigate changes in the curriculum caused by high-stakes testing mandates within 3 Southwest Virginia school systems to find best practices for instructional application in classrooms. This qualitative study was comprised of indepth interviews and observations with elementary school teachers and administrators. High-stakes testing has impacted the nation in myriad ways. The mandates from the government presented teachers and administrators with conditions that must be met according to the No Child Left Behind Act and individual state's standards. Teachers' perceptions of curriculum changes, Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP), testing mandates according to high-stakes testing, and …

The Social Construction Of Authorship: An Investigation Of Subjectivity And Rhetorical Authority In The College Writing Classroom, Johannah Rodgers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Although we use the term author on a daily basis to refer to certain individuals, bodies of work, and systems of ideas, as Michel Foucault and other critics have pointed out, attempting to answer the question “What is an Author?” is by no means a simple proposition. And, starting from the position that there is no single, or definitive answer to this complex question, this dissertation seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the genealogy of authorship by investigating the ways in which conceptions of the author have informed models of the writing subject in the field of rhetoric …

A Comparison Of The Effect Of Single-Sex Versus Mixed-Sex Classes On Middle School Student Achievement, Carol E. Thom

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of single-sex versus mixedsex classes on middle school student achievement. It was a case study of Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Charleston, West Virginia, an inner-city school with approximately 600 students, of which 30% were minority (mostly black), 30% were special needs, and 70% were classified low socio-economic status (SES). Student WESTEST (West Virginia Educational Standards Test) scores in reading/language arts and math were collected and compared from the school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005. Each student’s scores from the first year were compared to that same student’s scores from the …

Cultivating Identities And Differences : A Case Study Of The Hong Kong Junior Secondary Economic And Public Affairs Curriculum, Yuen Fun, Muriel Law

Theses & Dissertations

This thesis studies the junior secondary EPA curriculum and the complex cultural process of teaching and learning of the curriculum. It draws on theoretical frameworks developed in the field of cultural studies and critical pedagogy, particularly works by Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall, Lawrence Grossberg and Paulo Freire. It investigates how the EPA curricular texts attempt to produce the identity characteristic of "rational, sensitive and active citizens" in contemporary Hong Kong through constructing differences that negate the Other. Through analyzing classroom discursive practices, the thesis examines how the curricular knowledge "interpellates" teachers into subject position to talk about the "rational, sensitive …

Analysis Of Faith-Based And Government-Based Adult Education Programs In Western West Virginia, Chad M. Trepinsk

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Faith-based and government-based organizations can provide meaningful adult education programs and services to strengthen a community. Organizations that offer adult education programs are vital partners in community development. This research identifies current adult programs and services offered by seven faith-based and six government based organizations in Huntington, West Virginia. Using a survey of eighty-one potential services or programs, data collected from thirteen community organizations determined what types and how many adult programs are available in Huntington, West Virginia. After identifying current adult programs, interviews with each of the thirteen organizations revealed current faith-based and government-based partnerships; questionnaires with faith-based organizations …

Critical Decision Making Skills Of Postgraduate Respiratory Care Personnel, Leisa Kay Bowden

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The researcher of the study became interested in critical decision making skills while working with Respiratory Care post graduates. The researcher of the study noticed through observation a deficiency in critical thinking skills, reasoning abilities and decision making skills of recent post graduate Respiratory personnel. These weaknesses impacted a deterioration in interdepartmental communications and most importantly a deterioration in the quality of patient care. The problem of this study is to determine the effects of critical decision making skills in the College of West Virginia’s 1995 Respiratory Care class as compared to the College of West Virginia’s 1994 Respiratory Care …

Perceptions Of The Honors Program, Andrea Price

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to measure how aware the students and faculty of Utah State University are of the Honors Program and its offerings. Questionnaires were sent to a random selection of faculty, students, and Honors students.

Moral Education: An Investigation And Experiment, Ellen L. Throm

Masters Theses

One purpose of this investigation of moral education in the elementary schools, was to find information in order to evaluate the current status of moral education at this level.

Another part of the investigation was to experiment with presenting and teaching moral education principles in a fifth-grade classroom, and make a report of the results.

The thesis was written to satisfy the final requirements for a Specialist Degree in Guidance and Counseling, at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Illinois.

In order to conduct the investigation on moral education, several books were researched (a bibliography is included) for information.

A commercially prepared …

A Curriculum For Death Education In The High School Family Life Program, Karrin J. Lewis

All Graduate Projects

The intent and purpose of this study was to develop curriculum, resources, evaluation and teacher preparation for a death education class, and to teach that curriculum as an elective, semester class for high school students at Washington High School in Tacoma, Washington, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of such a class becoming a regular part of the high school family life program.

A Survey Of Non-White Social Service Personnel In The State Of Oregon, Phillis Benton, Patricia Riley, Cynthia Southwell, Dennis Wong

Dissertations and Theses

The National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education are concerned with the eradication of racism within the social work profession and the nation at large. Graduate schools throughout the country are presently attempting to come to grips with this elusive and pervasive problem. The School of Social Work at Portland State University is among these schools.

In early 1972, the Portland State University School of Social Work formalized and adopted a specific policy regarding recruitment, education, and issues concerning non-white students and communities. In doing so, this school became the first School of Social Work …

An Honors Suppliment To The Curriculum In American History For West Valley High School Juniors, Nell Caroline Paschen

Graduate Student Research Papers

In a search for ways of perpetuating essential values in a free society, citizens and educators have come to realize that their greatest resource lies in the talents of young people. Leadership of society must be developed from the excellent minds of students in the schools. This leadership will be nurtured by inducing an insight into human relationships and by giving an understanding of the background of cherished American institutions. This work is based on the conviction that teachers of social studies are conscious of an obligation to fill the needs of gifted students for enrichment in breadth of subject …