Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Playful Learning: The Disposition Of Architecture As Pedagogy, Alyssa Franklin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Education is a vital foundation of a society. The standard of today’s school environment is built upon the pedigree of the factory schools from the nineteenth century. However, elementary age children require a flexible, engaging, and creative learning environment that the standard school environment does not provide. Learning is a dynamic and innovative action. Architecture should mirror the learning that it supports through providing spaces that allow for flexibility, engagement, accessibility, and attraction. Children are transformed by the spaces they are in, spaces that will leave lasting impacts on the cognitive development of the children, spaces that can be playful …

The Maldivian Language Predicament: Language Loss Through The Lens Of Students, Azka Hassan

Senior Theses and Projects

This study dives into Maldivian students’ experiences of learning languages in classrooms, as well as how they perceive their proficiency in English relative to their first language, Dhivehi. I investigated the issue of language loss and its contributors via a qualitative study which consisted of 9 semi-structured 45-60 minute interviews with lower secondary Maldivian students who are in public schools in Male’ city. (Key stage 4, ages 13-17) Through this study, I argue that the Maldives is suffering from language loss among youth because students often have negative experiences in Dhivehi classrooms and feel pressure rooted in higher social and …

Sexual Orientation, Age, And Race: An Intersectional Approach To Health Disparities, Laura E. Bernstein

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Sexual orientation, age, and race are all identity-based variables that can contribute to health disparities (Dannefer, 2020; Meyer, 2003; Forde et al., 2019). The minority diminished returns (MDR) theory states that marginalized identities (i.e. race and sexual orientation) dampen the positive impact education has on physical and mental health (Assari, 2018). Some evidence suggests that health disparities narrow in older sexual minority adults (Nelson & Andel, 2020a) but this question has not been asked with nationally representative data, and research with older sexual minorities is limited. The present study explored whether 1) age dampens or exacerbates disparities in self-rated health …

Screen Time Use And Children’S Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amira Hmidan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parents with school-aged children have experienced numerous hardships during the 2020-2021 academic school year, including school closures, lockdowns, and travel restrictions. Higher levels of parent stress and screen time may adversely impact children’s behavioural outcomes. This longitudinal survey study examined the associations of parent stress, parenting styles, and prolonged screentime on internalizing and externalizing behaviours in school-aged children. Parents (n = 108) completed survey measures at two time points over the 2020-2021 academic school year. Two generalized estimating equations were performed. There was a significant positive interaction between parent stress and screen time (B = < .001; p = .001) …

Who Is Anointed? The Psychological And Social Justice Implications Of Gifted And Talented Programs In The United States, Emma Caroline Gossett

Senior Projects Spring 2022

This paper explores the repercussions of gifted and talented programs in the United States, looking specifically at resulting psychological effects and social justice implications. This analysis is positioned within the discussion of global power struggles for technological advancement. After the success of the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957, the United States bolstered initiatives in education to ensure they were producing students who could contribute to the prowess of the nation. Gifted programs allowed for a more in-depth focus on those children deemed useful to the labor market. This resulted in additional pressures placed on certain students to excel. The anointment …

Intellectual Access And Spirituality: The Twin Urgencies Of Responsible American Education, Matthew Schmitz

Educational Studies Honors Papers

America is increasingly, and perhaps overwhelmingly, becoming a society characterized by political divisiveness. At its most extreme form, Hannah Arendt argues such a division can make us vulnerable to a loneliness that destroys our confidence and leaves us dependent on ideologies. A renewed sense of spirituality and intellect are prime candidates for helping us develop a healthy relationship with ourselves that can help counteract this loneliness. Not only that, but fully accessing our intellectual and spiritual sides can give us the confidence to tackle democratic republican citizenship the way Thomas Jefferson envisioned it. Here, Jacques Rancière helps us to construct …

Communicating With Play: Helping Adults Recognize Separation Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder In Preschool Children, Katlynn Marie Shamro

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Despite well-founded and agreed upon evidence showing preschool-aged children experience anxiety (CDC, 2020), children ages 2-6 are continuously understudied, underdiagnosed, and undertreated for these disorders (NIMH, 2019). Researchers attribute this to the primarily cognitive, as opposed to behavioral symptoms of anxiety, communication deficits during the preschool years, and the nature of childhood amplifying already existing barriers to a diagnosis of anxiety. Because diagnosis is the first step to gaining access to mental health resources and early intervention mitigates symptoms and impaired functioning (Barstead et al., 2018), as well …

Bicultural Identity And Academic Achievement: The Second-Generation Immigrant Student Experience, Karimeh Haddad

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

By comparing the academic success and internal processes of immigrant groups, this study aimed to explore the impact of immigration status (first, second, and third-generation) and cultural backgrounds on academic achievement on a holistic level. By measuring acculturation, parental expectations, self-efficacy, goal adjustment, motivation, control beliefs, and vocabulary knowledge of university students, the combination of constructs best correlated to academic achievement was studied with determinants of demographics playing a key role. In addition to quantitative analyses, in-depth interviews supplemented the analyses and further gave insight to the backgrounds of the target population, second-generation immigrant students. The results indicated that there …

Uniquely U: The Effects Of Tertiary Education Disciplines On The Development Of Dual Self-Construals And Its Impact On Conflict Management Tendencies, Wan Yee Choo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

While the effects of self-construal on one’s conflict management tendencies are well-documented, the effects of dual self-construals on conflict management tendencies are under-explored. In present paper, two studies were conducted to explore how tertiary education disciplines could influence the development of dual self-construals among Singaporeans which, in turn, determine their conflict management tendencies, as well as, how context influences the switch of different self-construals and conflict management styles. Our findings revealed that individuals from business disciplines displayed greater competitive conflict management tendencies than their peers from social science disciplines and this relationship is mediated by their endorsement of independent self-construal. …

The Impact Of Four-Day School Weeks And Fifth-Day Programs On Delinquency And Problem Behaviors In Adolescents, Emily Collins

Scripps Senior Theses

In recent years, tightening budgets have forced school districts to find new ways to save money. One way that has become increasingly popular is to shorten the traditional five-day school week to only four-days a week. This change is budget friendly and may act through efficiency wage theory as a recruitment tool for better teachers. Despite the increasing prevalence of districts running on four-day weeks, many of the effects of the shorter week on students are still unclear. Utilizing district-level panel data from the Colorado Department of Education, Study One took a difference-in-differences approach to determine the effect of the …

First Semester Academic Functioning Of College Students : The Role Of Stressful And Traumatic Life Events., Ashlee J. Warnecke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A large number of the nearly 20 million students who were attending American colleges in 2015 will not graduate. One factor that may affect the success of students is the influence of past experiences, including past adversity, or exposure to traumatic or non-traumatic stressors. The present study sought to better describe and understand the role of stress/trauma history in college students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The potential relationship this history has with academic outcomes was explored. Additionally, as not all students with a history of stressful and traumatic life events struggle academically, self-reported resilience, as well as resiliency factors, were …

Mental Health & The Modern Educator, Samantha Nousak

Honors Projects

Mental health issues are far more prevalent than most are aware; according to the National Institute of Mental Health (2017), 49.5% of 13 to 18-year-olds will qualify for any mental illness. Mental health concerns will impact students in every single classroom, yet curriculum for Education majors does not include more than rudimentary information on this topic. This presentation aims to provide basic facts pertaining to mental health (including incidence rates, educators' responsibilities, and the impact mental health issues can have on students), discuss broad strategies to employ with students with mental health concerns (basic do's and do not's), and provide …

Children's Letter Learning: The Effect Of Manipulating Visual Complexity On Children's Letter Learning, Bahar Amani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a growing presence in homes and schools, technology plays an important role in the way that children learn in their environment. The early integration of technology within education reflects the promise of computer-based educational tools to facilitate early learning in children (Grant, Wood, Gottardo, Evans, Phillips, & Savage, 2012). Young learners are reported to be challenged with high levels of distractibility that can hinder their ability to learn in particular conditions and contexts (Fisher, Godwin, & Seltman, 2014). This can be a problem when considering that educational materials are often designed to be elaborate to keep young learners interested. …

Cognitive And Affective Aspects Of Personality And Academic Procrastination: The Role Of Personal Agency, Flow, And Executive Function, Marc Graff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue that affects school-related and other experiences of many students, with some studies identifying as many as a third of college students sampled as‘severe’ procrastinators. This study investigated some of the factors previous studies have identified as potential contributors to procrastinating in the academic arena. In defining procrastination as a self-regulation issue, it is proposed that distinct executive function processes play a role in one’s efforts at academic task engagement and completion and resisting the tendency to procrastinate on these tasks. It is also proposed that the frequency with which one experiences ‘flow’, a state …

Teachers And The Development Of Student Noncognitive Skills, Albert Cheng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of education policy are increasingly aware of the independent role that noncognitive skills (e.g., self-regulation, Social skills, and other personality or character traits) play in long- and short-run student well-being. However, little is known about how these skills are effectively developed. One theory is that noncognitive skills are developed through role modeling by teachers. A student, by virtue of observing and sharing a Social connection with his or her schoolteachers, begins to emulate noncognitive skills that they exhibit. In this dissertation, I test this theory. I focus specifically on noncognitive skills related to conscientiousness and measure them using new …

Influences Of Temperament, Symbolic Gesture, And Caregiver Beliefs On Infant Emotional Expression, Mary Sugg Bassett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to analyze the relationships of infant temperament, communication through symbolic gesture, caregiver beliefs with emotional expression in infants. Participants were the parents and childcare teachers of sixteen infants and toddlers, between the ages of six and 25 months, currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas child development study center. The independent and combined influence of infant temperament, use of symbolic gestures, and the beliefs of parents and teachers were significantly related to infants’ emotional expression in the study. Parent-reported scores of emotional expression competence were positively correlated to teacher-reported positive temperament levels (r …

Self-Regulation To Practice: Incorporating The Strategy To An Early Childhood Special Education Setting, Kathryn L. Szwed

Open Access Dissertations

Preschool students who display social emotional deficits pose challenging issues for families, caregivers and teachers who educate them. In this study, the effectiveness of an assistive technology based treatment package consisting of video self-modeling and behavior management software was investigated to determine if its combined use would result in increased student self-regulation skills. Using a multiple baseline design, three students used the treatment package to increase self-regulation skills. During the investigation, the accuracy to self-identify behaviors, the documentation of desired and undesired behaviors and the overall impact of the treatment package was studied. Interobserver agreement (IOA) was used to determine …

The Nature And Etiology Of Religious Certitude: Implications Of The Ei Framework And Beliefs, Events, And Values Inventory, Timothy W. Brearly

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Religious certitude is often associated with conflict between individuals and groups, though the nature of this relationship is still not clear. To further clarify these dynamics, the historical psychology of religion is reviewed and contrasted with current perspectives from social psychology and neuroscience, with an eye towards better understanding the variance within religious expressions and their associated relationships with intergroup conflict. It is hypothesized that religious certainty is related to a difficulty in engaging with contradictory religious perspectives, and that the pull towards certainty is tied to an individual’s unique psychological structure, much of which is developed through the interaction …

A Comparison Of Infant And Toddler Reactions To Strangers Who Have Similar Attributes To An Established Attachment Figure Vs. Strangers Who Have Different Attributes, Jessica Hamilton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A child's early attachment experiences can have a lasting impact on later development. Early attachment relationships often result in greater Social and cognitive skills, as well as better school performance (Peisner et al., 1999). For these reasons, it is important to address those components that may contribute to secure attachments with care givers in the child care setting. The current study looked at the reactions of infants and toddlers when presented with two previously unknown individuals: one who physically resembled an established caregiver with whom they had already established attachment and one who looked different from this caregiver. The study …

Growing Up On The Spectrum: How High-Functioning Young Adults With Autism Transition To Independence, Brittany Walker

Honors Program Theses

Adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder do not learn the self-determination and communication skills or receive the planning support during high school that they need to transition successfully into adulthood. As a result, this population has the worst employment outcomes of any group with disabilities, despite having a high potential to succeed in postsecondary occupations. The unique challenges faced by high-functioning individuals, especially communication deficits, hinder them from succeeding in postsecondary ventures. Research has found that this population greatly benefits from using person-centered planning approaches to transition, participating in social skills training, and by being included in activities and classes …

On Environmental Education, James Mackinnon Michel Spreuwenberg-Stewart

Senior Projects Spring 2015

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

The Phenomenon Of Abstract Cognition Among Scholastic Chess Participants: A Case Study, Brent C. Laws

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of abstract cognition among a purposive sample of 5 secondary scholastic chess club participants. The case study enabled the researcher to explore the faculties of abstract cognition among students of contrasting skills and abilities in playing chess. The study also allowed for the consideration of potential visual-spatial, logical, academic, social competency and life benefits of chess play. Through analysis of interviews, chess simulations, blindfold chess play, and narration of chess lines and sequences, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code schemata into a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of …

Preschoolers’ Physical, Social, And Engineering Play Behaviors: Differences In Gender And Play Environment, Zachary S. Gold

Open Access Theses

This study explored gender differences in the occurrence of 66 preschoolers' (ages 3-to-5; 29 girls, 37 boys) physical, social, and "engineering thinking play" behaviors across three play environments: the traditional playground, the dramatic play area, and an environment in which children played with large, manipulable, loose parts. Previous research has indicated that young children are not engaging in enough physical play to maintain healthy lifestyles. Play may also have benefits for social competency and cognitive development. Observations of children's engagement with a new and engaging play material, Imagination Playground TM blocks, which are designed to foster imaginative and creative constructive …

Connecting The Dots: An Economic Study Of Parental Factors Shaping Early Childhood Cognitive Development, Bryn Alexandra O'Neill

Business and Economics Honors Papers

This study investigates how maternal and paternal employment status and educational attainment, coupled with parental time and educational inputs such as toys, books, etc. devoted to children, have impacted young children's cognitive development in the U.S. Cognitive development comprises the intellectual and conscious thinking growth that begins in infancy. It involves problem solving, reasoning and memory aptitudes and is tested for throughout each year of childhood in various ways. The impact of the use of external childcare in lieu of parental time on development is also evaluated. This paper will outline reviewed literature, a theoretical model, data discussion, model construction …

The Student Augustinian Values Institute: Assessing Its Impact Of Enhancing The Understanding And Experience Of The Augustinian Core Values Of Veritas, Unitas, And Caritas Upon Students In Augustinian Secondary Schools, Stephen M. Curry

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Educational leadership understands the importance of teaching values in its schools and incorporates this philosophy into the school’s symbolic and structural systems. Roman Catholic Church leaders have always endorsed the teaching of values in its schools and this position was sanctioned at its Second Vatican Council (Vatican Council II, 1962-65). One aspect of the Council emphasized the importance of Catholic education as an essential vehicle for proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools founded and sponsored by religious communities were challenged to reappropriate their founders’ charisms in their educational ministries. The Order of St. Augustine is an example …

An Application Of The Theory Of Multiple Intelligence To Improve Academic Performance And Achievement Goals In The Early School Years, Marilyn Victoria Garcia-Mata

Theses Digitization Project

The present research project applied Howard Gardner's MI theory to the social studies curriculum of a third grade classroom. This intervention seeks to increase student's academic grade scores and learning goal orientation in the social studies chapter of Old and New Communities. The participants for this research project were third grade students enrolled at Assumption Catholic School in Los Angeles, California. The sample consisted of 11 third grade children.

The Intersection Between Home And School: Developing A Scale To Measure Parental Perceptions Of Childhood School Stress, Teresa Marie Henke

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Parents in the home and educators in the schools are key adults in the most important contexts in the daily lives of school-age children. In the demanding, achievement, and accountability oriented culture of today, it is expected that children experience normal everyday stressors as they move between these two environments. The impact of stress related to daily hassles has been reported to have both cognitive and physical effects on the present and future well-being of children. This study represented an attempt to advance the understanding of childhood stress in the intersection between school and home by investigating the perceptions …

Individual Resilience, Social Support, And Health Risk Behaviors In Adolescents And Young Adults: Study On Cross-Sectional And Longitudinal Samples, Chuong Hong Nguyen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Resilience is considered the ability that a person gains positive achievements despite exposure to significantly adverse life conditions. However, a majority of previous research has focused on human developmental tasks or academic achievements. Evidence of resilience on health risk behaviors has not been comprehensively established yet. The purposes of this dissertation were to extend the existing literature about the stability of resilience through time, to examine how the resilience scale concurrently and prospectively predict resilience statuses, and to explore effects of Social support over a long period of lifetime. The dissertation used a secondary database from the public-use version of …

Problem Solving Interventions: Impact On Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Lindsay Ann Diamond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Problem-solving skills are imperative to a child's growth and success across multiple environments, including general and special education. Problem solving is comprised of: (a) attention to the critical aspects of a problem, (b) generation of solution(s) to solve the problem, (c) application of a solution(s) to the identified problem, and (d) evaluation of the consequences of the solution. Children with developmental disabilities may experience difficulty with the problem-solving process.

The purpose of this study was to determine an effective method to teach young children with developmental disabilities to problem solve. Specifically, this study compared two types of problem-solving instruction. The …

Evaluating A Social Skills Training Protocol In A Private Setting: Outcomes And Issues, Judi Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Society is dealing with a trend of aggressive and destructive behavior among children and adolescence. Children with social, emotional, and conduct problems are at high risk for academic failure, peer rejection, conduct disorder, school dropout, delinquency, and drug and alcohol problems (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoollmiller, 2008). A high priority for the United States public health and crime prevention is the prevention of aggressive and delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence (Taylor, Eddy, & Biglan 1999).

Social skills trainings aim to increase the performance of key social behaviors that are important for children to succeed in social situations. Solutions may be …