Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fostering Udl-Informed Library Instruction Practices Developed From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Niki Fullmer, Katie Strand

Library Faculty Publications

Purpose: This case study explores how universal design for learning (UDL)-informed online instruction modules developed during COVID-19 can better support student information literacy outcomes. This study will also examine how hybrid learning lends itself to UDL and may resolve some of the issues within library instruction.

Design/methodology/approach: This case study explores how a team of librarians at Utah State University developed three UDL-informed modules to support library instruction and hybrid learning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey was sent to composition instructors to understand how they utilized the three new UDL-informed modules and if the modules helped …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On Collaboration Between School Psychologists And Board-Certified Behavioral Analysts, Taylor Bronaugh

Department of Graduate Psychology - Graduate Student Scholarship

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of communication styles brought on by distanced learning and its effect on collaboration for school psychologists and Bord Certified Behavioral Analysts (BCBAs). Prior studies have addressed collaboration habits between these school-based professionals. The current study aims to analyze the impact that COVID-19 had on these practitioners’ collaboration habits and to investigate their current communication and collaboration habits. A mixed methods locally developed anonymous survey was created and used for data collection. Participants were recruited through social-media groups and via word-of-mouth sharing. 20 school-based practitioners shared their perceptions and experiences with …

Promotion Strategies In Academic Libraries: Improving The Ability Of Students To Access Information Resources And Services During The Covid-19 Era, Tinyiko Vivian Dube

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This article identified the library promotion strategies that distance education academic library services can employ to improve the ability of remote clients to access information resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. Academic libraries operating in a distance education environment in Gauteng Province, South Africa, are currently changing how library and information services are provided to remote clients. The traditional means of promoting library services through posters, banners, flyers, and pamphlets are now in the past. The emergence of COVID-19 facilitated information technologies. The study was anchored by the positivism research paradigm and used a quantitative approach. Microsoft Form was used to …

Korean Immigrants’ Perceptions Of Library Services And Library Multicultural Programs For Asian Communities Before And During Covid-19, Yanghee Kim, Hyun Chu Leah Kim, Jihye Kim

Faculty Articles

This study explored 141 Korean immigrant parents’ use of local libraries to enhance their families’ social and cultural capital and adjust to the host country. We searched resources in Korean, and multicultural programs planned for the public and immigrants, Asian immigrants in particular, at two libraries before and during COVID-19. Parents reported dissatisfaction with library services because of language barriers (38%) and the lack of Korean resources (38%) and cultural programs (25%). Except for 18 books and 24 e-resources, no library resources in Korean were published after 2008. Before COVID-19, one multicultural program was offered for children. At Branches B …

Examining The Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being And Academic Performance Among First-Year College Students In A U.S. Mid-South University, Ya-Hsin Hsiao

Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between psychological well-being and college students. In addition, I looked at how COVID-19 impacted their psychological well-being. I used Ryff and Keyes’ (1995) 18-item Scale of Psychological Well-Being (SPWB-18) to measure participants' psychological well-being. Other demographic information such as race, gender, first-generation college student status, college readiness, and Pell Grant eligibility were collected from the WKU’s Institutes of Research.

Data were analyzed using multiple regressions that controlled for the effects of ethnicity, gender, first-generation status, and socioeconomic status. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 on psychological well-being was evaluated and reported. In this dataset, the internal …

The Lived Experiences Of School Counselors Related To Natural Disaster Trauma, Jennifer Baxley Bellinger

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and describe the lived experiences of school counselors in South Carolina regarding natural disaster trauma and their perceptions regarding their ability to work effectively with students during and after disasters. The experiences of school counselors regarding their perceptions of effectiveness when working with students both during and after natural disasters prior to this study were unknown. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Model provided the framework for this study as it outlines the necessary preparation for and execution of a school counselor’s work with students, while Herman’s trauma theory and …

Transition To Distance Learning: Student Experience And Communication During The Covid-19 Pandemic In The United Arab Emirates, Soumaya Abdellatif, Aizhan Shomotova, Safouane Trabelsi, Salwa Husain, Najeh Alsalhi, Mohamed Eltahir

All Works

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 prompted higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to switch to online learning for the safety of their citizens. The main purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between four indicators of digital learning experience and the intensity of student socio-pedagogical communication after the transition to distance learning. The data were collected from Ajman University, a private university in the UAE, during the spring of 2020. The sample consisted of 381 students who were surveyed using an online survey tool or email. First, this study found that the majority of students …

K-12 Florida Christian Schools In Crisis: A Correlational Study Of Educational Leadership During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cesar O. Irizarry

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

K-12 Florida Christian schools were disrupted due to the advent of a global crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Flexibility was needed by educational leadership during this time of crisis. For that reason, this study will aim to understand the leadership principles necessary to provide leaders with the flexibility to adapt to extreme circumstances. The literature addresses the leader’s importance of being flexible during a crisis (Ruffner & Huizing, 2016). However, the literature continues to examine the effects of the pandemic on education but has not identified those contingencies that are necessary for leaders in the Christian educational system …

Speaking To The Head And The Heart: Prioritizing Empathetic Communication In The Post-Covid Workplace, Kevin T. Caffrey

Administrative and Professional Faculty Research

As of August 2022, COVID-19 continues to affect our daily lives in physical, psychological, and financial ways. Many vulnerable individuals are struggling to adapt to returning to work and as a result, employee morale is at risk. In times of crises, empathy is needed in the workplace to support one another, but many leaders and employees may not have a firm grasp of the concept. This article seeks to define empathetic communication and explore the need for prioritizing empathy amid the current post-COVID-19 workplace. Through a literature review of empathy, psychological safety in the workplace, and crisis leadership, the author …

Concern, Conflict, And Chaos: Nebraska Educator Experiences During The Pandemic, Amanda Witte, Amanda Prokasky, Courtney Boise, Renata T.M. Gomes, Gwen Nugent, Susan Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

During the spring of 2020, Nebraska’s 983 public schools sat vacant, and Nebraska’s 329,290 Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 students were learning in environments other than school. Educators were expected to pivot quickly from traditional classroom instruction to remote experiences. Understanding the effects of the pandemic on educators is necessary to effectively meet their needs and the needs of students. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the experiences of Nebraska’s urban and rural PreK–Grade 12 educators during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. In surveys collected in July 2020, participants (i.e., superintendents, principals, and teachers) completed …

Performing Feminist Research: Creative Tactics For Communicating Covid-19, Gender, And Higher Education Research, Jo Pollitt, Emily Gray, Mindy Blaise, Jacqueline Ullman, Emma Fishwick

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Presenting research findings outside of the form of a traditional research report requires different modes of making and communicating. This paper offers an account of how The #FEAS Report, a satirical news video, was made to communicate the findings from interviews and a survey as part of the mixed-methods study, Sexism, Higher Education, and COVID-19: The Australian Perspective to a wider public. Three creative tactics for research communication were used: DIY aesthetics, humour, and situated bodies. These communication tactics enabled the researchers to think differently about what research findings mean, and how to articulate them in ways that are intelligible. …

Effects Of Peer-Supported And Self-Guided Exercise On Self-Reported Anxiety And Depression Among Young Adults - A Pilot Study, Xihe Zhu, Michael D. Kostick, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression became heightened issues for college-aged young adults during the global pandemic. The main purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a peer-supported exercise intervention on young adults (vs. self-guided exercise) who reported elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression. A parallel group design was used where young adults (n = 27) were randomly assigned to either a peer-supported or self-guided exercise group which lasted for eight weeks. The generalized anxiety and depression subscales of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS-34) were measured for a baseline and then at …

Exploring Correlates Of Student Preferences For Virtual Or In-Class Learning Among Neurodiverse Adolescents Using A Single-Case Design Methodology, Taryn A. Myers, John D. Ball, Mindy Gumpert, Mary Roberts

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The purpose of the current study is to explore several correlates of adolescent students’ preferences for at-home virtual or in-class in-person learning in a single case of a school that serves students with learning differences. Correlates of interest were the Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) and the students’ self-reported learning engagement. Participants were recruited from a single independent school for students with neurodiversity and special learning needs, where they had high exposure to computer-/internet-assisted learning. Twenty-seven students responded to questionnaires measuring preferred learning modes, personality traits, and learning engagement. Despite teacher reports …

A Descriptive Quantitative Exploration Of College Students Of Promise During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tameka Womack, Kim E. Bullington, Pietro A. Sasso

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The term Students of Promise is used for students considered to have a heightened risk status, which not only has a negative effect on students but also on the higher education institutions they attend. This quantitative study explored how the COVID-19 virus has impacted student populations at various US higher education institutions and to uncover what specific issues (financial, emotional, social) impacted students during this unprecedented time in light of student categories and student demographics. This study found statistical significance in Students of Promise characteristics and presents data on the behaviors, activities, and tools necessary for success, concerns surrounding COVID-19, …

Enrollment Management Strategies At Rural Community Colleges Resulting From The Pandemic, Robin C. Daniel, Mitchell R. Williams, Kim E. Bullington

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions around the world were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020. Because U.S. community colleges focus on two-year degrees and workforce development, they were affected differently than their four-year counterparts. This study examined how academic administrators at different rural community colleges in Virginia, United States, perceived enrollment management practices that were implemented or changed due to the pandemic. This sequential explanatory study's first phase was quantitative and measured mid- to senior-level administrators' views of how the pandemic affected their colleges' enrollment management practices. The second qualitative phase resulted in five themes surrounding COVID-related enrollment …

Treating A Viral Culture: Using Cultural Competency And Social Informatics To Design Contextualized Information Literacy Efforts For Specific Social Information Cultures, Rachel N. Simons, Aaron J. Elkins, Shengnan Yang (Ed.), Xiaohua Zhu (Ed.), Pnina Fichman (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This chapter proposes a novel theoretical framework, Social Information Cultural Competency (SICC), that may be used for designing contextualized information literacy efforts. The SICC approach leverages the frameworks of social informatics, cultural competency, and psychosocial understandings of information behavior to encourage information professionals to develop more nuanced understandings of specific social information cultures. After defining this approach, the chapter then applies the SICC framework to a case study considering information literacy interventions addressing a social information culture engaged in sharing COVID-19 misinformation through social media. As part of this case study, the chapter discusses three current information literacy approaches to …

Covid-19, Mental Health, Technology Use, And Job Satisfaction Among School Psychology Trainers, Joel O. Bocanegra, Jennifer Gallup, Minghui Hou, Aaron A. Gubi, Chung-Hau Fan, Nai-Jiin Yang, Celal Perihan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to exacerbate the school psychology personnel crisis. There is a dearth of knowledge regarding how the pandemic has impacted school psychology trainers and course delivery. In this national study, 92 school psychology trainers completed an online questionnaire regarding technological instructional changes, job satisfaction, and their own mental health well-being during the pandemic. Findings suggest that during the portion of the pandemic assessed most trainers reported that they: (a) switched from in-person instruction to primarily online instruction, (b) were mostly satisfied with their jobs, and (c) generally experienced a positive sense of well-being. Furthermore, a sizable portion …