Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Doodling As Self-Expression: Building Self-Efficacy In Normally Functioning Adults, Journey Coward

Art Therapy | Theses and Dissertations

While previous studies identify doodling as a useful educational tool, this study sought to determine if doodling can build creative or emotional self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their own capacity to express behaviors necessary to attain specific performance goals. The current study also sought to determine if doodling can be a form of self-care. Research collected was quantitative and qualitative using surveys to measure both creative and emotional self-efficacy along with a doodling activity. Ten participants were recruited through convenience sampling on social media and were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria of identifying themselves …

An Evaluation Of Programs And Leadership Practices For Effective Dropout Prevention, Nicole C. West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

This mixed-methods study explored a problem within dropout research which often fails to link characteristics of student subgroups with effective dropout interventions. Considering the characteristics identified in the literature of at-risk learners, the conceptual framework for this study combined the theory of self-efficacy and leadership with emphasis on servant leadership. The purpose of the study was to evaluate dropout intervention and prevention programs in two high schools by examining intervention and leadership practices for students at risk of dropping out of high school. Through causal-comparative and phenomenological approaches, this investigation focused on identifying dropout factors targeted in the intervention …

Approaches To Narrative Instruction For Second Language Learners, Mathew Peters

MA TESOL Collection

Narratives have reemerged as a dominant form of rhetoric over the last fifty years. This dominant use of narrative discourse has only increased with the rise of social media. Walther Fisher (1987) proposed the narrative paradigm as a unifying theory of human communication. His major claim is that people are inherently storytellers and that people use a narrative rationality and a logic of good reasons to inform their beliefs, values, and actions. This paper utilizes his theories, along with recent findings in neuroscience, to establish an argument for greater inclusion of narratives into second language teaching. Narratives can have a …

A Study Of Incarcerated Youth: How Does Interest Affect Comprehension And Engagement, Grace Mutti

Honors Projects

Current research explores the relationship between high-interest reading material and comprehension in classrooms as well as the impact of literacy on recidivism; however, there is a shortage of research on effective instructional reading practices for incarcerated youth. This qualitative study examines the experience of five white, male incarcerated youth as they experience one-on-one reading instruction from five of BGSU’s pre-service teachers. Instructional strategies used in the study were modeled off of an online program called A-Z Reading and focused on developing students’ fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. The study initially aimed to examine the impact of high-interest materials on the …

Effects Of Chair Testing In Orchestra On Student Motivation: Student Perspectives And Applications From Motivational Theories, Rosanna Christine Honeycutt

MSU Graduate Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine how string students perceive achievement on chair testing through the lens of attribution and achievement goal motivational self-theories. A teacher survey was administered to identify the goals of chair testing in two high school and seven middle school orchestra classrooms. A student survey was used to collect data in those same classrooms on (a) the reasons why students do and do not do well on chair tests, (b) the perceived goals of chair testing and (c) the ratings of motivation and self-achievement. Qualitative techniques were used to analyze attributions within both …

Exploring Teacher Confidence Using Behavioral Interventions In The Classroom, Etoile Denise Swift

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The original purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative quasi-experimental study to compare a treatment group of teachers with training in the cognitive behavioral ABC model to a control group and examine differences in the average count of referrals to school counselors for students who exhibited disruptive behaviors. However, due to lack of participation, this study examined teacher perceptions of their confidence to use behavioral interventions with students who are disruptive in the classroom and the relationship to the number of referrals teachers made to the school counselor. This study included 99 teachers from pre-K through 12th grade …

Mathematics Attitudes And Mathematics Performance: Novel Approaches Towards Noncognitive Educational Measurement, Applications To Large-Scale Assessment Data, And Examinations Of Multigroup Invariance, Kalina Gjicali

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic performance is predicted by a multitude of demographic, contextual, cognitive, and noncognitive constructs. The noncognitive factors of achievement in mathematics that have previously been explored in depth are study skills, collaborative problem-solving, confidence, self-efficacy, and personality traits (Kyllonen, 2012). Limited applied research has explored the predictive value of noncognitive factors such as attitudes and beliefs in mathematics achievement – even though attitudes towards mathematics are a promising avenue for understanding the variability in mathematics achievement. The current research uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to explain high school students’ performance in mathematics in a series of three studies. …

Examining The Effects Of Energy Drinks On Academic Performance, Alyssa P. Roberson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reports of energy drink (ED) consumption have grown among the United States population. Research suggests reasons for consumption vary across populations, including increased attention and enhanced endurance performance. However, ED consumers could suffer from negative effects of ED, including health problems, caffeine overdose, and death. Energy drink consumption is also linked to substance use. Despite risks of consuming ED, heavy use of EDs remains among college students, often to help with academic performance; however, research has not examined effects of ED consumption on perceived and actual academic performance. This study evaluated relationships among ED consumption, self-efficacy, and academic performance in …

Principal Professional Development And Principal Self-Efficacy In An Urban School District., Brian Thomas Garrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educator professional development (PD) is a heavily relied upon method for school improvement, and administrator professional development (APD) is a key element to nearly all school reform efforts. District-wide APD in large school districts can carry a heavy cost in financial and human resources. Moreover, PD is frequently too inadequately planned and/or implemented to bring about lasting positive change in educator practice, school reform, and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between principal PD focused on culture/climate or instruction and principal self-efficacy in an urban school district. Through hierarchical linear multiple regression (HLMR), this …

Secondary Student Information Literacy Self-Efficacy Vs. Performance, Jen Spisak

Theses and Dissertations

The amount of information in the world has grown exponentially in the last generation. Students often believe that growing up as digital natives means they have advanced information literacy skills. However, school librarians are not seeing evidence of this in their schools. The purpose of this study was to determine if secondary students overestimate their information literacy (IL) abilities, if relationships exist between IL self-efficacy and performance, and if grade level or self-efficacy level changes those relationships. To accomplish this, data were collected from two middle schools and three high schools from a total of 397 students in grades 6, …

Social And Psychological Factors Related To The Career Exploration Process Of Young Adults, Joanne N. Hellmann

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

This study examined social and psychological factors influencing the career exploration process of young adults. The predictor variables of this study were parental attachment, peer attachment, and self-efficacy; the outcome variables were environmental/occupational exploration, self-exploration, and career indecision. Data for this study were collected using various measures that were compiled into one survey hosted on Qualtrics. Results indicated that secure maternal attachment predicted secure peer attachment and high self-efficacy in young adults. Greater peer attachment was negatively correlated with environmental exploration. A higher level of self-efficacy was positively correlated with environmental exploration and negatively correlated with career indecision. These results …

The Measurement Of Mood Variation Over Time And Its Relation To Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy In Young Adolescents, William Thomas Pinkston

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Variation in mood states over time and the relationship between mood states and career decision making self-efficacy in young adolescents were investigated using the Profile of Mood States (POMS), the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List - Revised (MAACL-R), the Rotter's IE locus of control test, and the Career Planning Confidence Scale (CPCS). These tests were administered twice a week for six weeks. A correlational analysis was performed. The results showed a higher correlation between mood state measures as the subjects' moods varied over time than between either mood measure and locus of control which did not covary with either of …