Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Queer-Positive Institution And Its Creation Of Gender-Competency In Social Workers : A Project Based On The Exploration Of Smith College School For Social Work Alumni, Haley M. Burton

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This quantitative study explored the inclusion of transgender specific curriculum provided at the Masters level at Smith College School for Social Work and the degree of competency and level of preparedness it provided graduates of the program. The chosen alumni population was reached through the alumni email network. This study utilized a curriculum survey created by previous researchers, as well as a transphobia scale to perform an attitudinal assessment. It was hypothesized that those who indicated receiving more education on issues specific to the transgender population would feel more competent and more prepared. An additional hypothesis was that those who …

An Analysis Of The Legal Obstacles To State Pension Reform, Jeremy Stuart Buck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public pension systems are underfunded, straining state budgets. Historically, many states have presumed that they can modify pension benefits only as to newly-hired employees, and that they must leave benefit accruals untouched for current workers. More recently, though, states have begun enacting more fundamental pension reform that modifies future accruals or even reduces cost-of-living allowances for retirees. Nearly all such new reforms have been the subject of one or more lawsuits alleging that the federal and/or state constitution bars the legislature from reducing benefits or accrual patterns. This dissertation examines the legal underpinnings for arguments made against pension reform, and …

The Relationship Of Peer Acceptance, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, And Appearance Among Preschoolers, Kora Klaire Stuffelbeam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine preschool children's acceptance of peers. The term peer acceptance is defined as "the degree a child is Socially accepted or rejected by his or her peer group." Johnson et al. (2002) found children between the ages of three and five were able to develop friendships and Social skills that would impact their acceptance among peers. The study determined if children based their choice of peers according to a child's age, gender, ethnicity, appearance, and/or Social skills. The subjects of this study were 31 children whose ages were three-, four-, and five-years-old who …

Preparedness To Implement Wellness Strategies: Perceptions Of School Counselors, Tena Burnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to survey school counselors to determine their knowledge and perceived preparedness to implement wellness strategies in school counseling programs. Wellness plans are a requirement for thousands of public school districts in the United States. There are no established standards for the training of school counselors in the area of wellness. School counselors are in a unique position to positively impact students through the use of wellness programs and strategies. School counselors from a mid-south state (N = 156) completed an electronic survey to measure how they implement wellness strategies and their perceived preparedness in …

Family Policies And Institutional Satisfaction: An Intersectional Analysis Of Tenure-Track Faculty, Heather Lee Schneller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gender and faculty career advancement have been examined with a focus on academic work environment, including faculty workloads, mentoring relationships, access to research networks, and work-life balance. Previous studies concerned with gender, employment, and care work only have considered child care. Additionally, the exploration of faculty and care work focused specifically on gender instead of examining the interaction of race and gender. To date, no study on academic work-life policies includes faculty perceptions of their importance and effectiveness nor has the faculty assessment of eldercare policy been examined in relation to career success.

Guided by an intersectional perspective, this study …

An Ethnographic Case Study Of A Deaf Workforce Collective, Peter Shane Butler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic study seeks to increase our understanding of the individual and shared experiences of five members of a Deaf United States Postal Service (USPS) collective employment cohort in regards to their early learning experiences, how these experiences led to collective employment, and how the collective employment opportunity led them to establish a new Strong Deaf Community in Houston. The data collected through semi structured interviews will be used to increase our understanding about how Strong Deaf Communities form, and what purpose they serve for grassroots members.

This study also seeks to shed light on why it is critical for …

The Lived Experience Of The Parents Of High School Dropouts: A Phenomenological Study, Christine Ann Silano

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences and perceptions of parents whose children did not receive a high school diploma. This subpopulation has been rarely studied. The central question is, "What are the perceptions and experiences of the parents of public high school dropouts as they pertain to schools, their children, and themselves?"

This phenomenological study examined the lived experience of the parents of high school dropouts. Five women and one man participated in the study by sitting for interviews. The collected interview data was transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methodology including open and axial coding as …

Trait Differences In Gender In Technology Use And Study Habits Of Rural Community College Students, Phillip Marc Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to explore the trait differences by gender of the study habits and technology use patterns of rural community college students. Significant research and data presently exists at the university level specific to study habits and technology use, but little research had been conducted targeting those topics in a rural community college setting.

The following questions guided the research:

1. What were the study habits of rural community college students?

2. How did rural community college students use technology?

3. Were there significant differences, by gender, in the study habits of rural community college …

Pre- And Post- Wage Differences Of Trade Adjustment Assistance Job Training Participants In Arkansas, Kimberley Hall Gordon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A number of costs are associated with the implementation of trade agreements not the least of which is the cost to the American workforce. The information age ushered in an era of globalization unlike anything the world economy had experienced before. As countries raced forward to dominate emerging markets and grow market share, millions of American workers were left in the wake. A remedy to the plight of the dislocated worker was found in trade adjustment assistance, specifically in job training benefits.

This study examined the wage differences experienced by Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) job training participants served through the …

What Is The Participant Learning Experience Like Using Youtube To Study A Foreign Language?, Yuan-Hsiang Lo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research is to explore and understand participants' experience using YouTube to learn a foreign language. YouTube and learning has become more and more popular in the recent years. The finding of this research will be adding more understanding to the emerging body of knowledge of YouTube phenomenon. In this research, there are three interviews and two questionnaires. The interviews are conducted to find in-depth responses from participants; the questionnaires are used to inquire demographic and basic information about the participants. There are twelve themes found in this research. These themes reflect on the perceived experience using YouTube to learn …

Can You Hear Us Now? Investigating The Effects Of A Wireless Grid Social Radio Station On Collaboration And Communication In Fragile Populations, Sarah Anna Chauncey

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

The ability to interact with peers and coworkers in online digital networks is essential in learning and business environments. Our digital participatory culture is based on communication in response to purposeful activity and is facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICT). Students with emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities are often disengaged and excluded from this knowledge-building conversation. This disengagement results in a cycle of failure exhibited through diminished self-efficacy and inadequate academic and emotional self-regulation. A critical goal of those who work with these students is to bolster their resilience, persistence, participatory, and communicative skills--to invite them back into the …

Predicting College Success: An Analysis Of Graduating Students At The University Of Texas-Pan American, Esther G. Herrera

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Using inferential statistics, this thesis examines whether college experiences, pre-college experiences, and the institutional factors affect college success at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas. Secondary data were used from the Graduating Student Survey administered by the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at the University of Texas-Pan American for the years 2008-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011. The findings indicate that college experiences do have an effect on college success (significant at .05 p-value); job after graduation serves as a better predictor of college success than competency; institutional factors also have a significant effect on college success, especially in …

School Type And Student Achievement: Does School Type Affect Student Achievement In Hidalgo County, Texas?, Krystal Estarei Garcia

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

This study concentrates on identifying whether school type affects student achievement. Throughout this thesis, school type is the independent variable and student achievement is the dependent variable. School type was measured according to whether the school was classified as either a public school or charter school. In addition, school type was further defined according to the following variables: total academic and administrative staff, number of principals, number of assistant principals, school size, number of teachers, student teacher ratio, and student type. School expenditures, time, and method of teacher certification are the control variables. For the purpose of this thesis, student …

A Case Study Using Principal-Agent Theory To Explore How A Public, Four Year University Interacts With A System Office, Annie Macias

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The focus of this research was to examine the funding relationship between a single public institution of higher education and its accompanying system office. Such a study is important in order to obtain insight into the relationship between a System Office and an institution, and thus how institutions carry out their fiscal responsibilities, not directly to the state but to the System Office they serve. The study provides insight into how the System Office communicates and transacts with an institution regarding financial allocations. Also important is whether that institution receives effective communication and whether the institution's perceived expectations are as …

Desire And Opportunity To Marry Among Black South African Women, Colleen Rebecca Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how demographic and attitudinal variables are associated with Black South African women's desire to marry. Data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey are used to measure the impact of age, education, living standard, religiosity, urbanicity, cohabitation, and attitudes towards woman's careers, the acceptability of cohabitation, gender roles, unwed childbearing, and the financial and emotional security marriage provides on the desire to marry. Analyses indicate the following are associated with the desire to marry among Black South African women: age, cohabitation, attitudes towards cohabitation, and attitudes towards the financial and emotional security marriage provides. Secondly, data from …

The Impact Of Water On Girls' Formal Education: A Study Of Kenyan Secondary Schools, Jennifer Emick

Master's Theses

This study applies a human rights lens to view how the lack of access to potable water in Kenya’s rural areas impacts girls’ education. This research is intended to serve as a baseline for iteration and expansion, with the long-term goal of developing a greater understanding of the ways in which water development projects and the smarter provision of basic resources can be used as strategies for achieving gender equality in both education and civic participation.

The Prevalence And Correlates Of Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Satisfaction, And Burnout Among Teachers Working In High-Poverty Urban Public Schools, Shannon Abraham-Cook

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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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 …

Mobilizing Alumni Constituents For Legislative Advocacy In Higher Education, Elizabeth Saxman Underwood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Adequate funding has become a critical issue for institutions of higher education, affecting outcomes such as accessibility, affordability, and quality of education. The recent economic recession has been detrimental for state funding, resulting in budget cuts for higher education in a majority of states. Overall, state funding has not kept pace with the rising costs of education. Additionally, the issues of state governance and institutional autonomy have also become heightened. Thus, many higher education institutions are initiating advocacy programs with their external constitutions. Because alumni are integral group of an institution's constituent base, and often exhibit the most passion for …

The Neglected Minority: Interviews With Successful Community College Students From Poverty, Heather Hollifield-Hoyle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is middle- and upper- income students. Low-income students are less likely than their more affluent peers to enroll in college or graduate. Employing qualitative narrative methods, this dissertation explores the factors that contributed to the persistence and success of 18, low-income, community college students. This study addresses …

Remembering Arkansas Debate: The Use Of Collective Memory In Analyzing The Role Of Intercollegiate Debate At The University Of Arkansas, Barry John Regan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As one of the most successful organizations on campus for nearly a century, the University of Arkansas debate team created many memories and stories from their time in competition. According to the framework of collective memory, the production and dissemination of these stories is what connects the past, present, and future of a debate team together.

I first reconstruct the history of debate at universities, beginning with development of debate at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford. I then detail the history of debate and argumentation at American universities, including the first intercollegiate debate in 1881. I then …

Cyberbullying Policy In Public Schools, Alison Humphries

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many schools and school districts have had direct experience with the negative psychological effects of cyberbullying in their schools, ranging from high profile suicides to lower profile incidents that affect the ability of students to receive an education. Federal, state, and local regulations, as well as mandates from state educational agencies, require schools and school districts to address cyberbullying. Experts advocate that schools play a major role in addressing cyberbullying with anti-bullying policies in general and anti-cyberbullying policies in particular. This study presents case study portraits of two exemplary school districts, with a comparison to similar school districts, suggesting that …

Ask What Your Country Can Do For You: Social Spending And Satisfaction With Democracy In Latin America, Kenneth Retzl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Past research on social policy in Latin America has primarily focused on how each countries' policies were formed, the institutional framework that bred the policies, or the economic constraints that necessitated certain reforms. Little work has been done to examine the effects those policies have had on the populace. This thesis attempts to determine if there is a relationship between social spending and satisfaction with democracy. The research takes two forms. First I present case studies of Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The second is an ordered logit hierarchical linear model utilizing survey responses from the 2005 Latinobarometer survey. In total …

Angry Youth: Patriotic Education And The New Chinese Nationalism, Rachel Gary

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Analysis Of High School Students' Experiences In The Latinos In Action Program, Johann Paul Simonds

Theses and Dissertations

This research was a qualitative program evaluation of students' perceptions of Latinos in Action (LIA), a peer-mentoring program that seeks to improve high school Latino graduation rates and college admittance. The study was conducted with college students who participated in the program in high school. LIA graduates were interviewed to determine what major factors influenced and supported them in their academic decisions. Additional data included an interview with the program director, results from the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), and a video of one of the interviewees. The researcher explored students' experiences in the LIA program with the …

"We've Got Something More To Prove Here": Racial-Ethnic And Social Class Identities And The Challenges Facing Latina/O College Students, Gretchen Marin

Master's Theses

Latinas/os are one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States. In fact, the United States Census Bureau projects that by the year 2050, the numbers of Hispanics will more than double, increasing from the current figure of 50.5 million to 102.6 million. Despite such rapid population growth, the numbers of Latinas/os with at least a Bachelor’s degree remain low. In this study, I explore the intersection of racial-ethnic and social class identities in relation to academic identities. Specifically, I examine the challenges facing Latina/o college students of various socioeconomic backgrounds as they negotiate a predominantly White, middle-class …

A Critical Examination Of The Construct Validity Of The Tti Performance DnaTm Survey For The Purpose Of Differentiating The Entrepreneurially-Minded Engineer, Sandra L. Dietrich

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The United States needs workers with more than technical skills to meet the demands of global competition; more specifically, a new breed of engineer is necessary, one who possesses leadership skills and business acumen in addition to the technical engineering skills. One Midwestern foundation has recognized this challenge and is working with engineering universities to enhance programs to create entrepreneurially-minded engineers (EMEs). To this end, the Target Training International, Ltd. (TTI) Performance DNATM survey has been developed to measure the behaviors, values, and professional skills of these EMEs. Currently, the Foundation has collected data using this survey with engineering students …

What Types Of After-School Programs Benefit Lep Students?, Patricia Grace Gaither

Theses and Dissertations

With the increase in federal funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) after-school program, more intricate evaluations are needed to assess the needs and successes of the programs. And with many programs targeting students of minority and limited-English proficiency (LEP) status, additional analyses should focus on these targeted populations. This study examines a regional 21st CCLC program with math and English standardized test scores (CRT scores) for students prior to participation and after two years of participation. These test scores were used to create a score change variable, which provides a unique approach to assessing after-school programs. …

Using Brain Research To Aid Reading Comprehension, Mia Alyssa Claretto

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

"Does it matter to learning if we pay attention? ...You bet it does" (Medina, 2007, p. 74). Studies John Medina, Richard Mayer, and numerous others prove the more attention the brain gives to a certain stimulus results in better retention of the information due to the fact that the information is more elaborately encoded. The more attention grabbing something is, the more emotion that is involved, means the better that information is remembered. As a future teacher, this detail has many implications for me. If I want students who are learning, then I need to design lessons that invite the …

Students’ Writing Self-Efficacy, Motivation, And Experience: Predictors In Journalism Education, Matthew Bryan Broaddus

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of journalism has gone through several years of turmoil as new technology, platforms, and economic hardships have swept away traditional journalistic practices and models. Print media continues to hemorrhage jobs and money while media outlets adjust to technology-enhanced reporting. College journalism majors often face changing curriculum and graduate feeling unprepared to be competitive in the journalistic job market. While many things have changed in the field, one pillar of journalism that has not changed is the need for journalists to possess an excellent writing ability, supplemented with the ability to think analytically. The connection between students’ ability to …