Sociology Commons^™

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

Stigma In Class: Mental Illness, Social Status, And Tokenism In Elite College Culture, Katie R. Billings

Masters Theses

The majority of mental illness on college campuses remains untreated, and mental illness stigma is the most cited explanation for not seeking mental health treatment. Working-class college students are not only at greater risk of mental illness, but also are less likely to seek mental health treatment and hold more stigmatized views toward people with mental illness compared to affluent college students. Research on college culture suggests that elite college contexts may be associated with greater stigmatization of mental illness. This study bridges the social status and college culture literatures by asking—does social status and college context together predict students’ …

Race, Identity, And Communication: Experiences Of College Students From Underrepresented Groups, Raya D. Petty

Masters Theses

There is a significant difference of the completion of college between minority students and white students. The achievement gap is influenced by race and socioeconomic status of the students. The purpose of my study was to examine the relationship between academic performance and achievement and sociocultural factors including race and socioeconomic status. My thesis will affirm previous research that recognizes a need for resources specifically dedicated to assist marginalized groups in higher education. It will bring attention to minority students, first-generation college students and students with a low socioeconomic status. The project includes a literature review that explores identity, intersectionality, …

A Photo Illicit Study Of Black Women's Sense Of Belonging At A Predominately White Institution, Kayla Alexandria Slusher

Masters Theses

This qualitative study sought to examine how Black women define and create their sense of belonging while attending a predominately White institution using a photovoice approach. The women took photographs of spaces that they frequently occupy and then engaged in a face-to-face interview to discuss the photographs. The researcher also investigated four Black women, ranging from junior to graduate level, to identify how they developed a sense of belonging at the research site institution. Results of the study showed that a feeling of comfort was most important when identifying belongingness in a space. The participants were able to create a …

Moderating Effects Of Social Support On The Association Between Teacher-Directed Violence And Stress, Christina Bounds

Masters Theses

Violence found in a school setting directed toward teachers, or teacher-directed violence, is considerably understudied, particularly in the United States, with only a handful of studies having been conducted (Espelage et al., 2013; Bounds & Jenkins, 2016). There is limited information about teacher-directed violence in regard to frequency, type, and who is impacted most. In order for policy to be created, researchers need to understand who is being affected and what type of violence teachers experience (Espelage et al., 2013). Additionally, there has been no research in the United States examining how teachers cope with teacher-directed violence. Little is known …

Academic Choices Matter For Collegiate Student-Athletes, Kendra Arielle Berry

Masters Theses

As college athletics has grown during the last two decades, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing institution of college athletics in the United States, has renewed its focus on academic reform and the academic performance of student-athletes (Petr & McArdle, 2012). Athletic administrators and academic support units have started to exert a greater amount of control over student-athletes’ academic lives. However, research with general samples of college students has suggested that having some degree of autonomy is important for academic performance. This raises questions about whether increased control (and reduced autonomy) is actually in the best interest of …

Parents' Gender Ideology And Gendered Behavior As Predictors Of Children's Gender-Role Attitudes: A Longitudinal Exploration, Hillary Paul Halpern

Masters Theses

This longitudinal study examined the association between parents’ early and concurrent gender ideology and gendered behaviors and their children’s gender-role attitudes at age six. Specifically, parents' global beliefs about women's and men's "rightful" roles in society, as well as their work preferences for mothers, were considered in relation to the gender-role attitudes held by their first-graders. In addition, parents’ gendered behaviors, including their division of household and childcare tasks, division of paid work hours, and job traditionality were examined as predictors of children’s gender-role attitudes. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized parents’ early and concurrent behavior and ideology would …

Using Audio/Visual Media To Increase The Sociological Imagination Of An Adolescent Audience, Jon Cariba Phoenix

Masters Theses

Adolescence is a time of drastically increased sociological inequality. This thesis explores the possibility of using an educational sociology television show as a means to increase teen empowerment by developing their sociological imagination. After reviewing the causes of increased inequality during adolescence, I probe the link between sociology and empowerment by critiquing Mills’ conception of the sociological imagination. After finding his formulation incomplete, I use Bandura’s social cognitive theory to fill the gaps in the original framework and derive a new expanded sociological imagination focused on increasing efficacy. Efficacy is the social science construct most closely related to empowerment, and …

Executive Functions And Social Interactions: Developing Social Scenarios, Mackenzie Waite

Masters Theses

The aim of this study was to develop a series of vignettes to form the basis for an assessment of executive functions (EFs) for 9 – 12 year old children. Although EFs are necessary for effective social communication and positive social interactions, currently, most EF assessments focus on impersonal activities. Little research exists that incorporates real-time processing using ecologically valid social scenarios. The current study aims to develop realistic scenarios that children could encounter in daily life. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with six participants, who worked in a school with 9-12 year old children, to gain their perspective on social …

Too Little, Too Late: The Current Generation Of College Women And Sexual Health Education, Nicole C. Schumaker

Masters Theses

This research was conceived when I acknowledged the ways in which women of my generation have been educated about their bodies and about their sexuality. In a review of the literature on adolescent female sexuality, there is substantial evidence to suggest that in regards to early female sex education, adolescent sexuality is linked with danger, victimization, and passivity. Accordingly, it is asserted that these understandings of female sexuality disallow young girls to see themselves as initiators and decision-makers thus compromising their development of sexual subjectivity and responsibility in adulthood.

Data for this project were collected through ten semi-structured interviews with …

Flying Universities: Educational Movements In Poland 1882-1905 And 1977-1981, A Socio-Historical Analysis, Gregory A. Lukasik

Masters Theses

In Poland in 1977, a group of intellectuals formed an independent educational enterprise under the name "Flying University." Interestingly, the original "Flying University" was organized by a group of radical professors nearly a century earlier, at a time when the Polish state disappeared from the political map of Europe. I was interested in seeing whether the two were the same, as their common name would suggest, or if they differed in any respect. I attempted to answer this question by focusing on the so-called universities' memberships, ideologies, and objectives.

I have followed the method of interpretive historical sociology (Skocpol, 1979) …

The Education And Cultural Adaptation: Experiences Of Japanese Children In Foreign Cultures, Akiko Namiki

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the experiences of Japanese children and adolescents who reside in the United States as a consequence of their parents' jobs and examines how they adapted to a local society and how their cultural identities were affected by living in the United States before establishing stable identities. This study was completed by relating existing literature to interviews with a sample of Japanese children and adolescents, their mothers, and their teachers who reside in a Midwestern urban areas.

Experiences of the Japanese children and adolescents were examined in terms of their English language skills, Japanese language skills, family lives, …

Students Talking About Relationships (Star): An Evaluation Of A Sexual Assault Peer Education Program, Angela R. Evans

Masters Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of Students Talking About Relationships (STAR), a sexual assault peer education program at Western Michigan University. Research has shown sexual assault to be a significant problem on college campuses around the country. In response to this research, many universities have instituted sexual assault programming. Unfortunately, the evaluation of these programs has not been as prevalent as their use. This study was proposed to help fill this gap.

This research used a quasi-experimental design in which students were pretested, exposed to the sexual assault program, and post-tested afterwards. Surveys were compared to evaluate whether there were …

Attitudes Of College Students Toward Affirmative Action Policies For Women And Minorities, John Porter Lee

Masters Theses

This study used two contrasting theoretical perspectives in an assessment of college students' attitudes toward affirmative action policies for women and minorities. One perspective was Wellman's (1977) Interest Theory of Discrimination and the other one was based on the Minority Identity Development Model constructed by Atkinson, Morten and Sue ( 198 9) . Survey methods were utilized to gather data from 479 undergraduate students enrolled in a midwestern university. Following the development model, it was argued that white female students and black students (both males and females) would have favorable attitudes toward affirmative action policies because of their minority status. …

Understanding Needs And Concerns Of Black Students In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Thomas M. Caulfield

Masters Theses

The problem of this study was to increase the general publics' awareness of the difficulties Black Americans faced in pursuit of higher education.

The procedure was a twofold process. First, the writer reviewed some of the pre-college variables that affected the Black student. Second, the needs and concerns of the Black student at a predominantly White University were studied by the use of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to three groups on the Eastern Illinois University Campus. The first group was comprised of twenty-five Black students that were currently enrolled in the University. The second group was twenty Black …

A Comparison Of The Relationship Between Self-Concept Of Intellectual Ability And Self-Esteem In Nigeria, Julius Andera Ate

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of School Achievement Among Elementary School Students With Working And Nonworking Mothers, Chi-Hung Hsieh

Masters Theses

Statement of Problem

Most parents face the question of whether the wife should seek employment outside the home during the years that their children are attending elementary school. Many families have no choice since the costs of daily living make it necessary to pursue a double income. A large portion of parents do, however, have a choice as to whether the mother should go to work. In many homes the second income goes toward obtaining some of the "extra-things" not normally available due to financial limitations.

Mothers who work outside of the home will have less time to stay home …

Interaction With Americans And Length Of Stay Related To The Unfavorable Attitudes Of Saudi Students Toward The Traditional Family Ideology, Ibrahim Obeidy

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Black Attitudes Towards Social Affiliation With Whites And Its Influence On Academic Achievement, Alvin Finderson

Masters Theses

If blacks are to compete successfully in white academia, they must be able to communicate and interact with white students and professors. Acceptance of middle-class white students with an academic achievement orientation, as friends and equals, should enable or assist blacks in developing positive attitudes toward academic achievement. This in turn should positively affect scholastic performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between black attitudes toward social affiliation with whites and successful academic performance on integrated campuses.

This hypothesis was tested by measuring the association between black self-reported grade point averages and their responses to an …

Desegregation For Orville Spencer School And One Year's Program Toward An Integrated School And Community, Lorraine S. Peterson

Masters Theses

During the school year 1976-77, Decatur School District #61 completed the desegregation of the schools so that they were in compliance with the plans drawn up for the State of Illinois under direction of the State Board of Education and State Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Cronin. This paper is an account of the programs instigated and carried out during the second year the Decatur plan was in operation in Orville Spencer School, Decatur, Illinois.

Orville Spencer School is situated in the northeast section of the city of Decatur. The population here is mainly blue-collar workers and low income families. …

An Internal Public Relations Plan For Neoga Community Unit #3'S Title 1 Project, Marilyn Gilmer Rennels

Masters Theses

No abstract provided by author.

Influence Of Business Faculty Upon Students’ Attitudes: A Partial Replication Of Edgar Schein’S Study Of Attitude Change During Management Education, Robert Eugene Ashenhurst

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Follow-Up Study Of Senior High School Graduates Of The Navajo Methodist Mission School, Farmington, New Mexico, Dolores Marie Conyers

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Latent Conflict In The Classroom, Joel H. Henderson

Masters Theses

The Problem

The Study of Conflict

The purpose of this study is to examine social conflict. More specifically, latent conflict in the classroom will be the focus of this study. Three classes of variables will be discussed: 1. teacher characteristics, 2. student characteristics, and 3. contextual variables. These variables will be examined as to their ability to explain variation in latent conflict in the classroom.

The following discussion will focus on conflict in education as a "social problem." Previous literature will be examined as to the theoretical and empirical importance of the concept of conflict in social research and a …

Selecting Teachers As Role Models: Differences Between White And Black Students, Bradley Everton Niles

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Utility Of Social Psychological Variables As Predictors Of Educational Aspirations, Robert W. Bilby

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Alienation In Students As A Function Of Systems Variables: The Effect Of Different Teacher Organizations And School Structures, Theophilus Olatunde Odetola

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Forecasting Classroom Adjustment: The Utility Of Standard Language Fluency, Anne Despres

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Effect Of School Socio-Economic Composition On Student Achievement, Ruth Van Kampen

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Prediction Of High School Dropouts, Clifford E. Bryan

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.