Educational Psychology Commons^™

Learning Through Play At School Ukraine: Final Research Report (Ukrainian Version), Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna

Student learning processes

The Learning Through Play (LTP) at School Research Study Ukraine was a four-year intervention study funded by the LEGO Foundation and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Ukrainian Educational Research Association (UERA). The intervention was a two-year professional learning program that blended online, and face-to-face learning called the Teacher Innovative Play Program (TIPP). The TIPP was designed based on documented evidence that reports that teachers need opportunities to experiment and reflect to change practice. The study was guided by three research questions which were revised following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces …

From First Gen To Faculty: A Narrative Study Of First-Generation College Students Who Became Community College Faculty, Patrick Nevins

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of first-generation community college faculty through narrative inquiry. Qualitative data were collected through semi-standard interviews with full-time community college faculty who were first-generation college students. In the first level of analysis, narrative accounts were created from the data, and in the second level of analysis, narrative accounts were compared for the identification of codes. Three themes emerged from data analysis: (a) being college bound from school age, (b) facing barriers to academic success as undergraduates, and (c) relating to students as faculty. The implications of the study are that first-generation …

The Constructs Of Teacher Well-Being: A Phenomenological Study, Alicia Nohe-Dirk

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of teachers who embodied a sense of professional well-being while in the workplace. The teachers who participated in this study self-identified as embodying the phenomenon and participated in one semi-structured, recorded interview lasting no longer than one hour, and were asked to respond to two journal prompts. This study answers one primary question and addresses two secondary questions: 1. Primary question: What experiences in the workplace contribute to a teacher’s sense of well-being? 2. Secondary questions: A) What current experience has contributed to your sense of well-being? …

A Consideration Of Racial/Ethnic Diversity Conceptualization And Measurement: Clarifying Ambiguities And Advancing Scholarship, Mei-Ki Chan, Aprile D. Benner

Psychology Faculty Publications

There has been little discussion of racial/ethnic diversity conceptualization and measurement in educational and psychological research. With the surge of research on school diversity and its significant social meaning, the lack of clarity on how diversity is conceptualized and operationalized warrants a systematic review. This article 1) reviews diversity concepts in the literature, 2) describes potential conceptual and methodological concerns, 3) proposes an alternative method to measure two specific types of diversity, and 4) highlights considerations for future research and methodology when studying diversity. More specifically, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the available measures that quantify diversity, mapped …

An Overview Of Research On Acceptance And Commitment Therapy, Michael E. Levin, Jennifer Krafft, Michael P. Twohig

Psychology Faculty Publications

This review summarized recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses on randomized controlled trials evaluating ACT. Although the strength of evidence varies, overall there is plausible evidence for the efficacy of ACT for a wide range of areas including depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, psychosis, substance use disorders, chronic pain, coping with chronic health conditions, obesity, stigma, and stress and burnout. ACT is also efficacious when delivered in digital self-help formats. Emerging evidence indicates the potential efficacy of ACT for children and adolescents and when applied across diverse populations. Reviews of mediation research indicate ACT works through increasing psychological flexibility.

Learning Through Play At School: Ukraine, 2019-2024 (Ukrainian Version), Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna

Student learning processes

The Learning Through Play at School Research Study Ukraine was a four-year longitudinal intervention study funded by the LEGO Foundation and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Ukrainian Educational Research Association (UERA). The study was implemented between 2019 and 2024, during COVID-19 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. Despite, at times, insurmountable challenges, the professional learning intervention was successful in supporting most teachers to progress from a surface level understanding of learning through play to a deep level. In addition, almost all children’s literacy and social-emotional skills grew significantly from start …

Determining Factors For Improved Uptake Of Harm Reduction Services In The United States: A Study Of Inclusive, Culturally Sensitive Messaging, Lauretta Ekanem Omale

Dissertations

Harm reduction refers to public health policies and programs aimed at decreasing the adverse consequences associated with drug use. While harm reduction services (e.g., syringe exchange programs) can mitigate health risks, marginalized groups face barriers to service access and utilization, partially due to ineffective messaging approaches that fail to align with cultural values and experiences. A one-size-fits-all approach to messaging can negatively impact service utilization, health outcomes, and health disparities. Ineffective communication can lead to poor adherence to treatment, poorer health outcomes, and increased adverse events.

Culturally insensitive communication contributes to stigma, mistrust, and lack of perceived relevance, discouraging service …

Identifying Graduate Students’ Instructional Strategies And Approaches Towards Teaching Employable Skills, Elizabeth S. Che

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

College instruction tends to focus on imparting disciplinary knowledge rather than employable broad-based skills emphasized by undergraduate guidelines. The lack of emphasis on broad-skill development may leave many undergraduate students unprepared for the workforce. Graduate students who are future professoriate, are teaching undergraduate courses with various attitudes and strategies. This dissertation comprises three published studies that used data from two surveys identifying graduate students’ instructional strategies and approaches to teaching employable skills in their courses.

The first study asked whether graduate students teaching undergraduate courses (N = 114; 70.2% women, M age = 30 years) aim to teach employable …

Adaptations And Transformations: Perceptions Of Change In Academic Motivation, Resilience, And Covid-19 Stress, Ella V. Gregorio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Of concern to educators, post-COVID-19 assessments have revealed significant achievement gaps in student performance, as well as significant decreases in adolescent mental health. Less is known about changes in achievement motivation. Here we ask how students perceive their own motivation and whether it changed between “before” the pandemic to the present (Fall 2022 - Spring 2023), about three years after the beginning of the pandemic when many school routines were returning to “normal.” To understand how variance in these perceived changes might be related to pandemic-related stressors, trait resilience, and current mental health, we conducted a large survey study (N …

In My Softest & Most Liberatory Dreams: Reflections On Holding Complexity & Decentering Whiteness, Richard C. Clark

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the world contends with a global pandemic, climate catastrophes, white supremacy, coloniality, and concurrent genocides my attention splinters. In an act of futurity, or future making, I ask myself: What is needed to move from this place toward softer, more liberatory futures? This body of work finds its answer in exploring two interrelated concepts: Decentering Whiteness and Holding Complexity. Decentering Whiteness is the process of working toward a future where all the personal, spiritual, educational, epistemological, social, structural, psychological, financial, and systemic ties to white supremacy are unraveled. Holding Complexity weaves together knowledges of care, accountability, intersectionality, and …

Me And Mathematics: “Doing What You’Re Talking About”: In Dialogue With My Family, Eden Morris

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper is a philosophically oriented accompaniment to my audio project (accessible through the following link: https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/me-and-mathematics). Working together, the paper and audio collages form a call to action and a resource. My primary finding is the importance of doing what you’re talking about or exploring and implementing your ideas experientially. Doing what you’re talking about is important for effective teaching/learning and feeling in line with oneself. This working concept came to my attention during my research conversation with my oldest living relative, and then, again, with my youngest (non-baby) relative. This doing what you’re talking about is a way …

What Exactly Does Identity Have To Do With Teaching? Exploring The Connection Between A Teacher's Racialized Identity And Their Teacher Identity, Lizette Aguilar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study explores the relationship between race and teacher identity, specifically understanding how the two concepts intersect and (re)present themselves within the classroom environment. This study analyzes six teachers’ narratives of identity, race, and teaching to explore themes of race and identity as they traverse from their earliest experiences with race into their experiences as teachers. Findings conclude that, first, teachers’ narrative identities are a composite of key narratives—important moments of deep impact in the process of identity building—that accumulate over time to form what Dan McAdams (1993) calls personal myths. Since key narratives are continually shaping one’s personal myth, …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of And Preference For Feedback During The Good Behavior Game In Elementary Classes, Jensen Chotto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is an effective procedure for reducing disruptive classroom behavior. In this study, students in 3 fifth grade classes selected the rules of the GBG and then experienced the GBG with different forms of feedback delivery for rule violations (vocal and visual, vocal only, visual only, no feedback) on disruptive classroom behavior in a multielement design. All versions of the GBG substantially reduced disruptive behavior below baseline levels. Additionally, in 1 of 3 classes, losing the GBG produced an increase in negative peer interactions immediately following the GBG. Subsequently, students selected which condition they previously experienced …

Teachers' Experience Serving Students With Emotional And Behavioral Disorders In Distance Learning, Mireya Escalante Torres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the COVID-19 pandemic, stay-at-home orders forced millions of students attending schools in the United States to shift to distance learning. As pandemic restrictions lifted and schools reopened, an emerging trend was observed: many parents of children with disabilities chose to continue distance learning. This decision gains significance in the context of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) who are at a higher risk of disengagement from school. Educators need to understand how to address social, emotional, and behavioral needs within online learning frameworks. However, increasing engagement for students with EBDs in distance learning has not been well-researched. Drawing …

Mitigating Burnout In Primary School Teachers Since The Covid-19 Pandemic, Janine Celeste Adrian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although teacher burnout has been experienced for decades, teachers faced additional stressors with the onset of COVID-19. Teachers faced newfound stressors due to lockdowns and restrictions on gathering face-to-face and instruction becoming virtual. Even the youngest students (kindergarten to fifth grade) had to be taught according to the virtual learning mandates. As a result, primary school teachers began to experience burnout differently. The purpose of this study was to explore the support primary school teachers needed to help mitigate the burnout they experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored what interpersonal, intrapersonal, or educational support helps mitigate burnout …

Teacher Beliefs And Experiences Addressing Healthy Racial And Ethnic Identity Instructionally Through Social Emotional Learning, Juliana Gutierrez

Theses and Dissertations

Children and youth develop within an ecological context that includes family, peers, and broader social environments including school. Children’s understanding of their ethnic or racial group and the meaning they attribute to belonging in that group is also shaped by interactions in their school environment. Most research on school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs has focused on student behavioral and academic outcomes. However, as SEL spreads across U.S. K-12 schools, questions have emerged surrounding how children from diverse racial and cultural groups and unequal opportunity can benefit from universal SEL programs. Using a mixed-methods design, this study explores teachers’ understanding and …

Communication Characteristics Between Secondary Special And General Education Teachers On Implementation Of Individualized Education Plans, Rylee Daniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As more students consistently access the general education classroom as their least restrictive environment (LRE), the responsibility of Individual Education Plan implementation (IEP) is up to the general and special education teachers. Previous studies indicated that communication characteristics between general and special education teachers lead to miscommunication and inadequate IEP implementation in inclusion classrooms. Systems and ecological theory identified barriers between communication systems. Secondary general and special education teachers described the communication characteristics that lead to inadequate IEP implementation in inclusion classrooms. A basic qualitative research design provided in-depth descriptions of communication characteristics from 31 participants. The study's purpose was …

Understanding The Experience Of Bullying Of Students With Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study, Miriam Patricia Brenda Crinion

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of the dissertation study was to increase understanding of the social experiences of students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are at increased risk of being involved in the bullying dynamic and experiencing greater social difficulties relative to their typically developing peers. Consequently, students with disabilities are more likely to report adverse mental health outcomes due to bullying involvement. The current literature suggests the effectiveness of traditional bullying intervention programming for students with disabilities is limited. Students with disabilities may also perceive traditional coping strategies to be inadequate and may have their own unique coping strategies to help them …

Experiences Affecting Military Children's Performance In School: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology, Christopher Lee Pruitt Casely

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand how attachment and loss associated with deployment affect children’s academic performance at Joint Base Lewis McChord. More specifically, the research was centered around a child's attachment to their parent and whether deployment affects that attachment or their academic success. The theory guiding this study was John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth's attachment theory, as it provided a unique framework to examine how the child is affected by the deployment of their parents. The foundational question that drove this study was: What are the experiences of military families, specifically their children’s academic …

Moral Injury In Active Service And Veteran Female Military Combatants, William Curtis Neal

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A topic of concern and discussion in the mental health community, and maybe a special concern from both governmental and civilian practitioners, is the subject of moral injury. Moral Injury has been widely researched over the last 10 years and is a known and discussed condition that is linked to military personnel and veterans who have experienced events while deployed or operating in adverse conditions such as combat. The following descriptive study focuses on one group from which they have been excluded or overlooked in past studies. This creates a gap in the published literature: female servicewomen and veterans. Both …