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Does Appearance Matter? The Relationship Of Perceived Body Size And Physical Appearance On Students' Attraction To Physical Activity At Recess, Danielle Belcher

Master's Theses

Drastic declines in recess physical activity (PA) have been observed within recent years (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2017). Due to recess’ discretionary nature, psychosocial variables associated with PA are predictors of students’ PA levels. Recess is also a time of heightened bullying occurrences (Vaillancourt et al., 2010). Appearance-based bullying is the most common type of victimization that occurs in schools, transpiring more often in children with larger body max indexes (BMI), and possibly altering students’ physical self-perceptions. Physical self-perceptions have been shown to impact PA motivation, however, it is still unknown the extent to which appearance-based bullying, body size, …

Impostor Phenomenon, Perfectionism, Psychological Distress, And Burnout In Pre-Health Undergraduate Students, Victoria Lee

Honors Theses

Preparing for a career in the healthcare field is incredibly strenuous and demanding, and previous research endeavors have demonstrated that students in professional healthcare programs show an increased susceptibility to impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, psychological distress, and burnout. Previous studies have indicated a possible link between impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, psychological distress, and burnout; however, these studies only considered two or three constructs at a time in graduate students (Rosenthal, et al., 2021; Seong, et al., 2020; Garratt-Reed, et al., 2018). The current study’s purpose was to investigate the whether or not impostor phenomenon, perfectionism, and psychological distress could be potential predictors …

Investigating Pre-Health Students’ Science Identity And The Factors That Influence Them To Change Programs Or Tracks., Taylor Humphreys

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

Retention is a particularly pressing issue for undergraduate students, specifically those in pre-health programs or tracks. This can be affected by a students’ science identity, which is referred to as viewing oneself as a “science person.” This study focused on investigating science identity and influencing factors that can cause program or track change of pre-health students. Previous studies have investigated these factors regarding pre-health students applying to medical school, but this study opened the investigation to a variety of pre-health students and focused on characterizing students’ experiences prior to their health professional school applications. The analysis of peer-led focus group …

Exploring Diversity In Genetic Counseling: Experiences And Perspectives Of Bipoc Faculty And Leadership, Dessiah Phillips

Human Genetics Theses

The underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities within faculty and leadership roles in genetic counseling programs highlights a critical gap in the field's commitment to diversity and inclusion. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study investigates the experiences, challenges, and perspectives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) serving in these capacities. By examining responses from the faculty and leadership members across various genetic counseling programs, this research aimed to identify barriers to diversity and explore mechanisms for fostering a more inclusive environment. The findings revealed an underrepresented number of BIPOC individuals (n≤3) in leadership or faculty roles per genetic counseling …

Community Benefits Awareness Presentations, Marlene Ramirez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Socioeconomic disadvantage significantly impacts educational outcomes, with 81% of Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) Alternative Education program students facing economic hardships. Serving youth in grades 9-12 and adults in Monterey County, including those within the county jail and juvenile facilities, the MCOE Alternative Education program strives to facilitate high school diploma attainment. This project sought to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding the Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKs benefit programs through presentations shared within the MCOE community and partner agencies. A partnership between MCOE and the Monterey County Department of Social Services (MCDSS) was established to further this goal. The anticipated …

Family Engagement: Identifying And Meeting Family Needs, Clara Beas

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Family engagement in early education is insufficient. The Early Learning Program is an agency which serves low income families by providing early childhood education and a variety of different services like health and dental screenings for children and nutrition and parenting workshops for the parents and family to do together. The project is aimed to evaluate the agency's Family Strengths and Needs assessment tool and provide updates to better serve families by focusing on areas that are lacking. As a result, the assessment language was clarified and the method of delivery improved so that future assessments will gather more accurate …

Educating Nurses On Frequent Oral Care For Mechanically Ventilated Patients: An Evidence-Based Practice Project Proposal, Grace Alford, Susan Butz, Ruth Chavez, Joy Shoemaker

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The final scholarly project proposal is to implement oral care education for nurses in an intensive care unit (ICU). The proposal aims to create a guideline for an investigator to implement oral care recommendations for mechanically ventilated patients in order to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). The proposal consists of obtaining VAP data and oral care charting data for the unit studied, steps for providing oral care education, and analysis recommendations. Oral care involves swabbing the patient’s mouth every two hours with a swab and mouthwash. Oral care education would include handouts and direct teaching. The proposal aims to increase oral …

Proposal: How Does The Total Sugar Intake Impact Cognitive Function In Children 10 Years Of Age?, Andrew O. Laidlaw, Camila Arrieta, Shoshana Yachnes

Department of Nutrition Student Projects

The effects that high sugar intake has on cognitive function is an ongoing topic in research today. Although most studies point to a negative relationship between the variables, the evidence is not conclusive enough to be able to confirm its true effect. While evidence finds an association between high sugar intake and chronic diseases, its impact on cognitive function is yet to be determined. The purpose of this proposed research study is to examine how total sugar intake impacts the cognitive function in children. Fifty children, age 10, will be randomly chosen from schools in South Florida for a cross-sectional …

Reimagining The Onboarding And Mentoring Needs Of California Community College Counseling Faculty: An Ecological Systems Approach Using Narrative Inquiry, Philip Lantz

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Despite California community college counseling faculty having unique roles on their campuses due to their faculty status and their proximity to students, there is a lack of research related to the experiences of counseling faculty and how they can be supported by local and statewide leaders to best meet the needs of the diverse student populations that are currently being served within the California community college system. This qualitative research study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the current onboarding and mentoring experiences of California community college counseling faculty to evaluate both best practices as well as institutional gaps that negatively …

Combating Trauma And The Immigrant Paradox In Schools, Emma Bergman

Honors Projects

Over time, research on immigrant populations has revealed a trend known as the immigrant paradox in which, the further generations get from the generation of immigration, the poorer their outcomes are in areas such as mental health, delinquency, substance abuse, and education. Though a definitive explanation for this trend has yet to be identified, prevailing theories include several social, familial, and community-based factors such as the impacts of bilingualism, parental expectations, biculturalism, co-ethnic peers, quality of schools, and community support. Little attention has been paid to individual factors such as mental health and trauma. The present study proposes the transgenerational …

Speech And Language Errors In An 8-Year-Old Spanish-English Bilingual Speaker: A Case Study, Alaniss Heredia

LSU Master's Theses

Despite the growing population of Spanish-English bilingual speakers with developmental language disorders and speech sound disorders (SSD) in the United States, there is limited research on assessment for this population. Research suggests that the linguistic environment in which the Spanish-English bilingual speakers are brought up should be considered when assessing and treating this population since the Spanish-English bilingual population is diverse. One result of such environments is differences in degrees of language exposure. For example, a child can be exposed to two languages but have more exposure in one than the other. This might lead to better proficiency in one …

The Benefits Of Global Experiences For The Undergraduate Student, Patricia K. Adams

PhD in Education

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to determine the effect global experiences have on undergraduate students’ self-confidence, cultural awareness, and career choice. The research took place at a single research site, a private, faith-based university in the Southeastern United States. Students who had participated in a global experience, such as a mission trip or a study abroad experience, were invited to complete the researcher-created survey, the Global Experience Exit Survey. The data from 59 undergraduate students was analyzed using SPSS, specifically one sample t-tests. The results indicated statistically significant findings for all three subconstructs. The findings show that …

Exploring The Interrelationship Between Anxiety, Academic Apathy, And Avoidance In Community College Students, Katey R. Leverson

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate aspects of mental health and the approaches students take when coping with stress. Specifically, this study sought to understand the interrelationship between anxiety levels, feelings of academic apathy, and the use of avoidance coping strategies. Students from seven public, two-year colleges within a Midwest college and university system served as this study’s sample. Data collection took the form of a non-experimental self-report structure and included the use of three empirically established and valid measures: The Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Bresso’s Academic Burnout Questionnaire, and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). …

Impact Of Reasonable Accommodations On Disabled Student–Veteran Higher Educational Achievement, Michael A. Buoniconti

Doctoral Dissertations

Objectives: The purpose of this study was (a) to investigate the degree to which reasonable accommodations affected the educational achievement (graduation and GPA) of U.S. Student–Veterans with military service–connected disabilities and (b) to categorize the accommodations according to impact (positive, mixed, none, and negative). Research Design: Archival and survey data were used to investigate whether there was a relationship between U.S. Student-Veteran level of military service–connected disability, Student-Veteran utilization of reasonable accommodations support, and Student-Veteran higher educational achievement. Two variables (a) U.S. Student-Veteran military service–connected disability severity rating (both continuous and categorical) and (b) U.S. Student-Veteran utilization of reasonable accommodations …

The Impact Of Institutional Support On African American Male College Students: A Phenomenological Analysis, Samuel Leron Speed

Doctoral Dissertations

This study is a powerful call to action for higher education institutions to recognize and address the unique challenges of African American male college students. Through a qualitative phenomenological approach grounded in Swail's (2004) Framework for Student Success, the study sheds light on the institutional factors that impact the lives of these students. The research design utilized semi-structured interviews with seven African American male participants, and the analysis reveals codes, clusters, and themes that emerged from their narratives, providing valuable insights into the impact of institutional support on their lives. The study highlights the importance of peer support, the challenges …

Head Start Teachers’ Perceptions Of Inclusion Classroom Challenges And Needs, Jessica Rinehart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early childhood inclusion classrooms are becoming more prominent, but Head Start teachers need more job training to prepare them for the diversity of students in their classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate research questions about the challenges faced by Head Start inclusion teachers, the strategies they use in the classroom, and the suggestions they have for improved resources or training. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Bandura’s social learning theory, which suggested that teachers can learn through observation or modeling of others. Using a case study design, nine Head Start teachers with at …

Student Loan Debt: Exploring The Economic Influences On Federal Student Loan Default For Students That Attended Public, Two-Year Institutions, Brian Perry

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Over the past 30 years, a shift occurred in higher education that saw more of the burden for paying for postsecondary education placed on students. Combined with rising tuition and fees, this has led students to take on increasing amounts of student debt. Despite the historic rise in student loans, surprisingly little attention has focused on those students who default on their student loans. Additionally, the academic literature on student loans has predominately focused on traditional students at four-year institutions, despite the fact that nearly half of all undergraduates attend public two-year institutions. Finally, those studies that include economic factors …

Improving Dental Students' Knowledge And Confidence In Treating Tobacco Use, Victoria Pierce

DNP Projects

Background: Tobacco use can lead to numerous chronic health conditions. Healthcare professionals in the dental field are in a unique position to broach this issue with patients. Research shows that dental students do not feel equipped to provide tobacco cessation care, citing lack of education on the subject among their top reasons for this.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate changes in dental students’ knowledge and confidence related to treating tobacco use after participation in an educational intervention about the 5A’s, behavioral counseling, and first-line prescription medications.

Methods: This quality improvement initiative utilized a quasi-experimental survey design …

Examining Women’S Persistence In Stem: A Mixed Methods Study Of Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, And Sociocultural Influences On Women In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics, Heather Midori Saigo

Theses and Dissertations

Several decades of effort have improved the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but the gender gap remains. Researchers have found diverse reasons for women’s underrepresentation in STEM, but less is understood about factors supporting persistence. This study’s purpose was to understand how women persist in STEM, through the lens of self-determination theory. Self-determination theory posits that persistence improves when one’s needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are satisfied. This embedded mixed methods study provides evidence of how autonomy, competence, relatedness, and sociocultural factors influence women’s persistence in STEM. Using network and snowball sampling, the researcher …

Catching Up To Yesterday: An Argument For A Practical Application Of Creativity For Inspiring Change From A Content-Based Course Delivery To A 21st-Century Skills-Based Delivery, Darren Chapman

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project is a creative vision for how college-level courses could be changed to deliver the most important skills students need in the 21st century—moving toward an essential employability skills-based delivery process while training vocational (content) skills. Technology is outpacing humans' ability to adapt and adopt to it, making it increasingly difficult to keep pace with technological change. This has wide-ranging effects on each of us – productively, emotionally, and perhaps physically. Colleges are at the forefront of educating citizens about the working world to improve their productivity, incomes and their sense of intrinsic motivation. However, these same colleges are …

A Content Analysis Of Title Ix Sexual Misconduct Violations Using The Office For Civil Rights Investigative Findings For Higher Education In New Jersey, Monise Princilus

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Submitted already

Head, Heart, And Hands: A Relationships First Approach To Indigenizing And Decolonizing Education, Sherra Lee C. Robinson

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Student engagement within District X is at an all-time low. As District X strives for more equitable learning opportunities, they also work to serve the unique and varying needs of students despite the rising physical and mental health concerns, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that shook students and adults alike, resulting in a global collective trauma and led to the shutdown of schools worldwide in March 2020. These issues are especially prevalent within our most underfunded and underserved populations, such as Indigenous populations. As Canadians, Indigenous relations and calls to adopt Indigenous ways of knowing and being …

Minoritized Medical Students' Integration Of Professional Identities: A Phenomenological Study, Travis Erickson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study fills a gap in the extant literature by exploring how medical students with minoritized identities make meaning about sense of self-definition and emerging professional identities while enrolled in medical school. More specifically, the focus of this study explored how minoritized medical students perceived their sense of self and dimensions of identity were shaped during their medical education, and what perceptions these medical students had about how they manage their professional identity development. Emergent themes included: (a) making connections between self-definition and professional identities, (b) past experience of difference shaping identities, (c) self-definition with complexity, (d) fluidity as …

The Effects Of An Equine Riding Simulator As An Objective Feedback Modality On Learning Outcomes For Rider Competency On Performance Skills In Equestrian Riding Fundamentals, Kelli Munns

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examined the effects of different feedback modalities provided during simulated-based practice on performance and perceptions. In addition, the research also addressed the relationship between participants' feedback literacy, perceptions, and improvement scores. The purpose of this research was motivated by the emerging equine simulation technology that provides feedback on movement and coordination during complex motor skill acquisition. Selecting an effective feedback approach for simulation-based practice in motor skill learning is contingent on the complexity of the performance skill and the learner's experience. However, the learner's feedback literacy can result in contradictory performance and perceptions despite the feedback approach experienced. …

Examining The Increasing Prevalence Of Academic Dishonesty: An Investigation Of Students’ Perceptions Of Academic Integrity In Higher Education, Luis Angel Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

A primary concern in academic institutions is the high frequency of academic dishonesty among students. Concerns surrounding this issue negatively affect the institution’s reputation and the acquisition of external funding. The purpose of this research was to explore the increasing prevalence of academic dishonesty at higher education institutions. Furthermore, the aim of the study is to investigate the frequency of students engaging in academic dishonesty, reasons for academic dishonesty, and awareness of academic dishonesty. Increasing awareness, prevention, and education regarding academic dishonesty can bring a positive environment to students in higher education. The participants were students enrolled in The University …

Benefits Of Existing Educational Programs For Migrant Elementary School Students, Jasmin Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Due to the constant mobility of migrant families, migrant students face disadvantages in their academic performance. This senior capstone research project is to examine the benefits of existing education programs for immigrant elementary school students on migrant students available for a largely Hispanic community on the Central Coast of California. Through the use of literature review, interviews with migrant teachers, migrant coordinators, and migrant directors, the results show that even though migrant students obtain physical and emotional support for the Migrant Education Program, their academic achievement and personal identity are constantly being challenged. In order to help mitigate these effects, …

Implementation Of State Of New Mexico's Manual Of Procedures Psab Supplement 12 Capital Assets By A Southern New Mexico School District In Disposal Of E-Waste In The Post Covid 19 Environment, Hector Serrato Giron

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused diverse social, economic, and political challenges. The particular challenge that was the focus of this study is the upsurge in electronic use and consequent upsurge in electronic waste. This was caused by the implementation of online instructional delivery processes during Covid-19 (Ermakova, 2021), the switch to home offices (Adejumo & Oluduro, 2021) and the fact that school districts have directed massive financial investments to instructional technology (Baldé & Kuehr, 2021). This trend of heightened e-waste generation is likely to continue (Jiang et al., 2021).

I used a qualitative approach to address the two research questions. …

Exploring The Experiences Of Adjunct Clinical Dental Hygiene Faculty With Peer Mentorship As They Transition From Clinician To Educator, Rosalie Forrester

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

The work-role transition from clinician to educator involves the dental hygienist creating a new identity as a dental hygiene educator. Insider guidance through peer mentorship may help support and acclimate new faculty during this work-role transition. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the experiences of adjunct clinical dental hygiene faculty with peer mentorship as they transitioned from the role of clinician to educator. Five participants who met the criteria for this study completed semi-structured, virtual interviews via Zoom. These interviews were restoried into narratives, categorized, and then manually coded into themes. The categories included development of …

A Public Policy Analysis Of An Allied Health Career Pathway Model At A Local Technical College, Rebecca A. Garcia Sanchez

Dissertations (1934 -)

Policymakers, philanthropists, and related stakeholders assert that education is “the civil rights issue of our generation” (The White House, n.d). In turn, a career-based business model where “career and technical education encourages employability” (Wilder, 2013) has been implemented, providing readily accessible post-secondary opportunities to address perpetual societal inequality. Many stakeholders perceive the two-year institution as helping bridge the perpetual equity gap by creating access streams needed to acquire good-paying jobs. Because of the diverse socioeconomic student narrative within the Midwestern technical college, a study inquiry was conducted to ascertain the institution’s ability to reproduce the desired results advertised by public …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Dental Hygiene Faculty Using Simulation With Dental Manikin Head Devices To Teach Local Anesthesia, Allison Castro

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

This study employed a qualitative phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of dental hygiene faculty using simulation with dental manikin head devices to teach local anesthesia. This study aimed to address the gap in the literature given the lack of discussion regarding dental manikin head simulation use in teaching local anesthesia within dental hygiene education. The purpose extended to explore if educators could guide students and ease anxieties by incorporating simulation in the development of treatment skills on a manikin before applying these skills to real-life interactions. John Dewey’s (1938) concept of interconnectedness between education and experience and David …