Digital Commons Network^™

Dying For Change: The Impact Of Awareness Prevention And Intervention On Graduate Assistant Stress, Marla Bruner

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As challenges surrounding mental health and well-being in doctoral graduate students (GAs), continue to rise, it is imperative that higher education institutions evaluate the stressors that GAs experience, their awareness and use of campus resources for dealing with stressors, and the impact that additional resources and programming may have on stress. The research questions for this study sought to examine the stressors experienced by doctoral level graduate students working in GA positions and their corresponding awareness and use of campus resources, and to determine what impact, if any, providing additional services, resources, and programming in had after a three-year implementation …

Book Review- The Mind Of The Leader, Rebecca Cofer

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Book review of The Mind of the Leader .

Hougaard. R. & Carter, J. (2018). The Mind of the Leader: How to Lead Yourself, Your People, And Your Organization for Extraordinary Results. Harvard Business Review Press. 224pp. ISBN 9781633693425. $25.20 suggested retail price.

Sustainable International Engagement Using A Partner Co-Hosted Teaching Model, Brian Gillespie, Paul Doyle, Zy Jiang, Darryl Humble

Conference Papers

Internationalisation is a significant activity of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide and is typically embedded within the aims, ambitions, vision, and strategy of the institution. It incorporates the policies and procedures required to facilitate participation within a global academic environment, and is often considered to be a transformative process that impacts practices in teaching and learning, research, and administration. With formal protocols to establish partnerships, such as memoranda of understanding and articulation agreements, the business of formally creating international partnerships is well defined. However, the motivations, corresponding metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) of successful partnerships are not as well …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2020/2021, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Some Comparisons
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Degrees Granted 2020/21
--- Degree Summary 2020/21
--- Program Certificates 2020/21
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree and Racial/Ethnic Classification

College Readiness: Rural High School Graduates, Brian M. Corey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

College readiness involves not only academics but emotional preparation, study skills, and time management and can be affected by students’ backgrounds. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate perceptions among rural high school graduates and their college teachers regarding these students’ levels of college readiness. The conceptual framework included Astin’s involvement theory, Bandura’s social learning theory, and Tinto’s student integration model. Research questions focused on perceptions of students who graduated from a rural school district and college teachers’ perceptions of these students’ levels of college readiness. Data for this qualitative case study were collected through qualitative surveys …

Community College Faculty Experiences With Literacy And Student Engagement In Developmental Courses, Amber L. Duncan Schoolcraft

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a literacy gap reflected in high school students’ preparation as they enter college. Empirical literature has indicated the importance of faculty connecting with students by using best practices for more engagement to increase literacy, learning, and comprehension. A question remained what the experiences of community college faculty members were as they worked to increase student engagement and improve literacy in reading and writing in developmental freshman community college composition courses. The theory of andragogy and the theory of cultural literacy provided the framework for understanding community college instructors’ approaches of engaging their adult students in developmental courses. Using …

Exploring The Strategies English As A Second Language Teachers Use To Teach Students, Unika Lasha Felton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIn the local school district under study located in southern United States, English as second language (ESL) students are experiencing lower than expected standardized testing scores according to expectations set forth by the state Department of Education. The purpose of this project study was to explore the strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. The conceptual framework was Gagne’s conditions of learning theory, which is used to assess students’ lack of preparation for future academic and career success. The research question asked what strategies ESL teachers use to teach ESL students. A qualitative exploratory case study with purposive sampling …

Analysis Of School Discipline Policies At A Title I High School In Texas, Kimberly N. Guess

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Discipline referrals and suspensions are used as a last resort to address inappropriate student behavior in schools. The problem investigated in this study was the inconsistent trend in the number of discipline referrals and suspensions during implementation of three different discipline policies (zero tolerance, progressive discipline, and restorative practice) at a local Title I high school in north Texas from 2013 to 2019. Guided by Skinner’s theory of behaviorism, the purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was to determine if significant differences in the total number of disciplinary referrals and suspensions existed between the 2-year implementation period of …

Instructional Leadership Practices That Support Increased Student Achievement In Ghana's Rural Districts, Anthony Kwame Gyamerah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Quality education is significant to the development of a country, but not all countries fare satisfactory in this regard. In Ghana, the rural K-12 public schools have persistent lower academic performance than the urban schools, despite the interventions of governments since Ghana’s independence. This study provides effective instructional leadership practices that support effective teaching and learning to enhance quality education in Ghana’s rural areas to bridge the performance gap between the urban and rural schools. This qualitative exploratory case study explored the instructional leadership practices that support student achievement in Ghana’s rural K-12 schools. The research questions investigated the instructional …

Parents’ Perspectives Of Parental Involvement To Support Student Academic Achievement, Arega W. Nigussie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractParental involvement is the foundation for family-school relationships that empower parents, improve student academic achievement, and encourage parents to participate in their children’s education. The problem is the inconsistent parental involvement in a Midwestern school to support students' academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of parents about parental involvement and parents’ perspectives about their role in supporting the academic achievement of their children. The study was grounded in Epstein’s theory of six types of parental involvement and Moll’s theory of funds of knowledge. Two research questions were used to investigate parents’ perspectives on parental …

Educator And Parent Collaborative Literacy Support In A Title I School, Larhonda Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an urban elementary school serving a large percentage of low-socioeconomic status (SES) students in a southern state, the problem was that over 50% of student literacy scores remained below the state standard between 2016 and 2019. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine educators’ perceptions of teacher–parent collaboration to support literacy in the home and how these strategies may improve low-SES students’ literacy skills at the elementary target site. Using Bourdieu’s educational habitus theory, educators’ perceptions of teacher–parent collaboration strategies to enhance literacy and the advantages and barriers of fostering collaboration were examined for low-SES students …

Educational Interpreters For The Deaf: Job Ambiguity And Role Conflict, Marian Berry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThis study investigated the ongoing job ambiguity and role conflict of certified educational interpreters for the deaf (CEID). It explored and identified factors that contribute to the difficulty in recruiting and retaining CEID interpreters for K-12 schools. The difficulty is compounded by the need for increasingly complex and specialized skills and knowledge required to become a CEID. Little attention has been given to CEIDs and the problems of job ambiguity, role conflict, and interpreter shortage. Identification of the recurring factors in the job ambiguity and role conflict will contribute toward eliminating the shortage of CEID's. This qualitative study aimed to …

Perspectives On The Study Circles Program For Increasing Parental Involvement, Eugenia Sophia Dawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators were concerned over a lack of minority parental involvement and challenges in meeting the needs of a rapidly growing minority student population in a local school district. To enhance minority parental involvement, one local middle school implemented the Study Circles program that involved a series of interactive small group sessions in which parents and educators collaborate to build a culturally sensitive, inclusive community. The problem addressed in this study was grounded in the fact that the adequacy of this program’s implementation to address the low minority parental involvement at the school was not fully understood. Guided by Epstein’s model …

Career Commitment Of Women In University Stem Leadership Roles: Professors, Chairs, And Deans, Denise Mariko Garretson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the increased numbers of women in STEM over the last 2 decades, women are more likely than men to leave a STEM career. It is important to have women’s perspectives within the workplace and to have female role models from different backgrounds to support and encourage female students to move into STEM careers. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to identify how female STEM university leaders perceive the influence of their personal vision and work-life balance on their career commitment. The framework included two concepts: Boyatzis’ ideal self and Poulose and Sudarsan’s work-life balance. The phenomenological design …

Middle School Teachers’ Use Of Differentiated Instruction Strategies, Felecia G. Prince

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMiddle School Teachers’ Use of Differentiated Instruction Strategies by Felecia George Prince MEd, Troy University, 2010 BS, Georgia Southern University, 1988 AA, East Georgia College, 1984 Project Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2020Abstract The administrators at the study site were concerned that teachers struggle with differentiated instruction (DI) in their classrooms, which involves strategies to support students’ levels. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to learn what DI strategies teachers used at the study site. The conceptual framework of Tomlinson on the differentiated strategies …

Faculty, Clinical Supervisors, And Teacher Candidate Perceptions And Experiences Of Teacher Candidate Feedback, Timothy John Martin Calver

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at a West Coast university was that the university’s teacher education program lead faculty and teacher candidates stated they were concerned about the quality of feedback provided to teacher candidates who are assessed by clinical supervisors during their field-based experiences. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions and experiences of teacher candidates, clinical supervisors, and teacher education department (TED) faculty regarding the feedback process. The conceptual framework used for this study was Argyris’ theory of single-loop and double-loop learning to support the research question. The research question was focused on perceptions about the feedback …

Educator And Parent Perceptions About Parent Involvement In An Elementary School, Jennifer Anne Cenatiempo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited parent involvement in K-8 schools in the United States may be influencing student performance. A five-year strategic plan conducted at a K-8 elementary school with 550 students in the Northeast region of the United States highlighted the need to increase parent involvement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and parents on current parent involvement and to gather input from them on how to improve parent involvement in the local school district. The study was guided by Epstein’s framework of parental involvement. Research questions focused on the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and parents …

Comparison Of Course Grades Among Learning Modalities In Historically Black College And Universities, Murdell Walker Mcfarlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe growth of online courses in higher education, combined with the distinct situational identity of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their continued emphasis on face-to-face (F2F) instruction, provided an opportunity to learn more about learning modalities and student grades at HBCUs. The problem was previous research findings are contradictory regarding grades among modalities at HBCUs. The purpose of this study was to compare differences in grades among three learning modalities (F2F, hybrid, and online) for three student groups (African American, non-African American, and all students) at three public, 4-year HBCUs in one U.S. state. This cross-sectional, ex post …

Play Lu Interactive Technology And Standardized Mathematics Scores, Oguz Yildiz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology-based learning tools provide new opportunities to engage students in learning academic content. This study focuses on one such tool, Play Lu Interactive Technology (PLIT), and analyzes how students’ math achievement on standardized test scores differs between students who have used PLIT and students who have not. PLIT is designed to improve students’ communication and teamwork skills in addition to math skills. The data were collected from seventh-grade students at a public school in the state of New York that used PLIT to support students’ academic achievement in math. Due to scheduling limitations, only half of the seventh-grade students used …

About The Authors

Honors in Practice Online Archive

No abstract provided.

“Movies, Tv Shows, And Memes . . . Oh My!”: An Honors Education Through Popular Culture And Critical Pedagogy, Evan W. Faidley

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Entertainment media and popular culture often overdramatize the college experience. An honors colloquium engages students in scholarly research and discourse involving thematic elements of academic life in popular culture. An interdisciplinary approach to race, class, the professoriate, Greek life, and foreign experience is espoused. Through a lens of critical social theory, students deconstruct misinformed “stories most often told” to reconstruct more cogent understandings of college life and student experience. With a curriculum designed to advance social justice through equitizing education and amending cultural perceptions, this colloquium helps develop self-motivated, self-regulated, and engaged learners.

Close Reading Responses: A Streamlined Approach To Teaching Critical-Thinking Writing In Honors, Katie Quirk

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This study presents a scaffold approach to building critical academic writing skills among honors students. Faced with limited instructional time, a reading-intensive curriculum, and students in need of rigorous writing instruction, a scaffold model was developed to include a series of condensed writing assignments called “Close Reading Responses.” Coupled with rubrics and guided peer review, these assignments allow for repetitive critical practice at various stages along a trajectory toward the final paper. Results indicate that this incremental, explicit form of writing instruction allows students to hone critical-thinking skills in a condensed manner without demanding that they produce (and instructors read) …

“One Singular Sensation”: Integrating Personal Narratives Into The Honors Classroom, Marc Napolitano, Mimi Killinger

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Contemporary emphases on standardization, specialization, and selectivity in higher education alienate students and teachers from their own creativity, intellectual curiosity, and personal stories. This trend runs counter to the central focus of honors on fostering a diverse, scholarly learning environment. Authors suggest that integrating student personal narratives into honors curricula reinforces its values of multiplicity, inclusivity, and meaningful learning. Using metaphorical reference to the Broadway musical A Chorus Line as a unique lens into the pedagogical benefits of such integration, this essay provides ways of incorporating and sharing personal narratives in the classroom and offers strategies to ensure that all …

Leveraging Collaboration And Peer Support To Initiate And Sustain A Faculty Development Program, Anneris Coria-Navia, Scott Moncrieff

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In today’s impoverished higher education fiscal climate, especially considering the enormous financial implications to higher education of accommodating the changes required by the coronavirus pandemic, “nonessential” though highly important programs, such as centers for teaching and learning (CTLs), are very likely to be underfunded. In this study, we illustrate how underfunded programs can leverage peer collaboration and support to initiate productive, formal systems of assistance for faculty by describing a number of such programs developed by and/or coordinated by our CTL. Moreover, we propose that sustainable programs, especially at small liberal arts institutions, must include a strong component of peer …

School Violence And Its Impact On Student Academic Achievement, Kewanis Kennedy

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the occurrence of school violence and its impact on academic success and attendance. This study will encompass K-12 academic institutions in the state of Kentucky during the 2018-2019 academic school year, with an in-depth analysis of data submitted to the Kentucky Department of Education by the 171 participating school districts. The participating schools shared data in the form of disciplinary actions, attendance, graduation rates, academic achievement, and other relevant demographics. The collected data was analyzed to determine if there was a statistically significant difference among attendance rate, graduation rate, math ACT benchmark scores, and English ACT benchmark …

Generational Giving In Public Higher Education, Christine Bernot

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Competition for donors and dollars between higher education and the non-profit sector has never been greater, with Americans giving nearly $450 billion in philanthropic support to charitable organizations in 2019 (IUPUI, 2020). Alumni of higher education institutions are a natural constituency group with a history of giving back to support student needs and programs.

New research in fundraising for higher education analyzing generational giving behaviors of alumni graduate donors could help universities better understand their giving results and support the innovation of new fundraising strategies and best practices. This quantitative research study used historical giving data to examine the …

Pivoting To Deeper Experiences In Higher Education Classrooms, Danielle M. Pratt, Daniel W. Eadens

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

In higher education, pivoting quickly to a fully virtual experience online in the midst of a global pandemic is an adventure. There are marked differences between the online experience for a student who was already in a web-delivered course versus one that started face-to-face and quickly pivoted to an online setting. Some assignments, lessons, and courses are easily delivered in alternate formats while other learning opportunities are much more difficult to transition for online delivery. For example, assignments that involve internships or in-person experiences had to shift dramatically, be delayed, or cancelled. Beyond the experiences within the higher education classroom, …

A Quantitative Study Of The Impact Of Leadership On School Culture In A Small Rural School District As Measured By Stakeholder Satisfaction, Hope L. Littlejohn

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of school leadership on school culture. Given the demands on educational leaders, the goal is to improve student achievement and school culture. The literature review examines the previous study of the history of school leadership, history of school culture, effective school leadership, elements of effective school culture, and public perception as it relates to school culture. The literature review discusses leadership styles and how each one contributes to positive school culture as perceived by various stakeholders to build the case for the current study. The study uses the School Culture Triage Survey by Wagner (2002). …

School-Based Mental Health Services: Assessing Charter School Principal Perceptions, Barry Ross

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to describe North Carolina charter school principal perceptions of school-based mental health services in their buildings. The research used an online survey instrument and descriptive statistics to gather and analyze data. Principals of all 182 North Carolina charter schools (excluding the state’s two virtual schools) were asked to complete the survey. Through this study, 52 current North Carolina charter school principals completed a 36-question survey. The original survey instrument was designed jointly by the University of California San Francisco and the California Department of Education. It was modified for use with this study …

Teaching “Plants Reproduction” Subject In The Bachelors Of Higner Education System, Khazratkul Kilichievich Karshibaev

Bulletin of Gulistan State University

Thisarticle is devoted to improving the system of teaching “Plants reproduction”subject related to social science on the basis of new pedagogical technologies. In the final work, the text of a lecture on the topic “Plantsreproduction”, presented in the scientific program, focused on people and based on modular educational technologies, and developed its didactic support. In the work, based on integrated design, a technological map of this topic has been developed, and a set of prepared cases and test questions on this topic is presented. During the lecture, a set of control questions was developed to clarify the level of assimilation …