Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Animal-Assisted Interventions In Communication Skills Of Children With Autism, Jennifer Ann Friedrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties with social communication and prosocial behaviors. Due to a lack of social communication and social interaction skills among children with ASD, special education teachers are tasked with providing meaningful social opportunities to them to facilitate their learning of these skills. Special education literature lacks research studies about how dog-based animal-assisted interventions (AAI) can improve social communication outcomes for children in a school setting. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study, guided by Bowlby's theory of attachment and the human-animal bond concept, was to explore, describe, and improve the understanding of …

Improving The General Education Development (Ged): Retention And Completion Rates Of Low Income Adults, Kimberly Mashaun Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining adult education students has been a growing concern. The new GED requirements have generated low completion rates for a free GED program in a 3-year period, in a non-profit agency in a Southeastern state. Instructors are concerned about this problem and need to understand the factors that are inhibiting adult learners from successfully attaining their GED. This qualitative research design was the most appropriate to answer the research questions to determine the experiences that caused the adult learners to not complete the program and identify potential educational strategies needed to improve retention. Sticht's functional context theory was the conceptual …

Kindergarten Reading Readiness And Developmental Indicators For The Assessment Of Learning, Terry Lynn Wood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The acquisition of early childhood literacy skills is a predictor of academic success in elementary education. In a local school district, 22% of children entering kindergarten were assessed as having a gap in their reading readiness skills (RRS) based on their pre-K scores on the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning (DIAL-4). The average kindergarten beginning-year difference on the Reading Baseline Inventory (RBI) between the students with a gap and students without a gap was 15 out of 100 points. The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine the change between fall and spring RBI scores of kindergarten …

Perceptions, Lived-Experiences, And Environmental Factors Impacting The Crime-Reporting Practices Of Private College Students, Kelly Lynn Arney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was assessing the perceptions of student's on how the campus climate impacts their likelihood of reporting crime. Victimization studies have been conducted at large universities and community colleges; however, there remains a lack of research regarding private colleges. This study was designed to examine the reasoning behind students' crime-reporting behaviors and the influencers that impact their decisions. Cohen and Felson's routine activity theory along with the collective-efficacy theory were used as frameworks to analyze the crimes that occur to college students as well as to explore the reasons for not reporting some crimes to law …

Factors Contributing To Military-Veteran Student Success, Charlene Sutton Cofield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The enrollment of military/veteran students at U.S. colleges and universities is growing steadily; however, factors affecting their academic success need further investigation. Guided by Tinto's student integration model and Bean and Metzner's model of nontraditional student attrition, the relationships between student characteristics and academic success for military/veteran, and civilian students were investigated. For this nonexperimental study, preentry characteristics (military/civilian status, race/ethnicity, age, gender, transfer credits) as well as 1st-year academic performance (total terms attended and grade point average [GPA]) archived in 393 students' records were examined to determine whether these variables predicted 4 student success measures: retention after 1 year, …

Qsen Competency Confidence Levels In Two Groups Of New Registered Nurses, Yvonne A. Davila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare agencies and stakeholders expect registered nurses to be competent at all times. When nurses are not confident in competencies, negative patient outcomes can occur. The purpose of this quantitative quasiexperimental with posttest only study was to investigate Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency confidence levels of 2 groups of new nurses who had 5-6 months of clinical experience. Framed by the Duchscher theory and the QSEN framework, the research question was developed to examine the differences between QSEN competency confidence levels of new nurses who participated in a prelicensure program plus a residency program and nurses who …

Psychological And Contextual Antecedents To Student Engagement Profiles Of Ninth Grade Students, Wendy Ann Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student engagement is a determinant for students' academic success, readiness for higher education, and social agency. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore ninth grade students' perceptions of the contextual and psychological factors that influence the development of student engagement profiles. The ecological systems theory was used as the framework for the study. Through purposive sampling, 15 participants were selected, and 5 groups of 3 were formed based on participants' engagement profiles as identified by cooperating teachers' categorization and the results of the Student Engagement Instrument. Using semi structured interviews, data were gathered for the 4 research …

Language Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers To New Language Acquisition For English Language Learners, Maryse Lorie Austin-Archil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Walden University

College of Education

This is to certify that the doctoral study by

Maryse Lorie Austin-Archil

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made.

Review Committee

Dr. Peter Kiriakidis, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty

Dr. Nori Mora, Committee Member, Education Faculty

Dr. Glenn Penny, University Reviewer, Education Faculty

Chief Academic Officer and Provost

Sue Subocz, Ph.D.

Walden University

2019

The research site was an urban public high school. The study problem was that language teachers reported to school administrators challenges they had when …

Strategies For Managing Employee Self-Expression In The Workplace, Heather A. Cavise

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that 50% to 70% of higher education employees in the United States are disengaged in the workplace. Some higher education institutions are negatively affected by imposing strict guidelines restricting employees' freedom of self-expression in the workplace. Using Herzberg's 2-factor theory of motivation as the conceptual framework, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies used by higher education institution leaders to manage workplace self-expression without negatively affecting motivation and work productivity. The population was 9 leaders from 3 higher education institutions in central and northern New Jersey. Data collection was conducted through semistructured interviews and …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Adoption Of New Pedagogies In Kazakhstan, Phillipa Schulleri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Kazakhstan has used the Soviet system of education since its independence in 1990. Researchers have noted shortfalls in education reform efforts and documented factors of teachers' resistance to new pedagogies. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore local teachers' perceptions of the new pedagogies in the context of understanding the local-international teacher program in Agrenov international schools (AIS). Three research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of factors for adoption of new pedagogies in an educationally transforming school using the motivational and systems approaches and emotional intelligence conceptual frameworks. A conceptual framework constructed from three theories of motivation, …

Promoting Infant Safe Sleep Through Staff Education, Maryann Crawford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sudden unexplained infant death (SUID) is a sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age that cannot be explained after an investigation or an autopsy. SUID is the leading cause of infant deaths in the United States; SUID is considered a sentinel event to the birth hospital. Birth hospitals are held accountable for education, training, and role modeling of infant safe sleep practices (SSP) to reduce infant sleep-related deaths up to 1 year of age. This educational project was designed to answer the project-focused question of whether the implementation of an evidence-based, safe sleep training program for nurses …

Impact Of Charter School Legislation On Public K-12 Education In Pennsylvania, Stuart Whiteleather

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Charter and cyber charter schools were legislatively permitted to operate as publicly funded educational institutions in Pennsylvania with the passage of Act 22 of 1997. Examining the tuition payments from traditional school districts funding charter schools and resulting economic, operational, and programmatic impacts on traditional K-12 education was the purpose of this study. Conflict theory provided the theoretical framework which proposes that inequity and competition for limited resources is the result of powerful groups exerting their influence on the greater society. This study's research questions focused on determining the impact tuition payments to charter schools had on public K-12 student …

Instructional Reading Practices For Third Grade African American Males, Kimberly Dawn Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American males often struggle to read on grade level. However, 3 East Texas Title I schools demonstrated exceptionally high levels of reading proficiency with this population. This study addressed the knowledge gap of understanding the instructional practices linked to high reading achievement of third grade African American males in Title I schools in East Texas. Guided by Ladson-Billings's theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, which builds upon academic success, cultural competence, and development of critical consciousness, and supported by Vygotsky's theory of social and cognitive constructivism, the reading instructional practices of the 3 schools were investigated. Research questions focused on …

Ua1c3/1 Administrator Photos, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Images of administrators of Western Kentucky University and its founding institutions.

Ua3/5/1 President's Office-Minton Correspondence/Subject File, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Unprocessed correspondence files created by the President's Office during John Minton's administration. John Minton served as acting president from January to July 1979. Occasionally files created under his administration are found in the Zacharias papers. They are designated as such in the collection inventories.

This series also includes correspondence files created by Minton while serving in other administrative positions at Western Kentucky University between 1966 and 1986.

Ua3/7/2 President's Office-Alexander Departmental File, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Unprocessed departmental files created by the President's Office during Kern Alexander's administration.

Ua3/4/9 President's Office-Downing Scrapbooks, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Scrapbooks created during Dero Downing's tenure as president of WKU.

Ua56/3/3 Institutional Research Reports File Sacs Reports, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

SACS reports are conducted every ten years by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools. Institutional data is collected, organized from all colleges and departments at WKU and then analyzed by the department of Institutional Research.

Ua37/35/3 Faculty Personal Papers O.J. Wilson Wku History Project, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Research and writing about WKU history by O.J. Wilson in 1967-1969. Includes research materials, typescripts of chapters and oral history audiotapes.

Ua66/13/1 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Public Health Administration, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Administrative records created by Public Health.

What Works? Supporting Students From Urban School Districts At A Midwestern University, Eric Reed

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Postsecondary administrators across the nation are in search for effective policies and practices that lead to higher rates of student academic performance, persistence, and completion rates. In a time of increased accountability and diminished resources, the empirical findings of this study help administrators by demonstrating that resources invested in retention yield long-term benefits to the institution. At a large, public, 4-year university in the Midwest, the average 6-year graduation rate of students from urban school districts was 24% compared to the overall 40% graduation rate for the institution. Historically, students from urban school districts enter postsecondary institutions after persevering through …

Community As An Institutional Learning Goal At The Unversity Of Dayton, Steve Herndon, Kelly S. Johnson, Kimberly Edginton Bigelow, Una M. Cadegan, Diana Cuy-Castellanos, Alan Demmitt, Chris Fishpaw, Hunter Phillips Goodman, Daria-Yvonne J. Graham, Joseph Krella, Chad Painter, Kathy Sales, Kellie Schneider, Castel Sweet, William Vance Trollinger, Erick Salvador Vasquez, Chanel Wright, Mary B. Ziskin

Documents of the Provost's Office

This working paper summarizes the work of the Habits of Inquiry and Reflection Community Fellows. It considers the meaning of community both in UD’s historic mission and in the ways it is practiced at UD now; identifies obstacles and failures; and offers recommendations for advancing community as a learning goal at UD.

Characteristics Of Successful Early Childhood Educational Leaders, Darla Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that precipitated this study was the marked differences among early childhood education leaders in the quality of leadership for private early childhood entities as indicated by a voluntary quality rating improvement system in a Midwestern state. The scholarly literature lacks studies on characteristics of high-€quality leadership in early childhood education. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to explore characteristics of quality early childhood leadership based on examination of successful early childhood programs using leadership trait theory as a conceptual framework. Research questions were designed to examine characteristics of successful early childhood leaders based on the …

Bullying On A College Campus: A Qualitative Study, Arnita D. Walls-Pickett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Bullying in higher education has become a global concern on college campuses and is occurring there in face-to-face encounters and through social media. Bullying contributes to hundreds of thousands of students dropping out of their higher education programs annually. This study brings more awareness to the uncivil behaviors occurring on college campuses. It uses for its conceptual framework the fourth of the Seven Vectors of Identity Development articulated by Chickering and Reisser: developing mature interpersonal relationships. This study's 2 guiding questions investigated whether bullying took place on a single college campus and how the bullying revealed itself. Further, this study …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2018/2019, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Some Comparisons
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Degrees Granted 2018/19
--- Degree Summary 2018/19
--- Program Certificates 2018/19
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree and Racial/Ethnic Classification

Undergraduate Engineering Students' Agency In Professional Socialization : Evidence From A Capstone Design Lab, Michelle Mora

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Two national priorities were instrumental in this study of an undergraduate engineering program: (1) Higher education’s roles and responsibilities for the preparation of a workforce competent in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; and (2) Accountability-related questions regarding the value-added effects of professional education programs on aspiring STEM students. A recent report suggests that policy makers and the public do not know whether current initiatives are accomplishing their goals and leading to nationwide improvements in undergraduate STEM education (Committee on Developing Indicators for Undergraduate STEM Education et al., 2018). One reason is that national, state, and institutional undergraduate data systems often …

Understanding Hazing Perceptions Of Students And Administrators Using A Four Frame Approach, Emily Feuer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Hazing poses a health and safety risk to many students and campuses in the United States, including students involved in fraternities/sororities. To combat hazing, college campuses have put structures and policies in place in an attempt to better govern, control, or reduce fraternity/sorority activities, but hazing incidents continue to persist. This study examines how students affiliated with fraternities/sororities and administrators who work with these students frame hazing behavior with the intention of creating a foundation for interventions based on common findings and potential gaps in frame utilization.

The Spiritual Formation Of Recent College Graduates And Residence Life Influences Attributed To The Spiritual Formation, Natalie Jorde

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

This study investigated the spiritual formation experience of alumni from a Midwest Christian college six months to five years after graduation and the spiritual formation factors they attribute to their Residence Life experience. The data revealed that alumni persist in their Christian faith, and seek growth in Christian beliefs, attitudes, and experiences. Findings regarding Residence Life were consistent with the literature, revealing that the most significant source of spiritual formation for alumni are peer relationships, interactions, and conversations. Programming was not a significant factor in a student’s spiritual formation. This study led to several recommendations for application including a re-orienting …

Restoring The Soul Of The University: Unifying Christian Higher Education In The Fragmented Age, Morgan K. Morris

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.

Listening To Sexual Minorities: A Study On Faith And Sexual Identity On Christian College Campuses, Brad A. Lau

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.