Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Adolescent Girls' Drug Use On Academic And Social Development, Jackie Briggs-Vaughn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance abuse, once primarily visible in the U.S. adolescent male population, is an increasing concern for the adolescent girls' population. Mental health challenges, behavioral problems, and academic failure are issues adolescent girls may encounter when they engage in substance abuse. The incidence and impact of drug use on female students' academic and social development at a large suburban school district was unknown. Vygotsky's social development theory and Bandura's social learning theory provided the framework for this cross-sectional survey study that addressed the relationships between adolescent girls' drug use and their academic performance and social development. Descriptive statistics and analysis of …

Traditional Suspension Practices And Nonpunitive Alternatives For Secondary Students With Disabilities, Karen Joyce Clifford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing numbers of suspensions and expulsions of students with disabilities (SWDs) have prompted school districts to explore nonpunitive alternatives to traditional suspension practices. The study school district implemented nonpunitive alternatives to suspension for SWDs, specifically students classified as emotionally disturbed (ED). SWDs are being suspended at a higher rate than their general education peers for the same violation. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine differences in academic performance between students with emotional disabilities who received out of school suspensions and those who received nonpunitive consequences other than suspension for the same violation. To understand disruptive behavior, social …

Kindergarten Teachers' Perspective On Guided Reading, Mary Epperson Carrasco

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Within a Southwestern school system, deficits in early literacy skills exist as is illustrated by kindergarten students not meeting the requirements on the Phonological Awareness and Phonics Inventory (PAPI). To address this deficit in early literacy skills, the school system instituted the use of the Guided Reading Approach (GR); however, it was unknown how the kindergarten teachers were implementing GR. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and challenges of kindergarten teachers who implement GR. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning and constructivist theory provided the conceptual framework. Research questions explored the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs teachers hold …

Teaching Through The Lens Of Humane Education In U.S. Schools, Kristine Cecilia Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humane education (HE) is a specialized niche in higher education and adult learning. HE provides a curricular framework positioning environmental ethics, animal protection, human rights, media literacy, culture, and change processes as the nexus for understanding and inspiring social change. Research-derived experiences illuminating how educators conceptualize and implement HE in U.S. schools are absent from the scholarly literature. Facing this gap, practitioners and administrators of HE programs cannot access nor apply research-derived practices to inform instruction. To address this gap, a conceptual framework was advanced weaving together HE teaching experience, Freirean philosophy, hyphenated selves, reflection-in-action, transformative learning, and transformative education …

The Relationship Between Community College Academic Advising And Time To Degree Completion, Brenda Wepfer Pongracz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasing student on-time completion is a challenge for many higher education institutions. In the community college chosen for this study, only 5.2% of its first-time-in-college, full-time students graduated within 3 years with a 2-year degree. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between participation in the college's academic advising program and students' time-to-degree completion, based on the pre- and post-entry attributes outlined in Tinto's institutional departure theory. A non-experimental, correlational, quantitative research method with multiple regression analysis was applied, using a convenience sample of 190 graduating students from the institution's 2011 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) …

College And Career Readiness:Texas House Bill 5 Reform Realities In A Far-West Texas School District, Tomas Sigala

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Efforts by the 83rd Texas Legislature (2013), along with decades of state legislative measures to address access and equity for Texas school children, helped create House Bill 5 (HB 5). This policy stipulates that public schools need to more accurately reflect a college and career readiness culture through the expansion of curriculum options for students, the reduction of standardized testing, and the enhancement of school accountability (Texas Education Agency, 2014a). These type of outputs provide the structure and guidance that schools need to streamline a successful student pathway aimed at preparing them for a college and career choice. If students …

Historical Trends And Emerging Issues In Teacher Education Programs In The United States, Karl M. Lorenz

Education Faculty Publications

US national and state educational polices are advocating for more teacher accountability with respect to student performance, and accrediting agencies are requiring more evidence of teachers’ mastery of subject area knowledge and professional skills. This paper examines some of the significant educational and social issues currently facing basic education and teacher preparation programs in the United States. It addresses numerous topics and focuses on five general issues that confront K-12 education and either directly or indirectly Teacher Preparation Programs.

Las políticas educativas nacionales y estatales de Estados Unidos están abogando por una mayor responsabilidad de los maestros con respecto al …

Special Education Disproportionality Through A Social Lens: A Mixed Methods Approach, Marianne J. Fidishin

Dissertations

The disproportionate nature of special education, notably with African American students, is longstanding and most pronounced in judgmental eligibility categories such as intellectual disability and emotional disturbance. Numerous studies on disproportionality conclude there is not a single causative factor, but point to the multifactorial nature of the issue and the complex interplay among different factors. Research related to the role social factors exhibited in an institution have on special education referral and eligibility determination is more limited. This is important since practices employed during the eligibility process take place within the institution’s social environment and are underpinned by the beliefs …

Supporting Student Veterans Utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development, Bryce A. Doehne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An organizational level program utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development (PCD) (Taylor, 2003) is presented to assist postsecondary institutions with development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to support student veterans. Postsecondary institutions are provided with a “how to” program manual that includes literature-based core and supplemental programs, trauma-informed theory, and a methodological framework to implement programs. Practical program evaluation measures are offered to assist postsecondary institutions with evaluating the outcomes of their efforts to support student veterans. The electronic version of this dissertation is at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

High School Seniors' Knowledge About College And The Acquisition Of College-Readiness Skills, Karen Franklin Mcsherry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of college readiness, which affects persistence in college, is a problem for many students at a high school in New Jersey. Only 1 in 5 students in this school persist from first to second year in New Jersey public colleges and universities, and as many as 50% do not graduate in 4 years. This problem is important to study because low persistence may engender personal failure, familial debt, social stigma, and wasted public funds. Guided by Bandura's social learning theory, this qualitative case study addressed the lack of college readiness by exploring what high school students know about going …

Faculty Senate Minutes-2016

Faculty Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

Deans Of Students’ Responsibilities In Campus Crisis Management, Patrice B. Jackson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to discover the responsibilities of the dean of students in managing campus crisis. The literature clearly identifies the dean of students as a member of the crisis management team (Benjamin, 2014; Zdziarski, 2001, 2006, 2016). However, a gap in the literature exists concerning the specific responsibilities of the dean of students in responding to campus crisis.

The five phases of crisis management as defined by PPD-8 are Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery (US Department of Homeland Security, 2011). In signing PPD-8, President Obama mandated all state and federal organizations develop comprehensive …

The Complex Dichotomies Of Student Affairs Practitioners' Perceived Competencies: A Quantitative Evaluation Of Self-Awareness, Jami K. Hall

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the perceived competencies and the perceived self-awareness of student affairs practitioners. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between the two variables of competencies and self-awareness. The overarching research question for this study was: What is the relationship between self-awareness and perceived competencies for student affairs practitioners? This question was followed by two sub questions: To what degree, if any, does experience in the field as a student affairs practitioner predict one’s self-awareness of professional competencies? To what degree, if any, does job level/position in the field as a student affairs practitioner …

Faculty Senate Librarian's Report 2016 Combined, Georgia Southern

Faculty Senate: Librarian's Reports

No abstract provided.

Georgia Journal Of College Student Affairs. Special Edition., Georgia College Personnel Association (Gcpa)

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Complete issue

Globalization Of Higher Education In United Arab Emirates, John S. Spranza Iii

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

This article explores the educational history of the United Arab Emirates, a young and vastly wealthy nation located in the Middle East. A nation for just over 40 years, its leaders have struggled with educating and supporting its native population and managing the massive infusion of immigrants created by the progressive job markets established within its borders. With a mix of mandated free education for natives and a lucrative educational investment market from various other nations, the educational structure in the UAE has become a unique system that attracts students and faculty from around the world. The opulent landscapes of …

Higher Education In Ecuador: A Reflective Analysis, Crystal Edenfield

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

Over the last decade, many changes have taken place in Ecuador regarding education, specifically higher education. A new president was elected in 2006 and as a result a new constitution was approved in 2008. This new constitution offered educational opportunities to all Ecuadorians. The purpose of this paper is to analyze higher education in Ecuador. It will discuss and react to Ecuador’s demographics as well as the highlights of the country’s higher education system. It will conclude with considering the implications.

A Bio-Ecological Perspective On Educational Transition: Experiences Of Children, Parents And Teachers., Leah O'Toole

Doctoral

This thesis explores the potential of Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological Model of Human Development (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 2006) as a framework for theory and research in psychology, sociology and education. It draws on other well-known conceptual approaches, particularly Bourdieu’s theories of social reproduction, habitus, field and cultural capital, investigating points of theoretical enhancement and synthesis. This culminates in the development of eight Propositions for a Bio-ecological Framework. These are then tested using data from a qualitative examination of two key educational transitions, pre-school to primary and primary to secondary school. Using qualitative methodologies, this research explores perspectives of children, teachers and parents …

2016-2017 Senate, Senate Committee, And University Committee Membershiip,, Georgia Southern University

Faculty Senate: Membership Lists

No abstract provided.

Teacher Unions, The Right-To-Work And Fair Share Agreements, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

The status of collective bargaining in public education has been in an almost constant state of flux recently. More than 30 states have adopted laws that allow teachers and other public school employees to form unions to bargain collectively with their boards over the terms and conditions of their employment.

Amid debates over their status in public education, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the right of unions to charge fair-share fees even as it limited their scope. Fair-share or agency fees are based on the premise that insofar as nonmembers benefit from union activities, they should have to pay …

2015-2016 Uni Strategic Plan Accomplishments, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

A report detailing the progress on the strategic goals within the University of Northern Iowa's strategic plan.

Mainstreaming Disaster-Relief Service-Learning In Communication Departments: Integrating Communication Pedagogy, Praxis, And Engagement, Vinita Agarwal

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Communication is the primary mode through which students inculcate critical thinking skills for (re)construction of social reality and engagement with communities in need (Craig, 1989). Thus it is well-suited to disaster-relief service-learning approaches that provide a pathway for democratic engagement with the material consequences of inequality evidenced in disaster-struck communities. Communication administrators can advocate for disaster-relief service-learning programs by aligning theoretically-informed student input in faculty–administration partnerships to construct transformative learning experiences sustaining trusting relationships. This study is the first to employ the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1986) to identify themes comprising student composite disaster-relief volunteering belief-structure and disaster-relief volunteering …

Ranking Journalism And Mass Communications Programs: Administrators And Faculty Approve Of The Idea And Assess Potential Criteria, Joseph Weber

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Rankings of universities and colleges are common and controversial. However, few rankers produce useful lists that assess and compare journalism and mass communications programs. The few currently available involve superficial reputational surveys or are less than transparent about their methodology. To determine potential criteria for a useful ranking, this article reports the results of a survey of administrators and educators in a broad cross-section of such programs. The survey finds broad support among respondents for the idea of ranking and, further, details criteria that respondents said they would find useful in developing a ranked list of programs.

The Persistence Of Working Poor Families In A Changing U.S. Job Market: An Integrative Review Of The Literature, Richard J. Torraco

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This article explores the persistence of working poor families in the United States— families that live on the threshold of poverty despite at least one family member working full-time. The persistence of poverty in the United States has been exacerbated by recent changes in the job market that have altered the composition and availability of jobs due to technological unemployment, the polarization of jobs, declining job quality, and stagnation in job growth. The relationships between the persistence of working poor families and these changes in the job market are examined. The article concludes with a review of human resource development …

Left Unsaid: The Role Of Work Expectations And Psychological Contracts In Faculty Careers And Departure, Kerryann O’Meara, Jessica Chalk Bennett, Elizabeth Niehaus

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Faculty leave higher education institutions for many reasons, including higher salaries, more prestigious departments, lack of collegiality, a better geographic location, and to be closer to family (O'Meara, Lounder, & Campbell, 2014; Rosser, 2004; Smart, 1990; Xu, 2008). At the same time, research suggests that factors such as a higher salary and a more prestigious department are not really "pull" factors if faculty members are satisfied and thriving within their institution (Matier, 1990; O'Meara, 2014). Rather, faculty become predisposed to leave by virtue of dissatisfaction with certain aspects of their work environment (Daly & Dee, 2006; Johnsrud & Rosser, 2002; …

Mobilization And Adaptation Of A Rural Cradle-To-Career Network, Sarah J. Zuckerman

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This case study explored the development of a rural cradle-to-career network with a dual focus on the initial mobilization of network members and subsequent adaptations made to maintain mobilization, while meeting local needs. Data sources included interviews with network members, observations of meetings, and documentary evidence. Network-based social capital facilitated mobilization. Where networks were absent and where distrust and different values were evident, mobilization faltered. Three network adaptations were discovered: Special rural community organizing strategies, district-level action planning, and a theory of action focused on out-of-school factors. All three were attributable to the composition of mobilized stakeholders and this network’s …

A Faculty Wellness Workshop Series: Leveraging On Campus Expertise, Thomas M. Brinthaupt, Arielle Neal, Sheila Otto

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTL) that suffer from funding and staffing issues must rely on outside resources to enhance their effectiveness. Even if funds and staff are adequate, most CTL can improve their reach and effectiveness by the partnerships they establish across their campuses. In this article, we describe a faculty wellness workshop series that illustrates the strategic leveraging we have been able to accomplish on our campus. The series included free standing faculty workshops devoted to stress management (partnering with Counseling Services), work life balance and workplace civility (with members of our faculty learning communities), voice coaching (with …

International Female Graduate Students' Experience At A Midwestern University: Sense Of Belonging And Identity Development, Anh T. Le, Barbara Lacost, Michael Wismer

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

International female graduate students have to negotiate multiple aspects of their identities as non-native learners and women in a society with different gender norms than their home countries. However, their experiences have not been well researched within the scholarship on international students. In this study, using the phenomenological approach, we explored the phenomenon of being an international female graduate student in the U.S. The seven participants are diverse in terms of countries of origin, academic programs, and life situations. Using open-ended questions, we conducted indepth one-on-one interviews with the participants. The findings indicate that the participants perceived being international female …

A Phenomenological Study Examining The Experiences Of High School Graduates Who Participated In A Career And Technical Education Program Of Study, Camille Goins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are designed to help prepare students to become effective workers by equipping them with college and career readiness skills needed for the 21st century workplace. Students who participate in a CTE Program of Study (POS) have the potential for greater success during and after high school because they have achieved academic success in meeting the college and career readiness targets that lead to success in post-secondary and career training. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of graduates from one high school in the southwest region of North Carolina who …

The Effects Of A Reading Comprehension Intervention Package On Increasing Third Grade Students' Comprehension Skills, Marilyn P. Card

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increasing students' reading comprehension involves the use of targeted strategies and effective instruction. Previous research has shown that instruction in individual skills such as vocabulary acquisition, reading fluency, writing, and story mapping help increases students' reading comprehension. However, few studies have explored combining these skills and their cumulative effects, if any, on reading comprehension. The purpose of this quasi-experimental secondary analysis study was to examine the effects of adding a reading comprehension instruction package (RCIP), which includes vocabulary acquisition, reading fluency, and writing, to instruction in story mapping alone. Constructivist theory was used as the theoretical framework for this study. …