Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Education (53)
- Educational Leadership (21)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (18)
- Educational Administration and Supervision (12)
- Curriculum and Instruction (11)
-
- Higher Education Administration (8)
- Arts and Humanities (7)
- Engineering (6)
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology (5)
- Psychology (5)
- Language and Literacy Education (4)
- Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration (4)
- Special Education and Teaching (4)
- Teacher Education and Professional Development (4)
- Business (3)
- Electrical and Computer Engineering (3)
- Life Sciences (3)
- Anthropology (2)
- Biology (2)
- Community College Leadership (2)
- Counseling (2)
- Counselor Education (2)
- Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (2)
- Elementary Education and Teaching (2)
- Film and Media Studies (2)
- Higher Education (2)
- History (2)
- Industrial Engineering (2)
- Online and Distance Education (2)
- Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering (2)
Articles 1 - 30 of 88
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Using A Senior Seminar During Internship Ii As A Means To Increase Self-Efficacy, Perceptions Of Preparedness, And Internship Experiences For Elementary Education Teachers, Shane Trenta
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this quasi-experimental, mixed methods study was to examine how a Senior Seminar pilot conducted during elementary preservice teachers' Internship II semester could potentially increase their teacher self-efficacy and perceptions of preparedness to teach. The study was conducted at a large public university located in the southeast United States and included 29 participants. The collection of data included the 24 item Teacher Sense of Self-Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) used to measure pre- and post- teacher self-efficacy for classroom instruction, classroom management, and student engagement. To measure pre- and post- perceptions of preparedness, the 8 item …
Faculty Professional Development For Improving Hybrid Course Success, Jennifer Lawhon
Faculty Professional Development For Improving Hybrid Course Success, Jennifer Lawhon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this Dissertation in Practice was to investigate the inconsistent success rates in hybrid courses at a Florida college. Results from a pilot study and faculty survey revealed a need for a training program specific to hybrid instructors. The researchers created a training program composed of a framework and a professional development course, designed to promote consistency in how instructors create and implement their hybrid courses. The framework consists of six research-based standards which aided in the creation of six learning modules for the professional development course. These modules were: course alignment, face-to-face active learning, online resources, formative …
An Analysis Of Robot-Assisted Social-Communication Instruction For Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Claire Donehower
An Analysis Of Robot-Assisted Social-Communication Instruction For Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Claire Donehower
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Social and communication deficits are a core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and impact an individual's ability to be a full participant in their school environment and community. The increase in number of students with ASD in schools combined with the use of ineffective interventions have created a critical need for quality social-communication instruction in schools for this population. Technology-based interventions, like robots, have the potential to greatly impact students with disabilities, including students with ASD who tend to show increased interest and engagement in technology-based tasks and materials. While research on the use of robots with these learners …
Role Ambiguity: Defining The Elusive Role Of The Special Education Teacher Who Works In Inclusive Settings, Dena Slanda
Role Ambiguity: Defining The Elusive Role Of The Special Education Teacher Who Works In Inclusive Settings, Dena Slanda
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of special education teachers who worked in inclusive settings. Given the increasing number of students with disabilities receiving special education services in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2016), there is a critical need to understand the dynamic role of a special education teacher who works in inclusive settings. Federal mandates have required special education teachers working in inclusive settings to rethink their roles (McLeskey, Landers, Hoppey, & Williamson, 2011) and restructure their approach to providing specially-designed services. Further, these roles are dependent on those who interpret and implement policy and …
For The Good That We Can Do: African Presses, Christian Rhetoric, And White Minority Rule In South Africa, 1899-1924, Ian Marsh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research examines Christian rhetoric as a source of resistance to white minority rule in South Africa within African newspapers in the first two decades of the twentieth-century. Many of the African editors and writers for these papers were educated by evangelical protestant missionaries that arrived in South Africa during the nineteenth century. Most prior research on these presses has examined the importance of Christianity, but has not taken into account the evolution of its use over the entirety of the period. Without this emphasis on evolving utilization, the current scholarship lacks a complete understanding of African newspapers and their …
The Impact Of Ongoing Science Professional Development On Standardized Assessments Of Student Achievement, Leah Torres
The Impact Of Ongoing Science Professional Development On Standardized Assessments Of Student Achievement, Leah Torres
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to identify how ongoing science professional development impact students' achievement on standardized assessments. The students' end-of-year assessment and State Science Assessment data were collected from a Central Florida school district. The student data were divided into categories based on teachers' participation in on-going professional development opportunities. The teachers were categorized by the number of types of professional development opportunities they attended. The mean assessment scores of students whose all teachers did or did not participate were calculated, and t-tests were run to find the significance between the means. There was no significance in the …
The Relationship Between Participation In Tutoring And Accountability Outcomes In Three Urban Middle Schools, Pamela Rajadhyax
The Relationship Between Participation In Tutoring And Accountability Outcomes In Three Urban Middle Schools, Pamela Rajadhyax
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This quantitative study was conducted to determine the relationship between participation in a school based tutoring and change in accountability measures on the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) in Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. The research was designed to determine the impact of participation in tutoring for urban middle school students. All students who attended one of the three urban middle schools and participated in the administration of FSA for mathematics or ELA in both the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years were divided into two groups: students who participated in school based tutoring …
A Study Of Internet Spending And Graduation Rates: A Correlational Study, Diana Violette
A Study Of Internet Spending And Graduation Rates: A Correlational Study, Diana Violette
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school district spending on Internet access and student achievement, defined by graduation rates, in the state of Florida. Internet funding received for Internet access from E-rate funding administered by the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) and graduation rates of the 67 school districts in the state of Florida were compared. Further, the data were adjusted for socio-economic status (SES) to determine the relationship between school districts' SES and spending on Internet access. Lastly, school district connectivity and bandwidth were examined to determine whether the ConnectED initiative requirements were related …
A Qualitative Inquiry Investigating The Inclusive Practices Of Teachers Within Catholic Schools, Alicia Abbey-Bell
A Qualitative Inquiry Investigating The Inclusive Practices Of Teachers Within Catholic Schools, Alicia Abbey-Bell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This phenomenological investigation examined the inclusive practices used to instruct students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms by educators within a large Catholic diocese in the southeast US. This study used phenomenological research methods to examine the perspectives, practices, and policies of Catholic school educators in inclusive settings through interviews, observations, and artifact reviews of school data to triangulate findings within this research. Surveys completed by administrators and faculty members provided initial knowledge and perspectives of inclusive practices for instruction of students with disabilities (SWDs) within inclusive settings. Structured interviews and classroom observation were then completed with participants at the school …
Examination Of The Challenges Faced By Foreign-Born Students In A State College That May Prolong/Prevent Graduation., Modupe Soremi
Examination Of The Challenges Faced By Foreign-Born Students In A State College That May Prolong/Prevent Graduation., Modupe Soremi
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This research study stems from several reports indicating the increasing competitiveness of the world economy, the requirement of at least an associate degree in the fastest growing jobs in the U.S. labor market, and the unprecedented increase in the foreign-born population in the United States since the 1970s (U.S. Census Bureau Web, 2016; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projection, 2009; President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), 2009). Understanding the challenges faced by foreign-born students at state colleges will create an avenue for recommending solutions to many these challenges, thereby increasing their educational attainment and economic productivity, hence preparing more Americans …
A Comparative Study Of Student Performance, Attendance, And Discipline In A Community School In A Large Urban School District In The Southern United States, Juanita Morrow
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The goal of this research was to investigate the impact of the community school practices such as extended/supplemental enrichment time, character development, anger management, counseling, tutoring, and mental and physical healthcare on student performance, attendance and discipline at a community school in a large urban school district in the southern U.S. The select population and sample for this study was the school's 2011-2012 senior cohort, before the school's implementation of community school practices and the school's 2015-2016 senior cohort, after implementation of community school practices at the select community school. In an effort to more accurately determine the effectiveness of …
A Study Of Central Florida College Students' Acceptance Of The Theory Of Evolution, Microevolution, Macroevolution, And Human Evolution, David Schleith
A Study Of Central Florida College Students' Acceptance Of The Theory Of Evolution, Microevolution, Macroevolution, And Human Evolution, David Schleith
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In order to study the teaching and learning of the theory of evolution and determine levels of acceptance of the theory of evolution among college students studying biology in Central Florida, the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance, I-SEA, was administered to over 500 university students enrolled in a biology course during the Fall 2016 term. An analysis of 489 completed surveys demonstrated strong overall acceptance of the theory of evolution (average score = 103 out of 120 total possible). Of all students, 78% fell into the category of very high acceptance of the theory of evolution. Students who reported attending …
A Comparison Of Sixth-, Seventh-, And Eighth-Grade Student Outcomes In Schools Configured K-8 Elementary Versus 6-8 Middle Schools As Measured By State Standardized Tests, Student Discipline Referrals, And Student Attendance, Jessica Kelce
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students' outcomes in relation to school configuration, specifically K-8 elementary schools as compared to 6-8 middle schools. Student outcomes focused on in this study were standardized test scores, number of out-of-school suspensions, and number of days absent. Race and gender served as moderator variables for all research questions. Quantitative data were obtained from a large central Florida school district and included 2016 Florida Standards Assessment scale scores in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Algebra 1 End-of-Course Examinations, 2015 Florida Standards Assessment scale scores in English …
Balancing Multiple Roles: A Re-Examination Of How Work Impacts Academic Performance For Community College Students, Celena Ziems
Balancing Multiple Roles: A Re-Examination Of How Work Impacts Academic Performance For Community College Students, Celena Ziems
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study investigated how work impacts academic performance for community college students, from a multiple role balance perspective. Perna (2010) called for a re-examination of the role of work in college students' lives, especially regarding the exploration of benefits, rather than just the detriments of working while studying. According to Karp and Bork (2014), more research was also needed on community college students and how they balance multiple roles. Exploring the relationship between balancing multiple roles and academic performance may provide new insight into how community college students contend with demanding roles, while striving to achieve academic success. This study …
Hispanic Teacher's Experiences With Stressors While Working In Title I Schools: A Phenomenological Investigation Using A Self-Compassion Framework, Coralis Solomon
Hispanic Teacher's Experiences With Stressors While Working In Title I Schools: A Phenomenological Investigation Using A Self-Compassion Framework, Coralis Solomon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this exploratory phenomenology investigation was to understand what were Hispanic teachers' experiences with their occupational stressors while working in Title I elementary schools. Specifically, this investigation used a self-compassion theoretical framework to explore the emotional stressors of the participants (N = 19) and how they cope to mitigate their feelings of burnout. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit Hispanic teachers from three Title I elementary schools within the same school district in Central Florida. The data were collected through individual interviews with the Hispanic teachers who volunteered to participate in the study. All data were recorded, transcribed, …
Pioneer Of Self: An Intimate Retrospective, Juliet Diienno
Pioneer Of Self: An Intimate Retrospective, Juliet Diienno
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Reality is ever changing, and as we gain experience, our perceptions of it transform. Plato's allegory of the cave addresses the way one person's journey from darkness into daylight transforms his reality. My own body of work can be described through this extended metaphor, similarly benefiting from effects of education, self-reflection, and experience dramatically altering my perceptions of myself and my artwork. As projected by Plato, I was forced through an arduous confrontation with my lack of understanding of the human condition, reshaping my ideas to comprehend and adapt to the metaphorical daylight. With new understanding, I return to give …
Barriers To Adoption Of Wellness Programs: A Worked Example Of An Augmented Best-Fit Framework Synthesis, Dalton Oliver
Barriers To Adoption Of Wellness Programs: A Worked Example Of An Augmented Best-Fit Framework Synthesis, Dalton Oliver
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: Qualitative syntheses have the potential to offer a great deal of insight into complex problems of practice. However, their methods often appear unclear and warrant ongoing scrutiny by the research community. Aim: This study introduces a novel combination of methods for synthesizing qualitative literature and explores the utility of these methods through a worked example of a real-world problem of practice. Methods: Qualitative studies that investigated barriers to adoption of wellness programs through the perspectives of key informants were systematically collected for synthesis. Key informants were identified as decision makers at small- to medium-sized businesses. The primary method used …
An Investigation Of State College To University Transfer Students' Sense Of Belonging, Claire Brady
An Investigation Of State College To University Transfer Students' Sense Of Belonging, Claire Brady
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the sense of belonging of state college transfer students who enroll at a large research-intensive university through structured and unstructured transfer pathways using the Sense of Belonging Instrument (SBI; Hoffman, Richmond, Morrow, & Solomon, 2002). The SBI includes five subscales (Peer Support, Faculty Support, Classroom Comfort, Isolation, and Empathetic Faculty Understanding). To date, no systematic investigation has considered the construct of belonging with this population or transfer pathway. The findings from this study (n = 54) found a positive statistically significant correlation between Peer Support and Isolation (r(52) =.801, p …
Sensemaking In Honors Scheduling, James Rowland
Sensemaking In Honors Scheduling, James Rowland
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Honors courses offer students unique opportunities such as smaller class sizes, applied application of knowledge, and a closer mentorship with the faculty member. Through observation, there are some cases where courses have regularly been cancelled every term due to low enrollment. When these courses are often canceled, it can impact the honors program ability to continue to offer courses to the students. Using Weick's work on Sensemaking and principles of analyzing organizational culture, the study addressed how honors students are impacted by course cancellations and how they communicate about the impact. Through two focus groups with a total of eleven …
An Investigation Of The Help-Seeking Behaviors Of Women Student Veterans, Tanya Armstrong
An Investigation Of The Help-Seeking Behaviors Of Women Student Veterans, Tanya Armstrong
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Women with military experience are attending colleges and universities across the United States. It is important to understand how they describe their experiences as students and how their help-seeking behaviors impact their success (DiRamio & Jarvis, 2011; Baechtold & Da Sawal, 2009). Using Schlossberg's Adult Transition Theory (1981, 1984) as a framework, this qualitative phenomenological study explored the help-seeking behaviors of women student veterans. In addition, the events that caused them to seek help and the resources they utilized are described. The research questions were: (1) Does the prior military experience of women student veterans influence their willingness to seek …
A Comprehensive Study Of The Learning Styles Of Student Athletes And Academic Advisors At Three Institutions In The American Athletic Conferences And The Tools And Resources Used To Ensure Academic Success., Dianna Lampitt
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Collegiate athletics plays an important role in higher education. As a result of this importance student athletes also play a significant role in higher education. However, due to their athletic responsibilities they face a number of challenges while enrolled in a college or university. An academic advisor for student athletes is responsible for not only helping the student athletes with their academics, they also play an important role in ensuring the eligibility of college student athletes so they are able to compete. As a result, academic advisors for student athletes use a number of tools and resources that help ensure …
Vie-Ing For The Position: An Examination Of The Motivational Antecedents Of Response Distortion, David Mihm
Vie-Ing For The Position: An Examination Of The Motivational Antecedents Of Response Distortion, David Mihm
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Faking on self-report personality tests is a widespread practice which degrades the construct validity of personality tests when they are used in personnel selection contexts and may lead to suboptimal hiring decisions (Donovan, Dwight, & Hurtz, 2003; Schmit & Ryan, 1993). While much is known about the factors which enable job applicants to successfully engage in faking (Tett, Freund, Christiansen, Fox, & Coaster, 2012), far less is known about how specific applicant perceptions throughout the hiring process influence their decision to engage in this practice. To this end, this study applied Vroom's (1964) expectancy theory to the study of applicant …
The Modern Church Communicates: Rhetoric And Hypertext In Church Website Design, Edward Palmer
The Modern Church Communicates: Rhetoric And Hypertext In Church Website Design, Edward Palmer
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Internet and the World Wide Web have supplanted many paper-based information systems. People turn to the web to locate local services in the same way they find ecommerce sites such as Amazon. Churches of all sizes must develop effective and attractive websites to attract new members and inform existing members. These two groups form distinct audiences that must be correctly targeted by the website content. Other churches may visit to gather ideas for their programs; they are a third group of site visitors. Organization of hypertext on the web requires skills that are different than writing for print. Technical …
Career Preparation For Interdisciplinary Science Phd Students: A Case Study, Sabrina Gordon
Career Preparation For Interdisciplinary Science Phd Students: A Case Study, Sabrina Gordon
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This case study intended to collect and analyze responses from stakeholders of the UCF Modeling and Simulation graduate program regarding the ways in which interdisciplinary (IDS) science PhD students could be prepared for diverse career paths. A mixed methodology study was executed and quantitative survey (N=96) and qualitative interview (N=10) data were collected to address three research questions. Overall, stakeholders for this case study were found to represent the three main career paths of academia, government, and industry. Survey data were utilized to gauge the level of importance that survey participants perceived for various survey scales and items. The scales …
A Framework For Lean Transformation In Developing Countries: The Case Of Saudi Arabian Industry, Murad Andejany
A Framework For Lean Transformation In Developing Countries: The Case Of Saudi Arabian Industry, Murad Andejany
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lean is a dynamic, knowledge-driven, and customer focused philosophy that continuously eradicates waste and generates value, with a goal to improve a company's productivity, efficiency, and quality. Successful implementation of lean does not only offer cost reduction and improved quality and productivity, but also provides efficient guidance for organizations to attain significant and continued growth. Although its adoption by companies has proven successful in developed countries, there is no sufficient evidence of its successful implementation in developing countries such as Saudi Arabia. A review of the literature indicates that there is a need to study lean transformation in developing countries …
Cafeteria Culture: An Anthropological Approach To Lunchtime In A Central Florida Elementary School, Emily Herrington
Cafeteria Culture: An Anthropological Approach To Lunchtime In A Central Florida Elementary School, Emily Herrington
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Public school cafeterias are used by nearly 51 million children (ages 4-17) in the United States every day. With over 40% of the approximately 73 million children (ages 0-17) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), public school lunches carry resounding nutritional, social, and educational significance for their consumers. This fact, coupled with frequent media attention to school lunch food, notwithstanding, a notable lack of social scientific engagement with both students' perspectives and NSLP operators persists. Divided into two studies, this research utilizes ethnographic methods to explore students' lunchtime experiences within a Central Florida public elementary school cafeteria. Both …
Communism's Futures: Intelligentsia Imaginations In The Writings Of The Strugatsky Brothers, Elizabeth Tammaro
Communism's Futures: Intelligentsia Imaginations In The Writings Of The Strugatsky Brothers, Elizabeth Tammaro
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky were the most popular science fiction writing duo in Soviet Russia from the 1960s through the 1980s. Examining their imaginative fictional worlds against the background of wider changes in the Soviet Union allows scholars to gain insights in the world of the Soviet intelligentsia, the educated bearers of culture. As members of this group, the Strugatskys expressed the hopes, frustrations and fears, of their peers, vindicating their intellectual and emotional life. I support the argument that the Brothers occupied a middle ground between conformity and dissident, dubbed the "lost" intelligentsia by Lloyd Churchward. I demonstrate this …
An Investigation Of Low Performing Central Florida Teacher Evaluation Feedback And Improvement Plans As Related To Value-Added Model Scores And Instructional Practice Scores, Tara Butler
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to determine if low performing Central Florida teachers, according to Florida VAM scores, had related instructional practice evaluations that were being used to determine placement on improvement plans in the 2013-14 school year. Additionally, the feedback held within the instructional practice evaluations was analyzed to discover the levels of feedback most frequently rendered by administrative evaluators to the lowest performing teachers. Deidentified data from a population of 528 Central Florida teacher evaluations and improvement plans within the lowest 10% of VAM scores for the 2013-14 school year were gathered from a Florida Department of …
University Students' Citizenship Shaped By Service-Learning, Community Service, And Peer-To-Peer Civic Discussions, Haley Winston
University Students' Citizenship Shaped By Service-Learning, Community Service, And Peer-To-Peer Civic Discussions, Haley Winston
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Citizenship is often referred to as the forgotten outcome of colleges and universities. The present study examined the relationship between undergraduate students' perceived citizenship level and different types of civic experiences (service-learning, community service, and peer-to-peer civic discussions) and also different demographic factors (gender, race/ethnicity, and parental level of education) at a public institution using the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory. This study used structural equation modeling and multiple regression analysis. This marks the first time these variables have been researched together. This study found a significant correlation between both community service and peer-to-peer civic discussions in relation to citizenship …
The Effectiveness Of Project-Based Learning Using Digital Storytelling Technology On Improving Second-Grade Students' Performance Of Science Standards, Mariella Dorr
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study was to find the effectiveness of digital storytelling technology integration through a project-based learning approach using digital stories combined with hands-on guided inquiry science lessons. As a teacher researcher, the focus was on the effectiveness in the performance of second-grade students using higher-order thinking science standards. For a period of ten weeks, the researcher through comparative action research investigated how emergent technology integration improved the performance of two second-grade classrooms implementing three higher-order thinking life science standards. A total of 27 students from two second-grade classrooms volunteered for this research. For the study, a pretest …