Digital Commons Network^™

Teachers' Perspectives From Within A School Leadership Team: A Phenomenological Study, Sheridan L. Barker Edd

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored a different type of leadership by investigating leadership among peers in a California School Leadership Team (SLT). Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher asked ten teachers to describe their experience as members and as leaders in a schoolwide change team. The teachers characterized the SLT as: a positive force in the school, a vehicle for communication, and a support group. They described the experience as: eye opening, unique, challenging, and transforming. Five themes emerged as the essence of the experience: (a) the interdependent relationship among the team members; (b) the teachers' growing capacity to discern fine …

An Analysis Of Dialogue For Understanding Educators' Stress: Implications For Voice, Listening And Leadership, Joanna R. Doonan Edd

Dissertations

Research indicates that educator stress is a widespread phenomenon that not only impacts the educational community, but society at large. This being the case, there is an urgent need to consider this phenomenon within responsible school leadership. In particular, understanding what creates stress for educators, and learning more about leadership responses that would support educators under stress, are critical to more holistic school leadership, and for enabling teachers to envision a viable future for themselves. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine how school principals and colleagues might respond to educators coping with professional stress, so that they …

Transborder Economic Development: A Collaborative Partnership In The San Diego-Tijuana Region, Piedad Garcia Edd

Dissertations

The study seeks to understand and develop insights into the San Diego-Tijuana transborder economic collaborative partnership, by examining the Binational Planning and Coordination Committee (BPCC). This entity was established in 1993 via a Letter of Agreement between the City of San Diego and the municipality of Tijuana. Pursuant to the Letter of Agreement the BPCC is examined against the backdrop of the global economy, the emergence of region-states, U.S.-Mexico relations and transborder relations in the San Diego-Tijuana region. A qualitative single case-study methodology is applied to explain the role, function, structure, decision making processes and collaborative leadership relationships of the …

Collaborative Teaching Practices For A New Century: A Descriptive Case Study Of Peer Coaching, Nance Maguire Edd

Dissertations

No longer is it appropriate for educators to come together as a group to "learn" a new skill and return to their classrooms to practice it in isolation. In the past, staff development programs have focused on development of a singular skill with teachers practicing it in isolation. The teaching and learning process can better be developed through collaboration. In order for this to happen effective teachers must be able to create effective interactive relationships with their peers. Hence, the practice and art of teaching ceases to be an individual enterprise; becoming instead a collaborative enterprise. Peer coaching is one …

Identification Of Core Multidisciplinary Competencies In An Integrated Public Health And Human Service System, Brian Winslow Thomas Moffitt Edd

Dissertations

In response to economic, legislative and social forces, public health and human service systems are becoming more integrative, requiring direct service practitioners to acquire new competencies to successfully perform in these new settings. In a review of the literature, competencies pertaining to team effectiveness, interprofessional collaboration and cross-functional knowledge and skills all appear to be relevant considerations. Moreover, an examination of competencies must consider individual, team and organizational dimensions in a context of health and welfare reform. However, the current literature is fragmented, limited in scope and empirically inconclusive. A descriptive, qualitative study was therefore warranted. The following research question …

Storytelling In Project Heart To Heart: A Means To Bridge Generational Gap In Post-1965 Filipino Immigrant Families, Juanita Toledo Santos Nacu Edd

Dissertations

As we share our experiences with others, we also explore its meaning to ourselves and to whomever it is being shared with. This is how stories are told. Most families usually develop a body of stories that is passed on from one generation to the next generation. These stories are used to preserve the family member's identity, history, and values. The stories touch not only our past experiences, but also influences our present and links it to the future. This study explored the Filipino American families' experiences of storytelling as a means of bridging together past, present, and future experiences …

Voices Against Discrimination And Exclusion: Latino School Leaders' Narratives For Change, Jaime J. Romo Edd

Dissertations

Many scholars, practitioners, and policy makers know very little about individual Latino administrators' cultural and professional experiences, responses to discrimination, and patterns or institutional conditions which relate to K-12 ethnic minority administrators' success. Moreover, many are also unaware that as ethnic diversity increases, the relative proportion of minority administrators, many of whom could be role models, shrinks. Once we can recognize this as seeds for inequity in society, we might be able to consider the ways in which our educational institution reinforces or counters societal inequities. By specifically exploring Latino administrators' experiences, because of the large Latino California presence, we …

Leadership Responses To Change In 21st Century California State University Physical Education/Kinesiology Departments, Paulette Wong Hopkins Edd

Dissertations

A number of driving and restraining forces seem to foretell of a paradigm shift in today's post-secondary physical education departments. While the majority might agree that some change is inevitable, of utmost importance and concern is the manner in which change occurs. Left to the vagaries of chance, change can be chaotic and destructive; conversely, when effectively managed by leadership, controlled change can result in immense benefits. This study details leadership perspectives and views on driving and restraining forces that may impact California State University (CSU) physical education departments into the 21st century. It is believed that an analysis of …

Experiences Assisting Or Hindering The Academic And Social Integration Of African American Students At Southwestern Michigan College, Naomi L. Ludman

Dissertations

Problem. Attrition rates of minority students in general and African American students in particular have remained high in postsecondary education, particularly at community colleges. To gain information that is most useful for implementing policies and actions that will increase the retention and achievement of minority students, Tinto has maintained that colleges should not rely solely on systems-wide research, but should study their own students.

Method. This case study used Tinto’s longitudinal model of institutional departure to investigate the experiences of six African American students at a rural community college in southwestern Michigan. Analysis of the data from a series of …

The Theology And The Function Of The Prayers In The Book Of Daniel, Paul Birch Petersen

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the theology and the function of the prayers in the Book of Daniel.

The introduction reviews the scholarly literature in regard to the prayers of the Old Testament in general and the prayers in the Book of Daniel in particular. Recent studies of prayers in the Old Testament have focused on their theological function in their final literary setting. They have also turned their attention to prayer as part of a process of communication, of a divine-human dialogue, and consequently this study is structured from the aspect of interpersonal relationships.

Chapter 1 deals with Daniel and his …

Religious Educator As Rabbinic Disciple: A Theology Of Teaching, Larry J. Huiras

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Pedagogical Methods Of Hindu Gurus, Pearl Anjanee Gyan Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the pedagogical methods of Hindu gurus that could be applicable to elementary school teaching for the inner development of students. With severe cutbacks to classroom instruction and demands by economic, political, and educational leaders for education to produce a highly skilled work force for the future of the economy, teachers are forced to use precision teaching for measurable learning. The review of the literature in this study presented a historiography of Western pedagogical methods. It showed how Western teaching methods have been defined by the seventeenth-century Newtonian objectivistic-reductionistic-mechanistic paradigm and later enforced …

The Effects Of Priming On Children's Attitudes Toward The Elderly, Sony Hoe

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Patterns And Correlates Of Cavaas Performance By Students With Spina Bifida And Attention Problems, Susan Boyle-Fields

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Intentional Classroom Humor In Nursing : A Multiple Case Study, Joan Kay Ulloth

Dissertations

Problem. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived connections between the intentional use of humor in the nursing classroom and student learning in the cognitive and affective domains while seeking to understand student and teacher perceptions and responses to humor.

Method. This study used a case study approach and the end result is a multiple case study of three associate degree nursing instructors in the Midwest. The data collection methods included observations, interviews, and surveys. Data from the different sources were examined within and across cases for commonality or difference of experience. Connections were made between …

Employability Skills In The Undergraduate Business Curriculum And Job Market Preparedness : Perceptions Of Faculty And Final-Year Students In Five Tertiary Institutions, Patrick Antonio Williams

Dissertations

Problem

For several decades educators, researchers, and employers have expressed concern about the quality of business graduates that are entering the workplace as entry-level professionals. The major concern of these stakeholders is that many students who are leaving tertiary institutions lack the necessary employability skills needed for career success. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate if undergraduate schools of business are adequately preparing their students for the workplace through the incorporation of employability skills throughout the curriculum. To achieve this purpose, the study measured the perceptions of both final-year undergraduate business students and their professors to determine …

A Study Of The Internal Family Systems Model Applied To Remarried Couples Of Stepfamilies In Different Stages Of Adjustment, Susan Marie Carter

Dissertations

Problem. Stepfamilies are becoming the largest family type in the United States. This has significant implications for understanding the complications of remarriage and providing clinical interventions that support the adjustment process of stepfamilies. The Internal Family Systems Model, developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, asserts that an individual's personality is multiple naturally, and that there are interactions within the individual that have significant impact on their external systems. In applying the IFS model to the study of stepfamilies, this present study identifies the IFS maps of the partners of remarried couples active in stepfamily interaction and to determine how this IFS …

The Effects Of Perspective-Taking Training On Empathy Development In Adult Male Sex Offenders, Randall E. Haugen

Dissertations

Problem. Empathy training is considered a critical part of a sex offender program. Research has revealed that sex offenders are deficient in empathy, which may be a factor that contributes to their abusive behaviors. There is a surprising lack of research on empathy program outcomes, and there is a need to determine whether program formats are producing the desired outcomes. Research supports that sex offenders are deficient in perspective-taking, which is considered a critical part of the empathy process. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the inclusion of perspective-taking training in a traditional empathy-training module.

Method. …

The Development Of A Master Plan Of Curriculum And Instruction For A Charter School In The State Of Michigan, Thomas Gerald Kea

Dissertations

Problem. Our country stands in need of academic imperatives that will provide direction for our public school system. Highly accountable charter schools are being propagated to model quality education. The country is presently challenged to produce competent educational programs that contribute to this pioneer effort.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to develop a master plan of curriculum and instruction for a charter school in the state of Michigan by studying select schools and other documents.

Method. This was a qualitative study that sought to determine the culture of select charter, public, private, and home schools. Ten principles, drawn …

Integrated Thematic Instruction : A Descriptive Case Study Of Students' Attitudes Toward School And Learning, Ginger Heinrich O'Neal

Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to describe the operational form of the innovation— Integrated Thematic Instruction within the context of its implementation. An embedded single case study design was used to carry out this gualitative study, with Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) as the unit of the case study. The questions that guided the study were: What does ITI look like when implemented by the teacher? What are the contextual elements of implementation of this program? What variations are found in the implementation of this innovation by different teachers? A review of related literature revealed the historical, philosophical, and theoretical …

Power In Religious Organizations: A Study Of Principals' Perspectives As Seen In Three Religious High Schools In Michigan, Patrick L. Allen

Dissertations

Problem. Power is a phenomenon that is known to almost everyone, and is evident in any relationship that involves at least two individuals. Despite its inescapability, not many individuals are aware of its nature and characteristics and how it displays itself, especially in the organizational setting. This study focused on how power displays itself in religious organizations, and described particular activities that occur in the context of three religious schools in Michigan.

Method. To accomplish the purpose of the study the literature on power was reviewed to identify the existing theories. This documentary approach was combined with case studies to …

Relationships Among Expectations Of Reentry Problems Of International Students Living In On-Campus Apartments And Off-Campus Housing At Andrews University And Selected Student Characteristics, José R. Bourget-Tactuk

Dissertations

Problem. Andrews University has maintained a large international student population throughout the years, but no previous study exists that examines expectations of reentry problems among international students. Consequently, neither has there been data collected on important demographic variables influencing the sojourn experience of this group, nor does there exist information about relationships among demographic variables and specific reentry areas that shape the students' expectations about the return home.

Method. The Expectations of Problems Upon Return to the Home Country Among International Students at Andrews University survey instrument was developed. Descriptive statistics were used to discover demographic characteristics and frequency of …

Values In Psychotherapy: A Philosophical Analysis Of The Normative Assumptions In Freud's Psychoanalysis, Sullivan's Interpersonal Theory Of Psychiatry And Frankl's Logotherapy, Sally R. Kowalkowski

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Characteristics And Perceptions Of Trauma Recidivists And Non-Recidivists, Vicki A. Keough

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mind And The Inner-Outer Dichotomy, Richard Baluck

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Moral Judgment Development Of Pregnant Teens, Dalia Ovdat May

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Social Support Intervention For Mothers Of Typical And Special Needs Infants And Toddler: An Outcome Evaluation, Deborah Blake Krueger

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Acculturation And Social Skill Development Among Chinese Immigrant Families, Yue-Ching Chen

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Adjustment Of Hearing-Impaired Children: Risk And Resistance Factors, Karen L. Burk-Paull

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Caregiver's Experience Of Deliberative Mutual Patterning With Pain-Ridden Substance Users, Gaile Hausaman Nellett

Dissertations

No abstract provided.