Digital Commons Network^™

Here Be Dragons: The Barriers Of Korean American Female Leaders In Secondary Schools, Joyce A. Kim

Dissertations

In K-12 public schools, there is a shortage of Korean American women in school leadership roles at the secondary level. This phenomenological study explores the contributing factors to this lack of representation, how institutions can recruit and retain Korean American female leaders, and how school systems can better support them. This study examines the leadership experiences of eight Korean American women. It utilizes the socio-political contexts of Korean patriarchy, the Model Minority Myth, and mentorship to help frame the problem of existing barriers. This study explores the following questions: What factors hinder Korean American women in school leadership? What structural …

Useful Measures Of Adult Attachment And Object Relations In Psychotherapy, Matilde A. Torallas Huerta

Dissertations

This is a literature review of objective and projective measures of attachment and object relations in adults, with the objective of reviewing outstanding research to identify the key factors for adult attachment assessment considered within attachment and object relations theories, what measures of adult attachment styles and dysfunction work best, and to provide key themes of assistance in the measurement of attachment and object relations in adult clients in psychotherapy. Theoretical foundations of attachment and object relations theory are reviewed as well as objective and projective instruments grouped by format. The 10 themes found to be useful in the assessment …

Shades Of Families: Exploring Intersectionalities Of Cross-Cultural Parenting Experiences In The U.S., Shu-Han Huang

Dissertations

As multiracial and multicultural families continue to grow across the United States, parents must navigate evolving cultural identities, systemic inequities, and increasing social and emotional pressures. These realities underscore the need for parenting resources that are both culturally responsive and emotionally supportive. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 11 cross-cultural parents raising children in the U.S., with a focus on how intersecting identities and systemic forces shape parenting practices.

Guided by Critical Multiracial Theory and Intersectionality Theory, this study investigated parenting at the personal, familial, societal, and structural levels. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed …

Clinical Nurse Civility And Professional Identity Formation In Nursing Students, Janet Elaine Weeda

Dissertations

Professional identity (PI) formation is an essential objective for nursing education. In 2010, Benner et al. published a landmark document titled Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation, which included a transition from teaching roles and developing professionalism to professional identity formation. In 2018, a ‘Thank Tank’ meeting occurred at the University of Kansas to explore professional identity in nursing, which developed into the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing (ISPIN; Brewington & Godfrey, 2020). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN, 2021) The Essentials included a core competency that called for the “formation and cultivation of a …

Development And Validity Analysis Of The Pragmatic Assessment Of Role Transition And Onboarding For Midwives (Parto-M) Instrument: An Exploratory Study, Erin Mary Morelli

Dissertations

This exploratory study addressed the significant gap in research regarding the transition of newly qualified midwives to practice. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to identify the areas of strength and domains of challenge for new graduate midwives in their role transition to independent practice. The study sought to answer the following research questions:

Q1 What is essential to measure in an instrument assessing what is necessary for a new midwife to successfully bridge from education to orientation and onward after evaluation by new graduate midwives and subject matter experts?

Q2 What is the calculated content …

The Effects Of Nursing Faculty Approachability On Student Engagement In The Clinical Setting, Kristin Lambert

Dissertations

Despite the emphasis on practice readiness in nursing education, new graduate nurses are still experiencing an education-practice gap with a lack of soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, time management, and collaboration within a team when they enter practice (Mirza et al., 2019). Nursing clinical faculty are in a prime position to decrease this gap and should strive to be approachable to foster a safe learning environment where students feel comfortable engaging in the practice of soft skills. While nursing faculty approachability and student engagement are both desirable in nursing education, no studies had previously been done connecting the …

The Effects Of Retrieval Practice On Knowledge Acquisition And Durable Learning In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Jessica Everritt Gay

Dissertations

Recent reports of unpreparedness and failure to rescue incidents among new graduate nurses are concerning for nurse educators and health care. New graduates must retrieve and apply learned knowledge to make sound clinical decisions, emphasizing the need for durable learning and knowledge acquisition. Durable learning, which involves understanding and recalling learned information days, weeks, or months later is crucial for clinical judgment. Nurse educators should facilitate durable learning through effective, evidence-based learning techniques such as retrieval practice (RP), which has shown promise in health professions education but is underutilized in nursing education.

This study explored the impact of RP on …

Is There A Relationship Between Motivation And Nursing Student Engagement? A Quantitative, Cross-Sectional, Correlational Study, Angela Coes

Dissertations

Nursing education is concerned with helping to alleviate the nursing shortage in the United States; this can be done by graduating safe competent novice nurses. Motivation and engagement levels in nursing students have been tied to better academic outcomes including graduation rates, transition to practice, and first time National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses pass rates. There was a gap in prelicensure nursing education research in the United States concerning the relationship among motivation, engagement, and possible influential variables.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between motivation and academic engagement among prelicensure nursing students in …

Learning The Musical Elements From An Early Age Through The Use Of Traditional Folk And Popular Tunes In The Mother Tongue And A Compendium Of Music Resources In Spanish For General Music Classes, Román Orlando Carranza Zapata

Dissertations

This document intends to fulfill three primary purposes. One is to explore the principal characteristics of early music education methods regarding teaching and learning music from an early age through the mother tongue, also known as their native language. These methods may suggest other strategies such as: playing and singing children's games, singing traditional folk tunes, improvisation, dancing, or playing instruments for the general music classroom. The second purpose is to provide music educators with a compilation of various music resources written in Spanish, such as pedagogical books, workbooks, and online interactive musical platforms that can be used in the …

Creative Specialists: Exploring Creativity, Improvisation, And Jazz In Music Education, Stephen Oliver Vaughan

Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the process of musical creativity in musicians who are educators and improvisers specifically. Creativity takes on many forms; however, improvisational creativity has subjective-uniqueness that is valuable to many research areas, such as education, psychology, sports science, and leadership. The following research questions guided the study:

Q1 How do professional improvising music educators define creativity?

Q2 How does the creative process manifest itself within their performance and teaching?

Through purposeful sampling, four participants were selected and interviewed to collectively create 7-8 hours of narrative data producing 200 pages of data. Participants as creative specialists were selected …

A Randomized Clinical Trial Exploring Two Doses Of Cannabidiol Daily For Eight Weeks On Health And Stress, Ryland Emery Townsend

Dissertations

This study’s purpose was to explore whether a 60 or 30 mg dose of cannabidiol (CBD) consumed in a beverage further supplemented with L-theanine, vitamin E, and vitamin C would alter various measures on subjective measures of stress, health and fitness related outcomes, and objective measures of stress. This double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial recruited healthy, college-aged subjects for randomization into one of four treatment groups where they consumed daily a single 12 ounce beverage for eight weeks containing 1) 60 mg CBD (CBD60) plus L-theanine; 2) 30 mg CBD (CBD30) plus L-theanine; 3) no CBD (CBD0), L-theanine alone, and 4) …

Exploring The Utility Of A Behavior Assistant Position In One School District, Carolyn Christine Mitchell

Dissertations

Challenging student behavior is on the rise with increased verbal and physical aggression in schools. Some students who exhibit challenging behavior are identified with a disability and served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 or Section 504 (U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2022). Legal mandates required schools to implement positive and proactive behavior supports for students who exhibited challenging behavior; however, teachers were not adequately trained in such legal requirements or effective behavior management strategies. This lack of training resulted in an over-reliance on reactive disciplinary reactions such as suspension, expulsion, restraint, and seclusion. These …

New Nursing Faculty Perspectives On And Experiences With Group Mentoring, Kathryn Donna Kuskie

Dissertations

Nursing faculty are needed to teach the next generation of nurses. However, there is a current shortage of nursing faculty. The transition to nursing education from clinical practice is a difficult one, which has led many to leave education to return to nursing practice instead of successfully transitioning to the nurse educator role. Strategies are needed to support nurses in making the transition from practice to education. Mentoring has shown promise in aiding this transition. Many studies explored mentoring of new nursing faculty, but few studied group mentoring with this population. Limited research showed that group mentoring might have benefits …

The Role Of A Web-Based Collaborative Cloud Application As A Tool For Spanish Acquisition: College Students’ Attitudes And Perceptions In Language Courses, Gloria Mercedes Monzon

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ attitudes and perceptions toward using a web-based collaborative cloud application (Padlet) for aquiring the Spanish language. Conducted during the Fall 2024 semester, the study involved 53 college students from the Colorado Rocky Mountain region who engaged with Padlet in their Spanish language courses. A quantitative method was employed to address the following three research questions related to students’ perceptions of Padlet’s effectiveness in developing four essential skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing; their attitudes toward Padlet’s features; and their overall evaluation of Padlet as a language-learning tool.

Q1 What are …

Meet Them Where They Are: Itinerant Early Childhood Special Education Services In Community-Based Settings, Ashley Lindstrom

Dissertations

Preschoolers naturally learn and develop within their environments and communities. Itinerant early childhood special education (ECSE) services within community-based settings such as homes, childcare locations, and private preschool programs are used in some areas to provide inclusive services. Key collaborators to this model include families, ECSE professionals, and early childhood education (ECE) staff (Division for Early Childhood [DEC] & National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2009). The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and perspectives of adult collaborators in a single case of a Wisconsin district implementing itinerant ECSE services in community-based …

Unschoolers In Higher Education: A Narrative Case Study Of Unschoolers’ Sense Of Belonging At University, Melissa Marie Carlson

Dissertations

Approximately 20% of families engaged in homeschooling have selected unschooling as their educational approach, with estimates suggesting this number may be even higher (Vesneski et al., 2022). Unschooling emphasizes the establishment of an environment where children can autonomously direct their learning by exploring their interests, unencumbered by traditional educational milestones or specific schedules (Arnall, 2018; Riley, 2020; Riley & Gray, 2015). Despite increasing public acceptance and recognition, research on the outcomes for unschoolers—particularly those pursuing higher education—is limited (Riley, 2020). The purpose of this study was to explore the importance of supporting unschoolers after they have matriculated, specifically fostering sense …

Production Pressure And Normalization Of Deviance: An Examination Of Their Prevalence Among Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists In Their Primary Clinical Practice Setting, Jeremy Stephen Carter

Dissertations

Normalization of deviance (NoD) occurs when an individual intentionally and repeatedly circumvents established standards of care, professional regulations, or institutional policies designed to maintain safety. Over time, these violations become incorporated into the individual’s routine until they are no longer viewed as safety threats but as acceptable means to achieving organizational goals. Production pressure (PP) occurs when an individual perceives pressure to maximize productivity—either from another individual or administrators within an organization. Production pressure is frequently cited as a leading cause of NoD within all industries. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of PP and NoD …

Writing Feedback For Middle Grades Students: Commentary That Is Timely And Impactful For Creating Self-Sufficient Writers, Kaitlin P. Lambert

Dissertations

This qualitative case study determined which pre-existing writing feedback models are most impactful and timely for creating self-sufficient student writers at the secondary level of schooling. The context is in an inner-city, Title 1 middle school, and the research focuses on honors English Language Arts students in seventh grade. The study follows nine participants during a consecutive 12-week time period while engaging in various writing tasks and practicing types of teacher feedback, peer feedback, and self-feedback. With teacher, peer, and self-feedback, students participated in written, spoken, and automated feedback strategies. The data types included an informal researcher journal, three semi-structured …

The Surge Of The Populist Radical Right: How Transnationalism And Party Systems Influence Populist Radical Right Success And Decline, Liucija Balciunaite

Dissertations

My dissertation examines the causes behind the slows and surges of the populist radical right (PRR) success. I attempt to answer the following question in the context of the growing global legitimacy of the populist radical right (PRR). What process contributes to the slows and surges of populist radical right (PRR) legitimacy? Previous explanations have narrowed the possible conditions influencing populist radical right success in two ways. First, the available literature often analyzes separately the structural and strategic conditions behind populist radical right success. This has created a gap in the literature, especially regarding the possible interaction between the structural …

Famílias Indigenas Entre Mundos: Standing In Pachakuti, Living In Chi’Xi Within The Constellation Of Their Comunidad De Saberes, Ymasumac Marañón Davis

Dissertations

To be Indigenous is to be la luz del mundo, to stand in your light and spread your sunrays, no matter winds or clouds of colonization that strive to dim you. This qualitative study explored ways Indigenous Latine families negotiate a sense of place within onto-epistemological realities and their home culture of learning and Western education. This research is desire-based (Eve Tuck, 2009), creating our own project of modernity, grounded in one Indigenous family’s experience within their Andean community. Drawing from Critical Latine Indigeneities Framework (Blackwell et al., 2017) and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies (Bernal, 1998), using an Entre Mundos methodology, …

Virtual Reality And Nursing Education: A Randomized Control Trial Of The Effectiveness Of Virtual Reality As A Simulation Modality, David R. Haigh

Dissertations

Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology being utilized in educational and professional training in fields such as engineering, heavy industry, and the military. VR also has the potential to be utilized in pre-licensing nursing education; however, nursing programs have been slow to adopt VR as a simulation modality to train pre-licensed nurses in clinical skills. As such, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of VR training in critical skills that nurses will utilize in clinical settings. This research is vital because utilizing VR as a training tool can reduce the time and cost of preparing nurses …

Student Self-Assessment Of Learning To Foster Improved Self-Reflection Of Learning And Academic Achievement, Leann Renee Doerr

Dissertations

Throughout her career and most notably post-pandemic, the scholar practitioner observed an increase in students giving up when encountering rigorous academic content and assignments. During the research process, concepts of student agency and self-regulation of learning, which were new to the scholar practitioner, came to the forefront of skills her students either lacked or needed to improve upon. Empathy generators were gathered for participants at Context School #1, which led to Student agency and self-regulation of learning becoming the center of the intervention during the design thinking process. The Self-Assessment of Learning, created and modified during the design thinking phases, …

What Factors Impact Teachers’ Beliefs About The Likelihood To Which Their Students With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities Can Live On Campus, Jonathan Lidgus

Dissertations

After the Higher Education Opportunity Act was passed in 2008, inclusive postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disability (ID) have grown on campuses across the United States. These programs were designed to eliminate barriers that prevent students with intellectual disability from attending college in order to achieve positive employment outcomes and skills to increase independent living. While programs may be designed for those with intellectual disability, individuals may have multiple diagnoses, including intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The relationship between a student and their secondary teachers can positively impact their future or present a barrier. Using the data from the …

Unleashing Excellence: Strengthening It Leaders Through Executive Coaching, Tonya S. Rivers

Dissertations

This paper explores the impact of executive coaching on Information Technology (IT) leaders. Many organizations across different industries lack strong leadership, as exposed by COVID-19. Companies aim to keep exceptional leaders and establish upbeat workplaces to achieve success. Although previous research has examined leadership effectiveness, it is still unclear how best to manage employees' perceptions of effective leadership. The goal of this research is to provide new insights into what can improve perceptions of leadership effectiveness. I explored the role executive leadership coaching has on managers working in the Information Technology (IT) field. Current literature often mentions the need for …

Getting The Unbanked, Banked: An Adult Education Intervention Program To Increase The Usage Of The Banking System By Low-Income Families, Orlando A. Smith

Dissertations

Financial literacy describes the skills, knowledge and tools consumers use to make informed financial decisions to meet their goals. The purpose of this study was to determine how many consumers utilize the resources offered by banks and credit unions and for those who do not, after participating in an intervention, will begin to do so. The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change served as the theoretical framework. It has been shown to be a useful model to examine adults’ change in financial behaviors. The sample consisted of 65 adults who lived within specific zip codes in a large metropolitan area in …

We Speak Life Into Their Language: Black Educators’ Approaches To Linguistic Justice In Urban Secondary Ela Classrooms, Lakeisha A. Davis

Dissertations

This study explores how Black educators navigate linguistic justice, deficit thinking, and stereotypes in urban secondary English Language Arts (ELA) classrooms. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, it examines how teachers affirm Black Language (BL) while balancing the demands of White Mainstream English (WME) in academic spaces. Findings reveal that although educators employ culturally affirming strategies, they face challenges from restrictive language policies and standardized assessments. To counteract these barriers, they adopt negotiation practices that support students’ linguistic and cultural identities. From these findings, the study proposes Dynamic Linguistic Uplift (DLU)—a new theoretical framework that illustrates how Black educators sustain BL …

Warriors And Guardians: Police Recruit Role Orientation And Heterogeneity, Robert Boxerman

Dissertations

American police have experienced an expansion of duties over the last century, and their function has become increasingly diverse. As a result, researchers have developed role orientation typologies to understand how officers view themselves, their attitudes toward their work, and their responsibilities. One such typology is the warrior/guardian framework, where warrior-oriented officers see themselves as crime-fighting soldiers in conflict with criminals, while guardian-oriented officers view themselves as protectors of the community and providers of broader public services. Despite its popularity, there is limited empirical evidence supporting this framework. Further, little research examines how police recruits differentially view their role as …

Exploring The Impact Of Leadership Styles On Teacher Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Case Study Of Rural And Suburban High Schools, Stephanie Hill

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how high school teachers in rural and suburban settings perceive their school leaders’ leadership styles, and how they influence teachers’ self-efficacy. Grounded in established leadership theories and research on teacher efficacy, this investigation aims to provide a nuanced, context-sensitive understanding of leadership dynamics within diverse educational environments. The study employs a comparative case study design, sampling from two high schools—Suburban Academy and Rural Tech High School. Data collection methods include semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, offering multiple perspectives on leadership practices and their effects on teachers’ confidence and instructional decision-making. Ultimately, the results will contribute to …

What Does It Mean To Be A Mentor? Perceptions Of Mentor Teachers In A Mentoring Program, Karen M. Powell

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe a district-wide, new teacher induction and mentoring program in one metropolitan public elementary school in Georgia. Based on the literature reviewed, there is a lack of research on the effects of mentoring programs in elementary schools, and specifically the effects of mentoring on the mentor teacher. Research questions are: (1) How do mentor teachers experience an induction and mentoring program? (2) What meaning do mentor teachers ascribe to their role in new teacher induction? Data was collected from four mentor teachers through a background survey and individual interviews during the …

Exploring Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions, Understanding, And Implementation Of Performance-Based Summative Assessments, Gregory A. Walkup

Dissertations

Performance-based summative assessments are increasingly emphasized as an alternative to traditional standardized testing, offering students opportunities to demonstrate learning through authentic, application-based tasks. However, there is limited research on how middle school teachers perceive and implement these assessments in their classrooms. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions and experiences of middle school teachers regarding performance-based summative assessments, investigating both their understanding and the reality of classroom implementation. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis to provide a comprehensive view of teacher perspectives and practices. Through thematic analysis, four major themes emerged: Teacher Confidence and Readiness, …