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A Tale Of Bohemians: A Comparative Analysis Of Leoncavallo’S And Puccini’S Treatments Of La Bohème, Mihye Kim

Dissertations

Giacomo Puccini’s opera, La Bohème, stands as an undisputed masterpiece of operatic literature. The opera was inspired by Henri Muger ’s 1851 novel Scènes de la vie de Bohème and premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1896. Puccini’s rival, Ruggero Leoncavallo, wrote his own version of La Bohème, inspired by the same source. Leoncavallo’s version premiered one year later in 1897 at La Fenice in Venice. Although virtually unknown now, Leoncavallo’s setting was received more with more favor than Puccini’s version at its premier. This research will explore the two operas to understand why one faded into obscurity, …

Reversing The Panopticon: Perspectives Of Previously Incarcerated Adults In Community College, Megan Friesen

Dissertations

The purpose of this critical case study was to better understand the experiences of previously incarcerated adults in a community college. This research was informed by critical criminology (Brown, 2009), especially the societal eye of the panopticon (Foucault, 1975/1977). Furthermore, I expanded on this with Paulo Freire’s (2005) work on oppression and education. This research was also informed by the existing literature on community college students in three areas: those who have been incarcerated, those in on-campus addiction recovery support, and those employed in work-study positions. Through semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, and a review of the material data, four previously …

Lived Experiences Of Reintegration For Afghanistan Veterans Who Were Army Combat Medics, Matthew Argento

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences, strengths, and challenges of reintegrating into civilian life for GWOT Army veterans who were medics. Three veterans completed in-depth interviews about their reintegration experiences. Results were organized into domains, core ideas, and categories. This study added to the existing literature on both combat medics and military transitions and suggests new areas of future research on combat medics and their transitions post-military.

Participants expressed feeling nervous about their reintegration, primarily due to their familiarity with the structured military lifestyle, anxiety regarding how much or little their family would need them, …

“They’Ll Be Needing Us”: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Lived Experience Of Secondary English Teachers, Sarah Hahn Campbell

Dissertations

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to explore the lived experience of secondary English teachers and the complex interactions between those teachers’ working conditions and the other dimensions of the school ecology. In particular, the researcher was interested to discover how the consideration of teacher working conditions as part of the school ecology can help education leaders reform schools. The teachers in this study worked in a large urban school district in the Rocky Mountain West of the United States. The study was iterative, which ensured credibility and validity in the results. From a quantitative survey …

Efficacy Of A Novel Role-Playing Based In-Class Simulation On Enhancing Clinical Judgment Skills In Senior Baccalaureate Nursing Students, Melodie Jolly

Dissertations

Clinical judgment is a critical skill for nurses, directly impacting patient outcomes and quality of care. However, studies have shown that newly graduated nurses often lacked sufficient clinical judgment abilities to meet the demands of increasingly complex patient populations. This quasi-experimental study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a novel role-playing based in-class simulation designed to enhance clinical judgment skills among senior baccalaureate nursing students. The study employed a single-group pre-assessment and post-assessment design using Lasater’s Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) as the primary measurement tool. Using a convenience sample, 37 senior nursing students who enrolled in a Term 4 clinical …

How Do You Ask Questions? A Thematic And Discursive Analysis Of Question-Asking In Stranger Conversations, Nicholas Elliott

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore how questions are used in casual conversations between strangers. While conversation has long been studied by linguists, sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists, a methodological divide persists: conversation analysis versus experimental approaches. Despite extensive research, the rules guiding question-asking in conversation remain unclear. This study integrates both conversation analysis and experimental literature to investigate the role of questions in interactions with strangers. The research began with a quantitative content analysis of questions drawn from a set of recorded conversations known wholly as the Candor Dataset, informed by Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, which suggests …

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 …

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 …

Analyzing The Impact Of Motivational Interviewing In A School Counseling Setting With Academically At-Risk High School Students, Brian Linhart

Dissertations

This study investigates the impact of motivational interviewing (MI) on the academic performance and motivation of academically at-risk high school students over an eight-week period. The primary research questions examine whether there is a statistically significant impact of using MI in a school counseling setting on academic performance and internal motivations. Data collection methods included academic performance, the Self-Reported Academic Beliefs, Behavior, and Self-Efficacy questionnaire, and the MI Pre and Post Meeting Questionnaire to assess students’ motivation and engagement. The study employs a quantitative approach using Friedman’s rank sum test and a paired t-test with a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, to …

The Examination Of Teacher Mentorship Design For Mentees, Cagla Cobek

Dissertations

Teacher stress has been documented as a problem for today’s educators. Improving teachers’ well-being through mentorship programs is promising in the literature. Therefore, this study examined a daily check-in mentorship program for teachers experiencing moderate stress. The researchers examined the changes in mentees’ daily stress levels, perceived stress, sense of self-efficacy, and use of proactive classroom management strategies. Mentees and mentors were also asked to complete ratings of the social validity of the mentorship program. Three mentees and mentor dyads working in an elementary and middle school in a Southeastern school district in the USA participated. A nonconcurrent Multiple Baseline …

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 …

Secondary Traumatic Stress And Post-Traumatic Growth: The Moderating Effects Of Cognitive Flexibility And Compassion Satisfaction On School Personnel, Breanna King

Dissertations

Many students enrolled in the K-12 school system in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic event. School personnel working with students who have experienced trauma are at risk of developing secondary traumatic stress (STS), with symptoms mirroring those of post-traumatic stress disorder. Among educators, STS has been correlated with negative mental health outcomes and intent to leave the profession, further exacerbating educator turnover and shortages across the country. However, some individuals experience positive life changes following indirect trauma exposure, known as post-traumatic growth (PTG). The nature of the relationship between STS and PTG is inconsistent in 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 …

El Salvador’S Cultural Memory And María De Baratta’S Piano Music: Kushkatan, Nahualismo, And The Representation Of Indigeneity, Alejandro Jose Arroyo Alberto

Dissertations

Following independence from the Viceroyalty of New Spain between 1821 and 1823, the United Provinces of Central America entered a period of cultural redefinition, as emerging national frameworks sought to integrate diverse ethnic and historical legacies. After a century, in early twentieth-century El Salvador, a revival of Kushkatan—a pre-Hispanic Indigenous territory within present-day El Salvador—gained symbolic traction among intellectual elites during a politically volatile era marked by social upheaval and cultural realignment. Within this historical context, Cuzcatlán Típico (1951) by María de Baratta, published by the Ministry of Culture, stands as the first ethnomusicological study dedicated to Indigenous music in …

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 …

Sexual And/Or Gender Minority (Sgm) Stigma Within Nursing Schools: The Relationship Between Stigmatic School Attributes, Minority Stressors, And Sgm Nursing Student Mental Health, Michelle Gee

Dissertations

Nursing education is heteronormative and cis-normative, which has been correlated to stigma and ignorance exhibited by nurses towards sexual and/or gender minorities (SGM). Minority Stress Theory (MST) states that circumstances in the environment that promote stigma related to minority identities lead to unique minority stressors, such as discrimination. These minority stressors subsequently affect mental health. While it is known that SGM patients experience mental health issues that relate to stigma and discrimination in healthcare settings, nothing is known about SGM nursing students dealing with stigma and discrimination within nursing education. The aim of this descriptive correlational study was to inform …

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 …

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, …

Ethnic Studies For Secondary Schooling: Collaborative Curricular Insights From A Working Collective, Kelly León

Dissertations

The rapid expansion of policy-mandated ethnic studies (ES) in U.S. schools suggests the need to reconceptualize the field of ES for the school curriculum. This exploratory case study sought to contribute to a better understanding of the ways in which secondary ES curricula can be negotiated and made by teachers and their collaborators, illuminating its future possibilities in public schools. The research explored how teachers, academics, and ES graduate students collaborated in a Collective to use and relate various knowledge resources, including local oral histories, to develop community-focused ES curricular guidance. Little is known about the type of knowledge work …