Digital Commons Network^™

"I Think Of Myself As A Talented Writer:" Understanding Fifth And Sixth Grade Students' Self-Concepts In Writing, Bonita L. Hamilton

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Interest-Based Instructional Strategies Secondary Teachers Use To Promote Student Engagement And How Administrators Support Their Work, Dawn Marie Macy

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Growth Of Text-Reading Fluency In Upper-Elementary English Language Learners During Instruction Based On Repeated Reading, Katharine Staub Harrison Edd

Dissertations

For the large population of school-age English language learners in California and the United States, the challenge of learning a second language while learning academic content is formidable. Learning to read English skillfully is key to their success. Reading instruction focused on development of oral text-reading fluency has shown strong potential for accelerating the general reading achievement of native-English-speaking children, but there is a lack of concomitant research on English language learners. This dissertation describes a formative experiment with the goal to improve, in 9 weeks, the general reading achievement of 17 English language learners in Grades 3, 4, 5, …

A Comparative Content Analysis Of Five Spelling Programs In The 1st, 3rd, And 5th Grade, Katherine N. Davis Edd

Dissertations

This study investigated the content of five widely used spelling programs at three grade levels. Five spelling programs, Houghton Mifflin, Scholastic Spelling, Sitton Spelling, Words Their Way, and Treasures were analyzed. The following questions guided the study: To what extent do current spelling series reflect research-based practices and what underlying theoretical framework is stated or implied in each series? What types of spelling strategies, activities, and techniques are represented in student workbooks and teacher edition books? Two sub questions included: Do they reflect current research and/or the theoretical frameworks stated or implied in each series and do spelling programs provide …

An Investigation Of Support, Goals, And Incentives Among Minority And Nonminority National Board Certified Teachers, Melissa Salana Collins

Dissertations

National Board Professional for Teaching Standards play a pivotal role in the classroom of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT). NBCTs have been recognized for increasing student achievement. There are more than 90,000 NBCTs in schools across the United States, but the ratio of nonminority to minority NBCTs, according to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards report of 2004, was 89% to 11%. The intent of this study was to examine the levels of support among minority and nonminority NBCTs to determine which combination of support factors and incentives would best predict the successful completion of the NBCT process by …

The Integral Role Of Organizational Characteristics And Their Impact On Lean Implementation Success, John J. Cooper

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The increasingly competitive nature of the manufacturing industry has forced manufacturers to examine alternatives to traditional management philosophies. Although lean's success had been proven it was not uncommon for companies that opt to implement lean concepts to meet with mixed results and sometimes even outright failure. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between organizational characteristics and issues associated with lean implementation. The study identified the following organizational characteristics (a) organizational leadership, (b) organizational culture, and (c) organizational change and examined the role each played in lean implementation efforts. The study also looked at sixteen individual …

The Self, The Church, And Medieval Identities: The Evolution Of The Individual In Medieval Literature, Christopher Michael Flavin

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the construction of literary identities by medieval women, recognizable as an authorial voice that is distinct from those of her contemporaries yet congruent with the gender norms and expectations of her contemporary culture, in both religious and secular literatures from late antiquity through the waning of the Middle Ages. The argument posited here is that texts authored by women, as informed by concurrent male texts and the literary traditions in which individual authors seek to participate, can be read as a taxonomy of responses to the traditions individual authors appropriate and to their contemporaries, directly responding to …

Mourning, Melancholia, And Masculinity In Medieval Literature, Rebekah Mary Fowler

Dissertations

This dissertation examines male bereavement in medieval literature, expanding the current understanding of masculinity in the Middle Ages by investigating both the authenticity and affective nature of grief among aristocratic males. My focus is on the pattern of bereavement that surfaces across genres and that has most often been absorbed into studies of lovesickness, madness, the wilderness, or more formalist concerns with genre, form, and literary convention, but has seldom been discussed in its own right. This pattern consists of love, loss, grief madness and/or melancholy, wilderness lament/consolation, and synthesis and application of information gleaned from the grieving process, which …

The Effects Of Coping On The Psychological Well-Being Of Inidividuals Who Are Late-Deafened, Jill Marie Meyer

Dissertations

Abstract Recent research supports the application of the theory of adaptation to various groups of individuals with disabilities. The premise of the theory is that individuals with certain disabilities may have greater difficulty adapting to their newly acquired level of functioning (Diener, Lucas, & Scollon, 2006). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between disability factors and psychosocial outcomes, specifically psychological well-being, in a sample of individuals who lost their hearing after age 12. Coping was examined to determine if it was a mediator of the relationships between the disability factors (age of onset, severity of disability, …

The Impact Of A Saturday Enrichment Program With A University Partnership In An Urban Elementary School, Jenny Ellen Gray

Dissertations

The Saturday Enrichment Program (SEP) was an idea conceived by the faculty at a large university in partnership with a surrounding school district that is characterized as urban. The idea of the SEP was to create a whole extra day of learning for students that was a departure from the regular routine of Monday through Friday class. The SEP was designed to be a more relaxed, hands-on, student driven program that followed a Project Based Learning (PBL) philosophy. The teachers were pre-service teachers (PSTs) from the university. This study sought to answer the research question; what are the perceptions of …

Closing The Achievement Gap Between Boys And Girls, Helen Finley

Dissertations

The critical role of accountability on schools has intensified the need to understand the impact of intervention strategies and best practices on literacy. Of particular concern is the underachievement of boys and identifying the learning differences between boys and girls. Examined in this quantitative study were the strategies and practices implemented by Blue Ribbon and Gold Star school educators to increase the literacy skills of primary-aged boys. Strategies and practices were determined through a Likert scale survey distributed to six Missouri Blue Ribbon and Gold Star schools and an equal number of schools that were not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress. …

The Effects Of School Climate Change On Student Success In A Fifth And Sixth Grade School, Kim M. Harris

Dissertations

The significance of the study was to examine intentional strategies to improve school climate relative to student school success as measured by academic achievement, attendance, and student behavior. It was important to understand how student school success was affected by factors related to school climate improvement such as leadership and change processes, initiatives to improve student sense of safety and connectedness, and factors such as time, relationships, grade span, and alignment in academic focus. Understanding how school climate could promote student school success was significant in this study, as was an understanding of the differences between school culture and climate …

Compassionate Care, The Patient Perspective, Lori Burnell Phd

Dissertations

Professional mandates call for nurses to respond with compassion (e.g., American Nurses Association [ANA] Code of Ethics, International Council of Nurses [ICN]) and countless hospital mission and vision statements prominently display compassion as their fundamental purpose. As a component of healthcare and nursing models, however, defining characteristics and standards are inconsistent. Compassion as a means of establishing a connection on a spiritual level abounds in the literature (Buck, 2006; Grant, 2004; O'Brien, 2008; Schultz et al., 2007) and is documented as a nursing requirement (e.g., ANA, ICN); however, it remains virtually uncharted from the lens of the patient. Through interpretive …

Fibromyalgia Self-Care Management: Use Of Essential Oils, Regina Ann Sacco Izu Phd

Dissertations

Fibromyalgia is a female dominant chronic syndrome of diffuse muscle pain on palpation of at least 11 of 18 syndrome-associated tender points present for 3 months or longer. There is no cure. Self-care management involving multimodal integrative medicine approaches may increase treatment involvement resulting in a sense of control and pain relief. This embedded, single case study explored 'how' and 'why' an informant with fibromyalgia chose to initiate and continue self-care management using essential oils over several years to treat symptoms within context reality. Orem's Self-Care Deficit Model and the Principles of Integrative Medicine from the University of Arizona formed …

The Leadership Practice Of Museum Educators, Tina R. Nolan

Dissertations

This grounded theory study is an examination of the culture, context, conditions and competencies of a set of six museum educators from a large city in the United States. Participants were education department leaders from a variety of museum types, including: A science museum, an ethnic arts museum, a settlement house museum, a children‘s museum, an aquarium, and a zoo. An analysis of data points to an emerging framework that codifies particular leadership settings and domains of practice for leaders of museum educators. An array of data collections were employed in the study, including: Semi-structured interviews, unstructured observations, written reflections …

The Relationship Between Study Island And Student Achievement, Nathan Travis Bracht

Dissertations

Many schools in America have issues with raising overall achievement as well as the achievement of subgroup populations on state tests required by No Child Left Behind. This quantitative study determined whether an online program called Study Island significantly effected overall and subgroup achievement on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests in communication arts and mathematics at the elementary and middle school levels. The results will inform school officials in this district and similar districts on whether Study Island can meet the needs of their teachers and students. The students in the study began using Study Island in preparation for …

Professional Development Experiences Of Indiana K-12 Public School Teachers: Evidence From The Sass 2007-2008, Patrick David Weil

Dissertations

This investigation examines the professional development perceptions and experiences of public school teachers in the state of Indiana. This study is unique in two regards as it: (1) uses restricted data; and (2) exclusively studies the professional development experiences of public school teachers in the State of Indiana. By analyzing a national data set, the 2007--2008 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), this study provides a snapshot of the recent state of professional learning among public school teachers in the State of Indiana. Results of this study may track trends in professional development since the 2003--2004 SASS administration. Researchers can compare …

Students Of Indian Heritage And United States Citizen Students' Adaptation Of College, Opinions About Mental Illness And Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Counseling Help, Margaret Omotola Ajayi-Nabors

Dissertations

The present study replicated Baysden's (2002) multi-component model and tested its generalizability on a homogeneous demographic group. This study compared international college students from India (n 0 244) and U.S. student participants (n 0 393) on their adaptation to college, their opinions about mental illness, and their attitudes regarding their professional psychological help-seeking behavior. A structural regression model was utilized to examine if student origin influenced opinions about mental illness, student adaptation to college, and attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help. /// The findings of this project supported Baysden's (2002) multi-component model to understanding international students' use of counseling. More …

Women Of Foreign Superstition: Christianity And Gender In Imperial Roman Policy, 57-235., Karl E. Baughman

Dissertations

The relationship between Christianity and the imperial Roman government from 57 to 235 was partially dependent upon the enforcement of traditional gender roles and the exercise of those roles by women in unique positions of influence. Rather than attempt to break free of their defined gender roles, women with distinctive connections to Christianity and the Roman government were, especially during times of crisis, able to influence imperial policies that provided an atmosphere conducive to positive growth for the early Church. This work concentrates on the crises which were connected to gender---especially times during which the emperors failed to fulfill their …

Missouri Charter Schools And Educational Reform, Phillip James Guy

Dissertations

In 1998, Missouri‟s two largest school districts, St. Louis and Kansas City, had become, in the eyes of many, completely dysfunctional. In court-ordered attempts to end desegregation and improve academically, each district built costly and extravagant magnet schools; however, low test scores and high dropout rates continued. These problems, and others, would cause both districts to lose their state accreditations in the next ten years. In an effort to put the focus back on student learning and force these districts to improve, Missouri lawmakers passed Senate Bill 781. This bill allowed charter schools to open and operate within the Kansas …

Invariance In The Factor Structure Of Translated Instruments: Multiple Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis And Mimic Models, Fatma Ayyad

Dissertations

When factorial invariance is established across translated forms of an instrument, the meaning of the construct crosses language/cultures. If factorial invariance is not established, score discrepancies may represent true language group differences or faulty translation. This study seeks to disentangle this by determining whether cultural/linguistic variance can be decomposed separately from construct variance intended in the measuring instrument.

Translated forms of the God Mediated Control factor of the Belief in Personal Control Scale (BPCS) (Berrenberg, 1987) was analyzed across multiple samples for measurement and structural invariance among American native English speakers, Arab native Arabic speakers, and Arab bilingual Arabic/English speakers. …

Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Introduction Of Universal Secondary Education In St. Lucia, Verneta Lesforis

Dissertations

Developing countries are constantly trying to improve their educational systems because research suggests that increased education can have benefits for individuals and countries in terms of better health, higher wages and increased stability. The most recent change in educational policy in some of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) including St. Lucia is the implementation of Universal Secondary Education (USE) to provide secondary school access to all students. There has been little research on the perceptions of teachers from the various islands about the introduction of USE. This study sought to identify the perceptions of the secondary school teachers …

Investigating Smartboard Technology For Mathematics Education To Improve The Learning Of Digital Native Students, Amy Yvonne Spears

Dissertations

The SMARTBoard is a technology teaching tool that engages students in learning and enhances a mathematics curriculum. This study consisted of data from student and teacher surveys of technology items that are available and which can be used in the classroom, a personal self-interview conducted by the researcher to establish her technology journey, an item analysis of a diagnostic mathematics test to establish a base for measurement, and a seventh grade standarized mathematics test from the state of Missouri to complete a measurement of the effects of technology use on student achievement. The researcher compiled data from multiple sources, which …

Grade Retention And Social Promotion Among Middle School Students, Travis C. Shaw

Dissertations

The use of grade retention and social promotion among middle school students in Missouri was analyzed in this study. Quantitative data were gathered from 115 middle school principals who completed an online survey regarding grade retention and social promotion. Qualitative data were collected from five middle school principals in southwest Missouri who participated in an interview. The five principals selected students from their respective schools to participate in an interview where additional qualitative data were collected. The students who were selected had been retained or socially promoted while in grades six through eight. Data collected from the survey showed 68% …

Relationship Between Self-Stigma And Personal Empowerment Among People Who Have Severe Mental Illness, Diane Fischer Hickman Phd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-stigma of mental illness and personal empowerment among people who have a severe mental illness. It had been hypothesized that self-stigma of mental illness and personal empowerment are at opposite end of a continuum. As such, individuals who perceive themselves in a stigmatized manner tend to reciprocally perceive themselves as being relatively powerless, rather than having a strong sense of personal empowerment. Likewise, individuals who perceive themselves as having a relatively strong sense of personal empowerment tend to experience a low degree of self-stigma. To test this hypothesis, a …

Predictors Of Mathematics Majors At The Post-Secondary Level Of Education, Megan L. Reineke

Dissertations

While there are numerous studies examining the courses students take at the secondary level and how different levels of mathematics courses can affect student achievement in beginning post-secondary mathematics courses, there are no studies that examine math majors at the post-secondary level of education. In addition, many reports stating gender and ethnicity gaps in the field of mathematics fail to discuss the issue surrounding what type of student pursues a mathematics degree. Understanding mathematics majors, including the types of high schools they attended and their ethnicities, may provide some insight into which students are becoming interested in the area of …

Improving Diabetic Outcomes With Caring Communication: Identifying Communication Patterning For The Human Diabetic, James R. Kennett Phd

Dissertations

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of caring communication for people living with diabetes (PLD) and the relationship to diabetic outcomes. Caring communication has not been studied for improving diabetic outcomes. Randomized control trials (RCTs) direct care, however people do not do what they told, they need to be included in their care. PLD need a voice to establish what is important to them. Incorporating medical, communication, and nursing science as multidisciplinary approach within a theoretical framework can be predictive diabetic outcomes. Methods. A correlational cross sectional survey design study was done. A sample of …

A+Nywhere Learning System Comparative Analysis Of Direct Instruction And Online Learning Using The A+Nywhere Learning System In A Secondary Alternative High School, Patricia Mary Lee

Dissertations

In 2010, the problem of high school students dropping out of high school continues to plaque school districts across the United States. All students can learn when provided with opportunity, ample support systems, and encouragement to succeed. In this mixed methods study, the researcher investigated whether utilizing an online curriculum instead of direct instruction was an effective instructional tool for at-risk high school students attending an alternative high school. After the 2008–2009 school year, teaching methods at the participating high school were changed from direct instruction school to the A+nyWhere Learning System (A+LS) for communication arts, math, science, social studies, …

Spiritual Well-Being And Quality Of Life Among Persons With Paraplegia, Darlene Nelson Finocchiaro Phd, Msn, Rn, Crrn

Dissertations

With the advent of better emergency response and medical advances, the life expectancy of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) is about 85% to 90% compared to that of non-disabled persons. Since SCI survivors are living well into their 70s, quality of life (QOL) is a major concern. The purpose of this study, informed by Ferrell and Grant's Quality of Life Model, was to examine relationships between spiritual well-being (SWB), existential well-being (EWB), religious spiritual well-being (RWB), depression, length of injury, age, gender, ethnicity, and QOL while living with paraplegia one year and longer. A descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design, with …

Union Citezenship: Impact, Influences And Challenges To Irish Immigration Laws., Ewaen Fred Ogieriakhi

Dissertations

The objective of this thesis firstly, is to attempt to explore the impact, influences and challenges that European Union citizenship rules and the adoption of the Citizens Rights Directive has on the right of Union citizens and their family members to reside in Ireland. The thesis examines the shift from “Market Citizenship”- from having adequate financial resources and sickness health insurance for the acquisition of right of residence to now recognizing right of residence for economically inactive persons.¹ The thesis assesses the impact of the relevant Treaty provisions on Free movement of Persons and the case laws of the …