Digital Commons Network^™

Speech-Language Pathologists’ Perceptions When Supporting Students With Dyslexia, Heather Campbell-Meyer Tellier

Dissertations

This study explored the rationale and significance of integrating speech-language pathologists (SLPs) into the assessment and remediation of dyslexia, traditionally the domain of general and special education teachers. Drawing on their unique qualifications in languagerelated areas, such as phonology, syntax, and semantics, SLPs have emerged as valuable assets in supporting students with dyslexia. American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) has recognized the value of SLPs working with students with dyslexia and has set specific guidelines for working with them. Despite these guidelines, recent data have indicated a gap between policy and practice, with only a fraction of SLPs (36%) actively …

A Mixed Methods Comparative Analysis Of Missouri Public Charter Schools’ Performance Vs Traditional Public Schools Of Similar Demographics And The Correlation Between Their Performance And Funding, Dearon M. Mckinney

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive investigation into the performance of public charter schools in Missouri compared to traditional public schools with similar demographic profiles. The study employs a mixed-methods research design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gather and analyze data. The primary objectives include assessing academic outcomes, examining demographic characteristics, and exploring the relationship between school performance and funding allocation.

The quantitative phase involves a large-scale statistical analysis of academic achievement data, such as standardized test scores and other relevant metrics obtained from both charter and traditional public schools. A careful matching process ensures that demographic factors such …

Investigating Nature-Based Mindfulness In Nurse Anesthesia Students: A Pilot Study, Douglas Lovern

Dissertations

Across the country, the mental health crisis continues to rage. Varying degrees of depression, stress, and anxiety are commonly found in college-age students. The COVID-19 pandemic augmented this crisis, but the pandemic is not the sole culprit for the escalation of mental health disorders in the United States. Students across the globe suffer mental health disorders that include depression, anxiety, and stress. Research has shown that graduate students are six times more likely to develop anxiety and depression than the general population. Student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) are vulnerable to mental health disorders. SRNAs enter labor-intensive doctoral programs fraught with …

The Effects Of The Living Compass Group On Lpc Associates' Wellness And Self-Care, Jennifer Yarbrough

Dissertations

Counselors can only be effective if they engage in a healthy level of self-care. Counselors recognize the importance of self-care, but they often ignore the early warning signs when it is lacking (e.g., emotional shifts, changes in well-being, or altered behaviors). Self-care has been studied for many years and is emphasized in the ACA Code of Ethics 2014. However, counselors still need to work on establishing a self-care practice, especially considering that 50% of licensed professional counselor associates (LPC associates) do not make it through the licensure process. Researchers found that novice counselors experience a higher level of burnout. In …

Perspectives Of Academic Nurse Leaders Regarding Mentorship Of Novice Nurse Faculty, Suzanne Campbell

Dissertations

This qualitative descriptive study sought to describe the perspectives of academic nurse leaders (ANLs) in direction of mentorship for novice nurse faculty. By examining the experiences and perspectives of these individuals, vital knowledge gained from this study will benefit future academic nurse leaders, faculty, students, and stakeholders in easing the difficult transition novice nurse faculty face as they enter academia. These perspectives had not previously been studied in depth. Fourteen participants were interviewed who served as deans, directors, or department heads of nursing education programs in Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Associate Degree in Nursing programs at U.S. public …

A Great War Requiem, Kaylene Cypret

Dissertations

The following dissertation is a researched music composition project that utilizes remembrance poetry from the Great War, also called the First World War or World War I, and the Requiem Mass tradition. The purpose of this study is to create a War Requiem composition that brings awareness to female narratives of the Great War by using Great War Poetry by women poets. The dissertation composition combines Requiem aeternam, Lux aeterna, and Requiescant in pace texts from the Requiem Mass.1 In addition, the composition uses Vera Brittain’s poem “Roundel,”2 Winifred Mabel Letts’s poem “Your Name,”3 Margaret Cole’s poems “Rest” and “Falling …

A Comparative Descriptive Study Exploring Undergraduate Versus Graduate Self-Regulated Learning In Online Nursing Courses, Monica Panaitisor

Dissertations

Preparation of new graduate nurses is more important now than ever given the current state of health care. The pandemic has caused online nursing education to be a permanent content delivery modality across all degree programs. Best practices for e-learning only address course organization, instructional materials, learner interaction, course technology, and support while having no regard for the unique learner needs of different degree levels. Online learning success could be determined by how well students are able to self-regulate their learning; however, these behaviors have rarely been measured and compared in nursing students at different degree levels taking online nursing …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Relationship Between Collective Teacher Efficacy And Its Enabling Conditions With Student Achievement In Colorado’S Elementary And Middle Schools, Amelia Baldwin

Dissertations

This quantitative, correlational study aimed to investigate the relationships between collective teacher efficacy (CTE), its enabling conditions (EC-CTE), and student achievement in third through eighth grades in Colorado. Leveraging the theoretical foundations established by Rotter (1954), Bandura (1977) and expanded by Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998) and Adams and Forsyth (2006), a newly formed construct of CTE was created by using questions from the Teaching and Learning Conditions Colorado (TLCC) Survey. The following research questions guided the study: Q1 Is there a statistically significant relationship between the collective teacher efficacy construct, as measured by selected TLCC Survey questions, and student achievement …

“Freedom From Traditional Prejudice”: Lessons Of Educational Equity At A State Normal School In The American West, 1890-1929, Jamie Fogg

Dissertations

Despite accounting for a majority of college students in the United States, women fill a minority of professional leadership positions often associated with collegiate success. This suggests that educational access alone does not guarantee equitable societal outcomes after graduation, but rather remains shaped by a patriarchal social order. The purpose of this study is to understand the influence of educational experience on perceptions of social influence and opportunity by identifying the historical precedents for persistent issues of equity within higher education and potential solutions. This narrative case study is guided by three research questions: Q1 How did institutional curriculum, policies, …

Finding The Sound: A Study Of Nineteen Solos Of Larry Grenadier, Alex Todd Annan

Dissertations

Larry Grenadier is a jazz bassist of renown who has shared the stage with many greats of the jazz world. His most significant musical collaborator, pianist Brad Mehldau, released a series of albums in the latter half of the 1990’s known as The Art of The Trio recordings with five volumes that feature Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. Of the forty-five tracks across the five recordings, Grenadier takes nineteen solos that cover a wide range of styles. The purpose of this study is to create a large-scale project to better cement Larry Grenadier’s position within jazz scholarship …

“I’M Stressed—You Have To Do Something To Help Me:” The Relationship Between Student Academic Entitlement, Academic Stress, And Satisfaction, Rebbecca L. Nemec

Dissertations

Concern over academic entitlement has grown in higher education in the last two decades. Academic entitlement, defined as unfounded expectations of academic success, undeserved services and unrealistic accommodations (McLellan & Jackson, 2017), in nursing students is an under investigated phenomena. The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of academic stress and general student satisfaction on academic entitlement beliefs in baccalaureate, junior, and senior level nursing students. In this correlational, cross-sectional study, the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987), and Jeffreys’ (2022) nursing universal retention and success model were used to understand how academic stress and …

Acculturation, Well-Being And Identity Of Oromo Immigrants, Hawi M. Wako

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between racial and ethnic identity, acculturative stress, and well-being for first generation Oromo immigrants. Studies regarding immigration, acculturative stress, identity, and well-being have primarily centered on Hispanics, Asians, and Caribbean individuals, but there has been a lack of attention toward Black African immigrants, including Oromo immigrants. The lack of inquiry into Black African immigrants, especially Oromo immigrants, creates a perception that all immigrants are the same, leading to a generic approach toward immigrant interventions and falls short of meeting the unique mental health needs of specific African communities.

Immigrants must …

Expanding "Standards" Through Embracing Diversity: The Clarinet Quintets Of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Joyce Solomon Moorman, And James Lee Iii, Lauren Miller

Dissertations

Diversity in music education has been a long-standing discussion amongst educators. This document advocates for the recognition and acceptance of the intrinsic and extrinsic values of diverse peoples and their musical contributions while creating tolerance and respect. The focus lies with three composers, two African American and one African English, in service of promoting inclusion for composers of minority groups within the clarinet repertoire.

The goal is to expand standard clarinet repertoire, with “standard” defined as compositions considered important in building a well-rounded clarinetist in America, to include works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in F-sharp …

Caring For A Family Member With Dementia: Collectivism And Individualism As Predictors Of Caregiver Burden, Christina Wawrowski

Dissertations

Caregiver burden, often associated with physical, emotional, and financial strain, is a significant concern for family members who are providing care to their loved ones. This study involved exploring the experiences of serving as a caregiver to a family member with dementia to better understand the relationship of collectivistic and individualistic orientations with perceived caregiver burden, while considering the level of social support and dementia severity. The research involved a quantitative approach, administering the Individualism and Collectivism Scale (Cultural Orientation Scale), the Caregiver Burden Inventory, the Functional Rating Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and a demographic survey …

The Association Between Social Media, Toxic Masculinity, And Depression In Young Adult Males, Anthony Warren

Dissertations

The world is shaped by diverse influences that significantly affect individuals’ internal landscapes, leading to both positive and negative effects with profound implications for society. Role models play a pivotal role in shaping the aspirations of young adult males by providing direct and indirect lessons that leave lasting impressions and influence their worldview. In recent years, social media use, toxic masculinity, and mental health have garnered significant attention in understanding the experiences of young adult males. The focus in this study was to examine the relationships between social media use, toxic masculinity, and depression in young adult males ranging in …

Identity Development In Black Caribbeans: A Proposed Model, Shenelle Frederick

Dissertations

The paper is a critical review of the literature exploring factors contributing to Black Caribbean identity development. The paper sought to understand Black Caribbeans’ migratory history, views on mental health, and factors contributing to their identity development in the United States. Migrating to the United States can be a harsh reality for many migrants because they eventually realize that their Black skin is associated with negativity. An exploration of Black Caribbeans’ history and growing up in predominately Black societies could provide some insight that contributes to some of their ideologies and beliefs regarding forms of racism and believing that hard …

Examining Executive Functions And Cognitive Emotion Regulation As Pathways From Childhood Adversity To Learning Effectiveness And Subsequent Functional Impairment In College Students, Fayth Walbridge

Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction that impact later behavioral and physical health, academic, and occupational outcomes (Felitti et al., 1998; Metzler et al., 2017). Prior, studies have more recently shown that ACEs predict deficits in executive functions (Lund et., 2022; Wilson, 2020) and emotional regulation (Badour & Feldner, 2013) and these variables have been found to impact the relation between ACEs and multiple domains of functioning (e.g., psychosocial, behavioral, physical health; Boles, 2021; Cameron et al., 2018; Rudenstine et al., 2019; Trossman et al., 2020). However, no known study has simultaneously examined executive …

Exploring The Degrees Of Ableism Nursing Students With Disabilities Experience, Elizabeth Ruth Brox

Dissertations

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) estimated about 24% of adults in the United States live with a disability. However, the literature suggested only 4.4% of healthcare workers reported having a disability in the United States. Stigmatization and ableism have likely led to nurses hiding their disabilities while practicing, creating less diversity and representation in practice. When healthcare workers have little resemblance to the population they serve, it can lead to distrust, uncaring behaviors, and feelings of exclusion. Increasing diversity and helping to recognize the value of disability in practice could begin in nursing school. This study aimed …

Brenno Blauth: A Study Of Two Works For Oboe, Pablo Ramon Dos Santos Hernandez

Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to promote the works of composer Brenno Blauth (1931— 1993) through the analysis of his Sonata for Oboe and Piano T.141 and his Concertino for Oboe and Strings T.17. These two significant pieces in the Brazilian oboe repertoire represent the composer’s compositional style and his use of Brazilian elements in his music expression. In both these works for oboe, Blauth fostered Brazilian nationalism by using popular and folk rhythms, enhancing regionalism folklore as well as European influences such as Neoclassicism, Impressionism and the use of bitonality. A short explanation of Brazilian music history will …

The Development And Content Validity Of An Assessment Instrument In Simulation For Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Programs: An Exploratory Study, Olivia Nicastro

Dissertations

Advanced practice provider (APP) fellowship programs are comprehensive programs designed for physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to deliver safe, high-quality care in their specialized areas of practice (Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Accreditation TM, 2023). An APP fellowship program’s mission is to guide the APP fellow to an expected level of confidence in meeting core competencies within a specific specialty (Klimpl et al., 2019; Reville & Foxwell, 2021). The assessment of competence is often a complex process. Simulation has become a learning modality across the globe in medical, nursing, and pharmacy in …

Nursing Faculty As Self-Care Influencers: Current Nursing Students’ Perspectives, Shane Yardley

Dissertations

The future of health care depends on nurses who can provide expert patient care and are equally prepared to care for themselves. This balance allows nurses to effectively model caring for themselves to their patients while also enabling them to withstand the inevitable rigors of the profession. As role models, nursing faculty exhibit behaviors that influence students or role aspirants' ability and motivation to successfully perform self-care. For nursing faculty to be intentional in their influence in this area, they must understand what students interpret as helpful and detrimental in facilitating their self-care. The purpose of this study was to …

White Counseling Psychology Doctoral Trainees’ Experiences Broaching Whiteness With White Clients: An Interpretative Phenomenological Study, Zari Koelbel Carpenter

Dissertations

This research builds upon scholarship of critical theorists and critical whiteness studies. The “invisibility” of whiteness has been increasingly acknowledged and attended to in counseling psychology. Further, prominent scholars have continuously urged the field of counseling psychology to acknowledge race as a psychological characteristic of white people (Helms, 2017; Helms & Carter, 1990a). Attention to whiteness is needed, as the majority of the counseling workforce, including doctoral students (55%), identifies as white (American Psychological Association, 2020). As racial identity development can advance the personal and professional development of white counseling psychologists and benefit clients, increased attention is merited for the …

Methods And Metacognition: Teaching An Historically And Culturally Responsive Holocaust Unit, Katie Sluiter

Dissertations

While at least forty-seven states have legislation around teaching the Holocaust and/or genocide to secondary students (grades 6-12), this curriculum is typically housed in the social studies departments of most districts; however, there are many English language arts teachers who either choose to teach Holocaust literature alongside their social studies counterparts, or create stand-alone Holocaust units around both informational texts and literature.

This study centers around the author’s own Holocaust unit taught to eighth-grade honors ELA students in an urban, Title I school district. The unit is used as an artifact to examine two aspects of a successful unit on …

The Lived Experiences Of Transition-Age Youth With Usher Syndrome Preparing For Postsecondary Education: A Retrospective Study, Tara Mae Brown-Ogilvie

Dissertations

Youth with Usher syndrome (USH) can experience unique challenges in postsecondary preparation. Currently, there is a paucity of research addressing the postsecondary preparation experiences of youth with USH. The purpose of this study was to learn from college students with USH about their lived experiences of preparing for postsecondary education; specifically, exploring K-12 educational supports, transition planning, and support systems that helped youth with USH prepare for postsecondary education. Due to the unique nature of this microcosm of deafblindness, qualitative and phenomenological methods were best suited for this study to garner first-hand accounts of those who have experienced this phenomenon …

Implicit Bias Toward Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And The Influential Role Of Teacher Self-Efficacy, Laurie Claire Landrieu

Dissertations

The current study observed the presence of implicit bias toward students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the classroom and the influential role of teacher self-efficacy. Teachers report a lack of readiness to work with students with diverse learning needs. Students with alternative learning needs, such as those with ADHD, report less social competency with adults and peers, and lower self-concept. The purpose of the study is to provide further information about the implicit biases held toward students with ADHD within the classroom and the influential role of teacher self-efficacy. Forty general education teachers were recruited. A paired samples t-test was …

Undergraduate Nurse Educators’ Conceptualization And Utilization Of Deliberate Practice In Psychomotor Skills Education, Sarah Bundren Tappendorf

Dissertations

Nurses are responsible for providing safe patient care. When nurses lack skill competence, patient harm can occur. Therefore, providing skill competency education in pre-licensure nursing programs is key to providing safe patient care. Deliberate practice (DP) has been shown to be an effective teaching strategy for psychomotor skills acquisition and retention. Deliberate practice is the repetitive focused practice of skills facilitated by expert feedback with the goal to obtain mastery. The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study was to determine the proportion of undergraduate nurse educators who knew or did not know about DP, what undergraduate nurse educators who …

'Crowned With The Wreath Of Immortality': Martyrdom, Death, And The Afterlife In North African Religious Discourse, Matthew William Egbert

Dissertations

This dissertation explores North Africa’s role in the development of its own religious discourse, specifically with regard to martyrdom, death, the afterlife, and other eschatological themes. Historians of early Christianity and Islam often depict the region as peripheral, but it was actually a crossroads where pre-existing traditions met new ideas to develop unique, localized versions of these religions. More often than not, these emphasized a pursuit of martyrdom and veneration of saints. This longue-durée study covers a vast timeline, spanning the pre-Christian period to the late Fatimid Caliphate. Its central focus, however, is the Donatist schism that divided North Africa …

Essays On The Effects Of Resource Wealth And Us Influence On Employment, Education And Export Structure, Lyndrison Garthfield Lincoln

Dissertations

Although several studies have sought to identify the determinants of export diversity and sophistication, few have examined the role of historical events in shaping or reshaping them. In my first chapter I use data on CIA interventions during the Cold War period. I show that such interventions had a negative impact on the range of goods exported by affected countries. I provide evidence that this effect persisted in the long run. In my second chapter, I study the local impact of trade union strength on employment during resource booms. I use unionization and coverage rates along with the presence of …

Understanding The Relations Between Parental Psychological Distress And Child Emotional And Behavioral Problems: A Path Analysis, Lauren S. Erp

Dissertations

Maternal psychological distress has consistently been linked to emotional and behavioral problems in school-aged children. Given the high prevalence and negative outcomes of child emotional and behavioral problems, parenting variables have been examined as mechanisms underlying this relation. Research has demonstrated that mothers who endorse high psychological distress report high parenting stress, which contributes to the use of more negative parenting practices. Moreover, parenting stress has been shown to relate to negative parenting practices through parenting inflexibility. Yet, no known study has examined parenting stress, negative parenting practices, and parenting inflexibility as pathways through which parental psychological distress relates to …

Beyond The Classroom Walls: Examining Educational And Social Outcomes Of Cross-Curricular Peer Observation In Secondary Schools, Jacinda Miller

Dissertations

This qualitative case study involved a sample of middle school teachers participating in a cross-curricular peer observation of teaching (POT) program. The study aimed to explore the experiences of these teachers in the POT program, focusing on its impact on teaching pedagogy and partner relationships. Data collection methods included a demographic questionnaire, writing prompts, feedback forms, observation of feedback meetings, interviews, and a researcher journal. The findings demonstrated that cross-curricular peer observations are perceived as an effective form of professional development among this group of middle school teachers, benefiting both the observer and the observed. Participants acquired and implemented new …