Digital Commons Network^™

Investigating The Critical Literacy Practices Of Adult Learners: A Case Study Of Four Leveled Reading Courses At A Community College, Anna Fontaine

Dissertations

This study investigates the critical literacy practices of adult learners at a community college. Student participants were selected from four different leveled reading courses. In this study, four guiding questions were adopted from Klenner and Sandretto (2011): (1) How do students make personal connections to text?; (2) In what ways do students identify multiple points of view in the text?; (3) In what ways do students identify where people in the text and included or excluded from social situations?; (4) In what ways do students discuss the influences the text has had on their views of society? These four questions …

A Mixed-Methods Approach To Investigating Core Self-Evaluations, Ethnicity, And Perceived Discrimination Among Undergraduate Students, Rosa I. Law

Dissertations

This research, guided by Yosso’s (2005) social capital theory, delved deep into the lived experiences of individuals navigating spaces where they encountered perceived discrimination and how their core self-evaluations played a pivotal role in shaping their responses to such experiences. Through a meticulous process involving qualitative data analysis strategies such as coding and thematic analysis, the study unveiled larger themes and narratives that moved away from a deficit perspective, focusing instead on assets the individuals brought to the table including their aspirations, goals, and familial and social capital. In the discussion section, focus group settings facilitated rich dialogues where participants …

Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Validation Of The Emirati Version Instrument That Assesses Cognition Problems Among The Uae Population: The Subjective Scale To Investigate Cognition - Emirates (Sstic-E), A Cross-Sectional Study, Fadwa Elgid Babikir

Dissertations

This dissertation focused on exploring the subjective complaints of cognition problems among the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population using a validated and adapted Arabic Emirati language version of a subjective scale that assesses cognition problems, -The Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition - Emirates (SSTIC-E). Cognitive complaints and lack of cognitive insights are not specific to schizophrenia. It could be related to depression, mild cognitive impairment, dementia, or Alzheimer's. Hence, scales in this field can be very useful to assess and collect data for populations at risk of developing cognitive decline. The study aims to translate, adapt, and validate the SSTICS …

The Impact Of A Mindfulness Meditation Intervention On Cognitive Test Anxiety And The Academic Performance Of Prelicensure Nursing Students Enrolled In An Associate Degree In Nursing Program, Kathleen Tenrreiro

Dissertations

Fifty to 100% of nursing students have experienced test anxiety. The cognitive form of test anxiety (CTA) leads to significant academic implications for nursing students. The ongoing nursing shortage requires nurse educators to implement evidence-based strategies, such as mindfulness meditation training, to help prelicensure nursing students manage their CTA levels and enhance academic performance.

The purpose of this quantitative study was two-fold: (a) to determine if there was a difference in cognitive test anxiety scores for prelicensure nursing students enrolled in an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program who receive the mindfulness meditation intervention and (b) to determine if there …

Acknowledging The Perceived Clinical Practicum Experiences Of Nursing Students To Identify Clinical Accommodations To Mitigate Respective Clinical Anxiety, Cherlynn D. Hill

Dissertations

Anxiety is an emotion that can interfere with the academic performance, health, and prosperity of nursing students. Understanding the experiences as perceived by the student may assist in uncovering the underlying causes of clinical practicum induced anxiety to facilitate further research for appropriate interventions that may help students mitigate their anxiety. This qualitative study used a hermeneutic, phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of nursing students who experience significant anxiety regarding clinical practicum rotations. The findings from this study resulted in the overall theme, Am I Really Meant for Nursing? Four subthemes derived from this overall theme were (1) …

Lost In Interpretation: The Lived Experience Of Nurse Interpreters In The Clinical Setting, Byron Batz

Dissertations

The use of language interpreters in the health care setting constitutes a vital part of provider-patient communication but remains a relatively unexplored phenomenon. Registered nurses (RNs) are often called upon to serve as interpreters when linguistically diverse patients constitute a large segment of the patient population. That RNs serve simultaneously in an interpreter role – in addition to clinical and advocacy roles – is a complex facet of contemporary nursing practice in a diverse U.S. culture. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine the lived experience of RNs serving as interpreters in health care institutions in Southern …

Assessing Preschool Children In Uae: Development Of The Preschool Autism Checklist (Pac) For Teachers, Omniah Gharib Alqahtani

Dissertations

This study aims to develop a new assessment tool for teachers to recognize and evaluate early signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in preschool children in the UAE. The study also discussed the cultural characteristics of the Gulf region and their impact on ASD. The available ASD instruments may be unclear in language and difficult to understand for regular teachers. However, a Preschool Autism Checklist (PAC) has been developed that is specifically tailored to the sociocultural norms of the Arab Gulf Countries. The ASD symptoms were taken from the DSM-5 (APA, 2013) as a reference source, while ASD scales incorporated …

Beyond Prognosis Communication: Exploring The Existential Dimensions Of Palliative Care Conversations With Adults With Advanced Cancer, Elise C. Tarbi

Dissertations

Communication about prognosis is integral to effective palliative care. However, prognosis communication often entails considering mortality, which can trigger existential questions. We understand very little about how existential experience is communicated in palliative care conversations. To fill this gap, this dissertation addresses the following aims: (1) Clarify the concept of the existential experience within the context of adults with advanced cancer (Chapter 2); (2) Describe how patients, families, and clinicians communicate about existential experience in palliative care conversations (Chapter 3); and (3) Explore the intersection between prognosis communication and existential dimensions of conversation (Chapter 4).

The Lived Experience Of Afghan Women Refugees In Three Metropolitan Areas Of The Southeastern Us: A Phenomenological Study, Brenda Brown

Dissertations

The global refugee crisis has reached epic proportions. Statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, 2016) reported that in 2015 a record 65.3 million people worldwide, or 39,976 people per day, were displaced, either within their native countries or as asylees and refugees. Afghanistan, from 1980-2014, was the country with the largest number of outgoing refugees and it now ranks third in the world. At the opposite end of the continuum the United States remains the primary host country for refugees, asylees, and resettled refugees from all countries, including Afghanistan. The refugee experience is fraught with challenges …

Σπλαγχνιζομαι And The Characterization Of The Markan Jesus, Jonathan W. Bryant

Dissertations

Amid scholarly studies both of the miracle stories of the Markan Jesus and of the characterization of the Markan Jesus, little attention has been given to the role of Jesus’s emotions as portrayed in those accounts—though references to Jesus’ emotions appear quite frequently in the Gospel of Mark. This dissertation seeks to fill this lacuna through a detailed analysis of the portrayal of Jesus’s compassion (σπλαγχνίζομαι) in the Markan miracle stories. I first examine the accounts of other miracle workers from ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature to discover how emotions feature in the depictions of miracle workers likely known in …

Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons: How Millennial Black Women Teachers Navigate K-12 Educational Spaces, Janese L. Nolan

Dissertations

Research suggests that Millennial Black women teachers (MBWTs) are having experiences that are complex and contradictory. Research also suggests that those experiences continue to be underexamined and unexplained. To illuminate the unique socio-political positions of MBWTs, in this study, I examined their socio-political context and navigational tactics while also exploring whether Lemonade Navigational theory could illuminate the contradictory experiences of MBWTs given their generational epistemology.

Peer Culture Of Block Play In An Early Childhood Classroom, Missi Jacobson

Dissertations

This is an ethnographic study of peer culture in the block play area of an early childhood classroom. Researchers have continued to position block play as an essential activity in early childhood classrooms. William Corsaro’s (1985, 1990, 1992, 2003, 2020) work on peer culture in young children and theory of interpretive reproduction is the framework that guided the methods and theoretical lens of this study. I was a participant-observer, using an “atypical adult” technique, in the block play area in a 4-5-year-old classroom with 22 children during a full school year. The children navigated how to build and play socially …

"To This You Were Called": Discipleship, Suffering, And Social Identity In First Peter, Shane Patrick Gormley

Dissertations

At the center of First Peter’s rhetoric stands an exhortation to “follow” in Christ’s footsteps (2:21). Several scholars have suggested (sometimes off-handedly or in a singular footnote) that this specific exhortation utilizes the technical language of “discipleship,” but only to support a particular piece of the letter’s paraenesis (2:18–25). I contend that such a suggestion, while a helpful place to start, does not go far enough. With this study, I propose that we may read First Peter comprehensively as a summons to discipleship in accord with ancient understandings of education, exemplified in the multifaceted system of Hellenistic paideia. I argue …

English Language Learners And Their Access To Postsecondary Education: Examining Their Achievements And College Readiness Through Educators’ Experiences And Perspectives, Anna Kalinowska

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to bring awareness to the issue of English learners (ELs) being unprepared for college and to study the beliefs and perceptions of educators regarding the factors that contribute to the creation of an achievement gap between EL students and traditional students. The study involved an analysis of trends in the perceptions of school counselors, teachers, and administrators regarding EL students being ready to attend college. Data were collected from nine participants from three public high schools in Pinellas County using Zoom and email interviews and then analyzed. Four main themes emerged from the …

Dramatic Storytelling Develops Emergent Literacy In Efl: Evidence From The Uae Kindergartens, Ghada Yahya Alkilani

Dissertations

There is increasing importance of the English language for educational excellence and career success in the UAE. The early years is a sensitive period for language acquisition, and preschool age is the best time to learn English as a foreign language (EFL). Stories are a main vehicle used in early childhood education (ECE) to engage children in language learning. Although previous studies have found dramatic storytelling to be particularly effective in developing children’s emergent literacy in English as a native language, little is known about the effect of dramatic storytelling on developing young children’s emergent literacy in EFL. Also, there …

Factors Affecting The Success And Persistence Of Pre-Nursing Students, Leslie A. Jennings

Dissertations

This article-based dissertation consists of two manuscripts related to factors affecting the success and persistence of pre-nursing students. The first manuscript was a matched cohort study that compared selected academic variables between two groups of pre-nursing students admitted to a pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing program via two different routes. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any differences in academic performance between these two groups of students in the first semester of a formal nursing program. Analyses of the data revealed a difference in semester grade point average (GPA), but no significant differences in the RN Fundamentals …

Cultural Competence In Nursing School Curricula, Mayra P. Toney

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the benefit of both classroom instruction and an immersive clinical experience for the development of cultural competence skills among student nurses. The 3-D Model for Culturally Congruent Care was the framework used for this quantitative descriptive correlational study. The premise of the model is to draw upon the knowledge that culturally competent care derives from the healthcare provider and client level, an essential factor to the delivery of culturally competent healthcare. A convenience sample of 74 student nurses from two separate cohorts enrolled in a diploma-based program were asked to complete the …

If You Don’T Live By The Sea, You Won’T Talk About Sailing: An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach Of The Polish Immigrant Experience In Chicago And The Acculturation Of Racial Beliefs, Monica Zabinski

Dissertations

There has been a steady increase in research and focus on defining and understanding racism and the role it plays in the ongoing inequality and inequity between individuals of White descent and individuals who are Black, indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). However, little research has focused on what changes with racial beliefs when individuals immigrate between various countries where racism, discrimination, and racial beliefs may appear differently. Our objective was to increase our understanding of how the acculturation process may impact or change racial beliefs over time. Our research sought participants of Polish descent in the Chicagoland area and …

Pláticas Liberadoras: Testimonios Of Chicana/O Elders En La Comunidad De San Diego, Gabriel Nunez-Soria

Dissertations

There is robust scholarship inquiring about many facets of critical consciousness (CC), most of which is centered around working with teens, youth, and educators. This study explored development of CC through testimonios of the lived experiences of eight Chicana/o elders in San Diego County. All eight of these elders participated in the Chicana/o movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s and carried these experiences with them into the present moment. Development of CC, the contextualized understandings of historical, social, and systemic aspects of our collective struggle against oppression through dialogue, reflection, and action, is a fundamental aspect of liberatory …

The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health And Acculturation On Quality Of Life In Older Chinese American Adults With Chronic Pain: A Quantitative Study, Chi Lam

Dissertations

Despite a rapid increase in the older Chinese American adult population, there are very few research studies examining the impact of social determinants of health and acculturation on the quality of life in older Chinese American adults. The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of social determinants of health and acculturation on quality of life in older Chinese American adults with chronic pain. This quantitative, descriptive correlational study utilized Madeleine Leininger’s Transcultural Theory as its theoretical framework. Two research questions guided this study: (1) Was there a difference in the quality of life in older Chinese American …

You Don't Need Eyes To See: The Lived-Experience Of College Graduates Who Are Black Men, Born Into Poverty, And Living With A Visual Impairment, Ronald Dillard

Dissertations

The following study seeks to answer this research question: What is the lived experience of college graduates who are Black men, born into poverty, and living with a visual impairment? The researcher has used intersectionality as an aspect of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to conceptualize the research question and develop an interview protocol.

The researcher has conducted in-depth interviews for this qualitative inquiry, resulting in a narrative study. Purposeful sampling was implemented to identify three participants who fit the criteria of being a Black man, born into poverty, and living with a visual impairment. Data was reorganized to tell the …

A Qualitative Case Study Into The Electronic Correspondence Between Fifth-Grade Students And Their College Mentors, Kevin Pribnow

Dissertations

The ability to navigate emerging technologies is necessary for social and economic participation in the world. Research shows that children from privileged households receive the support needed to develop digital literacy skills, while children from families with lower socioeconomic status do not receive this support. It is the responsibility of schools to address this participation gap by bringing digital literacies into classrooms. The affordances of new technologies make it easier than ever for teachers to provide authentic literacy experiences for their students. This qualitative case study examined an authentic, digital literacy experience during a virtual pen pal correspondence between fifth-grade …

Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment: Examining The Perspectives Of Survivors And Speech-Language Pathologists, Patricia Lynn Geels

Dissertations

Scientific advancements have led to significant improvements in cancer treatment and increased survival rates. However, cancer survivors often experience long-term effects, including cognitive impairments known as cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). CRCI is a common and distressing side effect that affects affected individuals’ quality of life. The discipline of speech-language pathology (SLP) is well-positioned to assess and treat CRCI. Still, there is a gap in determining the most effective support for cancer survivors with CRCI. This mixed methods, three-paper dissertation implements exploratory, cross-sectional survey design to examine how speech-language pathologists and survivors view CRCI symptoms, its impact on daily functioning, and …

Perceived Support For Higher Education: Perspectives Of Refugee Students, Sibyl Rae Cornell

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how students who are refugees describe their social supports, with a focus on their relationships with those who are supportive of their interest in higher education both within and outside of the school system. Few studies have explored the social capital of these students, and how it may influence their decision to attend college. Therefore, narrative inquiry was used to explore the educational journeys of 13 refugee youth planning to attend higher education in the United States. Through semi-structured interviews, demographic surveys, and the creation of social support …

Intercultural Competence For Educators: A Phenomenological Study, Kathryn Mcclintock

Dissertations

The present study examined the lived experiences of in-service kindergarten–12 (K–12) teachers participating in Intercultural Competence for Educators professional development. Intercultural Competence for Educators is a curriculum designed to foster intercultural friendship development and grow educators’ intercultural competence (IC). The study aimed to explore the stories of eight K–12 teacher participants’ experiences in IC activities and investigated four research questions: Q1 What generic skills do in-service K–12 teacher participants assert are needed to grow interculturally competent? Q2 What cultural knowledge do in-service K–12 teacher participants gain from experiencing intercultural competence professional development? Q3 What self-knowledge do in-service K–12 teacher participants …

Latinx Mothers’ Experience During Their Children’S First Individualized Education Program Process, Briceida Guerrero

Dissertations

As the current number of special education students continues to increase throughout the United States, so does the number of students who currently identify as Latinx. With this increase, it is important to consider what the experiences are for these students’ families as they learn that their children qualify for special education services as well as what this implies for their educational progress and futures. This study used a qualitative research methods approach to examine the experiences of Latinx mothers of students recently qualified for special education services. This study involved a phenomenological approach to study what their experiences were …

An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Preservice Special Education Teachers As They Engage In Explicit Instruction In The Area Of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Keshia Jenelle Green

Dissertations

A lack of teacher preparation for working with racially, culturally, ethnically, economically, and/or linguistically diverse (RCEELD) students is viewed as potentially playing a role in the issue of disproportionality in special education (Griner & Stewart, 2013). The conducted case study aimed to fill an existing gap through providing preservice special education teachers with the opportunity to grow their culturally responsive teaching (CRT) skills and knowledge. The purpose of this case study was to (1) explore the lived experiences of preservice special education teachers as they engaged in explicit instruction in the area of CRT, and (2) further understand the impact …

Kukama Radio: The Politics And Aesthetics Of Indigenous Media In Peruvian Amazonia, Gabriel Torrealba Alfonzo

Dissertations

This dissertation is about the political and aesthetic dimensions of Indigenous media in Peruvian Amazonia. It explores how Kukama media-makers use aesthetic mastery to engage in three key political fields in Amazonia: indigeneity, historicity, and environmentalism. I specifically examine the audiovisual discourses and media-making practices coming from an Indigenous radio station called Radio Ucamara, located in the town of Nauta in Northeastern Peru (Loreto region). Drawing on place-based ethnography and digital research methods, I analyze the way this radio station instrumentalizes multiple digital and non-digital media forms to make visible (and also audible) their identities, violent histories, and cosmological worlds …

Positive Emotions And Sexual Desire Among Healthy Women, Elizabeth J. Brough

Dissertations

Sexual desire disorders are highly prevalent, account for a significant proportion of sexual problems, and affect important aspects of women's lives. Sexuality research has traditionally focused on dysfunction models, rather than human strengths approaches. Recently, positive psychologists have developed models and methods to examine human strengths. This study used Frederickson's Broaden and Build model to examine links between positive emotions and sexual desire among women. Positive emotions words were examined relative to sexual domains frequently cited in clinical studies, and compared to sexual cognitions which have been linked to positive sexual outcomes in past studies.

(Post)Modern Asymmetry: Calibrating The Adult Education Philosophy And Practices Of Faculty Teaching Interdisciplinary Studies In The Community College, Jeremy Dennis

Dissertations

In adult education, the term interdisciplinarity is often treated as an agent for transforming teaching, learning, and research. This appreciation of the concept proliferates despite the fact that its actualization often supports competing interpretations and practices. Many adult educators are unaware of the distinctions made among instrumental, conceptual, and critical interdisciplinarity and the philosophical traditions employed to legitimate their different trajectories. To address these concerns and others, scholars such as Lattuca (2001) have advanced a postmodern conceptualization of interdisciplinarity and introduced a supporting theoretical framework to clarify its character and modes of operation. However, she omitted community college faculty from …