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Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

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Identification, Intervention, And Implementation Of A Church Substance-Abuse Program For Twenty-Six To Forty-Six Year Olds, Michael Schmidt Apr 2017

Identification, Intervention, And Implementation Of A Church Substance-Abuse Program For Twenty-Six To Forty-Six Year Olds, Michael Schmidt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Peer-reviewed empirical research indicates that the church can improve how it equips ministers to reach out to twenty-six to forty-six year olds suffering from substance abuse. This thesis project will help ministers evaluate, rethink, and implement better addiction-outreach programs. It is the intent of this thesis project to guide ministers and church workers, to give them levelheaded, real-world, hands-on, sensible solutions in order to see clear-cut positive progress in their outreach program to substance abusers. This thesis will answer the question: Is the church doing a good job of identifying and ministering to substance-abusing addicts? This doctoral thesis will provide …


New Heights Christian Community Center: An Effective Strategy Of Outreach For The Local Church, Marc Jones Apr 2017

New Heights Christian Community Center: An Effective Strategy Of Outreach For The Local Church, Marc Jones

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

New Heights Christian Community Services offers an outreach ministry that creates a viable bridge between two local churches and their neighboring communities. Many churches are declining in their influence and are no longer recognized as a valuable part of their community. Small churches often struggle to find ways to serve their neighbors. The author of this project has dedicated over twenty-five years ministering to disadvantaged youth and families and desires to help churches to effectively connect to the families in their community. This project will investigate the effectiveness of the New Heights program by surveying fifty sets of parents of …


Health Numeracy And Communicating Risk To Patients: Medical Students’ Risk Literacy And Attitudes Toward Statistics, Tina Moore Mar 2017

Health Numeracy And Communicating Risk To Patients: Medical Students’ Risk Literacy And Attitudes Toward Statistics, Tina Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Numeracy, a domain of health literacy, poses barriers to effective patient-provider communication including understanding risks and benefits for shared decision making. Best practices for conveying numeric information have been established; however, these skills are not embedded in current medical school curricula. Inadequate statistical literacy of physicians can lead to misinterpretation of risk and benefit data as well as poor communication with patients. Medical school curricula and pre-matriculation requirements for statistics varies. This quantitative, non-experimental, predictive, correlational study explored medical students’ risk literacy and attitudes toward statistics. The purpose was to examine the relationship between risk literacy as measured by the …


The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars Mar 2017

The Dying Of The American Church: Five Biblical Principles For Revival, Stan Mars

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The majority of churches in America continue to suffer a numerical plateau or a decline in church growth. As a result of disobedience to God to follow His commandments in the making of disciples, the church also suffers from a flat lined, virtually non-existent, adult conversion rate. People of the world who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are not being evangelized by the church using the first century process of discipleship and therefore, the numbers of conversions to Christ are dismal. The modern day American Church needs to return to the first century process of …


A Causal Comparative Study Of Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of School Climate Within Elementary Schools In A School District, Clyde Alston Mar 2017

A Causal Comparative Study Of Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of School Climate Within Elementary Schools In A School District, Clyde Alston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A school’s climate either positively or negatively affects teaching and learning within the school. School administrators have the responsibility to ensure the school climate supports both. This responsibility can only be met when school leaders have an accurate understanding of climate in the schools they serve. This causal-comparative study examines administrators’ and teachers’ perceptions of school climate among the academic, social, affective, and physical domains of school climate, as measured by the revised School Level Environment Questionnaire (r-SLEQ). Data were examined using an independent samples t-test to determine whether statistically significant differences in school climate perceptions exist between administrators and …


Teacher Working Conditions: Perceptions Of Novice And Experienced K-12 Virtual School Teachers, Tiffany Francis Mar 2017

Teacher Working Conditions: Perceptions Of Novice And Experienced K-12 Virtual School Teachers, Tiffany Francis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a difference between novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions of the working conditions at the K-12 virtual school. This study examined the teachers’ total years employed at the school to determine if a difference exists in the groups’ perceptions of the teacher working conditions. Teacher working conditions were measured by the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions (NC TWC) survey that was administered to North Carolina teachers. A causal-comparative research design was used to conduct the study. A convenience sample of (N = 318) licensed K-12 virtual school instructors participated in …


High Schools Implementing Bring Your Own Technology: A Phenomenological Study Of Classroom Teachers' Perspectives, Allison Hurston Mar 2017

High Schools Implementing Bring Your Own Technology: A Phenomenological Study Of Classroom Teachers' Perspectives, Allison Hurston

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite the increased unfolding of new Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiatives, confusion exists regarding the defining characteristics of a BYOT classroom. Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate how teachers at three different high schools in a southeastern U.S. state define, plan, and implement BYOT within their classrooms. The study took place in a southeastern U.S. state and included 10 BYOT teachers. It was designed to answer four research questions: (a) What are BYOT teachers’ definitions and descriptions of BYOT? (b) What planning and implementation strategies do BYOT teachers …


Factors That Influence The Retention Of Urban, Hispanic High School Male Graduates: A Phenomenological Study, Robin Elliott-Ghalleb Mar 2017

Factors That Influence The Retention Of Urban, Hispanic High School Male Graduates: A Phenomenological Study, Robin Elliott-Ghalleb

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the retention of urban, Hispanic high school male graduates in East Harlem, New York. Originated through the works by W. E. B. Du Bois (1968), Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) and Derrick Bell (1992) pioneered Critical Race Theory (CRT), which reported that the United States Education system has historically failed to adequately provide access to all students. Hispanics continue to have the lowest rates of high school and college degree attainment. This study’s purpose was to address the phenomenon of low retention rates of urban, Hispanic males …


Student Perceptions Of Type Ii Alternative School Experiences: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Motivational Factors That Influence Persistence Toward Graduation, Michael Barrett Mar 2017

Student Perceptions Of Type Ii Alternative School Experiences: A Phenomenological Investigation Of Motivational Factors That Influence Persistence Toward Graduation, Michael Barrett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to investigate how high school students described their experiences attending a Type II alternative school (geared toward students with behavioral problems and poor student attendance) in Central Georgia and the factors that motivated them to persist to graduation. The overarching research question was: How do high school graduates describe their experiences attending an alternative school in Central Georgia that motivated them to persist toward graduation? Schein’s organizational culture model, Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs served as the conceptual framework. Participants included eight students who had previously attended …


A Comparison Of Work Ethic Among High School Athletes And Non Athletes, Edward Moore Mar 2017

A Comparison Of Work Ethic Among High School Athletes And Non Athletes, Edward Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Organizations have become increasingly interested in hiring employees who are committed to the inherent value of work. The purpose of this causal comparative study was to compare the work ethic of high school athletes to non-athletes in a high school setting in South Carolina and analyzed the role of gender within that dynamic. A total of 345 responses were analyzed, with 139 reporting no participation in athletics, 87 reporting participation in sub-varsity athletics only, and 119 reporting participation in varsity athletics. The Multidimensional Work Ethic Profile (MWEP) was developed as a method of measuring work ethic and was composed of …


The Impact A Single-Gender Early Elementary Classroom Has On The Perceptions Of Girls From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds Towards Education And Themselves, Brandi Massey Mar 2017

The Impact A Single-Gender Early Elementary Classroom Has On The Perceptions Of Girls From Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds Towards Education And Themselves, Brandi Massey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the experiences and impact of single-gender education in early elementary classrooms (grades kindergarten through second) from the perspectives of the fourth and fifth-grade girls that experienced these classrooms in a low-socioeconomic community in South Carolina at Hopkins Elementary School. The theory guiding the study was Bandura’s (1977) social cognitive theory explaining how a person’s environments impact their thoughts and behaviors. Often students who enter school from families of poverty continue to live in poverty after they graduate if they indeed make it to graduation (Hughes, 2009). To break this cycle, …


Teachers' Experiences With Integrating Play-Based Learning Into Standards-Driven Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study, Mary Nugent Mar 2017

Teachers' Experiences With Integrating Play-Based Learning Into Standards-Driven Curriculum: A Phenomenological Study, Mary Nugent

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe kindergarten teachers’ experiences with integrating play-based learning into standards-based academic curriculum in a school district in South Carolina. Play–based learning experiences were defined as instances which allow children to engage in active, social learning experiences in classrooms. This study explored the question of how kindergarten teachers describe their experiences with integrating play-based learning experiences in their classrooms, the value of play in their classrooms, their role as the adult during play experiences, and the difficulties that they face in making instructional decisions. The theories guiding this study were Froebel’s early childhood …


Leadership Characteristics Of Protective Force Instructors, Justen Parker Mar 2017

Leadership Characteristics Of Protective Force Instructors, Justen Parker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The National Nuclear Security Administration, the governmental agency responsible for safeguarding and security the United States’ nuclear weapons production and research facilities, employs an armed protective force that responds to the full spectrum of threats. Governmental reports previously identified protective force performance in need of improvement. The purpose of this quantitative study, through the use of correlational research, is to identify the beneficial leadership characteristics of instructors, from the full range of leadership model, that enhance training and increase officer performance during training and improve mission performance. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was used to identify instructor leadership characteristics and …


Understanding The Impact Of Online Grading And Standards-Based Report Cards: A Phenomenological Study On Teacher Instruction At The Elementary Level, Ann Mathena Mar 2017

Understanding The Impact Of Online Grading And Standards-Based Report Cards: A Phenomenological Study On Teacher Instruction At The Elementary Level, Ann Mathena

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental, phenomenological study was to understand the impact of online grading and standards-based report cards on elementary teacher instruction at a suburban school system. This research study examined teacher instruction and assessment, sharing obstacles, and resources necessary for the effective use of standards-based instruction and grading. The population for the study included 74 teacher participants from elementary schools. Data included information obtained from interviews, focus groups, and document collection. Data analysis included analyzing transcripts and coding information based on identified themes. Formal data analysis completed through using Moustakas’ seven steps, analyzed the experiences, identified significant statements …


The Relationship Between Reading Fluency And Lexile Measures, Joshua Purvis Mar 2017

The Relationship Between Reading Fluency And Lexile Measures, Joshua Purvis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

With increasing emphasis being placed on teachers to show an improvement in student achievement, schools are relying on indicators such as reading fluency and reading comprehension to gauge student progress throughout the year. Since the growth on these assessments are used in calculating teachers and administrators’ yearly job evaluations, the significance of these measures has never been higher. Teachers and administrators want to know if the time spent on measures such as reading fluency is worth the sacrifice in the instructional day, when this time could be spent on teaching state mandated standards. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental correlational …


The Church Is Familial And Is Built On Spiritually Strong Families, Yat Lau Jan 2017

The Church Is Familial And Is Built On Spiritually Strong Families, Yat Lau

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Christ’s headship of the church has strong parallels to the husband’s headship of the family unit. As postmodernism, socio-economic factors, egalitarianism, globalization and shifts in the communicational processes drive inter-generational issues to greater heights, insidiously tear families apart—relationally, intellectually and spiritually. On the other hand, the church models the world through its discipleship programs, organization structures and has asserted itself as the spiritual head of the home. This paper will survey Christian young adults to identify key influences on their spiritual formation and family ministries the church provide to support families. The paper will provide a critique on family-equipping ministries …


Spiritual Formation: A Model To Strengthen The Mission, Operation, And Commitment Of African American Churches, Anthony Bailey Jan 2017

Spiritual Formation: A Model To Strengthen The Mission, Operation, And Commitment Of African American Churches, Anthony Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Spiritual formation, the practice of intentional spiritual disciplines like fasting, silence, studying, and fellowship, should be the heart of growth in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina small churches. This practice assists congregants in developing closeness with God and relationships with others. Amidst a steady decline in national church attendance since 1992, few of today’s African-American Church ministries address the need for spiritual formation. This thesis explores this critical issue at the local level through interviews with pastors and church leaders, who describe their churches’ current efforts to foster spiritual formation in congregants. The findings are used to propose a model for local …


Change Leadership Practices For Effective Implementation Of Alternative Breakthrough Models In Blended And Online Learning At Select K-12 Schools: A Phenomenological Study, Jason Haas Jan 2017

Change Leadership Practices For Effective Implementation Of Alternative Breakthrough Models In Blended And Online Learning At Select K-12 Schools: A Phenomenological Study, Jason Haas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover what change leadership practices are utilized by educational leaders at selected K-12 schools when alternative breakthrough models in blended and online education are implemented. Using a phenomenological approach, I explored three public schools, two private schools, two charter schools, and two virtual schools. The 10 participants in this study were either heads of school, district superintendents, or department principals. The central research question was: What are the lived experiences of K-12 educational leaders who are implementing alternative breakthrough models of blended and online learning? Data was obtained via the following methods: …


Relationship Between Sense Of Coherence And School Connectedness Among Online Public High School Students, Brad Hilliard Jan 2017

Relationship Between Sense Of Coherence And School Connectedness Among Online Public High School Students, Brad Hilliard

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between sense of coherence and school connectedness among online public high school students. The connection students make with their school can affect their well-being based on the stress they perceive from the school and its environment. The variables of interest were the sense of coherence score and the school connectedness score. A bivariate correlational research study was performed to determine if there was a significant relationship between the two variables. The sample was 83 high school students enrolled in an online public school. Each completed the Sense of Coherence – …


The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Teachers' Ability To Integrate Technology, Robert Hickson Jan 2017

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy And Teachers' Ability To Integrate Technology, Robert Hickson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study sought to evaluate the self-efficacy of teachers with regard to the integration of technology within the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy within the classroom and their ability to integrate the technology available in the classroom. A quantitative, correlational study was performed. The sample was a convenience sample of 64 instructors at the middle grade level of a South Georgia school district. Middle school teachers were surveyed at one point in time, using Media and Technology Usage Attitude Scale (MTUAS) and the Teachers’ Sense of Self- Efficacy …


A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Age, Gender, And Burnout In Public Accounting Professionals In A United States National Firm, Jamie Stowe Jan 2017

A Quantitative Examination Of The Relationship Between Age, Gender, And Burnout In Public Accounting Professionals In A United States National Firm, Jamie Stowe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Scholars and practitioners agree burnout is a significant problem plaguing the public accounting industry. Burnout is a condition that results from long periods of excessive strain on personal resources, and is often found in public accounting professionals due to the high stress and deadline-driven environment. As the causes for burnout are better understood, the focus has turned to why some individuals are more likely to burnout than others. Identifying who has a tendency to burnout can only help in the quest for solutions. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to test the theoretical framework of Maslach and Jackson …


Predictors Of Attitudes Of Private School Teachers Toward Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In New Mexico, Debbra O'Hara Jan 2017

Predictors Of Attitudes Of Private School Teachers Toward Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs In New Mexico, Debbra O'Hara

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion of students with special needs affect communication with students, curricular decisions, selection and implementation of teaching strategies, and professional development needs. Most research in the United States has focused on the attitudes of public school teachers who must follow federal special education law and regulations, though international research on inclusion has included studies of both public and private school teachers’ attitudes. Private school teachers experience differing conditions (legal, economic, organizational, philosophical, etc.) and may hold differing attitudes toward inclusion from those of their public school peers. Determining these attitudes will help private school personnel to address …


The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain Jan 2017

The Battle Is Real: Spiritual Warfare, Discipleship, And The Christian “Soldier”, Frank Hain

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current literature demonstrates a plethora of material focused on various deliverance techniques, yet very little material is available to assist pastors with developing a spiritual warfare “basic training” plan. The purpose of this project is to illuminate a ministry’s desperate need to adopt a spiritual warfare worldview, to present the basic elements essential to a spiritual warfare basic training plan, and to create an effective strategy for implementing such a plan. Based on surveys and questionnaires sent to pastors and other ministry leaders, the project reveals the need for a spiritual warfare basic training plan for any …


The Role Of The Short-Term Mission Trip Process In The Development Of Cultural Intelligence In University Students: A Collective Case Study, Ashley Haygood Jan 2017

The Role Of The Short-Term Mission Trip Process In The Development Of Cultural Intelligence In University Students: A Collective Case Study, Ashley Haygood

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to determine how, if at all, Cultural Intelligence (CQ) develops in undergraduate students through a three-stage mission trip process for students at a large Christian university in the southeast participating in three separate short-term mission trips (Africa, Asia, and Europe). This study found that across the entire short-term mission (STM) trip process, religious faith was a consistent theme impacting CQ development. Three spring break short-term mission trip teams were used as three separate cases, from which several participants, or embedded units, provided their individual experiences within the case. Data collection methods occurred …


The Frequency Of Texting On Middle School Students' Writing Achievement, Jennifer French Jan 2017

The Frequency Of Texting On Middle School Students' Writing Achievement, Jennifer French

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlational study was to discover the impact of texting on writing achievement for middle school students. The theory guiding this study is Vygotsky’s Social Cognitive Theory (Newman & Holzman, 2013) as it explains that learning is influenced by one’s social environment. The data that will be collected consists of the scores of the writing portion of the 2014-2015 state standardized test (ISTEP), a student survey answering questions about texting practices, and student status information on Free and Reduced Meals. The multiple regression analysis will be used to analyze this data because as inferential statistics it can …


The Effects Of An Intervention Program (Voyager) Through Response To Intervention Framework On 4th Grade Reading Achievement, Lisa Harris Jan 2017

The Effects Of An Intervention Program (Voyager) Through Response To Intervention Framework On 4th Grade Reading Achievement, Lisa Harris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The ability to read fluently has been confirmed as an indicator of good comprehension and thus academic success. Studies have shown that most students in the U.S. are reading below their grade levels. The U.S. has demanded continuously that the education system increase the outcomes of education for all children. In order to improve children’s reading educational needs, effective screening, assessments, and intervention tools need to be implemented properly in U.S. school curriculum. The purpose of this nonequivalent control group study is to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention program in improving the oral reading fluency rates of fourth graders …


The Girl Factor: How Single-Sex Learning Environments Affect African American Girls' Discipline Referral Rate, Devonne Lampkin Jan 2017

The Girl Factor: How Single-Sex Learning Environments Affect African American Girls' Discipline Referral Rate, Devonne Lampkin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The mission of the single-sex education is to provide learning environments that will bring out the best in each student and will provide opportunities for success that may not be available in co-educational settings. Several explanations have been suggested for differences between single-sex and coeducational settings in educational processes and in student outcomes. Schools that implement single-sex schools do so with the hope of decreasing the social pressures and distractions that will lead to a decrease in office discipline referrals which unenviably lead to suspensions. The purpose of this ex-post facto casual comparative study examines the impact single-sex schools have …


Predictors Of The Use Of English Language Assistance Services By English Language Learners In Elementary Schools, Juanita Hosch-Martin Dec 2016

Predictors Of The Use Of English Language Assistance Services By English Language Learners In Elementary Schools, Juanita Hosch-Martin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The number of English language learners (ELLs) in the American classrooms is growing at a rapid rate. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether there was a statistically significant relationship between the need for English language assistance services predicted using a combination of a student’s home language, student’s first language, student’s language used most, and W-APT scores for elementary school students in a southeastern state. The instrumentation for this study consisted of the Home Language Survey and W-APT scores. With the approval of the IRB and a southern state school district, the research was conducted using a …


The Factors That Contribute To The Success Of High School Students Who Study A Foreign Language Beyond Graduation Requirements: A Multiple Case Study, Tameka Allen Dec 2016

The Factors That Contribute To The Success Of High School Students Who Study A Foreign Language Beyond Graduation Requirements: A Multiple Case Study, Tameka Allen

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate the factors contributing to the persistence of successful foreign language learners who chose to continue studying a foreign language beyond the high school graduation requirement. The theories guiding this study are Gardner and Lambert’s 1972 Socio-Educational Model (SEM) of motivation (as cited by Gardner, 2010), Deci and Ryan’s (2002) Self Determination Theory (SDT), and Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 Motivational Self System. The participants were 14 high school students who were enrolled in a level four or Advanced Placement foreign language class. Interviews, classroom observations, and the Attitudes/Motivation Test and Battery (Gardner, …


Life Satisfaction: A Study Of Engagement And The Academic Progress Of High School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Rebecca Dilling Dec 2016

Life Satisfaction: A Study Of Engagement And The Academic Progress Of High School Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Rebecca Dilling

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand how high school students with specific learning disabilities describe life satisfaction and its impact on student motivation, academic engagement, and academic progress. Bruner’s constructivist theory guided this research. Other theories included: Piaget’s cognitive development theory, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, Vygotsky’s social learning theory, Erikson’s psychosocial development theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Bowlby’s attachment theory, Dewey’s brain-based learning theory, Glasser’s control theory of motivation, Bandura’s social cognitive theory, Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Data collection tools included the researcher’s journal, classroom observations, student interviews, two student focus …