Digital Commons Network^™

Perceptions Of Secondary School Mathematics Teachers Regarding Teaching Mathematics With Conceptual Understanding, Latisa Williams

Theses and Dissertations

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This dissertation was designed to provide current knowledge on the mindset of secondary school mathematics teachers regarding the use of Conceptual Understanding (CU) as an approach to teaching the subject. It is well-documented that when students learn to engage in mathematical conceptual explanations in meaningful ways, they improve their learning. However, reports have shown that students in secondary schools lack effective skills in explaining and applying CU for successful problem-solving. As a result, teachers struggle with methods of instruction that can effectively improve the level of CU with their students in mathematics.

For this study, the researcher used a qualitative …

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Assessing The Needs Of Elementary School Students From Low Socioeconomic Environments Displaying Poor Performance In Reading, Reynaldo Flores

Theses and Dissertations

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This dissertation was designed to provide current information on the low reading level of students in Grade 4 who are from families of low socioeconomic status (SES). While it was known that SES is crucial to student learning which gave rise to initiates to address the problem, low SES students in elementary school continue to struggle to read at grade level. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is used to measure performance index framework in reading along with mathematics, writing, science, and social studies to address and correct deficiencies. The data for the ESSA was drawn from the State of …

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Efectividad De Una Estrategia De Gamificación En El Aprendizaje En Un Curso De Microbiología En Una Escuela Superior En Puerto Rico, Frank Gregorio Torres Vélez

Theses and Dissertations

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El propósito de este estudio fue determinar la efectividad de una técnica de gamificación en la proficiencia académica de estudiantes sobre estructuras y funciones celulares de organismos procariotas en una escuela especializada en ciencias y matemáticas de Puerto Rico. Esta investigación se fundamentó en la Teoría del Aprendizaje Gamificado de Landers y Teoría de la Autodeterminación de Deci y Ryan. Una muestra de 36 estudiantes del 11mo y 12mo grado, matriculados en un curso de Microbiología, participaron de este estudio cuantitativo de muestreo no probabilístico. Los estudiantes participaron de una clase invertida, ¡una actividad gamificada mediante Kahoot!, completaron preprueba, posprueba …

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A Phenomenological Study Of Online Physical Education On Former Students’ Activity Levels And Fitness Concepts Knowledge, Jerry Veshio

Theses and Dissertations

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This applied dissertation was designed to provide an understanding of the perspectives of former online physical education high school students and how participation in the course affected their ability to be active post-high school and their knowledge of fitness concepts. A phenomenological design was used to guide the study’s investigation. Participants in the study were interviewed about their experiences in online physical education while in high school and how that experience currently influences their physical activity levels. Additionally, respondents described the positives and negatives of their experience in the course, specifically as it relates to the course materials, assessments, instructor …

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Desert Or Mirage? An Examination Of Food Deserts In Iowa Cities, Andrew Creasey

Graduate Research Papers

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Food insecurity affects millions of Americans and has been widely recognized as a significant health and economic issue. Because of this, researchers have sought to develop ways to identify areas that are prone to food insecurity, which have become known as food deserts. Food deserts have been broadly defined through a confluence of three factors: low income, a lack of vehicle access, and a predetermined distance from a healthy food retailer. But research into food deserts in Iowa is limited, and the most prominent source of information on this topic, the Food Access Research Atlas created by the U.S. Department …

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Neoclassical Production, Scarcity Of Skills And Pareto Distributions, Armando R. Lopez-Velasco

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

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The distribution of top earnings follows a “power-law”: the top tail of the distribution is thick relative to other distributions and is approximately Pareto-distributed. There are different mechanisms proposed in the literature that yield Pareto distributions and power-laws. This paper shows that a simple general equilibrium model where aggregate production is assumed of the constant-elasticity-of-substitution (CES) type over multiple labor inputs generates distributions in earnings and wages that follow power-laws. The finding is very general as the distribution of the skill-types is irrelevant for the shape parameter (the Pareto exponent) of the power-law. The model displays a tight relationship between …

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Late-Arriving Votes And Electoral Fraud: A Natural Experiment And Regression Discontinuity Evidence From Bolivia, Diego Escobari, Gary A. Hoover

School of Economics and Finance Faculty Publications

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This paper uses a unique data set and a natural experiment to test if electoral fraud can exist in late-arriving votes. On the night of the 2019 Bolivian elections, the official vote counting system that was expected to publish the results real-time, suddenly stopped. When it resumed, the results had flipped. We estimate several difference-in-differences specifications using a 2016 referendum and the votes of other political parties. We find that the extent of the fraud is 2.51% of the valid votes, sufficient to change the outcome of the election. Our results are robust to polling-station-level shocks common across 2019 and …

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Characterizing Probabilities Of Outbreaks Of Dengue In Central Argentina Using A Temperature-Dependent Stochastic Model, Morgan H. Jackson, Elizabet L. Estallo, Cheng Ly, Michael A. Robert

Graduate Research Posters

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Dengue virus (DENV) causes over 390 million infections and around 40,000 deaths worldwide each year. DENV is primarily transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, and both the life cycle of these mosquitoes and dengue transmission are significantly impacted by temperature. In the temperate region of Central Argentina, where dengue outbreaks first began in 2009, outbreaks of dengue can only occur due to new introductions of DENV from other regions. Due to the relationships between temperature and dengue, the risk of outbreak changes throughout the year.

We develop a stochastic model including temperature-dependent mosquito life history traits and transmission-related parameters. …

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Promoting Understanding Of Three Dimensions Of Science Learning Plus Nature Of Science Using Phenomenon-Based Learning, Maryam Saberi, Noushin Nouri

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

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The utilization of phenomenon-based learning (PhBL) for science instruction remains limited despite its alignment with the goals outlined in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS; NGSS Lead States, 2013) due to the lack of exemplary materials and inadequate training opportunities for teachers. The aim of this article is to illustrate the steps of the PhBL method by providing an exploratory learning experience as it was implemented in a preservice setting. In this study, we provide an innovative perspective by illuminating how this kind of instruction can be used as a context to explicitly discuss the three dimensions of learning (i.e., …

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The Naci Way: Connecting Native Groups And Teachers Through Culturally Responsive Instructional Design, Stephanie West, Heather Francis, Cally Flox, Brenda Beyal, Emily Soderborg, Jason K. Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

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In 2018, the BYU ARTS Partnership Native American Curriculum Initiative (NACI) was developed in response to teacher questions regarding the teaching of Native topics. Despite increased movements towards reconciliation, Native groups continue to be marginalized in Westernized educational settings. Additionally, teachers lack clear guidelines regarding the respectful teaching of Native topics. Describing the challenges we, the NACI team members, faced in our six-year journey partnering with Native groups in Utah, we outline key instructional design decisions we made and identify the culturally responsive principles that guided those decisions. We also advocate for the application of culturally responsive principles and practices …

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Radiation Force Modeling For A Wave Energy Converter Array, Salman Husain, Gordon Parker, David Forehand, Enrico Anderlini

Michigan Tech Publications

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The motivation and focus of this work is to generate passive transfer function matrices that model the radiation forces for an array of WECs. Multivariable control design is often based on linear time-invariant (LTI) systems such as state-space or transfer function matrix models. The intended use is for designing real-time control strategies where knowledge of the model’s poles and zeros is helpful. This work presents a passivity-based approach to estimate radiation force transfer functions that accurately replace the convolution operation in the Cummins equation while preserving the physical properties of the radiation function. A two-stage numerical optimization approach is used, …

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Perspective: The Evolution Of Hormones And Person Perception-A Quantitative Genetic Framework, Christopher I Gurguis, Tyler S Kimm, Teresa A Pigott

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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Evolutionary biology provides a unifying theory for testing hypotheses about the relationship between hormones and person perception. Person perception usually receives attention from the perspective of sexual selection. However, because person perception is one trait in a suite regulated by hormones, univariate approaches are insufficient. In this Perspectives article, quantitative genetics is presented as an important but underutilized framework for testing evolutionary hypotheses within this literature. We note tacit assumptions within the current literature on psychiatric genetics, which imperil the interpretation of findings thus far. As regulators of a diverse manifold of traits, hormones mediate tradeoffs among an array of …

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Large T Antigen Mediated Target Gene Replication Improves Site-Specific Recombination Efficiency, Zening Wang, Chuan Chen, Xin Ge

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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With advantages of high-fidelity, monoclonality and large cargo capacity, site-specific recombination (SSR) holds great promises for precise genomic modifications. However, broad applications of SSR have been hurdled by low integration efficiency, and the amount of donor DNA available in nucleus for SSR presents as a limiting factor. Inspired by the DNA replication mechanisms observed in double-stranded DNA virus SV40, we hypothesized that expression of SV40 large T antigen (TAg) can increase the copy number of the donor plasmid bearing an SV40 origin, and in consequence promote recombination events. This hypothesis was tested with dual recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) in suspension …

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Computer-Aided Craniofacial Superimposition Validation Study: The Identification Of The Leaders And Participants Of The Polish-Lithuanian January Uprising (1863–1864), Rubén Martos, Rosario Guerra, Fernando Navarro, Michela Peruch, Kevin Neuwirth, Andrea Valsecchi, Rimantas Jankauskas, Oscar Ibáñez

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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In 2017, a series of human remains corresponding to the executed leaders of the "January Uprising" of 1863-1864 were uncovered at the Upper Castle of Vilnius (Lithuania). During the archeological excavations, 14 inhumation pits with the human remains of 21 individuals were found at the site. The subsequent identification process was carried out, including the analysis and cross-comparison of post-mortem data obtained in situ and in the lab with ante-mortem data obtained from historical archives. In parallel, three anthropologists with diverse backgrounds in craniofacial identification and two students without previous experience attempted to identify 11 of these 21 individuals using …

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Outcomes Of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding In Hospitalized Covid-19 Patients In The United States: A Propensity-Score Matched Analysis Of A Large National Database, Moon Ryu, Mohammed Quazi, Niloy Ghosh, Karthik Gangu, Amir H Sohail, Asif Farooq, Babu S Maringanti, Aman Goyal, Anupa Patel, Muhammad S Khan, Abu B Sheikh

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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Patients with cirrhosis that are hospitalized with COVID-19 infection have been found to have worse outcomes. No comparative study has been conducted between gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in patients with cirrhosis who are diagnosed with COVID-19. We utilized the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database to perform a retrospective analysis of 24, 050 patients diagnosed with cirrhosis and COVID-19. The identified patients were separated into variceal bleeding, nonvariceal bleeding, and no (or neither) GI bleeding groups. After performing propensity sample matching and multivariate analysis of mortality, we found no significant differences in mortality among the three groups. However, the variceal bleed group …

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Combining Neuroimaging And Brain Stimulation To Test Alternative Causal Pathways For Nicotine Addiction In Schizophrenia, Xiaoming Du, Fow-Sen Choa, Joshua Chiappelli, Heather Bruce, Mark Kvarta, Ann Summerfelt, Yizhou Ma, William T Regenold, Kevin Walton, George F Wittenberg, Stephanie Hare, Si Gao, Andrew Van Der Vaart, Zhiwei Zhao, Shuo Chen, Peter Kochunov, L Elliot Hong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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The smoking rate is high in patients with schizophrenia. Brain stimulation targeting conventional brain circuits associated with nicotine addiction has also yielded mixed results. We aimed to identify alternative circuitries associated with nicotine addiction in both the general population and schizophrenia, and then test whether modulation of such circuitries may alter nicotine addiction behaviors in schizophrenia. In Study I of 40 schizophrenia smokers and 51 non-psychiatric smokers, cross-sectional neuroimaging analysis identified resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and multiple extended amygdala regions to be most robustly associated with nicotine addiction severity in healthy controls and …

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Novel Analog Holographic Wavefront Sensors In A Photopolymer Medium, Emma Branigan

Doctoral

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Wavefront sensing is a vital technology that allows for recovery of information and image resolution, from otherwise corrupted signals. Combined with computational systems, wavefront sensors (WFS) enable rapid, accurate measurement of optical distortions, or aberrations. The analog holographic wavefront sensor (AHWFS) is a recent advancement that measures wavefront aberration modes using intensity ratios at paired diffraction spots. The modal AHWFS is an elegant solution to wavefront sensing that is low-cost, highly photon efficient, high speed, and insensitive to scintillation effects.

This work presents the first fabrication of an AHWFS in a self-developing acrylamide-based photopolymer for measuring defocus and spherical aberration. …

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Heritage Languages In The Irish Primary School Context: Teachers’ Views And Practice In The Area Of First Language Maintenance In Bilingual Pupils, Suzanne Mccarthy

Doctoral

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This research set out to explore the reality for current Irish primary school teachers working with children who speak a language other than English or Irish in the home context. The study sought to investigate teachers’ views on bilingualism and heritage languages, to examine their practice and experiences around support for heritage language (HL) inclusion in the classroom, and to consider any potential differences in teachers’ views and practice depending on the age of the children they teach.

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A Fully Automated Global Post-Hoc Method Based On Abstract Argumentation For Explainable Artificial Intelligence And Its Application On Fully Connected Dense Deep Neural Networks, Giulia Vilone

Dissertations

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Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has rapidly grown in the past decade due to the prevalence of machine learning, especially deep learning, in fields like healthcare and finance. While these models excel in accuracy, their complexity hampers transparency and interpretability. Ensuring understandable explanations for AI predictions fosters trust, prevents errors, complies with regulations, and enhances model refinement. The research project outlined in this thesis unfolds in phases. It commences with a comprehensive review of existing XAI studies, contributing to the field’s knowledge by proposing a taxonomy that organises theories and notions related to explainability, the evaluation approaches for XAI methods, and …

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Ethical Decision-Making In Older Drivers During Critical Driving Situations: An Online Experiment, Amandeep Singh, Sarah Yahoodik, Yovela Murzello, Samuel Petkac, Yusuke Yamani, Siby Samuel

Psychology Faculty Publications

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The present study examined the impact of aging on ethical decision-making in simulated critical driving scenarios. 204 participants from North America, grouped into two age groups (18–30 years and 65 years and above), were asked to decide whether their simulated automated vehicle should stay in or change from the current lane in scenarios mimicking the Trolley Problem. Each participant viewed a video clip rendered by the driving simulator at Old Dominion University and pressed the space-bar if they decided to intervene in the control of the simulated automated vehicle in an online experiment. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to analyze …

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Leveraging Machine Learning To Study How Temperature Scores Predict Pre-Term Birth Status, Erich Seamon, Jennifer A. Mattera, Sarah A. Keim, Esther M. Leerkes, Jennifer L. Rennels, Andrea J. Kayl, Kristy M. Kulhanek, Darcia Narvaez, Sarah M. Sanborn, Jennifer B. Grandits, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Mary Coussons-Read, Amanda R. Tarullo, Sarah J. Schoppe-Sullivan, Mariah E. Thomason, Julie M. Braungart-Rieker, Julie C. Lumeng, Shannon N. Lenze, Lisa M. Christian, Darby E. Saxbe, Laura R. Stroud, Christina M. Rodriguez, Stephanie Anzaman-Frasca

Psychology Faculty Publications

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Background

Preterm birth (birth at <37 completed weeks gestation) is a significant public heatlh concern worldwide. Important health, and developmental consequences of preterm birth include altered temperament development, with greater dysregulation and distress proneness.

Aims

The present study leveraged advanced quantitative techniques, namely machine learning approaches, to discern the contribution of narrowly defined and broadband temperament dimensions to birth status classification (full-term vs. preterm). Along with contributing to the literature addressing temperament of infants born preterm, the present study serves as a methodological demonstration of these innovative statistical techniques.

Study design

This study represents a metanalysis conducted with multiple samples (N = 19) including preterm (n = 201) children and (n = 402) born at term, with data combined across investigations to perform classification analyses.

Subjects …

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Dew: A Wavelet Approach Of Rare Sound Event Detection, Sania Gul, Muhammad Salman Khan, Ata Ur-Rehman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

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This paper presents a novel sound event detection (SED) system for rare events occurring in an open environment. Wavelet multiresolution analysis (MRA) is used to decompose the input audio clip of 30 seconds into five levels. Wavelet denoising is then applied on the third and fifth levels of MRA to filter out the background. Significant transitions, which may represent the onset of a rare event, are then estimated in these two levels by combining the peak-finding algorithm with the K-medoids clustering algorithm. The small portions of one-second duration, called 'chunks' are cropped from the input audio signal corresponding to the …

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Admissions Viewbook, 2024-2025, Illinois State University, Office Of Admissions

Admissions Viewbook

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Recruitment booklet created by Illinois State University's Office of Admissions

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Seeking The Masculine With The Feminine: P-6 Pre-Service Teachers’ Views On Teaching About The 2020 Us Presidential Election, Tom Lucey, Xiaoying Zhao

Faculty Publications - College of Education

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As democracies have deteriorated worldwide, understanding preservice teachers’ perceptions regarding teaching about the 2020 US presidential election helps teacher educators better guide them to make informed and intentional pedagogical decisions for democratic education. Through a survey study, we found that early childhood and elementary preservice social studies teachers did not express a strong degree of comfort teaching about the presidential election and were most comfortable teaching about matters of literacy and of political agreement.

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Co-Teaching In Steam With Dhh Learners, Stephanie Gardiner-Walsh

Faculty Publications - College of Education

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This poster series is a supplement to the chapter "Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts), and Math (STEAM) Education of Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing" and presents unique considerations for deaf and hard of hearing learners in a STEAM classroom.

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Reducing Visual Microaggressions In College Courses, Kyle Miller, Carolyn S. Hunt

Faculty Publications - College of Education

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While the topic of microaggressions has gained attention in higher education, the focus is typically on verbal microaggressions and rarely includes efforts to address visual ones. Visual microaggressions are the visual insults and invalidations toward historically marginalized groups, that can appear in projects, lecture presentations, textbooks, and other forms of media. This paper describes the importance of addressing visual microaggressions in college courses and provides tips for reducing their occurrence. These strategies can include auditing one's course, modeling visual selections for students, requiring visually focused reflections for group projects, and soliciting feedback from students about images embedded in the course …

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Reading Alphabetic And Nonalphabetic Writing Systems: A Case Study Of Bilingual Teachers' Reading Processes Through Eye Movement Miscue Analysis, Yang Wang, Ismahan Arslan-Ari, Ling Hao, Kyungjin Hwang

Faculty Publications - College of Education

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This case study investigates the reading processes of two bilingual teachers who speak English as a second language and use different first languages—Mandarin Chinese and Korean. The two participants read researcher-selected digital texts in English and in their respective first language, retold the texts, and answered comprehension questions about the texts. Their reading aloud and eye movements were recorded for miscue and eye movement analysis. Using Eye Movement Miscue Analysis, the findings showcase the distinctive characteristics of their first-language and second-language reading processes. The cross-linguistic comparison between bilingual reading processes further shows the bilingual participants' similarities and differences in terms …

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Efl Learners’ Participation In Primary Schools Of Coastal Areas In Bangladesh, Md. Abu Sufian, Professor Sayeedur Rahman Phd

The Qualitative Report

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Despite numerous initiatives by both governmental and non-governmental organizations, primary level students’ skills in English language are still below the expected level in Bangladesh (Hamid & Honan, 2012; Sultana, 2010). Our study examined reasons behind the limited participation of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in primary level classrooms in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. To conduct the research, we followed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Ivankova & Stick, 2007). We collected data from 37 male and 23 female students in grades four and five through questionnaire surveys and three focus group …

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Her Voice Matters: Life Histories Of Black Women Teachers’ Working Conditions, G. Funmilayo Tyson-Devoe

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

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This study explored Black women’s lived experiences as teachers in urban schools during the era of 21st-century education reform. It centers around the relationships between Black women teachers (micro), their working conditions in low-performing urban schools (mesa), and neoliberal education policies (macro) that affect their work. The theoretical frames were Black feminist thought and critical race theory. The research questions were as follows: first, what are the working experiences of Black women teachers of tested subjects in low-performing urban public schools and, second, how do socio-political factors affect their working conditions? The research design was qualitative and included narrative inquiry …

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Historical Trauma Informed Approach To Treatment: A Proposed Suicide Prevention Program For Native American Youth, Christine E. Faris

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

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Suicide is a significant public health concern across the world. It is the second leading cause of death for children and young adults ages 10-34 (CDC, 2016). In 2021, suicide rates were highest among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons, and AI/AN youths had the highest rates of suicide compared to their same-aged peers from other racial and ethnic groups (Stone, Mack, & Qualters, 2021). Historical trauma, or unresolved trauma caused by colonization that gets passed down from generation to generation, has been used as a framework for understanding the high rates of social problems and suicide that plague AI/AN communities. …

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