Digital Commons Network^™

Peer Perceptions Of Parent-Students Seeking Higher Education, Alexandria Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a growing number of parents pursuing academia, it is imperative that researchers understand the social environment in which parent-students function. Stereotypes of parent-students may be held by peers, faculty, and other educational supervisors. Across two previous independent studies, evidence and rationale were provided to suggest that both positive and negative perceptions of parent-students exist, with noted differences between gender. The purpose of the current 2x2x2 between-subjects study was to analyze the social perceptions of students enrolled in higher education as varied by parenthood status, age, and gender. The social perceptions included measures accounting for perceptions of intelligence and academic …

2023 Great Expectations Spring Faculty Conference: Education For Humanity, Academic Affairs

Spring Great Expectation Faculty Conference

The 2023 Great Expectations Spring Faculty Conference featured a speech by keynote speaker, Tamara Bilous, Professor of English, Rivne State University, Ukraine.

Professor Tamara Bilous is Educator in Residence at Otterbein University for spring semester (2023). While affiliated with Otterbein, she has engaged in professional development opportunities in the areas of multicultural education and ESL instruction with support from Professor Diane Ross and Erin Johnson.

She joins Otterbein while continuing her teaching and research responsibilities as a Professor of English at Rivne State University of the Humanities, in Rivne, Ukraine. Dr. Bilous is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian, and …

Coaching And Mentoring Programs Ensuring Equal Opportunity To Higher Education For Laotian Students, Vilaya Sirivong

Honors Capstones

Laos is a developing country where quality education is in short supply. For the past years, teenagers and young adults have been applying for various scholarships to pursue their education somewhere else. According to Scholarshipads.com (2022), Lao students are generally eligible for more than 1000 different international scholarships every year, this does not include the number of awardees each scholarship offers. The education ranges from high school, course, associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees. Most of these scholarships and financial aid are partial to full-expense funding.

Even though students apply and desire to be selected, they do not meet the …

Investigating The Impact Of Student-Teacher Relationships On Teacher Retention And Recruitment, Kylie Scott

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the impact of positive student teacher relationships on teacher retention and recruitment. The overarching research question this thesis project aims to address is how do teachers describe the impact of student-teacher relationships on their decisions to become a teacher and stay in teaching? Verbal data collected through semi-structured interviews with my former teachers have been analyzed and reviewed for common or emergent themes. These themes will be discussed along with other commentary from a literature review, results, and a conclusion.

Challenges In Education: A Deweyan Assessment Of Ai Technologies In The Classroom, Ande Eitner

Education and Culture

Artificial intelligence is profoundly transforming the world in various spheres and already finding its way into educational institutions. This essay aims to examine whether the Deweyan ideal of education can be achieved through such digital means. By analyzing how both the aims and means of education, as defined by Dewey, can be understood in the context of learning with artificial intelligence, the inherent differences of both educational approaches are brought out. It becomes apparent that important concepts that characterize successful education for Dewey, such as intrinsic inquiry, experience-based schooling, and thinking as the method for learning, do not go hand …

Data And Growth In Education: A Deweyan Analysis, Kevin Taylor

Education and Culture

For Dewey, growth in the educative process means education that enriches and expands one’s experience as it prepares students for not only a vocation but also entry into and transaction with the world. In few places can we see growth, generally understood, to be occurring as fast as in big data technology. This essay begins with an overview of what big data is, specifically what big data looks like in education as understood through learning management system platforms but also data as understood generally on a college campus through dataveillance, or data surveillance understood as the monitoring or possibility of …

“You Taught Us How To Change The World”: A Critical Autoethnography Reimagining The Future Of Education, Isabella Howard

Undergraduate Theses

As schools become more culturally and linguistically diverse, we need trained, well-prepared educators that value students for who they are, build on their backgrounds, and maintain their unique identities in the classroom. An asset-based, culturally sustaining approach to teaching incorporates theoretical grounding, a consideration of global identities, and a sociopolitical edge that allows students to thrive and think analytically. Through this approach, we can give students more confidence in their abilities as learners by activating their prior knowledge and experience to break down the content and build understanding of it, and we can connect the students to their learning, providing …

Black Fatherhood: A Critical Component For Urban African American Student Success, Cameron Steel

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

A multitude of studies express that father involvement has an impact on student achievement and learning outcomes for urban African American students (Palm & Fagan, 2008). Although biological fathers are extremely vital to our community, a biological connection between a parental figure and their student is not essential to these correlational outcomes. The absence of fathers in the urban African American community has had a negative impact on students' self-esteem, academic efficacy, and general livelihood. Realistically, it is not a viable solution to place fathers in homes or force them to stay and remain active participants in their child's K-12 …

Medication Compliance And Decreases In Viral Load Status In Patients With Hiv, Tangela Woodland- Ballard

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic has been a worldwide challenge for several decades. Proper medication adherence, following the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, has proven effective in decreasing patients’ viral load, thus improving their quality of life, and reducing the spread of the disease. The current literature identifies a lack of knowledge, support, and resources as barriers to medication compliance.

Purpose: To increase medication compliance among persons with HIV.

Methods: This evidence-based practice project utilized the Modified Morisky Scale to help minority HIV patients adhere to strict medication regimens. Repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to …

Textbook Affordability At Smith College: Affirming Smith's Commitment To Creating An Inclusive, Equitable And Accessible Educational Community, Natalie Laroche

Other Student Projects

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG) Education Fund, notes that “in 2020, 65 percent of students surveyed reported skipping buying a textbook because of cost” (Vitez & Nagle, n.d.). The costs of course materials are rising at astronomical rates. According to the Student PIRGs, “the cost of textbooks and course materials has increased at three times the rate of inflation since the 1970s” (Xie, 2023). Textbooks are unnecessarily expensive and are increasingly a barrier to education access and student success. Extensive research has demonstrated that while publishers can get away with (and profit off of) high prices, students who …

Utilizing Edtpa As A Student Teaching Tool To Ensure Future Teaching Success, Matthew Aspinwall

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is an educator preparatory program that students complete at the end of their pre-professional experience. This assessment is often met with fear and apprehension for pre-service teachers leading up to its completion. With edTPA being completed during the student teaching experience, it can become a large burden on the student. This thesis will outline how changing your perspective of the edTPA process from an extensive assessment into using edTPA to make student teaching a more meaningful experience that expands your impact on your school and community. With that, the research question asks: How can student …

The Impact Of A Tailored Nutrition Education Program On Maximal Oxygen Consumption And Nutrition Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors In Adolescent Male Hockey Players, Kerianne M. Shine

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

During adolescence, athletes are at risk of failing to meet dietary recommendations due to their bodies' demand for additional energy during physical activity. For adolescent athletes, data on sport nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) are limited, especially when studied collectively. This project analyzed the impact of nutrition education on KAB of adolescent male hockey players with the incorporation of measurement of maximal oxygen consumption. A single arm trial was conducted with participants and parents/guardians from the Team Alaska 16U and 18U hockey teams. Pre intervention, the participants completed a demographics survey, the Abridged Nutrition for Sport Knowledge Questionnaire (A-NSKQ), …

Passive Education, Passive Users: A Research-Informed Elementary Curriculum For Media Literacy, Surveillance, And Technology Engagement, Jocelyn Elizabeth Brooks

Communication Honors Theses

While media scholars have established that media literacy is imperative to strengthen media’s positive effects and limit its negative effects, elementary-aged children continue to be underserved in current and relevant media literacy education. To address this disparity, this thesis created an age-appropriate media literacy curriculum for children aged seven to nine, bolstered by a comprehensive review of the current literature, which was then taught to a second-grade class at a San Antonio charter school. Results found that students’ current knowledge of contemporary media literacy concepts is minimal, but students made significant improvements through implementation of the proposed curriculum. This project …

Education, Beliefs, And Health Literacy Of Care Providers On Mouth Care Of Older Adults, Molly Lakin

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Oral health is important to one’s overall health and quality of life as it can lead to chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, and neurodegenerative disorders (Haumschild et al. 2021). In long-term care facilities, it is important that dependent older adults are provided mouth care to maintain their oral health and decrease their chances of developing a chronic illness; however, there are barriers affecting the level, quality, and quantity of mouth care being provided in these facilities. A survey was developed to look at the education, beliefs, and health literacy of care providers on providing mouth care in hopes …

An Assessment Of Dietetics And Nutrition Graduate Program Students' Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors Regarding The Subject Of Microplastics, Gabrielle M. Arnes

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

Microplastics exist in every aspect of our lives, from the ground and ocean to food and clothing. It is becoming more and more evident that microplastics can have negative effects on the environment, human health and food safety. This study examined Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) accredited graduate program (GP) students' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards microplastics. An electronic survey was sent to ACEND GP program directors (n = 56) to forward to their GP students. Among the 30 students who completed the full survey, 83.3% had previously heard of microplastics. Although almost all participants had …

The Impact Of Internal Barriers On Technology Use In Rural Schools, Coquesa G. Dotson

College of Education

Technology implementation in rural schools can ensure that students are more prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Therefore, it is important to remove internal barriers to technology implementation. By revealing the current levels of implementation , insight will be provided to rural districts on how to address internal barriers. The purpose of this quantitative, comparative, correlational study was to identify how integrate technology into their instruction influenced their actual practices. Data were collected using a closed-ended online survey using a 7-point Likert scale. Nonparametric measures were taken to analyze data. Comparative data analysis (Kruskal-Wallis Test and Dunn …

Preoperative Pain Management Education And Narcotic Use: A Quality Improvement Project, Sarah Scheller

DNP Projects

Introduction: Comprehensive preoperative education is an important aspect of pain management and helps empower patients prior to their surgery. Evidence supports the use of a combination of the teach-back method, videos, and pamphlets to educate patients prior to their surgery. A quality improvement project was initiated for patients having total shoulder arthroplasty surgery with an orthopedic surgeon in Connecticut.

Methods: An educational video and handout were created, and preoperative education sessions using the teach-back methods were performed. Postoperative phone calls were placed at 24 and 72 hours to assess the patient’s use of narcotic pain medication, alternative pain management medication …

Nurse Practitioner-Led Hepatitis C Virus Education In A Central Valley Opioid Treatment Program, Nikiesha Thomas Redus

Doctoral Projects

Introduction Viral hepatitis has been classified as a worldwide public health threat and it is estimated that 130-150 million people worldwide are infected with viral hepatitis. In the United States, increases in hepatitis C infections can be attributed to intravenous drug use and associated behaviors. Many people who inject drugs are unaware of their serostatus and access to accurate hepatitis C virus (HCV) information and education is limited. However, opioid treatment programs are well positioned to fill hepatitis C services gap among people who inject drugs by providing education, to raise hepatitis C awareness and lead to services and treatment …

English Language Arts (Ela) Textbooks In School Districts And Charter Schools, Tennessee. Comptroller Of The Treasury.

Office of Research and Education Accountability

No abstract provided.

Understanding Romania's Poverty: A Historical Overview Of Economics And Politics And Their Implications On Poverty Today, Benjamin Bucur

Senior Honors Theses

Romania is a country with a high-income economy that is experiencing considerable growth following its economic reforms of earlier decades. With growth, tendencies for an unequal society are prevalent. Therefore, appropriate economic policies that are specifically targeted toward bottlenecks are essential. This thesis seeks to outline the major types of poverty in Romania while also offering actionable entrepreneurial and educational insights that practically combat poverty at its roots.

Defining And Transferring Digital Literacies: What Does This Mean For High School And College Educators?, Jocelyn Spoor

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis aims to create a digital literacies transfer framework through a discussion regarding current conversations on transfer and digital literacies in the English field, including synthesizing the two ideas to think about the transfer of digital literacies as a concept. This digital literacies framework is made up of five components: the functional skills, critical skills, and rhetorical skills found in digital literacies scholarship and the genre awareness and meta-cognitive ideas found in transfer literature. This digital literacies transfer framework is then used to analyze information gleaned from four college and five high school English educators. The key findings from …

Benefits Of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy For In-Service Educators, Megan E. Roberts

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There is a plethora of different teaching styles, all grouped under an umbrella term of pedagogy. This capstone focuses on the advantages in specifically incorporating culturally responsive pedagogy into the classroom. This method of pedagogy provides an inclusive environment in which students are able share their culture, as well as personal experiences to add to the overall academic achievement. By straying away from traditional teaching styles, in service educators are able to create a space for students to embrace their unique differences and incorporate inclusivity into learning. This integral approach provides real life experiences that have a qualitative depth that …

The Relationship Between South Texas Principals’ School Climate, Leadership Style And The Use Of Communication Through Social Media And Other Methods, Alberto R. Canales Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between principals’ school climate (supportive, directive, engaged, frustrated, and intimate behaviors), leadership style, and frequency of communication with teachers. In doing so, a test of significance was carried out using an F-distribution, an alpha level of .05, and a multiple linear regression analysis as the statistical method. School climate, the dependent variable, was tested to find which independent variables, leadership style and frequency of communication, were related and to what amount these variables contributed to the total variance in school climate.

The results revealed that supportive behavior in school climate …

The Impact Of Color Evasiveness On Black Males In The K-12 Setting, John Richmond

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

In terms of scholastic success, African American males have historically lagged below their White counterparts, and this trend continues today. This phenomenological qualitative study looked at how African American male students perceived themselves after they graduated from high school and how color-evasive ideas in the K–12 environment affected their academic performance. In an effort to ascertain if the deliberate avoidance of substantial debates on race, perceived prejudices, and unequal application of exclusionary punishment influence student involvement and performance, the lived experiences of this minority population are gathered. Ten African American guys from one Southern California school district participated in this …

The Bible In Full Color: A High School Bible Study On The Inductive Bible Study Method, Margaret Gregory

Senior Honors Theses

Modern Christianity is saturated with Bible studies for students. However, a crucial skill the Christian student needs to learn – how to study the Bible independently – is a topic difficult to find in contemporary youth Bible study curricula. While there is a wealth of biblically sound, helpful Bible studies that students can benefit from, it is essential that students do not remain dependent on these resources. One goal for youth ministry leaders is that their students graduate high school with the knowledge and tools they need to interpret the Scriptures for themselves correctly. The creative thesis will be an …

Examining Social Determinants Of Health Of Formerly Incarcerated California Students Who Graduated From Project Rebound, Ashley C. Adams

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Project Rebound is an educational based program that supports justice impacted individuals in obtaining higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore specific social determinants of health for these justice impacted students, and how these social determinants may improve after graduation. Specifically, this study will examine participants’ housing, mental health, substance use, employment, and finances during and after their participation in Project Rebound. This study is important, as there is little research on Project Rebound, their alumni, and how social determinants of health may be impacted by enrollment. This study is quantitative, and uses online surveys to gather …

“Brute Force Teacher”: Outlasting The Turbulent Cycle Of Teacher Turnover, Anne Marie Light

Education Policy and Leadership Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to debunk negative stereotypes that surround educators in urban schools and depict how high-performing veteran teachers became the resilient educators they are now. Teachers are the greatest determiner of student success (Marzano et al., 2001). Therefore, understanding our highest-performing teachers in our schools is imperative. Skaalvik and Skaalvik (2011) found that a staggering percentage of the teachers who entered the field left within their first three to five years of teaching. Understanding our highest performing teachers with five plus years of experiences through research is necessary.

This generic qualitative study utilized Polidore’s Theoretical Model …

Bringing Awareness Of Non-Traditional Family Structures To Elementary Education, Britney Itzel Melendez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many elementary school students lack awareness of family diversity. When students lack an awareness of family diversity, they may develop prejudices, may inadvertently insult their peers, and even demonstrate intolerant attitudes towards people of different types of families. When elementary school students become aware of family diversity, they are more inclusive and may develop a broader perspective about the world. In order to address the lack of awareness of family diversity among elementary school children, I have developed a two-day lesson on family diversity for second graders at Bardin Elementary School in Salinas, California.

Peer Perceptions Of Parent-Students Seeking Higher Education, Alexandria M. Wall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With a growing number of parents pursuing academia, it is imperative that researchers understand the social environment in which parent-students function. Stereotypes of parent-students may be held by peers, faculty, and other educational supervisors. Across two previous independent studies, evidence and rationale were provided to suggest that both positive and negative perceptions of parent-students exist, with noted differences between gender. The purpose of the current 2x2x2 between-subjects study was to analyze the social perceptions of students enrolled in higher education as varied by parenthood status, age, and gender. The social perceptions included measures accounting for perceptions of intelligence and academic …

Better Budtender Training, Vincent Mcdonald Castillo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

A survey conducted by the cannabis education program in the Monterey County Health Department (MCHD) concluded that around 57% of users in the county do not feel educated enough in the subject to form their own educated opinions about cannabis use (Cannabis Education Survey 2022). The MCHD decided to address this concern by collaborating with local dispensaries to provide an educational course in video form for budtenders. This video provides factual information on consumption methods, how differently they may affect people and the recommended time to wait before operating a vehicle. Following this education, consumers of cannabis will have reliable …