Digital Commons Network^™

Career Decisions: Goodness-Of-Fit And Attrition Of Teachers In Alternative Schools, Deidre S. Coulter

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers are the most important element in theEducation system (Stronge, 2002). However, studies of teachers in certain sectors are lacking. The paucity of research on teachers who work in the alternative school environment was a driving force behind this study, which is a case study of the characteristics of alternative schools, perceptions of teacher training, attrition, and goodness-of-fit. Interviews with teachers, administrators, and support staff in an alternative school were used to investigate interactions between teachers and students and between colleagues. Classroom observations of the teachers were used to help explore the classroom climate. Emergent themes such as communication, administrative …

The Role Of Personal And Contextual Variables In College Students' Academic Achievement, Rachel A. Rogers

Doctoral Dissertations

College matriculation rates are increasing but graduation rates are failing to parallel the increased enrollment. One reason for this discrepancy may be that many college students are unable to regulate their own learning. This dissertation examined the Self-Regulated Learning (SRL; Pintrich, 2004) model in students taking Statistics in Psychology and Research Methods. The inclusion of the constructs of possible selves and identity development in the SRL model was proposed, as was the Achievement Goal Questionnaire (AGQ; Elliot & McGregor, 2001), a measure of the 2x2 Framework of achievement goal orientation. These variables were assessed along with those included in the …

Learning Systems: An Ecological Perspective On Advanced Academic Literacy Practices Of Multilingual Writers, Steve Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent work in composition's leading journals has challenged the field's exclusive focus on native English speakers and has called for a more international perspective on writing research and pedagogy. This dissertation, which grew from requests from multilingual graduate students in my own institution for more advanced academic writing support, extends this call to explore ways writing programs can better account for the needs of international graduate students, a growing population in US institutions. The role English has assumed as the lingua franca of international academic communication has made writing in English a critical skill for these students' professional development. In …

Educator Perceptions Of Policies That May Impact Black Male High School Persistence, L Antonio Henley

Doctoral Dissertations

This study purposed to identify educators' perceptions about the academic state of Black males, explore the influence of policies on Black males' high school persistence, and examine differences in educator perceptions with regards to the impact of education policies on African American males. Findings indicate that educators believe that Black males are doing poorly academically and educators are concerned about the academic progress of Black males. Also, educators do not to believe that the majority of policies identified in this research have any significant impact on the high school persistence of Black males. Further, there are significant differences in educators' …

Navigating The Cultural Gaps: Whiteness And Diversity In Two Elementary School Classrooms, Rachel Parse Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

This study asked how two white, in-service elementary school teachers within the context of their classrooms navigated the cultural gaps between themselves and students from whom they differed (e.g. racially, ethnically, socio-economically, and/or linguistically). Three sub-questions examined: 1) what life experiences shaped how the teachers understood difference and diversity within their classrooms; 2) what system(s) of beliefs the teachers learned and constructed through those experiences; and 3) what identities the teachers assumed and/or assigned to themselves and their students. The study employed a sociocultural theoretical framework. Ethnographic data collection strategies included participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and material collection. Discourse analysis …

Comprehension Of Protagonists' Goals And Intentions: The Dynamic Relation Between Reading Skill, Text Characteristics, And Reading Strategies, Jennifer J. Stiegler

Doctoral Dissertations

Studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2009) indicate that the inability to comprehend text is one of the primary reasons students perform poorly in school Reading difficulties often persist into adulthood with 23% of U.S. adults only meeting basic reading proficiency levels (NCES, 2004). To address this problem, it is critical to identify the underlying cognitive processes that pose the greatest challenges to struggling readers. Recent research has explored basic skills (e.g., working memory capacity, suppression mechanisms, domain knowledge, and reading strategies) that have been shown to be essential for reading. To date it is unclear which …

From Biosphere To Noosphere: Vladimir Vernadsky's Theoretical System As A Conceptual Framework For Universal Sustainability Education, Irina L. Trubetskova

Doctoral Dissertations

In light of accelerating global warming and climate change, the importance of sustainability education is unquestionable. It is a requirement of our time that sustainability education must become a part of any professional curriculum in higher education because today's college students are tomorrow's decision makers and the key players at local, national, and international levels.

Although the importance of education for a sustainable future has been recognized by the global community and we are now living through the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a common conceptual approach to teaching sustainability does not exist. We face a …

President's Report, 2010, University Of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). Office Of The President

University of Montana President’s Report, 1993-2016

The President’s Report of the University of Montana, produced by University Relations on behalf of the President’s Office.

An Exploratory Study Of The Career Aspirations And Self-Perceptions Of University Honors Program Students, Pamela Malone Gresham

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the career aspirations and self-perceptions of University Honors Program students at Indiana State University. The current trend inEducation, especially gifted and talentedEducation, focuses on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). How has this impacted the gifted and talented population when they become young adults ready to pursue college and careers? Are the interests and skills of University Honors Program students aligned with the majors they have chosen? What are their interests and skills? The research was conducted on the campus of Indiana State University. This is a public higherEducation campus whose University Honors Program has about 500 …

Professors With Criminal Records: Criminology & Criminal Justice Students Views On Former Convicts As Professors, John Frana

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As America's incarceration binge begins its fourth decade, one unintended consequence of this social policy has been a growing number of criminologists/sociologists who have personal experience with incarceration as many former convicts have been pursuingEducation as an avenue for successful re-entry. Some of these ex-convicts have begun to secure PhD's and have been conducting research as well as teaching various university courses in Sociology and/or Criminology and Criminal Justice. Within this thesis the myths maintained by society surrounding crime and prisoners will be discussed. Using survey research, students majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice ( n = 186) at ISU …

Social Class Experiences Of Working-Class Students: Transitioning Out Of College, Huber Carey Treager

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Issues surrounding social class are often overlooked and rarely discussed in higherEducation; however, they affect students and institutions in critical ways. Although research has demonstrated that social class is a predictor of access to college, retention, academic performance, overall undergraduate and graduate experience, and college completion, little is known about the effect of social class on students' transition out of college and into the workplace. This transition is critical to explore because research suggests that the way in which students approach their first years of work have an impact on future job success and satisfaction. A phenomenological method of inquiry …

Soviet Education: Communism In The Classroom, Alison W. Berryman

Honors Theses

My thesis examines the Soviet Union’s educational system during Stalin’s rule. It proves that the goal of the Soviet educational system in the 1920s and 1930s was to instill strong Communist loyalty from a very early age and to expedite the process of industrialization by educating future workers in “socially useful” labor.

Introduction: Protistan Biology, Horizontal Gene Transfer, And Common Descent Uncover Faulty Logic In Intelligent Design, Avelina Espinosa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

THE International Society of Protistologists (ISOP) organized a pre-meeting workshop entitled ‘‘Horizontal Gene Transfer and Phylogenetic Evolution Debunk Intelligent Design,’’ as part of the 1st North American Section meeting held June 11–13, 2009, at Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, USA. This workshop focused on the acceptance of Darwinian evolution in the United States and the role of intelligent design (ID) in the ongoing controversy between scientific knowledge and popular belief. Intelligent design, a doctrine born in the 1980s, proposes that a ‘‘Designer’’ is responsible for the complexity in biological systems and that Darwinism cannot explain holistically the origin and evolution …

Democratic Or Gendered Domain: Communication And Learning Styles In The Online Classroom, Jennifer Ann Bruns

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) within cyberspace has become a recent pedagogical phenomenon. Cyberspace creates a domain for new learning environments. Using the online classroom has the potential to break down gender barriers and erect a more democratic space for students. Even with this limitless potential, there are competing conceptions regarding these new and promising classrooms--will online education conform to the same standards that shape a gendered society, or will these classrooms create a more equitable environment for both male and female students? Because of the rising numbers of online female students, gender bias becomes an increasingly important research topic. Yet the …

"We Do Not See Things As They Are. We See Things As We Are." : Capturing The Transformation Of Career Changing Women From Stem Fields To Teaching, Catherine Snyder

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This qualitative study tracks the journeys of four career changing women in STEM fields as they pursue a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and transition into teaching positions. Through analysis of archived writing, journaling, photo elicitation, interviews and member-checking, the study analyzes participants' thinking and learning at the beginning of their entrance into graduate school through to their second year of teaching. Using Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory, the study focuses on the challenges faced by the women, the catalysts for change, the durability of lessons learned in the teaching program and their degree of contentment with their decision given …

Increasing Student-Teacher Interactions At An Urban Commuter Campus Through Instant Messaging And Online Office Hours, Nathan H. Lents, Oscar E. Cifuentes

Publications and Research

Encouraging first year undergraduate students in large lecture-hall classes to seek out and actively engage their professors is a perennial problem in science education. This problem is especially acute for commuter and minority populations. Thus, because personal relationships between students and professors are well known to promote student learning and academic success, fostering new ways to connect students and faculty is essential for reducing attrition at inner-city colleges. In the current study, we demonstrate that the use of instant messaging (IM) is highly effective in fostering student-teacher interactions in the lecture-hall setting of an introductory major-level biology course at John …

Predictors Of Success Of The National Council Licensure Examination For Registered Nurses Among Transfer Bsn Students, Mary E. Fortier

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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An Historical Analysis Of The Virtual Va Program, Linda G. Reviea

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Effect Of Kindergarten Entry Age On Academic Achievement, Nicole A. Buten

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Impact Of Institutional And Peer Support On Faculty Research Productivity: A Comparative Analysis Of Research Vs. Non-Research Institutions, Ming Ju

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Causes Of Educational Differences In Fertility In Sub-Saharan Africa, John Bongaarts

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This working paper presents an analytic framework that describes the chain of causation linking fertility to its multiple layers of determinants, then analyzes the causes of educational fertility differences in 30 sub-Saharan African countries using data from DHS surveys. The results demonstrate that education levels are positively associated with demand for and use of contraception and negatively associated with fertility and desired family size. In addition, there are differences by level of education in the relationships between indicators. As education rises, fertility is lower at a given level of contraceptive use, contraceptive use is higher at a given level of …

History Of Latter-Day Saint Education In Nauvoo 1839-1845, Marnie Hopkins

Student Works

Understanding the history of education within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is essential in order to comprehend the full history of the Church, its people and culture. As the records of the Church have continued to be explored, members and non- members alike have been enriched by the lives of the early saints. Historians have made wonderful progress to provide the common reader with access to the records and history of the Church. However, there is still a substantial amount of research to be performed. One major gap in the research can be found during the Nauvoo …

The Impact Of Teacher Assigned But Not Graded Compared To Teacher Assigned And Graded Chemistry Homework On The Formative And Summative Chemistry Assessment Scores Of 11th-Grade Students With Varying Chemistry Potential, Jennifer L. Wilson

Student Work

The study analyzed 2005 posttest data compared to 2008 posttest data to determine student end of school year academic achievement outcomes across three academic levels (above average, average, and below average chemistry potential) and two teacher homework evaluation methods (assigned but not graded and assigned and graded) on teacher prepared 11th-grade assessments, district prepared 11th-grade assessment, and district graduation requirement physical science strand 11th-grade science Essential Learner Outcome assessment. Overall, results indicated that students with above average (n = 16), average, (n = 17) and below average (n = 14) chemistry potential whom were given teacher assigned and graded chemistry …

(2010) Philosophical Dialogue With Children: Essays On Theory And Practice, David Kennedy

Collected Papers of David Kennedy

David Kennedy is the foremost expert of children’s philosophical experience and practice writing today. One of the factors that makes him so will be apparent to readers of this collection of essays: the insistent probing and the astonishing range of his scholarship, which encompasses philosophy of childhood, philosophy of education, developmental psychology, cultural studies, critical theory, philosophy of subjectivity, chaos and systems theory, epistemology, and metaphilosophy. The other factor, only hinted at in this book, is the thousands of hours that Kennedy has clocked on the rugs and in the small chairs of schools, pre-schools, churches and other children’s spaces …

An Examination Of Academic Resilience Among High-Achieving Hispanic-American Male Inner City Adolescents, Aida A. Ismael-Lennon

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Identifying risk and protective factors has been at the cornerstone in resilience research in education. Although this focus has contributed to our understanding of the personal traits inherent in academically resilient students, it fails to expound relationships existing outside of the individual. This study aims to uncover the interrelationship between individual characteristics and the environments that help create academic resilience. Twelve Hispanic-American male inner-city at-risk students, considered resilient, were interviewed about perceived factors leading to their academic success. A qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data, using Strauss & Corbin's (1998) Grounded Theory Approach. The themes that emerged were …

Media And Youth Identity In Pakistan: Global-Local Dynamics And Disjuncture, Al-Karim Datoo

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The paper critically analyzes the engagement of a group of Pakistani urban youth with global cultural flows through media, and their responses to those flows. The discussion mainly centres around an analysis of a re-make of a drama-skit performed by a group of Pakistani urban high school youth during their school’s annual function which could be regarded as a kind of satire providing a cultural critique on the way cultural globalization, through media (especially cultural production through Indian Bollywood film/soap media-industry), is influencing urban Pakistani youth's perception of 'local' values, norms and identities. For the analysis, the paper draws upon …

A Study Of African American Student Retention And Persistence At Los Angeles City College In Extended Opportunity Program And Services (Eops), Kalynda Webber Mclean

Theses and Dissertations

As the community college student population becomes more diverse, the traditional student support program activities are limited in their effectiveness (Crawford, 1999). Rodriguez (1992) reports that although community colleges are often the first entry point into higher education for African American students, there does not seem to be equal success in the retention and persistence of this group. As officials in higher education seek to assess the success or failure of the community college in serving its diverse population, many questions may arise concerning the success of special programs in retaining minority students. Some researchers have wondered whether these special …

Attachment To God: Its Impact On The Psychological Wellbeing Of Persons With Religious Vocation, Innocent F. Okozi

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Sustainability Education As A Catalyst For University And Community Partnerships, Shane Lishawa, Adam Schubel, Alison Varty, Nancy Tuchman

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Universities are uniquely positioned to lead society toward sustainability and their collaborations with community organizations are essential to this transition. The Biodiesel Program at Loyola University Chicago Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy provides a case study of course-based service-learning projects facilitating synergies between the university and the community while concomitantly fostering urban sustainability. This article discusses the program’s design andstructure, and describes specific examples of community partnerships that havebenefited the university, the community, and the environment

Undergraduate Music Student Stress And Burnout, Helen Jane Orzel

Master's Theses

Burnout is fatigue and diminished interest caused by long-term stress. It is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. In the university music atmosphere, stress and burnout are prevalent and accepted as part of the culture. Symptoms and causes of general stress and burnout have been well researched, but much less has been presented on college musicians' burnout, let alone how to deal with it. This study examines the sources of stress, burnout, and ways of coping for undergraduate music students.

A questionnaire with both quantitative and open-ended questions was administered during the 2009 spring semester. Participants …