American Studies Commons^™

Using Multi-Paradigmatic Interventions: Gauging The Possibilities Of Using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Within A Response To Intervention Framework, Vanessa Hein

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There exists a highly charged debate about whether or not the Problem Solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) model works alone in lowering the rate of special education referrals for students in an inclusive learning environment. This study seeks to explore the incorporation of a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) into the PS/RtI framework, with the assumption that it would assist teachers with PS/RtI implementation as well as enhance their classroom learning environment. Interviews with PS/RtI coaches and elementary school teachers implementing PS/RtI are coded using inductive and deductive strategies, using salient factors of both CRP and PS/RtI as indicators for a comparative …

Links Between Parents' And Children's Levels Of Gratitude, Life Satisfaction, And Hope, Brenna D. Hoy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Positive psychology encourages a focus on identifying and promoting wellness in individuals rather than analyzing psychopathology. Although decades of research shows that mental illness is in part environmental and hereditary, little is known about the relationship between parental levels of positive emotions such as gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope, and their children's levels of the same constructs. This study utilized a past, present, and future framework of positive emotions to explore parental and child levels of gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope. This quantitative study analyzed correlations between self-reported levels of gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope among a sample of 153 …

Exploring Instructional Strategies And Learning Goals In Undergraduate Leadership Education, Daniel Jenkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leadership education has been integral to the undergraduate curriculum since the early 1990's. Today, more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the United States offer undergraduate courses in leadership studies and many offer academic credit in the form of a bachelor's degree, academic minor, or certificate. Yet, little is known about those who teach leadership studies courses to undergraduates, the instructional strategies they employ, or the learning goals they set. The purpose of this study was to identify the instructional strategies that are most frequently used by instructors when they teach academic credit-bearing undergraduate leadership studies courses, identify signature pedagogies …

Female Teachers As Sexual Predators: A Qualitative Study Of Grades 7-12 In The State Of Florida's Public Schools, Jayme Lynn Joslyn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study's purpose was to discover commonalities and differences among female predators and Florida female teachers who are perceived and reported to harass students sexually. When perceived and reported female sexual harasser and student safety was researched, a breath of studies did not occur. When current studies were reviewed, teacher sexual harassment continued to occur. In this qualitative study, ten Florida public school female teachers who were perceived and reported to sexually harass students were randomly selected. Findings indicted that further research is still needed on female teachers who are perceived and reported to sexually harass students. When researching the …

An Analysis On The Experience Of Mentoring Support In A College Alternative Teacher Certification Program, Debra Voutsinas Kilgore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore how college alternative teacher certification (ATC) participants experience mentoring support. The goal was to obtain a rich and deep understanding of the nature of the mentoring experience in a college ATC program through the perspectives of mentees and their mentors. The ATC program was the Educator Preparation Institute (EPI).

Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Eight individuals participated in the study, four were mentors and four were EPI students. A triangulated set of research methods for data collection and analysis was used, including member checks, validation forms, and peer reviews. All the interviews …

Teacher Commitment To The Implementation Of Ninth Grade Academies And Their Perceptions Of School Leadership, Deborah Kindel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the commitment of teachers to the implementation of ninth grade academies and their perceptions of school leadership during the reform process. Concern for successful high school completion prompted the redesign of ninth grade into a school-within-a-school format within a Florida school district. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the type of commitment and form of leadership evident in this reform initiative along with the relationship between them. As a mindset for change, commitment was represented as affective, normative, and continuance. Leadership styles were delineated as transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant along with related outcomes of …

Assist Principals' Perspectives On Professional Learning Conversations For Teacher Professional Growth, Connie Kolosey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover, document, and describe the salient actions, events, beliefs, attitudes, social structures and processes related to professional learning conversations from the perspective of nine assistant principals (APs). The participants were elementary, middle and high school APs, three at each level. Using a modified critical incident technique through participant written response and two in depth interviews with each respondent, this study investigated the lived experiences of these APs related to the practice of professional learning conversations in their schools. The research questions focused on: (1) the participants' beliefs and attitudes about professional learning conversations, …

Associate Degrees In Health Related Occupations As Predictors Of Success In Physician Assistant Programs, David E. Kotun

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if applicants who had an associate degree in the health sciences prior to acceptance to a physician assistant program would do better than those applicants without an associate degree in the health sciences on three measures of success of physician assistant education. The three measures of success used were graduation rates, scores on the Physician Assistant Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT), and performance on the national certifying exam, the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). Data used for this dissertation were taken from original source documents and raw data sent …

Perspectives Of Teachers Of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders Regarding The Factors Related To Their Intent To Remain In The Profession, Glenda Esther Koshy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined factors related to the intent of special education teachers of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to remain in the profession. A modified Working in Schools: the Life of a Special Educator (WSLSE) survey, developed by Miller, Brownell, and Smith (1999), was utilized to explore the relationships between factors associated with Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model (1977) and the special education teachers' intention to remain in the field of teaching students with ASD. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model (1977) includes the Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, and the Individual domain.

Multiple regressions conducted as the method of data analysis revealed …

Role Of Cmc-Embedded Webquests In Enhancement Of Online Students' Knowledge And Understanding Of German Culture - A Case Study, Radhika Lothe

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Existing approaches to teaching `culture' in the realm of Distance foreign language (FL) instruction and gaps within; under-researched Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tool of webquests; and Mediation in Sociocultural Theory (SCT) have all led to the following case study. This study was guided by the constructs of `culture' in FL instruction, Sociocultural Theory, and literature in CALL and Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC).

This study examines how CMC-embedded webquests (asynchronous and synchronous CMC components built into webquests) developed online students' knowledge and understanding of German culture. Additionally, this study examines what mediating strategies (Lidz, 2002) were used by the online students …

Assessing Relational Networks: An Evaluation Of Derived Relational Responding With Children With Asd And Typically Developing Children, Gianna Delayce Lozano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The way in which humans engage in conversation and social interactions is largely due to their ability to form relationships between a wide variety of stimuli. Two people are able to communicate fluently and effectively because each has the capacity to derive meaning during social interactions. Forming relationships is an effortless process that humans engage in daily, however for those individuals with developmental disabilities, the ability to form relationships between various stimuli based on arbitrary properties does not appear to happen in the natural course of development. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of children to …

Saved By The (Alexander Graham) Bell: An Analysis Of Synchronous Communication And Student Satisfaction / Retention Rates In The First Year Online Composition Classroom, Jennifer Jane Lynch

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Online first-year writing courses, with all of their promise, still maintain alarmingly low retention and student satisfaction rates, driving online curriculum designers to take another look at ways to increase both retention and satisfaction. To replicate the high rates of face-to-face classes, we must revisit and revise our approach to communication in the first-year writing online classroom. Think about it: The online classroom has abandoned a mainstay in education for thousands of years - synchronous communication. Why have we been so quick to dispose of it? Are we now paying the price?

This research will provide additional value to the …

The Relationship Between Systems-Change Coaching And Levels Of Implementation And Fidelity Of Problem-Solving/Response To Intervention (Ps/Rti), Amanda March

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the extent to which coaching facilitates the successful implementation of the Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention (PS/RtI) model in schools, as well as the extent to which coaching enhances the fidelity of implementation of PS/RtI practices in those schools. Data from 34 schools in seven districts participating in three years of a statewide initiative to implement PS/RtI practices with assistance of a PS/RtI coach were used to evaluate the relationship between coaching activities and levels of implementation and integrity outcomes. Data on various coaching-related factors (i.e., perceived coaching quality, coach continuity, frequency and duration of training and technical assistance), …

Numeracy, Cancer Risk Perceptions, And Self-Protective Behaviors Among U.S. Adults, Teri Malo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals have become more involved in health-related decisions, in part due to an unprecedented access to information that can be used to enhance both physical and mental health. Much of this health-related information is presented in a numerical format; unfortunately, research suggests many Americans may not possess the literacy skills necessary to comprehend numerical health-related information. More research needs to be conducted to examine numeracy and its role in cancer risk perceptions, and how those risk perceptions relate to cancer self-protective behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to: (a) examine socio-demographic variables associated with numeracy, (b) determine which …

Technology Use As Transformative Pedagogy: Using Video Editing Technology To Learn About Teaching, Michelle Macy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the paradigm of Sociocultural Theory, and using Activity Theory as a data-gathering and management tool, this microgenetic case study examined the processes - the growth, change, and development – engaged in by student-teachers in a foreign language education program as they worked together to complete an activity. The activity involved digital video recording and editing, mediators which were intended to facilitate the iterative review of and subsequent reflection and action upon the content of the video during its creation.

By investigating the process of contextual interaction between learners and the mediational elements of their environment as the activity progressed, …

School-Wide Pbs: The Link Between Action Planning And Outcomes, Stephanie Angelique Martinez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most school based initiatives are not implemented long-term and do not reach sustainability (McDermott, 2000; Mirel, 1994; Rice & Malen, 2003). Schools are implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) as an initiative to target social emotional development and behavior. Schools that have implemented SWPBS have experienced decreases in rate of Office Discipline Referrals (ODR), In-School Suspension (ISS) and Out-of-School Suspension (OSS) (e.g. Bohanon et al., 2006; Childs et al., 2009; Lassen et al., 2006). Research has also shown that schools that implement with a higher degree of fidelity have better outcomes (Childs et al., 2009; Florida's Positive Behavior Support Project, …

Ethical And Moral Decision Making: Praxis And Hermeneutics For School Leaders, Joan Quinn Minnis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been a renewed interest in the inclusion of ethics as part of educators' training and interest in understanding the moral and ethical dimensions of educational practice. This research was designed to study the types of dilemmas school level leaders face, the characteristics of typical dilemmas, and the implications for leader preparation, professional development, and practice.

In documenting the lived experiences of former school level leaders, the grounded theory approach to qualitative inquiry and the critical incident technique (CIT) were employed. Data collected from interview sessions, dialogs, journals and reflections were used to analyze the types of dilemmas school …

In The Midst Of Organizational Change: A Survey Of Employee Perceptions Toward Separate Accreditation For Regional Campuses At The University Of South Florida, Rhonda S. Moraca

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify how employees in the University of South Florida System (USF System) perceived changes in their organizations and the system as a result of having separate accreditation for each campus in the USF System. This survey research provided a "snapshot" of employee perceptions at a particular point in time. The study was unique because it provided a picture of the perceptions of employees while each campus was at a different point in the organizational change process. The theoretical concept from Bolman and Deal's (2003) four frame theory was used to develop the dependent …

Guided By The Spirit: Understanding Student Behavior And Theological Philosophy Through The Lens Of Secondary Catholic School Teachers, Angela Marie Mucci

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how secondary Catholic school teachers perceived problem behavior exhibited by students with or without disabilities based on their theological philosophy. Using the methods identified in grounded theory, seven secondary Catholic school teachers were interviewed to gain an understanding of the extent to which a theological philosophy was reflected in their perceptions, responses, and policies towards behavior challenges/problems. In order to conceptualize and contextualize the notion of a "theological philosophy," this study utilized three tenets of Catholic Social Teaching (dignity of the human person, common good, and preferential option for the poor and …

Crystal Engineering Of Molecular And Ionic Cocrystals, Tien Teng Ong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Solubility enhancement of poorly-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) remains a scientific challenge and poses a practical issue in the pharmaceutical industry. The emergence of pharmaceutical cocrystals has contributed another dimension to the diversity of crystal forms available at the disposal of the pharmaceutical scientist. That pharmaceutical cocrystals are amenable to the design principles of crystal engineering means that the number of crystal forms offered by pharmaceutical cocrystals is potentially greater than the combined numbers of polymorphs, salts, solvates and hydrates for an API. The current spotlight and early-onset dissolution profile ("spring-and-parachute" effect) exhibited by certain pharmaceutical cocrystals draw attention to …

Geometric Transformations In Middle School Mathematics Textbooks, Barbara Zorin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed treatment of geometric transformations in presently available middle grades (6, 7, 8) student mathematics textbooks. Fourteen textbooks from four widely used textbook series were evaluated: two mainline publisher series, Pearson (Prentice Hall) and Glencoe (Math Connects); one National Science Foundation (NSF) funded curriculum project textbook series, Connected Mathematics 2; and one non-NSF funded curriculum project, the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP).

A framework was developed to distinguish the characteristics in the treatment of geometric transformations and to determine the potential opportunity to learn transformation concepts as measured by textbook physical characteristics, lesson narratives, and analysis …

Perceptions By Heartland Educational Consortium (H.E.C.) Elementary Title I School Principals And Assistant Principals: Data Use In Their Role As Achievement-Related Decision Makers, Sherri Albritton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the age of accountability and assessment, there is a need to ensure that data provided regarding student achievement can be effectively and appropriately utilized by school site administrators in a systematic way to improve student achievement.

This study identified Heartland Educational Consortium Title I principals’ and assistant principals’ perceptions of their use of data as decision-makers in raising student achievement, with primary emphasis on Florida’s Differentiated Accountability Model.

Quantitative results revealed statistically significant differences in data use by administrators. Use of data by administrators for professional development was statistically significantly different from school improvement, leadership, or data skills. Data …

A Case Study Of Adolescent Females' Perceptions Of Identity In An After-School Book Club, Holly Atkins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reading is a perennial educational hot topic - but now extends for beyond early literacy to the secondary level. Reading researchers are growing in our knowledge of how to reach and teach struggling adolescent readers yet too often success in literacy is measured solely by performance on standardized tests. Literacy is seen on one hand as a one-dimensional set of skills students need to possess to be successful in school and their future workplaces. A more expansive view of the importance of literacy and what it means to adolescent females' growth as individuals and members of communities is needed.

This …

Perceptions On Collaborative Learning: A Case Study Of Female Community College Instructors, Marilyn Christine Armstrong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the 1980s, academic assessments called for "the ability of individuals and groups to talk, listen judge, and act on issues of common interest" (Morse, 1989, p. 30). More recently, corporate research findings, Are They Ready to Work? Employers' Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (The Conference Board, Inc., Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Corporate Voices for Working Families, & Society for Human Resource Management, 2006), report the workplace is seeking college graduates with skill in collaboration (e.g. build diverse relationships, negotiate, manage conflict). While the interest in …

An Investigation Of The Self-Perceived Principal Leadership Styles In An Era Of Accountability, Kathlene L. Bentley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was to determine the self-perceived leadership style of principals in an era of accountability. The research instrument was the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire with added demographic questions. In addition to the determination of the self-perceived principal leadership style, the intention of this study was to determine the possible relationship of demographic variables such as principal gender, experience, ethnicity, school type (elementary, middle school, and high school), school grade, and school socioeconomic status determined by Title I on leadership styles. The participants of the study were principals from three large school districts in …

Swirling: An Examination Of Time-To-Degree, Reasons, And Outcomes Associated With Multi-Institutional Transfers, Alytrice Robinson Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Swirling is an emergent transfer pattern among college students. Swirlers are students who may have participated in a combination of reverse transfer, lateral transfer, or traditional transfer patterns. The available research on swirling has been predominately quantitative in nature. This study was designed to obtain qualitative data on multi-institutional transfers from a qualitative perspective.

A heuristic phenomenological approach grounded in the transformational learning theory method was used to obtain data. The data were obtained via an online blog-based interview. The interview revealed six themes in regards to why students swirl. This study also addressed time-to-degree and outcomes associated with students …

Principals' Content Knowledge: Examining The Relationship Between Principals' Reading Knowledge And Leadership Actions From Principals' And Teachers' Perceptions, Angela Suzanne Butler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Principals' leadership content knowledge in reading was investigated by examining the relationship between the perceived reading knowledge of principals and perceived leadership actions principals take to support reading instruction. Survey results from 78 principals and 1,876 teachers were analyzed. Results showed a positive, statistically significant correlation between principals' perceptions of their reading knowledge and principals' perceptions of the actions they take to support reading. A stronger positive, significant correlation between teachers' perceptions of their principal's reading knowledge and teachers' perceptions of their principal's actions was also demonstrated. These correlations substantiated studies that purported principals with more reading knowledge are more …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Preconception Health On Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Through The Theoretical Lens Of Reciprocal Determinism, Mary Elizabeth Buie

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of preconception health on adverse pregnancy outcomes through the theoretical lens of reciprocal determinism. Thus, this study aims to develop a preconception health conceptual framework that accounts for the interactive relationships among behavior, the environment, and the person.

Rationale for the Study

Women may not recognize a pregnancy until the first or second missed menstrual cycle, a full four to eight weeks or more after conception. Once a woman realizes the possibility of a pregnancy, it takes further time to confirm the pregnancy with a home pregnancy …

The Impact Of An Online Learning Community Project On University Chinese As A Foreign Language Students' Motivation, Shengrong Cai

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study empirically investigated the impact of an online learning community project on university students' motivation in learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). A newly-proposed L2 motivation theory - the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei 2005; 2009) - was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The three aspects of motivation (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience), as described in this theory, were measured before and after the online project. Specific motivating and demotivating features of the online project were generated from participants' responses. Four individuals with different heritage and technology backgrounds were selected …

A Comparative Historical Analysis Of Post-War Moral Panics And The Construction Of Youth From 1938 To 2010, Judy L. Castillo

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For the past 50 years, various moral panics have emerged in response to concerns about children and teens. In particular, interest in entertainment appealing to youth has been the focus of social and legislative changes aimed at protecting youth from increased sexual and violent content associated with comic books, music lyrics, Internet content, and film and television.

The intent of this study is to compare the emergence and progression of moral panics related to entertainment appealing to youth, such as comic books, music lyrics, the Internet, and film and television, since 1938 to 2010 to better understand the ways we …