Education Commons^™

The Influence Of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Families, Neighborhoods, And School Environments On Cognitive Outcomes Among Schoolchildren, Mark William Olofson

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Schools, families, and neighborhoods can support the development of happy, healthy children and adolescents. However, a majority of children in the United States also experience adversity in their early lives that can have deleterious effects on their cognitive and socioemotional development. Measuring and modeling early adversity is fundamental to understanding development as it occurs through interactions with schools, families and neighborhoods. As outlined by Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of human development, proximal and distal forces shape development, and cannot be isolated when relating measures of the developmental context to outcomes for individuals. For schools and other social programs to support students …

Taming The Elephant: An Examination Of The Identity, Coping Strategies, And Educational Aspirations Of Two Adolescent African American Males Who Live And Attend School In A Predominantly White Community, Jeremy Lydell Beauregard

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

This study is a critical ethnography that examines the relationship between the racial-identity, coping strategies and educational aspirations of two African American males who live (and attend school) in a predominantly White community. The participants reside in a Northeastern state where the African-American population is below 3%. Although they live in different parts of the state, symbols like the Confederate flag were regularly seen inside and outside of both high schools.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the primary interpretive framework used in this study. However, theory from educational psychology and sociology were also included. Through semi-structured interviews, on-site observations, and …

Services For Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Study Of Educational Practices In Vermont, Tristan James Mcnamara

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continues to receive increasing degrees of national attention in parallel with increasing rates of occurrence (Baio, 2012; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014; Rice, 2009). The disorder's growing prevalence has been accompanied by controversies regarding the source of the disorder (Baker & Stokes, 2007), how it is diagnosed (Mandell et al., 2009; Wing, Gould, & Gillberg, 2011), and what treatments are applicable and effective (National Autism Center, 2009).

This qualitative research study utilizes survey data provided by Special Education Directors to explore the question of what types of treatments are implemented and supported by school …

Family Process Influences On The Resilient Responses Of Youth, Monika Ingeborg Baege

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The concept of resiliency, or how young people thrive in the face of adversity, brings a positive focus to youth development research and has emerged as an important topic in the youth development field. Adversity, or risk factors, may be internally or externally generated, and may acute or chronic. Researchers often point to the balance of between risk factors and protective factors as the determining influences on a child's resiliency. If protective factors in the layers of a child's world (such as self, family, school, and community) outweigh the risk factors, then a child will be resilient. However, questions remain …