Education Commons^™

Returning To School After A Pandemic: K-12 School Mental Health Practitioners’ Perspectives Returning To School In Regard To Mindset, Behavior, Performance, And Social Connections, Viridiana Benitez Esparza

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine K-12 school mental health practitioners’ perceptions of their experiences working with students following the 2-year educational/social/emotional trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to the mental health practitioners’ mindset, behavior, performance, and social connections. Methodology: The researcher conducted a phenomenological study examining particular experiences of participants to understand their perspective during a phenomenon (McMillan & Schumacher, 2006). This qualitative study interviewed 12 school mental health practitioners who served in K-12 public schools after the pandemic in Los Angeles County, California. Semi-structured interview questions were used for data collection and aligned …

Enhancing The Quality Of Life For Senior Citizens: A Facilitator’S Guidebook For Mindful Music And Movement, Shannon Sexton

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Music appreciation and enjoyment enhance well-being throughout the lifespan. The challenges and constraints that people experience as they age can lead to lack of access to music, decreased physical activity, and fewer avenues for creative expression. Group music and movement interventions created for older populations offer opportunities for social connection and improved quality of life. Mindful practices add further benefit when combined with these interventions. Current available programs are scarce and most often do not encompass mixed modalities. In addition, the benefits of these programs do not show long-term sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the effects …

Somalia’S State Institutions’ Administrative Capacity Building In Education, Health, Judiciary Services, And The Central Bank, Asad Aliweyd

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

Aiweyd, A. (2023). Somalia’s State Institutions’ Administrative Capacity Building in Education, Health, Judiciary Services, and the Central Bank.

Since independence in 1960, Somalia has experienced sustained clan conflict, political challenges, prolonged civil war, and famine, severely hindering the development and maintenance of a stable federal government. Research on state-building in Somalia has focused on conflict resolution, civil war, piracy, and state failure. Further research is needed on building administrative capacity in Somalia to help develop well-functioning and stable government institutions. Administrative capacity involves the ability of governments to manage human, physical, financial, and informational resources to deliver on objectives …

Grades Do Not Define You: Mindfulness-Based Intervention Effects On College Students' Self-Efficacy, Health, And Wellbeing, Jayla Godfrey

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Abstract

This thesis explores the punitive grading norms and lack of support from institutions and how it effects college students. More specifically, how it effects college students’ self-efficacy, self-esteem, health, and wellbeing. Through the lens of critical action research this thesis investigates the experiences of stakeholders and will integrate research and methods that have been supported by seasoned scholars. In this thesis, a two-part program focusing on imposter syndrome, fear of failure, grades, mindfulness, and improving student’s self-efficacy and wellbeing is proposed. The leadership of this programmatic intervention relies on the facilitator and focuses on mindfulness-based interventions and group discussions. …

Por Ellas: A Latina’S Autoethnography On Emotions, Achievement And Agentic Learning, Ivonne Barreras

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the United States, students of Spanish-speaking descent classified as Hispanic, Latino, or Latinx attending public school districts continue to demonstrate alarmingly high academic underachievement and dropout rates. Standards-based learning environments and related assessments tend to marginalize people whose lived realities already make the prospect of achievement daunting. In other words, people living amid high-risk factors, including low educational and occupational aspirations, health, or family-related absenteeism, counterculture or early pregnancy, are often among those whose decision to drop out is most often influenced by social and academic experiences (Rumberger, 2011). Research on neuroplasticity and mindfulness explains the influence emotions have …

Does Common-Sense Communication And The Interpersonal Relationship Predict Oral Health Self-Management?, Kieran J. Maestro

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study sought to understand how patients’ perceptions of the nature and manner of communication with dental health professionals may impact their health self-management quality and habits in the context of preventable illness. Specifically, this study investigated the distinct and overlapping impacts of (a) communication based in the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CSM; Leventhal et al., 1980), and (b) the interpersonal relationship between the patient and the dental health professional provider on patients’ oral hygiene quality and habits. It was hypothesized that the interpersonal relationship would positively moderate a positive relation between CSM-based communication and patients' oral health self-management and …

Socioeconomic Status's Impact On The Experience Of Loneliness, Tessa Samuels

Sociology & Anthropology Theses

Loneliness is a feeling that is nearly universal, yet some people are more vulnerable to prolonged exposures of the experience of loneliness. Due to the subjective nature of loneliness, there is minimal literature on loneliness without the variable of social isolation (Hawkley et al. 2008, Ryan et al. 2008, Kearns et al. 2015, Lee and Ishii-Kuntz 1987) or social capital (Benner and Wang 2014, Andersson 1998, Ryan et al. 2008, Kearns et al. 2015) involved. There are numerous variables that impact loneliness. One must consider age — there has been solid gerontology research that reveals that elderly people are less …

Meditation As An Intervention To Help College Students Cope With Stress, Marissa Bottos

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

According to the American College Health Association (ACHA) (2017), in a survey of 31,463 students, 31.7% stated that stress negatively impacts their academic performance (lower grades, dropped course, etc.). Additionally, 45.1% of the students stated they have more than average stress levels. The purpose of this evidence-based practice (EBP) project was to determine if mindfulness meditation was effective in helping college students cope with stress. Based on current evidence, Jon Kabat-Zinn’s online application for mindfulness meditation is supported as an effective way to help college students cope with stress (Regehr et al. 2013; Yusufov et al. 2018; Cavanagh et al. …

The Impacts Of Discrimination On Mental And Physical Health, Mahal Alvarez-Backus

Honors Theses

The present studies investigated the role of campus climate and discrimination on college students’ mental and physical health. Young adults completed measures that assessed their perceptions of campus climate, sense of belonging, depressive symptoms, anxiety levels, sleep quality, physical health symptoms, and experiences with discrimination. Despite the fact that there were not any differences in physical health or sleep quality, there were significant differences in phycological health, specifically with depressive symptoms. Across both studies, there were significant group differences in mental health, particularly that students of color reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than white students. Having empathetic faculty was …

An Exploratory Study Of Selected Policy Diffusions In Judicial Settings, Renee Ann Pistone

School of Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

Canon and Baum’s (1981) pioneering study examined diffusion of 23 plaintiff-oriented tort doctrines among the state court systems in 1876-1975 provided an early model to study judicial innovation. Meanwhile, Berry and Berry’s (1990) later model featured event history analysis (EHA) that was relevant for this dissertation which sought to explain political behavior. This dissertation used archival data only and was a quantitative research design that was descriptive and exploratory of the judicial policy adoption process. The researcher used quantitative archival data and described what sociological, political, and criminological factors had impacted policy adoptions over time and explored the possible associations …

The Relationship Of Assimilation On The Health Behaviors, Health Beliefs, And Use Of Health Care Services Of The Samoan Immigrants In The United States, Miliama Bracken

Wayne State University Theses

This study accepts the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between assimilation and the health behaviors, health beliefs, and use of health care services of the Samoan immigrants in the United States. The target population included Samoans who immigrated from Samoa or American Samoa and were 18 or more years of age. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed and 126 respondents were included in the study. The respondents were asked how often they visited the doctor during the year. Would they seek the help of a medical doctor if they were sick, or a Samoan healer? They were …

The Effects Of Where You Grew Up On Your Future Opportunity, Christopher Josiah Lockwood

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Neighborhoods effect developing children from several areas. The influence that a community possesses can either bolster socioeconomic status or inhibit it. Some experiments have been done in the US to aid struggling families in disadvantaged neighborhoods that have produced significant results. This purpose of this senior project is to analyze and discuss the varying ways in which neighborhoods can affect its inhabitants (i.e. education, health/nutrition), the experiments aimed to helping poor families, and offer a possible solution to mitigate these issues.

Mindfulness Meditation Practice By Individuals With Substance Dependent Behavior, Quyen Ho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many people in the United States suffer from substance dependence, which leads to depression, anxiety, work impairment, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, crime, and health care problems. Mindfulness meditation has been applied in many aspects of mental health treatment and all belief systems. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore substance dependents' experiences related to their mindfulness meditation practice of at least 6 months and up to 3 years. A constructivist conceptual framework, which states that human beings create systems for understanding reality based on their individual beliefs, emotions, and interpretations, was used for this study. Research questions focused …

Health, Education And Children’S Rights: A Comparability Analysis Of Kenya And Brazil, Charlette Lopez

Dissertations and Theses

Developing adequate health care and education systems has been an ongoing struggle for the governments of both Kenya and Brazil. Despite moderate improvements in health and education statistics for both of these countries, there is clear evidence that these states will have to be actively engaged in order to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. Kenya and Brazil may differ in geographical location, history, culture, and socioeconomic status, but both countries are congruent in the challenges they face to provide sufficient access to quality health care and educational resources to the upcoming generations of children who are being failed by …

The Power Of Soccer: A Promising Tool For Youth Empowerment A Case Of Soccer-Based Health Program At El Nacional Public School In Ecuador, Haruna Higa

MA IDS Thesis Projects

The purpose of this culminating project was to identify the power of soccer in the context of international development and apply it to soccer-based youth empowerment programs, specifically an after-school program at El Nacional public school in Ecuador. Soccer is becoming one of the best approaches to connect various peoples who do not share the same language or cultural traditions because of its universal popularity, as evidenced by the more than one billion people who watched coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2014 Final Match (numbers to be consolidated) (“The 2014 FIFA World Cup,” n.d.). Given the evidence that soccer …

Shift Work And The United States Female Workforce: The Relationship Between Shift Work And Ill-Health Effects, Allison Marie Bondanza

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study was designed to determine the magnitude of the relationship between amount, frequency, and length of shift work completed by female transportation employees and the number, degree, and extent of problems related to physical, menstrual and psychological health including depression. It was hypothesized that workers that are employed in areas such as transportation who are working shift work on a regular basis place themselves at higher risk for developing health or psychosocial related effects. These health related outcomes can have a profound impact on an employee’s job performance, daily functioning, and personal life. The present study sought to …

Health-Related Beliefs Among Low-Income African American Women And Their Perceptions About Obesity, Cenora Kimberly Akhidenor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The aim of this study was to explore the health-related beliefs and perceptions of low-income African American women regarding obesity. Phenomenology served as the conceptual framework for this study. African American women, especially those in low-income brackets, have been shown to weigh more than women of other racial/ethnic groups. The consequences of these high rates are increased risks of developing chronic health disorders, such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The study sample consisted of 7 low-income obese African American women, ranging in age from 20 to 62, who resided in the Pacific Northwest. Recruitment for participation occurred via …

Assessing Appropriate Technology Handwashing Stations In Mali, West Africa, Colleen Claire Naughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proper hand hygiene is the most effective and efficient method to prevent over 1.3 million deaths annually from diarrheal disease and Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs). Hand hygiene is also indispensable in achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality rate by 2/3rds between 1990 and 2015. Handwashing has been found in a systematic review of studies to reduce diarrhea by 47%#37; and is, thus, capable of preventing a million deaths (Curtis et. al., 2003). Despite this evidence, hand washing rates remain seriously low in the developing world (Scott et al., 2008).

This study developed and implemented …

Intensive Mental Health Intervention And Incidence Of Discipline, Andrea Mulcay

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A new trend when dealing with behavior issues in the classroom is that of providing mental health services within the school systems. This study is researching an alternative school that offers mental health services for students that have been expelled from their home school. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if these mental health services provided within the alternative school helps reduce the amount of discipline issues in the school system. There are 77 participants, 33 receiving academic services plus intense mental health services and 44 receiving academic services plus minimal mental health services. Findings show no statistically …

The Influence Of Counselor Education Programs On Counselor Wellness, Leila Roach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Counselor education programs strive to promote the personal development and wellness of counselors in addition to cognitive, skill, and professional competencies. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in self-reported levels of wellness of master's level counseling students. The cross-sectional study investigated the influence of time in a counselor education program on the wellness levels of counseling students. Students were surveyed at three points in their counselor education training: the beginning, middle, and end. Participants included 204 master's level counseling students enrolled in three CACREP-accredited counselor education programs located in the southeastern United States. Each participant completed the …