Education Commons^™

Addressing Systemic Inequities: A Psychoeducational Group For Advocating For African Americans, Jaree' Barnwell

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

This paper will discuss and describe the development of an open psychoeducational group that will empower people of the community through education to advocate for African American/Black people within institutions that may perpetuate barriers. Acknowledging that one in four people struggle with mental health issues, it is imperative to consider an appropriate treatment modality that destigmatizes mental health and equips participants with information. This group is especially relevant as one in three African Americans, who struggle with mental health concerns, will never receive the appropriate care comparatively afforded to white populations. This thesis will concisely discuss the education system, the …

Implementation And Program Evaluation Pilot Study: Educating Health Care Providers About Protecting Population Health During Climate Change., Christine Fasching Maphis

Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP) Final Projects, 2020-current

Recommendations regarding the need to prepare nurses and other health care providers (HCPs) for the health impacts of climate change (CC) have grown ubiquitous in the literature. Timely, efficient and sustainable strategies by the health care industry are necessary. Failure to act is predicted to result in catastrophic and lethal population health consequences. A growing body of research identifies related knowledge gaps and supports HCP competencies and best practice interventions to mitigate adverse population health impacts of CC. A social ecological framework and the PRECEDE-PROCEED approach were employed to develop and evaluate a series of online webinars designed to equip …

Learning In The Light Of Freedom: The Mississippi Freedom Schools Of 1964, Emma E. Appleton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper investigates the “freedom schools” of the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project of 1964. It argues through a combination of a powerfully designed curriculum, the implementation of student-centered pedagogy, and a focus on relationship building and personal efficacy, freedom school students were given the skills and confidence needed to become young leaders in their communities and bring change to Mississippi. Through this paper, I hope to encourage current educators apply freedom school principles and practices in their own classrooms to inspire our students in the same way.

See And Be Seen: Young Adult Refugee Literature In The High School Curriculum, Patrice Splan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are more than 25 million refugees in the world today, over half of whom are under the age of 18. As these young people adapt to new schools and communities, it is essential that all students have opportunities to see themselves represented in literature and to develop understandings of the experiences of others. This project provides an analysis of young adult refugee literature with a unit plan for application of texts in a ninth-grade Virginia English classroom, stressing the importance of education as a tool for awareness, reflection, and empathy.

Deaf Education: The Past, Present, And Future, Diana Burke

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Back in the 1800's, sign language was banned from schools because of the prevailing view that sign language inhibited children who are deaf from interacting with the hearing society. Today, due to the growth of technology, children who are deaf can communicate using sign language and spoken language. These children can attend mainstream schools or schools for the Deaf. This paper will focus on the history of schools for the Deaf and my observations as a student observer at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB). VSDB is a residential school providing students who are deaf and blind …

How Scholarship Programs Facilitate First-Generation College Students’ Involvement, Maria C. Restrepo Chavez

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

As a first-generation college student, I am interested in the on-campus involvement and experiences of other first-generation college students. First-generation college students are those whose parents did not receive a university degree and tend to come from low-income families. This project explores programs designed to support and enrich the experiences of such students. The Centennial Scholars Program at James Madison University and the Presidential Scholarship Initiative at Virginia Tech aim to increase the socio-economic diversity on each campus. These programs provide students with full funding for four years, mentorship, professional development and social benefits, among others. In turn, students become …

Evaluating The Performance Of Propensity Score Matching Methods: A Simulation Study, Jessica N. Jacovidis

Dissertations, 2014-2019

In education, researchers and evaluators are interested in assessing the impact of programs or interventions. Unfortunately, most education programs do not lend themselves to random assignment; participants generally self-select into programs. Lack of random assignment limits the claims that researchers can make about the impact of the program because individuals who self-select into the program may be qualitatively different from individuals who do not self-select into the program. Propensity score matching allows researchers to mimic random assignment by creating a matched comparison group that is similar to the treatment group on researcher-identified variables.

There are a number of matching methods …

The Significance Of Quality Creative Writing In Children’S Literature: A Practical Application Of Children’S Literature In An Educational Context, Nicole M. Wittkopp

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

With it clear that children’s literature is a useful and necessary part of a modern elementary school student’s education, it follows that modern elementary educators need to have a deep understanding of children’s literature. Only by comprehensively studying quality children’s literature can an elementary school teacher effectively use such literature in teaching her students. The following contextual essay thus aims to first define quality children’s literature. Then, it attempts to uncover merits found in recognized children’s literature. Finally, it works to describe the specific tasks of a creative writer of children’s literature. Once these dimensions have been thoroughly studied, I …

Theatre Education For Homeschooled Children, Jonathan A. Martin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In recent years, the push for theatre education from arts education advocates has been increasingly prevalent, especially in the face of substantial budget cuts from many public schools’ arts programs. While there is still a long way to go before theatre education will be integral to school curricula, there are clear steps being taken to promote theatre education in the United States.

Similar to the recent push for theatre education is a rise in homeschooling in America. Homeschooling has been on the rise domestically for several years now, continuing to grow between 2% and 8% annually. It is now estimated …

Fairy Tales And Adaptations: A Unit Of Study For High School Seniors, Angelica P. Babauta

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This project is a unit of study designed for high school seniors in an advanced English class. The topic is fairy tales and adaptations, and through these twelve complete lesson plans, students will be led to examine the way fairy tales and society influence one another based on how a classic fairy tale is adapted over time. Students will study Jeanne Leprince de Beaumont's "Beauty and the Beast," the Brothers Grimm's "Brier Rose," and Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" as the original fairy tales. The adaptations paired with these texts are Alex Flinn's Beastly, James Finn Gardner's "Sleeping …

Learning From The Reggio Emilia Philosophy: How It Can Work In Public Elementary, Allison Shira Kaye

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

In depth exploration of the Reggio Emilia philosophy of elementary education. This paper includes practical application ideas for teachers working in the US in public elementary schools who wish to incorporate different aspects of the philosophy into their classrooms.

Analysis Of African American And White American Cognitive Profiles For Language And Cultural Influences, Nicole Jones

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

Abstract

One of the most concerning aspects of special education is the overrepresentation of African American minority youth receiving special education services. Samuel Ortiz and colleagues considered the issue of the representation of the Latino, English Language Learner (ELL) population in special education services based on cognitive performance in relation to the mainstream population. To target this concern they determined an estimated level of expected cognitive performance of ELL’s and impact of language and cultural differences to help eligibility teams more appropriately interpret and place students with the aid of the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) model they developed. The current …

Family And Child Development Education For Harrisonburg Adolescents, Mollie M. Moran, Jennifer E. Corser, Julia M. Glauber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The pregnancy rate among 15- to 17-year-old women in Harrisonburg is double Virginia's state rate (Townsend, 2008). While meeting administers and guidance counselors of Harrisonburg High School we learned that Harrisonburg High School views this issue as one that cannot be addressed by teaching abstinence in their public school. They have found that because of cultural beliefs, abstinence is not an effective tool for preventing teenage pregnancy. Instead, HHS teaches their students about safe sexual practices and how to have a healthy pregnancy in the event they were to become pregnant. The high school offers a class called “Child and …

The Leadership Hub, Michelle E. Healey

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The Leadership Hub Senior Honors Creative Thesis comprises a website and creative design book. It organizes and designs leadership within the JMU community within four key areas.

Multicultural To Intercultural Art Education, Kathryn A. Gong

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study is to examine multicultural and intercultural art education in the commonwealth of Virginia. Multicultural and intercultural education are similar terms that share many characteristics but result in different outcomes. Multiculturalism promotes the understanding of diverse cultures, and interculturalism promotes positive communication between diverse cultures. The literature review analyzed similarities and differences between the two pedagogies, and inspired the development of questions for an electronic survey. The survey was disseminated to 926 members of the Virginia Art Education Association to examine the perceptions and uses of multiculturalism in Virginia art classrooms. The survey was also used …

The Nature And Etiology Of Religious Certitude: Implications Of The Ei Framework And Beliefs, Events, And Values Inventory, Timothy W. Brearly

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Religious certitude is often associated with conflict between individuals and groups, though the nature of this relationship is still not clear. To further clarify these dynamics, the historical psychology of religion is reviewed and contrasted with current perspectives from social psychology and neuroscience, with an eye towards better understanding the variance within religious expressions and their associated relationships with intergroup conflict. It is hypothesized that religious certainty is related to a difficulty in engaging with contradictory religious perspectives, and that the pull towards certainty is tied to an individual’s unique psychological structure, much of which is developed through the interaction …

The Effects Of Physical Activity On The Behavior Of Children With Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Amanda J. Love

Senior Honors Projects, 2000-2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of physical education class on the behavior of children diagnosed with Attention- Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Fourteen male and six female students in grades three through five were observed by their classroom teacher. Of the twenty students, then were diagnosed with ADHD and ten were not. Classroom teachers rated their students' behavior using the Iowa Connors Teacher's Rating Scale at two different time during the day for nineteen days (Pelham, W.E., Milch R., & Murphy, D.A., 1989). A higher score indicated greater inattention, hyperactivity, and impassivity while a score of …