Education Commons^™

Motivational Factors Impacting Youth Participation In West Tennessee 4-H, Crystal Paige Pipkin

Masters Theses

The 4-H Youth Development Program is an organization that is offered through the Cooperative Extension System. 4-H is mandated to provide youth with opportunities for experiential learning in the field of agriculture and home economics. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that motivate high school youth participation in 4-H programs in West Tennessee. The central research question guiding this study was: What motivates high school youth to participate in the 4-H program after 8th grade? The findings of this study can be broken down into three themes (a) Why 4-H members continue participation into high school, (b) …

Academic Choices Matter For Collegiate Student-Athletes, Kendra Arielle Berry

Masters Theses

As college athletics has grown during the last two decades, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing institution of college athletics in the United States, has renewed its focus on academic reform and the academic performance of student-athletes (Petr & McArdle, 2012). Athletic administrators and academic support units have started to exert a greater amount of control over student-athletes’ academic lives. However, research with general samples of college students has suggested that having some degree of autonomy is important for academic performance. This raises questions about whether increased control (and reduced autonomy) is actually in the best interest of …

The Benefits Of Ffa Membership As Part Of The Three-Circle Model In Agricultural Education, Chelsea Brooke Rose

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand the benefits of membership in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) student leadership organization among Tennessee FFA members by surveying members attending Camp Clements FFA Leadership Training Camp. The study focused on the fulfillment of FFA members’ basic human needs as defined by Abraham Maslow (1943). The three needs on which this study focused are: love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization (1943). The study found that a majority of FFA members’ three basic human needs are met due to their involvement in career development events, leadership positions, and other FFA activities. Of …

Adult Attachment, Emotional Intelligence, And Resilience As Correlates Of Social Engagement, Academic Engagement, And Confidence Of Persistence In College Students, Yacob Tewolde Tekie

Masters Theses

The current study investigated freshmen university students (N = 210) to examine the role of attachment style (anxiety, avoidance), emotional intelligence (repair, attention, clarity) and resilience in predicting student adaptation to college (academic, social, personal and academic engagement). Four multiple regression analyses were conducted for each subscale of adaptation to college. The results indicated that; a) emotional intelligence (attention, clarity) and resilience significantly predicted student academic adjustment; b) emotional inelligence (repair) predicted student social adjustment; c) emotional inteligence (clarity), resilience, and adult attachment (anxiety) significantly predicted student personal adjustment; and d) emotional intelligence (repair, clarity) and resilience, significantly predicted …

Students’ Perceptions Of Teaching Styles And Use Of Learning Strategies, Ya-Ching Chang

Masters Theses

The study was conducted to investigate Taiwanese junior high school students’ perceptions of their teachers’ teaching styles and the students’ own use of learning strategies and to determine if there was a significant relationship between perceived teaching style and learning strategy use. The data for this study were gathered from a sample of 95 junior high school students enrolled in four Chinese language classes at Yuanlin Junior high school. The students completed the Junior High School Teacher’s Teaching Style Questionnaire and the Taiwanese version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire.

The findings from this study led to the following …

We're Not Thugs And Rappers: An Examination Of African American Male Athletes' Perceptions Of The Media, Keia Janese Bragg

Masters Theses

Manipulation of stories and events expose issues of false representation and stereotyping within the mainstream media. This research examined the media’s role in shaping the behaviors and experiences of African American male athletes while using Critical Race Theory as the framework in conducting research. A focus group consisting of six former African American male student athletes was conducted. A semi-structured interview schedule was used in order to allow for open discussion. The Constant Comparison Method was instrumental in thematizing the data while QDA Miner software was used to analyze the data. The findings suggested that African American male athletes feel …

Creating Changes In Organizational Culture: The Role Of Three Types Of Teaching And Learning, Sheila Gordon

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to describe my experiences as part of a team that assisted the Careville Health System plan and implement an organizational culture change effort. This was not considered an empirical research study; it was, rather, a recording of my personal experiences, reflections, and served as a documentation of such. This change effort was designed to assist the staff in creating an improved culture of customer service delivery to patients, their primary customers.

This thesis reviewed two theoretical frameworks used to assist the organization’s change efforts: Schein’s (1992) model of organizational change and Peters and Armstrong’s …