Education Commons^™

Analysis Of Productivity Indicators: Perceptions Of Administrators And Faculty Serving At Religiously Affiliated Private Colleges And Universities, Mark Jeremy Farley

Doctoral Dissertations

Since national attention has been placed on accountability and productivity, it is useful for policy makers at religiously affiliated colleges and universities to understand and influence the increase in outputs, given limited sources of inputs and how productivity should influence institutional decision making. The relationship between these institutional outputs and required inputs has become the resounding chorus for numerous higher education productivity research projects (Bogue & Hall, 2003; Hunt, Carruthers, Callan, & Ewell, 2006; NCHEMS, 2009; PASSHE, 2011; SHEEO, 2005; Spellings, 2006; Vedder, 2004). However, little research exists regarding the importance of productivity …

Back From The Brink: The Process Of Revitalization At A Small, Private, Religious Institution, Samantha K. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations

Since the recession of 2008, small, private institutions have faced increased challenges, including little to no return on endowments, reductions in philanthropic support, escalating overhead costs, competition for students, families in need of additional financial aid, and growing public concern about the cost of higher education (Brown, 2011). From 2002 to 2012, 49 four-year, private, not-for-profit higher education institutions closed (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2012). Many were in a state of decline for years before closure (Porter & Ramirez, 2009). However, closure is not the only outcome of institutional decline. Institutional revitalization is an alternative to closure. Limited …

Active Critical Engagement (Ace): A Pedagogical Tool For The Application Of Critical Discourse Analysis In The Interpretation Of Film And Other Multimodal Discursive Practices, Sultana Aaliuah Shabazz

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a pedagogical framework for applying a critical discourse methodology in the analysis of film as a multimodal, narrative construct of social discourse. This orientation is grounded in a cultural studies perspective that recognizes the significance of popular culture and allows me to situate film as a discursive practice, pedagogical resource, and (re)producer of social knowledges. Once situated, the need arises for a systematic method of critical analysis that controls for the rich, discursive landscape of multimodal artifacts without succumbing to over-reduction. My original contribution - the Active Critical Engagement (ACE) framework – …

Examining The Relationships Between Gratitude And Readiness For Self-Directed Learning In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Kellee Renee Vess

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between gratitude and readiness for self-directed learning among nursing students enrolled in a four-year baccalaureate nursing program. For this study a sample of 59 nursing students were selected from a four-year baccalaureate nursing program, situated in a private, faith-based college in the Southeast United States. During data collection, participants were asked to complete the Gratitude 6-item questionnaire [GQ-], the 40-item Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale for Nursing Education [SDLRS-NE], and two demographic questions (i.e., age and class rank). Using both parametric and nonparametric statistics, this study examined eight research questions, and …

Practices And Routines In Siwi Lessons That Develop Skills In Reading, Paulson A. Skerrit

Doctoral Dissertations

The average performance of Deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) students on test of reading comprehension is several grade equivalents below their high school hearing peers. The reading-writing connection is one way to address the literacy challenges of D/hh learners. This study explored that connection in instruction that was driven with a high fidelity to the principles of Strategic Interactive Writing Instruction (SIWI). The data for this study came from two grade three classes involved in the second half of a Year II project that was part of a 3-year Institute of Education Sciences-funded project to develop SIWI for use …

Consolidation In U.S. Higher Education: A Case Study Of A Regional Institution, Douglas V. Hawks

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this single-site, descriptive case study was to study consolidation in U.S. higher education through the process perspective as posited by Jemison and Sitkin (1986). In their process perspective, Jemison and Sitkin posit that four impediments may occur during the consolidation process that can directly impact the outcome of the consolidation. These four impediments are expectational ambiguity, escalating commitment, activity segmentation, and the misapplication of management systems.

Research questions guiding this study are focused on why consolidations take place in higher education, how outcomes are measured, and how decisions made during the consolidation are aligned with the stated …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Athletic Satisfaction And Student Adaptation To College, Brian C. Russell

Doctoral Dissertations

Research on the experience of student-athletes at the collegiate level suggests that they may face challenges and hurdles in adjusting to college differently than those faced by students of the general student population. Additionally, research on student satisfaction suggests that a student’s satisfaction has an impact on the academic experience and retention of students, while research on athletic satisfaction suggests a relationship exists between athletic and academic satisfaction for student-athletes. However, it remains unclear whether there is a positive or negative relationship between the experiences of adjustment to college and athletic satisfaction of a student-athlete.

The purpose of this study …

Enriching Teacher Self-Efficacy Through A Support Centric Evaluation Model: A Mixed Methods Study Of Team's Impact On Teacher Self-Efficacy, Elizabeth Marie Norton

Doctoral Dissertations

The effectiveness of teacher evaluation systems is determined by the extent to which they can support improved instructional practice. Research suggests that implementation factors such as attitudes of school leaders (Kimball & Milanowski, 2009), perceptions of fairness (Delvaux, Vanhoof, Tuytens, Vekeman, Devos, & Petegem, 2013), the relationship of the evaluator and the teacher (Weber, 1987), and the quality of the feedback provided can all impact the effectiveness of the evaluation system (Conly & Glasman, 2008; Danielson, 2012; Delvaux et al., 2013; Weber, 1987). This mixed methods study attempted to determine the extent to which these implementation characteristics occurring within the …

You Kind Of Have To Prove It: Gender Microaggressions Within The Lived Experiences Of Women In Engineering, Crystal Rose Diaz-Espinoza

Doctoral Dissertations

This intrinsic case study explored the lived experiences of women within three engineering majors at a mid-sized institution in the Mid-Atlantic using gender microaggressions (Nadal, 2010; Sue, 2007) as a theoretical lens. Data included individual interviews with 28 participants as well as document review from Web pages and observations from physical spaces within the campus engineering building. Data analysis resulted in seven themes in congruence with Sue’s (2007) taxonomy of gender microaggressions and further established the three levels of gender microaggressions distinguished by Nadal (2010). Findings also revealed that barriers within engineering were less visible or outwardly sexist, and that …

Retrospective Study Of Victimization By Bullying Among Sexual Minority And Majority College Students: Exploring External Sources Of Support To Promote Resilience, Allison Enders-Hunt Buck

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare rates of victimization by general, cyber-, and homophobic bullying, trauma, and protective factors of perceived family support, peer support, school membership, and school safety between sexual minority (n = 55) and majority (n = 171) college students during their last year of high school. Additionally, using the Fergus and Zimmerman (2005) protective factor model of resilience, multiple regression analyses were conducted among LGBTQ and heterosexual participants to assess whether or not the protective factors moderated the relationship between victimization by general and cyberbullying and perceived level of trauma due …

The Effects Of Voluntary Versus Cold-Calling Participation On Class Discussion And Exam Performance In Multiple Sections Of An Educational Psychology Undergraduate Course, Brittany Ann Carstens

Doctoral Dissertations

Although class participation has been linked to improved student performance, little research has evaluated the effects of cold-calling versus voluntary participation. This study (N =156) determined the differential effects of voluntary and cold-calling participation practices on participation credit, uncapped magnitude of participation, participation rate, attendance, and adjusted exam scores. These dependent measures were compared between (a) voluntary and cold-calling conditions and (b) high and low participants under baseline (voluntary participation without credit and high-rate and low-rate participants). The use of voluntary and cold-calling procedures was alternated across units. Results were evaluated using mixed designs with repeated-measures across treatment units …

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction Of Radiologic Sciences Faculty: Implications For Recruitment And Retention, Lisa Marie Satterfield

Doctoral Dissertations

The need to recruit and retain radiologic sciences faculty is essential to meet the increasing demand for radiologic technologists. Nevertheless, a faculty shortage is precluding radiologic sciences programs from admitting qualified students and it is predicted to only get worse. Seventy-five percent of the educative body of radiologic sciences is older than 52 years and will approach retirement age in the immediate future. While there is an extensive amount of research conducted on the role of faculty, faculty challenges, faculty recruitment, and job satisfaction, little is known about the indicators of job satisfaction among radiologic sciences faculty that motivate them …

Undergraduate Women In The Stem Fields And The Use Of Academic Library Resources And Services, Rebecca O'Kelly Davis

Doctoral Dissertations

Women majoring in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields are few in number. This research will be conducted in an effort to understand the use of academic library resources and services by undergraduate women in the STEM fields. Data collection methods consisted of three focus groups and five interviews with undergraduate women in the STEM fields, and three focus groups and two interviews with academic librarians and library staff familiar with library resources and services in each of the STEM fields conducted at a Research I University in the USA. Grounded theory principles provided a basis for the …

Theories-In-Use And Espoused Theories: An Examination Of Team Decision-Making In The Initial Special Education Eligibility Meeting, Heather Anne Stewart

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether education professionals’ theories-in-use were congruent with their espoused theories (Argyris & Schön, 1974) regarding the inclusion of parents as team decision-making partners in the initial special education eligibility meeting of individualized education programming (IEP) teams. Particular attention was given to procedural practices education professionals used to include parents as decision-making partners and their descriptions of this practice.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the inclusion of parents as members of IEP teams, including their right to participate in the special education eligibility decision. Research supports the inclusion of parents …

The State Of Inclusive Practices For English Learners In Georgia’S Elementary Schools: A Mixed Methods Study Of The Esol Push-In Model, Eileen Pabilona Galang

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the school restructuring efforts in English as a Second Language education has been inclusion, like the “push-in” model (Platt et al., 2003). In the push-in model, English Learners (ELs) remain in their core academic classes instead of being “pulled out” for language instruction by the English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher. In addition, ELs receive content area instruction from their General Education (Gen Ed) classroom teacher for reading, language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies in the push-in setting (Alston et al., 2014).While push-in and collaborative teaching models are widely implemented, these collaborations between and among …

You Have To Find That Music That Both Parties Can Dance To: One School District's Experience With Collaborative Conferencing, Janel Marie Seeley

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2011, Tennessee passed the Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act (PECCA), replacing the former mode of collective bargaining between professional educators and school board administrators with a process called collaborative conferencing (CC). The purpose of this study, the first research on the new process, was to investigate the experiences of participants who engaged in CC in one school district. The study also examined participants’ perceived relationship between training and its application to CC. The school district used the newly developed Interest-Based Collaborative Problem Solving and Reflective Practice (IBCPS/RP) model to guide its CC process. This approach is similar to interest …

A Discourse Analysis Of Beginning English Teachers' Identity Development, Joshua Peter Johnston

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a discourse analysis of how beginning English teachers’ talk contributes to the development of their teacher identities. The study drew on the epistemological and ontological assumptions of discursive psychology, and as such it used methods consistent with discursive psychology and conversation analysis. The data for the study were comprised of twenty-one audio-recorded meetings of eight student teachers in a year-long internship and their field supervisor, who was also the researcher. Orienting to the construct of identity as socially negotiated, unstable, and multiple, the study sought to identify specific discursive strategies that beginning English teacher’s employ to negotiate …

The Effects Of A Historical Perspective Taking Scenario Activity On Classroom Discussion, William Gary Cole

Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental, mixed-methods case study examined the effects of perspective taking on the discussion skills of one group of 9^th grade World History students. Specifically, this study investigated the impacts of a historical perspective taking scenario activity on student participation in discussions, quality of discussions, student learning from discussions, teacher perceptions of discussions, and student and teacher enjoyment of discussions. The methods used to assess these impacts were classroom observations, frequency counts, teacher interviews, a student focus group interview, and document analysis.

Results indicated that the use of a historical perspective taking scenario activity produced a dramatic increase in …

Positionality And Its Effects On Pedagogy: Examining The Identity Categories Of Race, Class, And Gender Of English As A Second Language (Esl) Preservice Teachers., Hollie Marie Nawrocki

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the identity categories of race, class, and gender in preservice teachers, and how the nexus of those identities impacts their teaching practices, especially when teaching English Language Learners (ELLs). The topic of teacher beliefs of preservice teachers has been well researched. However, there were gaps in the literature concerning the positionality of preservice teachers with specific regard to race, class, and gender. This study sought to address gaps in the existing literature by examining the participant perceptions of race, class, and gender of preservice English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and …

The Roles Of Facilitators In Implementation And Effectiveness Of In-School Suspension (Iss): A Qualitative Study, Gia Renee Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine In-School Suspension (ISS) facilitators’ role(s) in ISS implementation and effectiveness. An important effect linked to participation in ISS is the decreased likelihood of high school graduation for students assigned to the program. There is also a notable gap in the literature regarding the role and effectiveness of ISS in helping students get back on track. Similarly, little is known about ISS facilitators’ beliefs and perspectives about the program.

A basic qualitative design utilizing in-depth interviews was implemented. Participants included six high school ISS facilitators in one southeastern school district. A thematic analysis …

The Development And Validation Of The Self-Efficacy In Statistical Practices Scale, Niranji Anuradha Pathirage Dopa Pathirage

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to develop a scale intended to measure undergraduate students’ self-efficacy in statistical practices. In order to apply statistical concepts and methods that students learn in the classroom to real world situations, it is important for college students to have not only statistical knowledge and skills, but also self-efficacy in using those concepts and methods. Even though there is growing attention on the importance of assessing students’ statistics self-efficacy, currently available measures have numerous limitations. Therefore, the Self-Efficacy in Statistical Practices Scale (SESPS) was developed, and the internal consistency reliability and convergent validity of …

Deficit Discourse, Literate Lives: Success Narratives Of Black Youth, Ann Marie Bennett

Doctoral Dissertations

The current dialogue surrounding Black youth portrays these youth as “thugs” who come from “broken” families and “apathetic” communities. Even some educational discourses portray Black youth as “at-risk” students who lack the resources necessary to achieve in school. These dialogues traffic in deficit language without paying attention to the successes found in the Black community. The purpose of this study was to utilize an anti-deficit perspective to capture the stories of how urban Black children in a mid-sized Southeastern city are achieving positive literacy and academic outcomes in the upper elementary and middle grades. I sought to understand how Black …

Developing A Written Language Inventory For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Students: A Systemic Functional Grammar Approach, Jennifer Renée Kilpatrick

Doctoral Dissertations

Deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) students are extremely diverse in language development due to vast differences in residual hearing, response to hearing technologies, and exposure to American Sign Language. Writing is a struggle for these students who have delayed and limited access to English. Studies have found that d/hh students continue to lag behind their hearing peers in syntactic development. Unfortunately, current methods of writing assessment do not provide teachers with sufficient information regarding the syntactic development of d/hh students. This dissertation responds to the need for an assessment that is able to provide this information that is necessary …

Coaching Conversations: Discourse Within Reading Recovery Teacher Leader Training, Kristi Dawn Swafford

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse of literacy coaching conversations within the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader training year. Both Reading Recovery and literacy coaching have been well researched, however there were gaps in the literature concerning the role of the Reading Recovery Teacher Leader within Reading Recovery and the details of literacy coaching interactions, specifically the language of coaching sessions. This study sought to address these gaps in the literature by examining the discourse of Reading Recovery Teacher leaders and their coaches as they participated in literacy coaching sessions during their 2014.2015 training year. Eleven coaching …

Newly Licensed Registered Nurses' Experiences With Clinical Simulation, Carrie Ann Bailey

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how new graduate nurses perceive the value of simulation in making the transition into professional practice. This study will use a descriptive qualitative approach with a sample of first year nurses. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model serves as this study’s conceptual framework. For the current study, the sample consisted of 10 newly graduated, female nurses with less than one year of experience working in the hospital setting were interviewed. Data analysis included interviews and transcription by the researcher. Finally, participants were asked about themes to increase rigor. Four themes emerged from this research: …

Lived Experiences Of Beginning Counselors In Harmful Supervision, Alessandra Joy Rhinehart

Doctoral Dissertations

When supervision moves beyond poor oversight to inciting personal and professional impairment, it becomes harmful. Although there is much in the literature regarding ineffective supervision in general, empirical data explicating harmful supervision is significantly less available. In fact, the negative effects of harmful supervision may be notably more severe than those reported of ineffective supervision (Unger, 1995). The purpose of this study was to provide rich description and meaning of beginning counselors’ experiences in harmful supervision. The research question addressed was, “What is the lived experience of beginning counselors in harmful supervision?” Transcendental, existential phenomenology (van Manen, 2014; Thomas & …

Principal Mental Models And Perceptions Of Distributed Leadership, Leigh Ann Marlar

Doctoral Dissertations

With growing pressure on school leaders to support collaboration and distribute leadership among teachers and staff, principals need guidance in examining their own mental models on these issues to challenge and improve their current ways of thinking. The purpose of this mixed methods, multi-site case study was to describe three middle school principals’ mental models of distributed leadership and to examine to what extent the three preconditions (leadership practice, relationships, and trust) from Angelle’s (2010) model of distributed leadership for middle schools existed in the three principals’ schools. Qualitative data included principal interviews, a written statement of leadership philosophy, a …

“Beyond The Four Walls Of My Building”: A Case Study Of #Edchat And The Power Of Connectedness, Virginia G. Britt

Doctoral Dissertations

Professional development is an important aspect of all teachers' careers as a way to continually grow and enrich his/her craft. It is particularly important for K-12 American teachers because of the continual push to increase student achievement. With the introduction of social media networks, teachers are able to connect and learn from others outside their school building to those across the world. While we know Twitter and other social media sites have grown in popularity with educators, we still do not know what is happening within this online space and how it supports teachers. The purpose of this case study …

Unintended Consequences Of Collegiate Living-Learning Community Programs At A Public University, David Buchanan Smith

Doctoral Dissertations

The current body of living-learning community (LLC) research primarily documents programmatic impact relative to intended outcomes such as social integration and improved academic performance. Conversely, few published studies address potential unintended consequences of LLCs. Just as intended outcomes often result from purposive action, unintended consequences may also occur when intentional programming produces unforeseen results. Evidence suggests LLCs—particularly those serving first-time freshmen—may contribute to unanticipated outcomes because of the complex social process occurring within peer groups of post-adolescent students (Jaffee, 2007). Despite evidence that LLCs may produce unforeseen outcomes, the impact of unintended consequences on LLCs remains relatively undocumented in the …

Effectiveness Of Proloquo2goTm In Enhancing Communication In Children With Autism During Aba Therapy, Taylor Eastin Krcek

Doctoral Dissertations

Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disorder presenting in early childhood that has a profound effect on an individual's ability to communicate. The iPad® with the Proloquo2Go^TM app is a multilingual Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solution designed to assist people who have difficulty speaking or cannot speak at all. This study examines the effectiveness of the Proloquo2Go^TM app delivered via iPad® to enhance the tacting, manding, and verbal completion repertoires of children with autism. Participants included five children between the ages of three and four years old diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with low to …