Education Commons^™

Overseeing Supervisees Treating Clients Exhibiting Suicidal Behaviors: Its Impact On Clinical Supervisors, Michael Girard Catalana

Doctoral Dissertations

Individuals at risk of suicide often seek mental health treatment (Brook, Klap, Liao, & Wells, 2006; Moscicki, 2001; Souminen, Isometsa, Martunnen, Ostamo, & Lonnqvist, 2004). The clinicians who treat these individuals experience significant levels of stress (Knox, Burkard, Bentzler, Schaack, & Hess, 2006; Ruskin, Sakinofsky, Bagby, Dickens, & Sousa, 2004). Clinical supervisors are an important resource for clinicians (Chemtob, Hamada, Bauer, Kinney, & Torigoe, 1988a; Kleespies, Smith, & Becker, 1990; Knox et al., 2006; Maltsberger, 1992; Ruskin et al., 2004). Researchers recently acknowledged that overseeing clinicians whose client exhibited suicidal behavior is also stressful (Catalana, 2012; Hoffman, 2009; Sanger, 2010). …

Enhancing Critical Thinking Disposition And Clinical Judgment Skills In Senior Bsn Students Via Electronic Interactive Simulation, Deborah Lynne Weatherspoon

Doctoral Dissertations

Problem
The problem investigated in this study was the lack of empirical evidence available regarding the effectiveness of electronic interactive simulation (EIS) for developing critical thinking disposition and clinical judgment skills in the senior baccalaureate nursing student.

Aim
The aim of this study was to identify an effective method of experiential learning simulation that may be independently accessed by the learner with a goal of enhancing critical thinking disposition and clinical judgment skills of senior baccalaureate student nurses (BSN).

Purpose
The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of EIS to traditional paper case studies on the …

A Story Of Change: Adult Learners’ Experiences Of Questioning Their Beliefs And Assumptions In A Graduate Course In Reflective Practice, Megumu Doi Burress

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of students in a graduate course on the topic of Reflective Practice (RP). A phenomenological method was utilized to frame interviews with eight students discussing challenges to their beliefs and assumptions that arose during the course.

Based on a thematic analysis of the interview data, three major figural themes and one ground theme emerged. The three figural themes indicated that participants experienced changes in their beliefs and assumptions about student-to-student and student-to-teacher relationships and about similarities and differences among their own and others’ belief systems, in addition to their own …

Perceptions Of Political, Academic, And Corporate Leaders: Higher Education Accountability In Georgia, Leslie Gene Fout

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Georgia political, academic, and corporate leaders’ perceptions of higher education accountability. A case study design was used to gain in-depth information. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants.

The findings of the study included the following:

1. Nearly every participant believed the mission and purpose higher education involved providing students with the skills and abilities needed to obtain gainful employment, and thereby make a positive impact on the economic development of the state of Georgia.
2. Approximately half of the participants believed higher education should cultivate an engaged citizenry.
3. No consensus was …

I Know I Can Learn: The Experiences Of Ncaa Division I – Fbs Student-Athletes With Learning Disabilities And/Or Adhd In Higher Education, Sarah Elizabeth Stokowski

Doctoral Dissertations

With the evolvement of the NCAA’s initial and continuing eligibility practices throughout the past two decades, interest in studying the experience of student-athletes has increased (Gayles, 2009). Student-athletes have long been stereotyped as “dumb jocks” (Harrison et al., 2009; Sack & Staurowsky, 1988). Campus groups such as faculty members and students suspect that student-athletes lack intelligence (King & Springwood, 2001; Sailes, 1998), and put forth far less motivation in the classroom than they do on the playing field (Baucom & Lantz, 2001; Burke, 1993; Watt & Moore, 2001).

Student-athletes, especially those with learning disabilities can potentially face harsh scrutiny due …

Conversations With A Phenomenologist: A Phenomenologically Oriented Case Study Of Instructional Planning, Karen Anne Franklin

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the instructional planning practices of one university professor as he prepared to teach weekly classes for a seminar in existential phenomenology. I applied the phenomenological pedagogy of van Manen and the phenomenological philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Husserl, Heidegger, and Gadamer in order to understand the process this professor undertook as he planned instruction for his graduate course. The study is a phenomenologically oriented, illustrative, and descriptive case study of this professor’s planning practices over the course of one semester in the context in which those practices occurred.

Findings from this study demonstrate that Dr. Pollio’s instructional planning is …

Nobel Women: Readers' Theater For Global Education, Dorothy Elizabeth Blanks

Doctoral Dissertations

Global interdependence has huge implications for the field of education. As economic, technological, cultural, transportation, and environmental concerns become not only local but international, students today must gain awareness outside of their immediate city, county, state, and country if they are to be successful citizens of the earth. The global education movement has developed in response to this need. Teacher training is a major pre-requisite for global education to be implemented meaningfully in the schools. Once teachers know and value the precepts of global education, they must be provided with effective pedagogy, activities, and topics for instruction.

This study sought …

Effects Of Academic And Non-Academic Instructional Approaches On Preschool Ells' English Language Development, Ivana Markova-Lama

Doctoral Dissertations

The population of English Language Learners (ELLs) in the United States has been growing at an increasingly rapid rate (U. S. Census Bureau, 2010), and nowhere is this growth more evident than in U.S. public schools. As of school year 2010-11, nearly 25% of all students in the California public schools were English Language Learners (California Department of Education, 2013).

The focus of this study was to explore to what extent this growing number of ELLs was developing English language in different types of preschool activities. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more and use more of …

Asian American Women Leaders In The Pacific Coast: Their Pathway To Presidency In Two-Year Institutions, Joan Torne

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of education continues to see an underrepresentation of women as presidents of colleges and universities especially Asian Americans in general. In comparison with other racial and ethnic groups, Asian Americans are the only group not equally represented in high executive positions such as the presidential. In addition, women, including Asian American women, continue to hold, disproportionately to men, fewer leadership positions in the workplace of today.

It was the intent of this qualitative study to gain an understanding the reasons for the slow progress of Asian Americans in obtaining presidential positions in higher education with the focus on …

Electronic Portfolios As Living Portals: A Narrative Inquiry Into College Student Learning, Identity, And Assessment, Celeste Fowles Nguyen

Doctoral Dissertations

As universities increasingly utilize electronic portfolios, college students are asked more than ever to create ePortfolios for academics, assessment, or advising. This study shifts an analysis of ePortfolios from prior epistemological approaches, where ePortfolios have been explored as a tool to measure student progress, onto an ontological perspective, where they are a medium for new understandings about self and others. This research examines the influence of college students' electronic portfolios on learning, identity, and assessment. The broader intention of this study is to create a narrative of students' experiences with ePortfolios that integrates critical hermeneutic theory.

The research protocol of …

Complicating Whiteness: Identifications Of Veteran White Teachers In Multicultural Settings, Anthony Miele

Doctoral Dissertations

A scrupulous search of whiteness literatures in relation to multicultural education reveals a preponderance of scholarship noting White privilege and race evasiveness. Given contrasting scholarship arguing White identity as complicated, multifarious, and bound to social and historical context, concurrent with a dearth of scholarship that examines such complexity, studies that explore and complicate White racial identity are of vital importance in advancing discourse around whiteness in education. Moreover, studies on veteran White teachers in multicultural settings explore professional identifications that have emerged along a continuum within authentic educational contexts rather than pre-service teachers in decontextualized settings.

Exploring identifications of veteran …

An Exploration Of Worship Practices At An African American Church Of Christ, Lamont Ali Francies

Doctoral Dissertations

The identity of the African American Churches of Christ is deeply rooted in the American struggle for racial equality. Without a formal governing body, the Churches of Christ have survived throughout the majority of the 20th century without making an official stance on racial relations. Many leaders in the religious movement have claimed racial immunity but have not addressed the evident division among ethnic lines. This study explored the extent of cultural influence that Caucasian Churches of Christ have on African American congregations.

This study observed these influences and how they shape religious culture and tradition in Black churches. The …

Perceptions Of The Catholic Secondary School Presidents And Principals Of Six Dioceses In Northern California Regarding Their Faith Leadership Practices And Preparations, Michael Daniels

Doctoral Dissertations

The responsibilities of Catholic secondary school leaders are multifaceted, and their roles demand essential skills and preparation to ensure success. In addition to performing a myriad of administrative duties, Catholic secondary school presidents and principals are called to exercise "faith leadership" within their schools. Faith leadership is a distinctive aspect of Catholic school administration and one that the Catholic Church has historically acknowledged as paramount to its mission. Faith leadership in this study is defined as exercising the competencies and practices related to faith development, community building, moral formation, and mission advancement.

The importance of faith leadership to the mission …

Sandwich Generation Caregivers: Ethical Legacies Throughout Generations, Sharon Z. Marts

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Topic

This critical hermeneutic research study explores ethical meanings during a time of dual-generation care and how these interpretations may affect one's view of family life across generations. The research participants in this study were adults situated between young children and dependent elders, who are also termed the "sandwich generation" (Brody 1981; Soldo 1996). By reexamining notions of self and others through narrative, one may see life anew from an ontological perspective not considered beforehand. Through narrative about moments of familial care, new understandings about personal meanings emerge which may or may not have changed over time. From this …

Starting A Dialogue With Mexican Born Students: Appropriating A New Understanding In A Public High School, Vicne Leeburn

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Topic

This study uses the narratives of conversation participants to gain a new understanding of the issues faced by Mexican born students at Prospect High School, in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Research Theory and Protocol

Through critical hermeneutic theory formulated by Paul Ricoeur (1992) and the inquiry protocol developed by Ellen Herda (1999), I applied the interpretive categories of narrative identity, imagination and communicative action to this study.

Research Categories

The narratives describe the stories of the participants' experiences of coming to a new country and the difficulties and successes of assimilating into a new culture while still …

Casa De La Solidaridad: A Pedagogy Of Solidarity, Kevin Yonkers-Talz

Doctoral Dissertations

Casa de la Solidaridad has been recognized as an innovative and effective educational model within Jesuit higher education yet, until now, there have only been verbal presentations of the unique attributes of the Casa de la Solidaridad model. In addition, there has been a lack of information regarding the influence of the Casa experience on the lives of alumni. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to thoroughly describe and document the unique attributes of the Casa de la Solidaridad model, and 2) to provide some insight into how the Casa program has influenced the lives of Casa alumni. …

Individual And Collective Diaspora Remittances In The Philippines And Korea: An Interpretation Of Narrative Identity, Communicative Action, And Recognition, Janice Gow Pettey

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Topic

This study examines the practices of sending remittances from the United States to receivers in the Philippines, and collective and individual remittances supporting reunification of Korea with the intention of providing financial support for sustainable living and community projects. The research analyzes the narratives with reference to identity and culture of diaspora Filipinos and Koreans in the United States who are remitters and donors in the United States supporting humanitarian causes in North Korea.

Research Theory and Protocol

Through critical hermeneutic theory formulated by Paul Ricoeur (2005,1992,1991,1983) and Jürgen Habermas (1981,1987,1984) and the interpretive inquiry protocol developed by …

The Power Of The Hula: A Performance Text For Appropriating Identity Among First Hawaiian Youth, Cesily Hong

Doctoral Dissertations

Hawaii is an exotic land with a rich history and a culture imbued with meaning, including the performing arts. Such facets of any land need to be understood and preserved for future generations. The most significant aspect of Hawaiian arts is the hula kahiko, a text in motion, which when performed displays the story of Hawaii's past. The hula was forbidden by Protestant missionaries in the 1820's and was reduced to near cultural extinction. As a result, many First Hawaiians do not clearly understand the richness of their own history. Without this understanding, it is difficult for them to have …

Being A Project Manager In A Multinational Corporation: An Interpretive Perspective On Working Practices And Experiences, Waleed Afndy

Doctoral Dissertations

Inspired by the lack of research regarding the firsthand practices and everyday lived experiences of project managers, informed by an ontological orientation, this study looked into what it means to be a project manager in a multinational corporation. It provides an interpretive perspective on these practices and experiences, which includes perspectives of self in relation to an organization and the people, incorporating imagination into work, and organizing for an action.

An Exploration Of Leadership And Campus Cultural Orientation In A California Community College, Eduardo Cervantes

Doctoral Dissertations

This research explored transformational leadership and campus cultural orientation at a single California community college. The conceptual framework for the study consisted of the transformational leadership paradigm articulated by the full range leadership model (Bass & Avolio, 1994; Bass & Riggio, 2006). A taxonomy of campus cultural orientations was also employed to complement the full range leadership model (Jayakumar & Museus, 2012). The study showed that transactional leadership was used management of a business culture and maintaining a stable fiscal foundation. Transformational leadership was employed to create a diversity oriented campus culture that was leading toward an equity oriented campus …

Counter-Narratives Of La Raza Voices: An Exploration Of The Personal And Professional Lived Experiences Of Mexican-American/Chicana/O Faculty At California Catholic Institutions Of Higher Education, Frank Vincent Serrano

Doctoral Dissertations

Faculty members of color time and again encounter the greatest number of challenges and barriers (e.g., discrimination, isolation, marginalization, tokenism, inundated with workloads and service commitments, devalued research, and delayed promotion and tenure) in both entering academia and succeeding within academia.

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal and professional lived experiences of eight self-identified native-born Mexican-American and Chicana/o tenured and tenure-track faculty members employed at four California Catholic institutions of higher education.

This study utilized a qualitative narrative methodology employing the critical race tenets of counter-storytelling and the permanence of racism. Through use of this methodology, …

The Effects Of Explicit Reading Strategy Instruction And Cooperative Learning On Reading Comprehension In Fourth Grade Students, Gina M. Lencioni

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of explicit direct instruction and cooperative learning on reading comprehension in fourth grade students. A quasi-experimental design was used. There were six cognitive and three affective measures used to collect quantitative data. Cognitive measures included California State Test scores, Accelerated Reader test scores, STAR Reading Test scores, Selection Test scores for MacMillan CA Treasures Series, Metacognitive Strategy Index (MSI), and district benchmark assessments. Affective measures included the Motivation to Read Profile (MRP) for both Self-Concept and Value of Reading and an overall enjoyment survey.

This study took place at two …

Including Exceptional Children In A Christian Learning Community: New Narratives In Special Education, Jennifer Camota Luebke Ed.D., Mba

Doctoral Dissertations

Research Topic

The majority of Christian schools in the United States exclude children who have disabilities from their learning communities. This study examines the practices of 11 Christian schools throughout the United States, through conversations with a top leader in each school, that provide access to and/or inclusion in their schools.

Theory and Protocol

This research is grounded in critical hermeneutic theory and follows an interpretive approach to field research and data analysis (Herda 1999; 2010). Research conversations are conducted with the participants, which are then transcribed into a written text, which serves as the data to be analyzed.

Research …

Effect Of A Classwide Peer-Mediated Intervention On The Social Interactions Of Students With Low-Functioning Autism And The Perceptions Of Typical Peers, Lisa A. Simpson

Doctoral Dissertations

Students with autism often display significant challenges when acquiring friendships and participating in ongoing relationships with typical peers. The social interaction deficits that characterize students with autism are further exacerbated by the severity of the disorder, such that students with low-functioning autism require significantly more support to successfully participate in peer interactions than students with high functioning autism. This study used mixed methodology to examine the effects of a classwide peer-mediated intervention on the social interactions of students with low-functioning autism and typically-developing peers. A single subject ABAB design was employed in which students with low-functioning autism were grouped with …

Foreign Language Learning In A Non-School Environment: Effects Of Simulated Immersion Training On Affective Factors In Learners' Experience, Eunsook Mcniel-Cho

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the effects of immersion training on the learner's affective behaviors such as motivation and attitude, anxiety, and self-confidence in foreign language acquisition at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Much research has been conducted on the effectiveness of immersion programs, but no previous research examined a short-term simulated immersion training that is integrated into a language course curriculum. Furthermore, no prior research exists on the effects of immersion on affective factors among military linguists.

This research method consisted of mixed quantitative and qualitative methods utilizing pretest score (DLAB), surveys, observations, and interviews. The study design was …

An Evaluation Of A Nursing Leadership Simulation Experience Using Multitrait Multimethod Matrix, Toby Embry

Doctoral Dissertations

The MTMM approach was used to evaluate construct validity of three nursing leadership traits (prioritization, delegation, and patient care management) across four assessment methods (multiple-choice tests--MCT, oral questioning-- OQ, high fidelity--HFS, and low fidelity simulation--LFS). Using a correlational descriptive design a 21-item MCT exam, a 21-item oral question instrument, a patient care HFS, and three LFS stations were embedded into a two hour objectively structured clinical examination (OSCE) assessment environment whose aim was to compare traditional assessment methods (MCT and OQ) in nursing education to burgeoning assessment methods (HFS and LFS). Generated scores from 137 senior-level baccalaureate nursing students at …

The Effects Of Elaborative Vocabulary Instruction On The Vocabulary, Written Explanations, And Knowledge Structures Of Sixth-Grade Students With And Without Disabilities, Marijude Wolf

Doctoral Dissertations

Writing is a complex process that presents challenges for middle school teachers and their students with and without disabilities. A particular area of difficulty is the application of content-area vocabulary in the explanatory writing of sixth-grade students. This two-group quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of an elaborative vocabulary strategy instruction on the vocabulary scores, concept map scores, explanatory writing, and self-efficacy and attitudes towards writing of 104 sixth-grade students with and without disabilities enrolled in an urban charter public middle school. The study was conducted over a four-week period. The results showed that the elaborative vocabulary instruction had statistically significant …

Increasing Community College Basic Skills English Instructors' Use Of Autonomy Supportive Instruction To Impact Students' Perceptions Of Autonomy And Engagement, Dionne Janice Clabaugh

Doctoral Dissertations

There is concern in California community colleges about student success because persistence rates have decreased and graduation rates have declined. Basic skills students are underserved and underprepared, and their success rates are lower than traditional students. Nine California Community College Student Success Task Force recommendations were designed to increase basic skills student success.

In this quasi-experimental study three basic skills English instructors were trained on two of the six autonomy-supportive instruction strategies. The training design was based on characteristics of effective ASI interventions and addressed recommendations to improve community college basic skills instruction with professional development on research-based pedagogies. The …

The Effects Of Self-Regulated Learning Strategy Instruction And Structured-Diary Use On Students' Self-Regulated Learning Conduct And Academic Success In Online Community-College General Education Courses, Bianca Rowden Quince

Doctoral Dissertations

Student success in community-college online courses remains a topic of concern within higher-education research. Online courses offer flexibility and opportunities for students to learn anytime and anywhere. Students who are not prepared for the anytime-anywhere format struggle in online courses. As enrollment in online courses increases, the rate at which students persist through courses with satisfactory academic success is inconsistent. Effective ways to promote student success in online courses is an area that remains under-researched. Self-regulated learning has been shown to promote online student success by supporting student engagement, learning strategy use, and consistent evaluation of academic performance through instructional …

The U.S. Conference Of Catholic Bishops' Doctrinal Elements Of A Curriculum Framework For The Development Of Catechetical Materials For Young People Of High School Age: Pedagogical And Theological Perspectives Of Religious Studies Teachers In U.S. Catholic Secondary Schools, Carrie J. Schroeder

Doctoral Dissertations

In 2007, the Catholic bishops of the United States unanimously approved a document entitledDoctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, 2008; hereafter,Framework). The promulgation of theFrameworkconstituted the first time that the bishops sought to establish a uniform Religious Studies curriculum for all U.S. Catholic secondary schools. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of six Religious Studies teachers regarding their experience of teaching courses based on the USCCBFramework; specifically, these teachers' experiences of theFramework's impact on the theological …