Education Commons^™

Culture And Context's Influence On Hispanic Undergraduates' Perceptions Of Their Persistence Toward Stem Degree Attainment, Elsa I. Bravo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the influences of context and culture on Hispanic undergraduate’s in the STEM pipeline. Study one utilized systematic review methods to assess the effectiveness of STEM intervention programs on Hispanic undergraduates. A total of 45 STEM related databases were searched from March-September 2020 with no limitations. Although a total of 259 studies were identified, only one study was actually found to specifically focus on Hispanic populations and include empirically based evaluations. The one remaining study did not find a statistically significant intervention effect for four- year graduation rates. The lack of evidence highlights a gap in research or …

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Measures Of Resilience And Self-Efficacy With Their Intent To Remain In The Teaching Profession., Krisdhal E. Ugarte-Torre

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study examined MDCPS teachers’ measure of resiliency and self-efficacy and their intention to remain in the teaching profession. A survey was sent to 2,000 MDCPS teachers who work within schools located in the Central Region. The survey consisted of the Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale, the Teacher Resiliency Survey, and the Intent to Stay Scale. Demographics information, teaching assignment, preservice preparation program, and Title I school status questions were part of the survey to account for them as control variables. The survey concluded with questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. An ordinary least-squares regression analysis was used to predict the …

The Novice Assistant Principal: Support Needs In The Transition To The Administrative Role, Alyssa Nicole Maestas

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Novice assistant principals are expected to be ready to serve as key leaders in a school from the first day of their appointment as a school administrator. Research has shown that the role of assistant principal is multi-faceted, the pace of the job is unrelenting, the level of responsibility is overwhelming, and the number of new tasks encountered is daunting (Barnett, et al., 2012; Craft et al., 2016). This study examined how novice assistant principals experienced support as they transitioned into the administrative role. The researcher used a phenomenological research design for the collection of data. The results indicated that …

Perceptions Of Support And Teacher Retention In Secondary Schools, Amaris Leal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teacher attrition is a problem plaguing districts across the nation. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the 4^th largest school district in the nation and continues to encounter difficulty keeping teachers. This study investigates how nine secondary level teachers conceptualize support. Teachers’ years of experience range from five to thirty-five years teaching in Miami-Dade County Public schools. Early, Mid and Late Career teachers were interviewed to understand their lived experiences in the professions as it pertains to support and how they conceptualize support. This case study utilizes phenomenological methods informed by the work of Vagle (2018) and van Manen (2014, …

Neoliberalism And Kazakhstan's Emerging Higher Education Sysytem, Nazgul Bayetova

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union (USSR). The Kazakh Social Soviet Republic's Supreme Court declared the transition from a planned economy to a market economy in the early 1990s. The new market model in Kazakhstan has had a significant impact on its evolving higher education system. Less government spending and the creation of private universities in Kazakhstan were the core strategies that have been implemented under the neoliberal policies (Sabzalieva, 2017; Sagintayeva & Kurakbayev, 2015; Smirnova, 2014; Smolentseva, 2012; Smolentseva, Huisman, & Froumin, 2018). This study’s central question is how …

Is Price Why Students Don't Get Their Books? Undergraduate Acquisition Of Class Materials, Joseph Todd Patton

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A study of the acquisition of assigned textbooks and materials was conducted among 1,333 active undergraduates, exploring the widely reported phenomenon of two-thirds of students not getting all the books and materials assigned to them in their college classes. Current research focuses on high textbook & materials prices as the reason why students do not get assigned materials, and government policies are focused on bringing down these prices. This study’s major focus was investigating whether it is true that high prices explain why undergraduates do not get their assigned class materials. The findings suggest that price is not the reason …

The Activations Of Activism: An Ethnography Of Emotional Management, Gerson Sanchez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this ethnography is to explore cultural context of college student activism, especially as it relates to identity. Much has been said about student activism in the higher education literature, but this literature has two major problems: first, it presupposes a pre-cursive existence of identity, and, second, it disconnects meaning-making from action. With regard to the first problem, activism scholars tend to take categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality as given, thus reducing individuals to biological differences for the purposes of study. Instead of questioning how identities are created and constructed, such studies presuppose markers of …

Impact Of Multimodal First-Year Composition Courses On Student Success, Satisfaction, And Growth, Abdullah Mir

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Universities have shifted towards pedagogies involving different modes of composition. However, little focus has been shown on students’ ability to transfer learned skills to other fields. Florida International University (FIU) addressed this problem by retooling their First Year Composition (FYC) curriculum in 2013, including more multimodal opportunities for students. This thesis will look into how FIU addresses students’ ability to transfer their skills and their dispositions. The thesis analyzed anonymous surveys conducted on site in 2021 and assesses whether students believe they have been able to transfer their learned skills outside the classroom. By using grounded theory and coding to …

Former Foster Youth And Their Pursuit Of A College Degree, Lori Ann Gionti

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this collected papers dissertation was to examine former foster youth as they pursue college. Foster youth are known to attend and graduate college at a rate lower than their non-fostered peers. Understanding more about the journey of former foster youth as they pursue a college degree will help to understand what barriers are faced and what supports enhance their likelihood of enrollment and graduation.

Study #1, a structured literature review, examined the scholarly literature on former foster youth and college. Data were collected through a library database search and Google Scholar. Descriptive, demographic-type information was compiled and …

Student Reflections On Study Abroad: A Collective Case Study Exploring The Experiences Of Pre-Service Teachers During An International Student Teaching Program, Holly D. Hutton

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As classrooms in the United States grow more culturally and linguistically diverse, schools of education are challenged to prepare more culturally responsive, globally minded educators. International student teaching (IST) programs provide a unique opportunity for pre-service teachers to develop cultural competencies in a global context. However, in order for these programs to effectively meet ambitious global and intercultural learning objectives, multiple curricular and programmatic components must be considered, and on-going research exploring individual student experiences must be conducted.

The present collective case study explored the experiences of five, pre-service teachers during a semester-long, IST program at Florida International University. A …

French Muslim Youth’S Perception Of Their Cultural Identity In A Post-Charlie Hebdo Reality In The 19th Arrondissement., Gaelle Flora Bernard

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On January 7, 2015, the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper in France, was attacked by two armed men, Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, who shot and killed 12 staff members and injured another 11. The motive of the gunmen was the defense of their Muslim religion, in response to the newspaper’s history of publishing caricatures of the prophet Mohammed (AFP, 2015). This terrorist attack of January 7, 2015 continues to have a lasting impact on the lives of French people, most particularly French Muslims.

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the negotiation of Muslim youth identity …

Spatializing Student Engagement: A Phenomenological Study On Experiencing Space, Place, And A College Campus, Ivan Ceballos

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examined how five college students understood their collegiate engagement in relation to spaces and places. The study’s purpose was to develop a spatialized understanding by describing the nature of meaningful student engagement as occurring within places and spaces. The problem addressed through this study is the treatment of engagement as understood through institutional metrics which reduce such a phenomenon to campus-centric and measurable place-based characteristics. As argued through this study’s framework and findings, experiencing a phenomenon such as engagement is a matter of lived experience and exists in relation to space and place. The participants’ lived …

The Pedagogy Of The Youth Teachers Of The Cuban Literacy Campaign, Yuleisy Mena

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The Cuban Literacy Campaign of 1961 turned teenagers into teachers. This study interviewed three former youth teachers and recorded their experiences through the oral history lens and method. The study focused on the pedagogical components of their lived experience, often overlooked by scholars who have mainly focused on the campaign’s political and economic history from the top down. In turn, issues of identity surfaced that helped explain the personal motivations for participating in the campaign and produced counter-narratives in the process. The interviews compiled allowed a bottom-up history to be archived, highlighting the stories of people omitted from the …

Racial Microaggressions Of Indigenous Undergraduate Students In An Ecuadorian Higher Education Institution, Adriana Cundar Ruano

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although subtle, racial microaggressions have an impact on lives of people who endure hostilities by virtue of their race or ethnicity (Solórzano et al., 2000; Sue et al., 2007). Research on racial discrimination indicates that college campuses can be threatening environments especially for underrepresented students who constantly face elusive hostilities in their interactions with teachers, peers, and administrative (Allen, 2010; Helm, 2013; Nadal et al., 2014, Reid, 2017). The current mixed-methods study examined the most commonly experienced types of microaggressions affecting Indigenous undergraduate students while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a public higher education institution in Ecuador, as well as …

Children's Creative Processes In Music Composition Through The Orff-Schulwerk Approach, Ashley Viera Espinal

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to explore the creative processes of elementary school students in music composition through the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Twenty-two 5th grade students and a music teacher with all three levels of the Orff-Schulwerk certification participated in the study. There were three main focal points that were investigated within a span of five-weeks: 1) children’s creativity in an Orff-based composition task, 2) children’s perceptions of their creative processes employed during the composition task, and 3) the teacher’s perceptions of teaching/learning music composition through the Orff-Schulwerk approach. Data were generated through observations, field notes, interviews with …

Representations Of A Good Citizen: A Genealogy Of Power And Critical Investigation Of Pictographs, 1937-1942, Joselyn Naranjo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study traced selected knowledge that influenced pictographs in social studies textbooks in the United States from 1937 through 1942. The qualitative study analyzed the messages in pictographs produced by Rudolf Modley’s business - Pictorial Statistics, Incorporated. The study interpreted the underlying ideological management within pictographs to present a method of analysis for future research on other visual educational material. Foucault’s (1980; 2003; Shiner, 1982) genealogy of power method addressed the different shifts in power and meaning making involved in communicating sociopolitical messages to the reader through pictographs while ideological management and governmentality informed Hsieh & Shannon’s (2005) directed content …

Investigating Educational Disparities In Belize: A Quantitative Study On The Impact Of Student-Level Sociocultural Factors On Academic Achievement Among High School Seniors Across Belize, Aisha Usher

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The idea that education is a fundamental human right is garnering increased support from the international community. Yet, there are children throughout the world who face impediments to access quality education, while others face no such hardships; this concept is described as “educational inequality” or “educational disparity.”

In Belize – a sparsely populated, English-speaking Caribbean country located in Central America – there have been reports of disparities in educational attainment along gender and ethnic lines; however, there has been little research focused on potential gaps in academic achievement, especially at the secondary level. The purpose of the present study was …

Teachers’ Use Of Standardized Assessments To Monitor Learning And Its Impact On Student Reading Achievement, Eilyn Sanabria

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reading instruction must be “intentional, systematic, and explicit” and “implemented by a knowledgeable teacher” (Ruetzel & Cooter, 2019, p. 87). The era of accountability has brought standardized assessments to the forefront of reading instruction. However, gaps about assessment-related and instructional practices and their impact on student achievement exist in the literature. The present study aims to provide needed insights on how these practices help or hinder, specifically, historically low-performing students.

Using student achievement and teacher survey data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten 2011 (ECLS-K), and through the lens of data use theory (Hutchins, 1995; Spillane, 2012), hierarchical multiple …

The Moderating Effects Of Neuroticism And Psychological Contract Incongruence On The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support, Perceived Supervisor Support, And Affective Commitment, Gail M. Hansen

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The nonexperimental study (N = 279) investigated the moderating effect of the trait neuroticism and psychological contract incongruence on perceptions about the organization, supervisor, and level of affective commitment. Using Qualtrics, a survey battery was administered to supervisors who had completed leadership training at a single institution of higher education located in southern Florida, USA.

The findings of the present study provided new insights into the neuroticism scale items, suggesting that depression might be a hidden factor in more than half of the population. Another finding demonstrated that few individuals attribute a psychological contract breach to an honest misunderstanding. …

A Proposed Social Cognitive Career Development Model For Adults With Intellectual Disabilities, Amanda M. Giust

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This non-experimental, correlational research tested a hypothesized employment model using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) for individuals with ID who have completed high school in Miami, Florida, USA. The variables examined in the study were (a) environmental supports and barriers (e.g., family expectations, available community resources) (b) personal attributes (e.g., self-determination), (c) career behavior, and (d) the outcome of employment. Results of the logistic and hierarchical regression models demonstrated that the hypothesized model accounted for 22.3% of the variance in reported employment attainment. In both regression models, the personal attributes variable was statistically significant to employment outcome and the …

Providing Hope For Another Generation: The Effect Of Federal Pre-College Outreach Programs On Disadvantaged Students’ Educational Aspiration, College Preparedness, And College Access, Newsoul Deus

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

PROVIDING HOPE FOR ANOTHER GENERATION:

THE EFFECT OF FEDERAL PRE-COLLEGE OUTREACH PROGRAMS ON DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATION, COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS, AND COLLEGE ACCESS

by

Newsoul Deus

Florida International University, 2020

Miami, Florida

Professor Mido Chang, Major Professor

The United States has long been recognized as the land of opportunity. However, one of the major problems that plague the nation is the disparity in educational opportunities (Pfeffer & Hertel, 2015). It is crucial that all students—regardless of their race/ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and geographic location—have an equal opportunity to higher education (Baker, Klasik, & Reardon, 2018). Unfortunately, students …

It Takes Two: A Basic Interpretive Study On The Role Of Intercultural Communication On Career Development, Rochelle T. Patten

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organizations are encountering a more diverse workforce as the world experiences an increase in immigration and globalization. Some of these employees are immigrants from Caribbean islands such as the Bahamas, Barbados, and Jamaica. These employees speak English with an accent different from the American standard and oftentimes find themselves at a disadvantage when seeking career development opportunities. Current studies on intercultural communication tend to examine the Asian, European, and African American accent in relation to education, business, and career development. There are no studies that explore the role of intercultural communication, specifically the English-speaking Caribbean accent, on career development. The …

Measuring The Relationship Between Educational Administrators' And Teacher Leaders' Leadership Styles And School Culture, Kristina K. Garcia

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to examine the relationship between educational administrators’ and teacher leaders’ leadership styles, and school culture and sought to measure the correlation between the perceived leadership styles of formalized leaders and school culture. The theoretical framework of the study was derived from the Bass and Avolio (1985) Full Range Leadership Model describing the transactional to transformational leadership continuum.

Data for the study were collected using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X Short Form), a survey containing 45 questions on a Likert type scale. The purpose of the survey is to examine the degree to which leadership …

We're Here, We Exist: An Exploration Of How Second-Generation Afro-Caribbean College Women Make Meaning Of Their Race, Ethnicity, And Gender, Emmanuela P. Stanislaus

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study was situated within Florida International University and explored how second-generation Afro-Caribbean college women make meaning of their race, ethnicity, and gender. This dissertation expands the existing scholarship on Black college students who have historically been presented as monolithic. Furthermore, my study illuminates how the race, ethnicity, and gender intersect to complicate the experiences of these women. Additionally, my research highlights how the surrounding community of a college campus impacts second-generation Afro-Caribbean college women’s ideas of belonging.

This study involved two semi-structured interviews with 9 undergraduate college women attending FIU. All women self-identified as second-generation Afro-Caribbean. This two-interview …

From Record Keepers To Decision Makers?: Perspectives Of University Registrars About Their Role In Higher Education, Miguel Sahagun

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to understand the experiences of university registrars, particularly their perspectives on their professional practice, development, and identity. Empirical research on university registrars is sparse at best. We do not know the real meaning of the position, how university registrars spend their time, and what is meaningful and gratifying about their role. There is not enough information on career paths that that they followed to become a university registrar. The lack of empirical studies about the true meaning of the evolving role is a problem needing study. My dissertation addresses the following singular research question: …

The Initial Development And Validation Of The Youth Gun Violence And Voice Survey: The Classroom Experience, Diana E. Santangelo

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community violence surrounding children and youth affects a variety of developmental outcomes, including social-emotional, behavioral, physical, and cognitive domains. Adolescents who are exposed to continual community violence can respond with aggression, anxiety, behavioral issues, academic problems, and truancy. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a survey instrument that measures the youth perspective of the classroom experience following the loss of a schoolmate due to homicide by firearm. Youth perspectives challenge normative perspectives and can critique common policies and practices, and such findings can inform instruction and policy.

An exploratory sequential mixed methods research design was used …

Zine-Making As A Pedagogical Practice: A Phenomenographic Study Of Teachers’ Experiences, Diana Levy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A zine (pronounced zeen) is a short, self-created and self-published booklet filled with a combination of writing, drawing, poetry, collage, and other text and images that create a message. Historically, zines have been associated with an underground, activist or radical literary subculture. Zines embody a breadth of literacies and have the potential to create critical readers, writers, and thinkers; however, minimal scholarly research exists on school zines. The purpose of the current study was to explore the experiences of educators using zine-making in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms. Phenomenographical analysis of nine, in-depth, semi-structured interviews revealed that participants described …

The Effects Of Continuous Video Prompting On Teaching Daily Living Skills To Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Enas Altaf

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, there has been a trend of the growing prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses. Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects behavior, learning, and communication. Many with ASD emit problem behaviors that create challenges for learning in many areas of life, including the acquisition of daily living skills (DLS).

There have been numerous interventions developed to teach individuals with ASD; some interventions are aimed at reducing problem behaviors while others teach different skills, including DLS. Over the past ten years, video-based instruction (VBI) has proven useful to teach individuals with ASD. There are …

A Qualitative Study Of The Fpcu Student Experience And Outcomes After Graduation Within The South Florida Region, Tania Frederic Abouzeide

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to explore why students enroll in for-profit colleges, outline their student experiences and present their post-graduate outcomes of obtaining a degree (i.e., increased salary, career progression, etc.) from an FPCU. With the rise of for-profit colleges, issues arise such as questionable recruiting practices, dismal graduation rates, poor job placements and minimal income increase and high student loan default rates (Deming, Goldin, & Katz, 2013; Heller, 2011; Macqueen, 2011; Yeoman, 2011). The discourse surrounding for-profit colleges at times does not consider the FPCU graduate perspective – those affected most by the FPCU notoriety. In this qualitative study, I …

The Promise And (Im)Possibility Of The Debt-Free Student: A Qualitative Analysis, Michael W. Ward

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While debt is most commonly associated with financial liability, scholars have also started to consider other, non-financial ways debt can manifest. Financial debts require repayment in dollars, while non-financial debts might require ‘repayment’ not in money, but in feeling, conduct, attitude, or sense of obligation, for example. When more than the association of money is considered, it is possible to contemplate the other ways that debt, both financial and non-financial, might work to affect individual decision making across multiple temporalities. Much has been written about the foreclosing aspects of debt theoretically, but little empirical research has been conducted in this …