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2011

Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching

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Full-Text Articles in Education

A Critical Analysis Of The Factors That Promote And Support Leadership And Advocacy For People With Lived Experience With Mental Health Problems Or Illness., Kathryn L. Storey Dec 2011

A Critical Analysis Of The Factors That Promote And Support Leadership And Advocacy For People With Lived Experience With Mental Health Problems Or Illness., Kathryn L. Storey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

Our ways of thinking and acting are complex. Personal and social influences mediate who we are and what we believe. This is particularly true for people who have personal lived experience with mental health problems or illnesses. While mental illness can result in challenges with living, ironically, the challenges increase when people use medical or clinical services. Many people who speak out about their experience describe themselves as “survivors”. Yet, these same experiences with the care system effectively inform and evoke leadership and advocacy.

A growing number of survivors recognize that it is important to use their experience to …


Factors That Promote Transformative Learning Experiences Of International Graduat-Level Learners, Alex Kumi Yeboah Dec 2011

Factors That Promote Transformative Learning Experiences Of International Graduat-Level Learners, Alex Kumi Yeboah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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After The Final Bell: The Self-Directed Learning Practices Of Elementary Teachers, Susan Renee Wagner Dec 2011

After The Final Bell: The Self-Directed Learning Practices Of Elementary Teachers, Susan Renee Wagner

Doctoral Dissertations

Are elementary teachers self-directed learners? If so, do their learning activities outside their classrooms translate into their classrooms? The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship, if any, between elementary teachers’ self-directed learning and activities in their classrooms. A two phase, mixed methods design first utilized a quantitative study from which the results were used to denote the type of data collected in the second, qualitative phase. The quantitative Phase I of this study involved using a survey instrument in order to identify self-directed learners and identify categories of teacher learners. These quantitative data were gathered through the …


Integration Of Racially And Ethnically Diverse Modern Day Military Veterans In American Higher Education, Cedric Mandell Kenner Dec 2011

Integration Of Racially And Ethnically Diverse Modern Day Military Veterans In American Higher Education, Cedric Mandell Kenner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on examining the integration and transition challenges of racially and ethnically diverse modern day military veterans at a predominantly white research university. Modern day racially and ethnically diverse veterans who have been retained at the institution past their freshman year were invited to participate in the study. Tinto's (1975) Student Integration Model (SIM) served as the theoretical framework for the study which focused on retention and academic support strategies that could be appropriate for racially and ethnically diverse modern day military veterans in American higher education. The methodology utilized in this study was phenomenology which utilized interviews …


Fall Prevention Training And Its Impact To Southern Nevada Construction Workers, Vedaspati Joshi Dec 2011

Fall Prevention Training And Its Impact To Southern Nevada Construction Workers, Vedaspati Joshi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Death and injury from falls are a long-standing and continuing problem in construction, responsible for at least a third of the construction deaths in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007. Each of those years, Nevada has exceeded the national percentage. Although 29 CFR 1926.503 sets forth Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)'s requirements that construction employers train employees exposed to fall hazards and document such training, the incidence of deaths and injuries from falls are an indicator that this training was not provided or else was not effective.

Conventional fall protection training is more narrowly focused on recognizing fall hazards …


Job Stress, Mentoring, Psychological Empowerment, And Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty, Catherine Emily Ebersole Chung Dec 2011

Job Stress, Mentoring, Psychological Empowerment, And Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Faculty, Catherine Emily Ebersole Chung

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The National League for Nursing (NLN) endorses mentoring throughout the nursing faculty career trajectory as the method to recruit nurses into academia and improve retention of nursing faculty within the academy (NLN, 2006). One way mentoring assists faculty is by easing socialization to the culture of the employing institution and decreasing faculty stress (Lewallen, Crane, Letvak, Jones, & Hu, 2003). Mentoring can also be a facilitating factor of an individual's psychological empowerment. Academia is an environment able to foster psychological empowerment, a state in which faculty may be self-directed, highly productive, confident, and find a meaningful connection to their work …


The Utilization And Effectiveness Of The Hesi E(Square) Exit Exam As A Graduation Requirement Toward Increasing Nclex-Rnrtm Pass Rates In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Debra Henline Sullivan Dec 2011

The Utilization And Effectiveness Of The Hesi E(Square) Exit Exam As A Graduation Requirement Toward Increasing Nclex-Rnrtm Pass Rates In Baccalaureate Nursing Programs, Debra Henline Sullivan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Due to a desire to better prepare BSN students for the Nurse Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN® ) and to increase first-time pass rates, nursing programs across the US are using predictive testing to implement policies that require students to pass a standardized exit exam to graduate (National League for Nursing, 2010). Evolve Learning Systems owned by Elsevier, Inc. offers such an exit exam named the HESI E 2 , which recommends a benchmark score to predict success on the NCLEX-RN® . To offset an expected decrease in NCLEX-RN® pass rates due to recent changes …


Single Mothers In College: The Effect Of Selected Variables, Rickey Booker Dec 2011

Single Mothers In College: The Effect Of Selected Variables, Rickey Booker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Single parent mothers who are currently in poverty may find it difficult to find routes out of poverty and/or even to enrolling in college. Little empirical research has been conducted on low-income single parent mothers who attempt to enroll, persist and graduate college. The current research has shown that single parents are at a high risk of dropping out of college because of many barriers including poverty related issues. This study examined women who had at least one child or dependent, were in poverty, and were first time beginners in college. The purpose for conducting this study was to identify …


Factors Influencing Teaching Efficacy Among Kansas Career And Technical Education Faculty, Douglas Lee Younger Dec 2011

Factors Influencing Teaching Efficacy Among Kansas Career And Technical Education Faculty, Douglas Lee Younger

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of teaching efficacy among postsecondary career and technical education faculty at Kansas technical and community colleges. Postsecondary career and technical education faculty at Kansas technical and community colleges were asked to complete an instrument designed to measure their levels of teaching efficacy based upon a modified version of the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale, originally developed by Woolfolk and Hoy (1998). The entire population of postsecondary career and technical education faculty from Kansas technical and community colleges (N=726) were surveyed and a total of n=181 (24.9%) completed the instrument. Data …


Portrait Of Hal: A Narrative Case Study That Illuminates The Transformative Influence Of Generativity And Life Stories On The Legacy Of An Adult Educator/Learner, Margaret Ann Voelkel Dec 2011

Portrait Of Hal: A Narrative Case Study That Illuminates The Transformative Influence Of Generativity And Life Stories On The Legacy Of An Adult Educator/Learner, Margaret Ann Voelkel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative narrative case study uses the Social science portraiture approach to explore how the learning experiences of a retired manufacturing manager have influenced his identity and his choice of an encore career in education. Hal B. is a retired manufacturing manager in his 70s who is now an instructor of leadership, management, and process improvement for working adults in a mid-south regional university. The portraiture approach to Hal's experience of a second career as an educator exemplifies the ways in which generativity, a person's need to care for and prepare future generations (Erikson, 1980), and storytelling are factors that …


What Do Professional Conference Planners Consider The Most Important Elements For Continuing Professional Education Conference Planning?, Virginia B. Phillips Oct 2011

What Do Professional Conference Planners Consider The Most Important Elements For Continuing Professional Education Conference Planning?, Virginia B. Phillips

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many adults attend and rely on continuing professional education (CPE) throughout their careers, and CPE is big business for associations. One way associations deliver CPE is through educational conferences. While adult education theories and frameworks offer developmental and operational guidance and advice, there is little practice data to understand what meeting planning professionals actually do as they implement adult education conferences in practice. The purpose of this study was to identify the elements that practicing meeting planning professionals in associations utilize in CPE conference planning and which elements are considered the most important. This study accessed a senior group of …


Career College Students' Perceptions Of Portfolios And Their Influence In The Hiring Process, Andrea J. Webb Aug 2011

Career College Students' Perceptions Of Portfolios And Their Influence In The Hiring Process, Andrea J. Webb

Master of Education Research Theses

Two-year college enrollment continues to increase to meet the challenges of our changing economy. Due to this increased enrollment, it has become quite evident that more research in the area of two-year colleges is needed. Many two-year colleges have their students complete a portfolio upon graduation, to assist them in the competitive job market. Does the portfolio really help students get jobs? The contents of this paper follow a mixed-method study that involves surveying graduates of two-year colleges as well as interviewing employers who frequently hire two-year college graduates. Graduates from a number of two-year colleges were asked to complete …


Enhancing The Cultural Competence Of Women’S Health Nurses Via Online Continuing Education, Ella T. Heitzler Aug 2011

Enhancing The Cultural Competence Of Women’S Health Nurses Via Online Continuing Education, Ella T. Heitzler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

By 2050, current minority groups will comprise almost half of the US population further challenging healthcare providers and nurses to deliver culturally competent care. Numerous organizations have published documents supporting cultural competence and its incorporation into nursing curricula has been encouraged since 1986. However, practicing nurses, specifically those providing care to childbearing women and families, continue to acknowledge their lack of cultural competence. This is concerning as large health disparities exist between culturally diverse women and cultural competence can lead to greater health equality and better client care. Studies have shown face-to-face education increases the cultural competence of healthcare providers; …


Best Instructional Practices For Distance Education: A Meta-Analysis, Robin Michael Roberts Aug 2011

Best Instructional Practices For Distance Education: A Meta-Analysis, Robin Michael Roberts

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Recent meta-analyses on the efficacy of distance education have concluded that no significant difference exists between face-to-face and distance education. At the same time, these meta-analyses noted that considerable heterogeneity existed between the individual studies used in the meta-analyses. Investigation of moderators responsible for that heterogeneity suggested that four things other than media delivery were primarily responsible for the majority of variation between study outcomes: methodological quality, instructor involvement, type of interaction, instructional methods and time-on-task. A comparative meta-analysis was performed to further investigate these moderators. Methodological quality, maturational differences in students and any undetermined media effects were controlled for …


The Integration Of Technology Within Physical Education Teacher Education: Perceptions Of The Faculty, Helena Baert Aug 2011

The Integration Of Technology Within Physical Education Teacher Education: Perceptions Of The Faculty, Helena Baert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, the national Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) standards included a more integrated approach to teaching pre-service teachers about technology and stated that teacher candidates should be able to plan and implement technology infused learning experiences that meet lesson objectives. With the inclusion of the 2008 standards, PETE faculty have the task to create instruction that effectively integrates technology. This study investigated the preparedness for technology integration of 198 teacher educators within nationally recognized PETE programs. The study utilized survey research design to identify current technologies used, analyze current level of technology proficiency in relationship to the level of …


The Role Of Reflection In Audiology Students’ Development As Professional Practitioners: A Constructivist Grounded Theory, Stella Ng Jul 2011

The Role Of Reflection In Audiology Students’ Development As Professional Practitioners: A Constructivist Grounded Theory, Stella Ng

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Audiology is a young health profession striving toward a value for and use of evidence-based practice (EBP). Currently within audiology, there is a lack of attention to a complementary epistemology of practice; that is, one that explicitly values experience as a valid and important source of knowledge, worthy of theoretical and empirical scholarly attention. The current study addresses this gap using a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the research question: How is reflection enacted and implicated in audiology students’ development as professional practitioners? A total of 18 participants contributed data to this study (13 audiology students from a single …


Stories And Cultural Humility: Exploring Power And Privilege Through Physical Therapists' Life Stories, Marjorie Hilliard Jun 2011

Stories And Cultural Humility: Exploring Power And Privilege Through Physical Therapists' Life Stories, Marjorie Hilliard

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how life experiences, set within their social, cultural, and historical contexts, shape the development of cultural humility in physical therapists (PTs). Cultural humility involves health professionals being actively engaged in an ongoing process with patients, colleagues, communities, and themselves to make sense of the complexities of social and culture differences within relationships in practice. Given demographic trends and health care disparities, it has become critically important to better understand the dynamics of developing trusting relationships to provide quality care. This study was influenced by relationship-centered care, sociocultural, and insurgent multiculturalism theories. A …


A Sociocultural Approach To Esl For Adult Learners, Whitney Putnam May 2011

A Sociocultural Approach To Esl For Adult Learners, Whitney Putnam

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The following portfolio is a collection of work submitted for the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University. Within this portfolio is the author's personal philosophy on effective language teaching written with a college-level ESL classroom in mind. Following the teaching philosophy are different artifacts and reflections, all related to the philosophy on teaching, but separate in topic. The three artifacts demonstrate the author's understanding of the role of language, culture, and literacy in a second language classroom. Also included in this portfolio is an annotated bibliography containing the scholarly works which support the writings here.


Set In Stone: Legends, Traditions, And Symbols Influencing Place Attachment For Southern Utah University Students, Claudine Nielsen May 2011

Set In Stone: Legends, Traditions, And Symbols Influencing Place Attachment For Southern Utah University Students, Claudine Nielsen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explored the influence of campus legends, traditions, and symbols on the development of place attachment in students at Southern Utah University. An examination of organizational theory, including universities as cultures, student development theory, alumni participation, and place attachment revealed no cross-disciplinary research into how place attachment to a university campus may be influenced by intentional attempts to instill a sense of collective identity through the stories and rituals that occur on campus, hence the need to address this void. Unlike many organizations, colleges have a vested interest in maintaining a connection with students beyond the point of separation. …


Teacher Gesture In A Post-Secondary English As A Second Language Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach, Natalie Hudson May 2011

Teacher Gesture In A Post-Secondary English As A Second Language Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach, Natalie Hudson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Vygotsky (1978) uses the example of gesture in a child, stating that finger pointing represents an interpersonal relationship, and only after this cultural form is internalized can an intrapersonal relationship develop. Language learning must be viewed in the context of social interaction, and the gesture of others, specifically language instructors toward their students, is a form of social interaction worthy of attention. Newman and Holzman (1993) discuss the idea of performance as a mode of semiotic mediation related to meaning making. Daniels, Cole, and Wertsch (2007) also discuss the concept of performance, stating that gestures are tools which assist performance. …


Teaching Across Borders: Business As Usual?, Bobbe Mcghie Allen May 2011

Teaching Across Borders: Business As Usual?, Bobbe Mcghie Allen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The quest to comprehend how cultural differences can impact learning is one of those intriguing challenges that continue to beguile some scholars and educational leaders even at a time that is characterized as globalized. This dissertation is a qualitative case study about teaching to culturally diverse populations and is primarily based on the interviews of seven accountants designated as instructors and the direct observation of those instructors while teaching accounting principles to other accountants. The English language was used despite the fact that all participants, including the instructors, spoke English as a second or third language and came from diverse …


Successes And Challenges Of Family And Consumer Science Extension Agents In The Implementation Of Couple And Relationship Education, Stacey A. Huffaker May 2011

Successes And Challenges Of Family And Consumer Science Extension Agents In The Implementation Of Couple And Relationship Education, Stacey A. Huffaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Although healthy relationship initiatives are becoming more common, relatively little is known about the processes and outcomes of these initiatives. This study uses a phenomenological qualitative approach to examine the experiences of Family and Consumer Science (FCS) extension agents in the implementation of couple and relationship education in the Utah Healthy Relationship Initiative. Data were collected through quarterly report forms submitted by extension agents describing successes and barriers to their work. Successes in the project related to collaborative partnerships, attendance/participation, and positive outcomes for participants. Collaborative partnerships were instrumental in reaching more participants and finding cultural resources. The challenges that …


The Interface Of Technology In Culinary Arts Education, Robert C. Cawley Apr 2011

The Interface Of Technology In Culinary Arts Education, Robert C. Cawley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Introduction:

A culinary educator must make many decisions that affect the day-to-day activities in both the classroom and the lab. One of the more important decisions is how to select the most appropriate technology to implement for use in teaching and administrative activities. The research presented here is intended to help the educator identify specific needs, decide where the use of technology is desirable, and offer information designed to help the educator make an informed decision about using technology as a teaching tool.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this paper is to inform the culinary educator about the technology available …


An Analysis On The Experience Of Mentoring Support In A College Alternative Teacher Certification Program, Debra Voutsinas Kilgore Jan 2011

An Analysis On The Experience Of Mentoring Support In A College Alternative Teacher Certification Program, Debra Voutsinas Kilgore

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to explore how college alternative teacher certification (ATC) participants experience mentoring support. The goal was to obtain a rich and deep understanding of the nature of the mentoring experience in a college ATC program through the perspectives of mentees and their mentors. The ATC program was the Educator Preparation Institute (EPI).

Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Eight individuals participated in the study, four were mentors and four were EPI students. A triangulated set of research methods for data collection and analysis was used, including member checks, validation forms, and peer reviews. All the interviews …


Advantages And Disadvantages Of Cross Grade Level Collaboration To Improve Collegial Interactions, Fidelia Johnson Jan 2011

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Cross Grade Level Collaboration To Improve Collegial Interactions, Fidelia Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have connected student achievement to teacher collaboration; however, there is a paucity of studies conducted on how teachers use identified advantages and disadvantages of cross grade level collaboration to improve collegial interactions to achieve better student performance, professional development, teacher effectiveness, and job satisfaction. The purpose of this case study was to investigate how rural southeast Georgia elementary school teachers use identified advantages and disadvantages of cross grade level collaboration to improve collegial interactions. The theory of collegial coaching provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions focused on improving teacher effectiveness and student learning via collaborative …


Teacher Preferences For Professional Development Delivery Models And Delivery Model Influence On Teacher Behavior In The Classroom, Eve R. Sauer Jan 2011

Teacher Preferences For Professional Development Delivery Models And Delivery Model Influence On Teacher Behavior In The Classroom, Eve R. Sauer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current trends and research in education indicated that teacher learning is a crucial link to student achievement. There is a void in the research regarding teacher preferences for delivery models in professional development Determining teacher preferences is an important component in professional development planning and the driving inquiry for this research. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to determine teacher preferences in delivery models for professional development and whether delivery models influenced teacher behaviors in the classroom. The primary theory for this study was based on andragogy, and the research was conducted under the conceptual framework of constructivist …


Self-Directed Learning Characteristics Of First-Generation, First-Year College Students Participating In A Summer Bridge Program, Jeffrey Drummond Hall Jan 2011

Self-Directed Learning Characteristics Of First-Generation, First-Year College Students Participating In A Summer Bridge Program, Jeffrey Drummond Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to advance understanding of self-directed learning characteristics of first-year, first-generation college students participating in a summer bridge program. Understanding the experience of these students in higher education can lead to the development of programmatic and pedagogical strategies to better meet the needs of this at-risk student population.

This study was conducted at the University of South Florida (USF), a large, public research university in Tampa. Participants were recruited from the Freshman Summer Institute (FSI), a summer bridge program for first-generation students at USF.

Theoretical frameworks from higher education and adult education literature merged to …


The Relationship Between Statistics Self-Efficacy, Statistics Anxiety, And Performance In An Introductory Graduate Statistics Course, William Ray Schneider Jan 2011

The Relationship Between Statistics Self-Efficacy, Statistics Anxiety, And Performance In An Introductory Graduate Statistics Course, William Ray Schneider

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between statistics self-efficacy, statistics anxiety, and performance in introductory graduate statistics courses. The study design compared two statistics self-efficacy measures developed by Finney and Schraw (2003), a statistics anxiety measure developed by Cruise and Wilkins (1980), and a course performance measure. To view self-efficacy from two perspectives, the Current Statistics Self-Efficacy (CSSE) assessed student confidence in their ability to complete specific statistics tasks in the present, whereas Self-Efficacy to Learn Statistics (SELS) assessed student confidence in their ability to learn statistics in the future. The performance measure was the combined …


Creating Avid Readers Across Content Areas: Explicit Reading Instruction In The Esl Classroom, Rashmi Koushik Jan 2011

Creating Avid Readers Across Content Areas: Explicit Reading Instruction In The Esl Classroom, Rashmi Koushik

MA TESOL Collection

Colleges are experiencing budget crises on a paramount scale and are funding programs that place higher demands on students to be able to read academic texts in specific fields of study. Unfortunately, students are often overwhelmed with the level of reading and the types of content that they encounter. Even more often, L2 (Second Language) learners are often left out of academic reading instruction in the college-level ESL classroom, and therefore rarely advance into academic pathways. This paper seeks to define and articulate the use of explicit reading instruction to help L2 learners become better readers in English, particularly of …


Perceptions On Collaborative Learning: A Case Study Of Female Community College Instructors, Marilyn Christine Armstrong Jan 2011

Perceptions On Collaborative Learning: A Case Study Of Female Community College Instructors, Marilyn Christine Armstrong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the 1980s, academic assessments called for "the ability of individuals and groups to talk, listen judge, and act on issues of common interest" (Morse, 1989, p. 30). More recently, corporate research findings, Are They Ready to Work? Employers' Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce (The Conference Board, Inc., Partnership for 21st Century Skills, The Corporate Voices for Working Families, & Society for Human Resource Management, 2006), report the workplace is seeking college graduates with skill in collaboration (e.g. build diverse relationships, negotiate, manage conflict). While the interest in …