Education Commons^™

Educating Nursing Students On Emergency Preparedness: A Pilot Program, Sandra N. Burnock

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The purpose of this project was to determine if a disaster preparedness educational intervention for nursing students’ could engage students in personal preparedness and enhance their willingness to respond during a public health emergency. The United States (U.S.) is among the top five countries in the world that experience frequent natural disasters (Guha-Sapir et al., 2012). With over 3.1 million nurses in the U.S. (AACN, 2011) and their importance to healthcare, the nursing profession plays a crucial role in the ability of the nation to prepare for and respond to disasters. Currently, however, nurses in the U.S. lack the knowledge, …

The College Experience Of Commuter Students And The Concepts Of Place And Space, Marissa Weiss

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The demographics of the college student population, the dearth of research on commuter students, and the pervasive negative stereotypes of commuters indicate that an appreciation of the commuter student experience is important for the future of higher education (Dugan et al., 2008; Jacoby, 1989; Krause, 2007). The Digest of Education Statistics 2011 reports that in academic years 2003-04 and 2007-08 85.8% of all students enrolled at postsecondary institutions did not live in on-campus housing (Snyder & Dillow, 2012). Despite their status as the numerical majority, commuter students are still considered nontraditional (Orgren, 2003). Due to the variations in commuter student …

Gender-Twisting And Bros Talking, Odile Mattiauda

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

In American Schools, students are rarely offered educational experiences about gender and sexuality. Programs that do address sexuality are rarely based on moral beliefs and democratic values of tolerance and inclusivity. Sexuality education is predominantly taught by health teachers, rather than human sexuality educators, and their focus is on facts, statistics, and controversial issues such as the prevention of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. This limited perspective on sexuality neglects the important role of gender identity and sexual orientation (Donovan, 1989; Haffner & De Mauro, 1991; Nelson Trudell, 1993)

Using teacher-researcher-participant-observer qualitative methodology, I examined the discourse …

Teachers Developing Exemplary Inquiry Practices, Sara Berry Sweetman

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

If students are to be successful in the ever-changing scientific world they need to be taught how to think critically, to manipulate materials, and to gather evidence to build knowledge. Most teachers fall short in providing students the inquiry instruction described in the Next Generation Science Frameworks (National Research Council, 2011). This study examined three elementary science teachers’ processes as they developed inquiry practices over time. The Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) was used to gather quantitative and qualitative evidence of the teachers’ inquiry practices in terms of four factors, Curriculum, Instruction, Discourse, and Assessment. A chronological analysis was …

How Districts Allocate Educational Resources In Rhode Island, Timothy P. Ryan

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Considerable debate has taken place regarding the amount, adequacy, and effectiveness of funding public schools. At the macro level, research is mixed as to whether increased funding is associated with improved student performance. In some specific cases, such as increased funding for lower class size and early childhood education, spending on specific activities has shown to be effective.

This study examined whether spending categories are associated with academic performance. Spending allocations and student performance were examined at the school level for the school years 2004-05 through 2007-08. Spending data was obtained through the Rhode Island Department of Education In$ight financial …

The Relationship Between Assistive Technology State Standards For Teachers, Assistive Technology Implementation, And Student Performance In The Context Of Evidence-Based Practice, Elizabeth M. Dalton

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

Identifies, through a national survey, states' formally-adopted assistive technology standards for teachers, the evidence on which these standards were based, and the extent of state support for the implementation of these standards by teachers. Applies descriptive analysis to the data collected for these three areas of study and compares the results with national performance measures for students with disabilities via regression analysis.