Education Commons^™

Experiences Of Underrepresented Minority Students In Health Professions Programs, And Their Journeys To The Programs, Alisha L. Davis

Dissertations

Classified as a public health concern, the lack of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in the U.S. health care workforce is still prominent today, even with the increase of URM groups having reached historic numbers of representation within the United States. It is projected that by 2050, URM groups will replace Whites as the majority, yet Whites currently make up the majority of the health care workforce. URM health professionals are more likely to provide accessible and culturally competent health services, and practice in racially and ethnically diverse communities. This helps to eliminate health care disparities, and reduces inequities found in …

University Leaders’ Experiences In Advancing The Development And Transformation Of Emerging Saudi Public Universities, Abdulrahman Hamed Alsulami

Dissertations

For several decades, Saudi higher education comprised seven to eight public universities concentrated in the main cities of the country. Since the beginning of the new millennium, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has heavily invested in the higher education sector. Thus, it witnessed a remarkable rate of expansion from 8 to 28 higher education institutions during a relatively short period between 2003 and 2013. This renaissance in the sector involved several different processes, including transforming, merging, restructuring, and establishing new colleges and/or programs, administrative posts, and key components for inclusive and modern campuses.

From a contextual perspective, there is a …

A Model For Propagating Educational Innovations In Higher Stem Education: A Grounded Theory Study Of Successfully Propagated Innovations, Raina Khatri

Dissertations

A critical problem in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is the slow uptake of innovative teaching strategies and materials. Developments from the STEM education research community can be shown to improve learning and retention outcomes, but the majority of new teaching strategies go unused by instructors. This problem is increasingly acknowledged by funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, which now calls for “transferability and propagation” to be addressed throughout a project’s lifetime in the request for proposals. However, few publications synthesize what is known about propagating innovations into usable, actionable recommendations for developers in the …

Apology Not Accepted: The Impact Of Executive Rhetoric, Communication Strategies, Media Coverage And Time On Crisis Management And Public Perception During Major Oil Spills, Todd D. Harcek

Dissertations

This research builds upon the scholarship in crisis communication strategies and apologia employed by companies during a crisis. Within the expansive domain of crisis management, this work evaluates the media coverage and crisis communication strategies during three major oil spills: the Exxon Valdez, the American Trader, and the BP Gulf oil spill. The purpose of this study is to provide practitioners, researchers and others additional insight into the impact of media coverage on prior, current and future crises and how this coverage, coupled with the communication strategies of companies during a crisis, can influence public awareness or perception. Furthermore, …

Examining The Impact Of A Criminal Background In Social Work Education, Amy S. Vliek

Dissertations

Many returning citizens want to access higher educational institutions (HEIs) to access desired professions and increase employability. However, many HEIs and profession education programs have restrictions in place for returning citizens. An MSW is the most sought-after degree for returning citizens. However, social work education has restrictions in place for returning citizens. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the lived experiences of MSW returning citizen students considering these restrictions. The dissertation attempts to answer the following research questions: How did applicants who disclosed a criminal background at the time of application experience the MSW application process? Did the …

Empirical Estimates Of Design Parameters Used In A Priori Power Analyses For Planning School-Randomized Studies In Select Asian Countries, Ran Shi

Dissertations

A cluster-randomized trial (CRT) is one type of randomized controlled trial (RCT) that is often more feasible for evaluating the effectiveness of an educational intervention due to the multi-level structure of the data (e.g., students nested in schools). In order for a CRT to generate rigorous evidence, it is essential that is it adequately powered to detect an effect of a given size. As such, it is common for researchers to conduct a priori power analyses to determine how large a sample the CRTs will require to detect an effect of a given magnitude. Previous work has shown that two …

Impacts Of Cohort Membership On Teacher Candidates In An Alternative Certification Program, Katherine Eaton

Dissertations

Post baccalaureate teacher education programs are an effective way to increase the teaching pool with candidates who are content experts (Beijaard et al. 2004; Brantlinger, A., & Smith, B., 2013; Zeichner, K. M., & Schulte, A. K., 2001; Schultz, K., & Ravitch, S. M. 2013; Humphrey et al., 2008). Many of these programs utilize a cohort model design where students progress through the program together as a group (Maher, M. A. 2005; Jorissen, K. T., 2002; Ross et al., 2006; Mandzuk, D. et al., 2005). In his book, Deep Knowledge (2013), Larkin describes the complex nature of preparing candidates for …

Assessing The Benefits And Risks Of Choice-Based Art Education In The Modern-Day Classroom, Kayla Lindeman

Masters Theses

This thesis explores the benefits and risks of choice-based art education by examining the literature and conducting field research in two third grade art classrooms - one that employs a Teaching for Artistic Behaviors-based (TAB-based, a popular version of choice-based art education) approach to art education and another that adheres to a more discipline-based model. Findings related to student observations, student surveys, and parent survey will be presented within these two unique settings. These findings will be matched against claimed choice-based benefits of: increases in student engagement; instructional and learning shifts; and student engagement in authentic art practices. The findings …

A Guide For The Development Of Theoretical Understanding And Practice Of Teaching For Artistic Behavior: A Response For 21st Century Art Education, Lisa Van Plew-Cid

Masters Theses

Education in the 21st century is restructuring to meet the needs of an increasingly technological society where learning objectives need to focus more on learning abilities rather than knowledge acquisition. Creativity and authentic learning have been identified as new learning objectives for the 21st century. Throughout the history of education, art education has maintained relevance through the integral role it plays in meeting the learning and developmental needs of our students. Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) offers both a philosophy and practice for relevant 21st century art education.

Through research and deep reflection on my ten year practice as an …

Exploring The Relevance Of Art Therapy In Public Education, Brandy A. Jarrell

Masters Theses

This thesis will explore art education as a therapeutic tool in a public education system. This topic will serve as a continuation of research that I conducted previously but will bring more focus upon bringing a certified art therapist into public school districts in West Virginia. Data will be collected through student surveys, interviews of professional art therapists, and administrative officials. Data will also be collected through a review of the literature surrounding the benefits of art therapy to children and adolescents. Through these sources I will explore the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of educational professionals, art therapists, administrators and …

Peer And Self Reflective Evaluations; Benefits And Techniques Used In A Middle School Art Room Setting, Mary Garrod

Masters Theses

Students’ intentional development as independent learners is increased with the understanding of self efficacy, which contributes to motivation, persistence for learning, and future achievements. However, adolescence is a time when self efficacy and motivation in art often decline. Two effective teaching and learning practices that can aid middle school art educators in the development of adolescent student judgment skills and confidence as independent learners, are self assessment and peer assessment. This paper presents literature on the topics of peer assessment, self assessment, and their link to self efficacy beliefs in adolescents. It then provides applicable, research-based self and peer evaluation …

Teaching The Soft Skills Through The Arts: A Supplementary Art Curriculum, Brittany Boverhof

Masters Theses

Soft skills are the ability to work with, for, and among other people, yet we can no longer expect students to develop these skills organically. This research builds on the knowledge that if we want the students we are educating to be successful in employing their own soft skills, then they must be taught. This paper defines soft skills, shows their importance, and introduces practices that are proven to build soft skill ability. I have constructed twelve lesson plans that teach the soft skills through experientialism, working in groups, art, critique, classroom management, and problem solving. This supplementary curriculum provides …

The Role Of Arts Education In Closing The Achievement Gap In High Poverty Schools, Deanne Basse

Masters Theses

This paper will review research that identifies different types of poverty and how brain development may be affected as a result of living in poverty. Although research reflects support and understanding by the American people that arts education is important to the well roundedness of youth and, in fact, correlates with higher standardized test scores, arts programs continue to be cut especially in areas of poverty. There is an achievement gap in educational success when it comes to students that live in poverty and that of students in higher socioeconomic situations. Students of poverty are working with increased internal and …