Education Commons^™

Openness To The "Other" During A Summer Language Study Abroad In Madrid, Spain: Six Case Studies, Samuel Cox

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction of summer language study abroad students in Madrid, Spain, with a cultural and linguistic "Other," and to examine the resulting evolution in those participants' openness to that Other. Gordon Allport's four optimal conditions for prejudice reduction in intergroup contact theory provided the framework for this analysis. The student in a language study abroad context is both a linguistic and cultural minority, an experience manifested in multiple daily interactions that potentially affect openness to the linguistic and cultural Other. As such, qualitative data were drawn from six participants via interviews during …

Early Termination And Barriers To Treatment In Parent And Child Therapy, Brittany Lynn Gresl

Dissertations (1934 -)

Young children typically experience challenging behaviors. However, 10-15% of young children experience clinical behaviors that can impact the child's typical development. These challenging behaviors are even more common in children from low-income, urban settings. If left untreated, such challenging behaviors may lead to more severe behaviors including aggression, violence, and anti-social behaviors. Research has demonstrated that participation in parent and child therapy (PCT) programs significantly reduces problematic child behaviors while increasing positive behaviors in both the child and the parent. However, PCT programs report rates of early termination as high as 70%. Research to reduce these early termination rates has …

Connecting Schools To Neighborhood Revitalization:, Lawrence Pesch

Dissertations (1934 -)

ABSTRACT

CONNECTING SCHOOLS TO NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION:

THE CASE OF THE MAPLE HEIGHTS

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Lawrence P. Pesch

Marquette University, 2014

This case study focuses on the way a neighborhood association connects schools to broad change in an urban neighborhood of a large Midwestern city. The first section provides a review of the literature on community involvement in school and neighborhood reform. It reviews the historical origins of the current school-community relationship, the reasons behind the movement to increase community involvement, the diversity of understandings about the nature of community participation, the processes used to improve the capacity of both the …

The Importance Of Institutional Culture At A Technical College, Sarah Adams

Dissertations (1934 -)

This is a qualitative study about the importance of institutional culture at a particular technical college in Wisconsin. It examines the administrators' understanding of their institution's culture, the importance they attach to the culture, and how they perceive they both manage and influence their institution's culture. Bergquist and Pawlak's (2008) work, Engaging the Six Cultures of the Academy, is used as the analytic framework. Key factors that emerged were the importance and role of the college's mission, the importance of the college's responsiveness to the community, and the necessity of administrators being purposeful in their involvement in the culture of …

The Impact Of Personal Therapy On Graduate Training In Psychology: A Consensual Qualitative Research Study, Eric Everson

Dissertations (1934 -)

While broad support exists for trainees in professional psychology who decide to seek personal therapy, surprisingly little literature has focused on their perspective of the experience of attending therapy while in training. The impact of such experiences could have important implications not only for trainees, but also for their training programs. Given the relative lack of empirical attention in this area, this study hoped to provide a rich understanding of how trainees are affected by personal therapy while in training, as well as how this experience was viewed by their graduate programs. Eleven master’s- and doctoral-level trainees were interviewed. Most …

Distributed Scaffolding: Wiki Collaboration Among Latino High School Chemistry Students, Edwin Duncan O'Sullivan

Dissertations (1934 -)

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate if wiki collaboration among Latino high school chemistry students can help reduce the science achievement gap between Latino and White students. The study was a quasi-experimental pre/post control group mixed-methods design. It used three intact sections of a high school chemistry course. The first research question asked if there is a difference in academic achievement between a treatment and control group on selected concepts from the topics of bonding, physical changes, and chemical changes, when Latino high school chemistry students collaborate on a quasi-natural wiki project. Overall results for all three …

Textbooks, Teachers, And Middle School Mathematics Student Achievement, Susan R. Monaghan

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this study was to extend the research on textbook effectiveness to a situated investigation of a single large urban school district in which middle schools were given a choice in selecting from three textbooks for mathematics instruction: a reform textbook, a commercially produced textbook developed in response to mathematics standards, and a traditional textbook. Its genesis is rooted in the efforts in the mathematics education community to investigate the interaction of teachers and mathematics curriculum materials, but in light of the shift to an accountability policy climate in public education. In particular, this study sought to determine …

Understanding And Measuring Functional Impairment In Diverse Children With Adhd: Development And Validation, Lauren Marie Haack

Dissertations (1934 -)

The current study sought to develop and validate a measure to assess functional impairment related to ADHD (i.e., difficulties with academic achievement, social competence, and familial relationships) for Latino families, as research suggests that functional impairment may be a more culturally-universal construct than symptomatology. Researchers integrated quantitative and qualitative information obtained from a community sample of 74 Latino parents in order to develop the ADHD-FX scale. The overall ADHD-FX scale, as well as each subscale (i.e., school, peer, and home) demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, diagnostic utility, and cultural properties with 62 Latino parents of school-aged children. Thus, results suggest that …

What Role Does Humor In The Higher Education Classroom Play In Student-Perceived Instructor Effectiveness?, Stephen Paul Halula

Dissertations (1934 -)

ABSTRACT

WHAT ROLE DOES HUMOR IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION CLASSROOM PLAY IN STUDENT-PERCEIVED INSTRUCTOR EFFECTIVENESS?

Stephen Paul Halula

Marquette University. 2013

Everyone has had college instructors who they thought were excellent and those who were not. In pondering what attributes might have made the difference between these groups, the idea of "humor" came to mind, setting the researcher on course to study the research question "What role does humor in the higher education classroom play in student-perceived instructor effectiveness?"

A qualitative approach to acquiring data was chosen. An entry-level history class led by a college instructor at a major Midwestern …

Successful Schools For African American Children: A Case Study Of Franklin Elementary School, Staci Lynn Kimmons

Dissertations (1934 -)

The goal of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of what makes a successful school for African American children. Theresa Perry's (2010) Theory of Practice for African American School Achievement provided the framework for my study. Perry states that schools need to have two characteristics for African American students to be successful. First African American students must be members of a community of practice, which normalizes achievement. Second, schools must offer a broad range of supports that allow students to learn, to practice, and to receive reinforcement with regard to the behaviors and practices that are necessary …

Online Education: The Impact Of Economics And Politics On Teacher's Situationally Constrained Choice, Rhianan Elizabeth Smith

Dissertations (1934 -)

Online education has been increasing at an astounding rate, and advocates contend this trend will transform schooling as we know it. The current research has been centered on the student outcomes in online education. However, this myopic focus on outcomes underestimates the broader systemic factors that may be driving the implementation and everyday practices which impact student outcomes.

This study investigates the economic, political, and organizational factors that influence the situationally constrained choices of an online teacher. This study identifies the ways in which higher education budgets, policies, and technological resources impact what teachers do in the classroom while investigating …

Number Sense Mediated By Mathematics Self-Concept In Impacting Middle School Mathematics Achievement, Lara K. Geronime

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of the current study was to extend the research on number sense to the middle school level and to simultaneously consider socioemotional elements related to the construct at this developmental stage. Its genesis was initially rooted in an ongoing and dramatic emphasis by U.S. policymakers, researchers, and educators on improving mathematics achievement in order to compete globally in technology and innovation. Despite debates about optimal curriculum and instruction, tremendous support exists for the construct of number sense. However, middle school research examining the phenomena has been limited to intervention protocols targeting specific skillsets and better measurement of its …

Black Faculty Perceptions Of Classroom Interactions With Students At A Predominantly White Institution, Robyn Clarke Ngwabi

Dissertations (1934 -)

Current research generally reveals the classroom experiences of black professors at predominantly white institutions (PWI) as largely negative, whether or not issues of race are featured prominently in course content. The literature on this overall topic is, however, sparse and no published research study exists involving the use of originally conducted fieldwork observations and interviews. Consequently, this exploratory case study uses an interpretive (qualitative), ethnographic fieldwork research approach to examine a black professor’s perceptions of her interactions with her students during instruction at a PWI. This study yielded eight overarching themes pointing to a generally negative perception of classroom interactions …

Development Of The Self-Efficacy For Medication Adherence For Buprenorphine (Sema-B) Assessment, Matthew Krug

Dissertations (1934 -)

Each year in the United States, over 4 million people aged 12 or older are treated for substance use disorders, and a growing percentage of those being treated are suffering from opiate addiction. Research suggests that many variables should be considered in a biopsychosocial approach to treating substance use disorders, and especially when treating opiate addiction. Two of the variables that show a strong correlation with positive treatment outcomes are self-efficacy and medication adherence. Buprenorphine is a relatively new medication that has shown significant efficacy is treatment of opiate addiction. Successful treatment also requires appropriate adherence to taking buprenorphine as …

Applying Ajzen's Theory Of Planned Behavior To A Study Of Online Course Adoption In Public Relations Education, Ann Knabe

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study used Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior to research public relations faculty intentions of teaching online. All of the main predictor variables (Subjective Norms, Attitude toward the Act and Perceived Behavioral Control) were statistically significant at varying degrees in predicting intent to teach public relations online. Of the three, Subjective Norms was found to be the strongest predictor of Intention. Collectively, Subjective Norms, Attitude toward the Act and Perceived Behavioral Control explained 49% of the variance in intent to teach a public relations course online. Subsequent tests, however, revealed a poor model fit when the Theory of Planned …

The Relationship Between Dispositional Attachment And Caregiving Styles, Values, And Prosocial Personality And Behavior, Robert Scott Dubois

Dissertations (1934 -)

A growing body of descriptive and experimental research evidence and theoretical analysis suggests that attachment security, an inner confidence or sense that one's self and others are reliably available, sensitive, responsive and effect sources of support through difficult times, may prompt compassionate thoughts, feelings, values and behavior consistent with the Golden Rule. The current research contributes to this important body of scientific research by positing, testing, and as appropriate revising a theoretically and empirically meaningful structural model that outlines justifiable direct and indirect paths through which dispositional attachment security, developmentally transmitted in part across and within generations by one's caregivers, …

Debating For Success: Academic Achievement, Self-Efficacy, Civic Empowerment And The Milwaukee Debate League, Thomas Noonan

Dissertations (1934 -)

Over the course of the past three decades Urban Debate Leagues have been established on the premise that they improve schooling for underserved students. Founded in predominantly urban areas, these leagues have been positioned as a recent educational reform effort intended to empower students and foster educational and personal growth. This dissertation focuses specifically on the ways in which students involved in a Milwaukee Urban Debate League participating school have been affected by the experience with respect to academic achievement, self-efficacy, and civic empowerment. Through focusing on student voice, this research project examines the ways in which students manifest change …

The Challenge And Promise Of Catholic Higher Education: The Lay President And Catholic Identity, Kathy Ann Herrick

Dissertations (1934 -)

Twenty years after Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the papal proclamation that defined the relationship between the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions of higher education, these institutions continue to seek ways to strengthen their Catholic identities. As they do so they are faced with a decline number of religiously vowed men and women available to lead them. An institution's history is often linked to the mission of its founding congregation. As members of the congregation become less actively involved, the connection of the institution's mission to the founding congregation and their particular charism is likely less visibly evident. Additionally, the role …

An Exploration Of Virtual Study Groups Used To Prepare Candidates For A Professional Certification Exam, Sharon Katherine Kayne Chaplock

Dissertations (1934 -)

Professional credentials earned through certification programs are becoming an important way to demonstrate competency within a given discipline. With the globalization of business enterprises and associations, these credentials are eagerly sought by people located throughout the world. Candidates for these credentials often study together using virtual environments to prepare for a certification exam. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with persons participating in such virtual groups, this study investigates what influences their choices among web-enabled study groups, what perceptions characterize their conception of a good virtual study group, and what limitations are encountered in a virtual study environment. This dissertation …

Relationship Between Psychiatric Diagnosis And Functional Outcome In Physical Therapy, Marc A. Silva

Dissertations (1934 -)

Preliminary research suggests that psychiatric illness is associated with poorer functional outcomes in physical therapy (PT), but there is scant research examining this relationship specifically. In this study, the impact of psychiatric diagnosis on functional outcome in PT was investigated. Study design was a retrospective review of medical records. Participants were 310 veterans (age: M = 72.05 years, SD = 11.86; 96% male, 74% White) admitted for inpatient rehabilitation and referred for PT. Statistical analyses included MANCOVA and ANCOVA. Independent variables were mood disorder diagnosis, substance use disorder diagnosis, and any psychiatric diagnosis. Dependent variables were the sum of Functional …

The Impact Of Latino Family Variables On The Sexual Activity Of Latino Adolescents: A Mixed-Methods Study, Brittany Nicole Barber

Dissertations (1934 -)

Researchers' examination of Latino adolescents' cultural values and sexual activity has yielded questions regarding the cultural- and gender-specific attitudes and practices in this area (Deardorff, Tschann, & Flores, 2008). Cultural values include family-related variables such as different aspects of familism, parent-adolescent communication, and parental monitoring, which have been found to decrease adolescents' engagement in other negative activities such as aggressive behavior, (Dishion & McMahon, 1998), substance use (Estrada, Rabow, & Watts, 1982), and juvenile delinquency (Clark & Shields, 1997). Research investigating these risk behaviors has often implicated Latino adolescents' level of assimilation to White, mainstream society as a potential risk …

Is Institutional Sexual Misconduct Predictive Of Sexual Recidivism Amongst Male Sex Offenders?, Angela Marie Fleck

Dissertations (1934 -)

There has been a large body of research conducted on establishing a valid set of predictors of sexual offender recidivism in the past 20 years. However, despite findings that indicate that prior history of sexual offenses serves as a primary predictor of sexual offense recidivism, there has been little focus on the impact of institutional sexual misconduct on sexual offense recidivism rates. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between institutional sexual behavior and sexual offense recidivism rates amongst a sample of male offenders who received a sexual misconduct report while incarcerated and/or was convicted of a sexual offense. Additionally, …

African American Men Facing Homelessness And Co-Occurring Disorders: A Qualitative Investigation Of Multiple Stigmas, Rebecca C. Mayor

Dissertations (1934 -)

Homelessness is a pervasive and problematic phenomenon, and programs designed to assist individuals experiencing homelessness and reduce homelessness face a number of challenges. One such challenge involves difficulty engaging and retaining clientele experiencing homelessness in supportive services (Bhui et al., 2006; Ng & McQuistion, 2004; Padgett et al., 2008). The literature suggests that one explanation for this difficulty may involve the stigmatization experiences that individuals facing homelessness accumulate over time; previous studies have indicated that holding a marginalized position in society may make individuals experiencing homelessness more reluctant to engage in services (because of social rejection fears) and/or more sensitive …

Becoming Culturally Competent: Clinical Service Learning In Physician Assistant Education, Pinna Rea Katz

Dissertations (1934 -)

Background: Even though the need for culturally accessible, acceptable, and appropriate medical care for diverse populations is well established, there is a lack of research on how cultural competencies are developed in physician assistant education. There are no studies that address the intersections among cultural, clinical, and psychosocial competencies from the viewpoint of the physician assistant student. Although accreditation standards for physician assistant educational programs provide general guidelines for inclusion of cultural competency in the curriculum, core competencies in physician assistant education focus primarily on biomedical content rather than address cultural competencies. Because experiential education, such as service learning, offers …

Historical Implications Of The Black Civil Rights Movement Prior To The Brown Decision On Legislation For The Disabled, Robert Michael Thomas

Dissertations (1934 -)

Black children achieved equal protection rights to attend K-12 public schools following the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court holding in 1954. Scholars claimed Brown was a catalyst for admittance of disabled students as well. They believed tactics of the Black Civil Rights Movement influenced advocates of disabled students during the Civil Rights Era (1954-68). Scholars assumed race and minority status were key to obtaining due process legislation for the disabled in the 1970's.

An historical analysis of primary sources including court cases, Congressional testimony, biographical and personal statements of disabled individuals, and secondary sources of authors and journal …

Language Outcome After Left Temporal Lobectomy In Patients With Discordant Fmri And Sodium Amobarbital Testing Results, Julie K. Janecek

Dissertations (1934 -)

The rationale for this study was to examine 1) language lateralization discordance rates between fMRI and the IAT in pre- surgical epilepsy patients and 2) naming outcome after left ATL in a group of patients for whom IAT and fMRI language LIs were discordant. Participants were 229 consecutive pre-surgical epilepsy patients who underwent the IAT and fMRI. IAT LIs (% correct inject right -% correct inject left condition) were calculated based on performance on comprehension, naming, repetition and reading language tasks. The fMRI LIs [(L-R)/(L+R) where L = number of activated left hemisphere voxels and R = number of activated …

The Influences Of Acculturation, Marianismo And Ethnic Identity On Sexual Activity Among Latina Adolescents, Keyona M. Jarrett

Dissertations (1934 -)

This mixed methods study examined the influences of acculturation (e.g., assimilation and enculturation), marianismo, and ethnic identity on the sexual behaviors and attitudes of Latina adolescents. In the quantitative portion of the study, 204 Latina adolescents completed measures regarding acculturation, gender roles, ethnic identity, and sexual behaviors. In the qualitative portion of the study, three focus groups were conducted (with a total of 10 participants) in which Latina youth were asked questions regarding their ethnic group membership and its influence on their attitudes about sex.

The results of the quantitative portion of the study revealed that ethnic affirmation was negatively …

Content Development Of The Relationships With Alcohol Scale For Late-Adolescents, Rose Lucey Schroedl

Dissertations (1934 -)

Level of functioning is an important component of comprehensive assessments of adolescent alcohol use behavior. However, comprehensive adolescent substance use measures fail to provide a clear conceptual framework for understanding how alcohol use impacts functioning. Recent research (Lucey, 2009) suggests that alcohol use does negatively impact late-adolescent functioning and it is important to measure an adolescent's alcohol-use behavior and its consequences in conjunction with level of functioning. Thus, a biopsychosocial measure of the impact of alcohol use on late adolescent functioning entitled the Relationship with Alcohol Scale (RAS) was proposed. Items for the RAS were developed from a review of …

Predicting Graduation In High School Seniors From Protective And Other Factors, Ana Cristina Garcia

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of the current study was to examine factors that discriminated between high school students who graduated from those who did not. High school graduation was chosen as a discriminating outcome for the comparisons groups due to the positive implications graduation has on students' future professional and emotional development. Data were collected from students enrolled in their fourth year of high school. Specifically, the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-2) and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) were used to assess students' internalizing and externalizing behaviors as they related to academic achievement. Seventy-eight fourth year high school students …

Current Practices And Optimal Futures For The Treatment Of Substance Use Disorders Through Client-Treatment Matching: A Delphi Study, Noah Elijah Adrians

Dissertations (1934 -)

While over 4 million people in the United States aged 12 and over are engaged in treatment for substance use disorders each year, much remains unknown about how clients can be optimally referred to available treatment services, settings, providers, and interventions. Historically, clients received treatment in uniform, high intensity settings. Research over recent decades, however, has shown increased cost effectiveness and sustained, if not improved, clinical outcomes associated with efforts to individualize care. This study utilized the Delphi research methodology to examine community experts' (N = 9) perspectives on the real world implementation of client-treatment matching principles within a major …