Education Commons^™

The Perceptions Of Post 9/11 Veteran Students Who Are Parents Regarding The Role Of Institutional Services In Bachelor Degree Completion, Alicia Marie Reddin

Educational Studies Dissertations

Currently there is a dearth in the literature surrounding the experiences of Veterans and individuals with children within higher education. The goal of this dissertation was to understand Veteran student parents’ perceptions of the ways in which their undergraduate institutions supported their completion of a bachelor’s degree. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 individuals; this dissertation analyzes the findings of the 6 participants who were both Veteran students and parents concurrently. Narratives were constructed for each participant and resulted in the identification of four intersecting themes: relationships, institutional barriers, motivators, as well as barriers and threats. Special attention was paid …

Picturing Health; Picturing Life: Visual Illness Narratives Of Women With Type 2 Diabetes, Sarah Gurley-Green

Educational Studies Dissertations

The prevalence of diabetes in the U.S. reached 23 million people between 2012 and 2017 and consumed one-quarter of the overall healthcare dollars. Remembering the suffering and pain of individuals behind these numbers becomes difficult and incalculable. Black American women are the most affected by type 2 diabetes (T2D), compared to their white counterparts, as well as twice as likely to be diagnosed with T2D and 2.5 times more likely to die from T2D. Therefore, understanding the problem requires the fundamental consideration of how these women cope daily with this complex illness while often struggling with complex lives. This narrative …

Understanding The First-Year Experience Of Traditional-Aged, College-Ready Students At A Private, New England Liberal Arts College, Patrick Flynn

Educational Studies Dissertations

The current study’s research problem concerns the forty-year trend of college-ready, traditional-aged students stopping out of undergraduate programs across the United States. While literature concerning gender theory, the college transition, emerging adulthood, and college student development provide a foundation for considering the problem, there have been very few studies conducted concerning the FYE of this study’s participants, a set of five white cisgender males. Understanding their FYE at a substantive level will lead to further research and hopefully open pathways to increasing retention.

The present study collected significant data concerning the daily experience of five students with the hope of …

The Perceptions Of Private Special Education School Leaders Regarding Their Role In Promoting Self-Care And Renewal Practices For Themselves And Their Teachers, Theresa Melito-Conners

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of private special education school leaders regarding their role in promoting self-care and renewal. There is limited research on self-care and renewal in schools. Data were gathered through surveys and interviews that addressed three guiding research questions: (a) Do school leaders consider self-care and renewal practices to be important for themselves and their teachers? (b) What are the various ways school leaders report they promote self-care and renewal practices for themselves and their teachers? (c) What do school leaders believe to be the factors and conditions that inhibit and foster their efforts to implement …

The Principal’S Role In Expanding Multicultural Understandings In Predominantly White, Rural, Middle School Grades, Jacquelynne Chase

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the principal’s role in expanding multicultural understandings in predominantly White, rural, middle school grades. A review of the literature provided information on three areas: (a) benefits of expanding multicultural understandings, (b) implementing multicultural understandings, and (c) school leaders’ role. The literature did not include information to address a prevalent problem in Massachusetts: Principals of rural, predominantly White schools with middle grades typically do not consider expanding multicultural understandings a priority. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study used a closed-response survey and in-depth interviews with principals across Massachusetts. The survey was sent to …

Perceptions Of Certified Central Office Administrators Who Choose Not To Apply For The Position Of Superintendent, Felicia Moschella

Educational Studies Dissertations

This phenomenological study examined the reasons why certified, qualified central office administrators choose not to become school superintendents. The study investigated factors and conditions that may influence their decision-making. Twenty-two certified central office administrators employed in southeastern, Massachusetts responded to a forty-five-question survey, and four of those participants were also interviewed. This study led to eight findings. A majority of study participants: (1) held a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the superintendent; (2) possessed the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to be a superintendent, but have chosen to not ascend to the position; (3) conveyed that becoming a …

An Examination Of Francophone African-Born Adult Immigrant Family Members’ Narratives Regarding Their Children’S Early Language And Literacy Development, Kimberly Joyce-Bernard

Educational Studies Dissertations

This narrative study explored the perspectives of six Francophone African-born family members who have pre-school aged children attending early childhood care and education settings in the Little Senegal section of Harlem in New York City. It examined the personal experiences they reported regarding their own early language and literacy development, their descriptions of home factors that mediated their children’s language and literacy acquisition, and their reports of the ways in which they experienced the efforts of educators within early childhood care and education settings. A qualitative narrative method framed the study. Purposeful sampling was utilized to identify research participants, and …

In Their Own Words: A Narrative Inquiry Into Part-Time Master’S Degree Student Persistence, Erin Schroeder

Educational Studies Dissertations

While there are a number of studies that focus on adult undergraduate and even doctoral persistence, adult master’s degree students and particularly those who study part time, are a population that have been overlooked by researchers. This constructivist, qualitative study of part-time master’s degree students used narrative inquiry and experience-centered narratives to bring rich descriptive data to the conversation surrounding the persistence of part-time master’s degree students and the barriers they face in pursuit of their degree. The data for this study was collected via semi-structured interviews with 15 participants and shows that part-time master’s degree students enrolled in Humanities …

Ecological Innovators: A Multiple Case Study Approach To Explore The Influencing Factors And Conditions Upon The Lives Of Young People Who Innovate To Save The World, Pascha Griffiths, Pascha Marlin Griffiths Ph.D.

Educational Studies Dissertations

This multiple case study aimed to identify and describe factors and conditions that influence the lives of young people who become innovators of solutions that help the environment. This study involved three unique case studies of ecological innovators, two individuals and one paired team. Each participant had designed, prototyped, or patented an environmental innovation before the age of 30 years. The four primary participants, recruited by word of mouth and snowball sampling, were comprised of one American (U.S.) middle-school girl, one American-Israeli man in his 50s, and the team of a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman, both in their …

Cultural Proficiency Of High School Leaders In Relation To English Learners And Their Families In An Urban School District, Johanna Fawcett

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the cultural proficiency of school leaders in addressing the needs of English learners (ELs) and their families at a public, urban, grades 9 through 12 high school in Massachusetts, a Level 3 school in a Level 3 district with an achievement gap for ELs. The ELs and their families represented one-fourth of the high school’s student population; the school was located in a linguistically and culturally diverse community. The participants for this study were the 16 educational leaders of this high school. Three research questions guided this study: (a) To what …

What Can A Studio Approach To Teaching Tell Us About The Academic And Social Learning Of Middle School Students? An Exploration Of Student Understanding Of How Making Art Supports Their Academic And Social Learning., Maureen Creegan- Quinquis, Maureen A. Creegan-Quinquis

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study explores the types of social and academic learning typically overlooked in public school education. Art-based approaches to academic learning have been labeled as“fluff.” Education policymakers hold a biased view of the arts. When asked to consider art as a viable epistemology, cognition theorists have dismissed art as irrational. These biased views have contributed to the marginalization of the field of art education. The purpose of this study was to question this bias through an art-based studio approach to research. The goal was to explore how middle school students understand the role of visual arts in their own academic …

Perspectives Of High School Photography Teachers Regarding Visual Literacy, Kristi Oliver

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of high school photography teachers regarding visual literacy. A qualitative methodology that used a phenomenographic research design was employed to gain understanding about the perspectives of high school photography teachers in their conceptualization, perceptions, and experiences surrounding visual literacy. A survey/ questionnaire was used to explore participants’ paths towards becoming a high school photography teacher, the amount of years they have been teaching, and their geographic location. Participants perception of school demographics such as school size, community contexts, racial, ethnic, and economic diversity were also collected. Additional prompts were designed to investigate curricular influences, …