Education Commons^™

A Qualitative Case Study: Ncaa Division Iii First-Generation Student-Athletes And Transferable Skills, Eric Brennan

Theses and Dissertations

The development of transferable skills is seen as an important factor for higher education institutions to enhance the employability of their graduates (Holmes, 2013; Tymon, 2013). An overarching purpose of the higher education system is to prepare students for their professional careers and lives. This qualitative instrumental single case study explored how first-generation student-athletes develop transferable skills through intercollegiate athletics at a public, Division III university in New Jersey. Further, it sought to understand how the university validates these transferable skills for first-generation student-athletes. Data was collected using semi-structured in-depth open-ended interviews to capture rich details from the participants related …

More Than Athletes: Do Student Athletes Perform Better Academically In Their Respective Competitive Season?, Kristiina Michele Castagnola

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to analyze the grade point averages of student athletes in their competitive season versus their “off” season. This study also provides suggestions to Rowan University on how they can better support their student athlete’s academic success. This research study used surveys and a quantitative data analysis to analyze the grade point averages of the student athletes. The participants in this research study were student athletes that attended Rowan University in the 2021-2022 academic school year and had completed one full academic year. The most significant data collected was that student athletes do not …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Food Literacy In International Schools In Egypt, Amy Pugsley

Theses and Dissertations

Food literacy is an essential part of good physical and psychological health, however, food literacy is not a mandatory part of K-12 education in all schools. Many factors can influence food literacy levels including familial culture, socioeconomic status, and education levels. This research seeks to examine perceptions of food literacy in high school students and educators at two private American international schools located in Cairo, Egypt. Through the use of observations and interviews, the researcher used a qualitative approach to understand the self-perceptions of food literacy in students studying the American curriculum. The study revealed that students from high-socio-economic backgrounds …

Exploring New Jersey’S Middle And High School Health Educators’ Decision-Making On Sti Content And Instruction: A Qualitative Collective Case Study, Brianne Siderio

Theses and Dissertations

STIs in youth in New Jersey is a growing concern. According to New Jersey’ Public Health Data Resource (2020), the total number of STIs in youth from age 15-24 totals 19,698. The current STIs-related sex education programs vary widely in New Jersey in terms of scope, the accuracy of content, emphasis, and effectiveness (Thrive New Jersey Coalition, 2019). Therefore, students may have quite different levels of awareness on the prevention of STIs. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore the Θ (theta) (Stake, 1995) of the “why” and “how” of health educators’ decisions in designing STI …

Coach Leadership Counts And Civic Mindedness Matters, Sarah L. Sharpe

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential exploratory study was to investigate how New Jersey public high school coaches who self-report transformational leadership traits may potentially influence the development of civic mindedness in their respective student-athletes. Three main research questions were posed regarding coaches’ transformational leadership practices, their roles in the development of students’ civic mindedness, and connections between the two. It was posited that the behavior of coaches can have a significant effect on the student-athletes that participate on their teams. The theoretical lens of transformational leadership permeates this research. A mixed-methods approach was utilized. Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Practices Inventory …

A Mixed-Method Study On Social Media’S Role In The Health Decision-Making Practices Of Black Millennial Women In South Florida, Sashah Damier

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine health care decision-making practices of Black millennial women in South Florida, based on their social media use. The study contributed to understanding of how cultural components contribute to health care disparities for people of color because health care providers lacked information on how to reach Black millennial women with accurate and helpful information through social media.

The design for the study included a convergent parallel mixed-methods design using a web-based quantitative cross-sectional survey along with embedded qualitative telephone interviews and NVivo software. This mixed-methods methodology provided rich data and new understandings …

Elucidating The Interdependence Of Motor-Cognitive Development And Performance, Thomas Cade Abrams

Theses and Dissertations

As the development of complex coordination and control (i.e., motor development) involves the integration of neuromotor, psychological, social, and cognitive processes (i.e., executive functions), a better understanding of how these processes are embedded and manifest across stages of development throughout the lifespan is needed. The long-term processes associated with the acquisition and development of motor competence (MC), specifically, effortful practice and performance of various locomotor and object control skills, provide direct mechanisms for contributing to executive function (EF) development via different learning-related (e.g., synaptogenesis, hippocampal neurogenesis) as well as exercise-related (e.g., exercise-mediated neurogenesis, angiogenesis) mechanisms. However, traditional MC assessments use …

Assessment Of Postural, Locomotor, And Physical Fitness Status In Individuals With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Alana J. Turner

Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Postural control and locomotion deficits can be observed during the early years of childhood development and throughout life. For those with disabilities, these deficits can advance past the development years and into adolescence and adulthood while affecting the quality of life and daily activity. Finding interactive rehabilitative activities to delay or limit these deficits is essential for people with disabilities to improve their quality of life, inclusion, and overall movement. Adapted physical activity/sports like badminton and virtual reality could promote improvements in postural and locomotor status for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy (CP), intellectual …

Evaluation Of The Throw-Catch Assessment, Bryan Terlizzi

Theses and Dissertations

Motor competence assessment has been characterized by the evaluation of motor skill performance in closed performance contexts that lack task and environmental constraints reflective of real-world contexts. In contrast, the throw-catch (TC) assessment employs a dynamic task environment that allows performers to adapt over multiple trials to evaluate the degree of skilled performance via demonstration of a flexible and adaptable repertoire of both throwing and catching actions. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the developmental validity of the TC, as well as the content validity of the TC in terms of assessing throwing skillfulness.

Performance of the TC …

Metabolic Profiling Of Firefighter Plasma Using 1h Nmr Platform Following Curcumin, Ketone Supplementations And Carbohydrate Restricted Diet Benefits For Oxidative Stress Suppression, Richard Eugene Baird

Theses and Dissertations

Occupational health surveys reported that first responders such as firefighters (FF) have some of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease in the nation from poor eating habits and lack of exercise. Three studies were established with goals to identify oxidative stress (OS) biomarkers and improve cardiovascular health for FF including: 1) a 28-day-carbohydrate restricted diet (CRD), 2) a heat-house search and clear protocol in personal protection equipment (PPE) plus curcumin supplementation, and 3) a treadmill exercise protocol in PPE with ketone salt supplementation. During those studies, stored blood plasma subsamples were evaluated for targeted antioxidants or untargeted metabolite concentration fluctuations …

Autoeficacia Del Docente De Educación Física General Y La Inclusión De Estudiantes Con Necesidades Especiales [Self-Efficacy Of The General Physical Education Teacher And The Inclusion Of Students With Special Needs], Raul Berrios

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de este estudio fue determinar el nivel de autoeficacia de los docentes de educación física general, sobre la inclusión de estudiantes con necesidades especiales en las áreas de estrategias de instrucción, manejo de la sala de clases y cómo lograr la participación de los estudiantes.

El diseño utilizado fue uno no experimental con un enfoque transeccional o transversal descriptivo. El marco teórico seleccionado fue la teoría social cognitiva de Bandura, de la cual se desprende el componente de la teoría de autoeficacia.

La muestra estuvo conformada por los 37 docentes de educación física general de un municipio del …

Develop Or Diminish? An Exploration Of Adolescent Athlete Flow Experiences, Hayes Mayfield Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of flow was birthed from positive psychology specifically to uncover individuals’ most positive experiences and “understand the roots of happiness” (Csikszentmihalyi, 2004). Because of the nature of flow experiences, individuals continually seek out opportunities to have more of these experiences (Seifert & Hedderson, 2010; Swann et al., 2018), however, little is known regarding how adolescents experience flow. For early-adolescents (11-14 years old: Holt, 2007), sports represent an environment that often produces physical, psychological, and social benefits (Crane & Temple, 2015), and combats negative factors (Pluhar et al., 2019). Unfortunately, adolescent athletes are particularly vulnerable to burnout and sports …

Three Studies Investigating Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program-Aligned Opportunities To Enhance Students’ Physical Education Learning, Jongho Moon

Theses and Dissertations

Schools have been identified as key venues that have a positive impact on students’ development through physical activity (PA) and physical education (PE) programming. A comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s [CDC] national framework for school-based PA (CDC, 2019). A CSPAP was conceptualized as a strategic approach to leverage the full range of resources needed to meet two broad goals: (a) provide school-aged youth with the opportunity to meet the nationally recommended 60 minutes of daily PA, and (b) achieve Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE) America’s National Standards for K-12 …

The Role And Awareness Of Sexual Violence Initiatives At Rowan University Through Undergraduate Students' Perceptions, Alyssa M. Paluch

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine the overall role and awareness of Rowan University's sexual violence programs through the perceptions of undergraduate students. An online survey was distributed to all enrolled Rowan University undergraduate students to determine their perceptions of the sexual violence initiatives. After the survey was closed, semi-structured virtual interviews were conducted to further investigate those perceptions. Out of the 16,874 surveys distributed, 301 complete responses were recorded, which was about a 1.8% response rate. Out of the 43 participants who signed up after the survey to complete an interview, eight of them followed …

Improving Collegiate Head Coaches' Awareness And Knowledge For Mental Health To Better Their Student-Athletes, Conner Mcvey Walsh

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this narrative inquiry study was to examine how well-aware and equipped head coaches are when handling a student-athlete with mental health-related conditions. The primary goals of this study were to interview head coaches and learn about what resources their college institution provides for them, as well as the steps taken when approached by a student-athlete concerned about their mental health. The research on a head coach's awareness and knowledge on helping student-athletes is limited, but the research on the number of student-athletes with mental health-related conditions is not. By combining the literature on student-athletes, mental health, and …

Relationship Of General Athletic Performance Markers To Intra-Team Ranking Of Sport Performance, Steven Keith Scruggs Ii

Theses and Dissertations

A foundational principle in sport science involves applying an evidence-based approach to training and development of athletes. The primary objective is to provide an effective training program, while monitoring general athletic performance (GAP) development (i.e., athlete-monitoring), ensuring intended adaptations are occurring. Much of the literature has focused on GAP markers (e.g., physical qualities related to strength, speed, power, agility, and endurance) which are only suggested to influence competitive sport performance (SP) outcomes (e.g., yards per carry, batting average, hitting percentage, rank or placement, etc.; B. Alejo, personal communication, July 13, 2019). This gap in the literature should be filled via …

Functional Motor Competence And Physical Military Readiness, Kyle Silvey

Theses and Dissertations

Decreased physical fitness in military age recruiting populations is problematic for the development of physical military readiness (PMR) in soldiers and presents a threat to national security. Low fitness levels, demonstrated by increased Army fitness test failures, and national data of children and adolescents, may be an indicator of a foundational problem in the physical development of potential military recruits. An adequate foundation in FMC will serve as a barrier for achieving sufficient and sustained PMR in the U.S. Military. Associations between individual, raw APFT and ACFT tests demonstrated weak ( r = .26) to strong ( r = .87) …

Barriers That Impede Foreign-Born And Educated Male Nursing Students' Success In A United States Nursing Program: A Case Study, Lisa Marie Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

The United States has a 36% shortage of full-time nurses. This is projected to worsen. There will be a need for 260, 000 more nurses by 2025 and more than 581,000 new nursing positions will be created through 2024 (American Association College of Nursing, 2011; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). By 2030, New Jersey's shortage of nurses will exceed 43% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). If a diverse population of students complete a nursing program and become nurses working in the field, the literature reports that there are better client outcomes when the healthcare industry mirrors …

Two Studies Of Inclusive And Augmented Physical Education, Matthew Patey

Theses and Dissertations

Students with disabilities participate in inclusive education, to some degree. Unfortunately, students with disabilities often feel feelings of marginalization, social isolation, failure, and othering. Students without disabilities graduating high school today are less empathic than students who graduated in the 1970’s. This dissertation delves into the empirical literature on how school-age students perceive inclusive physical education, through a systematic literature (Study 1), as well as how a students and adults in a high school perceive and experience an augmented physical education program, through an exploratory case study (Study 2).

In Study 1, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and …

University Hookup Culture: Convenient Or A Path To Sexual Assault?, Gabriella Longenbach

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to have a better understanding of the potential impact that hookup culture has on college students today. While this culture can be convenient and the most modern way of getting to know someone sexually, it also has the chance to be dangerous. By learning how this culture works and how college students engage in it, university employees and higher education professionals can support students through sexually related issues that they might come across.

Sport Clubs And Wellness: Analyzing The Impact Being A Sports Clubs Member Has On The Dimensions Of Wellness, Michael Anthony Brito

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand how a student's wellness is impacted through participation in sport clubs. This was done at a division three public institution with a Campus Recreation department, which offers 45 sport clubs. This study was conducted during the spring 2020 semester at Rowan University by distributing an online survey. The survey focused on gaining information about their sport club experience and the impact on occupational, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical dimensions. As well as understanding the factors that may affect their wellness.

The findings of this study showed a high positive impact to …

The Tripartite Model Of Efficacy Beliefs For Youth With Visual Impairments, Alexandra Stribing

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three studies which explored self-perceptions, parents’ perceptions, and metaperceptions in youth with a visual impairments (VI) using the tripartite model of efficacy beliefs. These studies have the potential to practitioners and parents providing novel understandings of perception influences in youth with a VI. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore self-perceptions, parents’ perceptions, and metaperceptions in youth with a VI.

The purpose of Study 1 was to determine the content/face validity of the selfperceptions, parents’ perceptions, and metaperception questionnaires for youth with VI. Participants (N = 13, males = 2; females = 11) included …

Elementary Physical Education Teacher Perceptions Of Motor Skill Assessment, Jenna Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

Though a critical aspect of the teaching-learning process in physical education, the assessment of student learning in physical education has received little investigative attention. In line with the primary focus on motor competence in the United States National K-12 Physical Education Standards, the purpose of this dissertation is to explore elementary physical education teachers’ assessment behaviors with respect to assessing students’ motor skills. This dissertation consists of three studies. In the first study, a survey was developed using the major themes from existing physical education assessment literature and then tested for content validity via the modified Delphi method. The second …

Motor Competence And Quality Of Life In Youth With Cancer And Visual Impairments, Emily N. Gilbert

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is comprised of a systematic review of the literature and two descriptive analytic studies, for a total of three studies. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to examine the motor competence of youth with pediatric cancers, a visual impairment (VI), and VI sequela of cancer (VISC), and to explore if motor competence and other variables in the physical domain predict overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

The purpose of Study 1 systematic review of literature was to explore and describe the motor competence of pediatric cancer patients and survivors in comparison to peers without cancer and to …

Two Studies Conceptualizing Physical Literacy For Assessment Of High School Students In The United States, Chelsee Shortt

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: Toward the advancement of physical literacy (PL) in the United States, the purpose of this dissertation was to operationalize the construct and work toward a foundational framework to which PL can be assessed. The purpose of Study 1 was to develop an operational conceptualization of PL via a modified Delphi approach. The purpose of Study 2 was to expand upon the findings from Study 1 by exploring adolescents' perceptions of PL using repertory grid analysis (RGA).

Methods: Study 1 used a sequential, mixed methods design. Participants (N=22) were national and international PL academics with peer-reviewed publications on PL or …

United States Principals’ Involvement In Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: A Social-Ecological Perspective, Karie Lee Orendorff

Theses and Dissertations

Principal involvement is essential to the successful uptake of new school programs and initiatives. Recommendations and research underscore the key role of principals in supporting a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP), which is a coordinated and synergistic approach to ensuring school-age accumulate the nationally recommended amounts of daily physical activity (PA), as well as develop the knowledge, skills and confidence for lifetime participation in PA. Little is known about the extent to which principals in the United States are involved in CSPAPs or about the factors that are associated with such involvement. The purpose of this dissertation was to …

The Benefit Of Using Peer Buddies In Adaptive Physical Education, Julie Anne Cairone

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe the participation levels of students with disabilities in an adaptive physical education class with the addition of typically developing students in the class as Peer Buddies. The goal was to observe the students' participation levels prior to the introduction of the Peer Buddies then again after the introduction of the Peer Buddies. There were thirteen typically developing students who were the peer buddies and fourteen students with disabilities in the adaptive physical education class. The thirteen peer buddies took a survey before being introduced to the adaptive physical education class and a …

Intramural Sports Leadership: Exploring The Impact Of Being An Intramural Sports Official On Leadership Skills, Shan Yu Paracka

Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the leadership development of intramural sports student officials at a med-sized public institution in the northeastern United States. Twenty-six total intramural student officials participated in the study that were evenly mixed between veteran officials and first time officials. The data shows that while there is a change in the scores from the pre-test and the post-test, there is a high probability of this being a random occurrence.

The Effect Of Classwide Peer Tutoring On The Skill Performance And Fitness Levels Of Students With Disabilities In An Elementary Physical Education Inclusion Class, Christopher Farrell

Theses and Dissertations

This single subject study used an ABAB research design to investigate the effect of classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) on the skill performance and fitness levels of students with disabilities. Data was collected from nine students with disabilities who are members of a fourth grade physical education inclusion class. During the baseline phases of this study, students received instruction through whole-class direct instruction provided by the physical education teacher. During the intervention phases of this study, students participated in CWPT sessions. Skill performance in this study was determined through students demonstrating skill cues while shooting towards a target. Fitness levels were …

Multidimenstional Balance In Youth With Visual Impairments, Adam Pennell

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three studies which examined multidimensional balance in youth (≤ 21 years; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2004) with visual impairments (VIs) using the Brief-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Brief- BESTest). These studies have the potential to inform (adapted) physical education curricula and therapeutic/rehabilitative practices by providing novel understandings of balance performance in youth with VIs. If identified as a meaningful mechanism of action, the assessment and development of multidimensional balance in youth with VIs should be given elevated status by practitioners. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate multidimensional balance in youth with VIs.

The …