Education Commons^™

Pillars Of Youth Drug Abuse Prevention: Parents, Police, And Project Dare (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), Jonathon Stuever

Theses and Dissertations

In 1983 Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officials teamed with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) health curriculum specialist, Dr. Ruth Rich, to redesign an anti-tobacco curriculum, Project Self-Management and Resistance Training (SMART), into Project Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). In the first four years of Project DARE, local, state, and, federal government branches endorsed the program as an efficient tool in the local and national fight against youth drug abuse. Early program evaluations, conducted by the Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI), demonstrated DARE’s ability to change attitudes of students, school faculty, and parents concerning social tolerance of underage drug …

The Journey Toward Ascension: Understanding The Narratives Of Latinx Women In K-12 School Principalship, Manuela Jimenez

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the unique leadership journeys of Latinx women holding principal positions in K-12 schools across New Jersey. The research findings revealed that these women's career paths were significantly influenced by their social identity characteristics, specifically as female Latinx individuals. The study serves as a crucial reminder to challenge and eliminate negative perceptions and biases towards Latina school principals and their leadership growth and methodologies. The study focused on the leadership journeys of Latinx women holding principal positions in K-12 schools in New Jersey. The findings also showed that their career paths were aided by their social identity characteristics …

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 …

Collaboration Of Board Certified Behavior Analysts And Special Education Teachers In Transition, Amelia Ruth Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

Transitions occur at many points in a child's educational journey. For children with disabilities, these changes in routine, service providers, and setting may be especially difficult and result in problem behavior. Special education teachers are expected to facilitate a smooth transition from one setting to another, teaching appropriate skills and addressing problem behavior as it arises. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), who have an expertise in problem behavior and skill generalization, are currently under-utilized in schools and could work collaboratively with special education teachers and other stakeholders to make it easier for students with disabilities experiencing a school transition. As …

The Role Of Instructors In Fostering A Sense Of Belonging For Native Hawaiian And Pacific Islander University Students, Kehaulani Oleole Malzl

Theses and Dissertations

An alarmingly high level of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students in the United States end up dropping out of secondary education institutions. One important predictor of academic success and retention at the secondary level is student sense of school belonging. This thesis explores NHPI college students' perceptions of how their university instructors foster or undermine their sense of school belonging. A snowball sample of 97 NHPI students participated in 18 focus groups that included students from various islands and ethnicities in Oceania who were attending one U.S. university in the Pacific Rim. Focus group data were transcribed …

The Embodied Experience Of Adult Educators, Heather Drew Francis

Theses and Dissertations

This interview study investigates the embodied experiences of adult educators, exploring how they perceive and utilize bodily knowledge in their instructional practice. Through interviews and observations with five adult educators, the study highlights challenges in articulating the role of physical experiences in teaching. The study reveals four major themes: (a) participants perceive or approach instruction as a performance, engaging with various performance tools like voice, sound, proximity, and posture to impact content delivery and classroom management; (b) bodily knowledge informs the educator's improvisational skills as they receive sensory input and adapt to student and environmental cues during teaching; (c) while …

Planning, Outcomes, Oversight: A Linguistic Analysis Of New Jersey Statutes And Reports From 1970 To 1999, Sharon E. Mccann

Theses and Dissertations

Between the decades of 1970 through 1999, there were major shifts in higher education in New Jersey. Utilizing a grounded theory approach this dissertation created a database of legislation, hearings transcripts, and education reports. Searching this database for commonly used terminology, this dissertation was seeking a pattern in language use that could demonstrate the incursion of neoliberal economic terminology into the way high education was discussed during these years. A grounded theory exploration, this dissertation does not claim to have achieved a proven connection between the language shift and decisions made by education leadership. All it can demonstrate is that …

Trauma-Informed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction To Increase Family Quality Of Life For Mothers Of Children With Autism: A Pilot Study, Carol May Vaughn

Theses and Dissertations

Mothers of children with autism have a higher rate of stress than mothers of neurotypical children and mothers of children with other disabilities. This impacts their family quality of life. This study aimed to show that by teaching mothers trauma-informed mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques they were able to switch their perspectives and feel that they had increased the relationships with their child with autism and increased the rating they give their family quality of life. The participants were recruited using word of mouth and through distribution of posters to autism communities following approval of the experiment through the institutional review …

Inservice Professional Development For Educators In A Democracy: Moving From Theory To Practice, Rachel Lynn Wadham

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents research that addresses the question of how professional development influences inservice teachers' professional identity. In three journal articles, specific inquiries address research questions drawn from this broader conversation. In article one, we answered the question of what unifying characteristics democratic educators exhibit in their pedagogies and methods. By conducting an integrative literature review, we find that those who indicate that they are democratic educators used four major pedagogical categories including inquiry methods, artistic methods, oral methods, and student-centered methods. In the second article, we addressed the question of how professional development influences teachers' professional civic identities. In …

Investigating Self-Regulation In Secondary And Higher Education Online Contexts, Karen T. Arnesen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses a three-article dissertation, including a literature review and two research articles, related to the understanding and development of self-regulation (SR). Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), the literature review examined 22 articles researching a self-regulation intervention used in an online, higher education context. The articles included interventions specific to a unique context, interventions used in a specific context but could be easily adapted to other contexts, and generic interventions that could be applied in any context. Important themes revealed in the analysis include the importance of feedback in developing SR, the interaction …

Key Behaviors And Expressions Of Secondary Administrators And Leadership Teams As Culturally Responsive School Leaders, Belinda Azela Talonia

Theses and Dissertations

Secondary administrative and leadership teams continuously search for practices that bolster cultural proficiency to address increasingly diverse student cohorts. This qualitative case study identifies the culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) behaviors and expressions of 24 high school administrative and leadership team members in a suburban school district in Utah. Data reveals how each team demonstrates the behaviors and expressions of CRSL framework and how these behaviors and expressions position each school on the culturally proficient continuum. Superimposing the CRSL behaviors and expressions on the cultural proficiency continuum provides a current reality for administrative and leadership teams to assess their tipping …

Marriage And Family Therapists' Perspectives Of Working With Couples Impacted By Aphasia: General Perceptions And Response To Relationship-Centered Communication Partner Training, Madison Rae Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The psychosocial needs of couples impacted by aphasia are often unmet. Sixty-one marriage and family therapists' (MFTs) experiences, perceived knowledge, confidence, comfort, and barriers in working with couples impacted by aphasia, and their interactions with speech-language pathologists (SLPs) were investigated using survey methodology. All MFTs were licensed, practicing in the US, and had at least 3 years of experience. Participants completed the following in order: (a) a pre-intervention survey, (b) one of two intervention conditions, and (c) a post-intervention survey. Twenty-eight respondents were randomly assigned to an education-alone intervention and 33 respondents were assigned to an education plus Relationship-Centered Communication …

Prosodic Speech Rate, Utterance Duration, Interruption Rate, And Turn-Taking Latency In Autistic And Neurotypical Adults, Grace Madeline Bell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the following prosodic elements: speech rate, turn-taking latency, number of interruptions, and utterance duration across two groups' neurotypical and autistic young adults. Furthermore, the end goal of this study is to help provide a baseline and clinical application of prosodic differences between autistic and neurotypical adults. Speech samples were collected from 11 neurotypical and 11 autistic young adults from the ages of 18-26. Speech samples were recorded responses from a 10-minute interview between two research assistants and the autistic or neurotypical individual. Using Praat software, speech samples were analyzed and used to …

School Psychologist's Tiered Social-Emotional Recommendations In Response To Data Gathered From Social-Emotional Screening, Audrey Anita Andersen

Theses and Dissertations

Universal school-wide social-emotional screeners identify at-risk students with social-emotional behavior problems (Romer et al., 2020). Identifying such students alone cannot prevent these social, emotional, and behavioral concerns from becoming problematic. However, data gathered from social-emotional screening can guide the development of strategies, supports, interventions, and progress monitoring students at risk across all tiers (Yates et al., 2008), leading to the prevention of social-emotional and behavioral problems from turning maladaptive (Humphrey & Wigelsworth, 2016; Walker et al., 2004). A school district in the Mountain West area of the United States developed a screening survey that addresses school climate, culture, and connectedness …

Differences In Presenting Concerns Of Anxiety Amongst Students In College Counseling Centers Across The United States, Julia Brim

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in the U.S. and is becoming increasingly common and problematic for college students across the country. Building on research conducted at single universities, we used a large national data set from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) and compared self-reported levels of anxiety amongst various groups of college students across the U.S., as well as the prevalence of comorbidity between anxiety reported on the generalized anxiety subscale of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS) and other mental health concerns. We found that a number of self-reported variables …

Understanding Student Perceptions Of A High School Wellness Center: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Qualitative Study, Devan Audrey Clayton

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescents face many challenges at home and at school which impact various areas of their lives, including their academics. Schools have worked to ensure better student mental health outcomes by hiring school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers. School wellness centers can be an additional resource that students utilize to address mental health challenges during their school day. The purpose of this study is to understand adolescent perceptions of a school-based wellness center. Perceptions of populations who utilize the wellness center and those who do not utilize the wellness center were studied within one high school to understand how …

School Leaders’ Understanding And Implementation Of Their School District’S Mission And Vision Statements: A Qualitative Study, Venice P. Daley

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the perspectives of school leaders in a single public school district regarding their purpose in leadership, understanding, and implementation of their school district’s mission and vision statements. Three research questions guided the study:

1. How do Florida’s public school leaders incorporate or implement the district’s mission

and vision statements in their daily practice?

2. How do Florida’s public school leaders incorporate the school district’s vision and

mission statements into their purpose as leaders or roles as educational leaders?

3. How and in what ways do Florida’s public school leaders …

Measuring The Effects Of Selective And Divided Attention Conditions On Language Production: Comparing Across Age Groups For Aphasia Assessment, Emily Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

This study was divided into two parts. Study 1 examined the spoken language production of neurologically healthy adults (NHA) in selective and divided attention conditions during a story retell task. NHA participant groups consisted of 21 younger (26–54), 19 older (55–69), and 20 elderly (70–85) adults. Study 2 investigated how the language production of four people with aphasia (PWA) compared to their respective NHA group. All participants retold stories in a silent baseline condition, three background noise conditions (cocktail party, conversation, phone call), and one dual-task condition (tone discrimination). Language production measures (speech rate, disfluent verbalizations, language efficiency, lexical diversity, …

Exploring Purpose, Practices, And Impacts Of Non-Formal Education In Egypt, Mariam Hussien Sayed Abdelhamid

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores non-formal education in Egypt, analyzing its alignment or divergence with prevalent human capital and modernization discourses. Using a narrative approach, the study explores the practices of four organizations that offer non-formal education opportunities in greater Cairo: San3a Tech, Wataneya Society, Alwan wa Awtar, and AlAthar Lina. The study explores the narration of 9 educators and 10 learners from these organizations to understand from educators’ perspectives how they design their experiences and its relation to the culture and needs of the targeted audience. It also looks at what kind of impact do these experiences have on the learners. …

Experiences Of Female Academic Leaders In Higher Education: A Case Study In Cairo, Amina Sabour

Theses and Dissertations

Such as in many contexts, the gender gap in higher education leadership persists universally. Women are still underrepresented despite the contributions they demonstrate in leading higher education institutions. This study aims to contribute to the area of research in this regard by exploring the experiences of female academic leaders in Cairo, Egypt. It specifically highlights the challenges these women face, and how they manage to overcome it. Using a qualitative approach to deeply explore the phenomenon, ten interviews were conducted with female leaders at the American University in Cairo. Looking through the lens of intersectional feminism, under the umbrella of …

University Students' Wellbeing: A Case Study Of An International Private University In Egypt, Alia Attia

Theses and Dissertations

Wellbeing is a crucial topic that is gaining increasing attention in higher education and should be taken into careful consideration. This is a qualitative case study, using a phenomenological approach, which explores the phenomenon of student wellbeing in an international private university in Egypt. Data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews with a total of fourteen participants: eight purposefully selected students who have taken part in wellbeing programs, initiatives, or events at the American University in Cairo (AUC), as well as six faculty/staff members, leaders, mentors, or coaches in the field were interviewed. In addition to the interviews, conversations were …

An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Leadership Development For College Students In An Army Rotc Program, Joseph O. Gagnon

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the learning behaviors for young leaders from Generation Z is important for the United States Army in their development for future commissioned officers, who are primarily trained in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in select private and public universities across the country. The Army expectation of leaders at every level regardless of rank are to possess and continuously develop six leadership capabilities codified in the Army Leadership Requirements Model (ALRM). The ALRM describes what an Army leader is (i.e., the attributes) and what an Army leader does (i.e., the competencies). The purpose of this study was to understand …

Student Perceptions Of Icc Development And The Reasons For It During Casa@Auc, Stephen Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Research has described how studying abroad has become a major goal in the Arabic world, focusing on understanding the ideas and way of life of another culture and people. Study abroad programs increase students' “Intercultural communicative competence” as indicated by researchers like Maharaja (2018) and Lee and Song (2019). The current study is a case study involving three participants. It focuses on students' perceptions of the influence of the CASA@AUC study abroad program on their intercultural communicative competence (ICC) as reflected by ACTFL performance indicators they are capable of executing. Results of the study indicate that they have reached advanced …

Third Mission Accelerator Labs (Tmals): An Exploratory Study On The Strategic Evolution Of Sustainability In University-Business Incubators (Ubis), Abdalla Hassanein

Theses and Dissertations

Globally, higher education institutions (HEIs) are devoting rising resources in order to remain competitive, impactful and attractive within the ever-changing socio-economic developments and to well position and communicate their value among their stakeholders (Lafuente-Ruiz-de-Sabando, et al. 2018). Students today want to do more than just get a degree; they want to create businesses, develop new markets, and start social movements (Kay et al., 2010). Under the open innovation model, universities' third mission (TM) includes deeper linkages and engagements with the private and public sectors, emphasizing the development of entrepreneurial mindsets, skills, and incubation services to encourage new business ventures, in …

Students' Perceptions Of Non-Native Arabic And Native Arabic Teachers, Mohamed Firgany

Theses and Dissertations

Educators teach Millions of Arabic language learners worldwide, most of whom are not native speakers. Despite their efforts in teaching, developing educational materials, and significant contributions to scientific research, there is a lack of research on them within the context of the Arabic language.

In this project, I explore students' perceptions of teaching practices for native-speaker teachers (NSTs) and non-native-speaker teachers (NNSTs), along with the advantages and disadvantages associated with each. Additionally, I aim to understand the impact of certain variables such as gender, age, nationality, language proficiency, and the purpose of studying on these perceptions.

Through 173 survey responses …

Self-Assessment As A Learning Tool In Efl Writing Classrooms: Perceptions Of Egyptian Teachers And Adult Learners, Hazim Abdelaziz

Theses and Dissertations

The principal aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of adult Egyptian EFL learners and Egyptian EFL teachers on the use of self-assessment as an assessment-for-learning tool in adult EFL courses offered at a private language institution in Cairo, Egypt. It is centered around three main areas of investigation pertaining to the perceptions of adult Egyptian EFL learners and Egyptian EFL teachers on the usefulness of self-assessment, the challenges they face when using self-assessment in adult EFL writing classes, and the affordances that should be given to both groups to ensure the successful application of self-assessment in EFL …

Determining The More Effective Behavior Analytic Intervention For Children With Autism Who Exhibit Pica Behaviors, Jennifer J. Lanham

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Determining the More Effective Behavior Analytic Intervention for Children With Autism Who Exhibit Pica Behaviors. Jennifer J. Lanham, 2024: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: autism, pica, eating disorders, intervention, applied behavior analysis

This dissertation was designed to determine which behavior analytic intervention was more effective in the treatment and reduction of mouthing non-nutritive substances in children diagnosed with autism. This study included four participants in an A-B-A reversal design with a component analysis across four intervention phases. The study participants were enrolled in a center-based treatment environment …

Foreign-Born Black Males: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Their Persistence In Higher Education, Eliezer Marcellus

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the academic and social integration experiences of foreign-born Black male students who persist at a four-year research institution. Research has shown that foreign-born Black males do not self-identify, and, as a result, their experiences in higher education have been grouped in with the persistent experiences of native-born Black males (Nesbett, 2002; Williams, 2005). This phenomenological study examines the lived experience of foreign-born Black males in higher education. Ten face-to-face interviews were conducted in order to describe the essence of this phenomenon. The findings from this study revealed five themes that explained the …

A Case Study Of The Implementation Of The New Clery Act Guidelines, Eunice Adigun

Theses and Dissertations

The Clery Act requires all higher education institutions participating in federal financial aid programs to keep and disclose campus crimes by submitting an Annual Security Report by October 1st of every year. In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Education replaced the 265-page Clery Act guidelines for administrators with a 13-page Appendix with specific changes to geographical locations to include in the report, eliminated the definition of crimes, and limited individuals designated as Campus Security Authority to those with direct responsibilities over student affairs. This case study examined how campus security officers implement the new Clery Act guidelines in crime …

Ripe Spoils, Yan Cynthia Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Chen’s practice primarily focus on sculptures and installation. She explores the interplay between the idea of nature and the constructed environment, by examining how language informs what we know. The central thesis, "Ripe Spoils", employs citrus fruits as symbols for bodily experiences and personal identity, investigating their cultural and historical significance. Her sculptures summon the qualities and embedded meanings in materials like paper pulp and clay, wax and citrus fruits, often resulting in abstracted forms evocative of the human body. This thesis paper and exhibition reflect on themes like mortality and the essence of self.

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