Education Commons^™

Implementing Vocational Training At Escuela Quiteña De Estudios Bíblicos, Joshua K. Marcum

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This DMin project addressed the problem of the absence of a viable training model to equip graduates of EQEB (Escuela Quiteña de Estudios Biblicos) for self-sustaining ministry. Based upon a theology of vocation, the project implemented and evaluated the inclusion of a technical-skills component to EQEB’s current seminary training. The project followed the integration of sixteen EQEB students in the vocational program implemented during the 2015-2016 school year. Qualitative research data gathered from five group interviews with these students, my own field notes, and a faculty interview provided the substance upon which I based the project´s findings. Over a seven-month …

Online Training For Judicial Officers And Court Personnel, Morgan Patten

Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology Plan II Graduate Projects

The purpose of this project was to create two online, asynchronous courses: one on domestic violence for judicial officers and one on community supervision of sex offenders for probation and parole officers. These courses will be offered to the court community through the Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College, which is responsible for providing education to judicial officers, court personnel, and others who serve the judiciary.

These courses were developed in consultation with Supreme Court of Ohio staff, judicial officers, and other subject matter experts. These experts evaluated the courses on at least three occasions and provided substantive feedback. Once …

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (Fdi) In The Process Of Tacoma’S Globalization, Yi Hui

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

This qualitative research project aimed to provide a comprehensive review of a deficiency in foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tacoma, the causes of that insufficiency, and the possible resolutions that could change the stagnation and attract more FDI. By analyzing the data collected mainly via interviews and survey, the paper revealed reasons Tacoma has lagged behind other similar cities in attracting FDI, where the gaps exist, and what kinds of educational programs could be applied to enhance the FDI literacy and competency. Case studies on other similar cities offer Tacoma lessons and experience on how to grow FDI. This project …

Extended Learning Time, Ivette M. Febo

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

Research suggests that regular participation in programs that provide academic and social activities contribute positively to children’s academic and social development (National Education Association, 2004). However, existing literature on teachers’ and parents’ views on extended learning time is limited. A lot of emphasis has been placed on after-school programs for three primary reasons. First, attendance in after-school programs can provide children with supervision during a time when many might be exposed to and engage in more anti-social and destructive behaviors. Second, after-school programs can provide enriching experiences that broaden children’s perspectives and improve their socialization. Third, after-school programs may …

The Learning Projects Of Municipal Elected Officials, Rebecca Campbell Smeltzer

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to describe the learning projects related to the governmental role of a selected sample of elected municipal officials in a geographic region of a Southeastern state. The study includes the revision of Tough’s (1975) learning projects interview schedule and the addition of eight demographic items.

Participants were selected by using a random number generator to choose 12 cities from seven population groups, creating a stratified sample of 68 elected officials, 41 of whom agreed to be interviewed. Demographic information revealed that the participants were a mix of mayors (26.8%), vice-mayors (19.5%), and city …

Nontraditional Student Risk Factors And Gender As Predictors For Enrollment In College Distance Education, Tammy Crews Pao

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether nontraditional student age, female gender, and the possession of nontraditional student risk factors predict enrollment in distance education college courses. This dissertation used data from the most recent National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12), which consisted of approximately 95,000 undergraduate students who were enrolled in higher education in 2011-2012. The results of a logistic regression analysis indicated that both nontraditional student age and female gender were strong predictors of enrollment in distance education, whereas the number of nontraditional student risk indicators was a partial predictor. As leaders in higher education are …

Single Mothers Of Young Children And Continuing Education, Jackiethsha Lynette Fluellen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of households headed by single mothers living in poverty exceeds that of all other categories of poverty-stricken households, and poverty impacts the children negatively in various ways. When single mothers choose not to continue their education, they lessen their chances of finding higher paying jobs and raising their families out of poverty. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand why some single mothers decided to continue into higher education. The study considered the decisions of 6 single mothers of young children in Montgomery County, Texas, and the obstacles they overcame while completing their education. The …

Relationship Between Internships And Employment Competencies Of Degreed Professionals Who Completed A College Internship, Shawn Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 1.5 million underemployed or unemployed college graduates have one or more college degrees, and many have high loan debt. Policy makers, students, and institutions of higher education are all concerned with the question of how prepared students are to enter the workforce upon graduation, yet little is known about whether internships are a strategy to improve career preparedness and gainful employment after graduation. Guided by Dewey and Kolb's experiential learning theory, the purpose of this nonexperimental study was to evaluate the impact of internships on career preparation from the perspective of graduates, specifically to evaluate whether graduates perceive …

Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support …

Videotaped Role-Play Simulation In Teaching Transcultural Self-Efficacy To Interprofessional Healthcare Students, Holldrid Aner Odreman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Increased demand for culturally sensitive healthcare services suggests that interprofessional beginning healthcare students need to gain the necessary cultural competency skills to be successful in delivering positive health outcomes for diverse patients. Bandura's theory of observational learning, Mezirow's theory of transformative learning, and Purnell's and Paulanka's model of cultural competence informed the framework for this research. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine the relationship between mode of instruction (observing role models in videotaped role-play simulation) and increased transcultural self-efficacy in cultural competence instruction. A convenience sample of 196 students enrolled in an interprofessional education (IPE) course …

Scholarly Writing Among Graduate Students: A Qualitative Project Study, Marsha Armstrong Harwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This project study focused on scholarly writing skills of adult students enrolled in a private graduate institution in the West Indies. The institution provided writing instruction, but scholarly writing skills remained inadequate for some students when they began their final projects. The project study provided insight into the most pervasive writing skill deficits and the positive and negative influences on writing skill development among graduate students. The research design was an applied qualitative case study using data collected from a purposeful sample of convenience within a bounded system of current students, faculty members, and administrators in one institution. Open-ended questionnaires …

Adult Students' Perceptions Of Transfer Services At An Historically Black University, Kimberly Anne Crews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics have indicated a steady growth of students attending 3 or more institutions while pursuing a baccalaureate degree. When students transfer institutions, they may have specific needs for their new institution. Informed by the transfer receptive culture framework, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of students who had attended 3 or more postsecondary institutions on the services they received, before and after their transfer. Purposeful sampling yielded 9 adult students with multiple-institution attendance histories. Data were collected through semistructured instant messaging interviews. A series of messages included …

Online Training Impact On Adjunct Faculty Compliance And Satisfaction With Professional Development, Elizabeth Pete

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed by this project study was low levels of adjunct faculty compliance and satisfaction with the professional development program at a local college. The purpose of the study was to determine if an alternative delivery method would yield higher levels of compliance and satisfaction than would a traditional professional development workshop. The guiding research question was whether an alternative delivery method would yield higher levels of compliance and satisfaction than a traditional professional development workshop. The theoretical base included andragogy, self-directed learning, and connectivism. Using an experimental design, the project examined archival data concerning compliance and satisfaction for …

Using The Power Of 3 With Total Joint Surgery Patients, Lynda M. Sanchez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of patient education is to provide patients and their families with the tools needed to care for themselves after discharge from the hospital, but shortened hospital stays, limited health literacy, language, and age can impede the patient's comprehension of the information provided. Researchers have found that the lack of effective patient education is related to 30-day hospital readmissions. The Power of 3 educational tool, designed by Sanchez and Cooknell, addressed the factors that impeded effective patient teaching by using the adult learning theory and low health literacy concepts. The Power of 3 was implemented as a quality improvement …

Impact Of Orientation Programs On Nontraditional Students' Perceived Academic Success In Adult Education Programs, Marsha Ann Webster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many administrators and faculty within higher education institutions have grappled with identifying and employing effective strategies to facilitate student success and persistence. The current study focuses on assessing nontraditional students' self-efficacy beliefs and their perception of the orientation program at a 2-year continuing education program in a Caribbean nation. The study is important as the findings have the potential to increase nontraditional students' persistence and learning. Bandura's social cognitive theory and the theory of self-efficacy served as the theoretical frameworks of this sequential mixed-methods design study. The quantitative research questions examined the reported self-efficacy levels of 77 participants and nonparticipants …

Teacher Education In Central Equatoria, South Sudan, Catherine Hahs Brinkley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Without education, many South Sudanese will continue living in poverty. There are numerous factors that limit their educational opportunities including tribal warfare, colonialism, missionary malpractice, civil wars, a high illiteracy rate, low government funding, and threats of war. These factors have left a substantial deficiency in available training for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the pedagogical needs of the teachers of South Sudan. Within a conceptual framework of participatory action research, this qualitative study examined educators' view of the effectiveness of the teacher education that they had received, the pedagogical needs of teachers, and the ideal …

A Quantitative Evaluation Of Service Priorities And Satisfaction Of Online University Students, Danielle Elizabeth Valle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As online education grows, institutions must develop and evaluate student services to meet the needs of adult online students. The university at which the study was conducted had growing online enrollment, but no systematic examination of services from the students' perspective to drive service development and improvement. This represented a gap in self-evaluation, and the research confirmed gaps in student service offerings at the university compared to field standards. The purpose of this project study was to drive improvement of online student services based on analysis of student-driven data. The research questions asked how important academic and support services were …

Improving Quality Of Life In Older Adults With Depression And Diabetes Through Medication Compliance Education, Valreen Hinds-Beharrie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improving Quality-of-Life in Older Adults with Depression and Diabetes through Medication Compliance Education

by

Valreen Hinds-Beharrie

MSN, Adelphi University, 1997

BSN, Adelphi University, 1986

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement for the Degree of

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Walden University

March 2016

Diabetes and depression are prevalent diseases that cause morbidity and mortality. Diabetes is a heterogeneous metabolic disease in which hypoglycemia is a central feature. Depression is associated with increased counter-regulatory, hormone release, and alteration in glucose transport function. Depression occurs in some individuals with diabetes and is associated with poor metabolic control, inadequate control of diet, …

The Effect Of Simulation Training On Nursing Students' Content Exam Scores, Lori Ann Podlinski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Simulation training has been implemented at a small nursing school in the eastern United States to improve the currently low content exam scores in nursing courses. With the guidance of Kolb's experiential learning theory, differences in 8 course content exam scores were investigated for students who received simulation training in the content area before the exam and students who received simulation training after the exam, using a quasi-experimental, comparative design. Archival exam scores from 424 content exams, 212 completed by students who received simulation training before the exam and 212 completed by students who received simulation training after the exam, …

Professional Development Needs Of Faculty Members In An International University In Thailand, Loïse M. Jeannin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different

countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members' needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers' perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via …

Junior High Latino Parents' Perceived Roles In Home And School Partnerships, Mytzy Vania Rodriguez-Kufner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A rural K-12 district in the Midwest evidenced a rise in the Latino population from 2002 to 2013, yet parental participation amongst Latino parents at the junior high was low. Low parental involvement has been linked to lowered self-efficacy, which impacts student learning. Although there is a plethora of research on the positive aspects of parental involvement, there is little research on Latino parent involvement in small rural communities. Within this instrumental case study, Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model of parent involvement was used to explore Latino parents' perceptions of their roles and responsibilities of communication strategies within the junior high …

Faculty Knowledge And Use Of Best Practices In Online Professional Continuing Education, Gladys Montane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent mandate by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists requires that U.S. radiologic technologists complete continuous qualification requirements (CQR). This study examined faculty skills and practices at an American university that developed online CQR courses in response to this mandate. It was specifically designed to assess the knowledge and skills of this university's faculty with regard to best practices in an online learning environment, so as to provide the basis for meeting faculty needs in distance education. Dewey's work on constructivism served as the framework guiding this study. A qualitative, intrinsic case study was employed to collect data using …

Exploring Literacy Coaching As A Form Of Staff Development, Kate Matthews Welborn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Following a 2011 audit a school district in the south central United States clarified the role of the literacy coach. However, there were still differences among the literacy coaches as to how they were performing their duties. As a result, the purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the role of the literacy coach in the participating school district. The theoretical foundation of this study addressed adult learning and was based upon Kegan's constructive development theory and Knowles's theory of androgogy. A case study design was used to explore how 5 literacy coaches implemented literacy staff development …

The Effectiveness Of Adult And Pediatric Code Blue Simulation-Based Team Trainings, Pamela Joy Corey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The adult and pediatric healthcare providers at a New England medical center attended simulation training for responding to cardiac arrests that incorporated the current American Heart Association (AHA) evidence-based standards. The purpose of this concurrent mixed method program evaluation was to compare the adult code blue and pediatric team training programs to the AHA's standards and identify if the staff learned the necessary skills to care for patients in cardiac arrest. The conceptual models used for the study were Crisis Resource Management and the transfer of learning model. The study sample was 660 adult and 269 pediatric healthcare providers who …

Barriers Faced By Canadian Aboriginal Adults As They Return To Postsecondary School, Robert Lawrence Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Aboriginal people in Canada are less likely to complete postsecondary education than are non-Aboriginal people. This lack of education leads to increased rates of unemployment and poverty and the need for additional government supports. The purpose of this project study was to identify and examine barriers faced by Canadian Aboriginal adult students as they return to school for postsecondary education. The conceptual framework for this qualitative study was based on the work of Ertmer, which suggests barriers can be placed into broad categories of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers. A case study design was used with a purposeful sample from a …

Student Perceptions Of Factors Affecting Retention In A Rural Associate Degree Nursing Program, Jodi Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High nursing student attrition rates at a community college in a southwestern state were noted as a significant problem by nursing faculty and college administration because of a nursing shortage and subsequent health care issues in the surrounding community. The purpose of this project study was to explore the perceptions of nursing graduates regarding the influences that led to or impeded their success in completion of the associate degree nursing program. Additionally, perspectives of the usefulness of remediation sessions provided for students failing a course were investigated. This qualitative case study, guided by transformative learning theory, included a sample of …

Haitian Adult Immigrants As Learners And Parents, Dayana Octavien Philippi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Haitian immigrant parents often face challenges to visibly engage in their children's education in the United States due to social, cultural, and economic factors. This study addressed parent involvement (PI) among Haitian immigrant parents of adolescents in a Florida community. The purpose of this exploratory, multiple-case study was to better understand connections between immigrant Haitian parents' beliefs and learning experiences and their experiences supporting their adolescents' learning. Three research questions were developed to explore Haitian adults' lived experiences and perceptions of themselves as keepers of knowledge and as learners, their experiences and perceived roles as parents, and the resources they …

Mentor Perspectives On Effective Mentoring For Beginning Elementary School Teachers, Betsy Holley Gross

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The attrition of beginning teachers is an ongoing problem for public schools as it impacts campus moral, results in economic losses, and maintains the number of newly-hired teachers. Although induction programs for beginning teachers have been found effective in reducing novice teacher attrition, funding for many induction programs have been eliminated due to budget constraints, leaving local school systems with limited support of the mentors and no consistency as to expectations or outcomes. Compounding this problem is that little research has examined what is most successful and supportive for mentors to be able to function most effectively. Guided by Knowles' …

Instructor's Employment-Level, Instructor-Efficacy, And Knowledge Of Effective Classroom Strategies For Emotional Disorders, Andrea Karen Haglin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community college instructors are responsible for creating learning opportunities for all students, including adult students affected by emotional disorders (ED). Concerns in the literature have grown over how invested part-time instructors are in their teaching; however, limited data were available regarding instructor knowledge of ED, instructor-efficacy, and the impact of employment status. The purpose of this study was to address the gap in the literature and analyze relationships between instructor knowledge of ED strategies (as assessed by Teaching Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders scale) and instructors' efficacy beliefs (as assessed by the Ohio State Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale). It also evaluated …

Case Study Of Teen Mother Perceptions Of Their Influence On Preschoolers' Language Development, Mary Schmidt Duncan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children born to teen mothers tend to score lower on language development assessments and to have school readiness delays. To support teen mothers and their children in improving language development, educators need information about mothers' daily interactions with their children and how they contribute to their children's language development. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to understand mothers'perceptions of how they influenced their children's language development through play, routines, and other informal interactions. Flavell, Vygotsky, and Bruner's views on how learners' construct knowledge informed the study. Research questions were focused on the mothers' perceptions regarding interactions during routines …