Education Commons^™

Liquid Border, Yingfan Jia

Masters Theses

A River is a mighty and constantly-evolving force, leaving behind an intricately designed and constantly changing system. Not just a river, the Rio Grande stretches all the way from Colorado before intersecting with the US-Mexico Border in southern Texas - a point where the powerful forces of nature now merge with a clearly-defined political boundary. The outcome of this is a unique ecological niche, which may often go unnoticed despite its distinctiveness.

Texas is famous for its farms and ranches, and the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas was once an agricultural hub. However, urbanization and the depletion of water …

College Is A Scam Full Of Leftist Liberal Ideas: An Exploration Of Rural And First-Generation College Students' Memorable Messages About Higher Education, Margaret Keene

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence Vocational Anticipatory Socialization (VAS) and memorable messages have on rural first-generation college students’ interest in higher education. This study will utilize methodology regarding Vocational Anticipatory Socialization Messages and Sources from Powers and Myers (2017), the College Influence Choice Scale from Martin and Dixon (1991), as well as thematic analysis derived from survey questions designed by the researcher. The results of this study found that students report family as their most influential source to encourage higher education, peers as their most influential source to discourage higher education, and numerous encouraging and …

The Influence Of Institutional Social Media And College Students' Choice, Anna Fishbein

Masters Theses

Social media has become a way of personal communication as well as a way for brands and businesses to connect with consumers. In the past twenty years, the expansion of technology into everyday life has impacted the way we interact and communication. There is a lack of information surrounding how social media is influencing prospective students’ college choice. There are studies focused on student college choice, and studies focused on how social media impacts consumers, but there is limited research focused on bridging the two concepts. This quantitative study utilized a causal-comparative survey to explore the influence of institutional social …

The Role Of Translation Style In Fostering Cultural Connections Through World Literature, Bridget Baudinet

Masters Theses

While many high school English instructors in the United States teach world literature in translation, few of them explicitly present the literature as translated. High school English students would benefit from learning more about the linguistic origins of the world literature they read. This awareness would increase student understanding of the source culture and benefit their language skills. Various translation theorists have suggested methods to teach translational awareness, but few have offered advice on the type of translation to select. In my research, I examined the question of whether students would derive more cultural knowledge, and specifically language-related knowledge, by …

Students Reception Of Ethnic Diversity Topics From White And Non-White Faculty, Cobi Christiansen

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study is to investigate the phenomenon of the student population being more ethnically diverse than the teacher population as well as examining student perceptions of ethnic diversity topics based on their perceptions of faculty ethnicity. A quantitative using a survey method was designed to investigate students' reception of ethnic diversity topics from White and Non-white faculty. From three different institutions in Central Illinois, 141 undergraduate education students, which included students who are majoring in early childhood, elementary, or secondary education as well as students who are receiving teaching certificates with their majors, participated in this study. …

Using Digital Storytelling To Create Intercultural Awareness At Eastern Illinois University, Toluwalase Solomon

Masters Theses

Despite the increasing enrollment of international students at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), little is known about the integration of international students into the larger community. This creative thesis employs photovoice as a form of digital storytelling to amplify the voices of international students at EIU. Over an 8-week period, 7 international students from Cameroon, India, Ghana, Philippines, South-Korea, China, and France and the researcher captured images that told their stories of acculturation and socio-cultural adjustment in EIU. The main goal of this project is to improve college wide understanding on the actual lived experiences of international students in Eastern Illinois …

Student Use Of Institutional Social Media, Hayley Elizabeth Hanger

Masters Theses

This study is a quantitative exploration of student use of their university's social media accounts at a mid-sized Midwestern institution. The survey was conducted via Qualtrics and was emailed to all undergraduate on-campus students. T-tests showed that differences in reason for use existed across gender, race, and first-generation status. Chi Square test results showed a statistically significant gap between the amount of White and non-White students following institutional social media accounts. Descriptive statistics also indicated that lack of awareness is the driving reason students do not follow institutional social media accounts. Recommendations were made to increase advertisement of social media …

Students Perspective Of Healthy Living In College, Andrea Coxey

Masters Theses

Using qualitative methodology, the researcher studied what participants definition of a healthy lifestyle as compared to how they actually live. Through conducting six one on one interviews with participants, it was found that physical health was the most widely recognized aspect of health, and that each participant had a unique definition of health. Mental health was not initially recognized by participants but was shown to be an important connection to all aspects of health including physical health, emotional health, sleep and nutrition. Participants recognized the importance of involvement and their transition to college as impacting their definition of health and …

Student-Instructor Negotiations Of Vulnerability In Higher Education, Kelli A. Halfman

Masters Theses

Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead states, "Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional" (p. 2). The purpose of this study is to examine student-instructor negotiations of vulnerability via acts of self-disclosure both inside and outside of the classroom. For the traditional student, college is a transitional period that prove challenging, leaving one feeling vulnerable. This study offers a unique perspective of vulnerability and expands our limited knowledge on how vulnerable self-expression manifests within …

Visual Rhetoric And Semiotics In Scenic Design: A Pedagogical Analysis, Chris Guzzardo

Masters Theses

Scenic designers are professionals in theatre who design sets for the stage that communicate aspects of a performance, such as time of day, location, and era. Sets are supposed to lay a foundation to performances as they communicate information to audiences through visual design. Since visual rhetoric and semiotics play a big part in the successful completion of transmitting messages, knowledge of both concepts should be taught to scenic designers. This thesis provides a content analysis of ten popular books used by scenic designers and their respective education programs. The analysis provides a structured search for visual rhetoric and semiotic …

An Analysis Of Black Undergraduate Students' Social Activism Through Social Media Usage, Tayla Richards

Masters Theses

Social media has become a tool for college students to engage in social activism. Black undergraduate students is one population that actively utilize social media's impact as illustrated through recent activist movements and demonstrations within university communities. This study sought to explore and analyze the ways that Black undergraduate students utilize social media platforms in general and for activism. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with three Black undergraduate students and analyzed their posts on each of their frequently used social media platforms in order to study how their personal narratives were connected to their social media use.

Results showed that …

Service Standards In Higher Education: Lasswell's Communication Model As A Training Tool, Crystal R. Alston

Masters Theses

This paper examines a service standards training process established during the 2016/2017 academic year for Prairie State College (PSC), a two-year community college located in Chicago Heights Illinois. The goal of examining and revising the service training process was to enhance the quality of service after the college received poor service reviews from a recent satisfaction survey. Lasswell's Communication Model was used to create content and structure for a training manual and workshop as part of the overall service training process at PSC. The service standards and training manual was successfully developed and is currently being tailored to accommodate the …

Fostering Global Leaders: A Case Study Of The Korea Foundation For The Next Generation Sports Talent And Its Partnership With The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Benjamin Hisung Nam

Masters Theses

The Korea Foundation for the Next Generation Sports Talent (NEST) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville have been collaborating to foster global sports talent through academic cooperation and have been interacting to reeducate retired South Korean elite athletes since December, 2008. The purpose of the partnership is to create mutual international understandings between the two parties. This study explores the intended/initial goals of the partnership and whether these goals have changed (if so how and why) or remained the same. If the goals have remained the same, has anything changed? Results indicate that fostering global leadership skills, English language training, …

Breaking The Chains Of Trafficking: An Educational Program, Amanda K. Feder

Masters Theses

With popular television shows and films focusing on the issue of sex trafficking, many discursive constructions of the issue allow for a "script" to be followed and replicated in many anti-trafficking discourses. Ultimately, the constructions of the issue become a basis of understanding on sex trafficking, which can consequentially limit the availability and accuracy of anti-trafficking resources. From examining popular discourses and their construction of sex trafficking on a global and U.S. scale, to creating an educational program designed for college-level courses on the realities of trafficking, this project focuses on de-bunking the myths of sex trafficking on a local …

College Students Self-Presentation And Online Social Networks, Lauren J. Stehlik

Masters Theses

College students are active users of social networking sites, and they share a variety of information via their profiles. Employers and graduate schools are one population viewing potential candidate's social networking profiles. This study aimed to explore graduating college students' perception of appropriate or inappropriate content on their social networking sites as they went through the job searching process. College students are users of several social networking sites; however, this study focused on users of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews and an online analysis site called Reppler.com with seven graduating college seniors to learn about perceptions …

From Prairienet To The Cdi: Writing The History, Sally Van Der Graaff

Masters Theses

This paper, the companion to the written work I completed for the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) at the University of Illinois, will provide the background of the project and describe my involvement in its production. The project itself is a comprehensive history of the center's work in the field of information access, with particular emphasis on the digital divide. Insofar as gaining an understanding of digital divide theory was a necessary precursor to researching and writing this history, the companion paper will begin with an exploration of the literature on the digital divide debate and proceed with an analysis …

A Study Of Student Leaders' Facebook Use, Valerie Penn

Masters Theses

Facebook and other social media have changed the way that our society communicates. As student affairs professionals, it is important to understand how this shift in communication affects our students and their development. This study aimed to learn more about how students leaders use Facebook, how they perceive Facebook, and how their leadership position has impacted their use and perception. The researcher used an electronic questionnaire, a Facebook tracking log, and a personal interview to examine the Facebook use and perceptions of eight participants. These participants represented the following groups: Greek leadership councils, orientation leaders, resident assistants, and student government. …

Student-Teacher Relationships And Impacts Of Goal Orientation, Personality, Socio-Economic Status, And Performance: An Examination Of Those Served By Project Grad Knoxville, Kensey Ruth Parker

Masters Theses

This study seeks to understand the importance of teacher student relationships and the impacts of goal orientation, personality, socio-economic status, and student achievement. The study used a sample of students served by Project GRAD Knoxville, a non-profit organization that serves students in the heart of the city. The sample consisted of 110 college students who have received a scholarship from the organization. The results show that learning goal orientation is a significant predictor of student-teacher relationships. Knowing a student’s LGO and time spent discussing social topics can predict whether or not students will end up on academic probation 64% of …

The Inmate Code: The Stories Lived And The Stories Told Of Men Behind Bars, Pauline Matthey

Masters Theses

Using Coordinated Management of Meaning, this study links socialization and identification with the intricate levels of the inmate code that male prisoners live by, or live with anyway, while being incarcerated. In doing so, the research showed that the more highly identified to the inmate code a prisoner is, the less likely he is to have a desire to coordinate the meaning of his stories lived with the stories told of others. Furthermore, this project uncovered a characteristic of metamorphosis, the TRAP, or Temporary Relapse Alluding to the Past. TRAP takes place when prisoners who have developed the ability to …

Upper Level Administrators: Communication With Students Via Social Media, David Adam Arnold

Masters Theses

The present qualitative study was executed by interviewing five upper level administrators at a four-year public institution in the Midwest in order to explain their current understanding of social media technologies, and in what ways they were currently using social media to connect with millennial students. Previous research has been done on millennials' use of technology and social media in the university setting; however, little research has focused on way non-millennial upper level administrators are using social media in order to purposefully engage students in a meaningful way. Themes from categories identified during one-on-one interviews indicate that upper level administrators …

Technology Mediated Recruitment: An Exploration Of How Students Used Social Media To Choose College, Ashley Nicole Cooper

Masters Theses

This qualitative study explored the use of social media as a tool to recruit prospective college students. Social media was defined as any electronic media that serves as a networking tool with the ability to educate prospective and current college students about an institution of higher education (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc.). The researcher met with two focus groups comprised of current college students to discuss their use of social media during their college search process.

Recommendations were developed for student affairs professionals and for future research. General themes and categories from participant responses were evaluated. The findings suggest that …

Counselor Preferences Of White University Students: Ethnicity And Other Important Characteristics, Yi-Ying Lin

Masters Theses

In the last several decades, multiculturalism has became the one of the most popular research topics in psychology and counseling, and the counselor preferences of ethnic minority clients has been well researched. However, in the history of research on counselor preferences, the needs and preferences of ethnic majority clients have been neglected. This study investigated the counselor preferences of White university students.

This study examined three primary research questions: whether counselor ethnicity influenced White university students’ initial counselor preferences, what were White university students’ preferences for various counselor characteristics, and whether White university students preferred specific counseling styles for different …

Introduction The Importance Of Mentee-Mentor Relationships: A Qualitative Study That Examines Students Of Color In Academic Settings, Candace Dixon

Masters Theses

Given the importance of mentoring, this study will explore mentor relationships in academic settings (Waldeck, Orrego, Plax, & Kearney, 1997). Participants were both undergraduate and graduate students with and without mentors. The goal of this thesis study was to understand whether students of color with formal mentors become more successful than similar students who do not have mentor relationships. This research also explored how students who lack formal mentors get important information. In addition, this study explored many differences between men and women of color who seek or utilize mentoring relationships. Mentor and mentee characteristics, students of color in formal …

Cmc Technology In The Classroom: A Look From A Professors Point Of View, Michael J. Shannon

Masters Theses

Technology now influences every aspect of daily life. Education is no exception. This is particularly true for Eastern Illinois University. With the increase of CMC technology on campus, it is important to know how professors feel about it and identify why some professors are not using it.

The specific purpose of this research was to focus on why CMC is beneficial in the classroom. This study discusses the kinds of technology available on campus and discovers the reasons why professors are reluctant to use CMC technology on campus.

This study identified a significant level of technology and assistance available on …

Internet Access In East Central Illinois Public K-12 Schools, Gary Thomas Grissom Ii

Masters Theses

Internet access is becoming increasingly important to the public K-12 school system. This descriptive study reports on the current state of Internet access in east central Illinois public K-12 schools. Baseline data for Internet access have been collected that can be used to measure future progress. This study determined that 84.2 percent of public schools in east central Illinois have building level Internet access. Of the schools that reported Internet access, the mean student to computer with Internet access (SIA) ratio was 65.44. The mean student to computer (SCOM) ratio was 8.27. Analysis by type of connection revealed that 20.5 …

Co-Opertition: Competitive Communication Behavior During A Cooperative Task, Daniel M. Hlavac

Masters Theses

A combined effort of two classes at separate universities was examined. Each class boasted six groups which were paired with another group at the other university. These teams used computer mediated communication to engage in a cooperative task. The communications between groups were analyzed using conversational analytic techniques to reveal a competitive communication pattern. The results show that a lack of communication can produce competitive behaviors even in situations intended to nurture cooperation. Future concerns should focus on teaching groups to use computer mediated communication (CMC) to its fullest potential by recognizing and accounting for the critical differences between CMC …

A Burkean Analysis Of The Rhetoric Of Sexual Harassment: An Examination Of The Polarization Of Attitudes Related To Consensual Relationships On Campus, Loretta Lovelace Wiman

Masters Theses

A history of sexual harassment traces the recognition and development of the issue as a social problem in the workplace and on college campuses. A review of research literature reveals both percentages of students involved and the effects on those students of academic or teacher/student sexual harassment. A brief overview of institutional policy statements shows that some colleges/universities have responded to the issue with a ban on all consensual amorous relationships between teachers and students; some ban such relationships only when a supervisory relationship also exists, and some do neither. Some policies include sanctions on those who violate bans; others …

Performance Expectation Based Broadcast Education, Mark L. Hamilton

Masters Theses

Parcells (1985; Parcells & Hadwiger, 1984) data from a census survey of every commercial radio station manager in five states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa) to ascertain entry-level skills, long-term success characteristics, and advice for success in radio careers indicated that a reorientation of broadcast education was in order. Essentially, it challenged higher educators to respond by revising curriculum, instruction, textbooks, advisement, and overall subject matter to reflect the "new reality" of the communication industry. This study moves beyond the area of curriculum and instruction to discover whether broadcast graduates are being properly prepared for careers in the communication …

Communication Through Athletic History At Eastern Illinois University: 1899-1988, Michael H. Chron

Masters Theses

This study is divided into 14 chapters, with an introduction, the 12 different sports categories and the year-by-year results, and a conclusion. The sports are arranged into chapters in accordance with the scheduling of the academic year.

The method of research involved collecting and classifying source materials, and interpreting and presenting these facts and findings. This method is critical in synthesizing the development and history of intercollegiate athletics at Eastern Illinois University.

This documented data will serve as a public relations project for the athletic department as a recruiting tool for prospective athletes and coaches who contemplate coming to Eastern …

Development Of A Public Relations Program For The Newman Community Unit School District #303, Charles E. White

Masters Theses

Public relations is an important part of any school district's total program. To be most effective, a written, planned public relations program should be used. This field experience deals with the development of a written, planned public relations program for the Newman Community Unit School District #303 in Newman, Illinois.

The author attempts to provide information that could be used by other educators who wish to develop a public relations program for their school district. Reasons why educators must provide information about the schools to the public and involve the public with the schools are discussed. The reasons for developing …