Education Commons^™

An Exploration Of Social Media Use Among Multiply Minoritized Lgbtq Youth, Alfie Leanna Lucero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study responds to a need for research in a fast-growing and significant area of study, that of exploring, understanding, and documenting the numerous ways that multiply marginalized LGBTQ youth between the ages of 14 and 17 use social media. The primary research question examined whether social media provide safe spaces for multiply minoritized LGBTQ youth to express and explore issues of sexuality and gender. In addition, the study explores and categorizes multiple ways that the participants interact with social media and makes comparisons to prior work with more general populations. The study provides descriptions of the participants in terms …

Printable Biodegradable Hydrogel For Skin Wound Dressing Using Inkjet Printing Technology, Maria G. Yanez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic wounds are becoming more frequent. Foot ulcers affect approximately 10% - 15% of patients with diabetes throughout their lifetimes, and by 2025, it is estimated the prevalence of diabetes will be 250 million people in the worldwide. There is increased potential for patients with peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease to suffer more foot injuries. These conditions reduce the normal pain sensations and healing of minor traumas, allowing the development of chronic non-healing ulcers, often preceding lower-extremity amputation. These types of wounds are very difficult to treat and sometimes take months or even years to heal because of many …

The Development And Validation Of A Domestic Violence Scale Administered To Ged Program Participants To Determine The Effect On Test Performance, Andres Muro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Overwhelming evidence shows that domestic violence is a very serious problem affecting women in the United States. Black et al. (2010) report that approximately 34 million women in the United States, or approximately 30%, have experienced some form of violence including rape, physical, violence, and/or stalking in their lifetimes. Twenty-two percent of the victims have experienced PTSD, 15% have been injured, and 8% have needed medical care. While these statistics show that domestic violence is a serious problem, there are virtually no statistics about the extent to which domestic violence is a barrier to the academic success of Latina immigrant …

School Library Acquisitions Policy: How It Impacts The Delivery Of Library Services To Middle School English Language Learners, Aurea Lourdes Galindo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Del Sol Independent School District (DSISD) serves a student population totaling 64, 214 that includes a Hispanic population of eighty-two percent (DSISD, 2011). Of this total student population, 25.2 percent consists of English Language Learners (ELLs)--predominantly Spanish-speaking students (DSISD, 2011). Current DSISD library collection figures reveal that each campus library has an inordinate low number of Spanish materials. The district librarians are guided by an acquisitions policy that seemingly offers scant guidelines for acquiring books that address the information and literary needs of diverse student populations.

To this end, it is vital to examine and bring better understanding of …

Historical Overview Of Equity In Higher Education: A Case Study Of The South Texas Border Initiative, Denise Razo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There is an absence of research involving the successes reaped by the implementation of the South Texas Border Initiative (STBI). Although there is tangible evidence of an increase in the number of master degrees, doctor degrees, and professional degrees in the South Texas Border Region, none indicates that the STBI's efforts have reaped prosperous results that successfully closed the educational gap found among Hispanics and Whites in Texas. In this research, the gathering of historical events served to accomplish a depiction of a vivid and precise picture of the events that led to the STBI. To prevent historical events from …

Developing A Sustainable Ecotourism Foundation In Indonesian National Parks Using Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Communication Framing, Adriana Salas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Previous research on ecotourism in Southeast Asia has focused on its positive and negative effects for conservation. However, the focus in this particular study is to look at what it takes to run a successful ecotourism site in four diverse areas in Indonesia using communication elements like cross-cultural adaptation and communication framing. Communication should be used as a baseline for a successful site and should be used as the most useful tool to address issues and challenges in ecotourism project development.

A successful ecotourism site must carefully look at how their ideas and programs are framed. Ecotourism must also create …

Predictors Of Academic Success Between On-Track And Off-Track Students In A Mexican University, Jesus Francisco Hinojos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to assess how predictors of quality of academic effort relate to academic success and student persistence of on-track and off-track students in a higher education institution in Northern Mexico; to investigate the relationship of pre-entry attributes,

family background and academic success as expressed by GPA among on-track, off-track and dropout students. And to examine the relationship between participants quality of effort invested in their own learning and development in six academic areas and four areas of college students' social activities.

This study utilized the College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) to determine the quality …

Expanding The Pipeline For Latino Bilingual Teachers: A Mixed Methods Study, Amabilia Valverde Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Current education reform in the US requires teacher preparation programs to educate future teachers according to the certification standards set forth by each state. Certification for teaching in Texas requires that preservice teachers successfully complete a series of comprehensive examinations in their teaching fields and in professional knowledge before entering full-time teaching. However, researchers have argued (Gitomer, Brown, & Bonett, 2011) that the use of standardized tests often raises concerns about adverse impacts on members of minority groups, who often have lower test scores. The purpose of this research was twofold: First, to analyze factors that predict Mexican American teacher …

From Plyler To Daca, Policy Guiding Undocumented Students' Rights In A Public Education System And Its Pipeline To Higher Education, L. Guzman-Duvernois

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to provide a guide and understanding of policy, and/or case law pertinent to undocumented students in our school system. The presentation, a non-traditional format, comprised a historical review of case law, statutes, and other legal authority which discuss the legal rights of undocumented students in the United States' public schools. The primary purpose of this study was to increase the reader's understanding of policy related to the undocumented immigrant student population in our American system of education. The secondary purpose was to examine the different aspects of immigration and other policy that have impacted student access …

Academic And Social Adjustment Of Students Transitioning From An Early College High School Program To An Institution Of Higher Education, Catie Mccorry-Andalis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Historically, minority and low-income populations have faced numerous challenges in achieving a higher education particularly students of Latino descent. Gandara and Contreras (2009) explain that Latinos are the fastest growing population in the United States and yet academically, they are further behind than any other ethnic group in the nation. However, as the nation continues to grapple with how best to educate its children, and programs such as early college high schools grow in popularity, a viable solution to closing the academic achievement gaps of minority students, it is more important than ever that there is an understanding of how …

Textbooks, Teachers, And Compromise: The Political Work Of Freedmen Education, Ashley Marie Swarthout

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

After the end of the Civil War, Northerners flooded into the South in order to participate in the education of freedmen. While many, perhaps most, of the individuals who worked in freedmen education had the best interests of the freedmen in mind, freedmen education in of itself was inherently political; therefore, all contributors to freedmen education were also sponsors of Southern Reconstruction politics. It is my argument that the aid organizations (particularly the American Missionary Association and the American Freedmen's Union Commission), the writers and printers of freedmen-specific textbooks (the American Tract Society and Lydia Maria Child), and the teachers …

Effects Of Augmentative And Alternative Device On Echolalia In Autism, Cynthia Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study was a systematic replication of Mueller and Forbes (n.d.), which evaluated the effects of a high-tech and low-tech augmentative alternative communication (AAC) device on reducing echolalia in a verbal child with autism during conversational speech. The participant for this study was a verbal eleven-year male, who was diagnosed with autism prior to the study. A single subject alternating treatment research design was used to evaluate the effect of a high-tech speech generating AAC device (Proloquo2go) on echolalia. The participant was seen periodically twice a week for two months and periodically for one month. A functional analysis(Prizant & Rydell, …

Knowledge, Perceptions, Discrimination, Health Self-Efficacy, And Risky Behaviors For Hiv/Aids And Its Association With Migration Time Among Mixtec And Zapotec Men Who Migrate, 2012, Sandra Iveth Bejarano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE: Historically, there has been a transnational migration flow from Mexico to the United States. There are many reasons for which people make the decision to migrate; the most common ones are unemployment and economic hardship. Currently, Oaxaca is considered one of the states with the highest poverty levels in Mexico. As a result of extreme poverty groups of indigenous people, such as Zapotec and Mixtec, are forced to migrate out of their communities in order to find jobs. Migration has been associated with various health outcomes, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease as well as …

The Mediating Role Of Dietary Patterns On The Relation Between Acculturation, Psychosocial Factors, And Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors In The U.S. - Mexico Border, Ximena Burgos

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chronic diseases affect both, developed and developing countries around the world. In the U.S., cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death for all groups including Hispanics (Heron, 2009). Hispanics are disproportionally affected by CVD and experience risk factors at higher rates than non-Hispanic whites (Swenson, 2002). Although CVD are among the most expensive and widespread health problems, they are among the most preventable. Evidence shows that diet plays a very important role in the development of chronic diseases; current dietary changes are partially responsible for the increasing epidemic of chronic diseases worldwide. It is well established that the …

Connected Mathematics Learning And Gender Equity In Predominantly Latino/A High Schools: Case Of Spatial Reasoning, Raymond Falcon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed interventions used in improving the mathematics achievement in spatial reasoning tasks for females called connectedness. Gender achievement in mathematics has been a controversial topic because of the wide variance in research. Some research has found a difference between the genders in mathematics while others argue there is no difference in mathematical achievement. The Seven Clever Piece Tangrams were used in the mixed method study as the instrument of spatial reasoning tasks. Freshmen participants (N=719) from southwest high schools in a border town participated in one of two groups: control (n=247) and treatment (n=472). Of the participants, 379 …

Urban Impact Of Dissolved Metals In The Paso Del Norte Segment Of The Rio Grande, Sumayeh Ahmad Freiwan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Paso del Norte segment of the Rio Grande experiences two seasons per year; the (wet) irrigation season and the (dry) non-irrigation season. The goal of this study was to improve the understanding of occurrence and contribution of dissolved metals in this region during the non-irrigation season. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the impact of anthropogenic sources of metals on the Rio Grande water quality during the non-irrigation season, and (2) estimate the metal loads carried by the flow to the downstream region of El Paso. In order to evaluate the surface water quality of the …

Complexity Of Affective Disposition And Reflective Transphenomenality: An Exploratory Study Of Middle School Mathematics Teacher And Student Self-Positioning And Positioning-By-Others Toward Mathematics, Mathematics Teaching, And Learning, Ruby Lorilee Lynch-Arroyo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the mixed methods study was to examine the phenomenon of transphenomenal simultaneity between teacher and student disposition that contributed to the phenomenological conflict of teacher self-positioning and positioning-by-others toward mathematics, mathematics teaching and learning. The intent was to provide a view of self-reported and observed middle school teacher and student experiences in mathematics, based on the analysis of affective dispositional characteristics within the context of its complexity.

There is evidence that documents a relationship between teacher and student disposition, but to what extent and encompassing what characteristics and factors has not been sufficiently substantiated. Beyers (2011) identified …

Investigating The Validity Of A Survey Intended To Gauge Mathematics Problem-Solving Disposition Along The Impulsive-Analytic Dimension, Miguel Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the validity of the Likelihood-to-Act (LtA) survey developed to assess respondents' problem-solving disposition along the impulsive-analytic dimension. Sixteen pre-service teachers were strategically selected from a pool of 495 LtA survey respondents to participate in a semi-structured task-based interview approximately one hour in length. The interview consisted of three main parts: a problem solving section, a consistency section, and a classification section.

* Part 1 of the interview was developed to get interviewees to solve five open-response problems meant to elicit an impulsive response. Interviewees were also asked to verbalize their thought process in order for the researchers …

Preparing Teachers For Use Of Impact Activities: An Exploratory Study, Jeremy Lee Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The iMPaCT project team has developed three modules of activities that use programming on TI-83/84 calculators as a means to engage students to explore foundational concepts in Algebra I. The developers conducted a 3-day summer Professional Development Program (PDP) for teachers to become familiar with the objectives, pedagogy, assessments, and resources of the three modules of iMPaCT activities. I have collected and analyzed various forms of data such as videotapes of workshop sessions, teachers' written work and a pre-post assessment. The purpose of this study is to provide the program coordinators with information about the PDP for planning of future …

Portraits Of Success: A Mixed-Method Study Of The Enrollment, Persistence, And Success Experiences Of Female Graduate Engineering Students At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Sandra Aguirre-Covarrubias

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study addresses the underrepresentation of female graduate engineering students. Specifically, its purpose was to gain insight on how enrollment, persistence, and success factors are experienced by female graduate engineering students at a Hispanic Serving Institution located on the U.S.-Mexico border. The topic of underrepresentation of female graduate engineering students is important for higher education practitioners because in spite of the numerous attempts to increase their enrollment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, their underrepresentation has persisted. The current study is modeled after research conducted by Cordova-Wentling and Camacho (2006). The research question that guides the current study is: …

Comprehensive, Powerful, Academic Database (Cpad): An Evaluative Study Of A Predictive Tool Designed For Elementary School Personnel In Identifying At-Risk Students Through Progress, Curriculum, And Performance Monitoring, Sarah Jo Chavez-Gibson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to exam in-depth, the Comprehensive, Powerful, Academic Database (CPAD), a data decision-making tool that determines and identifies students at-risk of dropping out of school, and how the CPAD assists administrators and teachers at an elementary campus to monitor progress, curriculum, and performance to improve student skills and academic assessment results. This study provides an in-depth examination and evaluation of the Comprehensive, Powerful, Academic Database (CPAD) as the predictive modeling tool utilized at each of the campuses researched. Predictive modeling tools utilized at various educational institutions throughout the United States, reviewed within the study, facilitate …

The Impact Of Baby Sign On Motor Development In Typically Developing Infants And Toddlers, Melissa Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

"Baby Sign is an augmentative communication approach that teaches babies keyword signing that they can use to communicate before they talk." (Sneddon 2003). Baby sign has become popular among parents of infants as a means to communicate before the child can verbally express wants and needs. Programs and classes are now becoming available in many areas of the country to help teach parents basic signs to use with their children. This study aimed to assess the impact of baby

sign on motor development in typically developing infants. The study found that the impact of baby sign language on motor development …

A Qualitative Study Of Curriculum In A Developmental Reading At At Community College, Celina Uranga Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This interpretive study examined the curriculum implemented in a developmental reading course at a community college. Approaching curriculum as a three layered construct, (Cohen, 1990; Hartell, 2012; Mendez, 2010; Page, 1991; Page, 1999), I described classroom lessons to understand how the formal curriculum was translated by students and teachers. This study offered a nuanced account of developmental education with a focus on classroom practice to garner a better understanding of how a developmental reading curriculum was enacted in daily classroom life.

This study focused on questions of culture, meaning and context (Erickson, 1986); therefore, I employed a qualitative approach to …

The Construction Of Gender Occupations In Mexico: Government Issued Elementary Textbooks, Anna V. Haro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Historically, gender occupational stereotyping has mainly affected women across numerous social areas. Given that political socialization plays a key role in the classroom, analyzing the gendered language and images in textbooks can help determine social expectations and the efficacy of gendered policies. Previous works suggest that elementary textbooks (through gendered words and images) structure children's perceptions of women's and men's occupations. In addition, much work remains with respect to exploring how such depictions may contribute to the gendered stereotyping that continues to permeate across certain Mexican communities, specifically in the private and public sphere. To fill this gap, I conduct …

Environmental Education Through The Lens Of Diverse Elementary School Students In The United States: A Phenomenographic Study, Brissa Yazmin Quiroz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global environmental change is occurring, putting our planet under pressure. Children need to understand not only why the environment is important, but also their role as citizens of a globalized society and their necessary contribution to solving global problems. Students carry their own perspectives about the environment and education, and these differing perspectives should be a significant topic for environmental education research. Recent research studies have included the conceptualization of nature and the environment through children's eyes; yet, no studies have examined the concept of environmental education through the eyes of diverse children. Minority voices and experiences are not frequently …

Digital Technology: The Modern Medium For The Art Classroom, Linda Sue Al-Hanna

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Digital technology is an important tool teachers can utilize in the art classroom for the purposes of instruction, lesson planning and student interaction. The computer has been around for many years, and has been a key factor in globalization in the educational setting. More and more students are connecting with others around the world and learning with the computer in more diverse ways than ever. Digital art has been quickly expanding since `Sketchpad' was developed in the late 1960's by Ivan Sutherland. Students today have been born into a digital world and it has become imperative that teachers make the …