Education Commons^™

Preparedness To Counsel Transgender College Students: Perceptions Of College Mental Health Clinicians, Valerie G. Couture

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived preparedness levels of college mental health clinicians to counsel transgender college students. Multicultural counseling competency is required of professional counselors and transgender individuals are considered to be part of the multicultural population. A survey was completed by college mental health counselors (N = 84) from across the United States. The results showed a moderate amount of preparedness overall with no significant differences based on years of counseling experience nor graduation from a CACREP accredited program. Results did show the participants believed they do have a professional duty to be knowledgeable …

"That's Empowering!": The Influence Of Community Activism Curriculum On Gifted Adolescents' Self-Concepts, Ashley D. Beason-Manes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first of the following manuscripts addresses the experiences of a group of gifted middle school students as they engaged in community action projects that provided them opportunity to become activists in their school, neighborhood, and larger community. This study pays special attention to participants’ self-concepts as measured by the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (2012) and through participant interviews. The study finds evidence of students’ co-cognitive components of giftedness when themes of courage, sensitivity to human concerns, and sense of destiny are applied. Main themes from Harter’s scale are also applied, and participant interviews reveal evidence of academic and …

How Select Groups Of Preservice Science Teachers With Inquiry Orientations View Teaching And Learning Science Through Inquiry, Peggy Diana Ward

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although hailed as a powerful form of instruction, in most teaching and learning contexts, inquiry-based instruction is fraught with ambiguous and conflicting definitions and descriptions. Yet little has been written about the experiences preservice science teacher have regarding their learning to teach science through inquiry. This project sought to understand how select preservice secondary science teachers enrolled in three UTeach programs in Arkansas conceptualize inquiry instruction and how they rationalize its value in a teaching and learning context. The three teacher education programs investigated in this study are adoption sites aligned with the UTeach Program in Austin, TX that distinguishes …

Successful Secondary Agricultural Programs Outside The Classroom: A View Of Champions, Andrew Bolton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to study select secondary agricultural education programs and determine common traits among these programs which lead them to be successful in a number of different areas including: Career Development Events (CDE) winners, Leadership Development Events (LDE) winners, agricultural science fair winners, chapters of elected state FFA officers, proficiency award winners, national chapter awards, and state fair market show results. This study utilized a modified Delphi approach consisting of three rounds to reach consensus on the importance of traits related to successful SAE and FFA programs. Many traits were identified but the most important traits …

Leveling The Playing Field: Teacher Perception Of Integrated Stem, Engineering, And Engineering Practices, Bridgette Fincher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions and approaches of 14 third-through-fifth grade Arkansan elementary teachers towards integrative engineering and engineering practices during 80 hours of integrated STEM professional development training in the summer and fall of 2014. This training was known as Project Flight. The purpose of the professional development was to learn integrated STEM content related to aviation and to write grade level curriculum units using Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding by Design curriculum framework. The current study builds upon on the original research.

Using a mixed method exploratory, embedded QUAL[quan] case study design and a …

Attachment Styles And Trust Propensity In Females With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jacob Matthew White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most frequently encountered and complex disorders in mental health care. Interpersonal impairment is a central issue for individuals with BPD. This complex disorder has received negative stigma along with historically more females than males receiving this diagnosis (Linehan, 1993). Therefore, this study examined a clinical sample of 30 females diagnosed with BPD. Through the collection of data this study used the following measures: a basic demographic questionnaire gathering specific age, ethnicity, current relationship status, parental relationship status, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998), and the Propensity …

On The Air, On The Hill: The Story Of Radio At The University Of Arkansas, Blake Ryan Sutton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On the Air, On the Hill: The Story of Radio at the University of Arkansas is a film about the past, present, and future of radio on campus at the U of A. From the original campus station KFMQ in 1924, to the present day student station KXUA and the region’s NPR affiliate KUAF, the film explores not only the rich history of radio at the U of A, but also what the future holds for campus radio in the face of an ever-changing media landscape. The film draws from interviews with Fayetteville historians, as well as the major players …

Examining Exemplary P-20 Partnerships Using A Mixed Methods Approach, Elizabeth Erin Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, P-12 schools and institutions of higher education have operated independently of each other, creating a gap that acts as a barrier between high school and postsecondary institutions. This gap is blamed for many societal issues including high college remediation rates, low college-going rates among minority groups, and low six-year college graduation rates. P-20 partnerships, agreements between P-12 schools and institutions of higher education with the purpose of improving the P-20 education system, have emerged as a way to address these problems.

From laboratory schools in the 19th century to modern-day professional development schools, P-20 partnerships in teacher education have …

An Analysis Of Secondary Integrated Stem Lesson Plans: Common Characteristics, Learning Expectations And The Impact From The Teacher's Definition Of I-Stem, Jacob Hayward

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated teachers’ understanding of their definition of I-STEM (Integrated STEM education), how those understandings manifested into lessons and associated lesson artifacts, how they assessed students in such lessons, and what factors or rationales supported their ability to conduct or not conduct I-STEM lessons. A survey was sent to the members of four professional organizations representing I-STEM disciplines to solicit their participation in this project. Ten teachers ranging from grades 9-12 participated in this study. Of those who responded, six teachers identified with National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), three teachers selected International Technology and Engineering Education Association (ITEEA), …

Enhancing Vegetable Intake In Infants And Toddlers Through Parental Complementary Feeding Education, Sophia Testa

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research project investigated the outcomes of educating parents of infants between the ages of 6 months and 12 months on the importance of including vegetables in complementary feedings on the infant’s vegetable consumption. The efficiency of teaching was measured by comparing physical measurements and quantity of vegetables consumed by infants whose parents received education with the same data from infants whose parents did not receive education on inclusion of vegetable in complementary feedings. The results found contributed to Dr. Shreve’s research on childhood obesity in the Northwest Arkansas population and to the knowledge of parental education with regard to …

Increasing Superintendent Longevity In Kansas, Cory Lee Gibson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to illuminate the factors that may impact a superintendent’s longevity in the same district. Specifically, this study is motivated by four research questions: (1) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute to remaining in the same position greater than six years? (2) What factors do superintendents in Kansas attribute as the causes for leaving a district? (3) What is the current level of satisfaction of Kansas school superintendents within their current roles? and (4) What are some changes in policy or practice that may increase superintendent longevity in Kansas?

According to Dale Dennis, Kansas Deputy Commissioner of …

Reasonableness And Clarity Of Tenure Expectations: Gender And Race Differences In Faculty Perceptions, Rodica Lisnic

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies how higher education policies and practices can affect faculty retention and proposes changes that higher education institutions need to make to retain their faculty. Faculty assessment of reasonableness of tenure expectations is explored in the first manuscript and faculty perceptions of clarity of tenure expectations are explored in the second and third manuscripts. Job satisfaction data from a sample of 2438 tenure-track assistant professors at research universities is used.

The first manuscript investigates the reasonableness of tenure expectations as it relates to work-life balance. The focus is on whether women’s and men’s appraisal of departmental and institutional …

Teachers And The Development Of Student Noncognitive Skills, Albert Cheng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of education policy are increasingly aware of the independent role that noncognitive skills (e.g., self-regulation, Social skills, and other personality or character traits) play in long- and short-run student well-being. However, little is known about how these skills are effectively developed. One theory is that noncognitive skills are developed through role modeling by teachers. A student, by virtue of observing and sharing a Social connection with his or her schoolteachers, begins to emulate noncognitive skills that they exhibit. In this dissertation, I test this theory. I focus specifically on noncognitive skills related to conscientiousness and measure them using new …

Social Learning Remixed: Peer-Based Learning And Social Status In An Online Community Of Practice, Christopher Erin Mikkelson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People have engaged in peer-to-peer learning within communities of practice (CoPs) for centuries. Thanks to web 2.0 technology, people in the 21st century can now learn together and enact Social status even if they have never met face-to-face. Online communities of practice have since formed around a wide variety of activities, one of which is remixing. Remixing is defined as combining or editing existing materials to produce something new, but leaving each part recognizable as a separate entity. Remixing has recently been recognized as form of digital literacy because users must understand each component to make a good remix. Much …

The Juvenile Addiction Risk Rating For Use In Vocational Rehabilitation, Paul Tyler Hickerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of substance use among adolescents warrants considerable concern since it often has detrimental effects on an individual’s physical and mental health, and correlates with worsened Social, physical, and employment outcomes. Research shows that adolescents with disabilities are especially susceptible to the development of substance use disorders. To address this concern and to ensure accurate rehabilitation service planning, effective screening for substance use risk is necessary. Unfortunately, the most common screening instruments for adolescent substance use rely on information obtained solely from self-report. This type of data, although useful, is also susceptible to inaccuracies due to such factors as …

Sticking With It: A Qualitative Analysis Of The Factors That Motivate Instructors To Teach The Filipino Martial Arts, John Roderick Malmo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the motivational factors that influence instructors to teach Filipino martial arts. The study was designed to address teaching from the perspective of the instructors’ experiences, and allowed them to tell their story in their own words. The following research question guided this study:

1. What factors motivate Filipino martial arts instructors to teach the Filipino martial arts?

Eight instructors were selected to participate in this qualitative study. The instructors were interviewed via telephone and Skype. Each instructor was also observed teaching. Additionally, documents pertaining to each instructor and the Filipino martial arts were collected and analyzed. …

Experiences Of Agricultural Education Preservice Teachers Engaging In Critical Friendships, Sable Sellick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Like educators in other disciplines, agricultural education preservice teachers must find ways to improve as teachers using methods such as reflection or peer observation. Critical friendship combines both, promoting reflection through the use of a critical friend who observes an individual’s teaching and provides constructive criticism to help the individual advance their practice. This qualitative study sought to use the critical friendship concept to assist agricultural education preservice teachers in reflecting on their teaching techniques. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; one group selected a critical friend in agricultural education, and the other group selected a critical …

The Perception Of Bias By University Students With Access To An Education In Ethics: A Study Of The University Of Arkansas Walter J. Lemke Department Of Journalism And The Center For Ethics In Journalism, Kristen Coppola

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The perception of media bias by students with an education in journalism and access to an education in journalism ethics was explored by juxtaposing two political articles covering the results of the 2016 Super Tuesday presidential primaries for both major parties and requesting students at different points in their education careers to rank them on six semantic differential items. Data was also gathered about the students’ knowledge and use of the Center for Ethics in Journalism. The results did not yield any support for previous research asserting that individuals are more inclined to perceive bias in articles with which they …

Factors Influencing Participation In Professional Development To Promote Online Course Excellence And The Impact On Faculty Confidence And Teaching, Elizabeth Ann Mascher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing participation in professional development designed to safeguard online course excellence and the impact on confidence and teaching. This purpose was achieved through a convergent mixed-methods investigation of faculty viewpoints of online course delivery and professional development offerings at a Midwestern state university. To support continued academic success in an increasing online market, the university implemented Quality Matters professional development to promote excellence in online course design. Analysis of data collected from a survey, in-depth interviews, and a focus group revealed faculty perspectives regarding the effectiveness of online course delivery, benefits …

Educational Technology And Innovation Capacity In Arkansas Public Schools, Allie Nicole Taylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We all have high hopes for our educational system. As they stress the need for 21st century learning, governments recognize the importance of innovation and creativity in schools and invest resources to develop learning environments that foster these qualities. This thesis adapts Crosling, Nair, and Vaithilingam’s (2015) model to provide a framework for studying factors that contribute to a creative learning ecosystem (intellectual capital development, 21st century literacies, climate for innovation, and integrity of the system), the quality of the educational system, and the system’s innovation capacity. A survey of 126 Arkansas high school teachers, indicates that two variables, student’s …

Verbing History: A Textualist Approach To Gendered Politics In U.S. History Curriculum, Ginney Patricia Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using three curricular interventions from World War II, I employ an alternative rhetorical history to understand how Social studies curriculum has become a space for the simultaneous deliberation of both national identity and gender politics. In working through the propaganda of Rosie the Riveter, the stories of the women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the experiences of gay men and women in the military during the war, I suggest that Social studies curriculum normalizes and reifies gendered, racial, and queer citizenship in relationship to white, masculine, and heteronormative citizenship. It also utilizes epideictic rhetoric to rhetorically and historically construct problematic …

Mental Toughness, Grit, And Motivational Differences In Single-Sport And Multi-Sport Athletes, Cole Justin Shewmake

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Whether it is at work, school or sports, mental toughness (MT), grit and motivation are essential to accomplishing goals. Sports can be an integral platform for developing MT, grit, and factors that increase motivation levels, and it is during childhood and adolescence that these characteristics may develop. All of this could prove beneficial into adulthood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine MT, grit and motivational orientations of single-sport and multi-sport athletes at different levels of competition. Considering MT, a 2 x 2 ANOVA indicated no significant interaction effect between athlete type and competition level, F(1, 387) = …

Culinary Competence: Skills And Knowledge Assessment For Dietetic Students, Nancy Harris Buckley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduates of didactic programs in dietetics are entering internships with little cooking experience. The Food and Culinary Professionals’ Dietetic Practice Group (FCP DPG) has identified 11 core competencies that were developed as a recommendation to dietetic educators to include more culinary knowledge into existing programs. The purpose of this study was to determine if developing and incorporating experiential learning targeted to the competencies would increase dietetic students’ culinary skills and knowledge at a southern land-grant university. Food and Culinary Professionals’ DGP core competencies were used to guide the development of curriculum, experiential learning, and assessment in the Principles of Foods …

Designing Place-Sensitive Professional Development: A Critical Ethnography Of Teaching And Learning Argumentative Writing, Sarah N. Holland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the experiences of teachers participating in a two-year professional development program designed by the National Writing Project and funded by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) grant. Informed by New Literacy Studies’ ideological model of literacy as a Social practice and rural literacies’ notion of pedagogies of sustainability, this study employs critical ethnography and discourse analysis to analyze the discourse of teachers participating in the College-Ready Writers Program (CRWP) in order to understand how professional development might be adjusted to re-empower teachers. Data sources included field notes, interviews, lesson …

Physically Strong, Mentally Awake, And Morally Straight: Boy Scouts Of America As A Viable Prevention For Substance Use, David Thomas Rolfe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore character-based recreation programs as a potential factor in youth drug use. Specifically, the study sought to find evidence that the Boys Scouts of America (BSA) might help prepare youth to avoid drug use or delay drug use to later in life. Using Positive Youth Development and Community Capital Theory as frameworks, the study explored character-based youth recreation as a holistic tool for engaging and nurturing youth. Positive Youth Development suggests that youth are best raised in a comprehensive and healthy environment. Community Capital Theory suggests that each community contains valuable resources that …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Hands On Cooking And Nutritional Education With Low Socioeconomic Children, Elizabeth G. Freeman

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study was conducted at The Yvonne Richardson Community Center in Northwest Arkansas to test the effectiveness of hands on cooking classes and nutritional education with children age’s nine to eleven coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This group was chosen because people included in low socioeconomic status are more likely to a high number of energy dense foods because of their long shelf life and high calorie count in replacement of fruits and vegetables (Proceedings of the Roundtable on Understanding the Paradox of Hunger and Obesity, 2004). Though this is true, not having a balanced diet and eating a majority …

Discretion And The Implementation Of Federal Disability Policy In Postsecondary Education, Katy Annette Washington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disability Services Providers (DSPs) have historically been the personnel tasked with implementing federal disability policy at postsecondary institutions primarily since the passage of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The model adopted by the majority of DSP offices is student-driven and requires students seeking academic accommodations must go through a formal process to determine eligibility for services, and then play an active role in their provision. Disability-related policies at the campus level are usually authored by DSPs who are seen as experts by the institution and its stakeholders. However, sometimes …

Character Assessment: Three Essays, Collin E. Hitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I propose a new approach to measuring character skills. In the following three essays, my co-‎authors and I measure the effort that adolescent students appear to put forward on surveys ‎and tests. First, I examine the extent to which students simply skip questions or plead ‎ignorance on surveys. Second, I develop new methods for detecting careless answers, those ‎instances in which students appear to be "just filling in the bubbles." I show, using ‎longitudinal datasets, that both measures are predictive of educational degree attainment, ‎independent of measured cognitive ability and other demographic factors. Finally, I ‎demonstrate that international differences in …

Selling College: Student Recruitment And Education Reform Rhetoric In The Age Of Privatization, Paige Marie Hermansen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the success of for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs) as a socio-cultural phenomenon that hinges on distinct public discursive strains and neoliberal rhetorics. This project examines the role of language in creating and sustaining particular discourses of higher education and how those discourses are reinforced and reflected in channels of discourse like documentary films and advertisements.

In the context of shifting demands on and representations of higher education, this project critiques the evolving rhetoric of American education and the shift toward a wider acceptance of privatization efforts, as well as the effect this shift has had on prospective …

More Than A Job? The Perceived Outcomes Of Campus Recreation Employees And Relevance To Professional Employment, Jeremy Martin Battjes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As grant programs dwindle and students are needing to become less reliant on parents to help finance their education, employment while enrolled is shifting from a choice to a near requirement. Collegiate comprehensive recreation programs employ several hundred students annually. Employers must be intentional in creating positions that help meet their needs, but also serve as a co-curricular experience for the student, assisting them in preparation for experiences beyond graduation. This study explores the perceived outcomes of campus recreation employment and the relevance to professional employment.

Student employees at a large university with a comprehensive collegiate campus recreation program reported …