Education Commons^™

The Impact Of Opioids On Students And Schools In Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Ohio: Educational Leader Perspectives On The Crisis, Charles L. Lowery, Chetanath Gautam

Journal of Research Initiatives

Over the last several decades, the opioid crisis has had an increasing impact on the educational environment of schools. The role that principals and superintendents have in leading schools that have been affected by opioids has been mostly overlooked in the research. The present study was conducted in Ohio, a state with areas that have some of the highest death rates due to opioid-related incidents in the nation. Purpose: This study collected data on the perspectives and perceptions of school leaders in Ohio to better understand how principals and superintendents frame their decisions regarding the opioid crisis. Design: We analyze …

When A Saunter Starts To Taunt Her: Exploring The Outdoors With Disabilities, Jessica Cory

The Goose

This first-person creative nonfiction piece examines engaging with the outdoors, primarily through walking and hiking, while struggling with diagnoses of Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos (hEDS) and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). The author also considers how growing up with a parent whose disabilities made it more difficult to enjoy hikes impacted her own perception of the ableism inherent in the design, architecture, and infrastructure of many state and local parks. The author discusses the importance and struggle of teaching environmental literature through the lens of Disability Studies and advocates both for visibility as well as concrete changes to make hiking and sauntering …

Impact Of Interprofessional Student Teams At A Remote Area Medical Event In Rural Appalachia, Emily K. Flores, Karilynn Dowling, Caroline Abercrombie Md, Rick L. Wallace

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Education in interprofessional collaboration is vital to expand healthcare access, especially in areas of higher disparity. To address this need, interprofessional faculty collaborators incorporated undergraduate and graduate health profession students into teams at an annual Remote Area Medical event in rural Appalachia between 2017 and 2020.

Purpose: This article evaluates the impact of an interprofessional student teams model on both patient care experience and students’ interprofessional collaboration attitudes and behaviors.

Methods: Student volunteers completed pre- and post-event surveys containing questions about demographics, open-ended questions, and questions from two instruments: the Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised Instrument, Version 2 …

Burnout Among Rural Public-School Counselors, Jerry Dooley

Counseling Faculty Research

This study analyzed the risk of burnout for school counselors in rural Appalachia by surveying school counselors in West Virginia. The specific research questions delved into the areas that may predict a higher risk of burnout. These areas were clinical supervision, self-care engagement, levels of education, experience, caseloads, intensity of cases, and peer relationships. Utilizing a quantitative, predictive research design, the researcher asked participants in West Virginia to complete the Professional Quality of Life, version 5 and the Self-Care Assessment for Psychologists instruments as well as a demographic questionnaire to see if those areas could impact the potential risk of …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Policies And Practices Of Lgbtq-Inclusive Curriculum In Rural Appalachian High School English Language Arts Classes, Dawn J. Viles

Ed.D. Dissertations

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer students were a vulnerable population in rural Appalachian high schools. Minority high school students, specifically those who identified as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, who saw themselves reflected in practices and curriculum increased their academic performance, felt safe, and developed stronger empathy for others. Traditionally, English Language Arts teachers had power to select literary works and supplemental materials they deemed important for their students; however, local, district, and state stakeholders and policymakers influenced curricular choices in English Language Arts classrooms more directly than had occurred in the past. Further marginalizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer …

Navigating Place And Gender: A Multicontextual Critical Narrative Inquiry Of Rural Trans* Student Experiences, Jessie Lynn O'Quinn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The purpose of this critical narrative study was to understand how rural West Virginia trans* students navigate cultural norms of their rural home communities and higher education contexts. An essential part of this critical narrative was to provide rural trans* students with an avenue to share their unique experiences and give them a platform to share their voices. The resulting narratives suggested that the normative tensions rural trans* college students experience across contexts stemmed from negative regional experiences that reinforced traditional gender norms. Negative home contexts and experiences forced students to feel like they had to build walls and distance …

First Year Teacher In Appalachia: Place, Identity, Tensions, Michael Renee Lane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study centers on one first-year Social Studies teacher who is beginning her teaching career in a rural middle school in central Appalachia. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this qualitative study focuses understanding how the focal teacher discursively constructs her teaching identity including how she makes use of sociocultural resources, social practices, and the discourses she draws from as she describes her experiences. Data is drawn from a five-month interpretive qualitative case study that included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and the focal teacher’s personal journals. Data analysis indicated that place is crucial in shaping teachers’ beliefs and practices—including their conceptions of …