Education Commons^™

Students’ Experiences Of Living With Adhd At University: A Meta-Ethnography, Maree Mestichelli, Elisa Pepall, Thuy Tran, Mandy Stanley, Amy Cairns, Therese A. O’Sullivan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

While the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among university students varies depending on the population studied, it has been estimated at approximately 16%. University students with ADHD may find that the condition affects their academic performance, social interactions, and well-being. This meta-ethnographic review synthesizes findings from 25 qualitative studies to explore the lived experiences of university students with ADHD. The studies, published between 2000 and 2023, were predominantly conducted in the United States with sample sizes ranging from 4 to 135 students. Students came from a broad range of academic disciplines and included undergraduates, recent graduates, and attendees …

The Best Practice Guide For Early Childhood Education And Care Food Environment: Module 3: Food Education (Version 1.0), Ros Sambell, Connie N. Ihlein, Audrey Elford, Lochie Clark, Amanda Devine, Helen Alexiou, Lennie Barblett, Fiona Champion, Penelope Clark, Kathy Cologon, Wendy Cook, Katie Dix, Leanne Elliston, Amanda Ferguson, Ricky Gelman, Jodie Gray, Natalie Gulberti, Debbie Jordan, Karen Krist, Deana Leahy, Stacey Mckenzie, Sandra Murphy, Merryn Netting, Ciara O’Flaherty, Asha Rojahn, Blake Stewart, Aimee Sullivan, Suzanne Tamone, Henry Tan, Sandra Vale, Danielle Waterson, Jill Whelan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Food education (FE) in early learning settings is more than cooking – it is an opportunity to experience food in ways that include cooking but go far beyond. Food education gives children the opportunity for exploration, experimentation, learning, teamwork, skill building and much more. At the same time, services must balance safety, regulatory requirements, diverse developmental and cultural needs, family expectations and practical constraints such as time and staffing.

The FE module has been developed to support Early Childhood Education and Care settings (ECEC), for children from birth to 5 years, to create food experiences that are safe, engaging, inclusive …

Crafting The Inspirational Teacher: Governing Through Affect As Policy Response To Teacher Recruitment In Australia, Saul Karnovsky, Brad Gobby, George Variyan, Andrew W. Wilkins, Antonio Olmedo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

As policymakers address a teacher attrition crisis, this paper examines how the Australian policy response mobilises affect to address and manage teacher recruitment. Drawing on affect theory and governmentality, we analyse a case study–the Australian Government’s Be That Teacher campaign–as a policy instrument that seeks to cultivate among would-be-teachers desirable feelings and aspirations aligned with state priorities. Our analysis shows how a sentimental and idealised figure of the ‘inspirational’ teacher is mobilised as a form of affective governmentality through two interconnected dynamics: (1) the construction of teaching as emotionally fulfilling and morally meaningful work through narratives of inspiration, care, and …

From Awareness To Articulation: How Character Strengths Support Wellbeing Literacy In Pre-Service Teachers, Narelle Lemon, Marnie Harris, Rozita Dass, Carli Sanbrook, Rikki James, Tammy Green, Bev Adkin, Gail Berman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Teacher wellbeing demands urgent attention given documented attrition and burnout, yet teacher education programmes often treat wellbeing as peripheral to professional preparation. Sustained teacher wellbeing is also linked to enhanced pedagogical efficacy, professional engagement, and the modelling of wellbeing for learners. This study examines how character strengths function as a scaffolding language through which wellbeing literacy, the intentional language to comprehend and compose wellbeing for self and others, is integrated within initial teacher education for pre-service teachers. Six podcast episodes from the Teachers Supporting Teachers series captured conversations between pre-service teachers and university academics exploring character strengths understanding and enactment. …

Belonging-With Country: Diffracting Equity, Inclusion And Care In Australian Early Childhood Education, Amanda J. Binns, Elizabeth Jackson-Barrett

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This article revisits the widely used yet underexamined concepts of equity, inclusion and belonging in Australian early childhood education. Building on Sumsion and Wong's interrogation of ‘belonging’ in the original Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) for Australia V2.0, it traces how the concept has been taken up across policy, practice and scholarship, including EYLF V2.0 and contemporary work on care, book sharing and cultural responsiveness. It argues that these approaches, while well intentioned, often individualise belonging, obscure ongoing colonial relations and privilege Euro-Western, human-centred ontologies that normalise some children, families and places while marginalising others, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait …

Extending The Theory Of Planned Behaviour To Explain Contract Cheating In The Age Of Generative Ai: Evidence From Australian Higher Education, Madugoda Gunaratnege Senali

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Academic contract cheating (CC) poses a significant challenge for Higher Education (HE), a problem that has become more complex with the increasing use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools. While similarity detection software can flag AI-generated text, it remains ineffective in identifying CC, potentially displacing misconduct rather than reducing it. Drawing on and extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), this study examines how traditional TPB constructs and technology-mediated perceptual factors jointly influence students’ intentions and behaviours related to CC within the Australian HE context. The findings reveal significant direct and indirect pathways linking perceived instructor involvement, detection awareness, …

Providing Effective Training For Special Education Paraprofessionals Supporting Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asd) In West Virginia Public Schools: A Program Evaluation Of The West Virginia Autism Training Center Autism Mentor Course, Leigh L. Saville

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this nonexperimental, descriptive, mixed-methods study was to evaluate whether, and to what degree, the Autism Mentor Course professional development program increased paraprofessional content knowledge related to the support of students with autism in the educational setting. Specifically, the study measured content knowledge of paraprofessional participants prior to and upon completion of the 10-week course, their perceptions of the program’s effectiveness in increasing their self-efficacy, and recommendations for improving the course. Study participants (n = 10) were paraprofessionals who worked in West Virginia public schools, supported or planned to support at least one student with autism, and …

Technology Directors' Perspectives On Cybersecurity Preparedness In West Virginia Public Schools, Angela Dawn Urling

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Cybersecurity threats targeting K-12 school districts continue to present challenges for educational leaders responsible for protecting district operations, networks, and sensitive student information. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods case study was to examine technology directors' perceptions of cybersecurity preparedness in West Virginia public school districts and to identify factors influencing preparedness and barriers to implementing effective cybersecurity measures.

Quantitative data were collected through a 31-item survey distributed to technology directors employed by West Virginia public school districts. Twenty-one participants completed the survey, resulting in a response rate of 38.2%. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with six technology …

Provisional Vs. Regular Graduate Admission And Student Success At Marshall University: A Multi-Program Quantitative Study, Thomas J. Canterbury

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Graduate programs use provisional admission to expand access for applicants who demonstrate academic potential but do not fully meet regular admission requirements. This quantitative, retrospective, archival study compared degree completion, completed/enrolled status, and cumulative graduate grade point average (GPA) among provisionally and regularly admitted students across six Marshall University graduate programs. Program-level differences and the roles of age at admission and sex were also examined. After applying the Fall 2017 through Spring 2024 study window, excluding unclassifiable records, and removing duplicate records, the final sample included 2,043 unique students: 1,914 regularly admitted and 129 provisionally admitted. Analyses included chi-square tests, …

The Development And Initial Validation Of A Measure Of Professional Mentoring Engagement Among School Counselors, Emily Kitching

Theses and Dissertations

This study describes the development and initial validation of the Mentoring Engagement Scale (MES), a self-report instrument designed to measure a person’s level of engagement in professional mentoring. Despite emerging evidence that professional mentoring may serve as a protective factor against the burnout and stress associated with school counselors’ roles and responsibilities, existing measures of mentoring are limited by weak documentation of development procedures, mixed psychometric support, and limited practical applicability. In two phases, the present study aimed to (1) evaluate content validity and systematically refine items grounded in Kahn’s (1990) theory of engagement and (2) investigate the preliminary psychometric …

Foreign-National Families, Education, And Parenting: Unpacking The Influence Of Cultural Transitions On Child-Rearing And Expectations, Yuqi Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how highly skilled foreign-national parents navigate parenting and educational decision-making within the context of cultural transition in the United States. While existing research on foreign-national parenting has largely focused on socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, less is known about families who possess substantial educational and professional capital. Despite these advantages, these parents encounter unique challenges related to institutional navigation, identity negotiation, and social constraints. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory, Coleman’s social capital theory, Berry’s acculturation framework, and Yosso’s community cultural wealth model, this study explores how cultural background and migration experiences shape highly skilled foreign-national families’ parenting beliefs …

Awareness, Empathy, Action: How American Students’ Study Abroad Experiences In The Middle East And North Africa (Mena) Influence Self-Perceptions Of Global Citizenship, Renee Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

Internationally minded practitioners and academics have posited for decades that global citizenship could be a tool the world can use to build a stronger and more sustainably minded global culture. Through global citizenship’s inclusion in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Target 4: Quality Education, educators from pre-primary to university have been put at the forefront of this movement. At the higher education level, study abroad is arguably the most important global learning tool used by American institutions today for building global citizenship. However, the vast majority of American students study abroad in Western Europe, leaving a glaring gap in …

From Cultural Binaries To Coexistence: A Graphic Autoethnography Of Individualism And Collectivism In An International Context, Shahad Alsubaie

Theses and Dissertations

This arts-based autoethnographic study investigates individualism and collectivism, specifically through my study-abroad experience traveling from Saudi Arabia to the United States. Through arts-based reflective practice, I depicted the diasporic experience of being ontoepistemologically collectivistic while navigating a primarily individualistic society. I use the medium of a graphic memoir to illustrate and develop frameworks of confluence that embrace the two distinct cultural orientations simultaneously. This arts-based self-study not only contributes to the body of transnational scholarship but also serves as a reference for international students, researchers, and educators to use arts-based subgenres and data analysis methods to gain better insights into …

Not Just Cheap Labor: A Critical Mixed Methods Assessment Of Working Learner Supervision To Advance Equitable Work-Integrated Learning, Jonathan D. Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how supervisory relationships shape the quality of on-campus student employment (OCSE) as a work-integrated learning (WIL) experience, with particular attention to the experiences of working learners (i.e., student employees). Situated in response to growing student demand for meaningful, career-relevant work opportunities in college, the study investigates how universities can leverage existing OCSE roles to expand access to WIL. Using a mixed methods explanatory social justice design, the research integrates working learner responses (N = 478) to the Student Supervisor Support Measure with interviews of students and supervisors in relationships characterized as both supportive and cross-identity.

Survey …

Theoretical Bases Of Social Emotional Learning Programs, Brocha Ahuva Pfeiffer

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, thousands of schools across the globe utilize Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and curricula in fostering social and emotional competencies in their students. These SEL curricula come in many forms with differing frameworks, theoretical backgrounds, program components, and program outcomes. In research, SEL programs have been proven to increase overall rates of academic achievement and behavioral success. However, research shows that many schools are struggling with the day-to-day implementation of these SEL programs (DePaoli et al., 2017). Research on the role of theory in evidence-based therapeutic interventions suggests that theory plays an important role in addressing these implementation concerns, as …

Relative Age In Academic Cohort Predicts Special Education Referrals And Placement In The New York City Public Schools, Sora Dembitzer

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, non-experimental study used existing administrative data from the New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE) to test hypotheses about the relationship between relative developmental age in academic cohort and likelihood of special education classification for Learning Disability (LD), Speech or Language Impairment (SI), Emotional Disability (ED), or Other Health Impairment (OHI) in the NYC public schools. This ethnically diverse sample consisted of 360,741 boys (51.1%) and 345,486 girls (48.9%) in grades kindergarten through twelve. Crosstabulations were used to describe classification rates by relative age, defined as being born in first or last quartile of calendar year, and …

Meaningful Work: A Phenomenological Study Of Embedded Writing Peer Mentors, Susan S. Detwiler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This phenomenological case study examines the experiences of writing peer mentors who are embedded in a first-year inquiry-based writing seminar. It aims to understand how peer mentors who are engaged in the complex practice of supporting first-year writers in a writing classroom make sense of themselves and writing. At a large R-1 diverse university, I interviewed 6 writing peer mentors 3 times over 1 calendar year. I traced their development from mentees, (first-year writing students), through their three semesters of peer mentoring. They also shared written reflections from their training praxis course (a course for peer mentors focusing on their …

An Exploratory Mixed-Method Study Of Systems For Adhd Accommodation Implementation In New York State Middle Schools, Stacie Fenn Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This mixed-method study examined organizational structures for ADHD accommodation implementation in New York State middle schools. While extensive research documents the effectiveness of specific ADHD accommodations, limited scholarly attention has focused on how educators organize themselves to deliver these supports consistently across multiple classroom settings. This study addressed that gap by investigating how educational leaders, teachers, and support staff structure systems for accommodation implementation. Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and Organizational Behavior Theory (Robbins & Judge, 2017), the study examined implementation across three organizational levels: building leaders, coordinators, and classroom teachers and support staff.

Data collection included a …

Exploring The Impact Of Mindful Social Media Literacy Instruction On Self-Regulated Smartphone Use, Catherine Coons

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Smartphone and social media addiction, and increasingly high rates of anxiety and other mental health challenges, afflict contemporary undergraduate students more than previous generations of college students. The mental health challenges faced by students directly affect their academic potential, influencing their ability to concentrate, maintain confidence, get adequate sleep, and sustain overall well-being. Despite the increasing prevalence of these issues, universities often lack sufficient resources, services, and trained staff to support this growing student population adequately.

This study examines the impact of mindfulness-based social media literacy instruction on curbing problematic social media use in college students. While extensive research has …

Uab Libraries News, 01 2026, Uab Libraries

UAB Libraries News

No abstract provided.

Exploring Youth Soccer Coach Recruitment Practices, Han-Earl Lim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative single-case study examined how a private-interest, nonprofit youth soccer club in the Midwestern United States recruits coaches, what coach qualities are prioritized in hiring, and how organizational and sociocultural conditions shape those practices. The study was guided by three research questions focused on (a) recruitment and early support processes, (b) hiring criteria and decision rationales, and (c) the organizational and sociocultural contexts influencing recruitment. Data were generated through five semi-structured interviews with four participants who were involved in recruitment practices (the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, and two full-time head coaches). Additional sources included an organizational mapping survey …

A Survey Of Disability-Inclusive K-12 Public School Music Programs In The United States Where Best Buddies Friendship Programs Have Been Established, Geena Louise Jeffries Mattox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines the presence and structural characteristics of disability-inclusive band, orchestra, and choir programs serving students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) in K-12 public schools across the United States that implement the Best Buddies School Friendship Program. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is defined as group of chronic, lifelong conditions that originate before age 22, affecting physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. Despite federal legislation, peer reviewed scholarship specifically addressing access to performance-based music ensembles for students with IDDs remain comparatively limited. Employing a survey distributed nationwide within a defined population of schools implementing Best Buddies Programs, administered via …

Acts Of Becoming: A Phenomenological Investigation Into The Lived Experiences Of West Virginia Teacher-Activists, 1990 To The Present, Phillip Elias Howard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This critical phenomenological dissertation explores the lived realities of becoming a West Virginia teacher-activist. Presenting the experiential accounts of three participants, its semi-structured questions Show the lifeworld forces, inherited (factical) self-identities, and occupational, "on-the-ground" classroom experiences that inspired its research collaborators to assert themselves as unionists and natural teacher-organizers. This dissertation utilizes a collection of Marxian, phenomenological, and post-structural interpretation devices to develop robust, sensemaking themes which reveal the meaning of participants’ lived reflections. It also provides thick descriptions of co-researchers' historic and current political, economic, and socio-cultural backdrops amid West Virginia’s right-wing political realignment of the 2010s, the eternal …

Statistical Analysis Of Evidence In Criminal Cases, Giuliana Leon Carrillo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ideally, the evaluation of relevant forensic evidence must corroborate the hypotheses that the prosecution and/or the defense holds regarding the commitment of a crime. Therefore, optimal forensic evidence would be the one that can be found all the time under the same circumstances, and cannot be found otherwise, making the forensic scientist able to evaluate this evidence given the hypotheses provided. Nevertheless, this is hard to find, as ideal evidence being only a concept.

In this project, the probabilistic interpretation of relevant forensic evidence investigated in criminal cases with the aid of Wigmore charts and Bayesian networks was proposed. Using …

Bangladeshi Students' Experiences With Formative Feedback At West Virginia University, Habiba Jahan Seam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study examines how Bangladeshi international graduate students at West Virginia University experience, interpret, and utilize written formative feedback within higher education in the United States. It explores how students' prior educational and cultural experiences in Bangladesh shape their engagement with feedback in a different academic context. I used a qualitative approach to collect data through two rounds of semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions with Bangladeshi graduate students to better understand how individuals make sense of formative feedback throughout their academic journey. Findings indicate that prior educational experiences play a meaningful role in shaping how students interpret and …

I Think, Therefore I Can: Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, And Sense Of Belonging In Introductory Physics, Danielle Christine Maldonado

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cognitive and affective beliefs in physics classrooms are important indicators of student success beyond traditional measurements of academic performance. This body of work explores major beliefs and processes, including self-efficacy, self-regulation, and sense of belonging, as they relate to academic achievement among introductory undergraduate physics students. First, this dissertation explores the development of physics self-efficacy and physics sense of belonging, two highly correlated variables. This work identifies unique sources of physics self-efficacy and sense of belonging development from current and prior academic experiences, personality factors, and demographic variables. Then, relationships between early- semester self-efficacy and sense of belonging, mid-semester …

Teacher Culturally Sustaining Practices Supported By Generative Ai: Instrument Development, Guy Trainin, Azadeh Hassani, Shuling Yang

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Generative AI (GenAI) carries the dual potential to reproduce educational inequities and to expand opportunities for multilingual support, critical evaluation, and personalized learning. This paper reports the development and initial validation of an instrument measuring K-12 literacy teachers' perceptions of GenAI's capacity to support culturally sustaining pedagogy. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) and its asset-based commitments, the instrument operationalizes three constructs, namely academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness, across both teacher and student use. Items were drawn from the CSP literature and refined through cognitive interviews, then administered to 109 PK-12 language arts educators. Reliability was strong for …

Medical Students Report Coherent Ethical Orientations Towards Ai Across Academic And Clinical Domains, With No Clear Association With Perceived Technical Readiness: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study, Ismail El Moudden, Madison Baldauf, John Millerhagen, Anca Dana Dobrian

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology Faculty Publications

Background

Whether perceived technical AI competency is associated with greater ethical openness to AI integration, a relationship often assumed in curricular design, remains empirically untested. This pilot study examined relationships between perceived AI readiness, ethical perspectives toward AI integration, and curricular needs among medical students.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was administered to medical students at a single U.S. institution from September through November 2025. The survey assessed self-reported AI readiness, ethical perspectives across academic and clinical domains, and responses to 22 scenario-based ethical items; all measures were student self-reports, and findings reflect student perceptions. Composite indices were created for Perceived …

The Effects Of Systematic Instructional Interventions On Functional Communication, Vocational Independence, And Academic Performance For High School Students With Autism In A Self-Contained Special Education Setting, Sarah O. Shalash

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

This project evaluated the effects of systematic instruction on functional communication, vocational independence, and functional mathematics for three high school students with autism in a self-contained special education classroom using three A–B single-case designs. Interventions included a system of least prompts for AAC requesting and vocational task completion and constant time delay for a functional timer-setting task. Student performance was measured as the percentage of independently completed responses across instructional sessions. Student T demonstrated meaningful improvement in independent AAC requesting and reached 75% independence in the final session. Student B demonstrated emerging improvement in timer-setting performance and reached 60% independence …

The Contributions Of Student-Level And Classroom-Level Factors For Australian Grade 2 Students’ Writing Performance, Anabela Malpique, Mustafa Asil, Deborah Pino-Pasternak, Debora Valcan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Using multilevel modeling, the current study examined student-level predictors of compositional quality and productivity in Grade 2 Australian children (N = 544), including handwriting automaticity, literacy skills, executive functioning, writing attitudes, and gender; and classroom-level (n = 47) variables predicting students’ writing outcomes, including the amount of time for writing practices and the explicit teaching of foundational (handwriting, spelling, grammar) and process writing skills (planning and revision strategies). Multilevel analyses revealed that student-level factors, including gender, general attitudes, and transcription skills (handwriting automaticity and spelling), were key predictors of writing outcomes. Interaction analyses showed that spelling and word reading influenced …