Education Commons^™

School Social Workers Conducting Home Visits: Practice And Perceptions, Sadie K. Kinnarney

Social Work Doctoral Dissertations

School districts are serving populations of students being faced with more multiplex sets of individual, school, family, and community level risk factors (Berzin & O’Connor, 2010; Boske & Benavente-McEnery, 2010; Frey et al., 2012; Kelly et al., 2010). Many children are unable to respond effectively to the school setting due to the stress in their family’s lives and the stressors in their home environment (Openshaw, 2008). There is knowledge that social and environmental constraints can negatively affect a child’s role in an educational setting and a student’s capability to learn tends to be challenged if their emotional and physical needs …

Rethinking The Two-Body Problem: Using Grounded Theory To Understand Experiences Of Partner Hires, Elisabeth Day Mcnaughtan, Jon L. Mcnaughtan, Cameron C. Brown, Grant R. Jackson

The Qualitative Report

The abundance of dual-career couples in academia has led many universities to implement partner-hiring policies and practices to extend a job offer to a candidate’s/employee’s partner to either recruit or retain the target hire. Most of the existing research in this area has focused on institutional policies and practices, with less attention given to the experiences of couples who have received such accommodations. The present study used a grounded theory method and qualitative interviews to analyze the process and perceptions of target hires and accommodated hires working in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Participants shared barriers they experienced, strategies employed to optimize …

An Intersectional Grounded Theory Study Examining Identity Exploration For Former Student-Athletes Against The Backdrop Of 2020, Crystle M. Dorsey

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The purpose of this study was to understand how student-athletes explored and made meaning of their intersecting identities through identity-focused curriculum against the backdrop of 2020. With intersectionality as a theoretical framework, this study examines how axes of oppression influenced the process of identity exploration for student-athletes. Guided by constructivism and critical theory as its epistemological foundations, this constructivist grounded theory study included three guiding research questions alluding to the how, what and why student-athletes explored their identities in 2020. The outcome of this study was an intersectional grounded theory detailing how student-athletes explore and make meaning of their intersecting …

The Research Question In Hermeneutic Phenomenology And Grounded Theory Research, Pilar Folgueiras-Bertomeu, María Paz Sandín-Esteban

The Qualitative Report

Formulating the research question is a key but complex task in qualitative studies. The question should be framed consistently with the approach chosen; in other words, question and approach are interdependent. This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the nature of the research question; to this end, we address its meaning by presenting two qualitative approaches: applied hermeneutic phenomenology and grounded theory. Although both approaches draw from the experience of the participants in research, they are vastly different and comparing them provides an exemplar of the important decision-making required for crafting research questions epistemologically aligned with their designs. …

Higher Education Vulnerability: An Assessment Model, Daniel A. Finseth

Dissertations, 2020-current

In the face of declining enrollments and increasing accountability and expectations, private colleges and universities will be facing greater internal and external pressures to deliver higher quality education at a lower cost. In this environment, multiple stakeholders are focused on institutional sustainability. To address these concerns, it is important to understand whether there are leading indicators that may aid in the anticipation of institutional decline. While there is a body of work addressing institutional metrics that serve as predictors of higher education financial viability, there has been little emphasis on complex organizational dynamics. This integrated mixed methods study employed grounded …

Imposter Phenomenon: The Occupational Experiences Of First-Generation College Students, Karen Mccarthy, Kevin Chavez, Krysta Gastelum, Javier Gomez, Jacqueline Salas, Yashi Severson, Jamie Zabat

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) represent an underserved population navigating higher education. There is a current gap in the literature regarding the interaction of occupational experiences, imposter phenomenon (IP), and FGCS. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to explore the occupational experience of IP among FGCS enrolled in a four-year university in California.

Method: This research is a qualitative study using grounded theory. Data was collected through a screening survey and interview with 11 participants who identified as FGCS.

Results: Thematic analysis generated five themes: (a) emotional aspects of IP, (b) collectivism, (c) balance, (d) communities …

Student Voices That Resonate – Constructing Composite Narratives That Represent Students’ Classroom Experiences, Olivia Johnston, Helen Wildy, Jennifer Shand

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Words and stories have the power to resonate with people. Composite narratives can be constructed using multiple participant accounts, representing their experiences while also capturing the properties and categories of qualitative research findings. The ability of composite narratives to represent the multiple facets of theory construction through a singular narrative point-of-view is unique and provides a concise and credible method to present research findings. This paper explains how composite narratives can be constructed to present the research data that findings are built upon through an illustrative example of the process. The example of a composite narrative presented in this article …

How Cultural Believes Support And Perpetuate Relational Violence: A Delphi Study For Violence Prevention, Alisha D. Guthery

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study solicited experts in relational violence across the United States using the Delphi methodology and grounded theory. This research was conducted in two phases and designed to answer two primary questions: (1) What cultural beliefs are involved in relational violence in the United States? And (2) How are the beliefs about relational violence maintained? The findings showed agreement from the experts on the societal beliefs that hold relational violence, the specific beliefs held by the abuser, and the impacts of these beliefs on the survivor. The experts offered ideas for intervention and prevention, which are important contributions to professional …

A Grounded Theory About How Teachers Communicated High Expectations To Their Secondary School Students, Olivia Johnston, Helen Wildy, Jennifer Shand

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

High teachers’ expectations are associated with improved student academic achievement. However, no research explains how students experience their teachers’ expectations, from their points of view. A new theory was developed to achieve the study’s aim of accounting for how high expectations were experienced by 25 students in Western Australia. The findings offer educators student-focused perspectives of how to convey high teacher expectations that lead to improved student academic outcomes. Straussian grounded theory (Strauss, 1990) methods were used to generate substantive theory together with the Year 10 students in three Western Australian public schools, through data including more than 100 classroom …

The Acculturation Process Of International Students In Cacrep Counseling Programs: A Grounded Theory Approach, Hanny Wuysang

Dissertations

International students bring diverse, multicultural perspectives to the U.S. postsecondary education system through their participation in higher education. However, in their adjustment to U.S. higher education, international students in counseling programs face barriers and challenges such as language differences, lack of support, microaggressions and discrimination, culture shock, and different perspectives on mental health treatment as compared to their home cultures. These factors can interfere with their daily personal and academic lives, yet there is often minimal support from their academic programs and host institutions. The growing number of international students in counseling programs increases the importance of understanding their acculturation …

Why I Keep Doing Science Fair: Using Constructivist Grounded Theory To Study Out-Of-School-Time Science Learning Among Females And Underrepresented Minorities, Justin Andersson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Science education in the United States has endured substantial reform due to national needs for a bolstered, more diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce. Recent reform efforts call for students to be engaged in scientific inquiry through the practices of scientists and engineers. Opportunity gaps exist in science education and in the STEM pipeline for those who have traditionally been underrepresented, especially females and minorities. Research highlights the potential of science fair experiences to engage students in inquiry learning that could meet the needs of updated standards. Furthermore, students from diverse backgrounds might benefit from out-of-school time science learning …

Disrupting Inequitable Practices In Special Education: Privileging Student And Family Voices, Armineh E. Hallaran

Theses and Dissertations

Black, Latinx, and other minoritized students have long been overrepresented in the high-incidence, subjective, disability classifications including Learning Disability, Speech and Language Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Intellectual Impairment. Special education places these students on trajectories that deny them access to quality education and the same postschool outcomes and opportunities as their nondisabled peers. Using Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), and grounded theory analysis this study foregrounds the voices of minoritized middle school students receiving special education under high-incidence classifications. DisCrit allowed for an investigation of how student’s intersecting marginalized identities impacted their experiences as special education students. Further, Education Journey …

Relationships Between And Student Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy, Growth Mindset, And Mathematics Identity Of Adolescents In A Rural South Georgia Charter School, Carrie Cooper Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated the relationships between the constructs of self-efficacy, growth mindset, and mathematics identity among middle school students at a South Georgia charter school. Constructivist grounded theory was used to investigate the strength of these constructs along with student perceptions of what factors make one a math person. The study was an explanatory sequential design consisting of an online survey followed by student interviews. Ninety-one students participated in the survey. Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether a correlation existed between the variables as well as among student subgroups. Self-efficacy was found to be a predictor …

Social Justice Informed School Counseling: A Conceptual Model For Promoting Academic Achievement And Equity Among Dual-Enrolled African American Students, Sylvester Hanner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To promote college enrollment, high schools may offer students the opportunity to participate in dual enrollment programs. Students who gain college credit while earning a high school diploma may be more likely to graduate college on time and at a lower cost (College Board, 2017). Despite the benefits of dual enrollment, African American students lack equitable access to dual enrollment programs. Additionally, when they are afforded access to participate in dual enrollment courses, they have a lower academic success rate when compared to White students (CCRC Fink, 2017).

This study provides insight into concepts related to African American students’ opinions, …

A Situational Analysis Grounded Theory Study Of University Inclusive Physics Learning Environments, Tali Hairston, W. Tali Hairston, Wilford T. Hairston

Education Dissertations

Different teaching and learning strategies have informed physics educators on addressing the cultural meanings and practices of physics that have sustained homogeneity within university programs. However, literature evidence physics learning environments are under-theorized in dismantling homogeneity and conceptually changes physics student learning for those struggling to learn physics. The purpose of this situational analysis grounded theory study was to explain a theoretical construct of inclusive physics learning environment strategies of eighteen college and university faculty, collected from interview data in a 2017 study. The research question guiding this study was to describe the sociocultural theoretical structure emergent in the inclusive …

Teacher Experiences In A Community-Based Rural Partnership: Recognizing Community Assets, Tawni Paradise, Malle R. Schilling, Jake Grohs, Jordan L. Laney

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The purpose of this research study is to understand teacher experiences throughout their second year of engagement in the Virginia Tech Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools partnership. This partnership is an assets-based community partnership in a rural environment between middle school teachers, regional industry, and university affiliates that is focused on implementing recurrent, hands-on, culturally relevant engineering activities for middle school students. This qualitative study uses constant comparative methodology informed by grounded theory on teacher interviews to capture both teacher experiences in the partnership as well as teacher-identified assets in their classrooms and school communities. Using the …

Conceptualization And Operationalization Of College Readiness For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Grounded Theory Study With Transition Stakeholders, Jordan A. Abbott

Doctoral Dissertations

The poor success rates of students with learning disabilities transitioning to postsecondary education signal that special education transition services, as currently delivered, are failing to prepare students adequately for the demands and expectations they face in college. To date, transition research has provided limited guidance for IEP team members and other stakeholders charged with preparing students with learning disabilities for success in higher education. Furthermore, existing literature is nearly silent on the process of postsecondary education transition service decision-making, and team member understanding of college readiness. I use constructivist grounded theory and semi-structured interviews to explore the question, “How do …

Implicit Theories On Learning Assessment And The Use Of Triangulation As A Means Of Qualitative Validity And Reliability, Roberto Bellido-García, Alejandro Cruzata-Martinez Dr., Martha Ponce Marín, Luis Gerardo Rejas Borjas

The Qualitative Report

This article discusses assessment practices in primary education and implicit theories in teaching. Cultural practice and social interactions in the classroom create personal experiences, which are the basis for teachers’ individual mental representations, known as implicit theories. These conceptions guide their teaching, but they are not generally studied, unlike the theories of the scientific community. Although implicit theories may be different, teachers from the same educational institution generally share them and they regulate them in relation to the context. This study seeks to identify and interpret the implicit theories on learning assessment of a primary school teacher in Puno, Peru. …

Communicating Change During A College Merger Process: A Grounded Theory Approach, Jessalyn Sabin

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Merger is rapidly becoming an approach to addressing the enrollment and financial challenges posed to higher education in the wake of recent demographic shifts and funding changes in the United States. This study focuses on a district of rural community colleges in a Midwest, unionized state college system that is in the process of merging into a single institution. The main locus of the study is on the communication perspectives of leaders during this merger and the changes that it engendered. Eight leaders were interviewed to examine the following questions: Q1) Which communication strategies do leaders at five different public …

The Role Of Motivation In Employee Disposition And Choosing To Act Among Manufacturing Employees: A Grounded Theory Of Discretionary Effort, Shawn Michael Andrews

Dissertations

Managers are often tasked to accomplish more with the resources at their disposal. Doing more with less is especially associated with the manufacturing industry providing a rich and relevant backdrop for study. Understanding discretionary effort as a resource, how it manifests, and when and how manufacturing employees choose to do more than is required is key to achieving results in an increasingly competitive and evolving industry. This constructive grounded research study investigated how 25 non-salaried manufacturing employees conceptualized how and why they chose to engage in activities that were considered above and beyond job role expectations. Extant literature was considered …

Constructivist Grounded Theory Approach To Understanding Teaching Kindergarteners How To Read During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Mary Carney Hagan

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a variety of problems around the world, including isolation, school closure, contact restriction, and economic shutdown; these problems have completely changed the psychosocial environment and physical well-being of children everywhere (Fegert et al., 2020). Education underwent tremendous changes almost overnight: As a result of the pandemic, students were forced to embrace virtual learning to finish the 2019–2020 academic year and begin the 2020–2021 academic year. This change caused anxiety and trauma to adults and young children. DC Public Schools (2020) described the experience of virtual learning as a “shared traumatic experience” (p. 1). Virtual learning …

Digital Searching: A Grounded Theory Study On The Modern Search Experience, Nicolas Armando Parés

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Grounded theory study explores US adults' modern information search process as they pursue information through digital search user interfaces and tools. To study the current search process, a systematic grounded theory methodology and two data collection methods, a think-aloud protocol and semi-structured interviews, are used to develop the theory. The emerging theory addressed two tightly connected research questions that asked, “What is the process by which humans search and discover information?” and “What is the process by which search and discovery interfaces and tools support the modern search process?”

The study collects participant data from US adults who have …

Power, Passion And Politics: A Grounded Theory Study Of Academic Experiences In Policy Development And Implementation In Higher Education, Marie Brennan

Doctoral

This research study is designed to investigate the lived experiences and perspectives of the academic community on policy development in Irish higher education. A review of the current policy landscape in Ireland and Europe and in particular empirical studies concerning policy implementation provided the focus of the study. The initial study focused on contemporary literature on policy development practices affected by globalisation and subsequently the issues at a national level. Where the gaps in knowledge were identified were in terms of policy implementation at the local level and where the study is aligned. The participants in the study are academics …

Invisible No More: Lgbtq History & Archiving Projects At Universities In The South, Maigen Sullivan

All ETDs from UAB

LGBTQ history within the US South is rich and diverse though it has remained mostly absent from mainstream and academic narratives around LGBTQ history generally. In recent years, there has been a growing effort to location, preserve, research and make accessible to the community the history of the Queer and Trans South. Despite stereotypes of the South as a hyper-conservative, homophobic, and transphobic region, many public history and community archiving projects have begun on public universities across the South. This qualitative constructivist grounded theory research explored the ways in which LGBTQ public history and community archiving projects on public universities …

"A More Complex Experience Of Schooling" And "The Weirdness I Was Looking For": A Grounded Theory Study Of Students' Experiences Of An Immersive, Secondary Arts School, D Bradford Hill

All ETDs from UAB

Much research has focused on the significant benefits of integrating arts into general education curriculum, creating community partnerships for arts education, and including arts as stand-alone curriculum for students. Despite a thriving network of fine and performing arts secondary schools in America, there have been few efforts to articulate the phenomenon of immersive, secondary arts schools, their existence, and the experiences and possible benefits to their students within the schools’ cultures, structures, and curricula. Using a constructivist epistemology and a grounded theory methodology, twelve recent graduates of an immersive, secondary arts school in Birmingham, Alabama, the Alabama School of Fine …

Love And Learn: Creating Space For Authentic Caring In Family Child Care, Katherine Kelly Hart Meehan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Children benefit from engagement in early education and care (ECE) programs that support their learning and development while also providing a point of connection to critical resources for their families. For children from economically disadvantaged families, the lack of access to high-quality ECE results in a persistent achievement and opportunity gap (García & Weiss, 2015). A significant portion of ECE occurs in home-based early learning environments, also known as family child care (FCC) programs, which play a critical role in supporting children from low-income and immigrant families (Layzer et al., 2007; Porter et al., 2010). Unfortunately, this sector of ECE …

Searching For Balance: The Reading Choices, Experiences, And Habits Of Women In Higher Education Leadership Roles, Laura Burns

Education (PhD) Dissertations

Women in higher education leadership roles face complicated challenges in their professional roles, and struggle to maintain work-life balance, yet they make time to read for professional development and for pleasure. Utilizing grounded theory methodology, focus group methods, and grounded theory coding, this study examines the reading choices and habits of women in higher education leadership roles, delving into how they balance their reading between material tied to their professional interests and leisure reading material, and to what extent reading for pleasure contributes to their work-life balance. The study explores what reading materials women academic leaders consume, and where they …

Developing An E-Learning Theory For Interaction And Collaboration Using Grounded Theory: A Methodological Approach, Rachael Njeri Kibuku Dr., Daniel O. Ochieng Prof, Agnes N. Wausi Prof

The Qualitative Report

Grounded Theory (GT) is becoming an increasingly prevalent research methodology in many fields. Although researchers use it in qualitative and quantitative studies, it is more popular with qualitative studies, as evidenced by the citations from previous research. This paper aims to document and present how we used GT in our qualitative research to construct an e-learning theory for interaction and collaboration. It also includes the justification of GT. We adopted and adapted the constructivist GT (CGT). Therefore, this paper discusses the CGT methodology, its philosophical, ontological and epistemological perspectives. It also includes the research design that captures how we sampled …

Imposter Phenomenon: The Occupational Experiences Of First-Generation College Students, Jamie Zabat, Jacqueline Salas, Yashi Severson, Kevin Chavez, Krysta Gastelum, Javier Gomez

Occupational Therapy | Graduate Capstone Projects

Background: First-generation college students (FGCS) represent an underserved population navigating through higher education and therefore receive less support. There is a current gap in the literature that overlooks the interactions of occupational experiences, imposter phenomenon (IP), and first-generation college students. The purpose of this study is to use grounded theory to observe the impact of IP among FGCS enrolled in a four-year university in California.

Method: This research is a qualitative study using thematic analysis grounded theory. Data was collected through a screening survey and follow-up interview via video chats and in-person sessions, and a live transcription software …

Ecological Perspectives On Study Abroad For Language Learning, Matthew Thomas Bird

Theses and Dissertations

The field of study abroad for language learning has drawn extensively on related fields such as applied linguistics and psychology to conceptualize learners' experiences, which then informs how practitioners go about designing programs for those learners. Research has encouraged practitioners to increase learners' access to the target language (e.g., through speaking partners, content courses), but it has also become clear that while access might be necessary, it does not guarantee learner engagement and growth. This dissertation explores two unique conceptual frameworks for understanding language learners and presents empirical research that demonstrates the kinds of findings that these frameworks can produce. …