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Short Report: Initial Pilot Of A Brief Career Development Program For Autistic Young Adults, Samantha Cadondon, Meghan Dawson, Jeanne Anne Carriere, Amy Jane Griffiths, Jean-G. Gehricke

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Many autistic young adults may struggle to progress to further education or employment after high school, highlighting the need for tailored career development programs. If provided with the proper resources and support, the obstacles faced by autistic youth in pursuing post-secondary activities may decrease.

Aims

This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a brief career development program consisting of a strengths and challenges intervention paired with a 12-week workshop intervention.

Methods and procedures

We studied the participants' changes in confidence and participation in pursuing post-secondary activities using a series of questionnaires in 20 participants, …

“We All Fly Together, We All Fall Together”: A Fourth Generation Evaluation Of The Experiences Of Students Of Color In A Strengths-Based Postsecondary Access Program, Allyson Gunn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

One of the most persistent barriers within the education system preventing students of color from accessing and persisting in higher education is the deficit lens that the education system uses to judge college-worthy students. To combat this deficit lens, strengths-based programming has shown promise in validating the strengths and students bring to their postsecondary journey. This fourth-generation program evaluation amplifies the experiences of students of color within a strength-based postsecondary access program in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. Through interviews and focus groups, students, and alums of color in the Cornerstone program shared the experience that was most meaningful to them, and …

A Call For Strength-Based Teaching, Molly Weinberg

Art of Teaching Thesis - Written

Teaching practices centering a deficit lens of the child do not provide the space needed for every child to thrive in the American public education system today. This is why I call for strength-based teaching. A strength-based approach to teaching calls for the decentering of deficits and the centering of strengths, knowing our students, the room to make mistakes, freedom from labeling, acceptance and value of all student differences while simultaneously honoring all student knowledge as official knowledge, and the centering of marginalized voices. Our school system today relies primarily on state standards and standardized testing to measure intelligence, forcing …

Amazon.Com, Inc Strategic Audit, Ningzhi Luo

Honors Theses

Amazon.com, Inc (Amazon) was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online marketplace for books but later expanded to e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. This large variety of products and innovations has contributed to Amazon as one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world (Eugene Kim, 2018). This study would specifically focus on the e-commerce area and analyze Amazon's position in this market from an external and internal perspective by using three models: Porter's Five Forces, PESTEL, and the SWOT model. The report would identify Amazon's competitive advantages and the challenges it …

Authentic Perspectives On Autistic Resilience: Implications For Schools And Society, Andrew Nelson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study explored resilience factors as identified by autistic adults with authentic lived experience. Historically, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been diagnosed using deficit models and criteria designed by outsiders with little input from the autism community. While risk of adversity is often high for those with ASD, scant research exists looking at the strengths, adaptive skills, and environmental factors contributing to the resilience of people with ASD. Autistic adults were interviewed (N = 10) to assess which internal and external risks and protections participants deemed important to their resilience. Responses were coded, analyzed, and compared to existing resilience data …

Session 5: Strengths, Shelly Mumma

Gateway's Pilot Year

You will provide each student their CliftonStrengths report, help them connect their top 5 Signature Themes to their actions, and work with them to think about ways to continue to develop each theme at St. Norbert College. There will be a mix of time to read their report, interact with each other and wrap up with a reflective exercise that you will collect and use when you meet with the students one-on-one.

Finding Our Strengths: Creating A Strong Classroom Community (3rd-6th Grade), Emily B. Delgado

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is intended to help students identify their strengths, get to know their peers, and build classroom community from the beginning of the school year. The unit should be taught during the first three weeks of the school year and could begin as early as day 1 or 2. Throughout the unit, students will complete activities to help them uncover their strengths and intelligences, as well as those of their peers. The unit also challenges students to enact problem-solving skills and reflect on their effectiveness. The unit culminates with a performance tasks that asks students to work in small …

Impact Of Latina Identity On Leadership Styles, Blanca Ruiz-Williams

Dissertations

This program evaluation focuses on the impact of Latina identity on school leadership. I offer voice to a silenced and minimally recognized group by including my story and the story of other Latina leaders. Through this ethnographic and case study approach, I explore the central question: “How does race and gender of Latinas influence their leadership style?” Being female and Latina, I seek to understand how the pressures of conforming to traditional White male leadership style impacts Latinas’ ability to lead with authenticity. This research suggests that in order for Latinas to practice authenticity, we must create an environment in …

The Senior Year Transition, Catherine E. Long

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This research focuses on how college seniors emotionally and mentally experience their final year of college. The senior year experience should be a time of reflection and closure of their undergraduate experience. The students in this study identified how types of involvement led them to self-reflection and recognize individual strengths and outcomes that prepared them for their post-graduate lives. By capturing these students’ voices through their experiences the research examined the need for all-inclusive support during the senior year transition. The data provides implications for programming and services, with the intent to facilitate reflection and closure.

Adviser: Debra Mullen

An Exploratory Study Of The Strengths Of Islamic School Principals In California, Texas, New York, Florida, And Illinois, Syed Kamran Qadri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the focal point of the school, the principal’s leadership is integral to its effective functioning. This study used a self-assessment to analyze the self-identified strengths of principals in Islamic schools within the five most populated states in the United States (which also have the largest number of mosques) and the commonalities in those strengths based on (a) the enrollment of the school; (b) year school was established; (c) the gender of the principal; (d) the principal’s professional preparation, e.g., degree in education vs. other fields and years of experience; and (e) geographic location. While only a small amount of …

Evaluating Learning Styles And Personality Type: Guidance For Home School Families Selecting High School Curriculum, Sarah J. Cook

Master of Education Research Theses

“The diagnosis and identification of the strengths and weaknesses of each student, both cognitive and emotional structure, establishes the teaching prescription of instruction” (White, 1998, p. 145). Along with achievement and aptitude tests and portfolios, home school parents can delve into personality and learning styles to gain a greater understanding of their child’s strengths and weaknesses and also to guide in curriculum choices. Can evaluating personality and learning styles aid home school parents in the curriculum decisions? This study included nine upper elementary home schooled students. Each participant completed a self-assessment questionnaire. The data gained from the questionnaire and the …

Strengths Versus Deficits: The Impact Of Gender Role Conflict And Counseling Approach On The Appeal Of Therapy For Men, Jeff Reznicek-Parrado

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

Current trends from the fields of mental health, criminal justice, and sociology suggest that despite men’s significant mental health problems (i.e. Moscick, 1995; Sue, Sue, & Sue, 2003; Greenfield & Snell, 1999; Follman, Aronsen, & Pan, 2013), they are much more reluctant to seek mental health help than women (Addis & Mahalik, 2003; Olfson & Marcus, 2010). Sociologists and psychologists have suggested that this disparity in help seeking can be largely explained by a cultural mismatch between the context of masculinity and the context of psychotherapy. Psychologists have called for a paradigm shift in the way clinical services are rendered …

Reclaiming Our Voice: Strengths First-Generation African American Males Use To Succeed In College, Kelly A. Irby

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to add to the small body of literature exploring the successes of African American males in college. In this particular study, I sought to explore the strengths that first-generation African American males perceived as important to their success at a primarily White institution in the Midwest. Personal interviews were utilized to learn which self-identified strengths were important to success in college for each participant. The result was a candid portrait of the difficulties African American males face and an in-depth understanding of the strengths they utilized to overcome difficulties and succeed.

This study explored …

Understanding The Influence Of Strengths On The College Experience: A Qualitative Case Study Of Undergraduate Business Students, Jennifer A. Mostek

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative, interview-based study was to identify the way that students and advisors utilized knowledge about students’ strengths in college. Strengths were defined by StrengthsQuest, a product of The Gallup Organization. Five college students and three academic advisors from the business college at a large, public research university, representing various cultural backgrounds, family statuses and ages participated in the study. Student and advisor participants explored the influence of strengths on self awareness, confidence, relationships, academic matters, as well as future plans. Advisor participants also discussed the need for additional courses or integration of strengths-based education in existing …

Positive Psychology Within A Cultural Context, Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, Lisa M. Edwards, Shane J. Lopez

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

As our capacity for communication with nations across the globe increases through the advances of technology, our interactions with others with different worldviews also become more frequent. This exposure to diversity on so many levels requires a better understanding of the multiple contexts in which people from different cultural backgrounds live and the strengths they possess that help them experience well-being. In order to define the characteristics that my be viewed as strengths in different groups, we must make efforts to remember that cultural rules and norms often dictate what can be called a strength versus a weakness. It is …

What's Right With You: Helping Students Find And Use Their Personal Strengths, Frank Shushok Jr.

Frank Shushok Jr.

Fixing what's wrong--with students, institutions, and cultures--is the most prevalent approach to change. Frank Shushok and Eileen Hulme offer the discovery and exploitation of what's right as a powerful alternative.

Coming Together While Falling Apart: Networking To Prevent Conflict, Yvonne Shanahan

Master's Capstone Projects

This paper is based on a consultancy evaluation conducted in 2002 for an international network on early warning and early response to conflict. The author of this paper was the lead consultant. The work of the consultancy has been subsequently developed as a case study in this paper.

A growth in networks as an organizational form and rising currency for knowledge are beginning to stimulate the demand for an evolution of evaluation approaches that will capture key learning and outline strategies for the development of networks on conflict prevention. The research of this paper seeks to capture key reflections on …

Utilizing The Strengths Of Our Cultures: Therapy With Biracial Women And Girls, Lisa Edwards, Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Historically, psychology has operated from a pathology-based perspective. In the last several years, however, efforts have been made to balance this view with an acknowledgement of individual strengths and assets. For biracial women and girls, this approach may be particularly useful. Through the utilization of several techniques, including solution-focused interventions and narrative approaches to treatment, therapists can empower their female biracial clients through development of their strengths.

An Inquiry Into Gardner's Theory Of Multiple Intelligences And Strengths Of Students Placed In Special Education Under Mildly Disabled Categories, Kathryn Sandiford Harrell

Legacy ETDs

This study explored the strengths displayed by 4th-5th grade students placed in special education under mildly disabled categories as compared to the intelligences defined by Howard Gardner in his Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1983, 1999). These categories consist of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and Mildly Intellectually Disabled (MUD). Critics maintain that special education has been focused on the weaknesses of students while overlooking their strengths (Miller, 1993; Armstrong, 2000). Under new legislation and new performance goals for special education, the time has come to focus on students' strengths and equal opportunities for students to learn the curriculum mandated by …

Nf00-439 Creating A Strong Family: What Is A Strong Family, Anyway?, John Defrain

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This NebFact discusses six qualities that strong families often share.