Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

“When Do I Cross The Street?” Roberta’S Guilty Reflection, Irene A. Lietz

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Following a student’s evolving attitudes on race issues through her undergraduate years, a researcher concludes that a critical pedagogy can have long-term effects on student and instructor alike.

Argument For Internationally-Focused Curricula In Us Primary Education Reform, Hector Santiago

Capstone Collection

The purpose of my research is to investigate the current climate within the field of International Education, create a meaningful connection to education reform efforts that shows the merit and necessity of internationally-focused curricula in a global society, and to argue in favor of attainable, effective cultural engagement programing in US primary education reform by which US students combine standard learning objectives with multicultural elements to improve cultural communication, awareness, understanding, and adaptation. By beginning cultural education and engagement in primary school, I will explain how students will develop a better understanding of other cultures, be more willing to invest …

Creating Trans-Inclusive Schools: Introductory Activities That Enhance The Critical Consciousness Of Future Educators, Kris T. De Pedro, Christopher Jackson, Erin Campbell, Jade Gilley, Brock Ciarelli

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The Lawrence King murder and other tragedies surrounding transgender youth have prompted a national discussion about the need for schools to be more supportive and inclusive of transgender students. In this multi-authored reflection, the authors describe a series of three introductory activities in an undergraduate educational studies course aimed at cultivating critical consciousness about transgender students. The instructor and students discussed their viewing of televised interviews featuring transgender individuals and participated in a gallery walk and a role-playing activity. These activities cultivated students’ critical awareness of the experiences of transgender students and strategies for creating trans- inclusive classrooms and schools.

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Meaning Of Language Learning Strategies As Experienced By Successful English Language Learners At A South Korean University, Eric Hall

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the shared experiences and beliefs concerning the use of language learning strategies (LLS) among successful English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners at a South Korean university. The research questions focused on how successful EFL learners describe their experiences learning English through the lens of learning strategies. Further examination described the role LLS play in the student’s successful English language learning. The participants were 12 successful EFL students from a South Korean university. Data collection consisted of interviews, focus groups, and observations. Data analysis was achieved through use of the hermeneutic …

The Effects Of Preparedness On Career And Technical Education Student’S Program Performance And Vocational Attainment, Walter Warren

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to consider the effects that academic and vocational preparedness have on postsecondary students’ performance in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) or apprenticeship program, and the relationship between their in-program performance and vocational attainment after program completion. The study was conducted using archival data from a postsecondary CTE institution with a proven track record for administering apprentice programs. The findings from this study are an indication that academic and vocational preparedness are relevant factors when considering students’ ability to complete a postsecondary CTE program, level of performance in a CTE program, and …

A Case Study Of The Experiences Of Students With Disabilities Who Did Not Complete High School, Richard Wieringo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study explores the experiences of students with disabilities who have dropped out of high school, so as to identify related factors that led to their decisions. Participants included both males and females who were designated as students with disabilities at Ridgeville High School (pseudonym for a Virginia high school) and who dropped out between their third and fourth years of high school, during the 2010 to 2014 academic years. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 24. The case study was conducted through the use of semi-structured interviews, journaling, and observation of the sample population, with …

"How To Be Nice And Get What You Want": Structural Referents Of "Self" And "Other" In Experiential Education As (Un)Democratic Practice, Franklin Vernon

Democracy & Education

This critical ethnography explores a social justice program utilizing nontraditional, democratic, "experiential" education practices. The author posits a historical legacy of pedagogy of self obscures its emancipatory, democratic potential while simultaneously expanding on contemporary discourses of self and other as aspects of the educational setting. Students' labors to reference and enact oppressive, capitalistic idealizations of either self or other problematizes pragmatic theories of self, and the author draws upon critical pragmatism to reposition self and other as aspects of pedagogy and curriculum in democratic education.

“There’S Still That Window That’S Open”: The Problem With “Grit”, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah’s narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our …

Elementary And Secondary Special Education Teachers Experiences Of Inclusion For Students With Moderate To Severe Disabilities: A Phenomenolgical Study, Shannon Anders

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of special education teachers regarding inclusive practices with students with moderate and severe disabilities in a rural North Carolina school district. The purpose of this research was to seek the overall essence of the lived experiences of a purposeful criterion sample of 11 special education teachers as they used inclusion strategies with their students. This study had one central question: How do rural special education teachers describe their experiences with inclusive practices for their students with moderate to severe disabilities? The theories guiding this study were Maslow’s Hierarchy …

The Effect Of A Minimum Credit Diploma Pathway On High School Graduation Rate, Teresa Strickland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There are many paths to high school graduation. The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has driven schools to be creative in seeking strategies by which students successfully earn their high¬¬¬¬ school diploma. In this non-experimental, causal-comparative study, a large Western North Carolina school district utilizes a minimum credit diploma to help students who previously experienced repeated academic failure achieve high school graduation by earning 21 course credits. The district requires traditional diploma-seeking students to earn seven additional credits to the 21 required by the State. Participants included high school graduates from the 2013-2014 school year. Both traditional …

The Relationship Between Gaming Addictive Behavior, Satisfaction, And Success In Computer-Based Learning, Marlene Carrilho

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the association between college students’ levels of gaming addictive behavior and their levels of student satisfaction and student success in a computer-based learning environment. Additionally, gender was investigated as a moderator of the association between gaming addictive behavior and student success and between gaming addictive behavior and student satisfaction. Data was collected through online surveys from a convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled at a large, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)-accredited, evangelical Christian university located in Virginia. The statistical program SPSS 22.0 was used for the analyses. Hierarchical …

A Program For Persistent Integration Of Faith And Learning In A Christian University Online Environment, John Norris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia has expanded since 1971 to become the largest Christian university in the world. Liberty will be used in this paper as a contemporary example of a Christian university that has maintained its Christian commitment. Liberty will be contrasted with numerous Christian colleges and universities that had similar missions but have eventually lost their religious affiliations and their Christian-oriented focus. This paper will explore how and why other universities have drifted from their original religious affiliations and doctrines. The reasons and processes will be examined and used to develop a program for online Christian education that …

A Correlation Analysis Of Faculty Interaction With Undergraduate Students In Online Courses And Student Course Completion Rates, Claudia Restiano

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The extent in which a teacher communicates with his or her students in an online setting may affect student course completion rates. The increased use of online courses and degree programs at the post-secondary level has fundamentally changed the way faculty members and students interact, and ultimately may impact student course completion rates. Course completion is an aspect of student retention. The purpose of this quantitative correlational research study was to analyze the correlation between faculty interaction with online undergraduate students in required introductory English composition courses and student completion rates in those courses. Blackboard is a learning management system …

Maternal Communication During A Deployment With School Staff: A Phenomenological Study, Carolyn Davis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of maternal soldiers’ in communicating with school staff during a military deployment. The increasing number of deployments since 2001 has affected the family unit, especially the children. The primary focus of the research on military deployments has been related to the effects on children and the family. This study used purposeful sampling to select seven maternal veterans who experienced a military deployment within the past five years lasting six months or longer. Participants shared their experiences with a deployment through a semi-structured interview. Prior to the interview, participants completed …

Special Educators’ Perceptions Of Using Educational Rap Music To Build Phonemic Awareness Skills For Students Identified With Mild Intellectual Disabilities: A Phenomenological Study, Martha Plumlee

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to understand special educators’ experiences and perceptions of using rap music to teach phonemic awareness skills to students with mild intellectual disabilities, in three Smith County (pseudonym) public school self-contained special education classrooms. A purposive sample utilized six participants in data collection comprised of semi-structured interviews, observations, documents, and one focus group. Data was analyzed using phenomenological reduction. Using Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory, and Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory, the essence of the shared experiences and perceptions were reported. An analysis of the data from semi-structured …

Exploring The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Teacher Burnout In The Mississippi Delta, Lakeysha Hallmon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

School districts in the Mississippi Delta are located within one of the poorest regions in the United States (United States Census Bureau, 2012). These school districts face challenges such as low reading and math scores, high concentrations of students living in poverty, and a critical shortage of teachers. Researchers link the critical shortage to high turnover rates and the associated teacher burnout (Darling-Hammond, 2010). The problem of teacher burnout and the consequential attrition that persists in the Mississippi Delta may be ascribed to a cultural disconnect between teachers and students (Brown-Jeffy & Cooper, 2011). Thus, in this exploratory, correlational study, …

Media Literacy And The Hungarian National Core Curriculum – A Curate’S Egg, Anamaria Neag

Journal of Media Literacy Education

In recent years, Hungary has been frequently criticized about press freedom issues by organizations including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House and others. In the current situation, it is thus imperative to understand how media literacy is positioned in public education. The objective of this paper is to analyze the 2012 education curriculum on media education in Hungary and to evaluate the definitions used for constructing media literacy in the National Core Curriculum (NCC). For doing so I apply tools derived from Critical Discourse Analysis and I seek to identify the educational goals of media literacy education. The new NCC brought …

The New Curricula: Propelling The Growth Of Media Literacy Education, Tessa Jolls

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As new online and cellular technologies advance, the implications for the traditional textbook model of curricular instruction are profound. The ability to construct, share, collaborate on and publish new instructional materials marks the beginning of a global revolution in curricula development. Research-based media literacy frameworks can be applied to all subjects, and they enable teachers to have confidence that, in employing the frameworks to address academic subjects, themes or projects, students will gain content knowledge. Teaching through media literacy education strategies provides the opportunity to make media literacy central to teaching and learning, since media literacy process skills enable students …

The Relationship Between Hexaco Personality Traits And Cyberbullying Perpetrators And Victims, David Smith

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There is an increasing problem in high schools across America with the threat of cyberbullying from both a perpetration and victimization standpoint. Cyberbullying is a problem for many youth because of the inability to escape the use of technology and the incapability of escaping the online community. This non-experimental predictive correlational study examined personality traits, using the HEXACO personality structure model, to predict the susceptibility of freshman high school students either being perpetrators or victims of cyberbullying. There were a total of 256 participants who took the Cyberbullying and Online Aggression survey along with the HEXACO personality model survey. This …

A Grounded Theory Study Exploring The Technology Decisions Mothers Make For Their Preschool Age Children In The Home Environment, Carolyn Wicks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this systematic grounded theory study was to explore the technology decision process mothers use when making technology decisions for their preschool age (3-5 years) children in the home environment. I used snowball and maximum variation sampling procedures to purposefully select 18 mothers of preschool age children living in urban, suburban, and rural areas located in and around a college town in central Virginia. Data gathered from questionnaires, participant interviews, and focus groups were analyzed and findings revealed mothers’ technology decisions are a multi-dimensional process whereby they situationally reflect to form technology preferences which promote intentionality and individuality …

Media Literacy In Teacher Education: A Good Fit Across The Curriculum, Jessica Meehan, Brandi Ray, Sunny Wells, Amanda Walker, Gretchen Schwarz

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Abstract

Current preoccupations in teacher education reform include data gathering, teaching technique, and preparing PK-12 students for standardized tests. The purpose of American education has been reduced to economic benefit. Concerns with ethical behavior, the good life, and democratic citizenship have fallen by the wayside except perhaps in a single social foundations course. Media literacy education infused in the teacher education curriculum offers one way to restore purpose to teacher education, encouraging both pre-service teachers and their students to think critically about their media-dominated society.

Media, Culture, And Education: One Teacher’S Journey Through The Mediated Intersections, Crystal L. Beach

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Today’s classrooms often have a plethora of new ways of reading and writing entering the room, but too often these new ways of “doing” are disregarded and checked at the door. For this reason, one educator shares her journey through the mediated intersections of media, culture, and education. In this piece, she explores how literacy transformations are impacting her classroom and her students’ lives, how she tries to make connections for her students, as well as noting what these mediated intersections might mean for the future of education.

Cultural Learning Processes Through Local Wisdom: A Case Study On Adult And Lifelong Learning In Thailand, John A. Henschke Edd

Adult Education Faculty Works

This article provides the background and concept of Thailand Lifelong Learning [LLL], even attempting a definition. The Thai LLL vision encompasses strategies for developing human qualities such as integrity, self-reliance, adaptability, resilience, and spirituality, to name a few. In some regards LLL seeks to recapture a more fully-developed perspective, on what in earlier times and places [1238 AD in Thailand], was called 'indigenous education', as it now pursues the benefits of a vibrant Learning Society. Progress of LLL in Thailand at times seems to be very slow and methodological rather than dynamic. It stems from developing a policy of learning …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Emotional Literacy Instruction On At-Risk Students, Shannon H. Garcia

Dissertations

This study examined the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction for at-risk adolescents ages 13 to 18 at the high school level. Of particular interest is the impact of social-emotional literacy instruction on at-risk youth Grades 9-12 in secondary high schools’ 8-week-long social-emotional literacy class through Project AWARE, particularly in the areas of suspension, expulsion, attendance, connectivity, attitude toward school, resiliency, and relational aggression rates; the data were analyzed using archival data and teacher interview. Project AWARE, the social-emotional literacy intervention examined in this study, educates and provides mentorship for at-risk students, while also providing a group educational component on relationships …

Relationships Of Parental Homeschooling Approaches Including Technology Integration, Letitia Annette Walters

Dissertations

This study examined the factors influencing parental selection of homeschooling approaches for their children and the utilization of technology integrated. Factors explored were parental motivators for selecting homeschooling approaches, parental reasons for choosing to homeschooling, technology device usage, and instructional technology integration. The population consisted of parents with at least one year or more of experience in teaching homeschooling and the primary educator being involved in answering the survey. Participants in this study responded to items from a researcher-adapted questionnaire using. The majority of the participants were from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky. A Bachelor's degree was reported as the highest …

One Foot In, One Foot Out: A Qualitative Study Of Frequently Truant Latino High School Graduates Who Nearly Dropped Out, Chandra Diaz-Debose

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Given the continued growth of the Latino population in the United States and the long history of schools not serving Latino students, it would be hazardous for the education community to not address their needs. Under the premise that it can reveal, both obstacles and sources of resilience/perseverance, this research study will examine the schooling experiences of Latino graduates who nearly left high school or did leave but then returned to complete their diploma requirements. The data were collected during the summer of 2014. The purpose of this study was to better understand and acknowledge, from the graduates’ perspectives, what …

The Global Health "Interactive Curricula Experience (Ice) Platform & App": Technology That Enables Inter-Professional Innovation, Martha Langley Ankeny M.Ed., Janice M. Bogen, James Plumb Md, Mph, Lucille B. Pilling Edd, Mph, Rn, Ellen J. Plumb Md, Louis N. Hunter Pt, Dpt, Nicholas Leon Pharmd, Amy Earle Bfa

Academic Commons and Scott Memorial Library Staff Papers and Presentations

Global Health Initiatives Committee (GHIC)

Serves the Jefferson community as the premier point of engagement for students & faculty interested in medical and public health issues that transcend national boundaries

Creates an institutional focus on preparing students for public service careers in population health and public policy at local, national, and global levels

To enable all TJU faculty to:

- Deliver global health education, in a friendly, interactive format - Does not require an expert to deliver - Can be used in very small or large pieces depending on your needs

A Forward To The Special Issue On Neoliberalism In Education The Long Road To Redemption: Critical Pedagogy And The Struggle For The Future, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Peter McLaren introduces a special issue of Texas Education Review focused on Neoliberalism in Education by advocating for critical pedagogy in the face of the challenges and harms wrought by American capitalism, politics, and "economic exploitation, racism, homophobia, sexism, imperialism, the coloniality of power and White supremacy".

Praisesong: One (Worn) Path Through Aepl, Libby F. Jones

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

A longtime member takes a poetic look at AEPL's history, philosophy, activities, and her ongoing participatory role in the organization.

Stepping Beyond, In, And With Jaepl: Twenty Years Of Hope, Kristie S. Fleckenstein

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Treating readers to a detailed tour through JAEPL’s pages, the journal’s coeditor of 10 years touches on high points, also remembering the conference that initiated her relationship with its authors and readers.