Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of A Music Therapy Video In-Service On Staffs' Beliefs About Music Therapy In Behavioral Health, Jesus Javier Garcia

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if a short video presentation, about music therapy in behavioral health, had a positive effect on staff members’ beliefs about music therapy in that setting. A total of 26 staff members, from different departments, participated in the study and completed a pre- and post-presentation questionnaire. Responses were analyzed and compared to investigate whether the video had a positive effect on staff members’ beliefs about music therapy in behavioral health. Participant demographics and pre- and post-video questionnaire responses were also analyzed and compared to explore the differential impact of the video by subgroups …

Empowerment By Design: Classroom Innovation And Inquiry Through Design Thinking And Action Research, Cory Rayala

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly standardized and assessment-driven educational systems are failing to meet the needs of many students, replacing their love of learning with a fear of failure. Importantly, the fear of failure is a common mindset of not only students but also teachers, administrators, and policymakers. This qualitative, action research study is situated in a design thinking/growth mindset conceptual theory that posits that the design thinking process can serve as a meaningful growth mindset opportunity for teachers and students. The prototyping mindset inherent in design thinking may mitigate the fear of failure by focusing on rapid iteration rather than striving for perfection. …

The African American And The California Basic Skills Requirement For Teaching, Willie C. Thomas Ii

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examines why the passing rates of African Americans on the CBEST are the lowest in California at 60%. Madkins (2011) identified licensure testing as a significant reason why African Americans cannot enter the teaching progression. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), California has an ongoing credentialed teacher shortage. An even more significant need is for teachers of color. According to the California Department of Education (2021), 60% of the state’s educator workforce is White, while the state student body, multicultural and multilingual, is only slightly more than 22% White. While licensure testing for teachers is required in all …

Student Loan Debt And First-Generation Community College Students, Sandra A. Fuentes

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The rising costs of college attendance and changes in financial aid packages leave students with little option other than to incur a debt of some amount. Unfortunately, colleges often fail to provide adequate financial literacy and student loan information so prospective students planning to attend college can make informed decisions. Student loans may seem attractive in the short term because, unlike other loans, repayment does not begin immediately. However, the accrual of student loan debt leads to long-term financial consequences, including the opportunity to build economic wealth after graduation. Utilizing a basic qualitative research design, I explored first-generation community college …

Disappearing Acts: The Declining Numbers Of African American Teachers In Public School Settings, Catherine F. Lewis-Brownfield

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

African American teachers are slowly leaving the classroom, causing an imbalance in the student/teacher ratio (NCES, 2019). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, African American teachers make up 3% in California and 7% nationally. This study sought to understand the reasons for the decline in the number of African American teachers in public school settings. Due to the decline in their numbers, African American students have suffered high dropout rates, low standardized test scores, and low college attendance (Gershenson, Hart, Hyman, Lindsey, & Papageorge, 2017). This qualitative study examined the obstacles current African American teachers face and the …

The Mediating Effect Of Parental Involvement On Peer Influence And Belongingness On Adolescent Educational Aspirations, Thavy Van Garst

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Parental involvement has been found to be a significant influence in determining whether adolescents are more likely to succeed academically (Georgiou & Tourva, 2007). Amongst other influences, parental involvement has been shown to impact the ability to resist negative peer influence. Additionally, having a sense of belongingness influences the probability that an adolescent will aspire to achieve higher educational aspirations (Bouchard & Berg, 2017). However, researchers have yet to examine the combination of the importance of belongingness and the impact of positive peer influence on adolescents' educational aspirations. The present study aimed to investigate whether parental involvement had a significant …

Human Capital Formation And Return Migration Within Mong Communities In Rural/Semi-Rural Northern California, Chong Yang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research uses computational grounded theory to explore the human capital formation and stay/return migration experiences of well-educated Mong adults living in various rural/semi-rural Northern California localities within Butte, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. Rural vitality is dependent on the return of these well-educated rural-raised adults. Out-migration of rurality’s best and brightest contributes towards a brain drain and the hallowing out of rurality’s human capital. Findings of this research is conveyed using two research articles examining two different points on the continuum of rural vitality. The first article examines 19 Mong adults’ educational experiences within their rural communities and college education. …

Higher Education And The Dei Climate: Exploring And Understanding The Role Of Social Media, Self Esteem, And Intercultural Communication In Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Initiatives On The College Campus, Christian T. Cardona

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand the effects and levels of impact that a university student’s intercultural communication competence, social media usage, and self-esteem have on the students’ attitudes towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts implemented by institutions of higher education. By studying these three independent variables, this research seeks to improve the understanding of the university students’ attitudes on DEI efforts for leaders and change agents in higher education, providing an inspiration for leaders, administrators, and change agents of higher education to continue collaborating to innovate methods and avenues towards creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus climate, as …

How Much Do You Care About Education? Exploring Fluctuations Of Public Interest In Education Issues Among Top National Priorities In The U.S., Dana Nehoran

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It is well known that a strong education system produces citizens who are more engaged in civil and social duties, with obvious benefits to society and the individuals. Policymakers who have the power to help improve the education system frequently rely on the news or the polls to better understand the issues involved, but these tools are often unable to answer customized questions on the public view with a large enough coverage.

Monitoring the American public interest in education over the years is not new. In fact, a number of national polling agencies have tracked education as part of their …

The Experience Of The Local Control Accountability Plan, Angela Carter Pascual

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

In 2013 the California Legislation passed a new K-12 School accountability mandate.

The Local Control Accountability Plan was sought to increase the educational equity for targeted student groups in addition to allowing school districts to mine a diverse set of local school data to develop goals in the 8 priority areas that speak to the needs of their local students. A requirement of the LCAP was that school districts include a diverse set of stakeholders to work in a collaborative manner to develop, critique, and refine local goals. Stakeholder groups are required to consist of district-level administrators, teachers, staff, students, …

Designing Leadership: Using Design Thinking To Create, Practices, And Implement A Formal Leadership Development Program, Jon Samuel Wedding

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine what happens when design thinking is used to create a leadership development program, increase leadership competencies, and participants perceptions of design thinking. This study uses action research to examine the experiences and design thinking to create a leadership program in a formal hierarchical. This study collected data during a two-cycle action research process. The findings from this study revealed that design thinking can be used to create a formal leadership development program. The ability to use design thinking’s human centered design can also help increase the leadership competencies of trust and collaborations. …

Connections: Social Media And Parents Raising Children With Profound Multiple Disabilities, Amy Ann Terra

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Parenting plays an important role in many adult lives. Parenting a child with profound multiple disabilities results in a distinct parenting experience. This qualitative phenomenological study examined the role of social media in the lives of parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities. Five parents raising children with profound multiple disabilities were interviewed, and resulting themes were identified.

Consistent with previous research, parents described the initial adaptation to their child’s disability-related needs as the most challenging period of their parenting to date. Adaptation was followed by an acclimation to a new normal of their parenting experience. Parents described moving from …

Dialogue During Team Problem Solving Using Visual Representation Boundary Objects: A Case Study, Julie Marie Webb

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Organizations benefit from the knowledge held by individual members as well as knowledge that is shared among those members. In order for knowledge to co-develop between members, and to spread, organizations must provide opportunities for members to collaborate. Organizational teams sometimes require assistance with interpersonal communication, establishing consensus, and sharing knowledge when collaborating. Group facilitators can offer guidance and intervene when teams need support. In addition, teams can find support through the use of visual representation boundary objects (VRBOs) to build trust, improve communication, increase cooperation, and share ideas. This study explores how knowledge is shared between team members and …

Comparing Equivalence-Based Instruction With Lecture-Based Instruction To Teach College Students To Identify Logical Fallacies, Kelly Roughgarden

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Educators and practicing professionals in many fields emphasize the importance of critical thinking for effective decision-making. However, critical thinking skills are not usually directly taught in traditional educational settings. A subset of these skills, identifying logical fallacies, could be amenable to direct instruction using procedures that establish conditional discriminations, such as equivalence-based instruction (EBI). EBI procedures have been shown to be effective and efficient when teaching a variety of skills, including the identification of logical fallacies, when compared with no-instruction and self-instruction control groups. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of web-based EBI procedures to a …

From Quiver To Quill, Veteran Transition To Higher Education, Mark Walch

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Veterans do not receive a uniform out-processing in regards to education benefits information. Despite the VA providing ample education benefits to veterans, military branches do not prepare discharging service members for the benefits earned. To discover personal experiences of veterans at University of the Pacific, critical ethnography in expository documentary film methodology was used. The results of the film showed veterans do not receive ample preparation for benefit usage. The veterans in this film also provided advice for future transitioning veterans to avoid common benefit mistakes.

Yuli's Story: Using Educational Policy To Achieve Cultural Genocide, Katrina Johnson Leon

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

All children residing in the United States have the right to a quality education. At least that is our collective expectation. Through the lived experience of Yuli, a Native American woman from the Southwest, you will discover, due to her birth on a remote reservation, she was not given the same access to education you or I would expect. On Yuli’s reservation, the school system is managed by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Rather than provide K-12 schooling, the BIE operates K-8 on her reservation and then Native youth who want to go to high school must move off-reservation. …

Nurturing Global Leaders: The Influence Of Global Education Culture At International House, Leslie A. Weigl

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

International House at the University of Alberta (I-House) is a living-learning campus residence that aims to build a strong community from an intentionally diverse population of international and Canadian students. With global education programming that focuses on leadership through community building, I-House creates opportunities for new leaders to emerge in a culturally complex environment that is thought to foster global leadership development. Eighteen I-House alumni and residents who were recognized for their leadership contributions were interviewed in-depth to determine whether and how their experiences at I-House contributed to developing their global leadership capacities and to offer insight into best practice …

The Long-Term Effects Of Study Abroad Experiences On Career, Educational, And Travel Choices, Catherine A. Fagan

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Thousands of U.S. students travel to other countries each year to participate in study programs offered either by their home or the target country institutions. This study explores the effects that these study abroad experiences have on decisions that returning students make with regard to their future educational goals, career choices, and further foreign travel.

Using the alumni database of Cultural Experiences Abroad, a student travel organization, data were gathered from 185 primarily undergraduate students who spent from two weeks to one year as participants in a study abroad program. The students were from various geographic locations in the United …

A Study Of The Perceptions Of Parents In Sacramento County Who Choose Home Schooling For Their Children, Elizabeth Louise Knopf

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to (1) investigate the reasons parents in Sacramento County choose home schooling for their child(ren); (2) describe selected characteristics of the parents; (3) describe selected characteristics of their child(ren); (4) describe the educational programs used in the home schools; (5) describe the perceptions home schooling parents have of local public school administrators; and (6) describe the commitment these parents have to home schooling. Method. A mailed questionnaire was used to collect data. The population used in this study was 117 families who either filed a private school affidavit with the Sacramento County Office …

Social Judgment Research Applied Toward Estimating Factors Relevant To Dui Offenders' Intentions To Drink And Drive: A Factorial Survey Approach, Daniel Elvin Dunlap

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was fourfold: (1) to measure the extent to which select circumstances weighed in driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offenders' intentions to drive after drinking; (2) to assess the impact of formal sanction, informal sanction, and moral inhibition with respect to intentions to drive after drinking; (3) to investigate the likelihood of each of fourteen rationalizations to represent a justification to drive after drinking; and (4) to examine possible associations between DUI offender characteristics and the factors indicated above. The offender characteristics of age, prior DUI offenses, and motor vehicle accidents involving alcohol were statistically significant, yet showed negligible …

Increasing Social Interaction In Socially Isolated Preschool Children, Cynthia Lynne Dodge

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to improve social interaction and peer acceptance in socially isolated pre school children. It investigated whether children's stories a lone, and children' s stories paired with instrument playing led to improved peer ratings and an increase in social interaction during the following s mall group and large group free play periods . The subjects consisted of two groups of three children aged 3 - 5 years old . The study was conducted at two licensed preschools Monday through Friday in activity rooms. The children were selected on the basis of having the lowest scores …

The Match Of Style And Conceptual Level Of University Supervisors With Student Teachers In Relationship To Supervisor Effectiveness, Joyce Burton Shahzade

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate relationships that may exist between the supervisorial style and conceptual level of university supervisors and the student teachers supervised. The primary thrust of the investigation was an analysis of the match of style and conceptual level of supervisor and students. This analysis resulted in data concerning the influence of the match on supervisor effectiveness. The total population of the study included 187 student teachers and 37 supervisors at two university sites in California. Two instruments were administered to the participants at the beginning of the semester. One instrument was the Supervisorial Beliefs …

Teaching Friendship Making Skills To Emotionally Disturbed Children, Alison Stewart Agras

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of teaching children appropriate social skill behavior. The present study investigated a coaching procedure to teach emotionally disturbed children appropriate social skills within the context: of fourteen arts and crafts sessions. Using a multiple baseline across groups design, two groups of four children received training. As a result of training, cooperation behavior showed a moderate change, while eye contact increased substantially for both groups. The behaviors of on task and communication changed only slightly. In addition, these changes generalized to different settings and were· maintained over time. However, praising, receiving praise, as well as …

Effect Of Stress Management Training On Trait Anxiety Teaching Anxiety, Muscle Tension And Self-Concept Of Student Teachers, Girish Kumar Vasavada

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the stress management training based on Meichenbaum's stress inoculation approach in reducing anxiety among student teachers. Method. An experimental study spanning two semesters was conducted during the Fall and Spring of the 1979-80 school year. The subjects were 38 volunteer students enrolled in a teacher preparation program at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. The three treatment conditions were: Stress-management training (SMT), Group Management training (GMT), and No-Treatment (NT). The subjects in the SMT group (N = 9) and the GMT group (N = 9) were drawn …

Parent Effectiveness Training: Its Impact Upon The Self-Perception And Behavior Of The Children Of Participants, Mark Allen Fulmer

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Problem: There is a need to evaluate the training programs available to parents to determine the effect of these programs upon the children of participants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Parent Effectiveness Training upon the elementary school age children of participants in the areas of self-perceived Locus of Control and behavior. Procedure. Experimental and control groups were established with students from four central California elementary schools to obtain data on the problem under investigation. The groups were formed from children of parents who agreed to participate in the study. A Nonrandomized Control-Group Pretest-Posttest Design …

Reaction To Social Pressure From Adults Versus Peers Among Mexican, Mexican-American, And Anglo-American Rural Children, Ana Maria C. Donini

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate whether there was a significant difference in the adherence to conventional morality and the reaction to social pressure from adults versus peers among Mexican, Mexican-American, and Anglo-American children. The instrument used was the Moral Dilemmas Test (MDT) developed by Bronfenbrenner, Devereux, Suci, and Rodgers, which measures the reported readiness of children to engage in morally disapproved behavior and their reaction to social pressure exerted by adults and peers. The subjects were asked to respond to a series of conflict situations under three experimental conditions of confidentiality, scrutiny by parents, and scrutiny by …

A Content Analysis Of Current Iranian Elementary Reading Textbooks For The Presence Of Social And Moral Values, Maryam Tajeran Ghandi

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

It was the investigator's concern to discover

1) to what extent the selected sixteen Iranian middle-class social and moral values were present in the content of the elementary reading textbooks currently used in Iran,

2) with what frequency and level of intensity the values were presented, and

3) was there a time-ordered developmental sequence of the identified social and moral values from lower to upper grade levels?

The purpose of the study was to collect data from the seven elementary reading textbooks which have been published by the Ministry of Education of the Government of Iran and are used by …

A Multi-Sensory Curriculum For Young Children : [A Paper] ..., Mary Barbara Stark

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Since many educators and philosophers, including Montessori and Piaget, advocate training of the sense as a prerequisite to formal learning, and since two ERIC searches failed to turn up such research it was decided to test out it the use of a multi-sensory curriculum does influence the achievement level of young children.

The Female Image In The Caldecott Medal Award Books, Patricia Lee Brighton Roberts

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

PROBLEM: Millions of children read and view the Caldecott Winners each year There are no published studies regarding the possible stereo-typing of the role of the human, animal and inanimate female image in the texts and illustrations of these 37 books.

Purpose: The. investigation ·was conducted to determine the extent the total population of the Caldecott books did stereo-type the role of the human, animal and inanimate female image.

Procedures: The investigation was completed in four steps: (1) First, a panel of sociologists determined the content validity of the definitions used in the hypothesis; (2) Second, a Content Analysis Form …

Communication Within The Academic Community At The University Of The Pacific: A Descriptive Study 1973-1974, Richard Frank Sebok

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify communication concerns and develop recommendations for improving communication within the academic com- munity at the University of the Pacific.

The subjects were 165 randomly selected members of the academic commun- ity of the University of the Pacific. The sample represented the following academic categories: university president, academic vice-president, deans/ provosts, crpartment chairmen, and faculty.

Data were gathered with a survey instrument designed by the author to specifically elicit communication information for the study. The instrument contained 60 items with a response continum of strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (DA), and strongly …