Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perception Vs. Reality: The Influence Of Civic Experiences In High School On Adult Civic Engagement, Kaya Bottmeyer

Political Science & International Studies | Senior Theses

Research on political socialization has shown that individuals’ families and education play a significant role in their later political actions and attitudes, but more needs to be understood on how large the role of education is and, specifically, what impact secondary education has on people’s political socialization. Literature suggests that educational standards that require more civics or social science courses are more effective in creating civically engaged individuals, and curriculums that employ service learning and experiential learning techniques are even more effective at increasing civic engagement, but to what extent does a person's perception of their educational experience factor into …

Doodling As Self-Expression: Building Self-Efficacy In Normally Functioning Adults, Journey Coward

Art Therapy | Theses and Dissertations

While previous studies identify doodling as a useful educational tool, this study sought to determine if doodling can build creative or emotional self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their own capacity to express behaviors necessary to attain specific performance goals. The current study also sought to determine if doodling can be a form of self-care. Research collected was quantitative and qualitative using surveys to measure both creative and emotional self-efficacy along with a doodling activity. Ten participants were recruited through convenience sampling on social media and were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria of identifying themselves …

Incorporating Social Media Into The Classroom: A Case Study On How Tiktok Can Be Immersed Into Classroom Pedagogy, Sara Solomon

Education | Master's Theses

My research project focuses on the use of TikTok embedded within classroom pedagogy and how it can be used as a tool to support academic and social emotional wellbeing. There is a lack of research investigating how social media can be incorporated into the classroom to make up for potential academic losses, including the inevitable social/emotional needs of adolescents that need to be addressed due to the ramifications of COVID-19. In my research, I question ways in which students see this tool as supporting their wellbeing, in what ways parents see this tool as supporting their child's wellbeing, and why …

Empowered Learning Systems In Student Success, Craig C. Laupheimer

Education | Master's Theses

Abstract/Description

Although various support systems are attempted by public schools to cause changes in student motivation and academic performance, students continue to consistently under perform and doubt their academic potential. A literature review revealed a growing body of research outlining a direct relationship between internal beliefs and performance outcomes. Yet little has been done to understand student thought patterns from their perspective, or to what extent they are able to recognize and address the internal systems of language, belief, and emotion that interact with learning. By analyzing a wide range of student perspectives, this study examines what tools and strategies …

Improving Reading Through Fine Motor Skill Development In First Grade, Tyler West-Higgins

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children who struggle with learning to read in first grade, fall behind, and have difficulty catching up with their peers. Research has shown students who struggle to read in first grade, also struggle to read in later years. The purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention to enhance fine motor skills to a select group of students in one class room increased their reading abilities. This was a mixed methods research study which assessed the quantitative data from the running record assessments, and the qualitative data taken by teacher-aide during assessment process post fine motor intervention. This …

Factors In Public School Settings That Result In Teacher Agency, Jessica Hadid

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns, and applies its learning outcomes to active problem solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize teacher ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teachers’ sense of personal and professional agency. Literature suggests that internal forms of motivation are likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of actions and behaviors. This mixed methods study examined five public schools in a small K-12 district through the lens of self-determination theory. An initial set of quantitative data were collected …

Literacy Revolution: How The New Tools Of Communication Change The Stories We Tell, Molly Gamble

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The transmission of culture depends upon every generation reconsidering what it means to be literate. The way we consider ourselves to be a literate species is changing, which puts us at a unique turning point in human history. Verbal literacy, or the ability to read and write, is slowly being replaced by visual literacy as a primary tool for human communication. As a culture, we tend to underestimate the creative ferment of our increasingly visual world. The linear, structured pathways of traditional literacy are shifting towards a creative and participatory pursuit of unstructured information that emphasize dimensional thinking. The acceleration …

Identifying Supports For Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sarah Rushworth

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) lack social and communication skills, leading to challenging behaviors. This impacts family functioning and can lead to parents being isolated and feeling stressed (Russa, Matthews, & Owen-DeSchryver, 2014). The parents of these children must learn how to handle the challenges that come along with the disorder. Parents of children with ASD need to have more supports in place to feel more supported (Nealy, O’Hare, Powers, & Swick, 2012). The literature revealed that the programs implemented today focus mainly on the child outcomes, lacking focus on parent needs (Samadi, McConkey, & Kelly, 2012). Parents find …

Distributed Leadership In Schools: Conditions For Success, Daniel Noble

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Teacher leadership has always been a necessary part of school dynamics. Through committees, union/administrative negotiations, formal and informal leadership roles, teachers play an important role in the growth and change of an educational institution. The purpose of this study is to examine teacher leadership through the perspective of distributed leadership theory; identify the conditions and components of both schools and administrators that support distributed leadership and identify essential steps to transform leadership practice to a distributed model.

This is a qualitative text analysis of current theoretical papers and relevant research on the subject of distributed leadership. The information was used …