Child Psychology Commons^™

Music Therapy As A Support Model In Massachusetts Special Education: A Literature Review, Bonnie Diamond

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Mental health directly impacts student propensity for making academic progress in the public education system. For children with disabilities, it is especially vital to develop and implement techniques within special education that deliver personally tailored benefits. According to the United States Department of Education, music therapy offers highly effective support to a wide range of students within the school setting so that they may achieve academic success and be supported in their social/emotional development (U.S Department of Education, 2011; AMTA, 2021). In examining the multifaceted ways that music therapy can offer support within the structure of education and mental health, …

The Time Machine To Neverland: A Multiple-Case Study Exploration Of The Impact Of The Covid-19 Lockdown On Childhood And Development, Elyse Laakso

Child Development Theses

The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown of 2020 impacted the world profoundly, both on global and individual levels. In many respects, the world returned to “normal” in the ensuing years. However, what does “normal” mean for a child whose development was interrupted by lockdown, depriving them of experiences that they would have otherwise encountered on their developmental trajectory? How might the impacts of such an interruption manifest in subsequent years? This thesis explores some such potential consequences, utilizing a multiple-case study design to explore the intersection between early childhood developmental theory and the impact of the Covid-19 …

Mental Health Literacy Training For Elementary Educators, Anna Joyce

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Young school children struggle with mental illness at a high rate, but often do not receive treatment or referral to mental health resources (Paula et al., 2014). Because of their age, their support systems are the first line of defense toward recognizing and reporting concerning symptoms of mental illness. Educators act as one of these support systems, but research shows mental health education for teachers is lacking in comprehension and adequacy (Dix et al., 2019). This literature review and training focuses on Mental Health Literacy (MHL), which promotes positive mental health education and literacy through encouraging help-seeking, recognition of mental …

Playful Learning: The Disposition Of Architecture As Pedagogy, Alyssa Franklin

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

Education is a vital foundation of a society. The standard of today’s school environment is built upon the pedigree of the factory schools from the nineteenth century. However, elementary age children require a flexible, engaging, and creative learning environment that the standard school environment does not provide. Learning is a dynamic and innovative action. Architecture should mirror the learning that it supports through providing spaces that allow for flexibility, engagement, accessibility, and attraction. Children are transformed by the spaces they are in, spaces that will leave lasting impacts on the cognitive development of the children, spaces that can be playful …

Screen Time Use And Children’S Mental Health During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Amira Hmidan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Parents with school-aged children have experienced numerous hardships during the 2020-2021 academic school year, including school closures, lockdowns, and travel restrictions. Higher levels of parent stress and screen time may adversely impact children’s behavioural outcomes. This longitudinal survey study examined the associations of parent stress, parenting styles, and prolonged screentime on internalizing and externalizing behaviours in school-aged children. Parents (n = 108) completed survey measures at two time points over the 2020-2021 academic school year. Two generalized estimating equations were performed. There was a significant positive interaction between parent stress and screen time (B = < .001; p = .001) …

Who Is Anointed? The Psychological And Social Justice Implications Of Gifted And Talented Programs In The United States, Emma Caroline Gossett

Senior Projects Spring 2022

This paper explores the repercussions of gifted and talented programs in the United States, looking specifically at resulting psychological effects and social justice implications. This analysis is positioned within the discussion of global power struggles for technological advancement. After the success of the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957, the United States bolstered initiatives in education to ensure they were producing students who could contribute to the prowess of the nation. Gifted programs allowed for a more in-depth focus on those children deemed useful to the labor market. This resulted in additional pressures placed on certain students to excel. The anointment …

Social-Emotional Learning For The Classroom And Family Contexts, Courtney Bockbrader

Honors Projects

This project focused on developing a social-emotional learning workbook for use in the classroom and family contexts. Based on a review of relevant literature, emotional recognition, self-regulation, and social skills were identified as the most beneficial social-emotional skills for the personal and academic success of elementary-aged students. The resulting workbook included eleven activities aimed at promoting these three skills. Each activity was designed to be implemented in the classroom setting, with associated take-home activities for use in the home with the parent/guardian(s) for increased generalization of skills. Accessibility for schools of all income levels was taken into account, as activities …

Communicating With Play: Helping Adults Recognize Separation Anxiety Disorder And Social Anxiety Disorder In Preschool Children, Katlynn Marie Shamro

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Despite well-founded and agreed upon evidence showing preschool-aged children experience anxiety (CDC, 2020), children ages 2-6 are continuously understudied, underdiagnosed, and undertreated for these disorders (NIMH, 2019). Researchers attribute this to the primarily cognitive, as opposed to behavioral symptoms of anxiety, communication deficits during the preschool years, and the nature of childhood amplifying already existing barriers to a diagnosis of anxiety. Because diagnosis is the first step to gaining access to mental health resources and early intervention mitigates symptoms and impaired functioning (Barstead et al., 2018), as well …

How Our Public Education System Discourages Curiosity And Encourages Depression And Anxiety, Michael Buffett Greenberg

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The increase in adolescent depression over the last decade has been well- documented. Though promising treatments continue to be developed, the rate of increase is clearly outpacing our ability to help those who suffer. As such, it is worth taking a look at what factors may be contributing to this increase. The argument contained in this paper is that the nature of public education, in particular its existential reliance on extrinsic motivation, encourages depression through both implicit and explicit discouragement of curiosity. Curiosity will be posited as key marker of human vitality, and human vitality will be investigated as an …

Children’S Development And Crisis: Comparing Developmental Best Practices Against Aid Program Curricula, Martha Baker

CMC Senior Theses

Using the monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management model (MEL4AM), this paper examines how international organizations translate productive criteria for early childhood development (ECD) into emergency response programming for children. Early childhood is a crucial developmental time in individual’s lives and adverse experiences undermine, among other things, language development, self-regulatory capabilities, and child-caregiver interactions. International aid organizations are operationalizing the research on ECD best practices into site-level programming. This thesis examines whether the developmental needs of these children in crisis are being met through these efforts and offers two in-depth case studies: Sesame Workshop’s intervention for Syrian refugee children …

Storytelling Study, Samantha Irene Pepe

Honors Theses and Capstones

Expressive prosody (i.e., a manner of communication that is characterized by lively rhythm and tempo) and inexpressive prosody (i.e., monotone speech) present different environments for listening to a story during a read-aloud session. This study aims to assess whether there are visual attention differences for preschoolers in these varied prosodic environments and how this affects comprehension.

Cognitive And Affective Aspects Of Personality And Academic Procrastination: The Role Of Personal Agency, Flow, And Executive Function, Marc Graff

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Academic procrastination is a prevalent issue that affects school-related and other experiences of many students, with some studies identifying as many as a third of college students sampled as‘severe’ procrastinators. This study investigated some of the factors previous studies have identified as potential contributors to procrastinating in the academic arena. In defining procrastination as a self-regulation issue, it is proposed that distinct executive function processes play a role in one’s efforts at academic task engagement and completion and resisting the tendency to procrastinate on these tasks. It is also proposed that the frequency with which one experiences ‘flow’, a state …

Visual Code: Breaking The Binary, Jacob Johannesen, Andrew Adriance

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

This project seeks to create an accessible programming language that is more visually based. Although some solutions exist, namely MIT’s Scratch, nothing has caught up to the mobile age. This proj- ect aims to reframe creating a game or app into the context of tell- ing a story, putting character creation first. By researching sto- ry-telling and how people learn, and by applying technical and user interface design knowledge, this project intends to deliver a soft- ware solution that opens introductory coding education to more people.

School Counselors Lived Experience Of A Rampage School Shooting, Carleton H. Brown

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Minimal research has been conducted to examine school counselors’ lived experiences of rampage school shootings. The purpose of this research is to increase school counselors’ knowledge and skills in responding effectively to such a crisis. A single-case qualitative dissertation study was completed at a rampage school shooting site, a middle school, and the immediate surrounding area in Bono, AR, located in the northeast part of Arkansas. School counselors’ decisions, perceived expertness, and lessons learned were investigated. Data collected included relevant research literature (including comparison research), archival records, direct observation, media reports, and interviews. Participants interviewed were individuals who lived through …

School Psychologists’ Training And Knowledge Of Tourette Syndrome, Leticia Cornejo

Educational Studies Dissertations

A web-based survey was conducted that included 97 practicing school psychologists in California. The results from the survey indicated that the majority (88%) of respondents were knowledgeable about Tourette Syndrome. Many respondents (28%) had never worked with a student with Tourette’s, 20% had at least one case, and 52% indicated that they had worked with more than two cases in their careers as school psychologists. The majority of respondents indicated that their school psychology program did not adequately train them to assess or counsel students with Tourette’s. The majority of participants also did not feel confident to work with students …

A Comparison Of Infant And Toddler Reactions To Strangers Who Have Similar Attributes To An Established Attachment Figure Vs. Strangers Who Have Different Attributes, Jessica Hamilton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A child's early attachment experiences can have a lasting impact on later development. Early attachment relationships often result in greater Social and cognitive skills, as well as better school performance (Peisner et al., 1999). For these reasons, it is important to address those components that may contribute to secure attachments with care givers in the child care setting. The current study looked at the reactions of infants and toddlers when presented with two previously unknown individuals: one who physically resembled an established caregiver with whom they had already established attachment and one who looked different from this caregiver. The study …

Effects Of Response Cards And The Number Of Teacher-Directed Questions On Classroom Behaviors, Neelam K. Khan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Active student responding increases student academic outcome and on-task behavior. Response cards are an effective and efficient strategy for increasing active student responding. This study examined the effects of response cards on student disruptive behavior, percentage of questions answered, and accuracy of questions answered while alternating the number of teacher-directed questions across sessions. An alternating treatments design was used with 5 teacher-nominated students. During baseline (BL), the teacher used her standard lecture format, having students raise their hand when responding to a question. During the response card (RC) intervention, the teacher asked students to write responses on their white boards. …

On Environmental Education, James Mackinnon Michel Spreuwenberg-Stewart

Senior Projects Spring 2015

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Teachers' Perceptions Of Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Analysis Of The Relationship Among Teachers' Knowledge, Exposure, And Attitudes, Nicole Jones

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study explored teachers’ knowledge of the causes, characteristics, assessment, and treatments of autism spectrum disorder. This study also examined teachers’ experiences and perceptions of the causality of the disorder. Research questions included whether special-education teachers possessed more accurate knowledge of the disorder and if experience (professional and/or personal) with autism led to more internal causes of autism spectrum disorder. One hundred seventy-two educators who self-identified as a general educator, special educator, paraprofessional, or academic specialist completed a 24-question survey pertaining to the topic. Results showed that, although special educators scored significantly higher on their knowledge questions as compared to …

The Phenomenon Of Abstract Cognition Among Scholastic Chess Participants: A Case Study, Brent C. Laws

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of abstract cognition among a purposive sample of 5 secondary scholastic chess club participants. The case study enabled the researcher to explore the faculties of abstract cognition among students of contrasting skills and abilities in playing chess. The study also allowed for the consideration of potential visual-spatial, logical, academic, social competency and life benefits of chess play. Through analysis of interviews, chess simulations, blindfold chess play, and narration of chess lines and sequences, the investigator was able to extract meaning and code schemata into a holistic understanding of the phenomenon of …

Is More Always Better: Comparing The Effects Of Single And Multiple Learning Channels On Academic Performance, Samantha Ann Spillman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Precision teaching (PT) is a measurement system used in multiple settings for all types of behavior, from driving to mathematics. The ultimate goal of PT is to develop fluent, free operant behaviors through analyzing response frequencies on a standard celeration chart. Research has found PT to be effective at improving both the speed and accuracy of academic skills. There is little research, however, in the effects of learning channels, a component of PT, as they relate to the acquisition of academic skills. The present study examined the relationship between single and multiple learning channels on the acquisition of mathematics skills …

Reducing Court-Related Stress Through Court Education: Examining Child Witnesses, Attorneys And Parents, Brittnie Turquoise Watkins

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Court education presents a useful approach to addressing children's stress, anxiety or fear related to testifying. The current study uses a pretest-posttest design to evaluate whether Kids' Court School (KCS), a court education program in Clark County, Nevada, reduces court-related stress in child witnesses. In addition, attorneys' and parents' concerns related to various elements of the child's impending testimony, are evaluated. The measure used to assess stress was the Court-Related Stress Scale (CRSS), a 10-item Likert scale adapted from the Stressfulness of Life Scale. In addition, open-ended questions were posed at the time of posttest. The CRSS was administered to …

Learn 2 Learn: A Metacognitive Intervention For Middle School, Melva J. Lopez

Senior Theses and Projects

Self-regulated learning is comprised of motivation, cognition, and metacognition. This study aimed to improve eighth grade social studies students’ self-regulated learning and academic performance through the implementation of an intervention into their social studies curriculum. The intervention centered on exposing students to the different dimensions of metacognition (i.e., comprehending and being able to control one’s own cognitive processes) based on research findings that showed a link between metacognition and academic performance (Dignath & Büttner, 2008; Kistner, Rakoczy, Otto, Dignath-van Ewijk, Büttner, & Klieme, 2010). The intervention was designed to foster the students’ knowledge and use of metacognitive strategies through group …

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …

The Relationship Of Peer Acceptance, Age, Gender, Ethnicity, And Appearance Among Preschoolers, Kora Klaire Stuffelbeam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine preschool children's acceptance of peers. The term peer acceptance is defined as "the degree a child is Socially accepted or rejected by his or her peer group." Johnson et al. (2002) found children between the ages of three and five were able to develop friendships and Social skills that would impact their acceptance among peers. The study determined if children based their choice of peers according to a child's age, gender, ethnicity, appearance, and/or Social skills. The subjects of this study were 31 children whose ages were three-, four-, and five-years-old who …

The Intersection Between Home And School: Developing A Scale To Measure Parental Perceptions Of Childhood School Stress, Teresa Marie Henke

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Parents in the home and educators in the schools are key adults in the most important contexts in the daily lives of school-age children. In the demanding, achievement, and accountability oriented culture of today, it is expected that children experience normal everyday stressors as they move between these two environments. The impact of stress related to daily hassles has been reported to have both cognitive and physical effects on the present and future well-being of children. This study represented an attempt to advance the understanding of childhood stress in the intersection between school and home by investigating the perceptions …

Problem Solving Interventions: Impact On Young Children With Developmental Disabilities, Lindsay Ann Diamond

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Problem-solving skills are imperative to a child's growth and success across multiple environments, including general and special education. Problem solving is comprised of: (a) attention to the critical aspects of a problem, (b) generation of solution(s) to solve the problem, (c) application of a solution(s) to the identified problem, and (d) evaluation of the consequences of the solution. Children with developmental disabilities may experience difficulty with the problem-solving process.

The purpose of this study was to determine an effective method to teach young children with developmental disabilities to problem solve. Specifically, this study compared two types of problem-solving instruction. The …

Bullying And The Transition From Primary To Secondary School, Leanne J. Lester

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Peer relationships within the school environment are one of the most important determinants of social and mental wellbeing for adolescents and as such, schools have become increasingly aware of the prevalence, seriousness and negative impacts of bullying behaviour. The transition from primary to secondary school provides both challenges and opportunities as many adolescents undergo transition while experiencing environmental, physiological, cognitive and social changes as part of the adolescent development process. This is also a period during a student’s school life when their risk of being bullied is higher than at other times.

The aim of this study was to use …

School Counselor Assignment In Secondary Schools: Replication And Extension, Jennifer L. Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Before school counselors can carry out the duties and responsibilities outlined as part of a comprehensive school counseling program, they must know which students they are responsible for helping. The topic of assigning students to school counselors has only recently been seen in the educational research arena in a study by Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin (2009). The current study attempts to replicate and extend the findings of Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin by addressing the questions of how secondary school counselors are assigned and what are their perceptions of their assignment. In addition, the study attempts to determine whether a particular …

Evaluating A Social Skills Training Protocol In A Private Setting: Outcomes And Issues, Judi Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Society is dealing with a trend of aggressive and destructive behavior among children and adolescence. Children with social, emotional, and conduct problems are at high risk for academic failure, peer rejection, conduct disorder, school dropout, delinquency, and drug and alcohol problems (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoollmiller, 2008). A high priority for the United States public health and crime prevention is the prevention of aggressive and delinquent behavior during childhood and adolescence (Taylor, Eddy, & Biglan 1999).

Social skills trainings aim to increase the performance of key social behaviors that are important for children to succeed in social situations. Solutions may be …