Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

The Axis Of Access: A Quantitative Ethnography Of Presidential Discourse On The Construct Of College Access In The United States, Pamela M. Donnelly

Theses and Dissertations

Federal discourse pertaining to college access requires clarified definition. Use of the college access construct has become commonplace, yet no unified refinement of meaning exists. This study, which covered U.S. presidential communications from January 2009 to October 2021, addressed the abstraction of language as leaders presented ideas, policies, and opinions. Observable trends impacting social mobility for students from underserved populations were of central interest. The research methodology, Quantitative Ethnography (QE), used the tool of Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA). Eight codes were identified through grounded analysis: Affordability, Pathway Program, Underserved Populations, Class Systems, Upward Mobility, Career Readiness, Trajectory, and Career Technical …

Healing Racial Trauma And Reframing The Miseducation Of U.S. America: Altering Exclusionary Textbooks As A Therapeutic Experiential, Kamaria Erin Wells

Art Therapy | Master's Theses

This exploratory mixed-methods, arts-based research investigated the therapeutic impact of fusing art therapy, group therapy, altered book making and alternative therapeutic modalities on self-efficacy, self- awareness, community efficacy and awareness, and reduction of racial trauma symptomology. The intention of the study was to understand the experiences of mental health professional participants (n =5), consequent to four therapeutic group sessions. Participants disclosed experienced symptoms of race-based PTSD pre and post sessions via the University of Connecticut Racial/Ethnic Trauma Survey, in addition to qualitative data. Qualitative data consisted of artwork, written responses, and exit interviews confirming the hypothesis that this radical healing …

Revisiting Participatory Rural Appraisal (Pra) Related Studies And Exploring Pra's Success Determinants: A Content Analysis, Raquel Garcia-Agustin

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) has shown that participation in development programs in poor communities can be empowering not only for the community members but also for the development workers. However, not all PRAs have seen successes especially in fulfilling their mission to encourage real participation. Hence, it is imperative to understand whether PRA has led to adequate understanding of indigenous perspective to call for action and the interest PRA serves. This analysis aims to provide critical insights and reflections from the experiences of previously conducted PRAs. It further aims to reveal whether PRAs were used effectively and successfully according to …

Taiwanese Perceptions Of China, Taiwan, And Us Relations From 2016 To 2021, Wan-Ling Liao, Armand Christopher C. Rola

Journal of Public Affairs and Development

In 2016, a dramatic shift in Taiwan's politics caught China's attention. After the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen, Beijing increased the pressure on Taiwan. Aside from limiting Taiwan's international space, Beijing had taken other steps. This study aims to review the policy regarding the relationship among Taiwan, the US, and China. The primary data were gathered through interviews with Taiwanese key informants of different age groups. Secondary data were gathered from official documents, online sources, journal and news articles, and books. Based on the analysis of informants' opinions on this issue, the study found that the majority of informants prefer …

Organizational Barriers To Effective University Student Mental Health Services, Felicia Evans-Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was focused on organizational barriers to effective university student mental health services access in the department of student resources (DSR) at a for-profit university in the northeastern United States. Once such barriers are addressed, faculty may be more successful in reaching out to students needing mental health services who are not self-identifying as needing these services. The Baldrige excellence framework guided this descriptive case study to examine the organizational barriers that prevent university leadership from creating clear policies and procedures for faculty to refer students to mental health services. Data sources included interviews with the behavioral health leader …

Facultas Marginem: Assessing Disability Data And Public Aau Universities’ Affirmative Action Plans For Systemic Barriers Facing Faculty With Disabilities, Joseph Carlton Barry

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation contributes to education equity scholarship produced by academics seeking to develop understandings of disability, Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and how both are situated amongst faculty in institutions of higher education. As such, this dissertation centers on a study of public US universities belonging to the Association of American Universities (AAU). This study looks for institutional level associations between respective rates by which college and university faculty with disabilities (FWD) are employed, certain aspects of disability policy drawn from each institution’s 2020 Affirmative Action Plans (AAP), and various other instances of empirical disability data (EDD).

While this study contributes …

The Perceived Influence Of Value-Added Metrics On Urban Middle School Teachers’ Job Satisfaction And Motivation, Angela Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Value-added metrics or models (VAMs) are an important component of the teacher evaluation process that evaluators use to determine the value teachers add to their students’ academic achievement. VAMs are used to arrive at a score that is derived from the number of the teachers’ students who pass and/or fail a standardized assessment. While prior research has focused on VAMs with respect to impact on student success and performance, little is known about how teachers experience the implementation of these metrics and how those experiences may influence teachers’ job satisfaction and motivation. The purpose of this interpretive qualitative study was …

Experiences Of Teachers Using Student-Centered Approaches In China, Raven Roytblat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Chinese schoolteachers as the system of education in China transitions from teacher-centered to student-centered classroom instruction. The conceptual framework for this study included Schön’s concept of the reflective practitioner and Liu and Hallinger and Knapp et al.’s work on the role of …

Administrative Support In Student Violence Directed Toward Teachers In K–12, Urban, Southern Louisiana Schools, Paula Taylor Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of teachers working in urban educational settings who have experienced student violence has increased yearly. Despite reporting these violent incidents, many teachers leave the profession between their first 5 years of teaching, identifying the limited support from school administrators as a major reason for their departure. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of administrative support in student violence directed toward teachers in K–12, urban, southern school districts in Louisiana. Great man theory, trait theory, contingency theory, transformational leadership theory, transactional leadership theory, and laissez-faire leadership theory constituted the conceptual framework of this …

Opportunities For Autism Information Shared Through Professional Conferences, Amelia Anderson, Selena Layden, Crystal Stang (Ed.), Jennifer L. Branch-Mueller (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

With prevalence most recently reported at 1 in 44 (Maenner et al., 2021) children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States, school librarians can and should expect to see these children in their schools and in their libraries. However, previous work indicates that school librarians are not being provided with an adequate education about this in their graduate coursework (Layden, Anderson, & Hayden, 2021). This study expands upon previous work to explore the preparation of school librarians about autism by examining the previous five years of state library conference programs.

Intra-Regional Mobility Of Phd Students In The European Union: The Outcomes Of Region-Making Policy?, Charles Mathies, Brendan Cantwell

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This paper examines the flow of intra-European Union (EU) students for doctoral (PhD) studies to identify reasons for differences in international student mobility and migration (ISM) among member states. Rather than conceptualising intra-EU PhD student ISM only through push–pull forces, we theorise the intra-EU PhD ISM is associated with relative levels of national resources or levels of capital. We investigate the intra-EU PhD ISM through dyadic country pairings allowing the use of Gravity models to estimate the effect of variables associated with stocks of capital ascribed to a country to the change in the number of PhD students. The findings …

A Comparison Of Factors That Impact Retention Of Nursing Students With And Without Military Experience: A Mixed Method Study, Janice E. Hawkins, Karen Higgins, Jamela Martin, Lynn Wiles, Ingrid Mahoney, Robert Hawkins, Beth Tremblay

Ellmer School of Nursing Faculty Publications

Military veteran students have unique characteristics and challenges that influence their academic success. The factors impacting retention of nursing students with prior military experience may differ from students with no military experience. This mixed methods study used an anonymous survey guided by Jeffreys' Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success Model to identify factors that support or restrict prelicensure nursing program retention of military veteran students compared to students with no history of military service. Statistically significant differences between groups were detected for three factors including financial status, membership in nursing organizations or clubs, and financial aid and/or scholarship. There was a …

Charter School Administrators' Perceptions Of Local Policies Regarding Transgender Student Access To School Facilities, Derrick Armstead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have focused on the viewpoints of conventional public-school leaders regarding school policies and implementation that influence transgender pupil access to school facilities; the perceptions of charter school administrators are less known regarding this phenomenon. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of charter school administrators regarding their school policies and implementation that influence transgender student access to school facilities that correspond to their gender identity. Raffo and Gunter's combination of leadership for inclusiveness and use of local setting knowledge when implementing policies provided the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through semistructured interviews …

The Role Of Response Efficacy And Risk Aversion In Promoting Compliance During Crisis, Veronica L. Thomas, Hooman Mirahmad, Grace Kemper

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines consumers' compliance with behaviors that focus on preventing the spread of COVID‐19. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory and research on efficacy, we find that, during a pandemic, consumers who have higher perceptions of response efficacy are less likely to engage in risky consumption behaviors (Study 1) and more likely to engage in protective consumption behaviors (Study 2). This effect is moderated by risk aversion, such that as risk aversion increases, COVID‐compliant behaviors increase even when consumers do not believe in their ability to effectuate change. Further, the relationship between response efficacy and COVID‐compliant behaviors is mediated by …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …

Pandemic Repercussions: The Future Of International Education At Us Community Colleges, Heidi Fischer, Melissa Whatley

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic have both short- and long-term repercussions on higher education. To crystallize these impacts in a sector that was particularly vulnerable to the economic effects of the pandemic, this mixed methods study explores the intersection of international education and community college responses to the pandemic. Findings indicated that due to the pandemic, community college international education programs faced a reallocation of institutional resources, both financial and otherwise, which shapes the educational opportunities available to students and informs the institutional habitus of the US community college. This study’s findings have implications in the areas of international …

An Evaluation Of The County Of Santa Clara’S Reentry Alcohol And Drug Studies Peer Mentor Program, Sarah Oliveira

Master's Projects

In the United States, incarceration rates have increased dramatically over the last three decades, soaring above any other country. Significant factors contributing to the increase include changes in sentencing laws and policies that target drug-related offenders and prioritize punishment over rehabilitation. Strict sentencing laws have led to mass incarceration, which has caused severe prison overcrowding and led to the infringement of fundamental human rights in prisons (Gottesdiener, 2011).

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 600,000 individuals are released from federal and state prisons each year (Carson, 2018). In California, an estimated one in three adults has an arrest …

Connecting School Finance Policy With Practice: A Site-Based Expenditure Report Study, Julia Chapdelaine Pontarelli

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the policy requirement of site-based expenditure reporting which is a requirement of the newest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Every Student Succeeds Act. For the first time, the federal government has required school districts to report site-level expenditure data publicly. In Illinois, the tool used to meet this federal reporting requirement is Site-Based Expenditure Reporting. In this study, I focus on how school finance leaders understand, process, and implement the site-based expenditure reporting requirement while considering concepts of equity and adequacy. Sensemaking theory offers a helpful conceptual lens for understanding how …

Learning Recovery And Addressing The Learning Crisis In The Asia Pacific: Policy Brief, Pina Tarricone, Kemran Mestan, Ian Teo, Yung Nietschke

Global education monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education for approximately 1.2 billion students across the Asia-Pacific, and forced the closure of many schools, precipitating a transition towards remote learning, albeit with uneven access and quality (UNESCO, 2021; Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, 2022), and threatening to deepen the ‘learning crisis’ that already existed, particularly for the most vulnerable learners. As education systems in the Asia-Pacific seek to recover the learning loss due to the pandemic and address the broader learning crisis, it is incumbent on governments to identify appropriate recovery strategies in the short term. Also, governments need to support education system …

Policymaker Discourse In Colorado Public Higher Education Appropriations, Nathan Willers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State funding for higher education is one of the most pressing issues facing both institutions and policymakers in 2022. Colorado has seen significant declines in the amount of state funding per student over the past two decades, resulting in increases in student burdens for tuition. Policy discourse analysis through a poststructural and neoliberal lens provided insight towards the legislative process and the discursive themes utilized by Colorado policymakers during the 2021-22 legislative budgeting cycle. Twelve artifacts were analyzed, including a mix of policy briefs, hearings, and budget and appropriations reports, for discursive data related to the state’s appropriations for public …

Juntos Luchamos: A Postcritical Ethnographic And Photovoice Study On Latinx Student Civic Engagement Practices At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Liliana Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Situated at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), this postcritical ethnographic and photovoice study sought to explore how Latinx students define and practice civic engagement. Theoretically framed by Latino Cultural Citizenship (LCC), the study explored how current Latinx student civic engagement practices inform a Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ civic engagement efforts. Data collection took place over the 2021-2022 academic year and an exhibition of the study’s findings was made publicly available at the culmination of the study. Findings from the study indicate that Latinx postsecondary students define civic engagement as knowledge and resource sharing (KRS) and achieving success. Findings for how Latinx postsecondary students …

Teaching In The Times Of Pandemic, Mileta Tomovic, Cynthia Tomovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The changes in academia are typically slow but very purposeful, they are carefully reviewed and strategically implemented, that is, until unpredictable massive tectonic shifts occur in society. Historically, academia has not experienced major distress on a global scale that would require a fundamental change and adaptation to new set of circumstances, until the world faced COVID-19 pandemic of proportions which caused academia to rapidly adjust to new realities and make major changes. The time frame in which the changes needed to be done, weeks and months, were so short that academia was placed under the significant stress to which it …

Demystifying Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Among Students In Higher Education, Sundra D. Kincey, Aziza Zemrani, Theresa L. Bailey

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications

Understanding the unique components of diversity, equity, and inclusion is essential for institutions of higher education to increase student success outcomes and to prepare graduates for the world of work. This chapter will focus on how diversity, equity, and inclusion as a single entity is perceived by enrolled students, particularly minority students, and how institutions may help to increase students' awareness of such topics and the impact on their lives upon graduation. Discussions will lend themselves to strategies that institutions may employ to demystify these terms for enrolled students. Specific focus will be given to the use of inclusive competencies …

International Teachers’ Perceptions Of Mandated Curriculum And Instructional Practices, Jasmine Audrey Matterson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractInternational teachers who arrive in the United States from developing countries often experience challenges adjusting to the U.S. classroom environment. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of international middle and high school teachers at a rural school district in the southern United States on the challenges that they face with adjusting to mandated curriculum and instructional practices that may influence classroom management and effective instruction for student achievement. The conceptual framework for the study was self-determination theory which indicates that when individuals have autonomy, relatedness, and competence, they will perform at their highest level …

Investigating Why Alternatively Prepared Special Educators Frequently Depart The Classroom, Lorraine Renee Philyaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractA quarter of special education teachers who have been trained through an alternative teacher preparation program have left assigned classrooms throughout the United States after 1 year, and almost half have left within 5 years. However, little is known regarding why special educators, alternatively prepared for the classroom, leave the classroom after 2-5 years of classroom experience. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand why special education teachers enter school districts through alternative teacher certification programs but exit the classroom. The conceptual framework for this study was in the societal theory attributed to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. …

Early Hearing Screening Policy And Deaf Children’S Language Acquisition, Marla Hatrak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The federal Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (EHDI) guarantees medical and communication interventions for deaf children and audiological, medical, and language intervention data collection. However, the policy and its implementation have not been analyzed in regard to policy goal attainment of deaf children’s language acquisition. A qualitative case study was conducted to analyze seven federal- and state-level early hearing screening policy websites and implementation and intermediary documents to assess the federal and state policy formation and implementation of EHDI. In addition to the document assessment, data were collected from interviews to obtain the perspectives of two early childhood educational …

Urban School Board Members’ Perceptions Of Their Roles In Improving Student Achievement, Jacinto Arturo Ramos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem explored in this study was that the state education agency recommended school board members of low-performing school districts participate in a governance training called student outcomes governance to address student achievement, yet no data suggested the training changed school board members’ understanding of how to create policies advancing student achievement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand how urban school board members perceive their roles in improving student achievement using the new model. General board theory and the theory of adaptive leadership informed this study. Six school board members who had completed the student outcomes …

Exploring Student Loan Borrower’S Financial Decisions After Florida Enacted Statute 1009.45, Vijantie Michelle Boodoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Florida implemented Statute 1009.45 as of July 1, 2017, to require colleges and universities to provide annual student loan debt notifications to students to inform them about their student loan obligations. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine how college students in the State of Florida make financial decisions about their education, focusing on the influence of the notifications and what additional supports would help them improve their decision-making. There was a gap in the literature in identifying what information students were using from the notification. Rational choice and human capital theories were used for the conceptual …

The Moderating Effects Of Disability On The Relationship Between Job Embeddedness And Turnover Intention Among Veterans, Beverly Maier

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Nearly 26% of American adults have a disability. The goal of vocational rehabilitation for individuals with disabilities is to participate in the labor market and improve their quality of life. Employment is an excellent community reintegration. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that in 2020, a total of 4.7 million veterans received a rating of the service-connected disability from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the U.S. Department of Defense. The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability is 6.2%, which is not a significant difference from the unemployment rate of 7.2% for veterans without a disability. According to …

Power In A Pandemic: Teachers’ Unions And Their Responses To School Reopening, Bradley D. Marianno, Annie A. Hemphill, Ana Paula S. Loures-Elias, Libna Garcia, Deanna Cooper, Emily Coombes

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

Drawing on Bachrach and Baratz’s first and second faces of interest group power, we explore the relationship between teachers’ union power and reopening decisions during the fall 2020 semester in 250 large districts around the United States. We leverage a self-collected panel data set of reopening decisions coupled with measures of teachers’ union first face power (drawn from social media postings on teachers’ unions’ Facebook pages) and second face power (operationalized as district size, whether the school district negotiates a collective bargaining agreement with the teachers’ union, the length of the collective bargaining agreement, and the amount of revenue raised …