Copyright (c) 2009 University of Nebraska - Lincoln All rights reserved. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss Recent documents in Open Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences en-us Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:29:53 PDT 3600 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/48 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/48 Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:55:04 PDT The purpose of the study was to determine the role of family context variables (i.e., parenting stress and positive parenting practices) as possible moderators and mediators of the relationship between conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) and change in child problem behavior in the home setting. Another aim of the study was to evaluate the mediator roles of two dimensions of intervention implementation integrity (i.e., adherence to interventions and full engagement in the plan implementation phase) on parenting stress and change in child problem behavior for families involved in CBC. Participants were 203 parents, 81 teachers (81 classrooms), and 203 children who took part in a larger experimental study. Measures included rating scales of parenting stress and parenting practices, home intervention implementation integrity self-reports and permanent products, and parent reports of child problem behavior at home. The presence of moderators and mediators in three models were tested for and teacher effects were accounted for using multilevel path analyses. Results indicated CBC was effective at reducing child problem behavior at home. Additionally, when parent's reported high levels of parenting stress, they reported little increase in their use of positive parenting practices and less engagement in the CBC plan implementation phase. Furthermore, a parent's full engagement was affected by their child's classroom/teacher. Lastly, as parents reported more adherence to interventions, they reported greater reductions in child problem behaviors at home than when less adherence was reported. Implications for practice and future research directions will be discussed. Michelle Swanger-Gagne http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/47 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/47 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:41:01 PDT The purposes of this quantitative study were to explore the effects that classmate photographs have on the level of online community and connectedness experienced by online graduate students and by students who take only online-only courses vs. those who have an on-campus presence. Control and treatment groups were used to compare the levels of community and connectedness between graduate students who repeatedly viewed photographs of their online classmates and graduate students who saw no photographs of their online classmates. Students in 18 online graduate courses at one central U.S. university were surveyed to determine if a relationships existed between repeatedly viewing classmate photographs and online community and connectedness. Rovai's Classroom Community Scale (CCS) (2002b) and the Online Community and Connectedness Survey (OCCS) (Glisan, 2006), which was developed for this study, were used concurrently. The CCS provided a measure of online community and connectedness and the OCCS added insights through a collection of student opinions. Study results included detailed descriptive data to provide an overview of student opinions and a series of ANOVAs comparing CCS scores according to photos, oncampus presence, online-only presence, age, gender, and length of experience with online classes. The measured community and connectedness did not show significant differences in community and connectedness due to the viewing of classmate photos nor due to on-campus vs. online-only student presence. However, results suggested that students in the treatment classes held the opinion that they had a higher level of community and connectedness. The opinions that were gathered using the OCCS also showed that the majority of subjects felt they had more community and connectedness in face-to-face classes than in online classes. Adviser: Allen L. Steckelberg Ellen McPeek Glisan http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/46 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/46 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:36:34 PDT This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students' motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those conditions, contexts that influenced learning motivation, intervening conditions that influenced the development of learning motivation, actual study and coping strategies, and consequences of context and specific strategies. Subcategories of each component of the theoretical model were identified and illustrated by narrative data. Implications for learning motivation research and instructional practice extended Dweck's (2000) self-theories construct. Mastery learning was more likely to occur when content was perceived to be related to career goals, and higher achievers tended to exhibit a greater facility for multiple perspective-taking. Kristin K. Grosskopf http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/45 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/45 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:41:02 PDT This study examined the effectiveness of persuasive writing instruction using the Self- Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model with high school students identified with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Four students in grades 10 and 11 received one-to-one instruction in planning and persuasive essay writing. Instruction had a pronounced positive effect on students' writing. Essays were longer, more complete, and of higher holistic quality. Additional increases were seen in planning time, writing time, and the number of included transitional words and phrases.Advisor: Robert Reid Laura Thompson Jacobson http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/44 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/44 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:46:43 PDT The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between involvement in formal, college-sponsored, co-curricular programs and student success and development at the community college, with success defined as grade point average and overall student satisfaction with the college experience and with development defined as self-confidence, ability to manage emotions, and emotional independence from parents. The study took place at three public community colleges located in central Kansas. Ninety-four community college students who were involved in one of three formal, college-sponsored, co-curricular programs during their freshman year (student government, a service oriented program -- Phi Theta Kappa, and intercollegiate athletics) were compared to 96 of their peers who were not involved in a formal, college-sponsored program of this type. All students in the sample completed a survey that consisted of demographic, grade point average, satisfaction, involvement questions, and the Iowa Student Development Inventories of Developing Competence Self-Confidence Subscale, Managing Emotions, and Developing Autonomy Emotional Independence from Parents Subscale (Hood & Jackson, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c). Analyses consisted of evaluating the relationship between the variables. Some marginal relationships were found among the groups; however, the analysis of the group membership and outcome measures controlled for these demographic differences. The analysis indicated that students involved in formal, college-sponsored, co-curricular programs had significantly higher grade point averages and satisfaction with the college experience. In addition, the involved students proved to be more self-confident, better able to manage emotions, and more emotionally independent from parents. The results substantiate consistent findings in the literature that the involvement in college- or university-sponsored co-curricular programs has a positive impact on student success and development. Adviser: Ronald Joekel Jacquelyn R. Elliott http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/43 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/43 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:31:04 PDT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experience of intimate partner violence and help-seeking in college women. This study used a phenomenological approach and qualitative interviews to elicit descriptions from a sample of five college women who had been in abusive relationships and had subsequently sought counseling. These were undergraduate women who had experienced abuse while in college and had recently been or were currently in counseling. Themes from the analysis of the participant interviews highlight the individual experiences of intimate partner violence as well as bring to light the experience of intimate partner violence in the context of college life. Textural themes include (a) shame and embarrassment; (b) isolation; (c) being controlled; (d) distress; (e) help-seeking; and (f) helpful counseling. Structural themes include (a) impact on academic performance; (b) impact on overall college experience; (c) impact on functioning in college setting; and (d) suggestions for administrators. These themes provide valuable information to the field of psychology in terms of the implications of intimate partner violence in a college woman's life as well as how to facilitate and provide services to this population. Further implications for mental health professionals and those on college campuses include prevention strategies and beneficial responses to these situations from the women themselves. Limitations of the study, recommendations for clinical practice, future directions and the researcher's reflections are also included. Advisor: Roger Bruning Megan Watson http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/42 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/42 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:36:56 PDT CREATING A CULTURE OF INQUIRY: STUDENT TEACHERS' STORIES FROM THE WORLD OF THE GLASS BOX Judith J. Ruskamp University of Nebraska, 2009 Advisor: Margaret Macintyre Latta This study explores critical reflective practice as a way to study and systematically improve teaching and learning, instilling in teacher candidates a culture of inquiry where they purposefully negotiate the complexities of teaching and learning experiences. Understanding the work of teaching as such, entailing ongoing analysis of the challenges and opportunities teachers face in their classrooms and schools, requires time and space for a deliberate approach to this complex work. The task for teacher educators and for teacher preparation programs is to find ways to enable teacher candidates to successfully navigate the given relational complexities, furthering learning alongside developing strong teaching identities. Teacher educators and teacher education programs must ask what can be done to create a mindset in teacher candidates that encourages exploration and meaning-making as mediums for working with the relational complexities as productive for teaching and learning. Narrative inquiry serves as a medium for documenting and analyzing the perspectives and insights across all participants' self-study. Data is gathered and analyzed from prospective teachers engaging in critical reflective practice via collaborative autobiographies of critical incidents, classroom observations, debriefing interview sessions, a questionnaire, and a follow-up interview over the course of one student teaching semester. Prospective teachers' engagement in critical reflection through narrative inquiry chronicles both the tensions and the possibilities present within teaching and learning experiences, enlarging everyone's perspectives and understandings regarding learners and learning. Engagement in critical reflection requires trusted and invested collaboration with other(s) manifesting a culture of inquiry. Findings suggest that a culture of inquiry provides prospective teachers with time and space to negotiate self-other relations. The resulting reflective turns foster teaching practices and teaching identities that are nurtured and sustained. The study concludes that teacher educators and teacher education programs should strive to create cultures of inquiry prompting reflective opportunities for discovering what counts as knowledge in specific teaching and learning experiences alongside importantly allowing for the evolution of teaching identities. Judith J. Ruskamp http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/41 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/41 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:13:38 PDT Public health officials throughout the United States are currently preparing for a national accreditation initiative for local and state public health agencies. As a voluntary program, the accreditation process will measure the degree to which state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments meet nationally recognized standards and measures. Proponents of the initiative feel that evaluating public health agencies on their capacities to achieve certain standards will lead to improved service quality, consistency of public health roles nationally, and a greater understanding of those roles among the general population. However, in planning for agency accreditation some potential barriers must be addressed, mostly related to varying agency size, urban vs. rural locations, and the diverse configurations of how state and local agencies coexist throughout the nation. Organizations such as the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the American Public Health Association (APHA) exist, at least partially, on the basis that local public health agencies utilize and find value in the resources they provide. As more resources are made available, the pressure for their utilization increases. As such, a new process for agency accreditation may force smaller health departments, which have limited resources, to choose between agency accreditation and system performance capacity. A new conceptual model proposes to operationalize the 10 essential public health services by recognizing three distinct components: the assessment component, fulfilled by the local health department, the research component, fulfilled by collaborating colleges and universities, and the impact component, fulfilled by local system partners. The purpose of this study was to introduce the Performance Predictability Concept, and substantiate its proposed components by examining the interaction between them. The results were supportive of this purpose, as Assessment and Research were able to adequately explain the variability of Impact capacity (the average capacity of essential services 3 through 8), at nearly 75% of variability among systems with smaller health departments, and 65% of the variability for the systems with larger health departments. Jeffrey G. Kuhr http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/40 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/40 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:51:02 PDT This case study examined two rural school teachers' change in instruction and understandings of comprehension strategies and instruction while participating in a teacher development process in reading comprehension strategies instruction. The teachers participated in a five-month teacher development process that included training, teacher discussion groups and videotape reflection. Based on data from a teacher explicitness rating scale and qualitative data from discussion group, training session and exit interview transcriptions, both teachers increased their instructional performance and changed their understandings about comprehension strategies and comprehension strategies instruction. Adviser: Kathleen M. Wilson Caryn D. Ziettlow http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/39 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsdiss/39 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:40:14 PDT This study examines gender differences on the American Mathematics Competition AMC 8 contest between 2003 and 2007 by comparing the performances of male and female United States eighth grade students after controlling for ability. During these years 183,857 males and 178,857 females participated in the contest. Research on gender differences frequently measures impact which is a difference in performance between two groups that can often be explained by different ability distributions. In contrast, differential item functioning (DIF) is a difference in performance after controlling for ability. Three types of analyses were performed to compare the performances. First, statistical analyses identified items with impact, DIF, and uniform or nonuniform DIF. Differences in proportion correct were used to identify impact and type of DIF while the Mantel-Haenszel procedure was used to identify items with gender DIF. Second, substantive analyses placed the items into multiple categories based on NCTM, Gierl, and Harnisch's classifications of mathematics problems. Third, subtest analyses used these categories to look for gender differences in terms of impact and DIF on subsets of the contest. While a majority of the items favored males in terms of impact, after controlling for ability, few items demonstrated gender DIF. None of the hypotheses of differing abilities in males and females suggested by earlier studies were supported by the subtest analyses. Melissa A. Desjarlais