Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeffrey Zacharakis / This modified qualitative study focused on observations of learning procedures and performance outcomes of two theatrical learning environments (TLE), using a select set of phenomenological observation and recording procedures to ensure minimization of researcher bias. Observational results were compared to previously published observations of a large lecture hall learning environment at a Midwestern university. Observational results were also compared to a select set of learning theories to determine similarities in observed learning procedures to those theories. This study reveals differences in methods of acquisition of knowledge and skills in a TLE and the acquisition of same in the lecture hall environment. In the large lecture hall descriptions, the individual learner’s preset learning measurement options of ABCDF or Pass/Fail, individual option of choice to be present but non-interactive within the learning environment, individual option of choice of when to learn material and in what manner (for instance, cramming for a final), option of choice of attention level when physically present in the learning environment, and other options all affect the individual learner’s achievement level while minimally impacting the learning and achievement options of other members of the lecture class. This contrasts with a TLE, where failure is not a pre-listed option, maximization of learning and skills development is a constant goal individually and severally, interactivity with other learning environment members is mandated, material must be progressively learned and mastered by all members at essentially the same rate of progress, attention level must remain high, and there may well be multiple ‘final exams’ wherein virtually 100% of text materials must be transmitted verbatim in a meaningful way to a third party (an audience) through skills learned. Comparisons of learning theories reveal this process to be most closely allied with, but still significantly different from, collaborative learning theory.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction / F. Todd Goodson / This study investigates visual representation of three perspectives: the context of school, the pedagogy, and the teacher-student relationships when viewing photographs taken during the first half of the 20th Century of American Schools. Grounded in the understanding of visual culture, this image-based study utilized photographs as a rich source of data. The photographs collected for this study were taken between 1900 -1959 in American schools and were categorized by the Library of Congress as still images of classrooms in the United States. The Library of Congress collection was utilized to provide reliable categorized and documented images of schooling. The collection included 1,812 photographs archived in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs collections specifically labeled as Classrooms United States; the non-digitized Frances Benjamin Johnston Photograph Collection of United States Indian School; and, Look Magazine Teacher Issue Charlotte Brooks negatives collection. A three-layered analysis utilized an initial layer of analysis placing each of the photographs into four predetermined categories: Time Period (1900-1950’s), Urban-Rural, Wealth-Poverty, Active-Passive environment. The placement of each photograph into the above continua provided evidence of the balance of visual elements within the data collection. Seven themes emerged through an open-coding process within the second layer of analysis when each photograph was coded using a specific perspective: context, pedagogy, and teacher-student relationship. As themes were extracted, a third layer of analysis utilized a semiotic approach to identifying over 20 cultural icons representational of schooling within the photograph. Implications for further research are provided.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Charles E. Heerman / Employers want to hire students with the appropriate skill set for the job. These skills include communication, problem-solving, and teamwork skills (Billing, 2003; Shivpuri & Kim, 2004). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether students perceive themselves to be transferring employability skills learned in the Fort Hays State University (FHSU) Leadership Studies Certificate Program to the workplace. The Leadership Studies Certificate Program consists of three academic leadership courses; Introduction to Leadership to Leadership Concepts, Introduction to Leadership Behaviors, and Fieldwork in Leadership Studies. Three groups were created for the purpose of the study. Group one served as a control group and consisted of participants who had not taken a leadership course at FHSU. Group two consisted of a sample of students who had completed one or two courses out of the Leadership Studies Certificate Program. Participants who had completed the entire Leadership Studies Certificate made up group three. The study sought to evaluate the participants’ perceptions with regard to the level of importance of identified employability skills, as well as their level of competence in performing each of the employability skills. The study also sought the supervisors’ perceptions of the study participants in each of the three groups. Employability skills studied were problem-solving skills, communication skills, teamwork skills, change and innovation behaviors, ability to manage self, and being civic-minded. Study participants and their supervisors both perceived the ability to manage self as the most important skill in the workplace. Findings showed no differences between participant groups with respect to the perceived importance and competence levels on each of the six employability skill constructs. Supervisors of Leadership Studies Certificate recipients deemed communication skills as more important to their employee’s job than supervisors who employed students who had never taken an FHSU leadership course. No differences were found between supervisor groups with respect to perceived importance and competence on the remainder of the employability skills. Further research should be conducted on the Leadership Studies Certificate Program to understand its impact on students’ development of employability skills. Upon conclusion of this analysis, possible curriculum modifications should be considered.

Master of Science / Curriculum & Instruction / F. Todd Goodson / This study analyzes the power of literacy and language in adolescent negotiation of identity, particularly in a classroom setting. The theoretical notion of discourse communities provides the framework for this qualitative, narrative case study of one high school junior and her literacy and language experiences from the perspective of her own video diaries. The study applies Critical Discourse Analysis and sociocultural theory to literacy in order to better understand the identity choices students make as they navigate different spaces in their lives. In addition, this study offers several implications for the education profession in regard to the English language arts curricula and new teaching standards. Four emergent themes resulted from analyzing the case study’s video diaries and interviews: 1) Anna uses social languages to enact different identities; 2) Anna’s agency is affected by her assigned identities; 3) language acts as a means of moving between contexts; and 4) language is more than just words. This project sought to understand how Anna’s literacy and language practices are embedded in her sociocultural experiences, and how these experiences and practices shape identity and reconfigure moments of agency and power in the process of negotiating identities across discourse communities. The results of the study indicate that classroom spaces do not always adjust their context to meet the needs of the student, and for Anna, making identity choices to move between contexts did not always mediate success. In essence, language influences opportunities to learn, and our social and cultural position in society, to some extent, determines our success.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary C. Kingery-Page / The landscapes that surround our elementary schools today do very little to support the education being taught in the classrooms, and often fail to meet the most basic needs of children. This is due to a myriad of different reasons, such as budget-tight school districts spending very little of their resources on outside learning environments, fear of litigation leading to sterile and lifeless schoolyards, and lack of time and resources for educators to implement desired changes. Children learn through direct interactive experience and, as a result, they need complexity and variety in the landscape to stimulate their imaginations and promote self-guided learning. A natural outdoor environment is ideally suited for both interactive learning and a diversity of experiences. Many schools are missing an opportunity to make their outdoor spaces into interactive learning environments. This report explores the issues and opportunities to create stimulating environments at Frank V. Bergman Elementary School in Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous studies have identified the benefits of interactive natural environments on children’s development and academic performance(Moore and Wong 1997; Louv 2008; Bell and Dyment 2006;Fjortoft 2001; Malone and Tranter 2003). Building upon this research, goals and objectives for Bergman’s schoolyard are outlined that focus on creating a positive learning environment for all students, supporting school curriculum, encouraging interaction with nature, and linking the schoolyard to the surrounding community. A master plan for Bergman’s schoolyard is presented. The plan addresses the current needs of the schoolyard to improve accessibility. In addition, the master plan presents ideas for strengthening the circulation pathways to connect all areas of the schoolyard together, developing outdoor classroom spaces with connections to state academic standards, and incorporating community amenity features into the landscape. Recommendations for construction, maintenance, and phasing are suggested.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / F. Todd Goodson / By the end of March 2011, 2.3 million active-duty military personnel and reservists had deployed to combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (Golding, 2011). Many of them had experienced multiple deployments in which they served in war zones for 12 to 15 months, returned to the US for 12 months, and then deployed again to another war zone (Huebner & Mancini, 2008; Morse, 2006). Adolescents in military families whose service members are deployed repeatedly, and for longer durations, experience circumstances unique to current conflicts. Documents such as the Educator’s Guide to the Military Child During Deployment (retrieved 2008) recommend various literacy practices as a means of coping with the circumstances of deployment. This qualitative phenomenological inquiry seeks to extend the body of research in the area of adolescent literacy by examining the perceptions of adolescents regarding their out-of-school literacy practices within the experience of deployment. In this study, the perspectives of five adolescents were examined regarding their literacy practices as they shaped their identities, enacted agency, and navigated structures of power during deployment. Phenomenological analysis, critical discourse analysis, and sociocultural theory were applied to data gathered from initial interviews, literacy logs, and follow-up interviews. During the phenomenological analysis, descriptions of each participant’s experiences were developed, replete with the words and expressions of the adolescents themselves. Horizontalization of significant statements from these descriptions yielded a composite description offering an understanding of what it is like to engage in out-of-school literacy practices within the circumstances of military deployment. Three themes emerged; ambiguity, responses, and roles. A theoretical analysis utilizing critical discourse analysis and sociocultural theory examined the discourses of the participants and interpreted relationships between the adolescents’ literacy practices and their experiences with deployment. This examination offered insight to the ways these adolescents established identity and enacted agency within power circulations as their families experienced deployment. This study places the voices of adolescents at the foreground of consideration. Listening to their words and reading their texts offers true insight into their literacy practices as they navigate the lived experience of deployment.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum & Instruction Programs / Kay Ann Taylor / African American males have the second highest dropout rate in this Midwest state‘s largest public school district. Often, African American male students take an abundance of elective classes but do not complete core classes that guarantee a diploma. This study documented and analyzed the experiences of African American male students who completed or attempted to complete their high school diplomas in an alternative setting. The study is significant because it reveals the importance of how time is structured in an alternative educational setting; it discloses the pervasiveness of racism in public education, and it exposes the widespread stereotyping of African American males by teachers and other authority figures. African American male students who have attended both traditional and alternative public schools have been overlooked in previous research. Self-ethnography comprised the methodology. The intersectionality of gender, race, grades, racism, athletic involvement, law, and relationships formed a crucial paradigm of this investigation. Research findings include: (a) the major difference between traditional public and alternative schools is how time is structured, (b) African American males believe that they often are stereotyped, (c) high school athletes receive special privileges that they see later as obstacles, (d) African American males sometimes deliberately assume a pleasing demeanor toward teachers, (e) African American male students respond positively to teachers who conduct themselves with clear purpose, (f) African American males returning to school for high school credit recovery demonstrate tenacity and resist stereotypes. The cornerstone tenets of CRT—racism is the norm, interest convergence, and the need for social justice for oppressed groups—were evident in the findings of the frequency of stereotyping and treatment of African American male high school athletes. In the interest of social justice for African American male students, it is recommended that teachers are provided with the following information: (a) how to avoid consciously stereotyping; (b) that African American males make conscious efforts to be approachable; (c) how to make necessary changes involving their authority. Recommended future research for African American males includes: (a) how the construction of time in traditional public schools affects their credit acquisition; (b) communication between the counseling and athletic departments; (c) the impact of athletic involvement on academics.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Judith Hughey / Social organizations known as fraternities exist on many college campuses in the United States. Many of these organizations have a residential home either on the campus or off campus for the students known as a fraternity home. One of the values that many fraternities seek to ad-here to is found in the area of leadership (Long, 2012). Leadership has been studied for decades as has the social organizations known as fraternities. The outcomes of both of these areas of studies presented spirited and often complex discussion on how to define a) leadership and b) what is the role of the fraternity on the college campus. This qualitative study of 12 students focused on fraternity members who lived in a residential setting of a fraternity home. The purpose of this study was to understand what factors of the fraternity home experience have on one’s leadership identity and to explain how these factors can help guide college professionals in fostering in positive college student development. The researcher used two primary methods of data collection (a) focus groups and (b) in-depth individual semi-structured interviews. A case study research design was utilized to help understand the experiences that take place in the lives of the participants. The analysis of the data in this study helps explain how a college student living in a fraternity home takes on a leadership identity. Furthermore, this study pointed to six themes that emerged to help inform how a residential living setting of a fraternity home shapes the leadership identity of the students. Multiple support systems allow for students to have values tested and reinforced though a fraternity home experience. Diversity of other viewpoints are present in a fraternity and allow for students to see differing perspectives. Older fraternity brothers have a positive influence on younger members in terms of self-confidence, mentoring, and other areas. Positional leadership roles of the fraternity allow students to engage with managing conflict and interacting with adult advisors and mentors. Brotherhood events provide students the opportunity develop relationships and interpersonal skills. Formal chapter meetings allow a venue for students to engage with each other in a manner that produces improved communication skills and critical thinking. Student affairs professionals and leadership educators working with students including but not limited to Greek organizations can take the findings of the study to assist them in their work. A leadership identity is being formed through a fraternity home setting as evidence of this study. Leadership educators can use this study to help their thoughts on how college students, especially fraternity members, view and exercise leadership. This study also presented areas for future research based on the information that was gained from the participants. Colleges continue to need contemporary studies to help them in working enhance the academic and social experience. The information provided in this study can be a catalyst for helping the understanding of leadership and for student development.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Katherine Nesse / Rural communities continue to consolidate and close schools across the country at an alarming rate. Debates surrounding school district consolidation have been known to cause deep tension throughout many communities. It is widely held that, schools in rural areas not only provide education, but create jobs, provide entertainment, and bolster social relationships within a region. Social relationships are necessary for the health and cohesiveness of any community. This in-depth case study of the rural community of Mount Hope identifies the change in cohesion over time. This research shows that there is a relationship between the closing and opening of the school and levels of community cohesion amongst some, but not all, of the groups. The key findings are that a range of social activities not directly related to the school have been affected by the closure. Personal interviews were conducted with local officials, school employees, group leaders, parents, and community members of Mount Hope. This study is relevant to planners, school administrators, and educators alike, as local communities across the state debate the value of district consolidation. The findings are beneficial to communities and school districts to help determine what is best for a community when considering school consolidation or closure.

Doctor of Education / Educational Leadership / Trudy A. Salsberry / Today’s teachers must not only be content experts, they must be reflective practitioners competent in both theory and complex learning processes. They must prove capable of constructing classrooms to meet the diverse needs of each child within a culture of global competition and high stakes testing. Beginning teachers are more effective when they enter classrooms with a strong identity and sense of self as teacher. Unfortunately, there is limited understanding of teacher candidate identity development and limited research on effective preparation strategies to strengthen the complex process. A two-staged instrumental-intrinsic case study was developed to collect and analyze candidate possible self-strategies. The investigation gave voice to an often-neglected source of insight, teacher candidates. The theory of possible selves, as proposed by Marcus and Nurius (1986), served as a framework for interviews conducted with thirteen candidates from a private institution in the Midwest. The researcher utilized results from previous applications of the theory to teacher education and extended findings by employing the strategy development process (Ibarra, 1999), an aspect previously unapplied to teacher preparation. Research findings provided insight into participants’ past memories and present motivations. While passive observation appeared to play a minor role in participant strategies, there was a heavy reliance upon future collegial support. Participants also valued intentional effective clinical mentors and suggested structured opportunities to promote dialogue and feedback. Results aligned with previous research that identified modeling of effective instructional strategies as essential to teacher educator quality. However, an additional attribute emerged, affective modeling. Participants attributed affective traits and actions of teacher educators to personal perceptions of collegiality and student-centered instruction. Findings support the utilitarian, investigative, and evaluative qualities of the theory of possible selves. The applied theoretical framework allowed for the assessment of participants’ knowledge, skills, and dispositions, aided in the identification of perceived preparation needs, and served as an appraisal of preparation program effectiveness. The collection and analysis of candidates’ hopes, fears, and process strategies served to inform teacher educator practice and increased understanding in regards to external and internal influences that shape professional identity development.