<p> This thesis presents findings from a narrative and phenomenological case study that examined the inspirations and motivations that led to an adolescent student&rsquo;s engagement in a self-initiated experiential education project (SEEP) and the subsequent effects on the adolescent&rsquo;s sense of self. The student&rsquo;s SEEP was a month-long challenge to eat only wild foods. SEEPs and self-designed experiential learning projects are examples of self-directed learning, which is becoming more common in adult, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Six theoretical areas are addressed in the literature review, including adolescent sense of self, benefits of exposure to nature, mentoring, experiential education, eclectic homeschooling, and rites of passage. The investigator interviewed the SEEP initiator, who was a student at a school employing the deep nature connection mentoring model of education, and seven of the student&rsquo;s mentors. Artifacts produced by the student and mentors related to the student&rsquo;s self-initiated experiential education project were examined. Data analysis included crafting researcher profiles, writing a chronological story of the case, and an open-coded thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. Findings indicate the influences and motivations inspiring the creation of the SEEP in this case included elements of the initiators&rsquo; identity, self-esteem, education, resilience and self-efficacy; an adolescent need to test oneself; and a desire for a deeper connection with nature. The outcomes in terms of sense of self include impacts on identity and self-esteem, increased resilience and self-efficacy and an increasing appreciation for nature, family, and the student&rsquo;s interdependence with other people. These impacts indicate that SEEPs could be a desired aspect of curriculum design. Educator, family, peer, and community support appear to be important influences encouraging students to create and engage in SEEPs. </p>

<p> Over fifty thousand Chinese students are leaving China to study in US high schools. This interview-based, narrative inquiry study focuses on the experience of ten Chinese nationals now studying at a US high school and expands work done in comparative pedagogy by offering thick descriptions of the school experience in two cultures. This study makes the case that China&rsquo;s changing culture is reflected in the stories and school histories of Chinese students who experience pedagogy as significantly different in China and the US. The push that drives students out of China includes high-stakes testing and public ranking systems and the individual success of students within these systems. Students&rsquo; experience school in China as a symbiotic relationship between teachers, students, and schools, which often manifests in culturally located methods for efficient study, including achievement collaboration&mdash;wherein actors work together for mutual success. It is within this context that many students are pulled to study in the US in order to take up a certain degree of cultural rebellion, wherein they perceive that US schools have the resources to provide for broader constructions of school success than in China. This study illuminates how these students then gain new knowledge around how to be successful in school in two cultures and how to better navigate global education mobility. It is in this way that Chinese students become conduits of change. They influence the curricula, programming, and services offered at the schools they attend in both countries, emphasizing how cross-border mobility (re)shapes the identities and values around education for all involved, from individual students and schools to educational policy and reform. This study engages how schools in the US are meeting the needs of these students in both policy and practice, and lends nuance to the literature around intercultural education and the impact of globalization on pedagogy.</p>

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The coach has a crucial role to play in the furtherance of sporting performance however, unlike the athlete, scant attention has been paid to the development of the expert coach. This thesis investigated methods of coach education, which allowed coaches to develop their practice through the adoption of both structured and unstructured processes. It consists of three different studies, examining coach education, support and development, as perceived by sport coaches. The findings conclude that coaches questioned the effectiveness of formal coach education programmes, the support of their NGBs and the sports specific nature of many of the awards. Coaches progress using a variety of methods but key were the informal Communities of Practice (COP), critical thinking skills, a supportive club environment and a personal desire to develop their knowledge base in a range of areas. Some professions have integrated expertise development into education programmes using a variety of methods. Sport coaching should embrace the examples from these and introduce the concept of long term coach development into the coach education framework.

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if using intentional, transformational learning strategies in an undergraduate business ethics course improved the curriculum with respect to targeted, student learning outcomes. Since business schools have a social mandate to provide opportunities for ethical growth and development, improving the efficacy of business ethics education is of paramount importance. The importance of this mandate has been further highlighted in recent years by egregious instances of misconduct by business professionals whose actions have had obvious and profoundly negative impacts upon the stability of our financial systems and state of the world economy. </p><p> This was a quasi-experimental, quantitative study conducted at a university of approximately 8,000 students. The focus of the study was to measure the effects of intentional, transformational learning strategies on the occurrence of transformational learning and cognitive moral development among students enrolled in the university's online business ethics course. The intentional, transformational learning strategies utilized were those identified by David Warren Keller in a 2007 study and adapted to an online learning environment. The correlation between epistemological development based on the Perry Scheme (of William G. Perry Jr.) and the occurrence of transformational learning was also examined in this study. </p><p> While this curricular intervention was not found to have had a statistically significant impact on the targeted outcomes, a statistically significant correlation was observed between epistemological development and transformational learning. A principle conclusion of the researcher is that the online learning environment is the most likely explanation for the difference in the efficacy of the curricular intervention when comparing the results of the Keller study to the current study due to the affective dimensions of the student learning experience (central to transformational learning) in the online learning environment and the limitations inherent therein, which are detailed in the study. Finally, the correlation observed between epistemological development and transformational learning, while statistically significant, was inconclusive due to the absence of additional correlations which would have been expected, yet merits further study.</p>

<p> Clinical experiences are an essential part of the training of future nursing professionals. The period of clinical experience aims to develop in the student the necessary skills to practice as a nursing professional, when the academic program ends. This case study aimed to understand the opinion and explore the perception of faculty, clinical instructors, and nursing students on the meaning, contributions and challenges presented during clinical experiences. Among the themes explored in the focus groups were the meaning and importance to learning about the profession of clinical experiences, teaching strategies used during the practice scenarios, didactic relationships developed among students, clinical instructors, and teachers. The goal was to learn from all participants about what they do, their expectations, and the challenges presented during the clinical experiences.</p><p> A qualitative, descriptive and contextual research design was followed, which required conducting six focus groups to collect the information from the perspective of all the participants. Faculty, clinical instructors, and nursing students participated each in two focus groups. Collected data were transcribed, coded and analyzed in order to organize it under themes related to the research framework.</p><p> The qualitative analysis of the focus groups revealed that nursing faculty and clinical instructors perceived clinical experiences as a very important element in the training of nursing students, but that coordination between the academy and practice scenarios is disconnected and needs improvement. They also expressed that they use various learning strategies during the clinical experiences, however, they recognize it needs more structure and suggested mentoring as a strategy to consider. They affirmed that mentoring could contribute positively to enhance the teaching-learning process. Clinical instructors understand they perform mentoring roles, but they would like to have a more defined role and structured process. Nursing students, also, recognized the importance of clinical experiences in their professional training. They expressed the need to improve the communication between the academy and the practice scenarios in order to reduce the levels of anxiety they experience when entering the clinical experiences. Nursing students also expressed the need to consider the use of different teaching strategies, such as mentoring, to improve clinical experiences.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of classroom-assigned tasks and responsibilities in middle school classrooms. This mixed methods research study focused on perceptions held by students and educational professionals, both classroom teachers and administrators, of the classroom-assigned tasks and responsibilities program in relation to overall classroom environment, overall school environment, and students&rsquo; sense of connectedness to the school. Quantitative data consisted of secondary data obtained from a survey taken by students exposed to the program and students not exposed to the program. Student survey results were compared to determine if a difference of perceptions existed between the two groups. Qualitative data were collected from educational professionals via electronic surveys and face-to-face interviews. Participant responses were documented and analyzed. The quantitative data showed no significant impact of the classroom-assigned tasks and responsibilities program related to students&rsquo; perceptions; however, the qualitative data pertaining to educators&rsquo; perceptions of the classroom-assigned tasks and responsibilities program demonstrated a multitude of positive effects of the program. According to the qualitative data, students exposed to the program exhibited a multitude of positive changes, whereas students not exposed to the program did not exude beneficial changes. The researcher concluded that although the quantitative data could not support the effectiveness of the classroom-assigned tasks and responsibilities program, the qualitative data provided enough evidence to support the validity of the program. </p>

<p> One way to mitigate health disparities in the provision of nursing care and impact social justice with vulnerable populations is the development of cultural competence. Although addressed in nursing curricula, gaps in how to best address cultural competence remain. A study was undertaken to determine whether participation in a researcher-designed intervention, entitled Transcultural Humility Simulation development, based on components of Campinha-Bacote&rsquo;s model with an emphasis on &ldquo;becoming&rdquo; culturally competent, improved cultural competence in graduating baccalaureate nursing students. A longitudinal, descriptive, quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest comparison group design using embedded mixed methods was used. A total of 57 student participants from one baccalaureate nursing school in the western US were randomly assigned to the intervention group (<i>n</i> = 22) or the comparison group (<i>n</i> = 35). All participants completed the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence-Student Version before and after the intervention. Intervention participants also completed three written reflection exercises the day of the workshop. A subgroup of participants in the intervention group (<i>n</i> = 12) and the comparison group (<i>n</i> = 8) were interviewed two to three months after graduation. No statistically significant differences were obtained between groups while treating the pretest as a covariate. Participants who identified as more than one race on the demographic survey perceived they were more culturally competent than those who identified as one race, <i>F</i> ratio of <i> F</i>(10, 3) = 15.13, <i>p</i> = .02. Analysis of participant reflections during the intervention indicated they anticipated incorporating cultural competence into their practice by <b>shattering preconceived perceptions, constructing innovative insights, improving effective communication,</b> and <b>emerging personal development.</b> Once in practice, they incorporated cultural competence through <b>cultivating nursing-person relationships, providing quality nursing care, serving the patient and family, establishing extraordinary communication</b> and <b>approaching care with humility. </b> This study suggests that bringing attention to cultural competence through participation in Transcultural Humility Simulation Development could raise awareness and foster developmental growth among student participants through transformative learning, epistemic belief change, and double-loop learning.</p>