Changes in religious and spiritual trends over the past few decades are contradicting previously held assumptions in academia pertaining to personal religious and spiritual definitions, identities and how these religious and spiritual identities are affected by higher educational attainment. In addition, there is limited research on how students may resolve cognitive dissonance if it develops due to discrepancies between their college experiences and their personal spiritual or religious convictions. The intent of this thesis is to explore the effects of college experience and higher educational attainment on students' religious and spiritual identities; to explore the growing trend to identify as 'spiritual, but not religious;' and to explore whether any changes in their religious and spiritual identity are as a result of adjustments spurred by cognitive dissonance. This study helps fill in gaps in current literature about the effects of higher education on religious and spiritual identity and their resolutions of cognitive dissonance.

This study aims at understanding the role of education in promoting disaster preparedness. Strengthening resilience to climate-related hazards is an urgent target of Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Preparing for a disaster such as stockpiling of emergency supplies or having a family evacuation plan can substantially minimize loss and damages from natural hazards. However, the levels of household disaster preparedness are often low even in disaster-prone areas. Focusing on determinants of personal disaster preparedness, this paper investigates: (1) pathways through which education enhances preparedness; and (2) the interplay between education and experience in shaping preparedness actions. Data analysis is based on face-to-face surveys of adults aged 15 years [or older] in Thailand (N = 1,310) and the Philippines (N = 889, female only). Controlling for socio-demographic and contextual characteristics, we find that formal education raises the propensity to prepare against disasters. Using the KHB method to further decompose the education effects, we find that the effect of education on disaster preparedness is mainly mediated through social capital and disaster risk perception in Thailand whereas there is no evidence that education is mediated through observable channels in the Philippines. This suggests that the underlying mechanisms explaining the education effects are highly context-specific. Controlling for the interplay between education and disaster experience, we show that education raises disaster preparedness only for those households that have not been affected by a disaster in the past. Education improves abstract reasoning and anticipation skills such that the better educated undertake preventive measures without needing to first experience the harmful event and then learn later. In line with recent efforts of various UN agencies in promoting education for sustainable development, this study provides a solid empirical evidence showing positive externalities of education in disaster risk reduction.

The increase in the number of nontraditional aged undergraduate students (25 yrs. and older) and students transferring between post-secondary institutions has raised the question of whether effective instruction is viewed the same by these different groups of students. This study addressed this question by analyzing the responses of these different groups to 23 instructional questions on a standard faculty evaluation form.

The purpose of this dissertation was to capture the voice of the Louisiana Native American students who attend Louisiana institutions of higher education. Native Americans are the least represented minority in colleges. More have entered college in recent years, yet they continue to leave college at a high rate. It is important to understand what motivates Native students to attend college and what keeps them in college. When an understanding of their persistence is achieved, strategies can be implemented to assist others. Research questions that prompted inquiry relate to a Louisiana Native American perspective. All of the research questions ask about the higher education experience and support the primary question: How can the higher education experiences of Native Americans be explained in models of persistence? This dissertation reviews the literature concerning persistence and departure of minority students. Development of ethnic identity is reviewed. The focus of this phenomenological qualitative research study was to examine the experiences of Native Americans during their collegiate journey. Twelve Native American students who attend five institutions of higher education in southern Louisiana were interviewed with open ended questions about their college experiences. Three participants were male and nine were female. Three tribal groups were represented: Choctaw-Apache, Coushatta and the United Houma Nation. Responses have been analyzed using the cultural model presented by Guiffrida (2006) and support the need for a cultural perspective, with the addition of the tribe as an influence. Students were satisfied overall with their experiences. Instances of stereotyping were present that made some students uncomfortable. Intrinsic motivation focused on competency and was frequently coupled with the sense of belonging. Extrinsic motivation came from tribal educational values which provided the cultural capital to pursue a degree. Intended application of the degree was most frequently tied back to the Indian community. Tribal influence was present from intention through to application of the degree. The responses of the participants in this study support a bicultural level and strong enculturation. A model of enculturation is proposed to address the participants' responses.

Title: Evaluation of pupils' interest in adventure activities during school physical education lessons Objectives: The aim of the master thesis is to evaluate the interest in adventurous activities of pupils aged 11 to 15 at the Elementary school Bronzová in Prague, based on a set up adventurous program. Methods: The research sample consisted of 145 pupils, aged 11 to 15, 78 girls and 67 boys. Data were gathered by a questionnaire, which included closed, semi-closed and open questions addressed to pupils. Further data were collected by teachers' observation. Gathered data were recorded in writing, graphically processed and evaluated. Results: Results showed that pupils were actively involved in the adventurous programme and were interested in adventurous activities within the physical education lessons. They have experienced the greatest adventure on the obstacles and during trust activities. Pupils do not seek adventurous activities during their free time. Keywords: adventure, experience, adventure education, initiative games, adventure programme

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This work intends to put into motion different fluxes of thinking through three filmic intersections, inspiring uS to think the education experience. This study considers what has the power of affecting and disturbing in a filmic encounter, making the production of different arrangements and contextures possible. Through the experience of watching the short film 'Los colores de las flores' (along with students from the distance undergraduate course in Special Education at Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM), the issues triggered by the encounter with the movie 'A invenção de Hugo Cabret' (watched along with students and supervisors at the Institutional Program of Teaching Initiation Grant - PIBID - in Visual Arts at UFSM), and the crossing between the movie 'O Balão Branco' and Jorge Larrosa's book 'Pedagogia Profana' (established by Visual Arts undergraduate students in the courses Supervised Teaching Practice II and IV), it was possible to propose problematizations in relation to these intersections and teaching, dialoguing with two lines of thought which overflow and move the thinking in this thesis: multiplicity and evento The problematizations arisen from the inter-relation among the filmic images, the spaces of inventive incidence with the child potency, the narratives and diaries produced by the undergraduate students involved in this investigation, and the concepts operated in this research, specially the French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's concepts, acted as a resonance vector, driving the questioning of the unquestionable, and stimulating the invention of multiple and unique scenes in education through the echoes passed on. / Este trabalho intenciona movimentar diferentes fluxos de pensamentos a partir de três intercessões fílmicas, incitando a pensar a experiência educativa. Busca-se dar atenção àquilo que tem a potência de afetar e inquietar em um encontro fílmico, possibilitando a produção de diferentes arranjos e tessituras. A partir da experiência em assistir ao curta-metragem ‘Los colores de las flores’ (com os acadêmicos do Curso de Graduação a Distância de Educação Especial – EAD – da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria – UFSM), das questões disparadas pelo encontro com o filme ‘A Invenção de Hugo Cabret’ (assistido junto aos acadêmicos e supervisoras do Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência – PIBID – das Artes Visuais da UFSM) e do atravessamento entre o filme ‘O Balão Branco’ e o livro ‘Pedagogia Profana’, de Jorge Larrosa (com os acadêmicos da Graduação em Artes Visuais da UFSM, nas disciplinas de Estágio Supervisionado III e IV), foi possível tecer problematizações em relação a essas intercessões e a docência, dialogando com duas vertentes que transbordam e movimentam o pensamento desta tese: multiciplicidade e acontecimento. As problematizações suscitadas a partir do cruzamento das imagens fílmicas selecionadas, dos espaços de incidência inventiva com a potência infante, das narrativas e dos diários produzidos pelos acadêmicos envolvidos na investigação e dos conceitos operados na pesquisa, especialmente os conceitos dos filósofos franceses Gilles Deleuze e Félix Guattari, agiram como um vetor de ressonâncias, impulsionando o questionamento do inquestionável e possibilitando, a partir dos ecos repercutidos, inventar múltiplas e singulares cenas para a educação.

This longitudinal qualitative research case study analyzed how international students in their first semester at an intensive English program (IEP) managed their English language learning experiences while transitioning to a new academic learning environment. Their experiences of cultural and educational transition were viewed through the lens of self-regulatory learning habits and behavior. Three linguistically and internationally diverse students who identified as highly self-regulated learners through Likert-scale questionnaire responses were interviewed at the beginning, middle, and end of their first semester at a large university-affiliated IEP in the western part of the US. The three students came from Central America (Spanish speaking), Sub-Saharan Africa (Malagasy & French speaking), and Asia (Mandarin Chinese speaking). Semi-structured interviews yielded data about what self-regulated learning (SRL) principles and practices the students brought with them to the IEP and which SRL principles and practices were maintained, newly developed, or not used throughout their first semester. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews about their transition experiences were organized and analyzed within a six-dimensional model of SRL that included how students managed their motives, in-class and out-of-class learning methods, time, physical environments, social environments, and language performance. Implications for researchers, administrators, and teachers are discussed, including the role of resilience as an important self-regulated learning practice for language learners.

This thesis is oriented to The Intensity of Experience and its role in The Dramaturgy of Experiential Courses. The main concepts: The Intensity of Experience and The Dynamics of Experience, are described in the theoretical part. At first, the author defines the concept of The Intensity of Experience, furthermore she describes diferences between The Intensity and Dynamics of Experience in order to implement both concepts into the context of Experiential Education. The second chapter is aimed at Experiential Courses, their background and history, principles of Experiential Education and Dramaturgy of Experiential Education Courses. The main part of the thesis is the third chapter, which is devoted to quantitative-qualitative research. This research is focused on The Intensity of Experience evaluated by the participants, which the author further compares with The Intensity of Experience intended by instructors. The research results indicate differences between The Intensity of Experience intended by the instructor and The Intensity of Experience that participants felt after courses.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Despite more than 40 years of research and governmental support, African Americans continue to be underrepresented in the nursing profession compared to the population it serves. Though some progress has been made over the past 20 years, the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) continue to identify increasing diversity as a disciplinary priority. Further understanding of the experiences of African American nursing students is needed to inform decisions about recruitment, retention and successful matriculation of these students. This qualitative descriptive study focused on understanding the experiences, and the meaning those experiences had, for African American students who attended predominately European American schools of nursing. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with fourteen African American nurses who shared their experiences in pre-licensure nursing programs. Thematic analysis revealed two salient themes: "Standing out" and "It's not just about me." The findings from this study shed new light on this persistent issue and inform faculty members and nursing school administrators about the strategies and ways of framing the educational experience that may create environments that are welcoming to African American students to address the retention of African American students in pre-licensure nursing programs.