Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. S.)--Oklahoma State University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2009. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> Short-term, faculty-led education abroad programs are steadily becoming the leading experience for students to actively participate in an educational, overseas experience. As the number of these programs increase, so do the concerns for addressing safety within groups in a foreign country. This research identified student development theories related to study abroad, including examples of small group-learning strategies and successful community strategies as the foundations for creating community and a community contract as a strategy to mitigate risk during short-term faculty-led programs. Case study methodology was employed, and six emergent themes were identified through the triangulation of five interview participants; forty-five individual blogs from 11 participants; and 30 direct participant observations. Evidence ultimately showed that responsibility and safety were linked to the process of creating community and a community contract, which helped to mitigate risk while students participated in a short-term faculty-led education abroad experience.</p><p>

Recent governmental policies in the UK have been focusing on the promotion of mental health in children and young people and mental health provision in school has now become a government priority (DfE, 2016; DH, 2014). In these government initiatives, the role of educational psychologists (EPs) as external professionals that can support students’ mental health has been frequently underrepresented and relatively limited to the delivery of therapeutic interventions (AEP, 2017). Existing research in mental health in educational psychology appears to focus on evaluations of therapeutic interventions. This study aims to extend the educational psychology evidence base and explain EPs’ successful mental health casework. It aims to inform future educational psychology practice and improve mental health outcomes for children and young people. The current study is qualitative and adopts a constructivist epistemology with elements of the transformative paradigm. The study uses a constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014) and data was gathered through semi-structured interviewing with five educational psychologist participants of a single local authority. Data gathering and analysis followed the steps suggested by Charmaz (2014). The outcomes of the data analysis were theoretically sensitised based on literature from attachment theory in psychotherapy, person-centred counselling, self-determination theory, solution-focused approaches and consultation. The constructed grounded theory focuses on EPs’ direct work with school staff and parents and suggests that EPs use two sets of interacting processes in their work with adults. One relates to adults’ engagement in cognitively demanding problem solving activities that aim to enable them to support the needs of the child by challenging their perceptions, teaching them new skills and leading them to cognitive and behavioural change. The other set of processes aims at the development of a secure attachment base within the involvement that offers emotional support and comfort when the adults feel overwhelmed by the challenging processes involved. The grounded theory suggests a theoretical framework for educational psychology practice and implications for professional practice and future policy are discussed alongside limitations and suggestions for future research.

<p> Currently, research reveals a gap of knowledge about African American and Latino/a students&rsquo; experiences participating in restorative practices such as dialogue circles. In the United States, African American and Latino/a students are disciplined more harshly by teachers as well as being suspended and expelled at a higher rate. Alternatives to punitive approaches like suspension and expulsion are addressed throughout this thesis. The nine participants of this study attended a three-day camp that focused on building social justice awareness and connectedness while utilizing dialogue circles. The interviews revealed that through these dialogue circles, the participants were able to think critically about conflicts, social division, discrimination, and oppression as it relates to themselves, their community, and country. Implications and recommendations based on the findings of this study, are provided to inform educators and school personnel about alternative ways of disciplining. Future studies are recommended to further study the influences of community based programs like the Building Bridges in High Schools.</p><p>