Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 29, 2010) Joyce E. Many, committee chair; Peggy Albers, JoAnna White, Dana L. Fox, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-408).

Thesis (PH.D.) -- Syracuse University, 2006 / "Publication number AAT 3240442. "

<p> This qualitative research compared and contrasted the experiences, expectations, hopes, and dreams held by three dyads of Heritage Language and Culture (HLC) parents in three different countries concerning education. Sociolinguistic and sociocultural methods of analysis of narrative were used to code and analyze 63 stories selected from six participant interview transcripts. The context of each research venue, including economic, racial, and social positioning of each participant was explored, as were the researcher&rsquo;s subjectivities, as elements impacting the analysis and interpretation of findings. Especially impactful on the findings and implications of this research was that each of the participant parents had experienced a <i>significant negative event</i> during their childhood schooling, and each participant had at least one child who had also experienced a significant negative event while attending a primary level public school.</p><p> Findings answered the five research questions and indicated that HLC parents valued education and identified it as a means of achieving success. Although the definition of success was found to vary by country of residence, all the participant parents believed academic and life success were dependent upon the acquisition of English language skills. Although parents in all three research venues recited multiple instances of physical abuse or threats or acts of violence or racism within the school setting, and were not surprised that it occurred, all valued the social aspects of attending school.</p><p> The implications for educational program planners and school personnel arising from these findings include the potential for misunderstanding between U.S. school personnel and HLC immigrant families concerning corporal punishment policies and violence, rejection of U.S. education program definitions of successful educational outcomes by HLC families, and reciprocity in education between schools and families. Three avenues for future research resulting from this current research are suggested.</p>

<p> This study, <i>Relational Aggression, Middle School Girls, and the Development of Critical Consciousness,</i> engaged both feminist theory and critical pedagogy as a means to deconstruct the issue of relational aggression among adolescent girls. The objective of this research was to contribute to the growing body of literature pertaining to relational aggression and fill some gaps in the literature surrounding preventative programming. This study investigated the experiences of middle school girls engaged in a solution-oriented approach in order to postulate possible program approaches and educational initiatives to decrease the prevalence of relational aggression in middle school girls. The collection and analysis of the data sought to describe a connection between girls&rsquo; participation in the program and developing critical consciousness about relational aggression, as well as strategies to address it in their lives. The qualitative data collected in this participatory action research show that relational aggression is much more than a mere &ldquo;right of passage&rdquo; or indicate that &ldquo;mean girls&rdquo; are a just a normal part of growing up. Relational aggression is harmful, has intense, negative short- and long-term effects, and&mdash;in the lives of the girls I have worked closely with&mdash;is very real, incredibly painful, and deeply personal. The findings of this study confirmed that girls benefit from the creation of educative environments, or &ldquo;safe spaces,&rdquo; where they can dialogue critically with one another about issues that are important to them; this is integral to their socioemotional development in middle school. </p>

<p> Incivility has infiltrated our institutions of higher learning as well as the world of nursing. All too familiar in nursing is the phrase &ldquo;eating their young,&rdquo; which aptly describes how nurses treat other nurses, even though they should be nurturing and caring professionals. The investigator explored nursing and health science students&rsquo; perceptions of student and faculty uncivil behaviors within the academic environment, seeking the levels and frequency of the problem. Bandura&rsquo;s social learning theory presents a sound theoretical framework for this dissertation. The research methodology consisted of a quantitative descriptive approach. The Incivility in Higher Education-Revised (IHE-R) Survey was used to compare nursing and health science student perceptions of the level and frequency of student and faculty incivility. Descriptive statistics and independent t tests were used to compare the different student perceptions. The study results indicated that perceptions of student behavioral levels were between <i>somewhat </i> and <i>moderately</i> uncivil. Student perceptions of faculty behavioral levels were found to be more <i>moderate</i>. Review of the frequency levels reflected students&rsquo; frequencies to be <i> never</i> as compared with faculty, which indicated a frequency of <i> sometimes</i>. These results indicated that students perceived incivility to not be problematic within their individual programs, although it found faculty behavior levels were more uncivil even when similar behaviors were demonstrated by students. In general, these results were atypical than other results as incivility is found to be a rising problem. Further study is needed to confirm these results. </p><p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to extend General Strain Theory (GST) to examine prosocial, asocial, and antisocial behavior in response to bullying. In GST, Agnew (1992; 2001; 2013) asserted that negative emotions can lead to criminal or aggressive coping but there are a number of factors that increase or decrease the propensity to respond aggressively (Agnew, 1992; Richman &amp; Leary, 2009). In this dissertation, I examine whether and how rejection (operationalized as bullying victimization) is associated with aggressive responding as opposed to prosocial (e.g., befriending others) or asocial (e.g., avoiding people and social events) responding. This dissertation consists of three studies testing theoretical variables of bullying victimization as well as behavioral responses to four types of bullying: physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Study 1 of this dissertation examines risk and protective factors for types of bullying victimization. Study 2 applies GST to test the effect of social support, or the availability of alternative relationships (i.e., having others to count on or turn to for social support), on responses to four types of bullying. Study 3 tests the effect of power dynamics on responses to physical and relational bullying. In conducting this research, I hope to: 1) integrate interdisciplinary bodies of literature to examine risk and protective factors of bullying victimization and behavioral responses to bullying and 2) improve understanding of how these experiences are affected by the power dynamics involved in bullying. Overall, the results of this dissertation suggest that types of negative emotions and behavioral outcomes vary by type of bullying victimization. Cyber bullying was found to have more negative consequences than any other form of bullying. Across all four forms of bullying, social support was found to be associated with an increased likelihood of youth engaging in prosocial behavior. Implicit power, or the perception that one&rsquo;s bully has a high social standing at school, significantly influenced responses based on the type of bullying. However, even when controlling for power dynamics, social support was still associated with increased prosocial behavior in response to bullying victimization. Theory and policy implications are discussed. </p><p>

<p> This study employed a model of basic qualitative research which explored teachers&rsquo; pedagogical responses to the unique cultural gaps they experienced in schools where most students were of minority cultural identity. Eight teachers who self-identified as majority culture identity formed the sample group for this study. Semistructured interviews were used to collect their insights regarding their pedagogical decision making they used with the students in the school where they were teaching. Additionally, teachers shared what they described were culturally responsive curriculum samples and then provided a reflection on how they implemented this curriculum. The data showed that these teachers understood the value of providing a culturally responsive pedagogy in their classrooms. Despite this, for numerous reasons, teachers struggled to develop and then apply culturally responsive pedagogy that aligned with models described in literature.</p><p>

<p> Bullying prevention in schools has arguably met with limited success in the United States. Diversity negatively impacts the success of bullying prevention programs. Furthermore, researchers do not agree upon intervention timing and appropriate grade-level to implement bullying prevention and social-emotional learning and skill-building programs. Urban schools faced with high poverty have an increased need for bullying prevention programs to alleviate bullying and aggression. The purpose of this study was to test for significant differences between urban elementary schools after a treatment group participated in a targeted bullying prevention and social skill-building program and to test for grade-level differences from fall to spring using a quantitative causal-comparative design. The sample included four urban schools in Ohio with 24 grade-levels and six time points each. The data generated were analyzed retrospectively in a causal-comparative research design. A two-way mixed ANOVA BBW was conducted on the summary totals of the number of students disciplined for bullying and aggression using six time points with three for fall or before treatment and three for spring or after treatment comparing a treatment group to a control group. Significant differences were not found between control and treatment or between grade groups (<i>p</i> > .05). Bullying and aggression started the school year and ended the school year slightly higher in the 4-6^th grade group. Significant differences were found from fall to spring (<i>F</i> (5,16) = 7.704, <i>p</i> = .001). Overall the study findings indicate the targeted bullying prevention and social-skill building program did not result in reducing bullying and aggressive behavior in the sample population.</p><p>

<p> Largely because it puts higher education within reach for all people, the community college is thought to play a vital role in the democratic functioning of American society. Partly driven by an ethos of American egalitarianism, low-cost and open access community colleges enroll, train, and educate nearly anyone who aspires to higher education. For low-income and first-generation college students, the community college serves as a primary vehicle for social mobility. Problems associated with low retention and graduation rates have lowered the public perception of community colleges and threaten to exacerbate growing concerns over income and wealth inequality in America. Therefore, it becomes important for policy analysts to explore and better understand the nature of community colleges in an effort to create improvement strategies. </p><p> This qualitative study seeks to understand the community college experience from the perspective of low-income, first generation students. It asked first year students about their background experiences and analyzed how those experiences shaped their transition to the first year of college. It also asked how low-income, first generation students perceived the community college in order to understand how students evaluate it and define its purpose. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to make sense of student experiences and to give voice to community college students who, as a studied population, receive far less attention than students at four-year colleges. </p><p> This study finds that low-income, first generation community college students lived experience includes managing class-based disadvantages; this made navigating their first year of community college challenging. Students had come to the community college expecting to learn skills that would help them to form new professional identities so that they could begin transforming their lives, making it possible to ascend the socio-economic ladder. In order to succeed in this new environment, students had to learn and adapt to a new set of social norms and expectations that the institution uses to socialize its students. Based upon the analysis of student experiences and perceptions, this study makes six recommendations to help improve student success which may lead to improved public perception and funding for community colleges. </p><p>