Master of Science / Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs / Christy D. Moran / With increased attention related to internationalization and intercultural learning within higher education, increasing numbers of college students are participating in international cross-cultural activities. Participants in short-term international Christian mission experiences are increasing dramatically. These students frequently participate in such activities during the course of their college career and subsequently experience reentry issues during their readjustment back into college life. This report reviews literature and student comments related to the reentry experiences of the growing college population of short-term international Christian mission participants. What follows is a review of various explanations of the reentry phenomenon related to socio-psychological, expectation, systems, identity formation, and grief theories. College adjustment and support literature, as it relates to student retention, is explored along with reentry services and practices associated with student affairs, international program offices, and collegiate Christian campus ministries or colleges. Student affairs professionals have a strategic role to play by intervening with students returning from short-term international experiences. By providing personal and programmatic support for students readjusting to American culture, we have the opportunity to assist students integrate what they have learned from their global experience into the development of individual identities, values, and behaviors. There are substantive educational, spiritual, social, and psychological reasons given from the literature to justify a level of intervention, unique and appropriate for each individual institution, from student life professionals directed towards supporting college students as they return from short-term international Christian mission experiences. This review highlights the need for more extensive in depth studies seeking to understand the relationship between interpersonal and programmatic support and the learning process of college students as they go through the reentry experience.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / Kay A. Taylor / This qualitative multiple case study explored the campus climate and sense of belonging of Latino/a undergraduate student participants at a predominately White university. Guided by the work of Hurtado and Carter (1997), relationships among several aspects of the college environment and sense of belonging were examined. In depth interviews regarding participants’ perceptions of their experience identified how they perceived their campus climate in and outside of the academic classroom. The findings revealed how the participants’ perceptions influenced their desire to graduate, commitment to, and sense of belonging. Prominent themes that emerged were: student identity, mi casa es su casa, and class size matters. The results indicated that the participants had mixed feelings regarding their experiences in and out of class, which affected their perceptions of the campus climate and their commitment to the university. Additional prominent findings were: mostly positive academic advising experiences; student organizations and advisors are an important part of the campus climate; the importance of familial support in the participants’ sense of belonging; and the relationships between mothers and their sons/daughters. Participants identified offices and programs on campus that provide a positive campus climate, sense of belonging, and best serve Latino/a undergraduate students. The participants’ perceptions of the campus climate were related to their sense of belonging. The results contribute to the research addressing campus climate and sense of belonging for Latino/a undergraduate students overall, including strategies for their retention. Implications for practice and future research are identified.

This study presents the investigation of the career transition experience of immigrant skilled workers with a focus on their experiences with career compromise and the coping strategies that they used. The grounded theory approach of qualitative analysis method was used to analyze 20 interview transcripts with participants who had received their education/training and had at least 1 year of work experience prior to immigrating to Canada. The interviews revealed that the career transition journeys of immigrant skilled workers were thwarted with acculturation and career-seeking barriers, which made their career transition experiences quite compromising. The findings support the notion of positive compromise whereby the participants utilized their human agency and open-mindedness to deal with their career compromise. An immigrant vocational theory and an immigrant career compromise theory are proposed. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

This study presents the investigation of the career transition experience of immigrant skilled workers with a focus on their experiences with career compromise and the coping strategies that they used. The grounded theory approach of qualitative analysis method was used to analyze 20 interview transcripts with participants who had received their education/training and had at least 1 year of work experience prior to immigrating to Canada. The interviews revealed that the career transition journeys of immigrant skilled workers were thwarted with acculturation and career-seeking barriers, which made their career transition experiences quite compromising. The findings support the notion of positive compromise whereby the participants utilized their human agency and open-mindedness to deal with their career compromise. An immigrant vocational theory and an immigrant career compromise theory are proposed. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.

This study examines the perception of K-12 principals about school social work consultation, collaboration and program development in a large urban school district in Georgia. The primary survey participants consist of one hundred eight K-12 school principals selected using non-probability sampling. Twenty seven school social workers in the same school district also selected by convenience sampling responded to the survey questionnaire which is designed using a four point Likert scale. The fmdings of the study indicate that responding principals and school social workers perceive consultation, collaboration and program development as expected activities. Responding principals also perceive that it is the responsibility of the principal to ensure that these activities occur. A greater percentage of principals in schools with special education and/or homeless enrollments expect consultation with the school social worker. Principals in schools with special education and homeless enrollments are more likely to 1 include the school social worker as an integral partner in school leadership and decision making than principals in schools with Title I or English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) student enrollments.

Master of Science / Department of Educational Leadership / Christy D. Moran / This report highlights the results of a revised diversity survey that was designed to assess the behaviors and attitudes of students who live in the residence halls at Kansas State University (K-State) regarding their interactions with people from diverse backgrounds. Diverse backgrounds, for the purpose of this study, are specifically related to a racial background different than their own. A survey of 25 questions was distributed to every residence hall student via email. The survey that was distributed was adapted from a version that was used previously by the Department of Housing & Dining Services at K-State. The original survey was based on the Michael P. Tilford competencies that were compiled in 2000-2001 by K-State's Tilford Group. The Tilford competencies are all based on students' multicultural competency. Multicultural competency is defined by the K-State Tilford group as the knowledge, skills and personal attributes needed to live and to work in a diverse world. (K-State Tilford Group, 2007) The revised survey focuses heavily on the skills portion of the Michael P. Tilford competencies and is based on students' self-report.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / The number of animal training programs in correctional facilities has increased in the past 25 years. Anecdotal accounts have informally assessed the efficacy of prison training programs; however, only limited systemic studies have been conducted (Britton & Button, 2005; Furst, 2006). Preliminary information from anecdotal accounts and narratives indicates the potential these programs have to impact inmate behavior, self- esteem, staff and inmate morale, and community perceptions of offenders (Cushing & Williams, 1995; Harkrader, Burke, & Owen, 2004). There is also an indication inmate trainers learn responsibility, patience, coping skills, and vocational skills (Britton & Button, 2005; Merriam-Arduini, 2000; Turner, 2007). This qualitative study presents preliminary findings from the following five participant perspectives on the perceived outcomes of a canine training program in a correctional facility where inmates train assistance, therapy, rescue, and medical alert canines: (a) inmate trainers, (b) former inmate trainers, (c) non-trainer inmates who are not involved in the training program, (d) staff, and (e) the researcher. Once trained, the canines are adopted as assistance dogs for individuals in need. Data collected from in- depth interviews with current inmate trainers, former inmate trainers, non-trainer inmates, and staff, and audio and video recordings, researcher observations, and a researcher developed scale indicated the following themes which emerged from the study: there are positive emotional outcomes and positive practical outcomes for inmate trainers who work with dogs in the training program. Positive emotional outcomes for inmate trainers include the following: (a) providing social support, (b) gaining a sense of pride, (c) serving as a feeling of giving back to society, (d) increasing personal patience, (e) humanizing the inmate trainers, and (f) improving self-esteem. Positive practical outcomes for inmate trainers emerged in the following areas: (a) improving responsibility, (b) having a positive impact on the prison environment, (c) providing opportunities to help others, (d) using goal setting, (e) gaining employability skills, and (e) having a positive effect on behavior. Results from this study will add to existing literature and research in the field of animal-assisted interventions and rehabilitation programs with human beings, specifically those in correctional facilities. In addition, results from this study will assist correctional administration in the design, implementation, and evaluation of dog training programs in prisons.

Doctor of Education / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / Advocacy is an increasingly integral role for school counselors, and advocacy dispositions, knowledge, and skill competencies are critical for school counselors to function effectively in the contemporary school setting. This study assessed the perceptions of school counselor educators regarding the degree of importance of including advocacy dispositions, knowledge, and skill competencies (Trusty & Brown, 2005) in master’s degree school counseling programs; the extent to which the advocacy competencies are taught in the program; and the relative readiness of program graduates to apply the advocacy competencies. Additionally, this study also investigated whether there were significant differences between the responses of participants associated with CACREP-accredited and those with non-CACREP-accredited school counselor preparation programs. Stratified proportional sampling was used to identify study participants. A sample of 250 counselor educators teaching in master’s degree programs in school counseling was identified and a survey was sent to each participant. One-hundred thirty six surveys were returned (54.4%); this represented 69 CACREP-accredited programs and 67 non-CACREP-accredited programs involving respondents in each region of Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Mean ratings for respondents indicated that counselor educators perceived inclusion of the 15 advocacy competencies in master’s programs in school counseling as moderately to very important, moderately taught in their programs, and their graduates to be moderately ready to apply the advocacy competencies. Using independent samples t-tests to compare the mean ratings, the results showed no statistically significant differences between CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP-accredited respondents. It was concluded that the advocacy disposition, knowledge, and skill competencies delineated by Trusty and Brown (2005) are appropriate for inclusion in master’s degree programs in school counseling, and that additional focus on advocacy competencies might be needed within programs to ensure that all school counseling graduates learn and are able to apply the competencies. It was also concluded that the perceptions of counselor educators in CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP-accredited programs are more similar than different relative to the importance of including the competencies in graduate programs, the extent to which they are taught, and the readiness of graduates to apply the competencies.