A misunderstanding or ignorance of the concept of worship resulting in a misuse of the word worship has necessitated clarification within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), an evangelical church denomination. Leaders of PAOC churches, colleges and the denomination have for the most part, received their ministerial training at PAOC theological colleges. In order for PAOC people (i.e. congregants and leaders) to correctly understand and practice biblical worship, those leading the denomination, colleges and churches require accurate teaching on the concept. Curriculum development (revision) within PAOC theological colleges may be necessary for this to take place. This thesis, therefore, studies the worship curriculum and instruction within PAOC theological colleges and clarifies the concept of Christian worship. The PAOC denomination, colleges and churches base their doctrine and practice on the principles of the Holy Bible. Therefore, laying a biblical-theological foundation when defining and teaching Christian worship is essential. If instruction in biblical worship is inadequate and/or optional in PAOC theological colleges, the accurate understanding and practice of worship by PAOC leaders and, in turn, congregants, is diminished. The vast majority of a sampling of PAOC theological college graduates and PAOC leaders believe that all students at PAOC theological colleges should be required to receive instruction in biblical worship. Since the biblical definition of worship relates more to Christians living all of life for God (or spiritual formation) than just to corporate gatherings within the church, it is recommended that worship instruction with this emphasis be required for all students at PAOC theological colleges. This instruction should take place within the biblical, theological and practical theology departments rather than the church ministry or music departments. However, since the purpose for the corporate gathering is to teach and foster whole-life worship, teaching on corporate worship should not be ignored. In order to assist church leaders in offering biblical teaching on worship to their congregations, accurate and thorough instruction at PAOC theological colleges is necessary. Included in this thesis are lesson outlines for whole-life worship instruction within spiritual formation courses or groups, and worship theology instruction within systematic theology or doctrinal courses. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The purpose of this study was to identify the status and challenges of online distance education programs in post-secondary institutions in Ghana. This study was a replication of a similar study conducted in Kenya in 2009, at the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University. This present study was conducted with an online survey using Google survey assessment. The survey requested responses from six post-secondary institutions in Ghana. Out of a total of 450 projected student responses, 309 responses were received with a 69% participation rate. A total of 14 responses were received for instructors out of a projected 30 resulting in 47% participation rate. And for administrators, 8 responses were received out of a projected 12 resulting in a 67% participation rate. Overall the study revealed that Ghana post-secondary institutions have established and incorporated online distance education into their programs, offering both online and blended courses. Some of these institutions established regional centers across the country and incorporated foreign instructors into their programs. The survey also revealed that students were satisfied with the overall online distance education program in their institutions which included the level of instruction, feedback and evaluation. However, there were still challenges revealed from the study that included the high cost of education, frequent power outages, school stoppages as a result of instructor strikes and the need to restructure courses to include projects.

In communities across the United States, thousands of young people leave foster care without the support of family or community. At age 18, now legally adults, young people in foster care face potentially dramatic life changes as they are terminated from foster care services because they have reached the age of ineligibility, commonly referred to as “aging out.” Although research has increased an understanding of the experiences of youth exiting the foster care system, studies focusing on their experiences while transitioning out of the foster care system and into adulthood have been largely absent in the literature. This qualitative study is an effort to address this gap in the research. Using a modified grounded theory approach, this study explores the experiences of fifteen young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, as they transition to independence after exiting the foster care system. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 young adults ages 18-24, who have aged out of the foster care system or are receiving extended youth services. Results from this study support previous findings that youth exiting the foster care system face challenges transitioning to adulthood, particularly in their efforts to learn the skills needed to function independently, gain the education and/or vocational training to gain skillful employment, and have the social and emotional support needed to help facilitate their transition. The study results indicate that 87% of the participants expressed having a caring, supportive adult in their life who has assisted them. 66% of the study participants were enrolled in post-secondary institutions and expressed the importance of placement stability to maintain school credits and supportive relationships with their teachers. Specific areas of challenge for the youth preparing to transition to independence focused on money management and daily living skills. Implications for further research, professional practice, and policy development include states incorporating tools to assess readiness for independence, addressing the barriers to education as identified in the study and exploring the impact of family involvement/support for youth exiting the foster care system.

Recent research indicates that the Internet (or Net) is currently being used at many post-secondary institutions in support of traditional, classroom-based instruction. From 1994 to 2002, the percentage of post-secondary classes using the Web as a research tool and E-mail as a method of communication has increased almost ten fold. An extensive literature on the evaluation of the Internet as an educational technology has developed in recent years; however, there are some gaps that need to be filled to provide a more complete understanding of the Internet and its use by post-secondary students. First, most of the studies focus primarily on student usage of the Net, and less so on the value (or the advantages and disadvantages) and the utility (or usefulness) associated with that usage. Second, many of these studies make a distinction between the research and communication functions of the Internet. While I argue that this is an appropriate distinction, many examine one function or the other only – and not both simultaneously. The central research problem that this study addresses is helping to fill those two gaps in the evaluation literature by examining in detail student usage, value and utility of the Net as a research and/or communication tool for post-secondary students in support of classroom-based instruction. Drawing upon work from the fields of media studies, learning theory, and theories of communication, I establish a "Net as Tool" framework and adopt a uses and gratifications approach to examine student use of the Net. The three main inter-related concepts of usage, value and utility are used as organizing themes for the study, and I designed and developed a survey instrument to gather original quantitative data from post-secondary students in both Canada and Australia to fully examine those concepts. Two focus group sessions were designed to supplement this quantitative data with qualitative findings (and to generate more in-depth insights into student usage, value and utility of the Net as a research and/or communication tool). The results presented in this study have both theoretical and practical importance. In regards to the theoretical side, I have identified the underlying dimensions of usage, value, and utility, and highlighted what makes the Net valuable and useful as a research and/or communication tool. Additionally, I have identified the factors which are related to usage, value, and utility, and explored the inter-related nature of those three concepts. I concluded my study with an outline of the importance of the skill of digital literacy so that students can cope effectively with the online environment. These findings are significant because they help to fill some specific gaps in the evaluation knowledge of the Net in post-secondary education. In addition, I have developed a practical strategy which suggests how the Net could be used most effectively by students as a research and/or communication tool in support of classroom based instruction. The areas addressed by the strategy include access, infrastructure, technical support, training, integration into the curriculum, and appropriate use of the tool. The overall strategy is important because it contributes to our understanding of the Net as an educational tool, and it outlines ways to address the issue of the digital divide within post-secondary education. It is hoped the strategy will be useful to training staff, post-secondary administrators, instructors, and students.

A misunderstanding or ignorance of the concept of worship resulting in a misuse of the word worship has necessitated clarification within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), an evangelical church denomination. Leaders of PAOC churches, colleges and the denomination have for the most part, received their ministerial training at PAOC theological colleges. In order for PAOC people (i.e. congregants and leaders) to correctly understand and practice biblical worship, those leading the denomination, colleges and churches require accurate teaching on the concept. Curriculum development (revision) within PAOC theological colleges may be necessary for this to take place. This thesis, therefore, studies the worship curriculum and instruction within PAOC theological colleges and clarifies the concept of Christian worship. The PAOC denomination, colleges and churches base their doctrine and practice on the principles of the Holy Bible. Therefore, laying a biblical-theological foundation when defining and teaching Christian worship is essential. If instruction in biblical worship is inadequate and/or optional in PAOC theological colleges, the accurate understanding and practice of worship by PAOC leaders and, in turn, congregants, is diminished. The vast majority of a sampling of PAOC theological college graduates and PAOC leaders believe that all students at PAOC theological colleges should be required to receive instruction in biblical worship. Since the biblical definition of worship relates more to Christians living all of life for God (or spiritual formation) than just to corporate gatherings within the church, it is recommended that worship instruction with this emphasis be required for all students at PAOC theological colleges. This instruction should take place within the biblical, theological and practical theology departments rather than the church ministry or music departments. However, since the purpose for the corporate gathering is to teach and foster whole-life worship, teaching on corporate worship should not be ignored. In order to assist church leaders in offering biblical teaching on worship to their congregations, accurate and thorough instruction at PAOC theological colleges is necessary. Included in this thesis are lesson outlines for whole-life worship instruction within spiritual formation courses or groups, and worship theology instruction within systematic theology or doctrinal courses. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 2015, and the longstanding advocacy of Indigenous peoples, there is a national movement within Canada to better support Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions. Research that is strength-based, Indigenous-led, and community-focused recognizes the wealth of existing Indigenous knowledge, practices and programs across Canada. This includes the variety of interventions which are being employed to Indigenize and decolonize post-secondary institutions, such as the On-Campus Friendship Centre at Grande Prairie Regional College. The On-Campus Friendship Centre, which is an Indigenous-based support program for all students, has been running for nearly two decades. Nationally, there are 125 Friendship Centres, yet the On-Campus Friendship Centre is the only one that is directly situated within a post-secondary institution. Through the guidance of my Métis Sash Research Framework, which I created to reconcile Indigenous and qualitative methodologies, I have engaged in research that explores the role of the On-Campus Friendship Centre in the experiences of Indigenous students at Grande Prairie Regional College. From my findings, I discuss the role of the On-Campus Friendship Centre and address prominent challenges within the program. I also highlight wise-practices for improving Indigenous-based support within post-secondary institutions across Canada. / Graduate / 2019-08-31

<p>The dissertation includes two independent chapters which investigated the experiences of individuals with disabilities in connection with societal attitudes regarding disability. The first article is a systematized review which analyzes and synthesizes the existing literature on implicit and explicit disability attitudes across multiple domains (e.g., educational; occupational; healthcare). Chapter 1 identifies common themes across the existing literature and identifies potential predictors and buffers of negative disability attitudes. The article concludes with a call to counseling psychologists to address negative disability attitudes utilizing the roles and themes of the field. Finally, suggestions are made regarding the development and implementation of interventions to help address negative disability attitudes and the subsequent harmful effects. </p><p>The second article is an empirical study that examines factors related to the persistence intentions of individuals with disabilities to address the high attrition rates of this population within postsecondary environments. A moderated mediation model is proposed to address four hypotheses. First, I hypothesized academic self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between stereotype threat and persistence intentions. Second, coping self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between stereotype threat and persistence intentions. Third, social self-efficacy would mediate the relationship between stereotype threat and persistence intentions. Fourth, I hypothesized that endorsing a growth mindset would buffer against the negative indirect relationship between stereotype threat and persistence intentions which operate through academic self-efficacy. Data were collected from postsecondary students who identified as having one or multiple diagnosed disabilities at a large public university in the Midwest. The study results supported my first hypothesis that academic self-efficacy would significantly mediate the relationship between stereotype threat and persistence intentions. Additionally, the results revealed that high levels of perceived stereotype threat were associated with lower levels of coping self-efficacy and social self-efficacy, as the researcher anticipated. However, our second and third hypotheses were rejected due to these mediating factors not significantly influencing a participants’ intentions to persist within the academic environment. Finally, the results suggested that one’s mindset of intelligence was a positive main effect predictor of academic self-efficacy. However, contrary to our fourth hypothesis, mindset of intelligence did not significantly moderate the negative indirect relation between stereotype threat and persistence intentions that operate through academic self-efficacy.</p>

Poor post-school outcomes for young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have underscored the need to gain insight into the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the planning and implementation of transition services. EBPs for effective transition planning and implementation have been documented in the literature but do not appear to be fully utilized in practice to achieve desired student outcomes, reflecting a research-to-practice gap. EBPs have the potential to produce positive outcomes at the high school level, if implemented with fidelity. Special education personnel, especially administrators, play a vital and unique role in transition planning. They can either facilitate or hinder the process. This phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of public school administrators regarding the extent of their awareness of EBPs to ensure the successful transition of students with ASD and associated barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 secondary-level public school administrators. Major themes identified through analyzing the qualitative data included (a) a positive vision for students with ASD, (b) characteristics of a good transition program, (c) administrators' roles in the transition process, (d) barriers to EBP implementation, (e) strategies to reduce barriers, and (f) ownership of what administrators can do to remedy the problem. Lastly, the study generated recommendations to assist school districts with improving transition services for students with ASD.

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