<p>The purpose of this psychoeducational curriculum is for Latino caregivers to enhance their awareness in the Mental Health field, as advocate for their family members. Educating caregivers on how to access services, and overcome stigma, language barriers, and cultural insensitivity also to enhance quality services. The curriculum specifically addresses outreach. The curriculum will expand caregivers? understanding the symptoms of mental illness including diagnosis, and the importance of self-care to prevent burnout. It will include activities that will promote group discussions, and concepts for learning enhancement. Additionally, handouts will be provided with resources for support services for caregivers. A facilitators? guide is also included to assist with the implementation of the curriculum.

<p> Background: A significant number of children in the US are placed in the child welfare system every year. Among the multiple negative outcomes associated with being in the foster care system is a wide academic achievement gap between foster students and the general population, as well as other disadvantaged groups (e.g. low income). Low academic achievement is particularly pronounced in college. The government and higher education institutions are recognizing these educational gaps and developing specialized programs to address the unique needs of foster students; however, the effectiveness of these programs remains unclear. This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of one program, the Transition to Independence Program (TIP), in improving academic outcomes for foster students at Wayne State University (WSU) during the first 2 years of the program initiation (2012-2014). Methods: patterns of TIP service utilization (mentoring; financial aid; contact with campus coach and community partners) among 120 individuals who had been wards of the court, and its association with academic outcomes were examined on the following variables: GPA, academic probation status, first year retention, remedial classes, being on track for graduation, and graduation status. Further, TIP students&rsquo; performance on those same academic variables was compared to two groups: (1) 120 low income, non-foster care youth, and (2) 26 former foster care youth who did not receive TIP services. Results: 73% of TIP students used at least one service and students who used any program services were 5.7 times more likely to be retained than those who had not. Additionally, TIP students performed better than foster, non-TIP students on the academic variables, and the academic gap with low-income students was reduced. Discussion: TIP is effective in improving academic outcomes for students from the child welfare system. Implications and future directions are discussed.</p>

In the UK, as many as 20% of children in primary schools are more than two years behind their peers in mathematics. Research-based intervention for such disadvantaged children has been shown to be effective but not always sufficient, such that alternative approaches might sometimes be necessary. One alternative might involve digital games. This study used a design-based research approach to investigate a prototype digital game, that implements principles of an effective numeracy intervention and draws on insights from learning theory and the cognitive sciences, designed for children in primary schools who are low-attaining in mathematics. It comprised three cycles of design, intervention, analysis and reflection. The first research cycle involved the initial design of a prototype digital game, which was researched in one school. The second research cycle involved a second iteration of the game, designed in response to the feedback of teachers and children, which was researched in three schools. The third research cycle involved the design of a final iteration of the game, which to achieve theoretical saturation was researched online with twenty-four schools. The study has shown that a game that implements principles of an effective numeracy intervention and that draws on insights from learning theory and the cognitive sciences can be designed and can be useful in schools for children who are low attaining in mathematics. However, for it to be taken up by schools, the game has to be perceived by teachers to have achieved a quality threshold. In any case, such a game is of limited use in and of itself. Where the prototype game has been shown to be most useful is when it serves as a fulcrum for social interaction and educationally productive discussion between the children and teaching staff: when it becomes an artefact that both supports individual learning and stimulates, scaffolds and mediates dialogue-based collaborative learning.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Jared A. Durtschi / Many individuals in their teens and twenties believe achieving financial self-sufficiency is an important part of becoming an adult (Arnett, 2000); yet the research on this topic is very limited. The level of general responsibility a young adult obtains is related to their general level of self-confidence (e.g., Shim, Serido, Bosch & Tang, 2013). However, the relationship between financial responsibility and self-confidence is currently unknown. Additionally, the relationship between self-confidence and annual income among young adults is largely unknown. This is the first study to advance current knowledge with a large (N = 474) and longitudinal dataset of emerging adults. The goal of this study is to test the underlying process that may explain variation of annual income among emerging adults from the Transition to Adulthood Supplement, a subset of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The study used a structural equation model (SEM) to test three waves of data across four years. Results from the SEM analysis demonstrated that higher levels of financial responsibility were associated with higher levels of self-confidence two years later. Additionally, the findings showed that higher levels of self-confidence were associated with higher levels of annual income after an additional two years. The results suggest the importance of building financial responsibility and self-confidence in emerging young adults.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen Myers-Bowman / Female adolescent sexual behavior has several potential negative life consequences including: pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection, and HIV/AIDS. Educating parents on how they play a role in the decision-making process regarding the sexual behavior of their adolescent daughters has important implications for Family Life Educators. This thesis explores maternal influence on the risky sexual behavior of female adolescents related to age at first sexual intercourse, contraceptive use, and number of partners. ANOVA was used to explore the relationships between a variety of aspects in the mother-daughter relationship. Findings show there are associations between time spent together, perceptions of closeness, and communication in mother-daughter relationships, and contraceptive use at first and most recent intercourse and total number of partners.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Kevin Roberts / Distance programs in higher education have become commonplace in the United States because of developments in technology. Despite these advancements, hospitality programs have been reluctant to create fully online offerings for undergraduate students. This study wanted to focus on understanding the attitudes of undergraduate hospitality students about online learning. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to determine the attitudes of hospitality students about online learning, to analyze which technologies they have used during their academic careers, and to analyze which technologies are perceived as most useful to facilitate learning. Focus groups were conducted with a select group of students to better understand their attitudes and experiences with online learning and learning technologies. An online survey was distributed to undergraduate hospitality management students at five Midwestern universities. Means and standard deviations were used to measure overall student attitudes about online learning and to measure ratings of effectiveness and past use of selected technologies for online learning. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the relationships between educational levels of students and perceptions of online technologies, as well as the relationship between experience with online courses and attitudes towards online learning. A t-test was used to determine if a relationship existed between gender and attitudes towards online learning. Results from this study revealed that respondents preferred to use more familiar technologies such as slideshow presentations and email for online learning. Students reported that they would miss the interaction with their professors if they took an online course and would receive less help. Females and males differed in their attitudes about online learning. Results from this study will assist hospitality curriculum developers to better understand the attitudes and needs of undergraduate hospitality management students in the online learning environment.

The United States continues to become increasingly more diverse, demanding civic engagement that extends beyond personal responsibility such as obeying laws and voting and requiring a citizenry capable of disrupting the status quo and enacting social change that contributes to a more equitable and just society. Education plays a vital role in this civic development; therefore, preservice teachers must be prepared to teach for critical citizenship education. Using narrative inquiry, this study explored how five preservice teachers with more critical civic identities made sense of their teacher education experiences in relation to civic identity development. The findings of the study revealed how teacher education programs fostered uncomfortable, but transformative, learning experiences that promoted the preservice teachers’ senses of understanding and empathy for those whose identities and lived experiences were different than their own. Additionally, the findings illuminated the preservice teachers’ understandings of the interplay between identity and power as they examined how their own civic values and engagement contributed to patterns of privilege and/or oppression in society. The study builds on the literature base that explores preservice teacher civic identity and continues the conversation regarding what type of teacher education experiences foster the construction of more critical civic identities.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate effectiveness of the facilitators of a stepfamily education course, based upon facilitator self-report as well as participant report. Agencies in northern Utah that provide services to low-income minority families were used to recruit a sample of 152 facilitators and 1,134 participants of which 519 of the participants were male and 613 of the participants were females. Additionally, 21 of the facilitators were male and 131 of the facilitators were female. Requirements for participants included having been previously married with no children or having children from a previous relationship that formed a current stepfamily. Intervention theory states the implementation of protective factors, such as preventative education, lessens the impact of risk factors in participants' lives. A self-report measure was used at the completion of the 12-hour course. Participants and facilitators were asked about the effectiveness of the facilitation with regard to facilitation skills and methods used. Participants and facilitators consistently reported that they did find the facilitation to be effective. Participants and facilitators agreed that facilitators explained course material clearly, answered questions well, stimulated conversation, cared about group members, and drew upon personal experiences effectively.

L'autodidaxie observée au siècle dernier n'existe plus. Les adeptes de cette pratique et la construction des savoirs ont fait l'objet d'une mutation. Ceux qui optent pour cette forme d'apprentissage de manière hétérodoxe appartiennent à toutes les classes sociales quel que soit leur niveau scolaire. Les modalités de l'autoformation cognitive ainsi que les stratégies des sujets de notre étude et leurs motivations ont été mises en relation avec les pratiques déjà observées chez les néo-autodidactes. Les résultats de cette recherche font ressortir des fonctionnements spécifiques à chacune des catégories sociales observées. Autodidactes par obligation, les syndicalistes utilisent la technique de la présentialité problématique en vue de la virtualité résolvante. Les politiques n'ont pas de projet et, face au découragement, ils se re-dynamisent de valeurs issues de leur milieu d'origine. Les entrepreneurs s'inscrivent dans une autoformation volontaire et pratiquent un apprentissage clandestin

Dans ce travail de thèse, nous nous intéressons aux possibilités de sensibiliser à la dualité de la probabilité dans l'enseignement en France. Pour cela nous avons organisé cette présentation en quatre parties. La première est consacrée à une enquête épistémologique, la deuxième à une analyse de manuels, la troisième à un ensemble d'expérimentations effectuées en BTS et finalement dans la quatrième nous donnerons quelques conclusions et perspectives qui découlent de notre travail.