A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the relationship between achievement in specific nursing courses and subsequent performance on the NCLEX-RN of students identified as at-risk. A sample of 236 graduates from a baccalaureate degree nursing program in a large midwestern university were divided into two groups, students at-risk and students not-at-risk. Answers to six research questions were sought. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance and two-tailed t tests at the .05 level of significance were utilized to test the data.Findings indicated that: (1) There was a significant difference in the performance in the first two major nursing courses between not-at-risk students and at-risk students with not-at-risk students scoring higher. (2) There was no significant difference between the grades received by at-risk students with transfer credit and at-risk students without transfer credit in the first two major nursing courses. (3) There was a significant difference in the performance in the first two major nursing courses with not-at-risk students with transfer credit achieving higher grades than not-at-risk students without transfer credit. (4) There was a significant difference in the NCLEX-RN scores between the two groups, with not-at-risk students scoring higher than at-risk students. (5) There was no significant difference in the scores on the NCLEX-RN between the two groups, at-risk students without transfer credit and at-risk students with transfer credit. (6) Not-at-risk students with transfer credit scored significantly higher on the NCLEX-RN than not-at-risk students without transfer credit. / Department of Educational Leadership

This thesis has compared a sample of married couples with a matched sample of cohabiting couples from the Ball State University area on the variables Affective Support, Mutual Knowledge, and Relationship Satisfaction.Reviewing the literature on marital adjustment, the American society and the family system, and heterosexual cohabitation, it was hypothesized that cohabitants would exhibit greater degrees of the three interpersonal variables under examination. The data, however, necessitated a rejection of the hypotheses; explanations for the findings are offered, as well as suggestions for further research.

This study is an exploration of the educational experiences of women from the Caribbean island of Barbados who traveled to the USA to pursue higher education. An autoethnography research methodology was used in order to capture each woman’s educational experiences. Autoethnography also supported the inclusion of the researcher’s voice and interpretations as a Barbadian woman fitting the criteria for participation. These educational journeys represented the field and cultural world under study. Through analysis, themes emerged from each woman's description of Influential Others; Protagonist Self; and Educational Settings within her storied journey. Storied experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, and being women and the role American Higher Education had in each woman's life were also analyzed. The emergent themes supported the existence of a web of interacting narratives spun first in Barbados and extending to American Higher Education. Through the educational settings each woman interacted with, this web of narratives linked her educational journey to the narratives of the people who went before her; beside her; and after her. This web of narratives also supports each woman’s storied understanding of self, others, and settings within that journey. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2006. / "A dissertation in public affairs and administration and social science." Advisor: Nicholas Peroff. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Jan. 29, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-216). Online version of the print edition.

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This study examines occupational aspiration and choice of traditional first-time college students utilizing longitudinal data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). Focus is given to beliefs about the importance of family and money in relation to selection of an occupation that is classified as sex-typed. Change from one occupational category to another is also considered. The dissonance between students' beliefs about the importance of family and money as associated with their sex-typed occupational choice is explored. Understanding students' occupational plans that subsequently determine future prestige, wealth, and status is vital to higher educational professionals who facilitate students in their career selection and major. Therefore, environmental factors of satisfaction with career counseling and academic advising are examined. The U.S. Census Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) data is applied in the classification of sex-typed occupations. Race and ethnicity is investigated to determine if the same gender patterns exist among cultural groups with regards to their occupational selection. The results indicate that students' occupational aspirations were influenced by their belief regarding the importance of family or money. In addition, their beliefs regarding family and money changed after four years of college with family increasing in importance. Strong beliefs that were, either concordant or discordant with relation to students' gender and occupational choice predicted change after four years of college. Also, race and ethnicity showed some relation to sex-typed occupational aspirations of students. Being Hispanic predicted female sex-typed occupations, while being Asian predicted male sex-typed occupations. However, the results of this study may have been compromised by the extremely skewed representation of an elitist student sample. Thus, future research that includes a more diverse student sample (race/ethnicity, social class, and geographical location) was recommended for validation of this study's findings.

This study explored the use of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) as a culturally responsive intervention and a prevention treatment method for the psychosocial well-being of Japanese children in the United States. In light of the demand for the evidence-based therapeutic treatment for children as well as the need to conduct multicultural research without ignoring within-group differences, this study was composed of two research methodologies; quantitative research design and individual analysis. Single-group repeated measures ANOVA was utilized for the group analysis and linear regression was employed for individual analysis in addition to qualitative data obtained through parent feedback and the researcher's observation of play therapy sessions. The participating children received a total of eight CCPT sessions. The impact of CCPT was measured by a decrease in a child's behavioral problems perceived by a parent measured by scores of the Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems and Total Problems on the Child Behavioral Checklist and a reduction of parent-child relationship stress manifested in the Child Domain, Parent Domain and Total Stress Score of the Parenting Stress Index. Data from a total of the four assessment points; the baseline, pretest, second assessment, and third assessment, was gathered for use in the analysis. A total of 16 children were recruited from the Japanese School of Dallas for participation in this study. However, some children did not complete the entire set of 8 play therapy sessions, and as a consequence, neither were all assessments completed by their parents. Therefore, data from 10 children, age ranging from 4 to 9, were utilized for the statistical analysis. The results of the analysis did not reveal any statistical significance. However, large and medium effect sizes were obtained on all the six aforementioned subscales during the treatment period. Individual analysis provided further information on possible environmental, developmental, and cultural factors that are considered influential issues on the change of individual scores.

No description available.

Using Ethnography of Communication, Conversational Analysis, and surveys, Thai students' participation in group work was studied to determine how they interact with native English-speaking students. Issues discussed are: (1) behaviors Thai students display during group work; including comparisons and contrasts to native students' behaviors, (2) prejudices native students have about including Thai students in group work, (3) Thais' strengths and weaknesses in group work, and (4) perceptions native and Thai students and their professors have regarding group work and its importance to successful course completion. The study concludes by recommending ways that both Thai students and their professors can enhance the learning outcomes of courses that heavily emphasize group work.

The purpose of the present research was to investigate whether or not there is similarity of values between American and Japanese college students. The following research hypothesis was established: There is a positive relationship between the value system of the Japanese college students and that of American college students.