The demands on teachers have been further amplified both personal and professional in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of stress teachers face is unsustainable. Stress can have negative outcomes for the teacher student relationship. Increasing teachers' social-emotional competence can lead to a more supportive classroom environment and improved teacher and student outcomes. Researchers have determined mindfulness-based interventions are conducive to increasing teachers' social-emotional competence. School counselors can assist and equip teachers with these vital skills through consultation services. To date, there are no studies that investigate the effects of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning-based school counselor consultation approach. In this study, I sought to explore the results of that approach. Teacher participants reported their racial identity as 22% Black (n = 7), 46% Caucasian (n = 15), 25% Hispanic (n = 8), 3% multi-racial (n = 1), and 3% Asian (n = 1) and self-reported gender as follows 38% male (n = 12) and 62% female (n = 20). Participants received 5 weeks of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning school counselor consultation. Results of hierarchical linear regressions revealed statistically significant improvement in the mindfulness disposition of acting with awareness, and practical significance of decreased perceived stress and conflict in the teacher student relationship. Results of this study illustrate the possible benefits of utilizing school counselor consultation to increase the socio-emotional competence of teachers through mindfulness.

In the U.S., an estimated 61 million people identify as having a disability, making up 26% of all adults. The occurrence of a disability for one person within a couple impacts the physical, social, psychological, and emotional state of the person who acquired a disability, forcing changes to quality of life. Interabled couples, defined as one partner having a physical disability and the other partner identifying as nondisabled, navigate various systems of care as they respond to the needs of the partner with the disability. Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) has shown benefits in reducing relationship stress and increasing security within couples. In this study, the researcher explored the experiences of 10 EFT therapists who served at least one interabled couple in couple therapy. Participants completed a semi-structured interview designed to explore how EFT therapists make sense of their lived experiences serving interabled couples. The researcher utilized interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand how EFT therapists made meaning from their experiences serving interabled couples. Findings included four super-ordinate themes that emerged from the data including (a) ableism, (b) self-of-the-therapist, (c) relationship dynamics of interabled couples, and (d) the "fit" of EFT approach with interabled couples. The themes demonstrate a need to further explore disability-responsive practices within EFT in serving interabled couples.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Kenneth F. Hughey / This study examined the impact of two career interventions on the dysfunctional career thoughts (DCTs) and vocational identity (VI) of 55 high school seniors. Research has shown an inverse relationship between levels of DCTs and VI. One intervention was based on the Cognitive Information Processing approach (Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 1991; Peterson, Sampson, Lenz, & Reardon, 2002; Peterson, Sampson, Reardon, & Lenz, 1996; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) and incorporated Improving Your Career Thoughts: A Workbook for the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI workbook; Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996c) and the Self-Directed Search (SDS; Holland, 1994). The second intervention employed only the SDS. A control group used neither activity. Levels of DCTs and VI were assessed pre-intervention and post-intervention using the Career Thoughts Inventory (Sampson, Peterson, Lenz, Reardon, & Saunders, 1996a) and the Vocational Identity scale of My Vocational Situation (Holland, Daiger, & Power, 1980a). Earlier studies indicated improvements in levels of dysfunctional career thinking after CIP-based interventions (e.g., Kilk, 1998; Morano, 2005; Reed, 2006), but no previous studies employed the complete CTI workbook. Additional studies (e.g., Loughead & Black, 1990; Mau,1999; Wiggins, 1987) indicated that levels of vocational identity could be increased by using the SDS as an intervention. The combined use of the CTI workbook and SDS produced significant improvements in all five measures of DCTs and VI. It was also shown that use of the SDS as a stand-alone intervention did improve levels of VI, but not to the extent of the improvements shown by combined use of the SDS and CTI workbook. Use of the SDS as a stand-alone intervention did not produce improvements in levels of DCTs. The control group, which employed neither the CTI workbook nor the SDS, unexpectedly showed significant improvements in scores for two CTI scales which may have been due to the influence of confounding variables.

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.

The purpose of this study was to examine educational strategies of mainstreaming at-risk students into regular classes and to determine if the strategies had an impact on students' academic and social adjustment. The study was conducted in two parts. Part 1 included a program description and critique, results from two surveys, and trend data for the QS and GAP programs. The teacher perception survey was designed to assess teachers' opinions about mainstreaming. A Learning and Study Strategies Inventory was used to assess a select group of tenth graders' learning skills and how they could be altered through educational interventions. Trend data were used to determine the impact of the program. / Part 2 consisted of qualitative analysis of data gathered through a series of interviews with teachers, students, and a counselor. Validity and reliability of data was established by member checks, and triangulation. / Most teachers surveyed and interviewed had positive opinions about mainstreaming. However, students in the program disagreed with the idea of mainstreaming. The results of the LASSI provided support to the idea that students needed additional help with learning strategies. Trend data revealed a decrease in the mainstreamed students' grade point average, an increase in the number the number of disciplinary referrals, and hours missed from class. / Based on the findings, it was concluded that four important elements are necessary in mainstreaming at-risk students. First, teachers must be provided with inservice training to insure some classroom success of at-risk students. Second, the needs of the students require a caring and supportive environment. Third, instructional techniques for helping students achieve success involves active teaching techniques, cooperative learning, use of learning strategies, and eliminating time as a factor for deciding grades. Last, there must be support from the administrative staff, which includes provision of necessary funds for operating a successful program. The conclusions are congruent with the ideas of humanistic theories of education and support the position that every child can learn. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: A, page: 4344. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

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.

A randomized controlled trial study was conducted to test the effectiveness of 16 sessions of the modalities of individual and group child-centered play therapy (CCPT) on improving social-emotional assets, including self-regulation/responsibility, social competence, and empathy. Participants were 56 students in four urban elementary schools in north central Texas, referred by teachers for disruptive or problematic behavior: 10 female and 46 male; ages 5 to 10 years with mean age 7.12; and 21 identifying as Hispanic, 17 as White, 8 as Multiracial, 1 as Asian, and 9 unspecified. Teachers and parents completed the Social and Emotional Assets and Resilience Scale (SEARS; Merrill, 2011) at pre- and post-treatment. With a significance criterion of p< .05, teacher reports provided no statistically significant results. However, parent reports indicated a statistically and practically significant interaction effect with a medium to large effect size, indicating a substantial improvement in children's scores from pre- to post-test attributed to group assignment. Mean differences indicated substantial gains in overall social-emotional assets, according to Total scores, in both individual and group treatment conditions as compared to the waitlist control group. Additionally, both individual and group play therapy was correlated with significant improvement with a large effect for the constructs of self-regulation/responsibility and social competence, with the group condition having a larger effect than the individual condition. Regarding empathy, neither modality resulted in significant improvement, though individual CCPT resulted practically in a large effect. These results indicate CCPT may provide a developmentally appropriate treatment for clinicians working with children in schools and in the community to foster their social and emotional competencies.

No description available.

No description available.