Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) occurs in up to 16% of U.S. children and is characterized by defiant, disobedient, disruptive, and antisocial behavior toward adults or authority figures that persists for more than 6 months, which can be burdensome for parents. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how parents of a child newly diagnosed with ODD select the treatment for their child. Social cognitive theory and decision theory provided the theoretical framework. A demographic questionnaire and semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 6 parents about their decision-making process. Data were analyzed using the 7-step procedure outlined by Moustakas. Results indicated parents' decisions about treatment were predicated by seeking information about different treatment options, seeking advice from professionals and other parents of children with a diagnosis of ODD, insurance coverage, and rapidity of response to treatment. Parents indicated that support from other parents of children diagnosed with ODD was an essential component of any decision they made about treatment. Findings may encourage parents of children with ODD to educate themselves and consult with others about treatment options. Practitioners may also use the findings to guide parents in making informed choices for their children. Knowledge, treatment, and education can properly advise parents of children diagnosed with ODD regarding appropriate treatment options.

Globally, a phenomenon has transpired involving the fast-paced growth of mobile technology and the rapid adoption of smart technology. As technology continues to become more mobile, it could be beneficial for educational systems to begin to evaluate how mobile applications impact family, school, and community relationships; however, little research exists on this specific topic. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover the experiences of district-level administrators during the implementation of mobile applications for a number of school districts. The diffusion of innovation theory, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and various school, family, and community partnership frameworks informed this study. Administrators who oversaw the implementation of district mobile apps participated in this study. Data were collected using electronic questionnaires and phone interviews, with supportive information from archival documents. The resulting data were analyzed to uncover the unique experiences of each study participant and compared and contrasted to explore emerging themes. Families were identified as the target stakeholder group intended to be reached through mobile apps and participants recommended engaging diverse stakeholder groups when planning to implement apps. Focusing on the integration of new mobile apps with existing systems and supplying the apps with content emerged as themes. Communicating the availability of mobile apps to families and participant responsibilities associated with the implementation of mobile apps were areas of concern. This study potentially informs school districts regarding how to reach more diverse families.

One issue that continues to impact higher education is students entering college without the skills and dispositions necessary for success at the postsecondary level. While instructors and educational leaders and often pay significant attention to addressing students’ lack of the prerequisite content knowledge in mathematics, reading, and writing, students are often also in need of information and skills for strategic learning. With the current emphasis on student retention and completion, institutions are using high-impact interventions, such as first-year seminar courses, to equip students with these attributes early on in their academic careers. This study examined the relationship between participation in a compulsory first-year experience course and students’ skill, will, and self-regulation using regression methods. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester 2019. / January 31, 2019. / first-year experience, first-year seminar, self-regulation, skill, will / Includes bibliographical references. / Toby Park, Professor Directing Dissertation; Elizabeth M. Jakubowski, University Representative; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member; Linda Schrader, Committee Member; Robert A. Schwartz, Committee Member.

Researchers have found that public opinion of people who are mentally ill is often negative. This study, grounded in cognitive theories, was conducted to determine if education would improve college students' attitudes toward mental illness and if there were gender differences in those attitudes, as past studies had shown. Attitudes of 184 Jamacian adult college students towards mental illness were measured before and after a didactic seminar using the Attitudes to Mental Illness Questionnaire (AMIQ), Opinion About Mental Illness Scale (OMI), and Help Seeking Attitudes Scale. A nonrandomized trial was used to generate nonequivalent comparison groups, with one group attending the seminar and the other group not attending the seminar. The generalized linear model and an analysis of covariance were used to examine the effects of the didactic seminar and gender on 2nd survey AMIQ, OMI, and HSAS scores. There were no differences in AMIQ scores between those who attended the didactic seminar and the control group who did not; however, there were significant differences on the OMI and HSAS scores between the attendee participants and the non-attendee participants. The nature of the differences indicated that attendees had a more positive attitude towards people with mental illness after the didactic seminar than did non-attendees. No gender differences were found on all scales for both groups. More research on individuals in different geographic areas and having varied demographic backgrounds is needed to determine the generalizability of the study results because the sample used in the current study was limited to one geographic area and had a specific demographic profile. Didactic seminars promoting positive views of people with mental illness could result in improved perceptions among the general public that may lead to better care.

This study was an investigation of the effectiveness of treatment approaches for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) examined through social, behavioral, and academic performances. Guided by Barkley's unifying theory of ADHD, a static-group comparison design was used to compare students receiving pharmacological treatment, psychosocial therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and a pharmacological-therapy combination. Archival data was obtained on middle and high school students diagnosed with ADHD (ages 11-18, N = 103). Data included GPA; number of disciplinary referrals; and Behavior Assessment System for Children-Teacher Rating Scale (BASC-2 TRS) scores of externalizing behavior (e.g., defiance, aggression), internalizing behavior (e.g., anxiety, depression), general school problems (e.g., attention, study skills), behavioral symptoms (e.g., social skills, leadership), and adaptive skills (e.g., understanding emotions and social cues). None of the BASC-2 TRS subscale scores differed between groups except for internalizing behaviors. The pharmacological-therapy combination group had lower internalizing behavior scores than the pharmacological-only group and the cognitive behavioral therapy group. The pharmacological-therapy combination group also had fewer disciplinary referrals than the pharmacological-only group and the cognitive behavioral therapy group. GPA did not differ by group, but it was inversely related to number of referrals. Because, overall, across the 7 outcome comparisons, no single group definitively emerged as highest performing, implications for practice and positive social change are that selection of ADHD treatment type may be best informed by physician and parent preference and determination of child's need and receptivity.

A Brief Experimental Analysis (BEA) is used to quickly and simultaneously evaluate two or more interventions so that the most effective intervention is selected for on-going implementation (Daly, Witt, Martens, & Dool, 1997; Martens & Gertz, 2009). Oral reading fluency interventions have been successfully evaluated using a BEA, yet minimal research studies have evaluated early literacy interventions within this context (Daly, Martens, Hamler, Dool, Eckert, 1999; Eckert, Ardoin, Daly, & Martens, 2002; McComas & Burns, 2009). The primary goal of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a BEA in selecting a letter-sound correspondence intervention for individual students. A comparison of early intervention strategies was also completed as part of an extended analysis. The study was conducted in two phases with three kindergarten students. First, a BEA was used to evaluate performance-based and skill-based interventions designed to increase letter-sound correspondence in three kindergarten students. Specifically, four experimental conditions were evaluated: baseline, reward, incremental rehearsal (IR) + reward, and systematic incremental rehearsal (SIR) + reward. Effectiveness of the interventions was measured using early literacy curriculum-based measurement probes. Following the BEA, an extended analysis was completed in which IR + reward and SIR + reward were both implemented with each student to compare effectiveness and evaluate whether the BEA identified the more powerful intervention to improve letter-sound correspondence. Results indicated that in all three participants there was minimal differentiation across BEA conditions. It appears that LSF probes were not sensitive enough to measure growth or progress in the BEA. As suggested by Petursdottir and colleagues (2014), individualized probes may be required when completing a BEA of early literacy skills. During the extended analysis, all three participants made gains in letter-sound correspondence with SIR and IR interventions. When comparing the two interventions, participants appeared to make more immediate gains with SIR. Overall, both interventions appeared to be viable options for teaching students letter-sound correspondence.

The current study was an attempt to increase understanding within the field about the self-conceptualization processes of African American women given the perceptions/ stereotypes that exist about them. Grounded theory methodology was utilized to ascertain participants' understanding of themselves as well as whether historical and/or contemporary perceptions/stereotypes impacted how they saw themselves. The African American women in this study tended to define themselves in positive terms. Often their self-definitions included perceptions/stereotypes that are typically thought to be socially desirable (e.g., strong and independent). The participants' self-definitions tended to exclude perceptions/ stereotypes that carry more negative connotations (e.g., loud and unintelligent). Future research should investigate the implications of perceptions/stereotypes for self-concepts of African American women who are also members of other traditionally oppressed groups.

There is an overrepresentation of gay men seeking treatment for eating disorders. This study investigated several factors that were thought to possibly impact the prevalence rates of gay men seeking treatment for eating disorders. The current study investigated the influence that gender role conflict, attitudes towards help seeking, symptom recognition, and media influence have on the prevalence of eating disorders. Nationwide participant recruitment was utilized to gather a sample that consisted of 86 heterosexual men and 75 gay men. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were utilized to examine the differences between gay and heterosexual men on the factors of interest. A significant difference was not found between gay and heterosexual men related to gender role conflict or media influence. However, a significant difference was found between heterosexual and gay men on measures of attitudes towards help seeking and symptom recognition. The results support that gender role conflict may have a limited role in the development of eating disorders in gay men and that mental health prevention and awareness within the gay community may be having a positive impact. Implications for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders are discussed as well as directions for future research.

Currently, there exists a cultural/racial disparity in the quality of healthcare and subsequent health outcomes (Sullivan, 2004; Arora, Schneider, Thal, & Meltzer, 2011). This has been linked to lack of ethnic minority representation within the field of healthcare (Cohen, Gabriel, & Terrell, 2002; Freeman, Ferrer, & Greiner, 2007). In response, there has been a national effort to intervene at various levels of education to address disparities in healthcare career-related knowledge and abilities. According to Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the prevalence of math and science within healthcare careers will decrease interest in this field for those lacking confidence and/or abilities in the aforementioned areas. The current manuscript describes and evaluates the impact of increasing the math and science-related content of a healthcare career intervention, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities Preparation and Exploration) (Ali, 2013), on math /science self-efficacy and interest and healthcare career interest. Results from measures presented both pre- and post-intervention were analyzed using the repeated measures design for 2 MANOVAs and 1 ANOVA. Based on these analyses, participants demonstrated a significant increase in math/science interest and self-efficacy. These results are discussed in the final section, in addition to limitations and implications for SCCT and healthcare career interventions.

Discrepancies in math knowledge emerge as early as four years of age, demonstrating need for effective early math interventions. Early math curricula and targeted instructional strategies have been shown to increase geometric knowledge in early childhood, particularly as that relates to shape learning. Existing educational research has not examined the specific role hand gesture embedded in instruction may have on early geometric learning, although in the psychological literature, effects of gesture on mathematical and spatial learning are well-documented. One hundred and twenty-one preschoolers and kindergarteners, divided among three instructional conditions—no observed gesture, seeing gesture, and seeing and doing gesture during instruction—participated in this study. Child knowledge of shape was measured on a shape sorting task before and after an instructional lesson. The researcher also collected data on spoken and gestured strategies used during the sorting task. Experimental condition influenced participant sorting performance when participants were exposed to gesture and encouraged to gesture themselves. Participant performance for this condition significantly differed from that of participants who were not exposed to gesture during instruction. Experimental condition did not significantly increase frequency of spoken or gestured strategies more indicative of shape knowledge. Child engagement in gesture during learning, regardless of condition, and socioeconomic status significantly impacted performance, aligning with existing findings in psychological and educational literature. The researcher proposed future directions for early intervention work in targeting shape knowledge.