<p> <i>Skin tone bias or colorism</i> is &ldquo;the tendency to perceive or behave toward members of a racial category based on the lightness or darkness of their skin tone&rdquo; (Maddox &amp; Gray, 2002, p. 250). It is &ldquo;the prejudicial treatment of individuals falling within the same racial group on the basis of skin color&rdquo; (Thompson &amp; Keith, 2004, p. 46) and &ldquo;the allocation of privilege and disadvantage according to the lightness or darkness of one&rsquo;s skin&rdquo; (Burke &amp; Embrick, 2008, p. 17). Skin tone bias/colorism is a form of discrimination based on skin tone that typically privileges lighter-skinned individuals and penalizes darker-skinned individuals within and across racial and ethnic groups (Hunter, 2007; Jones, 2000). For my study, I focused my investigation of skin tone bias/colorism in relation to Blacks in the United States of America. </p><p> I conducted semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews with 30 Black undergraduate students (15 men and 15 women) at the University of Pennsylvania using purposive sampling. To triangulate data for this study, participants&rsquo; skin color was determined by two self-report assessments: the Skin Color Satisfaction Scale (SCSS) (Bond &amp; Cash, 1992; Falconer &amp; Neville, 2000) and the Skin Color Assessment Procedure (SCAP) (Bond &amp; Cash, 1992; Coard, Breland, &amp; Raskin, 2001). These assessments were administered prior to the interview. </p><p> Contrary to societal myth, Blacks are not a monolithic group. The impetus for my dissertation was to develop a qualitative study that necessitates the acknowledgment of the heterogeneity of Black students&rsquo; backgrounds and experiences with college, to ultimately shed light on the potential challenges faced by varying Black students in college based on skin tone, and to provide recommendations for Black students to effectively navigate highly selective institutions of higher education &ndash; with hopes to increase their persistence and success in college. Recommendations for higher education institutions, faculty, and student affairs administrators to better support Black students are also provided. </p><p> My research questions were as follows: How do the academic, personal, and social experiences of lighter-skinned Black students at a highly selective higher education institution vary compared with the experiences of darker-skinned Black students? How does this variation in experiences between lighter and darker-skinned Black students matter within the higher education context? </p><p>

<p> Economic forecasts predict an unprecedented shortage of STEM workers in the United States. This study examined the vocational anticipatory socialization factors and classroom stratagems influencing middle school students&rsquo; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career development. Student attitudes towards STEM content areas and related career aspirations were measured. Parental, peer, media, out-of-school time activities and physical school environmental influences were examined along with teacher and school counselor capacities. The results showed middle schools were not actively engaging in STEM identity formation and career development practices nor were they providing out-of-school time STEM activities for their students. Parents, peers and the use of the online learning platform, Learning Blade did, however, have significant influences on students&rsquo; STEM career development.</p><p>

<p> Research indicates the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder include challenges with receptive and expressive language, which can negatively impact social-emotional development and physical regulation. The needs of children with autism are expected to greatly impact the current medical and educational resources, thus effective intervention for language development is considered crucial. A recently implemented intervention is music therapy. Effective intervention strategies for families and special education staff are constantly being sought after. This qualitative study sought to determine, (a) how does music therapy affect the receptive and expressive language skills in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder aged 3&ndash;8 years? (b) what components of music therapy do parents and music therapists profess to make the most impact on language acquisition development in their child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, aged 3&ndash;8? Participants included ten family units in southern California and six music therapists in the states of California, Oregon, Idaho and Washington. The participants were asked to provide information pertaining to the language ability of their child/client before and after participating in music therapy. Results showed an increase in word utterance, progress toward special education goals, emotional wellbeing, expressive communication in the home and community, and an increase in social skills. The language ability of the children before and after participating in music therapy sessions ranged from a nonverbal state to singing songs, from using gestures to speaking three to four word phrases, from using language without pragmatics to making friends, and from uttering one to two word phrases to regulating their emotions. </p><p>

<p> For many high school student athletes, there is increased pressure to specialize in one sport, to participate at a high level, and to play year-round (Brenner, 2016). This increased emphasis on sport specialization has led to a proliferation of overuse injuries, overtraining, and burnout (Brenner, 2016). Sport specialization significantly contributes to overuse injuries, which account for almost half of all sport injuries (Andrews &amp; Yaeger, 2013). This research was designed to clarify if there are significant differences in the behavioral and academic performance of student athletes who compete in one sport and student athletes who compete in multiple sports. Six high schools in southwest Missouri provided GPAs, hours absent, and days suspended for approximately 1,500 student athletes for the 2015&ndash;2016 school year. An ANOVA test was conducted to determine if significant differences existed among one-, two-, and three-or-more sport athletes for each individual area of study. When single-sport athletes were compared to multiple-sport athletes, significant differences were discovered in each area of study including GPAs, hours absent, and days suspended. In all instances of significant difference, multiple-sport athletes demonstrated improved academic and behavioral performance over single-sport athletes. These findings should assist students, coaches, parents, teachers, and administrators in decision-making about student athletics participation.</p><p>

<p> Teaching students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a relatively new endeavor. Beginning in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the general education curriculum integrated algebra across the K-12 curriculum (Kendall, 2011; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices &amp; Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), and expansion of the curriculum included five intertwined skills (productive disposition, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and conceptual understanding) (Kilpatrick, Swafford, &amp; Findell, 2001). Researchers are just beginning to explore the potential of students with ID with algebra (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris &amp; Wakeman, 2008; Creech-Galloway, Collins, Knight, &amp; Bausch, 2013; Courtade, Spooner, Browder, &amp; Jimenez, 2012; G&ouml;ransson, Hellblom-Thibblin, &amp; Axdorph, 2016). Most of the research examines the development of procedural fluency (G&ouml;ransson et al., 2016) and few researchers have explored high school level skills. </p><p> Using a single-case multiple-baseline across participants design, the study proposes to teach two algebra skills to six high school students with ID, creating an equation (<i>y</i> = <i>mx</i> + <i> b</i>) from a graph of a line and creating a graph from an equation. The six high school students with ID will be recruited from a school district in central Virginia. The intervention package modeled after Jimenez, Browder, and Courtade (2008), included modeling, templates, time delay prompting, and a task analysis. Results showed that all six individuals improved performance during intervention for the target skills over baseline; results also indicated that in three out of the six cases some generalization to the inverse skill occurred without supplemental intervention. The ability of individuals with ID to generalize the learning without intervention provides some evidence that individuals with ID are developing conceptual understanding while learning procedural fluency.</p><p>

<p> Through advancements in modern medicine, human beings worldwide are living longer. The increase in life expectancy creates a need for a more qualified and knowledgeable nursing workforce for the delivery of quality geriatric health care. Although nurses are the primary care providers for vulnerable older adults, they are generally not well trained or prepared in geriatric care. Therefore, the purpose of the project was to develop an education program aimed at improving nursing knowledge of geriatric care in the long-term care (LTC) setting. The goal of the project was to answer the research question: What impact would attendance in the program have on improving nursing geriatric knowledge, retention, and job satisfaction by project end? Guided by the advancing research and clinical practice through close collaboration (ARCC) model for evidence-based practice (EBP), the learning needs of nurses in the LTC setting were assessed. The 6-week education program was designed to provide education on the basics of geriatric care, pharmacology and aging, symptom evaluation, dementia care, and geriatric physical assessment. Project participants consisted of 8 nurses who volunteered to take part in the program. The program was evaluated using a pre-test and post-test method to examine nurse&rsquo;s knowledge before and after the education program. Using a paired <i>t</i> test, the results indicated a significant increase (<i>p</i> &lt; .05) between the mean pre-test (3.75) and mean post-test (4.25) scores of nurse knowledge of geriatric care. The education program improved participant knowledge of geriatric care. Positive social change will be achieved with this scholarly project as nurses with greater knowledge gain confidence, strengthen decision making and clinical skills, and improve patient outcomes in the LTC setting.</p><p>

Background: International students (IS) are arguably a population facing both educational and migratory challenges. These are understood within Culture Shock (CS, Oberg, 1960), a process of culture learning. Available literature on IS seems to focus mainly on the phases of CS between the arrival in the host country until adaptation, or at the later stage of returning home. The last part of the IS journey in the host country, before the possible return home, appears neglected. Research suggests that in this period, named the ‘crossroad’ in this study, important decisions could be made, such as whether to stay in or leave the host country. Rationale: Internal struggles, dilemmas and uncertainty can arise due to the possible changes to self that IS can develop while abroad, and could be exacerbated by immigration laws. Thus, the crossroad can be a phase of psychological struggle, which can be of interest to mental health professionals. There is limited qualitative evidence on this sub-phase of CS on IS and this research attempts to address this gap by looking holistically at the subjective experiences of these students and letting their specific psychological needs arise. Methodology and main findings: An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was chosen for this research, using semi-structured interviews. Three superordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the transcripts: a) Changes to self and identity; b) Uncertainty, temporariness and emotional responses; c) Dilemmas at the crossroad. The crossroad emerged from the results as a phase dominated by uncertainty towards the future, leading to experiencing difficult emotions such as worry, anxiety and low mood. From the participants’ accounts, it seemed that the limitations imposed by the UK immigration law were the main trigger for such uncertainty, and that IS perceived their circumstances as largely out of their control. The IS’ psychological and emotional responses seemed connected with having developed a sense of belongingness to the UK, resulting from a process of changes to self and identity experienced during their time abroad.

This study examines the learning of ensemble skills by young musicians in progressive ensembles. Data collection took place in three music centres which form part of an LEA music service's ensemble provision. This study uniquely approaches ensembles as'socio-musical' phenomena. It finds description and explanation in the constantly changing and developing socio-musical interactions that form ensembles. Using an ethnographic approach it examines the practice of ensembles that are part of musical learning pyramids, through the eyes and actions of the ensemble members. There is an examination of ensemble membership and the social structures and interactions that form ensembles. This study explores, and for the first time identifies, a set of ensemble specific skills. These are the skills that a musician uses to negotiate, integrate and cooperate with other participants in the production of ensemble performance. It goes on to examine how ensemble specific skills are acquired and suggests that the learning process is one of serial performative responsibility transfer created within stratified centripetal progression. New, or novice, members of an ensemble start by participating at a peripheral level leaving it to others to take performative responsibility for the production of a negotiated collaborative realization of the musical intentions of the composer. This study has been influenced by the work of Lave and Wenger and social theories of learning. However, it departs from these theories by suggesting that the learning process within an ensemble is responsibility led and stratified.

This research utilized Ivey's Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT) model to investigate the cognitive-developmental levels (CDL's) of postsecondary students with learning disabilities. First, a critique of current service delivery models showed an emphasis on services best utilized by students exhibiting Concrete and Formal skills. Despite this emphasis, it was hypothesized that a more balanced frequency among all four CDL's existed. It was also hypothesized that students who presented at the Concrete and Formal levels would be more successful than students presenting at the sensorimotor and dialectic/systemic levels. Results show that a balanced frequency among all four CDL's did exist, and that students who presented at the Concrete and Formal levels were more successful than students who presented at the other CDL's. Further analyses show that the Concrete level may be the most important level to consider for students and service providers. An instrument is offered to examine student's CDL's, and implications for clinical application and future research are proposed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between culturally matched and unmatched materials on the reading comprehension of African-American students in grades 3 through 5. The study also sought to explore potential relationships amongst variables such as background knowledge, academic self-concept, and comprehension. The results obtained suggest that after adjusting for background knowledge, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension scores did not vary as a function of reading culturally matched and unmatched materials. In other words, reading passage content did not facilitate fluency and reading comprehension for African-American students enrolled in grades 3 through 5. In addition, academic self-concept scores did not vary as a function of reading culturally matched and unmatched materials. Therefore, the results obtained fail to support the cultural model's hypothesis of reading achievement in the African-American community.