In recent years, an increasing number of military veterans have enrolled in higher education. Little research has been conducted on veterans in tandem with higher education, but what does exist shows that they are a unique student population because of their military background. In the last few years, scholarship has called for research on veterans in classroom environments. Moreover, composition scholars in particular have called for research on veterans and writing. Although veterans have been recognized as a unique student population, little research has been conducted on what pedagogical practices can be used to help them as they become students. First-year composition courses are the perfect context to examine the intersection of these calls for research because most veterans have to take them – since they often enroll as freshmen – and they involve varied written assignments. The purpose of this study was to explore what veterans’ experiences had been in the classroom environment of first-year composition courses and in working towards the course goals for written assignments through qualitative methods. This study also sought to discover what veterans thought could be altered to improve their experience in first-year composition. This study focused on the context of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and its first-year composition course, Engl-101. In order to discover what veterans’ experiences had been, a focus group of five veterans that had taken Engl-101 at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale was held. Additionally, a follow-up interview was conducted with one of the participants of the focus group. The results were consistent with the findings of other research on veterans. What was most notably clear was that veterans’ experiences in Engl-101 were greatly influenced by their experiences in the military. Participants expected their instructors to wield more authority over the class, much like their superiors would in the military. Additionally, veterans were often challenged by the behaviors of non-military students, which they perceived as disrespectful. Despite these challenges that participants encountered in the classroom environment, they also drew from the leadership skills they acquired while in the military to counter them. Additionally, the participants of this study raised that their instructors cared about the students and the content of the course, which alleviated some of the challenges they encountered. When it came to working towards the course goals for the written assignments, veterans struggled to expand their ideas beyond a few sentences, largely due to the style of writing they were used to in the military. That said, once veterans had a clear understanding of the conventions needed for an assignment, they were able to write strong essays. Ultimately, instructors of first-year composition that work with veterans will need to further training on the expectations that veterans’ carry with them from the military. Once instructors have knowledge of the ways veterans learn, they can adapt their pedagogical practices to suit.

This thesis portfolio discusses my journey as a Master of English graduate student at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. I began as a graduate student in nineteenth-century American literature and switched concentrations halfway through my degree to Rhetoric and Composition. The decision to change programs was the result of my love for teaching beginning composition courses at SIUC. My passion for teaching drives each installment of this portfolio, focusing on my journey as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, my examination with a prominent theorist in the discipline of Rhetoric and Composition, and my interest in student engagement in the First-Year Composition classroom. My goal for this thesis portfolio is to offer a fresh perspective on Rhetoric and Composition, which allows me to explore my voice within the field.

Master of Science / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Bronwyn Fees / For young children and their families, transitions between classrooms are a normative part of the child care experience, yet these types of transitions are seldom studied. In the United States, there are approximately 144,000 child care centers for children birth to five years of age (Child Care Aware, 2014). Nearly 60% of infants and toddlers participate in some form of nonparental child care arrangement (Iruka & Carver, 2006). In particular, how parents experience their child’s transitions between classrooms within child care centers is not well understood. Children aged birth to three years face challenges when separating from trusted caregivers and forming new relationships. This study explored the unfolding of perceptions of five families as their children turned two-years-old and moved between a one-year-old to a two-year-old classroom in the same child care setting. Drawing from a systems approach, the parental perception of the transition was examined in relation to their children’s experience. Structured interviews took place with families before, during, and after their children’s transition to the new classroom. Mothers were interviewed in four out of the five cases, and one couple chose to participate in the interviews together. Families reported unique concerns such as worry regarding the child’s adjustment or concern about how the child would be accepted in the new peer environment, based on certain factors of influence including past experiences with transitions and the temperament and behavior of their child in the child care setting. However, parents regarded the transition positively due to the perceived benefits of a classroom with older peers and advanced learning opportunities. Parents expressed this positive viewpoint to their children through conversations. Interviews suggested that the way parents perceived the transition was closely connected to the child’s behaviors in the new environment as well as the quality of relationships formed with the teachers and peers. The findings indicate the importance of individualizing the transition experience for families, remaining mindful of the family system during the transition, and implementing strategies to support the relationship building process. Keywords: qualitative, transitions, two-year-old, early childhood education, parents

Poor nutrition and impaired dietary intakes are associated with certain chronic disease states such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There have been a number of school-based, nutrition-focused interventions which have been used to measure and determine healthy eating behaviours in UK school children but with varying degrees of success. The main aim of this thesis was to develop, pilot and evaluate the Children’s Health, Activity and Nutrition: Get Educated! (CHANGE!), a healthy eating curriculum for year 6 children. A formative study, unique in this type of intervention study, was carried out to investigate the behaviours, habits and attitudes to food of the children and the data collected used to inform the design of the intervention teaching curriculum. It revealed the diversity of the food and eating environments to which the children were exposed. Some of their perceptions about health and food, food choices and eating behaviours were inter-related. The key health messages included in the teaching curriculum were developed from these findings. At baseline, the participants’ food intakes, knowledge about food and nutrition and their attitudes to eating were measured using questionnaires. Additionally anthropometric measurements were taken and the children’s postcodes used to assess the socio-economic status of the children. The results showed that the control and intervention groups were alike at baseline. At post-intervention, the results indicated that there were some positive changes to food intakes, with a slight decrease in the consumption of negative marker foods. There was an increase in the total mean food knowledge scores, with children from the areas of lower deprivation scoring highest. There was no significant difference between control and intervention groups. The children’s eating attitudes displayed some trends with cues to eating. There was a significant increase in height in all children but this did not alter the body mass index status of the overweight or obese children. The importance of the use of CHANGE! as an intervention at the school-level is demonstrated by some of the more important findings from the study, such as the increased self-assessed ability to make certain foods, and that there was an increase in total food knowledge scores from the children who lived in areas of lower deprivation. These results could potentially be the starting point for some children to start questioning the types of food they are habitually eating and maybe looking to make some adjustments to their behaviours, as even small changes can be nutritionally significant in the longer-term for the future health of the children. Furthermore, the sustainability and long-term effects of CHANGE! need additional assessment and evaluation.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree Magister of Education in the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / The core problematique of this study is to establish a collaborative intervention strategy as a model that could facilitate the design and dissemination of appropriate formative feedback during essay-writing practices with at risk ECP and first-year students.

Thesis (MEd)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / The teaching profession is unique in this sense that in no other employment industry, are beginner employees straight out of university expected to do the work and hold the responsibilities equal to that of a senior or more experienced colleague. This idea is held as one of the main reasons why teachers need support in their first few years of teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Le Maistre & Paré, 2010). From my own experience as well as that of the novice art teacher participants in this research, it was clear that art teachers in their first three years of teaching experience positive encounters as well as several challenges. Challenges varied from the lack of support and orientation from school management to several other factors that contributed to a demanding workload and stress. The theoretical framework that informs this research is grounded in the combination of theoretical perspectives developed by Geert Kelchtermans (1993; 1994; 1999) namely the narrative-biographical perspective and the micro-political perspective. Participants were interviewed and requested to attend a focus group session where they were asked to create a River of Life representation of their experiences since starting their art education careers. The transcripts were analysed in conjunction with the drawings to forge connections between the participants’ feedback to establish themes. The themes of this particular research relate mainly to the common experiences that the participants face as novice art teachers and the support they receive from their school management and education authorities.

This study followed two teacher candidates from the Communities as Resources in Early Childhood Teacher Education (CREATE) project into their first year classrooms to determine whether they were able to translate the theoretical principles from their teacher preparation program into practice during their first year of teaching. It also examined the supporting and limiting contextual factors that affected translation both during their teacher preparation and in their first year of teaching. Multiple case study methodology was used to look closely at each case independently providing consistency through replication, while also allowing the ability to look across both cases to develop more powerful findings (Stake, 2006; Baxter & Jack, 2008; Yin, 2014). A conceptual frame was developed around translation, revisiting how it has been used in other fields of research in the past (Catford, 1974; Bassnett, 2013; Major & Cordey-Hayes, 2000; Holden & Von Kortzfleisch, 2004; Jacobson, Butterill & Goering, 2003; Davison, 2009; Straus, Tetroe, & Graham, 2009) and how it is currently being used as a metaphor in the field of education (Cook-Sather, 2001, 2006) to provide a lens into the intricacies and flexibility of the process of translation. Literature was reviewed to provide background into research that has looked closely at the impact teacher preparation programs have on the first year of teaching, and to provide background information into the conceptualization of the work undergirding the principles of CREATE. It is crucial for teacher preparation programs to follow their own graduates into their classrooms to gain a deeper understanding of what concepts, theories, and principles translated from university classrooms and field experiences to practice in first year teacher's classrooms, in order to make changes to their teacher education curriculum to prevent a breakdown of translation. This study offers insight into what supports and limits translation and offers suggestions for future research in the area of translation.

This study was conducted to establish patterns of Primary Head Teacher behaviour over a complete school year, including weekends and holidays. Certain aspects of the role of the Primary Headteacher were also investigated. Two Head Teachers kept diaries, recording daily the nature of activities being undertaken and the length and frequency of them. A group of 25 Head Teachers also participated by completing diaries for periods of 2 weeks each - at different times of the year. The diaries were analysed by classifying recorded activities against category criteria, which had been agreed and devised with the Head Teachers prior to the commencement of the project. The evidence, once interpreted and collated, was brought to the attention of the two principal respondents one year after their diaries had been completed to assess their response and seek their views. This was repeated after a further period of twelve months had elapsed. The study shows that Primary Head Teachers' behaviour is characterised by long hours spent on multifarious tasks and activities of varying importance, with frequent interruptions and often brief duration. One of the main diary keepers was an experienced Head Teacher, the other was beginning her first Headship, whilst the remaining Head Teachers had a range of experience. The total amounts of time devoted to school-related issues, the range of activities being undertaken and the frequency of activity change were remarkably similar for all Head Teachers. Head Teachers bring experience, knowledge, skills, beliefs, attitudes and values to their schools and attempt to recreate these in the hearts and minds of those associated with their schools.

Magister Curationis - MCur / In nursing education the clinical component comprises an important part of the students’ training. Clinical teaching and learning happens in simulated as well as real world settings. First–year students spend the first quarter of their first year developing clinical skills in the skills laboratory. In the second-term they are placed in real service settings. This study was aimed at exploring the experiences of first year nursing students of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) during their first clinical placement in the hospital. A qualitative phenomenological exploratory study design was used and a purposive sample of twelve nursing students was selected to participate in the study. The research question was “Describe your experiences during your first placement in hospital?” Written informed consent was given by every participant and ethical approval was obtained from the relevant UWC structures. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted, audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded and sub-categories, categories, and themes were extracted during the data analysis process. Trustworthiness of the data collection and data analysis processes were ensured. Many of the first year nursing students described their experience in hospital as being stressful. However, the first placement in hospital allowed them to work with real patients and provided them an opportunity to develop a variety of clinical skills. Even though the hospital environment was unfamiliar and the ward staff unwelcoming, the patients’ acknowledged and valued their contribution to patient care. Students tend to seek support from family members and lecturers. It is recommended that first year nursing students be prepared adequately for their first placement in hospital as well as to provide practical and emotional support to students during their hospital placement. / South Africa

Magister Curationis - MCur / In nursing education the clinical component comprises an important part of the students’ training. Clinical teaching and learning happens in simulated as well as real world settings. First–year students spend the first quarter of their first year developing clinical skills in the skills laboratory. In the second-term they are placed in real service settings. This study was aimed at exploring the experiences of first year nursing students of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) during their first clinical placement in the hospital. A qualitative phenomenological exploratory study design was used and a purposive sample of twelve nursing students was selected to participate in the study. The research question was “Describe your experiences during your first placement in hospital?” Written informed consent was given by every participant and ethical approval was obtained from the relevant UWC structures. In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted, audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded and sub-categories, categories, and themes were extracted during the data analysis process. Trustworthiness of the data collection and data analysis processes were ensured. Many of the first year nursing students described their experience in hospital as being stressful. However, the first placement in hospital allowed them to work with real patients and provided them an opportunity to develop a variety of clinical skills. Even though the hospital environment was unfamiliar and the ward staff unwelcoming, the patients’ acknowledged and valued their contribution to patient care. Students tend to seek support from family members and lecturers. It is recommended that first year nursing students be prepared adequately for their first placement in hospital as well as to provide practical and emotional support to students during their hospital placement