This study sought to explore if training significantly increased community workers' perceived level of confidence and their ability to provide services to returning military personnel in two locations. To measure community workers' perceived level of confidence, participants N = 143 (n = 63 Norfolk, VA) and (n= 80 Fayetteville, NC) responded to an instrument containing 40 items. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the study variables. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare the reliability of means between the groups from 2011 to 2012 (i.e., pre-intervention to post-intervention). A Bonferroni Correction was applied to control the familywise error rate. A one-tailed p-value for each analysis was used based on the hypothesis that the intervention produced greater agreement with each item. Means for each item and range of ratings for each item were also calculated. To examine community workers' ability to provide improved service to veterans, qualitative data from (n=81) participants were analyzed. Comments were transcribed and grouped into clusters, then the data were themed and categorized according to participants' reported change in the way they thought about themselves as community service workers. Themes related to the study of confidence for better service to veterans were included in the results. The results of the hypothesis were that overall statistically significant improvement was found for individuals who actively work with military personnel in Fayetteville, NC. Results for the Norfolk, VA site demonstrated statistically significant improvement in confidence on 7 survey questions, but statistical significance was not found overall. Overall practical significance for the community provider setting in both cities was surmised from the results. Results of the data analysis for the research question indicated participants were applying knowledge acquired to their work with reintegrating veterans and their families. The study and the resulting information can inform instructional designers, instructors, course developers, and the research community. Opportunities for future research are briefly discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-6909 |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| Creators | Slayter, LaDonna |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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