Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Education, Psychology of'

Worry and rumination are implicated in various disorders and are believed to contribute to the symptoms that create and maintain psychopathology. The current critical review will examine worry and rumination in the context of depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The review will focus on these two types of repetitive negative thinking more specifically the (a) definition, (b) process, (c) theories, and (d) maintenance of psychopathology; as well as similarities and differences between these two processes. A second emphasis will be on the importance of cultural considerations when treating individuals with emotional disorders. A third focus of the analysis will be on the rationale, overview, and literature associated with a transdiagnostic treatment named the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) . Finally, this review will conclude by highlighting futures research studies that can be implemented to improve upon the existing UP research.

Keywords: Worry, Rumination, Anxiety, Depression, GAD, PTSD, OCD, SAD, Transdiagnostic, Culture, Unified protocol for transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders.

A gap in the knowledge of literature was found in that no research had been performed examining the effect different physical learning environments have on cognitive load levels. This is important because high cognitive load levels are known to affect learning. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to examine the relationship between the overall, intrinsic, and extraneous cognitive load and the physical learning environment (online and traditional classrooms) of undergraduate college students in an Introduction to Psychology class, at a medium-sized liberal arts college. Cognitive load theory provides a framework that has been used extensively to promote learning. Cognitive load refers to the total amount of mental activity imposed onto the learner. Research noted what has not been examined is how different physical learning environments may affect cognitive load. For this study, the physical learning environment is the place where learning takes place. Three research questions sought a correlation between cognitive load levels and the physical learning environment, online or traditional classroom. The Leppink scale was used to measure cognitive load. A survey was sent, one week in December, until the minimum sample size was determined. Data were determined using a Spearman correlation. The findings indicated no significant relationship exists between Overall Cognitive Load and the physical learning environment (r _s = –0.011, p > 0.05), Intrinsic Cognitive Load and the physical learning environment (r_s = –0.082, p > 0.05), and Extraneous Cognitive Load and the physical learning environment (r_s = 0.086, p > 0.05). Recommendations for future research include looking at gender differences and testing at different times during the semester.

This investigation attempts to determine the value of outdoor adventure education for educational leaders based upon leadership qualities identified in both the Educational Leadership and Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) literature. Theoretical underpinnings of outdoor adventure education and claimed leadership outcomes resulting from OAE participation are identified and investigated. Three leadership skills identified as both OAE outcomes and constructs valuable to educational leaders (Self-efficacy, Collaboration, and Trust) are the focus of this mixed methodology study.

Research questions are proposed and addressed using mixed methodology. The anonymous online Outdoor Adventure Education Survey was developed based on previous research (Gareis & Tschannen-Moran, 2004; Rhodes & Martin, 2013; Tschannen-Moran & Barr, 2004; Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004) and with input from educational leadership and OAE experts. Qualitative measures, including participant focus groups and key informant interviews, were developed with the advice of OAE and educational leadership experts before implementation.

Volunteers at a one-day OAE ropes challenge course participated in the anonymous online Outdoor Adventure Education Survey one week after course implementation of a one-day ropes challenge course and focus group discussions occurred within one month in order to allow for reflection, a major component of Experiential Learning Theory. Facilitators and group leaders participated in individual key informant interviews at irregular intervals after implementation.

Analysis revealed that OAE impacted self-efficacy in ways that are valuable to leadership, increased participants’ collaboration, and generally increased trust among members of each group. Results varied based on the obstacles encountered and by the group participating, but were positive overall. Additional outcomes included participants’ increased awareness of the importance of open communication, including active listening, and shared decision-making while solving problems collaboratively.

This case study examines the effect of a yearlong place-based educational project on a single class of middle school students aged 11-14 at a public charter school in Santa Rosa, California. Of particular interest in this case study was the development of the concepts of belonging and place through the perceptual lens of the middle school student and through the vehicle of place-based education. This study utilizes qualitative methods including participant observation, interviews and pre and post surveys. The findings of this study suggest that the outdoor environment was very engaging for learning. Students reported that the development of a sense of place spurred from repeated visits to the nature preserve over long periods of time. These students indicated that a sense of belonging emerged to the preserve because of the stewardship aspect of the place-based educational project. Students felt a sense of stewardship toward the land after the project, and that sense of stewardship characterized a feeling of belonging. Cosmology was also a factor in understanding how these young adults came to define what it means to feel a sense of belonging to their local natural place.

Keywords: place-based education, sense of belonging, sense of place, stewardship, cosmology or new cosmology, community action, alienation or isolation, ecopsychology, biophilia hypothesis, placelessness, and constructivist curriculum-culture model.

In Education, there has been an amplified interest regarding the need for distance education practices over the course of the last century (Allen & Seaman, 2010, 2013, 2014). The purpose of the present study was to explore the attitudes and experiences of counselor educators in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited counseling programs in relation to distance education. A secondary purpose was to gather data about the implementation of distance education activities in these programs. Exploring this phenomenon provided an up to date picture of the lived experiences of counselor educators with distance education.

This research study employed a phenomenological design with a quantitative survey and qualitative follow-up interviews. The sample for the quantitative phase of the study consisted of 41 CACREP-accredited counseling programs that successfully completed the researcher-designed survey instrument. Maximum variation purposive sampling for the qualitative phase of the study identified four participants for follow-up interviews. Three themes emerged from participant interviews that described the lived experiences of counselor educators with distance education: external encouragement for implementation, adequate preparation and support for development and delivery, and evolving design for counseling programs and courses.

The results of the study indicated that implementation of distance education in counselor education programs was related to both extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors. Factors such as institutional encouragement, incentives, student needs, adequate support services for distance education, competitive program marketability, and university-level teaching experience, were identified as influencing distance education adoption in counselor education programs.

The results of the study provided information helpful to counselor educators and university administrators planning to implement distance education in counselor education programs. In order for counselor education programs to serve a larger population and remain competitive, they may need to consider incorporating distance education activities within their curriculum. Counselor education preparation programs may need to further infuse instructional components in their curriculums that prepare graduates with the skill and knowledge necessary to implement distance education. A wide range of support services need to be available to assist faculty that want to develop and implement distance education activities. It is recommended that counselor education programs first use a hybrid model in knowledge base courses and transition to making available full distance education courses that include skilled based coursework.

Stress overload is the destructive form of stress when the demands of stressors outweigh the resources one has to counter these stressors. Previous research has shown it to predict illness, poor grades, and the use of maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., avoidance). This study examines the direct and indirect effects (by way of coping strategies) of stress overload on academic performance in a sample of 1,039 freshman. It was hypothesized that stress overload would be related to poor academic performance, as measured by GPA and enrollment status. Findings from hierarchical regression analyses showed stress overload and avoidance coping were related to poor academic performance. Contrary to the hypotheses, however, coping strategies did not mediate the relationship between stress overload and academic performance: instead, tests suggested that stress overload mediates the relationship between avoidance and performance. That is, stress overload may be an aftereffect of maladaptive coping strategies, in this case avoidance, and thereby has the more proximal effect on students’ academic performance. The implications of these findings for university retention efforts, and limitations of the study, are discussed.

Cyber bullying; the act of hurting someone with the use of advanced technology, has become a significant problem in educational institutions around the world. While schools have policies in place related to on-site bullying, they have yet to develop policies related to cyber bullying. Administrators found assessing educator responses to student concerns difficult. However, the proposed hermeneutic phenomenological study is to discover how educators in the secondary school experience managing cyber bullying. Specifically, the purpose is to explore the perceptions of secondary educators’ experience from the direct experiences related to them by their students. The goal of this hermeneutic phenomenological study is to explore the phenomenon of cyber bullying and its perceived management by educators who have dealt with students’ ages 12–17 years old. The overarching research question that this qualitative study will evaluate is: how do educators experience managing cyber bullying? The use of Vygotsky’s (1986) sociocultural learning theory along with Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs may give a focused perspective at the problem and possible solutions. Securing a safe environment for students assists parents of school-aged children who have been cyberbullied. With the impact of social networking, the home has become a high priority where safety is now threatened. The findings of this study may initiate a closing of gap to understand how policies may assist in cyberbullying issues.

Research has shown that the autonomy supportive motivating style benefits students, yet the controlling motivating style, which has detrimental effects on students, remains prevalent in K-12 classrooms. Few studies have explored determinants of teachers’ motivating styles. Furthermore, research on the basic psychological needs satisfaction of teachers and teacher demographic factors as determinants of teachers’ motivating styles is scarce. A better understanding of which psychological needs variables might predict teachers’ motivating styles for particular demographic groups of teachers might allow school leaders to better meet the needs of teachers in order to ultimately enhance the self-determination of K-12 students. A Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a positive, strong correlation that was statistically significant between years of teaching experience and teachers self-reported motivating styles. A linear regression analysis revealed that satisfaction of the basic psychological need for relatedness explained 32.4% of the variance in motivating styles scores for teachers with 1–5 years of experience. Additionally, a linear regression analysis revealed that satisfaction of the basic psychological need for relatedness explained 20.6% of the variance in motivating styles scores for teachers with 1–10 years of experience. Finally, a linear regression analysis revealed that satisfaction of the basic psychological need for competence explained 20.7% of the variance in motivating styles scores for teachers with at least 11 years of experience.

The low graduation rate of degree-seeking students at public community colleges is an important crisis facing communities across the United States. College satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions in students have been identified as key factors in college persistence by researchers. However, a review of the literature revealed no study in which a college-persistence intervention based on the personalization principle theory or using tailored messages has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a college-persistence intervention, based on the personalization principle theory and Mashburn's theory, for students at a community college. This study used between-groups experimental research design and employed a nonprobability convenience sample comprising 108 college students at a regionally accredited public community college in the United States. Random assignment to 1 of 3 groups, including 2 experimental groups and 1 no-message control group, was conducted. The 2 experimental groups were the personalization-based tailored instructional messages and generalized instructional messages groups. A one-way MANOVA indicated that there was no significant difference in the college satisfaction and withdrawal cognitions of students in the experimental and control groups. A chi-square test of independence also indicated that there was no significant association between intervention type (personalization-based tailored instructional message, generalized instructional message, and no-message control) and college persistence. This study provides educators with a basis for social change with the debut of a prototype intervention that may be replicated and extended in future research to help students earn a college degree.