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University of the Incarnate Word Dissertation Defense Collection

Dissertation Defenses from UIW Doctoral Students That Attended and Graduated from 2001-2012

Dissertation Defense An Investigation of Academic Integrity in Jordanian Universities By

Ala Alahmad Dissertation Chair: Dr. Noah Kasraie Location: Library, Special Collections Room This study aimed to describe current practices employed by public and private four-year universities in Jordan in promoting academic integrity and addressing academic dishonesty. This quantitative research provided a framework for the current practices that promote academic integrity in higher education in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. The survey questionnaire developed by Kibler (1992) was utilized to collect data to answer the research questions. This instrument was tested for reliability and validity by Kibler (See Appendix C). In addition, the Cronbach's Alpha was utilized later to check for reliability. The Cronbach's Alpha for the data collected was 0.85. The items included in the questionnaire were constructed to ensure that each item could be measured by using specific criteria. The survey was distributed to 242 ( N ) participants. Sixty (60) participants completed the survey, which represented a response rate of 25%. In order to analyze the descriptive profile of the 60 participants, all deans and associate deans, a frequency distribution was determined for types of institution, public, and private. Of the participants, 21 were serving in four-year private colleges, while 39 were serving in fouryear public colleges. The data collected from the deans and associate deans indicated that not all of their institutions have policies that promote academic integrity and address academic dishonesty. In addition, the data received indicated that the mean number of cases of academic dishonesty of the universities that offered educational programs and training were statistically significantly different from universities that did not offer educational programs and training.

Dissertation Defense Internationalizing Courses: A Case Study of Community College Faculty By Alba De Leon Dissertation Co-Chairs: Drs. Patricia Watkins & Richard Gray March 27, 2007 Library, Special Collection Room 10:00 am - noon “While community colleges are historically focused on serving their local communities, the local community has become increasingly global, as community businesses expand overseas, immigration flows increase the ethnic diversity of towns, and worker mobility is an expected reality” (Green & Siaya, 2005, p. 1). Institutions of higher education in the United States recognize the need to internationalize their campuses, and faculty are encouraged to internationalize their courses to prepare students to serve as global citizens. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to faculty commitment to internationalization and the approaches faculty take to internationalize their courses at a community college. This qualitative study was based on interviews with key faculty members who were actively engaged in the process of internationalization on a south Texas community college campus and in their classrooms. Themes that emerged in an analysis of the resulting data are presented and related to the research questions and professional literature. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations made to practitioners, college administrators and future researchers.

Dissertation Defense Applying Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide for Understanding the Vision of Benedictine Education In the Philippines By

Alejandro J. De Jesus Dissertation Chair: Dr. Richard Gray Location: Library, Special Collections Room This study adds to the sparse literature on the use of classical Grounded Theory Model, originally discovered by Barney G. Glaser and Anselm Strauss, but later espoused exclusively by Glaser. The method was applied as described and detailed by Glaser in his numerous publications after his break with Strauss. To show the method's characteristics and unique features, the researcher applied it to draw out and understand the vision of Benedictine education in the Philippines for the twenty-first century. Data for the study was purposely selected. The first source of data consisted of semi-structured interviews with selected experts: the two superiors of the male and female branches of the Benedictine Order in the Philippines and the two presidents of the respective communities' prime educational institutions. The second source of data, which also served to corroborate the findings of the first source of data, consisted of the vision and mission statements of the religious communities and the schools concerned. The study followed the four different phases of doing grounded theory, namely: (a) open coding, (b) theoretical coding, (c) selective coding with sorting of memos, and (d) writing up of theory. Open coding consisted of the application of the constant comparison method in the first level. Theoretical coding, the next higher level of conceptualization, involved the integration of categories and their properties. The next phase necessitated a third level of conceptualization, that is, selective coding with the use of the core variable as guide as well as the sorting out of memos for conceptual frameworks. The fourth and final phase concerns the writing up of the theory. In all these, there is an insistence on the generation of theory from the data and allowing the theory to emerge and not forced upon the data. Rooting in Community , the core category that emerged from the data, indicates the basic social process by which the experts and the documents create and sustain a vision for the kind of education that is essentially Benedictine in orientation, Christian in principle and Filipino in character. The theory presented fundamentally revolves around this core category, and how this category impacts the themes that were drawn from the sorting process. With Rooting in Community as the central theme or variable, six major categories or themes appeared, and these explain the theory about the vision of Benedictine education in the Philippines in detail. These major themes describe and clarify what visioning entails, what the vision implies and what it requires of the institutions and its agents as they relate to Church, society and the world. These six major themes or categories are the following: (a) Empowering the Vision Agents; (b) Contextualizing the Response; (c) Re-Imaging, the Benedictine Way; (d) Founding and Fortifying the Community; (e) Upholding the Catholic Character; and (f) Claiming the Future. Each major theme carries with it related processes and sub-processes that deepen the meaning of the theme and its implications for theory building.

The research has shown that the classic Grounded Theory Model not only proved to be methodically useful in reflecting on such a complicated topic as the school vision but likewise

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Dissertation Defense Logistical Barriers Faced By Women On Parole: A Critical Ethnography By

Alison Frances Whittemore Dissertation Chair: Dr. Roger Barnes Location: Library, Special Collections Room This qualitative study explores the logistical barriers faced by women on parole as they attempt to comply with the requirements placed on them by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Nine women on parole were interviewed for this study. In addition, the researcher discussed parole barriers with the director of the area parole office and three parole officers who worked in that office. The research methodology used in this study was Critical Ethnography, with Critical Criminology being the focus of the analysis. This study includes a literature review of incarceration and parole in the United States and Texas. Several recurring themes pertaining to logistical barriers were identified as a result of the interviews. These were: (a) inefficient scheduling of parole mandates, (b) transportation, (c) association, (d) housing, and (e) employment and economic issues. These themes were discussed in depth. Other themes came to light as part of the research, but these barriers were in the area of policy and procedures of the parole system, and this research focused on the details of the basic physical organization of parole requirements. The study concludes with recommendations for changes that might reduce or eliminate these barriers to a successful completion of parole.

Dissertation Defense An Inquiry In Caring: Valuing Secondary Students' Perspectives By

Alycia Dawn Maurer Dissertation Chair: Dr. Dorothy Ettling Location: Library, Special Collections Room The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to examine how secondary students perceive their caring relations within a unique magnet school. This study explored how students perceived the practice of the ethic of care and what interactions they deemed to be caring. This study also considered the role of teachers, administration and students and how they let others know they care about them, as well as how the organizational culture of the school also played an important role in the students' perception of a caring educational environment. The data from this investigation includes rich descriptions and examples of how the student participants experience care. This study considered school cultural contributions to the practice of the ethic of care. The roles of teachers and administrators were included in guiding and facilitating caring practice. Lastly, this investigation explored how students saw themselves as participants and providers of care. Major themes include: (a) respect, (b) help, (c) effective teaching, and (d) school community. Recommendations for practice include providing awareness that students deem caring to be an important aspect of teaching and learning. Effective policy should be considered that would maximize the opportunities for the establishment of caring relationships. School size and the establishment of community were important to the caring organizational culture for the students in this study. Policy makers should consider these aspects as they work to improve student achievement and the quality of secondary schools.

Dissertation Defense Reflections of African American CEOs of Community Colleges: Racial Identity And Educational Experiences In Segregated And Integrated Schools By

Angela McPherson Williams Dissertation Chair: Dr. Dorothy Ettling Location: Library, Special Collections Room The intent of this qualitative study is to analyze the experiences of 26 African American Chief Executive Officers of community colleges in the United States. Through historical study and the subjects' own words, the study paints a vivid portrait of racism, personal struggle and ultimate triumph of both the CEOs, and African Americans collectively. Principal topics include Supreme Court decisions based on racial issues, the influences of Black leaders such as Booker T. Washington and W. E. B Du Bois, and the CEOs' experiences while attending integrated and segregated schools. Other crucial areas discussed are the impact of the Civil Rights Movement, and the use of Critical Race Theory as a research methodology. William Cross' Theory of Nigrescence contributes to further analysis of the issues by the application of Cross' theory to the CEOs' experiences of racial identity. Based on data collected through questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and personal artifacts, seven themes emerged. These themes indicate that the participants' personal and professional achievement was due to perseverance, preparedness, strong support systems, connection to family and the recognition of the need to "reclaim one's cultural center" by acknowledging ancestors, ethnicity, and uniqueness. The study leads us to conclude that both segregation and integration were key influences that provided many strong, positive and negative life experiences for the CEOs. Yet, the blending of those experiences served as a catalyst that sparked their aspirations, motivation, and ultimately, the fulfillment of their academic and professional success.

Dissertation Defense The Transition of Visual Arts Education In The United States Into The Twenty-First Century, And The Implications For This Transition From John Dewey's Philosophy of Art Experience By

Anne Goeman Jones Dissertation Chair: Dr. Michael Risku Location: Library, Special Collections Room To satisfy the demands of society, the scholar practitioner in today's complex world of education must juggle various factors that are related to one another: practice, poesis, or the creative act, culture, knowledge, and learning. These demands include the adherence to education, law, politics, economics, ethics, equity, and social dynamics. The scholar practitioner in the field of visual arts education also has the duty to validate the arts as a viable and necessary component of education, and this is done through examples of scholarly practice. The scholar practitioner as leader should be grounded in the works of John Dewey. With Dewey's conception of the scholar practitioner as a public intellectual engaged in educational practice to transform society, there is the fostering of a learning environment for educators, students, and community that is balanced with the basic needs of daily living. The scholar practitioner as visual arts educator is self reflective and aware of the personal lenses affecting practice. The National Visual Arts Standards (NVAS), as part of the federal law, Goals 2000: Educate America Act, are the legal mandate for art educators in the twenty-first century. They are guidelines for the states, not curriculum. How does the art educator work within the guidelines of the NVAS and maintain a personal philosophical validation for his/her craft? This work is a closer look at the history of art education and its future in light of the NVAS, a study of Dewey's philosophy of art experience, and an exploration of why there may be a consummatory need for Dewey's philosophy within PK-12 art education in the United States.

Dissertation Defense African American Female Persisters in Higher Education: The Lived Experience By

ARLA JOHNSON Dissertation Chair: Sr. Dorothy Ettling Friday, March 28, 2008 10:00 am Library, Special Collections Room In the American college/university system, there is an ongoing nationwide problem as it relates to African American students, their college enrollment, and subsequent matriculation. The number of African American females enrolling in college from year to year is steadily increasing, while the number of African American males enrolling in college, on a yearly basis, is decreasing. In fact, the numbers are increasing so rapidly that African American females are outpacing African American males on all threedegree levels. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of persistence of African American females, raised in Texas, as a catalyst to achieving their educational goals. The study was guided by the question: “What are the external and internal factors that contributed to the higher educational success of the African American female?” Participants were 12 African American women ranging in age from 25 – 70 years. The emerging themes from the study were categorized into three groups: the effect of peer influence, parental influence, and mentorship. Hopefully, the verbalization of the participant’s experience, the tragedy and the triumph, will help to facilitate a better understanding of African American females as a whole, and ultimately as a group of persisters who are one-by-one breaking down walls, shattering myths, and perpetuating intellectual activism throughout their communities.

Dissertation Defense Leadership Behavior As Perceived By Collegiate Golf Coaches And Players In Taiwan And The Relationship To Basic Personality Traits By

Bi-Fon Chang Dissertation Chair: Dr. William Carleton Location: Library, Special Collections Room The purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between leadership behaviors demonstrated by golf coaches and their basic personality traits, and the basic personality traits of athletes among collegiate golf teams in Taiwan. The sample population of this study included 29 golf coaches and 236 golf athletes in 29 institutions with collegiate golf teams within Taiwan. Data were collected through the use of a selfdesigned demographic information questionnaire, the revised Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire, Form XII , and the revised Emotions Profile Index . Primary findings to emerge from this study included the following: (a) golf coaches regarded the leadership behavior to be used significantly more often than did the athletes; (b) there were significant relationships between the team members' perceived leadership behavior of their coaches in Initiating Structure and the personality traits of the team members in the dimensions Dyscontrolled, Depressed, and Distrustful, respectively. In addition, there were significant relationships between the team members' perceived leadership behavior of their coaches in Consideration and the personality traits of the team members in Trustful, Timid, Distrustful, Controlled, Aggressive and Bias dimensions respectively.

Dissertation Defense Critical Thinking Skills of Faculty Teaching Medical Subjects In A Military Environment By

Carol First Hobaugh Dissertation Chair: Dr. Annette Craven Location: Library, Special Collections Room The purpose of this study was to measure the critical thinking skills of instructors assigned to the US Army Medical Department Center and School. Representing a response rate of 47%, 346 subjects completed Form 2000 of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) yielding an overall score and five sub-scores: analysis, inference, evaluation, induction, and deduction. Participants also reported demographics which included gender, ethnicity, age, rank, medical specialty (MOS or AOC), highest degree held, assignment background, deployment experience, and years of service. Descriptive statistics, t tests, and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze data. Significance at ρ