This study was a cross-case comparison analysis of paired case studies of instructors and students in five first-year online college composition courses at a community college. The purpose of the study was to learn about "community" in these courses and the effects of community on the students' writing. Specifically, the study documented and discussed the instructors' beliefs, perspectives, policies, and practices concerning community in their online writing classes; the study also document...
David Ray Golden.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Pagnucci, Gian S. Committee members: Nicholas Mauriello; Michael Williamson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

A significant issue in gifted education is the possible need for mandatory pre-service programs or certifications for educators who work with students who are gifted and talented. It was the primary purpose of this dissertation study to examine the perceptions of three groups of participants (pre-service educators, in-service educators in regular classroom environments, and in-service educators in classrooms for gifted students) to discern if misconceptions exist among the groups about the b...
Stacie Hoffer Nowikowski.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Jalongo, Mary Renck Committee members: James Hooks; Kelli Paquette; Monte Tidwell.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

The purpose of this study was to explore user satisfaction of library services at 13 academic libraries in Pennsylvania. Using a mixed-methods approach, the researcher studied the results of a 27 question web-based survey known as LibQUAL+™ in this investigation. The survey contained three sub categories: Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as Place. Participants included faculty, staff, and students from 13 Pennsylvania colleges, and responses were analyzed by gender, age, a...
Basil D Martin II.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Millward, Robert E. Committee members: George Bieger; Sue Rieg.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

U.S. higher education institutions are enrolling increasing numbers of long-term immigrant students, who belong to Generation 1.5. Essentially beginning college while still in the process of learning English, these students often struggle in higher education, and they present new challenges to college writing instructors. This study explored the literacy and language development experiences of thirteen Generation 1.5 Hmong women in a California university. Because of the complexity and m...
Kimberli A Huster.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Tannacito, Dan J. Committee members: Sharon Deckert; Lisya Seloni.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore practicing middle school teachers' perspectives on their decision to incorporate controversial young adult literature into their classrooms. The teachers described how their decision affected the curriculum and how the integration of this literature into the curriculum changed or influenced the culture of their middle school classroom. Even if some teachers consider controversial young adult novels as assets to their curriculum t...
Bethany L Fenyus.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Creany, Anne Committee members: Valeri Helterbran; Mary Jalongo.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

For school transformation and meaningful reform to occur, school districts must not only determine what changes are required but must plan and implement an intentional, well-designed transition process to help deal with the societal, organizational, and interpersonal barriers affecting schools (Link, 2000). The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant difference when using the 2009, Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) results in academic perf...
Kathy L Perry.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Marcoline, Joseph Committee members: David Piper; Sue Rieg.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

The Counseling Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania installed a technology enhanced counselor training and clinical observation system (the Landro Play Analyzer system). The system was designed to replace their traditional video tape and one-way window observation systems used for counselor training and clinical supervision. Howard Gardner's work with multiple intelligences is used as a theoretical framework in this study in helping to understand how the Landro Play Analyzer h...
Lloyd Clark Onyett.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Kaufman, Cathy Committee members: Lynanne Black; Monte Tidwell.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

This study identifies third- through eighth-grade teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of web-based reading programs on students' literacy achievement. The study seeks to elaborate on minimal existing research regarding the outcome of web-based learning. Specifically, the study examines teachers' perceptions of the programs' impact on students' literacy achievement, students' attitudes and motivation toward literacy acquisition, and the ability of the programs to offer opportunities f...
Stephanie L Ivory.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Corbett, Frank, Jr. Committee members: Kelly Heider; Richard Nowell; Kelli Paquette.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

This empirical study explores the non-academic or out -of-school literacy and literacies practices of 10 undergraduate women of African descent, ages 18-24, to help better understand how they view themselves as literate beings in the 21st century. Through the lens of Afrafeminist ideology, studies related to power, language and identity, women's literacy, and Black women's literacy, this study examines how these women use literacy as a social practice in their everyday lives to make meaning ...
Lou Ethel Roliston.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Rafoth, Bennett A. Committee members: Nancy Hayward; Elaine Richardson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

New members of an academic discipline often look to leaders of the field to help them determine possible routes for achieving success in that field. Composition-rhetoric developed as a field partly through forging numerous connections to other disciplines, thus leaving the field particularly capacious and, therefore, including more possible routes for a scholar to find her own professional success within the field. In this study, I present profiles of five leaders in composition-rhetoric: Don...
Kelli Lynn Custer.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Hurlbert, Claude Mark Committee members: David Downing; David Hanauer.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2010.
English

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore and understand how the dominant ideological effect of capitalism has influenced the development of one local ten-year plan to end homelessness in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Ten-year plans to end homelessness were instituted through a national initiative launched by the Bush Administration in 2003. The Allegheny County Homeless Alliance Advisory Board (HAAB) was studied because they were the appointed group held responsible for the impleme...
Diane S McMahon.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Holtz, Harvey S. Committee members: Melanie Hildebrandt; Thomas VanDyke.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

The present study is a narrative inquiry into the experience of 9 international graduate students' critical reflection on the practices of their TESOL graduate discourse community, participation modes, and the negotiation process. This study created a space for the NNESs to reflect and articulate their own inquiries about the discourse and their socialization process in The TESOL field. This study also describes the multitude of obstacles NNES ESL teachers overcome in developing the power of ...
Mai A Hassan.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Fontaine, Jeannine M. Committee members: Jean Nienkamp; Michael Williamson.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

This study explores factors (entitlement, personality, head trauma, exposure to violence) that may be correlated with a college football player engaging in criminal behavior. The purpose is to potentially identify which players are "at risk" for difficulty with team and/or societal rules that will prevent them from being successful on the sports field. A sample of 75 participants (40 football players; 35 non-athletes), consisting of males, between 18 and 25 years of age, enrolled in under...
Lauren R Swenson.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Robertson, Donald U. Committee members: Beverly Goodwin; David LaPorte.
Psy.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

Early identification and intervention for students at risk for reading failure is essential to establish the foundational skills necessary for students to become skilled readers. The focus on evidence-based practices and data-driven decision making leads educators to consider additional instructional approaches, such as formative assessment (FA) and student goal-setting (SG), as part of an intervention program to prevent reading failure. This quantitative and qualitative research study exa...
Angela B McMasters.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Black, Lynanne Committee members: Joseph Kovaleski; Timothy Runge; Mark Staszkiewicz.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

By examining the narrative fragments and narratives that circulated throughout their organization over the course of many decades, this historical case study assesses how a community of Catholic religious women, and in particular the two primary change agents, Sr. M. de Sales Farley and Sr. M. Silverius Shields, used stories about their past and constructed stories about their imagined future to sustain communal identity and lead change. David Boje's (2008) insights into the dynamics of org...
Donald G Talbot.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Kaufman, Cathy Committee members: Valeri Helterbran; Mary Jalongo.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2010.
English

Vocabulary plays an important role in the academic lives of adolescents; if students lack a mature vocabulary, their reading comprehension suffers significantly. Adolescent students also have need of instruction that is motivating and engaging. If students are not engaged in the lesson, very little learning takes place. Engaging adolescents through stimulating instruction is one of the keys to learning, and one way to hold students' attention is to incorporate visual prompts and examples. ...
Dana L Miller.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Jalongo, Mary R. Committee members: James Hooks; DeAnna Laverick.
D.Ed. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

Voices of Pedagogy, Positionality, and Power: A Narrative Inquiry of Identity and Ideology (Re)Construction of Algerian Graduate Students at American Universities chronicles the educational journeys of five Algerian graduate students attending TESOL/TESL and Applied Linguistics programs at US institutions of higher education. More particularly, it focused on (a) their past experiences in Algerian educational contexts, (b) their current experiences during their graduate studies in the US, and ...
Hayat Messekher.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Park, Gloria Committee members: Linda Norris; Lisya Seloni.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

This research dissertation critiques literary works containing women who kill and seeks to understand the power, message, and meaning of such acts of violence within the context of a larger cultural, political, and historical backdrop. Read with feminist and performance theories through a postmodern lens, the woman who kills offers a rich analysis of cultural history and gender constructions. This project juxtaposes literary accounts of women who kill, citing commonalities, but also charting ...
Gwendolyn J Heckmann.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Yang, Lingyan Committee members: David Downing; Tom Slater.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English

A conflict exists between student desire for a pragmatic education leading to gainful employment and our desire to teach them to think critically about the world. This study argues the necessity of both and concludes-through the voices of three workplace writers-that students must become avid life-long learners and researchers in order to keep pace in an age of exponential information growth. This study presents three workplace writers' self-reports in the post process era. Arguing the ...
Cynthia Ann Payne.
Publisher info.: Dissertation/Thesis.
Advisors: Bizzaro, Patrick Committee members: Resa Bizzaro; Jeannine Fontaine.
Ph.D. Indiana University of Pennsylvania 2011.
English