Theses and Dissertations

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/20633

This collection contains theses and dissertations from students who have completed Master of Education (M.S.Ed.), Education Specialist (Ed.S.), and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degrees in the School of Education.

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A Case Study of Student Perceptions of Online Course Design Features and Success in a Bachelor of Health Sciences Program
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2023-10) Hatfield, Jennifer; Brush, Thomas Ph.D.
Asynchronous online courses have often been a challenge regarding student success. This case study aims to examine student perceptions of course design features that are viewed as most or least helpful in three required asynchronous online courses in the Vera Z Dwyer College of Health Sciences at Indiana University South Bend. Thus, the research questions are (1) Which course design features do students identify as the most effective for supporting their learning in an online course? and (2) What aspects of an online course do students perceive as most and least beneficial to their success? To obtain information about course design features a survey was disseminated via Qualtrics to five asynchronous online courses in the College of Health Sciences. Results showed that students found elements of course organization to be the most helpful in their success.
A CASE STUDY OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF FACULTY CHAMPIONS IN THE DIFFUSION OF A TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Harper, Carla D.; Ozogul, Gamze
A university campus represents a unique social system, with hierarchical units, each unique in its purpose. An adoption of a new learning management system can send ripples of change throughout. Kee (2017) used the analogy of ripples resulting from a rock thrown in a pond of water to describe the effect of diffusing instructional technology on a university campus. Roger (2003) defines diffusion as the process where certain members of a system communicate information about an innovation overtime and through specific channels. In the case of a small midwestern university, the institution implemented an adoption of a new learning management system using a model called Faculty Academy Extenders. This model is comprised of strategically placed early adopter faculty who worked collaboratively on a small midwestern university system to provide technical and pedagogical support (through just-in-time, & peer-to-peer mentoring) on the innovation. Roger’s (2003) Theory of Diffusion was used to frame this research study, to capture the lived experiences of this group of early adopters who participated in the Faculty Academy Extenders Model. Data for this study was collected from interviews and from documentation minutes from various meetings between the Faculty Academy Extenders and the institution’s transition team: Instructional Design, Information Technology (IT) staff and the Associate Provost. Analysis of the interview data was accomplished with a multi-phase process to ensure validity and revealed the following insights. The Faculty Academy Extenders facilitated the adoption of Brightspace by leveraging their prior experience with similar technology and demonstrating the learning management system’s versatility in various modalities. Their collaborative approach, advocating for faculty needs across disciplines, also contributed to the diffusion process. This collaborative advocacy across disciplines and support from key administrative stakeholders allowed them to address concerns, dispel fears, and establish effective communication patterns that fostered an environment where general faculty felt comfortable seeking assistance from one another in utilizing the Brightspace platform.
AN ACTION RESEARCH INVESTIGATION: ENHANCING DUAL CREDIT BIOLOGY STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC LITERACY SKILLS THROUGH METACOGNITIVE READING INTERVENTIONS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-06) Harshberger, Shellie Anne; Akerson, Valarie L.
Many of the 21st century challenges are rooted in scientific issues and intricately linked to political decision-making, emphasizing the critical need for a scientifically literate public. Moreover, empirical evidence suggests a substantial deficiency in scientific literacy among the populace, especially noticeable among those with only a high school education, thus unveiling a significant gap in scientific understanding within this demographic. Furthermore, amidst widespread social media usage and heightened political polarization, concerns about the public’s susceptibility to misinformation are mounting. In response, this study implemented a mixed-methods action research approach aimed at enhancing dual credit high school students’ scientific literacy by refining their overall reading comprehension skills through metacognitive interventions. For this research endeavor, students were initially assessed using a well-established tool to gauge their baseline scientific literacy before engaging in scaffolded lessons that progressed from tertiary to primary literature. Spanning 19 class periods, equivalent to approximately 15 hours of instruction, participants were taught pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading metacognitive strategies. These approaches aimed to bolster general literacy skills, with the expectation that the improved literacy would consequently elevate scientific literacy. At the conclusion of the intervention, students underwent the same assessment as a post-test, which also featured an additional essay question prompting them to reflect on their experience with the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to evaluate the intervention’s impact. Quantitative analysis unveiled a statistically significant enhancement in students’ scientific literacy levels, as validated by a two-tailed t-test. Qualitative exploration revealed an upward trend in scientific literacy among participants over the study duration. Student feedback emphasized two prevalent themes: heightened confidence in navigating scientific literature and an increased awareness of the importance of critically assessing scientific texts for credibility. Thus, educators can bolster students’ scientific literacy by equipping them with metacognitive reading skills. The significance of this study expands beyond academic spheres, as misinformation has been identified as a significant contributor to mortality rates in the United States. Consequently, this research becomes crucial for current and future generations, as it addresses the pressing need to counter misinformation and promote scientific literacy.
AN EVALUATION OF AN ONLINE MASTERS DEGREE FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATORS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Giupponi, Luca; Brush, Thomas
The purpose of this evaluation was to determine to what extent an M.A. in Foreign Language Teaching program at a large Midwest university is aligned with online learning standards of quality and to measure the degree of satisfaction of current and past students with their experience in the program. The evaluation followed a program-oriented evaluation approach with participatory components. Steps in which stakeholder participation was most helpful for this project were in the setting of evaluative questions and the design of data collection procedures and instruments. Data collection and analysis followed a mixed-method approach. Quantitative data was collected via student and alumni surveys, while qualitative data was collected through student, alumni, and faculty interviews and focus groups. Existing course content and design also constituted a form of data which was analyzed using the Open SUNY Course Quality Review Rubric (OSCQR). Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive techniques to search for trends in the data as well as to identify those elements of the program are performing well and those who are not. Qualitative data was analyzed utilizing thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Overall, the outcomes of this evaluation are strongly and consistently positive in a large majority of the areas investigated. Specifically, the following are areas of strength for the program: its faculty team, the quality of instruction, and the impact on students’ professional career. Alongside these strengths, this program evaluation also identified a few areas where significant or pervasive issues are present: advising and onboarding, peer relationships, timeliness of feedback, accessibility, and faculty support. Based on the findings of the evaluation, the following recommendations are presented to the program’s stakeholders: revise onboarding procedures; further integrate group projects into the existing curriculum; implement a feedback commitment; conduct an accessibility review; and investigate avenues for ID support at the institution. Even though the program is already performing at an exemplary level, implementing these recommendations will address the gaps identified by this evaluation and strengthen the program’s position in the foreign language teaching field.
AN EXAMINATION OF KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF READINESS AND THEIR UTILIZATION OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT DATA TO INFORM LITERACY INSTRUCTION
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2023-12) Hamrick, Anna; Wohlwend, Karen
Though kindergarten readiness is a concept that has existed for decades, it was not specifically identified as an educational goal until the 1990s. Several years later, the government promised funding to states that would implement a kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA), prompting numerous states—including South Carolina—to add a KRA to their arsenal of assessments. However, for these government initiatives to be effective, the readiness perceptions and assessment practices of those on the frontlines must be considered. This study is a thematic analysis of South Carolina kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of readiness and their use of KRA data to inform their literacy instruction. Their perceptions of readiness are analyzed through the lenses of historical bodies (i.e., the skills students already possess) and readiness discourses. To identify teachers’ expectations for students’ historical bodies, teachers’ comments are aligned with one of four categories of skills: social-emotional, behavioral, academic, and self-help. These same comments are further aligned with one or more of three readiness discourses: maturation, skills mastery, and sociocultural. Additionally, teachers’ perceptions of South Carolina’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (SC-KRA) are explored to determine the impact of the SC-KRA on their literacy instruction. The findings clearly reveal not only the variety of perspectives teachers hold regarding students’ readiness but also a high level of frustration with the SC-KRA—particularly the amount of time it requires and the lack of educational impact. Though kindergarten teachers are the focus of this study, these findings have the potential to impact numerous stakeholders, including teachers, school principals, district officials, and state officials. Most importantly, South Carolina’s kindergarten students could benefit from improved assessment practices, thereby resulting in more personalized and effective literacy instruction.
AN ANALYSIS OF HIGHER EDUCATION FACULTY CONCERNS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A UNIVERSAL DESIGN INITIATIVE
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2022-09) McCracken, Kevin J.
This study applied the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to analyze higher education faculty concerns regarding the application of the principles of Universal Design (UD). It represents a deep analysis of faculty concerns. The CBAM model is an innovation adoption model that views adoption as a developmental process. The analysis of faculty concerns informs the design of an innovation initiative that intended to increase the use of UD principles in higher education teaching. The study relied upon faculty interviews as a primary data source. Seven faculty from the School of Education at a large midwestern university participated. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were coded using the CBAM stages as coding categories. In aggregate, the results indicate that faculty clustered in the Personal and the Management categories. In these category, faculty are unsure of the demands of applying UD and how to meet those demands as well as a lack of clarity about how to implement the principles. This suggests that they had knowledge of the principles of UD but were unsure how to apply them in course design or teaching methods. The study offers possible explanations for these results. It also provides design recommendations based upon the results. Finally, the study describes some barriers that faculty reported regarding participation in professional development events, such as workshops and online short courses.
THE APPLICATION OF CASE-BASED LEARNING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLINICAL JUDGMENT SKILLS IN UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENTS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2021-11) Wilgenbusch, Beverly; Glazewski, Krista; Brush, Thomas; Hickey, Daniel
One of the key attributes of professional nurses is the skill of clinical judgment. In recent years, there has been significant attention paid to new nurse’s readiness for practice and their ability to reason through unique clinical situations. This attention is driven by issues of safety and the increased complexity when providing nursing care. While clinical judgment skills are a key component of nursing practice, they have proven to be difficult to develop and assess. Because of this difficulty, educators have engaged in a variety of instructional approaches and assessment strategies to better understand how clinical judgment is taught and captured. To both facilitate and assess clinical judgment, instructional and assessment strategies like case-based learning (CBL) and the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) have been considered in different contexts, but not together. These approaches have been supported through various studies but have not been studied in tandem for impact or student interest. A descriptive study was conducted to appreciate the impact of an abbreviated CBL intervention on clinical judgment competencies, as well as to better understand how participants perceive CBL as an instructional strategy. Quantitative data collection instruments included a pretest and posttest, the modified LCJR data, and responses to Likert-style items on a questionnaire. Qualitative data was collected through open-ended items on the questionnaire. The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest, suggesting that CBL strategies can positively impact knowledge and clinical judgment skills. The modified LCJR data did not show a statistically significant overall difference between cases. However, considering the brevity of the intervention, this was not entirely surprising. It was interesting to note that the LCJR can be modified and applied to CBL strategies, with the ability to provide quantitative data to the abstract concept of clinical judgment. Participants overwhelmingly found the CBL experience enjoyable and valuable to their learning experiences.
Assessing Institutional Efforts to Culturally Integrate International Undergraduate Students
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2017-08) Guan, Jian Ken; Borden, Victor
The purpose of this research is to find evidence regarding the success of efforts higher education institutions have made to integrate international students generally, and specifically those efforts that foster engagement with domestic students. Institutions were selected for review based on a value-added regression analysis on higher education institutions’ average level of perceived campus support among international undergraduate students using as predictors exogenous factors beyond the institution’s direct control. A set of 12 outlier institutions (six negative and six positive), were identified based on the difference between predicted and actual values of the Supporting Campus Environment indicator from the National Survey for Student Engagement. A blind assessment of campus web pages was then conducted to assess the robustness of international student support programs. A stronger association was discovered between the value-added measure (regression residual) and the web scan ratings (r = .35) than between the predicted level of perceived support and the web scan ratings (r = -.11). This analysis demonstrates that the value-added approach for assessing institutional effectiveness provides a somewhat valid measure of effectiveness, although there was sufficient divergence between the value-added measure, and the qualitative assessment of international student services to warrant further research and careful consideration of using this method to assess institutional effectiveness.
AVOIDING STAGNATION OF WORLD LANGUAGE TEACHER L2 PROFICIENCY AND TARGET CULTURE AWARENESS THROUGH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE RIGHT TIME, SPACE, AND PLACE
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-05) Buzzard, Taylor; Wohlwend, Karen
This study investigates the current perspectives and practices of professional development for world language teachers. The skills needed to become a licensed world language teacher in the United States are well-researched and outlined by national and regional standards set both by universities and national organizations concerned with language teaching such as the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The current literature sets the standard for students to achieve an advanced level of proficiency and a breadth of cultural understanding as demonstrated through advanced study in the target language at the university level and proficiency testing. However, the current literature falls short of such depth in describing what it is that world language teachers should do once they have entered into the teaching profession in order to maintain their linguistic skills as well as their knowledge of the cultures where the target language is spoken. This study investigates what practices world language teachers and other language education stakeholders can implement to provide world language teachers with opportunities to continually improve their linguistic skills in the target language and their cultural knowledge. Without access to professional development that addresses these needs, world language teacher experience feelings of becoming less proficient or fluent in their target language and consequentially less effective in teaching, communicating, and interacting in the target language. Personal reflections about my experience in a 2-week study abroad experience in France were written to analyze what practices occurred during the trip that allowed me the time, space, and place to improve my linguistic and cultural knowledge. Through nexus analysis, which is concerned with the interconnectedness of learned social expectations, social interactions, and the unspoken rules of belonging and participating in a particular context, I analyze specific moments and interactions during my experience to open a wider discussion on the types of learning and interactions that world language teachers need to grow their knowledge and skills which are imperative for effectively teaching in the world language classroom and how such practices can be implemented on regularly basis for professional development.
BECOMING FRENCH: EXPLORING THE STORIES OF AN ALGERIAN IMMIGRANT STUDENT’S EXPERIENCES IN FRANCE
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2022-12) Metzger, Janette; Hines, Mary Beth
In France, dominant discourse officially rejects multiculturalism and frames adherence to laïcité (French secularism) as a question of national identity (Bertossi, 2012, p. 251). This has created a harsh environment for an immigrant woman wearing a head veil in public. This study used narrative inquiry to examine how Imane, a 17-year-old Muslim Algerian immigrant to France used her transnationality and cultural flexibility to construct her identities, present them to those around her, and position herself in relation to them. The research is informed by the perspective that Imane, as an immigrant student, has transnational literacies that are the result of maintaining ties with Algeria while living in France and regularly moving between multiple cultures and languages. She lives in an emerging social context and has constructed multiple, contextualized identities connected to her membership in more than one culture and social group (Yi, 2009, pp. 101-102). The data for this study are the talk and small stories that have been extracted from audiorecorded group discussions and tutoring sessions, personal interviews, and student work that were collected from Imane during her participation in an English study group. Using a five-step small story narrative analysis procedure, this project explores how Imane makes sense of her life, navigates her multiple, intersectional identities, and positions herself in relation to the world and society’s discourses (Alexander, 2016, p. 8). Findings suggest that Imane seemed to be highly concerned about both her personal experiences and current events that were related to publicly wearing a veil in France. She often interpreted her negative experiences as an outward expression of current French discourse which frequently links Muslim immigrants with terrorism. While Imane’s choices about wearing her veil impacted her educational experiences and her relationships with her teachers, her transnationality helped her to re-define French cultural values and her understanding of what it means to be French. It also seemed to give her a point of reference for examining what she was being taught in, empowering her to form her own opinions, and enabling her to take critical stance and create a counter-narrative to the public immigrant narrative in France.
BREAKING THROUGH BORDERS: RECONCEPTUALIZING LANGUAGE AND LITERACY PEDAGOGY FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2021-12) Robison-Koehler, Michelle; Samuelson, Beth
As the linguistic and cultural diversity of the classroom continues to evolve, English learners (ELs) are not able to meet the academic expectations within the current American educational system, which leads to ELs’ over-enrollment in remedial courses, over-representation of low scores on standardized tests, and disproportionate high school drop-out rates (United States Department of Planning, 2016). Sociocultural theory of language and learning development states, learning is situated within the communities and social interactions individuals mediate which develop a knowledge bank known as funds of knowledge (Moll et al., 1992; Street, 2015; Vygotsky, 1978). The theoretical framework of this practitioner research project drew upon ELs’ funds of knowledge and culturally relevant pedagogy to ground transformative critical literacy instruction within the secondary setting. Data included sources relevant to evaluating current academic and literacy expectations within the academic setting, classroom literacy practices through observations and interviews, student interviews, student artifacts, field notes, practitioner reflection, member checking, and critical migration memoirs. Data consisted of thematic coding to break down core themes related to students' academic funds of knowledge obtained outside of the classroom, relevant for learning in the academic setting. Through the evaluation of ELs’ funds of knowledge and literacy practices, within and beyond the boundaries of the classroom, ELs can negotiate spaces to gain access and eliminate borders.
BROKEN COLLEGE PROMISES: AN EXPLORATION OF TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SCHOLARS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP LOSS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2024-10) Risk, Jessica Michelle Esch; Laird, Thomas F. Nelson
As public concerns have grown over issues of college affordability, the student debt crisis, racial and educational justice, and large disparities between college outcomes for low-income and racially minoritized groups, hundreds of college promise programs (CPPs) have emerged at the local and state levels over the last twenty years to address college affordability and educational disparities. While CPP research aims to address the structural inequities that are situated within disadvantaged communities, evaluations of CPP program designs often do not explore how these scholarship designs and renewal requirements may be mismatched to the populations they target, thus creating sub-optimal outcomes for their programs. This dissertation uses a critical qualitative inquiry approach to explore students’ experiences within an early-awareness state-based college promise program, Indiana’s Twenty-First Century Scholars (TFCS) program, which promises its recipients up to four years of full tuition scholarship at any Indiana public college or university. Using interview data from sixteen TFCS students at Indiana University’s regional campuses who lost the 21st Century Scholarship (21C) before college graduation, this study explored themes related to these TFCS students understanding and experiences with the scholarship renewal requirements (30 credit hour requirement, Standard Academic Progress (SAP), the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Annual Means Requirement). It also explored what personal, circumstantial, institutional and societal factors contributed to these students with meeting the 21C renewal requirements, and their experiences and decisions related to college after losing the 21C scholarship. This study found that students had a very limited understanding of the scholarship requirements and thus felt betrayed when they discovered they had lost their scholarships. Additionally, this study found that students identified a variety of challenges that contributed to their struggles with meeting the scholarship’s rigorous requirements, including academic challenges, mental health challenges, family issues, basic needs insecurities, issues with campus support staff, and full-time employment. Finally, this study found that scholarship loss had a disproportionate effect on poor and working-class TFCS students and their choices related to college, both in deciding whether to stay in college the semester immediately after scholarship loss and in their overall college timeline.
BUILDING PRE-SERVICE TEACHER AWARENESS OF ENGLISH LEARNERS THROUGH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2023-12) Reinhardt, Katrina Marie; Wohlwend, Karen
Ten percent of all public-school children in the United States are considered English Learners (ELs) (NCES, 2020). Yet pre-service teachers receive little, if any, training to work with this population during their teacher preparation programs (Harklau & Ford, 2022; Leider et al., 2021; Lopez & Santibanez, 2018; Education Commission of the States, 2014). To address the lack of training in teacher preparation, this practitioner inquiry examines pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to serve ELs in the secondary education content-area classroom and how these perceptions can inform the practice of teacher educators. In phase I of the study, pre-service teachers acted as both participants and researchers as they completed a short-term field experience in a beginning level EL classroom and corresponding participatory action research project that was embedded into their teacher preparation coursework. They analyzed course artifacts and identified themes that described their perceptions of the knowledge, skills, and mindsets needed to serve ELs. In phase 2 of the study, the researcher used thematic analysis to analyze the findings of participants’ project in addition to other data sources collected throughout the experience. Overall, eleven key themes emerged that highlight the impact of using participatory action research and short-term field experiences in teacher preparation to serve ELs.
CASE STUDIES: PERCEIVED INFLUENCES ON SUPERINTENDENTS IN SHARING RACIALLY DISAGGREGATED DATA WITH SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2021-03) Dollaske, Sheila; Lubienski, Christopher
Superintendents of school districts are faced with the decision to share or not share racially disaggregated student data with school board members. As part of these decisions, superintendents and school boards must both navigate organizational and political contexts, as well as perceived pressures. These pressures come from a variety of stakeholders, including special interest groups, families, staff, and community members. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine what pressures and power relations superintendents perceive and consider when determining whether to share racially disaggregated data with school board members. The research conducted utilizes case studies that include a series of interviews with superintendents from similarly situated districts and an analysis of documentation from school board meetings. Student graduation data and standardized test data were also examined. The superintendents in this study used their power and influence to manage their power relations with their school board members, to determine which data the school board would see and discuss, and to respond to pressures from stakeholders. Despite this agreement, the superintendents had varying strategies for how they used their power and influence to manage power relations with school board members, including whether or not they shared racially disaggregated data with their school board members. This division reflects the tension that exists in both practice and the literature around the decision to use and share racially disaggregated data.
A CASE STUDY OF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS IN AN URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2020-05) Barber, Roberta Salmirs; Leftwich, Anne
The purpose of this study was to explore the communication information, methods, and effectiveness between school administrators and teachers at a single middle school. Understanding communication is vitally important because every function taken by school administrators or teachers involves some form of direct or indirect communication. This researched focused on the following three questions: (1) What is communicated by school administrators?, (2) How is information communicated by the school administrators?, and (3) What do teachers and school administrators perceive as effective or not effective? A descriptive case study was done to understand how a single school manages their internal communication and how effective both teachers and administrators believe it to be. The research methods included interviews with the principal and an assistant principal and a survey of the teachers. The four emerging themes included the principal’s reliance on his video newsletter, teacher separation within the building, the use of email, and the lack of formal feedback. This context was important to present because it helped contextualize what issues the school faced, how this influenced the communication plan, and what was valued by the staff. Recommendations include creating a communication plan, creating a specific crisis communication plan, formalizing a feedback mechanism, and recognition of teachers as partners in educations.
Centering Student Artwork As Sites of Engagement, Possibility, and Hope: Exploring Social Justice Art with Adolescents
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2023-05) Warmerdam, Tara Cambria; Hines, Mary Beth Ph.D.
In an era of scripted curriculum and strict accountability, this research study examines how a social-justice, arts-based program encourages students to explore current social issues, with a sense of hope and possibility moving toward empowerment for both students and teachers. As this study focuses on how students engage in activism and explore social justice topics, the theoretical framework undergirding this research includes social justice pedagogies (Greene, 1995, 1997; hooks, 1994, 2013; Dewhurst, 2011, 2014), multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996; Cope and Kalantzis, 2009), multimodal theories (Kress, 2010; Jewitt, 2008; Harste, 2010), and public pedagogies (Biesta, 2012, 2014; Malley, Sandlin, and Burdick, 2020; Charman and Dixon, 2021). This study employs an intrinsic case study design, embedded within sociocultural theory at the macro-level, utilizing thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and mediated discourse theory (Scollon and Scollon, 2003; Wohlwend, 2020) in the analysis of visual media and artwork. This approach also allows for a broader macro analysis that places literacy events within specific situated and cultural contexts as well as a micro-level analysis of artifacts and interactions with material objects. Data collected includes classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and photos and videos of student artwork and performances. Central to the data in this study are the student artifacts, as the focus of learning and engagement both in classroom and in public spaces. The themes shared in the findings include the significance of narrative in generating artwork, creating conditions that support student engagement, hope and empathy as intentional points of reference, mobilizing of silenced voices, disrupting communal spaces through semiotic resources, and raising critical consciousness for all participants. Implications for this study include utilizing public spaces as sites of learning and meaningful transactions, leveraging semiotic resources as part of social justice commitments, and recognizing student artifacts as bridges and sites of possibility.
CHALLENGING THE NORM: A LITERACY SPECIALIST’S APPROACH TOWARDS DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE LITERACY INTERVENTION
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2023-05) Larson, Kaitlin T.; Wohlwend, Karen Ph.D
Early literacy intervention teaching spaces largely consist of approaching literacy learning and development as a linear, cognitive driven process constrained by standardized, pre-prescribed curricula and a focus on quantitative data collection through standardized testing (Purcell-Gates et al., 2004). Further, Bean and Goatley (2021) have drawn attention to the fact that current strategies implemented by literacy specialists have not seemed to produce the desired results of remediating and preventing student literacy failure, and that there must be continued efforts to improve early student literacy learning. For early childhood children, including those in literacy intervention instructional spaces, the framework of developmentally appropriate practice provides an alternative pathway for moving away from a constricted model of literacy. Instead, taking up a developmentally appropriate approach to literacy can remind literacy educators that ‘best practice’ for early childhood children is the ability to balance both children’s unique abilities and interests flexibly within a required curriculum. This practitioner inquiry dissertation sought to challenge the current prescriptivism of literacy intervention instructional spaces by implementing developmentally appropriate teaching practices alongside a scripted literacy intervention curriculum with a small group of first grade students. Exploring the overarching research question, “How do I, as a literacy specialist, incorporate developmentally appropriate teaching practices with a research-based literacy intervention program?”, findings suggest that developmentally appropriate teaching practices can indeed be implemented along with a research-based curriculum when literacy educators work to negotiate prescribed curricular practices and expand their lens of effective literacy instructional practices. Findings also found that incorporating developmentally appropriate teaching practices expands literacy educator’s instructional toolbelts and allows for joyful student learning opportunities and deep engagement. As a result, literacy practitioners, like school literacy specialists, have the opportunity to be better positioned to provide more equitable forms of literacy instruction for school’s youngest marginalized learners, such as those labeled as ‘struggling readers’.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACADEMIC SCHOOLS AT AN INSTITUTION USING A RESPONSIBILITY CENTERED MANAGEMENT BUDGET
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2016-05) Woodring, Robert J.; Borden, Victor M.H.
Drastic shifts in the funding of American higher education over the last three decades have forced many public colleges and universities to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to meet their financial bottom line. Increasingly, public colleges and universities are adopting Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) budget models because they encourage educationally sound choices, efficiency, and entrepreneurial behavior. Despite a growing body of research on the efficacy of RCM models at the institution level little is known about their impact on the academic schools within the institution. Guided by Clark’s (1998) research on entrepreneurial behavior in higher education, an embedded case study design was used to test the extent to which entrepreneurial behavior exists within three academic schools at an institution using an RCM budget model and to identify the characteristics of this behavior. From this study three main findings were identified. First, entrepreneurial schools understand and leverage the inherent incentives in their institutions RCM model. Second, entrepreneurial schools recognize and capitalize on the environment within and around the university. Third, entrepreneurial schools are committed to increasing their research performance. From these emerged an additional finding that the external environment, and how a school perceives the challenges and opportunities present in this environment, impacts the strategic responses of each school. The presentation of findings leads to recommendations for practice at academic schools within an RCM environment.
CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICERS ORGANIZATIONAL LEGITIMACY AND THEIR INCORPORATION INTO THE STRUCTURE OF PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS
(2020-12) Bottoms, Megan J.; Nelson Laird, Thomas F
Colleges and universities have often been seen as a social catalyst for diversity, equity, and inclusion. The shootings of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, and deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor, gave rise to a national awakening of social justice. Colleges and universities have not been immune to the challenge of reconciling social and racial justice on their own campuses. Demands to address the diversity of student populations, lack of faculty and staff of color, and the absence of minority voices in the curriculum, among other things, have commanded colleges and universities to respond. One widespread response has been the incorporation of a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) into the institutions organizational structure. Banerji (2005) and Leon (2014) defined the CDO as an executive-level position of who addresses, guides, and advocates for diversity initiatives within the institution, constituent groups, and curriculum. These executive-level decision-makers are intended to not only be a response to the outcry from unrepresented populations for more representation, but it is expected these positions will make real and lasting change on college and university campuses. Through a qualitative interview-based approach, I examined the organizational legitimacy of four CDOs at ix predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Legitimacy is defined as “a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions” (Suchman, 1995, p. 574). Legitimacy guides the exchange of resources between an organization and their external environment. Those who hold the resources hold the power and dictate how those resources are allocated (Austin & Jones, 2016). Using resource dependence theory (RDT) and institutional theory (IT), I found that internal legitimacy was created when a CDO was embedded into the organizational structure; there was support from executive-level leadership and senior leadership team; the CDO had adequate human, financial, capital, and technical resources; and they had credibility with the university faculty. The internal legitimacy allowed the CDO to influence the diversity work on their campus. A CDO should be established as the champion for the diversity work, but when the diversity work is internalized and operationalized, that is what “moves the needle” on DEI.
Chilean Teachers' Views on Professional Development: An Interview Study
([Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2017-05) Edwards, Trinidad Valdes; Flinders, David J.

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