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Teachers as primary interventionists : an explanatory case study exploring the relationship between teacher self-efficacy in response to intervention implementation in a K–12 Christian school.
No full textResponse to Intervention (RtI) provides a progressive means of screening, monitoring, and multitiered supports for students facing academic challenges; yet the burden of implementation rests on teachers' shoulders (Bineham et al., 2014; Fuchs & Fuchs, 2017; IDEA, 2004). K–12 Christian schools often lack academic support services, qualified personnel to address student challenges, and awareness of available federal funding for relevant teacher professional development (Cookson & Smith, 2012; Lane, 2017). The lack of resources and training magnify concerns regarding Christian school teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) to respond to variances in student ability within their classroom settings. This explanatory qualitative single case study extends previous research by examining the reciprocal nature of how K–8 teachers' self-efficacy beliefs influence their fidelity in implementing RtI strategies within classroom settings. Bandura's (1997) Triadic Reciprocal Causation framework provided insight into the dynamic interplay among personal factors shaping teacher efficacy, behavioral experiences during RtI implementation, and external environmental influences that enhance or inhibit teachers' persistence in supporting struggling students. For data collection, nine K–8 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and observations of participants in their mixed-ability classes. Seven overarching themes emerged to illustrate the influences of teacher efficacy in implementing interventions. These themes encompass (a) responsiveness of students (b) readiness of teachers, (c) relevance of vicarious experiences, (d) strong relationships with students, parents, and peers, (e) personal self-reflection, (f) teacher resilience, and (g) the reciprocal nature of these themes, reflecting the foundational influences of Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) on intervention efforts. Findings provide insights for administrators to redesign teacher induction programs that foster successful mastery experiences early in their careers, peer observations, frequent feedback, job-embedded coaching, and utilizing federal funding to support preparation, training, and retention of teachers as they enhance their capacity in making intervention decisions. As Christian schools aim for greater inclusivity through practices such as Response to Intervention (RtI), differentiated teacher supports become necessary to empower teachers in implementing evidence-based interventions as student demographics become increasingly diverse
Narrative moral formation for the church : the use of stories of living Christians to enhance moral formation.
No full textThe church needs to integrate stories of living Christians into its moral formation to help Christians grasp the foundations of biblical morality and respond faithfully to moral challenges. A theological study of Scripture shows that authors and faith leaders in biblical times used relatable stories to communicate these foundations of morality to their audience: narrativity, redemption, responsivity, and relationality. An examination of theological ethics also demonstrates that knowledge of ‘practical reason’ can enhance the church’s moral formation. This project sought to draw on stories of living Christians to develop an inductive study that will enable eight Christians at Highland Baptist Church (Waco, Texas) to grasp the foundations of biblical morality and practical reason. The six-week intervention included an inductive study of the stories of four living Christians. Participants analyzed the ethical dimensions of these stories and placed them in conversation with biblical stories and passages. The pretest and posttest survey responses were compared to a control group of eight members of Highland Baptist Church. The results showed that the inductive study enhanced participants’ understanding of the four moral foundations and ‘practical reason.’ The study thus equipped participants with hermeneutical tools to offer a faithful response to moral issues in the church and society. Such a response is marked by conviction, creativity, and grace. Hopefully, this project will serve as a creative paradigm for the church’s moral formation and enhance the church’s capacity to articulate and embody biblical ethics
Differential Reporting on Divorce Filings Between Men and Women.
No full textThis paper documents the differential reporting of divorce filings across men and women, using data from 7,937 respondents across nine countries, from the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS). Rather than study the rates of filing among men and women, which is already well-documented, this study explores how men and women report on these filings differently. On average, 64% of women reported filing for the divorce themselves. However, when men are asked, they are 30 percentage points less likely to report that their ex-wife filed. This gender gap in reporting is larger when respondents do not have children with their partner. The results are consistent across countries and including controls for respondents' education, age, children, and familial background. The findings have notable implications for future studies regarding autonomy in marital decisions, as well as the ambiguity regarding individuals' recollections of their divorce decisions
"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" : mockery and typology in Milton's poetry.
No full textThis dissertation examines the typological significance of the exchanges of mockery in Milton's major poetic works. Through engaging the affections, mockery has a crucial mediating role in Milton's poetry that connects reason and bodily appetites. In this way, mockery has a constructive purpose that far exceeds the primarily destructive and condemnatory function of comic ridicule. By analyzing the exchanges of mockery between Milton's protagonists and antagonists in the light of Christ's endurance of mockery on the cross and his mocking defeat of the devil in the Resurrection, I argue that mockery serves three functions: 1) an empowering function that unifies and strengthens the soul, 2) a pedagogical function that enlightens the protagonists as well as the audience regarding the path to salvation, and 3) a typological function that prefigures Christ's triumph over evil. Exchanges of mockery appear throughout Milton's major poetic works. Chapter Two analyzes the affective power of mockery in the Lady's resistance to temptations in A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle. Chapters Three and Four focus on the role of divine mockery in the education of Adam in Paradise Lost. I first contextualize God's mockery of Satan within Raphael's pedagogical account of the war in heaven. Then I analyze Michael's emphasis on the affections in his preparation of Adam for the fallen condition. Chapter Five discusses exchanges of mockery between Satan and the Son in Paradise Regained. Through both patient and fervent responses to Satan's mockery, the Son expands his understanding of the messianic mission. The poem culminates in the Son's mocking defeat of the devil on the pinnacle that anticipates the Crucifixion. The sixth chapter explores the typological significance of the exchange of mockery between Samson and Harapha in Samson Agonistes, illuminating the regenerationist-revisionist controversy over the tragedy. Ultimately, the project shows that revisiting Milton's poetry with attention to mockery helps us reconsider critical issues in each major poem
Educational equity for all : a qualitative case study exploring the perceptions of Hispanic parents regarding parental engagement at a rural Title I high school in Southwest Texas.
No full textThe implications of decreased educational attainment among Hispanic students and the growth of this demographic necessitate examining Hispanic parental involvement initiatives. Parental involvement increases the chances of success for K–12 students from racially minoritized groups and assists educators in fostering equitable education for all students (Epstein, 1995; Hoover‐Dempsey et al., 2005). Emphasizing parental involvement is necessary to reduce the achievement gap and support students from racially minoritized groups. This study investigated the perceptions of Hispanic parents and the factors that influence their involvement in their child's education. This qualitative descriptive case study used the first two levels of the Hoover-Dempsey et al. (2005) model of parental involvement, which involve parents' motivational beliefs, perceptions, life context, location of involvement, and types of parental involvement, to examine Hispanic parents' perceptions and shed light on the positive and negative factors that could facilitate or impede their involvement. Using the framework as a guide, I collected through surveys and semi-structured interviews. I analyzed the data manually using Microsoft Excel. The findings indicated several factors that impeded and facilitated Hispanic parents' involvement. The research revealed that feelings of welcomeness, inclusion, comfort, and confidence in the subject matter facilitated parental involvement. Conversely, a lack of invitation from teachers, apathy from the child, unidirectional communication from the school, uncertainty of impact, and low parental self-efficacy all impeded involvement. Ways to increase the quality of parental involvement included providing parents with guidance in assisting their child with homework, opportunities to build genuine parent-teacher relationships, and avenues to discuss their child's school progress with them. The findings of this study contribute to promoting educational equity for Hispanic students by fostering robust parental involvement initiatives, thus supporting positive student success outcomes. This study underscores the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in parental involvement strategies, ultimately aiming to improve educational outcomes for Hispanic students
Growth mindset matters : an explanatory sequential study on the underrepresented minority student experience in a community college introductory science classroom.
No full textScience, Technology, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) fields face challenges with underrepresented minority (URM) student achievement and retention. White students earned 59% of bachelor's degrees in science and engineering, while LatinX and African American students earned 16% and 9% respectively (National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, 2019). Females earned 39% of all STEM bachelor's degrees in 2021-2022 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024). A University of California campus study discovered that while 33.4% of URM students initially chose a science major, only 24.6% graduated with a science degree within five years (Arcidiacono et al., 2016). A study conducted by Koch et al. (2022) revealed that the persistence in the STEM major was higher for males (65%) than females (48%). This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined the relationship between ethnicity and gender with students' attitudes toward STEM, student career interest in STEM, and student growth mindset. The quantitative phase measured STEM interest using the STEM Semantics Survey, STEM career interest with the STEM Career Interest Survey (CIS), and the growth mindset belief utilizing Dweck's Mindset Instrument (DMI). The qualitative phase examined student experiences in an introductory science class. The integration involved explaining students' STEM attitudes and growth mindset beliefs in terms of their classroom experiences. In the quantitative phase, ethnicity and gender were not statistically significant predictors of my participants' feelings about STEM courses, STEM career interests, or the growth mindset belief of community college students. Participant interviews revealed that misconceptions contributed to class struggles, positive influences provided motivation, and prior experiences helped understand the class expectations. The integration revealed no alignment between the quantitative and qualitative data for the STEM Semantics Survey, but some alignment for the STEM Career Interest Survey and Dweck's Mindset Instrument was present. The study provided recommendations for URM STEM community college students including communication with peers and professors and finding support programs to build community opportunities. The recommendations for STEM professors include explaining expectations to students during the first week of classes, sharing real-world examples to connect with students, and providing a welcoming environment for students
The rise of the Yugoslavian school of basketball and the dream team that never was.
No full textThere is no doubt that at the end of the 20th century Yugoslavia was poised to challenge the American dominance in international basketball. Unlike many contemporary sources which focus on the Yugoslav Wars, this paper examines the elements that created a successful basketball culture in Yugoslavia as well as the current state of basketball in three former Yugoslavian states, Croatia, Serbia, and Slovenia. This study employed a hybrid of historical and qualitative research methods, combining a selection of written sources including journal articles, books, news articles, and documentaries, with personal interviews from seven stakeholders including players, journalists, and historians. This synthesis of data resulted in six prominent factors, genetics, mentality, political backing, the idea of "brotherhood and unity," the Yugoslavian School of Basketball and American influence which all led to the success of Yugoslavian basketball. Exploration of this synthesis provides new perspectives on the reasons behind their success
Development of an experimental mood induction procedure for self-disgust.
No full textSelf-disgust, or disgust elicited by one or multiple aspects of the self, has been associated with a variety of psychological disorders and symptoms. While some preliminary research suggests self-disgust may have a causal role in psychopathology, no experimental methods for manipulating self-disgust had existed prior to this study, precluding rigorous assessment of whether self-disgust may contribute to the development of various psychological phenomena. The current study sought to address this gap in the literature by being the first to develop and pilot a mood induction procedure (MIP) for self-disgust. A sample of 204 undergraduate students were randomized to one of three conditions, in which they received either the self-disgust MIP, a MIP for general disgust (i.e., disgust towards stimuli external to oneself), or a neutral control procedure. Additionally, these MIPs were delivered both online and in person, to assess whether modality impacted their effectiveness. In line with the study hypothesis, the self-disgust MIP led to a statistically significant increase in state self-disgust, providing support for the effectiveness of this novel MIP. However, the general disgust group also led to a statistically significant increase in state self-disgust, and there were no significant differences in the change in state self-disgust between these groups, indicating that there is room to improve the discriminant validity of these MIPs. Lastly, no significant differences were found in the effectiveness of the MIPs when delivered online versus in-person, suggesting that an online modality is an acceptable means of delivering these MIPs
Second thoughts about double effect.
No full textIn this dissertation I explore objections to the ethical doctrine known as the Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE) and its applications to issues in war and medicine. DDE maintains that it is harder to justify causing harm intentionally than it is to justify causing it foreseeably. Some of the strongest support for DDE comes from cases where an agent appears to act impermissibly, and the best explanation seems to be that he has caused harm intentionally rather than merely foreseeably. Closeness objections maintain that the allegedly impermissible actions in these cases are not guided by an intention to cause harm but something "close" to it. I raise objections to a possible solution to this problem. I also critique an extreme version of the closeness objection and argue that moderate versions of the objection remain viable in spite of the failure of the extreme version. Then I provide counterexamples to DDE which draw inspiration from Judith Jarvis Thomson's looping trolley counterexample. In my counterexamples, I argue that DDE implausibly implies that we are obligated either to maximize harm to specific individuals or to maximize the number of harmed individuals. In the process, I provide objections to Frances Kamm's doctrines of Triple Effect and Secondary Permissibility, both of which are meant to rescue DDE from related problems. By way of an error theory for DDE, I maintain that intention is relevant to ethics in a different way than the one proposed by DDE. I conclude with two chapters in applied ethics. In the first of these I argue that DDE fails to explain why terrorism is impermissible. In the second I argue that DDE-related and DDE-based critiques of a novel method of organ procurement after death by cardiac criteria known as Thoraco-Abdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion are unsuccessful
From isolation to incorporation : medical-theological imagery in the work of T.S. Eliot, C.S. Lewis, and Gwyneth Lewis.
No full textThis dissertation argues for the centrality of Christ-as-Surgeon (Christus Chirurgus) imagery in the work of three modern and contemporary British Christian authors: T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) and Gwyneth Lewis (b.1959). Through a detailed analysis of each author's medical-theological imagery, I argue that all three authors interweave medical and theological imagery to comment on the relationship between bodies and souls, individuals and communities, and the human and the divine, while also critiquing their isolated and medicalized societies and emphasizing healing as a move towards unity with the Body of Christ. The introduction provides an overview of the Christ-the-Physician and Christ-the-Surgeon traditions and explores how these traditions relate to the concept of the "Body of Christ." The introduction also discusses key surgical and societal shifts in the twentieth century, the shifting relationship between religion and medicine, and concomitant changes in views of human bodies and communities. Chapter Two analyzes T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and Four Quartets, exploring the transformation of his surgical metaphors from the earlier poem to the later work. I argue that Eliot's surgical metaphors reflect his conversion to Christianity and a shift from modernist medicine to an engagement with the Christus Chirurgus tradition. Chapter Three explores C.S. Lewis's surgical-theological imagery in The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, and Till We Have Faces, showing how Lewis uses narratives of surgical operations to convey his characters' changing relationships to their bodies, their communities, and Christ. His works also emphasize the necessary coherence between religious and medical thought. Chapter Four discusses Gwyneth Lewis's epic poem A Hospital Odyssey, showing how she employs Biblical allusion and the language of Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection—including a direct reference to the Crucifixion as a surgical procedure—to present a holistic and narratively-centered vision of health. By assessing the intersection of medical and theological concepts in these works, I emphasize the broad theological and artistic appeal of the Christ-the-Surgeon metaphor and highlight the intersection of medicine and religion in modern and contemporary British literature