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The Medicalization of the Body: Examining Reproductive Mental Health in Western Society
No full textThis Capstone paper focuses on the medicalization of childbirth and pregnancy and its impacts on reproductive mental health. This paper acknowledges that many specific vulnerabilities can contribute to poor mental health in perinatal individuals. However, it will emphasize the biomedical model of care created through authoritarian knowledge systems and how medicalization can have negative implications. The literature review looks to understand the difference between authoritative and embodied knowledge systems and to discover what makes one valued in Western society over the other. Particular emphasis is given to medicalization's role in oppression, specifically for marginalized individuals. This Capstone also examines feminist and narrative therapy as empowering perspectives in counselling to take with individuals who have had a medicalized birth, are dealing with birth trauma, or are faced with depression, anxiety, or distress. It concludes with some recommendations for reproductive mental health care in Canada
Addressing the Reading Achievement Gap in Nevada: An Exploration of Instructional Methods for Low SES and ELL Elementary Student Achievement
No full textTeachers in Nevada have faced the problem of providing consistent, effective literacy instruction to elementary students, which impacts overall student achievement; only 48.3% of students in Clark County, Nevada were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) in the 2018–2019 school year. This problem was explored from a case study perspective using the context of four elementary schools in Nevada as a sample representation for the state academic gaps in literacy. The purpose of the study was to identify literacy instructional methods and strategies teachers deemed instrumental to support student achievement. The availability of professional development opportunities to develop literacy pedagogy and how to implement resources to increase achievement were discussed in the study. Individual interviews with teachers and references for establishing teaching practices to increase literacy achievement during college preparation programs were also included in the study. Answering the research questions required data collection through individual interviews, surveys, and an analysis of lesson plans provided by teachers in designated Title I schools. Using volunteer sampling, 18 pre-K through fifth-grade teachers from four elementary schools completed a survey, and some of those teachers shared lesson plan samples. Additionally, 15 pre-K through fifth-grade teachers from the four selected schools agreed to participate in an interview and shared their lesson plans. Thematic coding was used to analyze results. Several strategies teachers deemed essential to support low socioeconomic status (SES) and English Language Learners (ELL) student success in literacy were identified from results of this study, including teacher read-aloud, decoding instruction, and vocabulary instruction. Future researchers should focus on expanding knowledge for how to schedule and implement professional development to connect to teacher credential programs
The Efficacy of Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy in the Treatment of Male Depression
No full textThis research paper explores whether Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is an effective treatment modality for depression in males. Depression in men is often concealed and compared to women, remains under-diagnosed despite men having a higher rate of suicidality. The author sought to understand potential explanations for why this occurs and identify whether DIT was an appropriate treatment. The author reviewed eight quantitative and two qualitative research articles and the broader literature on depression, masculinities research, and DIT. The findings of this research support the efficacy of the DIT model and highlight the ways in which this model may be an appropriate therapy for depressed males. It includes the consideration of hegemonic traits, avoided anger, and the significance of interpersonal patterns and affect. The author provides a methodological review and analysis of the reviewed research articles and discusses ethical considerations, application to clinical practice, and offers recommendations for practice, policy, and future research
The Impact of the Interplay Between Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Family Dysfunction on Adolescents in Transition: A Proposed Model
Get PDFThe aim of this work is to introduce a model that integrates the bidirectional relationships between anxiety, perfectionism, and family dysfunction into a positive feedback loop of increasingly negative influence on individuals. The model is explored in relation to adolescents transitioning from high school to post-secondary life. This population was selected due to their apparent vulnerability to the phenomenon described by the model. Subsequent to the introduction of the proposed model, a literature review explores each of the bidirectional relationships between anxiety, perfectionism, and family dysfunction, focusing on the experiences of adolescents. The literature review also explores the roles gender and culture may play in individuals' experiences of the phenomenon expressed by the model. Following the literature review, a discussion of possible applications of the model to psychological and counselling practices is presented. Finally, the limitations of this work are acknowledged and further avenues of study stemming from them are proposed
Action Research: Small Group Writing Instruction
Get PDFThe problem is second grade students are not meeting their writing goals since coming back from remote learning. According to the National Center of Education Statistics [NCES], 2003, 2012) prior to remote learning, in the US three fourths of students do not write with proficiency, so this is a long-term problem that has been exacerbated by the quarantine. Ahmed, Wagner and Lopez (2014) pointed out that longitudinal studies showed the relationship between early literacy skills and later writing skills. This action research study was designed to examine the impact of small group instruction on a targeted group of lower-skilled writers. There were 8- second grade students from a general education classroom who participated in this study. Baseline data was first gathered from a pre-assessment on opinion writing graded with a rubric then compared to a post-assessment after small group instruction was given for a six-week period. The researcher's analysis showed that there was a marked increase in scores from the pre- to the post-assessment
Equity Professional Development in a Primarily White Public School: Staff Experiences with Minoritized Students' Senses of Belonging and Engagement
Get PDFDisengagement and isolation for minoritized students is an educational problem. The general problem is that while schools implement professional development (PD) interventions to address engagement and belonging, these interventions are not always successful. Specifically, students' of color sense of belonging and engagement is a problem in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore high school staff perceptions of current equity PD efforts and culturally responsive practices and to analyze what equity PD efforts and practices create an inclusive school culture, increased minoritized students' senses of belonging, and reduced disengagement. Critical race theory (CRT) was used to frame staff lived experiences of equity efforts. The research questions (RQs) included staff perspectives on current equity PD efforts, which specific equity PDs were instrumental, which equity efforts had increased, and whether through equity efforts, staff acquired knowledge about inclusiveness and diversity to help minoritized students feel more included and engaged. Data was collected through semistructured individual interviews, with a purposive, maximum variation sample of eight staff members participating in the equity PD efforts for the previous 2 years. Interview data was sorted into codes, and grouped by common themes, mirroring Colaizzi's (1978) seven steps for phenomenological data analysis and leading to answers to the RQs. After the analysis was complete, participants' experiences from the findings were combined into six major themes: (a) Personal Journey, (b) Belonging, (c) Staff-Student Relationships, (d) Family and Community, (e) Staff Progress on Equity PD, and (f) Barriers to Staff Progress. Recommendations include increasing equity PD, listening to student voice to implement change, combating systemic barriers by mitigating academic tracking inherited from middle school, offering support for minoritized students to be in advanced placement (AP) and honors classes, and building trust to strengthen relationships with minoritized students. The study has value in addressing the problem of minoritized students' disengagement and isolation in PWIs, and high school staff might learn about equity and use their growth to serve students from all demographics. This study benefitted the minoritized students, staff, and leaders involved with the intervention