Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Cross-Cultural, International Education

The issue of teacher scarcity in the Bawku Municipality of the Upper East of Ghana continues to be an ongoing struggle and has proven to be pervasive. This issue has affected enrolment rates and literacy and completion rates in the district. Researchers have shed light on this issue from different perspectives, yet a lasting solution has proven elusive. This study attempts to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the problem by examining the ethnic awareness of pre-service teachers to understand their level of cultural awareness, their cultural preparedness, and their multicultural teaching skills and knowledge. This study adapted the Multidimensional Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS) as the research design to sample data from 107 pre-service teachers from Peki College of Education and Gbewaa College of Education. The data collected was analyzed using a statistical t-test analysis. The results revealed that pre-service teachers in Ghana's Colleges of Education are culturally prepared and exhibit multicultural teaching skills and knowledge to teach in a different cultural setting, yet they prefer teaching in their home regions. This study failed to reject the null hypothesis, revealing that the scarcity of teachers in the Bawku Municipality could comprise a factor other than teachers' cultural awareness or their multicultural teaching skills and knowledge

Committee: Bruce Collet Ph.D (Committee Chair); Timothy Messer-Kruse Ph.D (Committee Member); Audrey Roberts Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Multicultural Education; Teacher Education

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2022, School Psychology

Executive functioning (EF) skills are a vital part of human development, emotional regulation, and knowledge acquisition and retention. Executive functioning skills help to reduce externalizing behaviors, predict academic achievement, and maintain social relationships. Successful executive functioning skills help to make the classroom a more peaceful and structured environment for the teacher and student. The current research explored Ohio Kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school teachers' knowledge, awareness, and beliefs of executive functioning skills. Through quantitative analysis using a survey instrument which was adapted from a previous study examining middle school teacher's knowledge, beliefs, and awareness of EF skills (Biecheler, 2019). The study supported teachers have knowledge about the topic and believe they are important for academic success and behavior. Executive functioning skills are expected of students, but never explicitly taught. Teachers indicated their teacher training programs did not provide them with the proper training to address EF skills in the classroom, although they have the confidence in their ability to do so. Additionally, general and special education teachers' responses were compared to determine the difference in groups.

Committee: Susan Davies (Advisor); Shauna Adams (Committee Member); Layla Kurt (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Psychology; Quantitative Psychology; Teacher Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

When shown a familiar and a novel object and asked to pick the referent of a novel label, even one-year-olds tend to favor the novel object (Halberda, 2003; Mervis & Bertrand, 1994). However, this so-called disambiguation effect becomes stronger as children develop through preschool age (Lewis & Frank, 2015). Advances in metacognition may play a role in this developmental trend. Preschoolers' awareness of their own lexical knowledge is associated with the strength of the disambiguation effect (Merriman & Schuster, 1991; Merriman & Bowman, 1989; Wall, Merriman, & Scofield, 2015). It is also associated with whether children can solve purely metacognitive forms of the disambiguation problem (Slocum & Merriman, 2018; Henning & Merriman, 2019). The current experiments tested the hypothesis that as the number of choices in a disambiguation problem increases, the frequency of correct response declines more sharply for children who lack awareness of lexical knowledge than for children who possessed it. The results of the first two experiments supported the main hypothesis. Two experiments also showed that awareness of lexical knowledge was associated with a more gradual increase in latency of correct solutions as number of choices increased. In Experiment 3, children's eye movements were recorded as they attempted to solve 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-choice problems. Various aspects of children's eye movements were analyzed, including the number of familiar object foils checked, the number of revisits to the target, and the proportion of looking time spent on the target object. The current experiments advance our insight into why the “awareness-of-knowledge advantage” in solving disambiguation problems tends to increase as number of choices increases.

Committee: William Merriman PhD (Advisor); Clarissa Thompson PhD (Committee Member); Jeff Ciesla PhD (Committee Member); Bradley Morris PhD (Committee Member); Sarah Rilling PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Cognitive Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Psychology

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2017, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Health Education

Study One Abstract Introduction: The primary aim of this study was to examine the range of behaviors that may result from seeing or hearing a message about breast cancer in the last 12 months. Methods: Data was collected via a survey of university students (N = 284) regarding whether they saw or heard a breast cancer message in the last 12 months, and whether seeing or hearing a message differed, based on select variables. Results: The majority of college students (84.9 %) experienced a breast cancer message in the last 12 months. Few behaviors were associated with the experience of a breast cancer message. Students reported performing a mean of 2.52 behaviors impacting personal health, and a mean of 1.51 behaviors impacting the problem of breast cancer, as a result of seeing or hearing a message about breast cancer. Behaviors impacting personal health differed significantly according to sex, with females being four times more likely to perform a personal health behavior. Behaviors impacting the overall problem of breast cancer did not differ significantly according to the variables of the study. Discussion: Health messages delivered via breast cancer awareness reach a wide audience. The infrequency of behaviors resulting from breast cancer messages suggests an opportunity to improve messages. Messages should include a greater emphasis on health behaviors known to prevent or reduce the risk of breast cancer, as well as behaviors impacting the overall problem of breast cancer. Study Two Abstract Introduction: The primary purpose of this study was to assess breast cancer knowledge among university students, and to examine the influence of breast cancer knowledge on health behaviors. Methods: Data was collected via a survey of university students (N = 284) in which participants were asked 20 true/false statements about breast cancer, and about various health behaviors they performed in the last year. A mean overall knowledge score was calculated. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keith King Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ashley Merianos Ph.D. (Committee Member); Rebecca Vidourek Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2017, Counselor Education (Education)

The number of Americans who belong to ethnic and racial minority groups in the United States has grown tremendously during the last decade. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in the year 2000 there were approximately 36.4 million African Americans, 35.3 million Hispanic Americans, and 11.9 million Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, making up approximately 31% of the total U.S. population (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 2000). These statistics are expected to continue to rapidly increase and experts project that by the year 2050, Americans of ethnic racial minority groups will comprise approximately 54% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). Research shows that there is a lack of multi-culturally competent mental health professionals currently practicing across the U.S. despite the need (Atkinson, Morten & Sue 1989). The shortage of adequate culturally-competent counselors and other mental health professionals has resulted in serious problems that could affect the overall economic and social well-being of the entire U.S population (Leong & Less 2006; West-Olatunji, Goodman, Mehta & Templeton 2011; Fouad & Arredondo 2007; Zhon, Siu & Xin 2009). For this reason, the mental health profession has called for a major education reform for counselors-in-training, and graduate counseling programs are now feeling the pressure to prepare their students to work in a culturally diverse world (Brown & Minor 1990; Goodman & West-Olatunji, 2009). While most graduate programs offer at least one multicultural counseling course (often in order to meet professional accreditation and ethical standards), there remains no research-supported consensus as to how best train counselors for work in multicultural practice (Buckley & Foldy, 2010; Ponterotta, 1996). Furthermore, graduate programs have been considered “marginal at best” for delivering what might be considered an effective training program (Ponterotto, Alexander & Greiger, 1995). The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mona Robinson PhD (Committee Chair); Adah Ward-Randolph PhD (Committee Member); Nikol Bowen PhD (Committee Member); Valerie Conley Phd (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Education; Multicultural Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Home Economics

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2014, School Psychology

The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a recruitment presentation conducted during School Psychology Awareness Week on increasing undergraduate students' knowledge of and interest in the field of school psychology. A program evaluation design was utilized to determine if targeted strategies were an effective means of recruitment for the School Psychology program at the University of Dayton. Eight Ohio universities were selected and agreed to participate in the study, yielding a total of 192 participants. Participants were given a pre-School Psychology Awareness Inventory (SPAI) to assess their knowledge of and interest in the field of school psychology, among other areas. Participants were then shown a PowerPoint presentation on school psychology and provided with informational brochures on the University of Dayton's program, along with the contact information of the researcher, her thesis partner, and the University of Dayton's program coordinator, Dr. Susan Davies. Immediately following these targeted recruitment strategies, participants were administered the post-SPAI to re-assess their knowledge of and interest in the field of school psychology. Results demonstrated that both knowledge and interest increased significantly between pre-SPAI and post-SPAI, indicating the targeted recruitment strategies were effective in increasing awareness of and interest in the field of school psychology. Implications for future recruitment of students in school psychology are discussed.

Committee: Susan Davies Ed.D. (Advisor); Elana Bernstein Ph.D. (Committee Member); Bobbie Fiori (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

This multiple baseline design study evaluated the efficacy of a Tier 2 early literacy intervention on low-income preschool children's phonological awareness (PA) skills. The intervention was delivered three to four days a week by a trained interventionist to small groups of children using an interactive approach with frequent opportunities to respond and contingent feedback. Groups participated in 28 to 36 lessons that lasted about 10 minutes and focused on PA and alphabet knowledge. Seven children, across three groups, participated in the lessons and weekly progress monitoring assessments. All children demonstrated gains on the primary outcome measure of first sound identification as a result of the Tier 2 intervention. Most children also demonstrated gains on secondary and distal measures of PA and alphabet knowledge. Results provide support for the application of Response to Intervention (RTI) in early childhood and signify the potential benefits to learners who need instruction beyond the core curriculum.

Committee: Howard Goldstein (Advisor); Cynthia Buettner (Committee Member); Shayne Piasta (Committee Member); Diane Sainato (Committee Member) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Early Childhood Education; Literacy; Preschool Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Nursing : Nursing - Adult Health Nursing

The central aim of this study was to assess the Skinn Model of Cultural Competence (SMCC), a theoretical framework developed by this researcher. The SMCC illustrates the dynamic progression through a cyclical process. Cultural awareness is the initial step and then the person continues into the action stage of process based on his/her cultural desire. Cultural knowledge acquisition, developing cultural skills, an optimistic cultural attitude, and cultural encounters feed back (cultural feedback) into the person's cultural desire and awareness. The six key concepts (all but cultural feedback) were assessed by an instrument developed for this study, the Cultural Competency Assessment Scale (CCAS). The influence of racism and prejudice was also examined. A three phase descriptive design was used for this study. The first two phases assessed CCAS content validity. The third phase examined the reliability of the CCAS and the relationships among the concepts in the model. Bivariate and multiple regression relationships were determined. One hundred and seven-two questionnaires were completed at Time 1 (N= 600). Thirty-nine nurses (N = 50) completed the CCAS at Time 2. In this study, the nurses had relatively high scores on the CCAS and exhibited low levels of racism and prejudice. Unfortunately the CCAS did not perform as anticipated. The correlations between the concepts were low to moderate. However, there was a positive correlation between cultural awareness and cultural desire (r = 0.23, p< .01). Cultural knowledge, desire and skill predicted cultural encounters (R2 = .51, Adjusted R2 =0.51, F(3, 168) = 59.0 , p = .000). Further research using a revised CCAS may assist in refining the SMCC and provide clarification of the process of becoming culturally competent.

Committee: Dr. Linda Baas (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, Speech and Hearing Science

Considerable evidence has shown that kindergarten measures of phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge are significant predictors of word decoding ability in many typically developing children. Many children with speech sound disorder (SSD) have been found to exhibit poor phonological awareness; however, very few studies have provided a thorough investigation of their knowledge about letter names and letter sounds. The current study was thus designed to examine alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, and their relationships, in kindergarten children with SSD (n = 16). Alphabet knowledge was assessed by comparing accuracy in naming of all 26 letter names and letter sounds, and was further evaluated to determine differences as a function of letter name category. Two levels of phonological awareness on an elision task (larger vs. smaller units) were compared. Finally, correlations between alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness levels were calculated. Overall, participants knew more letter names than letter sounds, and their letter sound knowledge varied according to letter name categories. Participants exhibited greater accuracy when deleting larger sized units, as compared to smaller units. Furthermore, children whose speech errors were atypical or severely delayed for their age had the lowest scores on the elision task, but performed as well as others on both measures of alphabet knowledge. Outcomes from this study suggest that some children with isolated SSD would have acquired knowledge about letter names and sounds in their kindergarten year, but may encounter difficulty in developing deeper levels of phonological awareness.

Committee: Rebecca McCauley PhD (Committee Chair); Laura Justice PhD (Committee Member); Monique Mills PhD (Committee Member); Shayne Piasta PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Speech Therapy

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2003, Environmental Studies (Arts and Sciences)

Since the beginning of the environmental movement, individuals and organizations have worked to enact changes that they hope will improve the state of the environment. A large portion of this movement is based on increasing the population's environmental awareness and consciousness. Much of the conservation community believes that by increasing awareness and concern for the environment, they will indirectly increase conservation efforts. The logic behind this belief is that consumer's knowledge, attitudes and concern for the environment are determinants of behavior and will manifest itself in their lifestyles and green purchasing decisions. The purpose of my study is to ascertain whether variables, specific to environmental consciousness are more suitable for characterizing consumers purchasing decisions. Specifically, measures of environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior are linked to two conceptualizations of the purchasing domain, namely green purchasing decisions in general and the specific purchasing habits of five green categories (recycled paper products, not tested on animals, environmentally friendly detergents, organically grown fruits & vegetables and ozone- friendly aerosols).

Committee: Michele Morrone (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Sciences

Master of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology, Cleveland State University, 2012, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that affects portions of the brain responsible for language processing and production. It is a disorder that occurs secondary to strokes and other traumatic brain injuries. It is estimated that almost 1 million people in the United States have aphasia. However, there has been very little research regarding public awareness of aphasia, particularly among service-industry workers. The purpose of this study was to analyze the level of public awareness of aphasia in Cleveland, Ohio. This study investigated 100 individuals' knowledge of aphasia by way of a questionnaire, with a focus on respondents who were employed within the public-service sector. Participants were recruited from public areas in Cleveland, Ohio, and filled out a 6-item survey. The responses were then analyzed using quantitative procedures and compared to other existing studies on aphasia awareness. Several categorical variables and their relationship to aphasia awareness were examined to determine if any statistically significant findings existed. Out of the individuals surveyed, 19% had heard of aphasia. The results indicated there was a statistically significant relationship between the age of respondents and aphasia awareness. The education level of respondents also had an impact of aphasia awareness. Occupation, income level, and gender did not appear to have an impact on aphasia awareness. Respondents aged 36-55 years had the highest aphasia awareness rates, and adults ages 56-65 years had the lowest rates of aphasia awareness. Since stroke and aphasia are so closely linked, it is critical to improve public awareness among all age groups, particularly older populations. This can be achieved through education, advocacy and job training.

Committee: Violet Cox PhD (Committee Chair); Myrita Wilhite AuD (Committee Member); Beth Ekelman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Sciences; Neurosciences; Rehabilitation; Speech Therapy