Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2022, College of Education

Across the United States, an imbalance exists between the percentages of White educators and minority students. This disproportion has led to the need for more educators to learn and acquire the skills necessary to effectively navigate and lead in diverse environments and respond in ways that resonates with diverse learners. This study focused the experiences of cultural humility on the lived experiences of African American boys and their parents and the behaviors and experiences of culturally humble teachers at a predominantly White, private Catholic high school. This study was chosen to fill a gap in the literature on cultural humility and its impact on school students and teachers. The research consisted of focus groups and interviews with 25 African American students, 20 African American parents and four teachers identified by students and parents as rating high in cultural humility. A qualitative case study was implemented with a structured protocol. Upon careful analysis of the data, five major themes emerged: (a) Humility—the role of voice, flexibility, and reimagining; (b) Authenticity—the power of vulnerability and visibility in building relationships; (c) Advocacy—the role of empathy in building non-judgmental safe spaces; (d) Presence—the role of partnership and the power of availability; and (e) Intentionality—the role of belief, accountability, and high expectations. The findings are significant in that they revealed some of the benefits and positive effects of the cultural humility framework on culturally responsive leadership, cultural safety, and academic success of African American students.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2020, Leadership and Change

The purpose of this research study is to share scholarly data that may assist in the recognition and cultural understanding of LatinX Chief DOs in higher education institutions. This multi-phase, qualitative study critically considers the participants' sociopolitical, psychological, and, cultural situated-ness as equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) leaders in higher education institutions (HEIs). Despite the psychological stressors, the participants described how and why they are energized by their commitment to creating change as social justice campeonas (champions). This study explains why LatinX DOs leading EDI institutional change in the 21st century, places them in precarious sociopolitical circumstances. Cultural values are identified by the research study participants as foundational to their identity, sources of motivation, tenacity, and, strength for leading EDI, institutional change. An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology is applied to this study describing, interpreting, contextualizing, and gaining in-depth insights into specific concepts of the phenomena; of “being” LatinX DOs in HEIs leading EDI. Eight participants were identified through a purposive process. Referred to here as “co-researchers,” they engaged as experts of their own interpretations, and as narrators of their own stories. This study included non-Westernized epistemological and ontological perspectives. A hermeneutic, subjective-reflective process of interpretation explored the co-researcher's social, contextual, and cultural truths—the wholeness of their experiences. The co-researchers engaged in a multi-phase, qualitative study which included individual interviews, and, two facilitated focus groups held over multiple days. The co-researchers developed a co-constructed, collective narrative highlighting the urgency to interrupt and change oppressive patterns and behaviors in themselves, in their respective institutions, and, the communities to which they belong. (open full item for complete abstract)

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2024, Education

The purpose of this study is to understand the prevalence of faculty members' abilities to incorporate cultural humility into their Masters of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program curriculum and barriers they feel they face in implementing this into regular practice. There is a severe lack of focus on issues pertaining to social justice within the athletic training profession, and implementation of cultural humility skills into MSAT programs can help address the systemic injustices within athletic training healthcare delivery. While there has been a focus on cultural competency in athletic training education, there is little to no current research on cultural humility and how it is used in programs currently, nor how comfortable faculty members are with teaching their students cultural humility in intentional and effective ways. A qualitative method was utilized to explore the research question, and to understand perceived barriers to implementation of culturally humble training within the current curriculum. Faculty members at accredited institutions were interviewed virtually, and it was determined that cultural humility is taught to various degrees within differing programs. Student identity, faculty identity, social determinants of health, open-mindedness, and commitments to action are some themes identified within the work. Identified barriers include time, identity, and legislative restrictions. This study looks to provide a foundation so future research can shift the focus to patient-centered care techniques that will serve people of all identities and backgrounds. Athletic training needs to become a pioneer profession of equitable and compassionate healthcare, setting the standard for other professions to overcome systemic inequities that decrease the quality of care delivered to diverse and historically marginalized patient populations. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://e (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis, Youngstown State University, 2023, Department of Psychological Sciences and Counseling

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the applications of principles of learning and operant conditioning to solve important social problems. ABA is commonly used as a treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As with any therapy, matters of cultural awareness and diversity are important to therapeutic rapport and acceptability. Recently, researchers in the field of ABA have started to describe and investigate the impact of cultural variables in ABA. To date, no summary or systematic review of these articles have occurred. Systematic reviews are important for bringing information on a similar topic together to inform practice and synthesize findings. The goal of this literature review is to do just that: bring together the most current research on cultural variables in ABA and synthesize their findings and suggestions. The goal of this review is to help the field better communicate to diverse cultures, increase its acceptability across cultures, and hopefully allow for ABA to be utilized more effectively. By gathering previous written articles and combining their findings, this literature review will help figure out what exactly individuals need to educate and facilitate speaking to one another with proper understanding and comfort.

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Allied Health Sciences: Communication Sciences and Disorders

Without specific knowledge of multilingual language profiles, children speaking more than one language are at-risk for misdiagnosis of developmental language disorders by clinicians who do not share the same linguistic profile as the client. To combat such misdiagnosis, this dissertation presents three related studies. Study 1 was a scoping review completed to establish the current state of the field regarding practices amongst speech-language pathologists (SLPs) providing services to multilingual children. This review revealed the need for alternate scoring methods, appropriate for children who speak more than one language. SLPs should consider use of adult models to understand typical cross-linguistic interactions between languages to inform decisions of difference and disorder. In response to findings from Study 1, Study 2 described the creation and evaluation of an alternate method of scoring a standardized assessment to inform decisions about development of multilingual children's English. One-hundred and seventy-six children (4-to-5 years) and 33 adults (24-to-51 years), from the same linguistic community, speaking Jamaican Creole (JC) and English participated. Content analysis of adult responses was used to identify linguistic patterns and alternate scoring procedures were developed based on these patterns. Results showed JC-English speaking children differed significantly from the standardized sample when original and alternate scoring methods were used. Patterns of over-diagnosis using traditional scoring were demonstrated and adapted scoring procedures using adult models offered an ecologically-valid approach to establishing developmental status of JC-English speaking children. Study 3 examined cross-linguistic interactions of JC-English speaking children in a different context relevant to assessing multilingual children's language skills. In this study, cross-linguistic interactions in the spontaneous productions of JC-English speaking preschoolers were (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, French and Italian

This dissertation considers and evaluates the notion of the “French cultural exception” (l'exception culturelle) in three distinct domains: cinema, language, and gastronomy. Through a detailed analysis of these three domains, I trace the historical importance of these cultural institutions and their associated cultural capital in French culture. A discussion of each of these areas begins by examining how each of these culture industries has been instrumental in the cultivation of French identity and France's global image. I argue that while cinema, language, and gastronomy have historically exemplified the French cultural exception, they have also become fertile ground for mounting tension and debate over the past several decades. The debate in each of these areas centers on an underlying notion of national protection, whether through government-backed subsidies in cinema, nationally driven bans in the food industry, or the espousal of Republican ideals in the French education system. The discussion of each culture industry has a significant intertextual component, as I draw on literature, film, and current events to provide examples of the significant histories of each cultural domain as well as those issues that color their contemporary statuses. My analyses of these three areas also reveal the enormous obstacles facing those organizations and institutions that champion the cultural exception and support continued attempts at meaningful differentiation from other cultures. Through an analysis of these three culture industries within the context of cultural particularity, I reveal the developing uncertainty that faces three of the principal pillars of French identity in the twenty-first century.

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2005, Psychology

This study was designed to examine the cultural competency level of one rural, Midwestern high school. In order to determine the competency of the school, its staff and students were asked to fill out questionnaires. The questionnaires asked the subjects about the types of activities they participated in, the cultural competency of their school's curriculum, the cultural competency of their school's programming, and their personal perspective regarding diversity issues. It was hypothesized that minority subjects (i.e. women, persons of color, and persons with health impediments), senior students, and persons with a lower income than others would be more sensitive to and involved in minority initiatives. Unfortunately, there was an insufficient amount of participants of color to uncover significant results for this population. However, within the staff population, significant results were found related to health impediments. Within the student population significant results were found supporting this study's hypotheses regarding the sex, grade level, and health variables. The construct validity of the instruments used in this study is supported by the relationships that were found among them. Over half of the staff believed the school in general and specifically the school's textbooks were culturally sensitive. The school's staff also displayed attitudes that were embracing of diversity. The majority of the staff, however, did not believe that their school's programming or activities reflected a culturally competent school. While over half of the students agreed that their school in general and the school's textbooks specifically were culturally sensitive, the majority of the students believed that their school's programming and activities did not reflect a culturally competent school. Unfortunately, over half of the student population in this study did not possess attitudes that embraced diversity. The aspects of a cultural competent school are discussed in this wor (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2008, Secondary Education

This study examined the cultural competence levels of nursing faculty teaching in associate degree nursing programs in Ohio and determined the extent to which transcultural concepts are included in the associate degree nursing curricula. Campinha-Bacote…#8482;s (2003) Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Heathcare Services Model provided the organizing framework for the study. A revised version of Sealey…#8482;s (2003) Cultural Diversity Questionnaire for Nurse Educators was used for the study. Out of an accessible population of 503 nurse educators teaching in associate degree nursing programs in four types of educational institutions in Ohio, 137 responded to the questionnaire. The forty-one item Likert type questionnaire along with eleven questions regarding demographic and professional characteristics was administered via the Internet over a three week period. The findings from this study indicated that associate degree nurse educators in Ohio “agree” that they possess cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural skill, and culture desire and are undecided regarding their level of engagement in cultural encounters. The findings also indicated that the participants “agree” that their teaching behaviors reflect cultural competence. The study results provide direction for professional development programs for nurse educators in the area of cultural diversity and support for hiring and retaining a culturally diverse nursing faculty.

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2013, Urban Studies and Public Affairs

ABSTRACT Central to the issue of cultural competence, law enforcement administrators and sworn peace officers are assigned the task of protecting and serving members of diverse communities. In short, from a global perspective policing requires that peace officers are routinely involved in both social and human relations tasks. Furthermore, as core components of policing it is in those tasks that being able to adapt cross culturally (dimensions of being culturally competent) become clear and significant, particularly with demographic shifts showing increases in racial, ethnic, and cultural compositions (Passel and Cohn, 2008; United States Census Bureau, 2010). To that end Bennet (1995) posited, “As with other kinds of social change, law enforcement agencies must adapt to the population shifts” (p.1). This exploratory study uses the 4 scales of the Cross Cultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) to examine, describe, and compare patterns of adaptability, a key attribute of cultural competence. The Defense Science Board (2011) defined adaptability as, “the ability and willingness to anticipate the need for change, to prepare for that change, and to implement changes in a timely and effective manner in response to the surrounding environment” (p. 1). This research study was designed to explore sworn peace officers' adaptability. Studying adaptability provides a means to investigate the self-perceived cultural competencies among sworn peace officers while investigating to what extent the demographic factors of (1) race/ethnicity, (2) gender, (3) age, (4) education, and (5) professional experience affect these competencies among sworn peace officers employed by law enforcement agencies in the Midwest Region of the State of Ohio.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

For more than a half century, the Department of Defense (DoD) has worked to address the issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I), but bias, prejudice, and the negative impacts of these realities have continued (DoD Board on Diversity and Inclusion, 2020). In a policy memorandum, senior DoD executives have committed to affecting an enterprise-wide, organizational, and cultural shift; however, apathy and cynicism among active-duty servicemembers has created a barrier to successfully achieving the mandate. Study findings showed that engaging leadership to overtly display their commitment and support, exposure to intentional and inspiring bias awareness training, and empowering and energizing staff members to embrace the multicultural environment are keys to successfully realizing a DE&I-focused organizational climate.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2024, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Racial/Ethnic Minority (REM) clients often face disparities in mental health outcomes. A proposed solution has been to train culturally competent practitioners. However, no reliable or valid measures of therapist cultural competency exists. This study examined both the reliability and predictive ability for a newly developed performance-based measure of therapist cultural competency, the Facilitative Interpersonal Skills - Cultural Competency (FIS-CC). Twenty-five therapists from two university counseling centers were administered the FIS-CC and standard FIS as well as a self-report measure of cultural competency, the Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory-Revised (CCCI-R). The FIS-CC and FIS were found to have acceptable internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. Therapists treated 2,004 clients, who completed symptom measures at each session. A series of 2-level Hierarchical Linear Models (clients nested within therapists) found no effect of FIS-CC or FIS on client outcome, though a marginally significant interaction was found indicating therapists with higher FIS-CC scores trended toward better outcomes with clients who had higher symptoms at intake. Exploratory ANOVAs revealed variation between different FIS-CC stimulus clips as well as FIS-CC items, indicating significant heterogeneity between different skills and simulated clients in the FIS-CC Task. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of a reliable performance based measure of therapist cultural competency. Future use of the measure for predicting client outcomes would benefit from more controlled research designs (e.g., Randomized Control Trials) and inclusion of more diverse client samples are recommended.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

Head Start provides comprehensive services to children and families identified as low-income and culturally minoritized. Social service providers should be attuned to the community where they live and work to embrace diversity and ensure inclusion to strengthen and enrich the serviced community's needs. The ability to increase cultural awareness and perspective while gaining the knowledge and ability to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion to inform the design and implementation of related professional development efforts has been examined while maximizing the safety of the learning environment. The Individualized Cultural Conceptual Framework seeks to guide the learning and understanding of this study.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

The front-line supervisors and managers at Unnamed University (UU) are predominately White males. To build and lead diverse teams, leaders need to be able to create a welcoming team environment for all people, no matter their gender, race, culture, religion, or ability. Currently, supervisors are not provided training or education to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to effectively hire or lead a diverse, inclusive team. The leadership development training within facilities management does not include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) terms or tools. Integrating DEI into leadership development programs will equip supervisors and managers with the terms and tools needed to create a welcoming environment and support effective recruiting, hiring, and retention of an inclusive team. In this mixed-methods action research study, the author determined that front-line supervisors and managers have an overall realistic view of diversity in the workplace and want more diverse, equitable, and inclusive language and tools integrated into the leadership development program. The action plan developed from this study creates a foundation for a new approach to facilitating leadership development programs through the effective integration of more equitable and inclusive language and tools. Using a continual improvement approach to the implementation of the action plan allows for stakeholder feedback and adjustments to be made as the plan is rolled out. Ideally normalizing the use of equitable and inclusive language and tools results in an overall culture shift for the organization.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Leadership

This study explored what motivates White male tenured faculty to increase their cultural competence. The purpose of the research was to provide deeper insight into white male faculty's motivation to increase their cultural competence. Critical qualitative research methodology was the chosen methodology with a critical theory and critical ethnographic framework. Fourteen White male tenured faculty volunteered to participate in sixty-minute semi-structured Zoom interviews. Participants responded to five questions exploring their journey with cultural competence ranging from experiences in their childhood to school both pre-k thru twelfth grade to experiences as a faculty member. Findings revealed several themes important to development of cultural competence, which can positively influence student learning. Identified motivating themes include childhood experiences and identity development, call to become an educator, experiences of Whiteness in higher education as well as approaches to inclusive excellence on campus, and an individual love of learning. Embedded in the research findings are also strong support for college student experiential learning opportunities. Insights gleaned from this research can have a direct influence on the design of future learning programs and how best to develop White faculty cultural competence to support inclusive excellence.

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2024, Business Administration

This research study explores how employee resource groups (ERGs) impact individual employee voice behaviors. The study is grounded in the spiral of silence theoretical framework (Codington-Lacerte, 2020; Noelle-Neumann, 1974), with the concepts of psychological safety, social identity, social exchange, and self-efficacy explored as mediating factors. The study consists of a qualitative, single case study at an organization that recently established ERGs. Seventeen employees were interviewed, representing eleven of the organization's twelve ERGs. Results from the study support the application of the spiral of silence theoretical framework at the individual employee level. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the data, which demonstrate that ERGs impact individual voice behaviors through building relationships, creating cultural change, and empowering individuals.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, EDU Teaching and Learning

Chinese, as a world language, has gained popularity in the U.S., specifically within K-12 education. However, the inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners is rarely addressed in Chinese world language education research. This dissertation explores the experiences of a group of fourth-grade CLD learners in a Mandarin Foreign Language in Elementary School (FLES) program situated in a Midwest urban magnet school. The school serves a minority population (majority Black and Hispanic) of about 83%. Specifically, the study explores the language ideologies of parents, teachers, and CLD students regarding their experiences and learning opportunities in the program from a raciolinguistic perspective. This study employed a case study method (Stake, 2005). Data collected included classroom observations, field notes, a collection of classroom artifacts, and recordings of two fourth-grade Mandarin classes for nine months, semi-structured interviews with five CLD parents, the Mandarin teacher, and 18 CLD students during the 2021-2022 school year. To further uncover how learners' linguistic and racial identities have influenced their language ideologies and learning experiences, three focal students were chosen. Drawing on discourse analysis perspectives (Martin & White, 2005; Wortham, 2006; Wortham & Reyes, 2015), key events across data sources were identified, transcribed, and coded to conceptualize CLD learners' diverse experiences in this program. The findings uncovered a diverse range of ideologies held by parents, teachers, and students towards the Mandarin program. Parents generally supported early language learning opportunities in elementary school. However, their conceptualization of Mandarin learning as a diversity-learning opportunity also varied. The Mandarin teacher's ideologies exhibited a mix of plurilingual and monolingual discourses. Her practices shaped the opportunities of her CLD students in various ways. While she demonstrated a c (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

This basic qualitative study explored the experiences of 12 higher education and/or student affairs (HESA) faculty members to understand how their equity, diversity, and inclusion-related courses prepared emerging HESA professionals to support first-generation college students from an anti-deficit perspective. Eligible participants taught in full-time HESA master's programs and were leaders in diversity work based on their equity, diversity, and inclusion-related grant funding, professional awards, and/or diversity-related publications. This research was guided by Perez et al.'s (2017) anti-deficit achievement framework. Data were collected from prescreening questionnaires, pre-interview journals, semistructured interviews, course syllabi, and other participant-shared resources. Generational status was not found to be an independent factor in anti-deficit course content as participants talked about their experiences with intersecting identities, such as first-generation plus Students of Color. Data analysis led to themes about participants' course content which established a foundation of respect and for lifelong learning, integrated anti-deficit pedagogy and empowered advocacy. Themes formed a student development process that promotes emerging HESA professionals' anti-deficit understanding. This study holds important implications for researchers to focus on anti-deficit systems-based approaches to college success. Stakeholders should ask questions with anti-deficit-minded prompts to institutional leadership and as part of institutional self-assessment; encourage syllabus audits and offer anti-deficit-focused faculty development; and prioritize equity, diversity, and inclusion-related teaching as an advantage to tenure, promotion, and course load. Future research should consider the sociological and K–12 educational literature, a case study approach, invite early career HESA professionals as participants, or explore the impact of policies on HESA programs.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

Guided by cultural competency and inclusive leadership frameworks, the study aimed to explore the lack of effective Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) work in social services. A case study was conducted at one developmental disabilities' organization, specifically. The study appropriately utilized participatory action research through a critical lens due to its emphasis on equity and justice. Ten interviews were conducted with participants to gain information regarding the organizational culture in an effort to address the lack of EDI. Led by the research question, the interviews revealed an overall lack of awareness, absence of leadership commitment, lack of value, and environmental concerns that create barriers in developing and sustaining effective EDI work. An action plan was devised to address these concerns.

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2023, Education

Many forms of oppression create barriers for health care, further health disparities, and impact the wellness of physicians. As health disparities, caused by the social determinants of health, complicate the practice of medicine, physicians' risk of burnout increases. The practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility provides a means to overcome health disparities and support physicians while embracing the intersectionality of the populations they serve. Incorporation of Physician Cultural Responsibility into physician professional identity is essential for the practice to be life-long. As there is no standardized curriculum to address teaching the practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility, this study aims to evaluate a proposed curriculum for the adoption of Physician Cultural Responsibility into students' physician professional identity, student experience, and knowledge transfer. Through the transformative research paradigm and transformative learning theory, a mixed-methods study of deidentified qualitative and quantitative data was performed using MaxQDA and SPSS (α = 0.05) analytical software. Results suggest successful adoption of Physician Cultural Responsibility in physician identity development, successful knowledge transfer, as well as improvements in collaboration, belonging, and support in student experiences with within in first year medical students. This curriculum offers best practices for a methodology to address the inequities of practice in cultural competency education requirements within medical education. This includes inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogy aimed at supporting the students' development of skills that improve the patient-physician connection with all patients, limit the impact of personal biases on medical practice, and dismantle the social categorization of medicine. The practice of Physician Cultural Responsibility and it's adoption in physician professional identity yields an opportunity to cre (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

Rural electric cooperatives provide electric service to 42 million people across more than 2,500 counties, including 92% of persistent poverty counties in the United States. However, available information on the gender, racial, and ethnic representation within electric cooperatives and their governing bodies suggests a significant lack of diversity. Although limited, research on the topic of cultural humility training as a method of preparing cooperative employees to embrace a more diverse workforce suggests that rural electric cooperatives could leverage cultural humility concepts to position themselves to increase diversity sustainably. A cultural humility survey and a focus group interview were deployed to measure the baseline level of cultural humility at a rural electric generation and transmission cooperative in the mid-western United States. An action plan was developed that includes providing cultural humility training to the control group and a follow-up survey to all participants to measure the efficacy of the training. The results of the baseline survey and focus group interview indicate an openness to learning about cultural topics and a reticence toward increasing diversity as a matter of necessity. These results suggest a general lack of cultural humility coupled with an openness to learning and curiosity that positions the cooperative well for training in cultural humility. The term “cultural humility” has become widely used in healthcare3 settings and in training; however, this is a concept that can be difficult to understand fully, and there is even less guidance on the intricacies of teaching this concept. There have been a few published works focusing on the teaching of cultural humility. However most of these publications focus on a theoretical rather than an empirical standpoint. The cooperative utility industry, as well as many other industries outside of healthcare, can leverage this study to inform their own pursuit of c (open full item for complete abstract)