Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Higher Education (Education)

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Spring 2020 saw many of the United States' estimated 19.9 million college students (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2019a, Table 303.60) and 1.5 million educators (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2019b, Table 315.10) experiencing remotely delivered curriculum. Higher education (HE) seeks to shape socially responsible leaders for sustainable professional practice (Chan, 2016; Moosmayer et al., 2018). However, in the case of nursing education which prepares future professionals through theoretical and practical training (Berndtsson et al., 2020), educators struggled to provide practical experiences via electronic resources (AACN, 2020a; Swift et al., 2020). This study will explore the nursing educator's decision-making process of selecting effective remote learning experiences to meet the required practical learning needs of the undergraduate nursing student.

Committee: Laura M. Harrison (Committee Chair) Subjects: Adult Education; Community College Education; Community Colleges; Curricula; Curriculum Development; Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Technology; Educational Theory; Epistemology; Health Care; Health Education; Health Sciences; Higher Education; Nursing; Teacher Education

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

The University of Dayton's Lalanne program forms especially qualified and committed teachers for service in Catholic K-12 education. Members commit to living in intensive faith community with fellow participants during two years of mentored classroom teaching in under-resourced Catholic schools, while earning a fully-funded master's degree. Recruitment has fluctuated dramatically, with 2022 bringing the smallest-ever influx of new members. This practical action research study scrutinizes 25 years of recruitment experiences, establishing that personalized and networked recruiting practices emphasizing the alignment of career advantages and growth in communal life were the most influential. Interpretive thematic analysis of open-response survey data indicates that a deeper understanding and better articulation of the multi-faceted appeal of program life holds enormous potential for improving future recruitment. An intervention strategy is proposed which targets improvement in practice by consolidating research findings with proposed remedies, while recommending follow-on investigation of themes covering all aspects of Lalanne program life. Plan objectives further entail leadership actions to bolster wellness resources in household communities and initiate a formal process of continual evaluation for program operation and improvement.

Committee: Matthew Witenstein (Committee Chair); Thomas Oldenski S.M. (Committee Member); Radhika Iyengar (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Organization Theory; Religious Education; Teacher Education

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1961, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

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

Faculty are critical players to advance institutional mission in higher education (Clark, 1972). Hiring faculty who have an affinity for mission and who understand and support Catholicism in the spirit of an institution's founding charism can be a significant challenge for academic leaders and for the longevity of institutional mission in Catholic higher education (Heft, 2021). Faculty across disciplines may find it challenging to grasp or apply the mission of their Catholic university because mission-related criteria are not always understood or prioritized in faculty hiring processes (Breslin, 2000; Briele, 2012; Heft, 2021; Steele, 2008). Currently, there is no standard mission focused guide for faculty hiring at the University of Dayton (UD), a Catholic Marianist University. Given that hiring priorities and practical knowledge of Catholic Marianist principles of education differ among faculty across the university, hiring for mission criteria may not be well defined among search committees. This practical action research study used qualitative methods to explore how affinity for the University of Dayton's Catholic Marianist mission is assessed in faculty searches. Results showed that search committee members consider mission principles at least moderately important, but these have not been consistently identified in candidate assessment criteria. Still, participants discussed six mission-based criteria with twenty component elements that have been operative in some way in recent faculty searches. This knowledge, coupled with the principles of Marianist education, informed Hiring Faculty to Engage Catholic Marianist Mission, a practical intervention plan to strengthen hiring for mission practices through articulating the purpose of hiring for mission; developing criteria and assessment rubrics; standardizing the hiring for mission search process; and fostering faculty stakeholder participation. Anticipated results of the action plan and challenges in project lead (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Matthew Witenstein (Committee Chair); Carolyn Roecker Phelps (Committee Member); Laura Leming FMI (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Organization Theory; Religious Congregations; Religious Education

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2023, Arts and Sciences: Geography

Corporate mobility management (CMM) is an essential tool to mitigate the negative impact that transportation can have on climate and the environment. This paper introduces CMM, along with its definition, process, and measures. Based on the analysis of three case studies, the implementation of the measures in practice is shown. In particular, effects of laws and regulations and their effect on CMM are identified and discussed. A comprehensive literature review shows that these CMM measures can be effectively used as a tool to influence and individual's mobility behavior and reduce traffic, especially traffic with combustion engines. In addition to push- and pull- measures, infrastructure measures such as bus lanes are also being implemented. The case study analysis indicates possible limitations to CMM measures in practice. The analysis of the laws and regulations shows that some laws can affect the implementation and effectiveness of CMM measures positively, while some might hinder the implementation of measures. Future research will focus on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on CMM.

Committee: Robert South Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kevin Raleigh Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jeffrey Brewer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

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

Identity and branding in higher education institutions is one of the many attributes of a university that potential students look for when searching for a place to study. This phenomenological qualitative study used interviews of eleven current and past students at the University of the Great Lakes (UGL) to discover what attributes of the university were important while contributing to their decisions about attending the university. The results indicated that branding and other factors were instrumental in helping these students pick the UGL—a decision that gave the participants the knowledge necessary to broaden their experiences and shape their future goals. Further findings suggested that the UGL should promote its strengths of student engagement and resources, professors, and their brand. Findings also suggested that the negative aspects of the UGL, including leadership turnover and layoffs of staff and faculty, need to be mitigated going forward.

Committee: Davin Carr-Chellman (Committee Chair); Aryn Baxter (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Higher Education Administration; Marketing

MA, Kent State University, 2020, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Philosophy

In Religion and Nothingness, Nishitani Keiji offers a diagnosis and solution to the problem of nihilism in Japanese consciousness. In order to overcome the problem of nihilism, Nishitani argues that one needs to pass from the field of consciousness through the field of nihility to the field of emptiness. Drawing upon Japanese Buddhist and Western philosophical sources, Nishitani presents an erudite theoretical resolution to the problem. However, other than Zen meditation, Nishitani does not provide a practical means to arrive on the field of emptiness. Since emptiness must be continuously emptied of conceptual representations for it to be fully experienced, I argue that solving the problem of nihilism in Japanese consciousness requires individuals first become aware of the reality of the problem of nihilism in Nishitani's terms and then personally contend with emptying representations of emptiness in their own lives.

Committee: Jung-Yeup Kim (Advisor) Subjects: Philosophy; Religion; Teaching

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of various facets of middle school mathematics teachers' practical rationality on their instructional decision making as they plan to enact the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice, CCSS-MP1 (perseverance in problem solving) and CCSS-MP3 (communicating and critiquing). The study expands and confronts some of the literature that lacks specifics to instructional decisions made by middle school mathematics teachers, particularly with regards to their disposition, the operationalization of their MKT, and the connection to the institutional obligations affecting their practical rationality. This study provides insight into three facets impacting middle school mathematics teachers' instructional decision making with regards to CCSS-MP1 and CCSS-MP3. First with regards to teacher disposition, a facilitative role using a problem solving approach is preferred. Secondly, curricular choices are made directly tied to the teachers' MKT. Finally, although the teachers recognized that they had certain obligations to the institution, they also held the belief that the institution was obligated to them as well. The two main obligations required from the institution were the need for professional development provided by the district and appropriate resources that promote problem solving and communication. These results suggest the need for professional development for in-service and preservice teachers in the facilitative approach to mathematics instructions, more time for teachers to work collaboratively in professional learning communities (PLCs), professional development for district administrators, board members and parents with regards to a more rigorous and investigative approach to mathematics instruction.

Committee: Karl Kosko (Committee Co-Chair); Joanne Caniglia (Committee Co-Chair); Jay Jahangiri (Committee Member) Subjects: Mathematics Education; Middle School Education; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2015, Leadership and Change

Transformation of health care systems will be grounded in new professional relations and collective, cross-disciplinary actions to impact care delivery. Organizing such relations and actions involves practical inquiry rather than applying professional knowledge. This dissertation presents an exploratory, performative study of the initial organizing of the Health Systems Innovation and Research (HSIR) Program in Health Sciences at the University of Utah. The HSIR program was conceived principally to catalyze cross-disciplinary innovation and health services research and enhance care delivery changes by documenting care improvements and publishing research. This study includes a composite narrative of the organizing and practical inquiry work of HSIR organizers, which highlights many questions, issues, possibilities, and priority shifts that would likely face those who would seek to transform care delivery and the cultures of academic medicine. The study identifies improvement, integration, and transformative strategies as pathways to effect change in health systems. The study includes a narrative-based analysis of cultural, dynamic, and narrative resources to enhance understanding of the HSIR story and the implications of cultural and dynamic influences for the Program's future and health systems transformation. This analysis emphasizes the cultural and dynamic influences of academic and clinical departments and other sources of dynamic influence that were operating to hinder or facilitate the larger objectives of HSIR organizers. The study also explores the significance of collective practical inquiry, exploratory inquiry, and culture change to the practice and theory of leadership and change. The HSIR study was conducted using a practice study methodology developed from practice and narrative theories, with contributions from complexity, process, learning, organizing, social construction, and relational theories and empirical studies of professionals undergoing cha (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Guskin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Laura Roberts Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Member); William Plater Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Health Care Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Social Research

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

A wiser socio-economic system, by design and not by chance, may well benefit from a series of design principles drawn from the well of wisdom. This dissertation focused on a refined set of eight components of wisdom through research designed to explore if, how, and when they are invoked by a group of experts participating in a futures discussion about organizations in their field of practice, American higher education. The aim was to explore a set of wisdom-centered design principles (denoted as Wise By Design [WBD]) for social innovation, specifically in the design of organizations that would thrive in the future. After four rounds of engagement with a panel of experts with approximately 500 years of accumulated experience in the field, six conclusions were reached: a) an organization could be seen as wise; if leadership, management, and innovation practices are augmented by wisdom; b) the use of design principles based on wisdom and futures inquiry could help organizations develop wise processes; c) wise people develop the ability to take an objectivized balanced perspective when confronted with situations, decisions, or requests for advice; d) wisdom could be described as a multi-channel sense-and-respond adaptive system with the higher purpose of flourishing of self and others; e) interoperability and dual hybridity, both administrative and academic, could enable institutions of higher education to thrive in the future; and f) this field of research could lead into a discussion on the value of exploring artificial wisdom. The electronic version of this Dissertation is at Ohiolink ETD Center, http://etd.ohiolink.edu and AURA http://aura.antioch.edu/

Committee: Alan Guskin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Laurien Alexandre Ph.D. (Committee Member); R. Eugene Rice Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2014, English-Composition

First-year composition instructors are expected to teach students how to write for college. Without considering students who speak marginalized varieties of English, instructors may unknowingly enforce culturally hegemonic language policies when correcting students' non-standard grammars. By approaching language as an activity, first-year composition instructors can form critically aware language opinions and find new ways to encourage their students to do the same. First, this thesis will investigate Ebonics using terms and scholarship from the area of linguistics. Next, this thesis will use the frameworks of critical pedagogy to discuss practical classroom activities that will help students realize that many of their thoughts on language are based on social constructions and not objective facts. The final chapters will question the preliminary findings with theories from the field of Language as a Communicative Activity.

Committee: William Thelin Dr. (Advisor); Janet Bean Dr. (Committee Member); Jennifer Milam Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Composition; Education; Educational Theory

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2013, Curriculum and Instruction: Early Childhood Education

Narrative analysis opens up a pedagogical research space to investigate the questions of what do we teach and how, illuminating a deeper understanding of the complexity of embedding inquiry based, constructivist practices into the early childhood classroom. The following research represents a form of inquiry that exposes the tensions that emerged out of the context of a specific professional study group's engagement in the study of the Project Approach between personal epistemological beliefs, classroom practices and the professional field of early childhood education. The narratives of four teachers tell the stories of early childhood educators seeking to implement projects into their classrooms and to open up a dialogue that invites us to take a deeper look at the findings of this research that challenge and uncover the following narrative threads: the role of experience in teachers' ability to connect the theory of inquiry-based practices with implementation; the invitation to challenge teacher education and professional development models that disseminate content and information with the expectation that methods are assimilated into teachers' epistemological perspectives and practices; and the need for additional, qualitative methods that expose the complexity of teachers' lives and calls to view teachers holistically and as learners who approach teaching and learning from multiple perspectives. The stories found within this research are far from quantifiable or generalizable, but provide a new lens on project-based work and provide insight into the possibility and capacity for projects within the current field of early childhood educators. The challenge of this research is to pay close attention to the experiences of educators in the field and take the time to observe, document and tell their stories. We need to stop the efficiency model of labeling and engage in more narrative inquiry to gain a deeper understanding that can inform our practices and bu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ruslan Slutsky Ph.D. (Advisor); Sylvia Chard Ph.D. (Committee Member); Susanna Hapgood Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lynne Hamer Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Epistemology; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, EDU Teaching and Learning

Taking a Vygotskian sociocultural theory approach to teacher learning in the form of activity theory, this qualitative case study examined how and the extent to which two pre-service teachers of Spanish in a university teacher education program interpreted and implemented the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach as a function of the goals and motives within the multiple activity settings (the university, elementary schools, and high school) in which they learned to teach. Data-gathering methods included classroom observations, post-observation interviews, in-depth interviews, and the analysis of coursework documents. Data sources were analyzed using the extended case method (Vaughan, 1992) and Engestrom's (2001) third-generation triangular model of activity. The findings reveal that although the pre-service teachers were able to develop an understanding of the theoretical foundations that inform and motivate the practice of CLT (i.e., appropriating its conceptual underpinnings), in terms of implementing the conceptual underpinnings of this approach through classroom practice, they were not able to consistently execute lessons that reflect the tenets of a CLT curriculum as outlined in the relevant literature (Nunan, 1991; Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Savignon, 1997) as they transitioned from one activity setting to another. It was concluded, therefore, that the pre-service teachers appropriated CLT as a pseudoconcept (Vygotsky, 1994a, 1994b). That is to say, there was some evidence of internal contradictions and inconsistencies in their implementation of CLT principles which were functions of the settings and subsettings in which they learned to teach. Primary, secondary, and tertiary tensions (Engestrom, 1987, 2001) emerged as the pre-service teachers aimed to strike a balance among their own goals for teaching, the local realities of their activity settings, the goals and expectations of their mentor teachers, and the motives of their teacher education prog (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alan Hirvela (Committee Chair); George Newell (Committee Co-Chair); Keiko Samimy (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Foreign Language; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Philosophy

In my dissertation, I develop and defend a new version of the Kantian theory of action and practical rationality. According to the Kantian theory of action, action is behavior that is genuinely guided by a series of representations which reflect the agent's understanding of what he is doing – namely, judgments about reasons for action, best judgments and choices. Moreover, one significant claim of the Kantian theory of practical rationality is the claim that rational action is action that accords with one's best judgment, and irrational action is action that goes against one's best judgment - where acting in accordance with one's best judgment is taken to be a necessary (and not sufficient) condition of rational action, whereas acting against one's best judgment is taken to be a sufficient condition of irrational action. While these claims are taken for granted by Kantians, they have recently come under significant fire. In a well-known paper, Nomy Arpaly presents a character named “Sam”, an agent who allegedly acts rationally even though he acts against his best judgment. In light of Sam, Arpaly concludes that we should reject the aforementioned claim of the Kantian theory of practical rationality. Now, while Arpaly's main target is the Kantian theory of practical rationality, the argument has repercussions for the Kantian theory of action as well. As it happens, the Kantian theory of action makes a further claim that makes accommodating the case of Sam quite difficult - it claims that the agency in action is manifested in the role that conscious representations play in action. In light of the problems associated with this claim, Arpaly suggests that we dispense with the Kantian project in its entirety. In contrast with Arpaly, I am less pessimistic about the Kantian enterprise. I develop a theory of action and practical rationality that coopts much of the Kantian framework, but revises the Kantian claim about agency in action. Specifically, I claim that unconsci (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Timothy Schroeder PhD (Committee Chair); Sigrún Svavarsdóttir PhD (Committee Member); Piers Norris Turner PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Philosophy

A practical reason, in my terminology, is a consideration in favor of doing something, a normative entity that ought to be weighed in when deciding what to do. A neo-Humean subjectivist about practical reasons thinks that there is, in the very least, a standard connection between having a basic, unmotivated desire and having a practical reason to take the means to its satisfaction. Harry Frankfurt, a neo-Humean, believes that this standard connection is sometimes severed. In some instances, an agent has a basic desire, recognizes one or more adequate means, and yet has no practical reason whatsoever to take any of these means because the desire itself “does not deserve a voice” in practical deliberation. Call a desire that is not able to generate practical reasons a “rationally impotent desire.” Is Frankfurt correct? Are there rationally impotent basic desires? And is the neo-Humean able to explain how a basic desire is able to be rendered rationally impotent? I argue that there are rationally impotent basic desires; that the neo-Humean is able to account for them, by appealing to volitional norms contained in personal ideals; and that my subjectivist account of rationally impotent basic desires is stronger and more plausible than the proposals made by Kant and the neo-Kantian Christine Korsgaard.

Committee: Donald Hubin (Advisor) Subjects: Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Educational Policy and Leadership

This investigation explores how in-service teachers conceptualize teaching, integrate the personal and the professional dimensions of their lives, and develop teacher identities. This instrumental case study of 10 teachers builds on the previous work regarding personalization of practical and professional educational knowledge. All teachers studied were teaching in a single urban charter school guided by an experiential philosophy. This qualitative investigation lasted for one school year and included extensive time observing and interviewing the teachers. This study found that major resources for these foundational processes are relational experiences, both informal and formal. A metaphor of a black box is used to describe an inner collection of influential and remembered events and is a place where the personal and professional meet. The black box emphasizes the relational aspects of teaching and is found to respond to two major influences: (a) biographical experiences, including K-12 experiences and personal qualities, and (b) the exploration of self as teacher, including developing perspectives of what it means to be a student. Other less defined qualities of the black box are passion and motivation, both linked to the main characteristic of the relational. This investigation reveals that teachers responding to a school's educational philosophy still conceptualize teaching through their own personal experiences. The study informs teacher educators that they must recognize how individuals develop their identities as teachers, rather than simply focusing on what teachers need to know to be teachers. The study found that preparation programs had limited impact on teacher development. Teachers emphasized a need for active learning that encourages taking the perspective of student and teacher. Further research on the personalization of teacher knowledge is needed to further develop the idea of the relational quality of teacher conceptualization and to identify how th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anita Woolfolk Hoy (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Teacher Training

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2010, Geography (Arts and Sciences)

This research seeks to explore the ways in which the women of Ciudad Sandino have participated in community-driven development (CDD) and what impacts this participation has had on the gender relations between men and women. I am able to address this by using qualitative methods to conduct a case study of the Genesis spinning cooperative, which is part of the Jubilee House Community – Center for Development in Central America. I have found that for members of the Genesis project there have been significant changes in their lives due to their participation, however the implications of these changes is different for men than it is for women. Similarly, although gender ideologies have been challenged at the individual level due to participation, in this context, participation does not necessarily challenge the structural system in place which upholds societal views of gender roles.

Committee: Risa Whitson Dr. (Advisor); Yeong Kim Dr. (Committee Member); Edna Wangui Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Geography; Social Structure; Womens Studies

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 1991, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Engineering and Technology)

Practical model reduction for large flexible structures using residue comparison techniques

Committee: Jerrel Mitchell (Advisor) Subjects:

PHD, Kent State University, 2012, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

This study addressed the gap between teacher beliefs studies that claim beliefs of teachers influence practice and the recommendations for democratic practice presented in much of the literature on democracy in education. A collective case study methodology was selected to explore the processes and ways in which three beginning teachers' beliefs about democracy in education were related to their teaching behaviors and decision-making. The question guiding this study was, in what ways are these beginning social studies teachers with democratic purposes influenced by their personal practical theories of democracy in the secondary classroom? To address this question, three participants were selected for this study based on the criteria assumed by the questions. Data was collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews, post-observation debriefing interviews, observation field notes, and artifacts from teaching practice. The results of this research included three to five personal practical theories of democracy for each participant, a substantive theory of how these three teachers enacted their personal practical theories of democracy, and three major findings. These findings included: conceptualizing democratic living; mediating factors in the belief-practice dialectic; and purpose and practice in social studies. These results are presented in this dissertation in support of an argument for the need for social studies teacher candidates to engage in a process of refining purpose by exploring beliefs, images, assumptions, and notions of what it means to teach social studies and the potentially problematic concepts in the field of social studies as they relate to practice, namely democracy.

Committee: Alicia Crowe PhD (Committee Chair); Todd Hawley PhD (Committee Member); Susan Iverson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Secondary Education; Social Studies Education; Teacher Education