Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2009, Psychology

Work breaks are commonly incorporated into employees' workdays under the assumption that breaks have a restorative effect on employee well-being. In the present study, I tested this assumption by examining well-being changes over the course of a workday, and recovery experiences engaged in during lunch breaks were tested as predictors of post-lunch break well-being. Results indicated that there were overall changes in worker well-being throughout the day with well-being being significantly lower at the end of a workday than at other measurement periods. Furthermore, detachment and positive work reflection experienced during the lunch break were significant predictors of exhaustion, fatigue, and vigor after lunch, and only positive work reflection during lunch significantly predicted post-lunch attentiveness. Control experienced during lunch significantly predicted exhaustion and attentiveness at the end of the workday. The results obtained from this study shed light on general trends in well-being throughout employee workdays, and further affirm the importance of engaging in recovery experiences during respites.

Committee: Charlotte Fritz (Advisor); Steve Jex (Committee Member); Robert Carels (Committee Member) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, ED Policy and Leadership

Research on student-teacher relationships over the last several decades has focused on the impact that such relationships have for the student. From such research we know that the relationship between a teacher and the student does promote cognitive and social development as well as academic achievement. Research has also demonstrated that classroom teachers prefer certain personality and character traits. It is plausible that these preferences contribute to differential treatment of students. Acknowledging that differential behaviors do occur, this study intends to explore the question of why they occur and to investigate what influence, if any, productive reflection might have on those behaviors. The purpose of this research was to examine changes in relationships between a teacher and the individual students in her class over the course of one school year. Both teacher and researcher systematically examined concepts of closeness between teacher and student through productive reflection techniques, including the creation of diagrams to physically represent the tacit closeness the teacher perceived. In addition, observations of classroom interactions, personal reflections written by the teacher, and interviews consisting of guided reflection were compared and contrasted to discover differences between the perceptions held by the teacher and what is displayed in the classroom. The findings suggest that the teacher was influenced by the interactions with her students and that those interactions in turn may indicate significant implications for how, why and with whom she created and maintained relationships, as well as the type of relationships established. Results from this study expand on recent findings regarding the factors that influence a teacher's choice for interaction with specific students by illuminating those social concepts and processes that persuade teachers as they make relationship choices. This study concludes that classroom relationships are much mo (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anita Woolfolk Hoy PhD (Advisor); Phil Smith PhD (Committee Member); Heather A. Davis PhD (Committee Member); Barbara Seidl PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Personal Relationships; Teacher Education