ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: Teacher Education
- All Subjects: Postsecondary Education
- Creators: Markos, Amy
Description
This action research study, informed by qualitative critical bricolage methods explored immigrant-origin adult learners’ lived experiences around education. It examined a California community college’s practices and campus climate that hinder adult immigrant learners’ equitable access to and success in postsecondary education. In an attempt to humanize and decolonize the “traditional” research processes, six immigrant-origin adult students on the Central Coast of California participated as co-researchers in a cycle of Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), which served as the innovation within the overall action research. The CPAR innovation aimed to raise immigrant-origin adult learners’ critical consciousness through their five-month-long participation in art-based autoethnographic inquiries and praxis. Through the exploration of their community cultural wealth, the goal of the CPAR innovation was to empower immigrant-origin adult learners to build local capacity for solutions. The CPAR team initiated collective action to improve campus climate and services by sharing their stories through an on-campus exhibit. The study revealed tremendous strengths and resilience of the participants and their communities. The study also found systemic barriers as well as personal and situational factors that affected their educational journeys. The barriers included past traumas, family and work responsibilities, as well as biases and inequitable practices in the education system. Recommendations for educational institutions include (a) training educators on trauma-informed approaches; (b) implementing culturally and linguistically responsive and contextualized instruction and knowledge assessment; (c) making support programs inclusive, adult-focused and stigma-free; (d) valuing students’ aspirational, familial, and social capital; and (e) expanding distance learning opportunities through improving technology access and academic support for online students. Study findings suggest that critical consciousness develops in a complex way and that collective efficacy and opportunity structures support student agency toward equitable academic access and success.
ContributorsOates, Sachiko Ozaki (Author) / Markos, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Hesse, Maria (Committee member) / Byrne, Roxane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
The purpose of this action research study was to improve the implementation of a large-scale redesign of teacher preparation programs at Arizona State University. This was a highly complex redesign that impacted over 150 courses across 27 programs, involving more than 200 faculty and 2,500 students annually. As a result, implementing the redesign posed significant challenges for supporting fidelity and agency across all faculty involved, including many part-time faculty and new hires with no prior knowledge of the redesigned program curricula. While this challenge was not unique, I approached it in a novel way in this action research study by creating course “fact sheets” that provided simple, visual representations of each course’s intended purpose within the program’s context to solve what was fundamentally an information transfer challenge. To study the effects of this intervention, I used a convergent mixed methods approach to address three guiding research questions aimed at exploring (1) how faculty used the course fact sheets, (2) how that use related to differences in outcomes related to implementation fidelity and sense of teaching agency, and (3) how those differences compared to an online orientation module as a more traditional form of professional development. Results showed that a majority of the 122 faculty members surveyed used the course fact sheets and, on average, found them highly usable for the purpose of gaining knowledge about their courses as part of the redesign. Furthermore, those who used course fact sheets had significant increases in their knowledge and confidence of implementation fidelity practices and significant increases in their sense of teaching agency. The results also showed more positive outcomes for those using the fact sheets than those who participated in an orientation module. However, interview results suggested that the fact sheets may not have been enough to address all the factors that influence faculty agency. Nevertheless, this study has important implications for faculty development initiatives in higher education, demonstrating the potential of course fact sheets as a scalable solution to improve the implementation of large-scale redesigns.
ContributorsThurber, Derek (Author) / Markos, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Ross, Lydia (Committee member) / Conley, Quincy (Committee member) / Wendt, Jill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Teacher education has lagged in preparing general educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to support the learning of students with disabilities within inclusive classrooms. This study illustrates how small-scale action research can be used in higher education to analyze teacher preparation practices in a concerted effort toward improvement. Participants included (n =35) preservice teachers in a graduate-level university teacher preparation program in the Pacific Northwest. Mixed methods were utilized to examine the impact of lesson study on preservice teacher self-efficacy and capacity to teach students with disabilities within their respective practicum placements. First developed in Japan, lesson study facilitates a collaborative effort between teachers to improve instructional knowledge and skills. In this study, a new variation of lesson study was developed to align teacher preparation course content with High Leverage Practices in special education. Outcomes from this study indicate the need to align coursework with practicum experiences to optimize the acquisition of knowledge and skills through deliberate practice. In addition, this study highlights how High Leverage Practices can serve as a pedagogical bridge between the perpetual division of special and general education teacher preparation programs.
ContributorsArnold, Kristen (Author) / Markos, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Benedict, Amber (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the innovation, the Professional Learning Community-Orientation Modules (PLC-OM), on new teachers’ (NTs) attitudes towards and self-efficacy for PLCs and their self-efficacy and abilities as NTs. The school district in which this study took place did not have any support for NTs who entered their Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The PLC-OM was designed to address the lack of support for PLCs, increasing NTs knowledge of PLCs and PLC skills and empowering them to act within collaborative networks. The literature review includes various, relevant studies from areas such as new teacher retention, specifically induction and mentoring programs, NT collaboration, and NT self-efficacy and past research around PLCs and online learning communities. The theory guiding this study includes sociocultural theory, social cognitive theory, and communities of practice. This mixed-methods action research study was conducted within southeastern Pennsylvania and included a total of 18 participants from elementary, middle, and high school. The innovation was implemented over a 13-week period with participants engaging in asynchronous and synchronous activities through Schoology, a learning management system. Participants completed pre- and post-innovation surveys and the Perceived New Teacher Growth Level Survey. Additionally, throughout the PLC-OM, NTs completed a Flipgrid introduction, discussion board responses, and PLC reflections. Flipgrid is a video recording platform that allows participants to create short videos and share with a group. They also engaged in virtual synchronous meetings as an entire cohort which were led by the researcher and focus-group interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and a one sample t-test for the pre- and post-innovation surveys while the qualitative data was analyzed using a grounded theory approach, specifically the constant comparative method. All data was triangulated to confirm and corroborate findings.
Results suggested that the PLC-OM was beneficial for NTs and contributed to an increase in self-efficacy for PLCs and as NTs. NTs showed an increase in knowledge of PLCs and their PLC skills including interpersonal skills that can assist with collaboration. Additionally, the PLC-OM positively influenced NTs attitudes toward PLCs and their abilities as NTs. The discussion focuses on clarifying the following: the changes in NTs self-efficacy for PLCs and as NTs; the attitudes of NTs toward PLCs; and the influence of the PLC-OM design.
ContributorsForrest, Nicole (Author) / Markos, Amy (Thesis advisor) / Florio, Tammi (Committee member) / Farmakis, Heather (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021