Theses and dissertations

This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students. 

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Increasing Cultural Responsiveness Among University Faculty Through Cultural Intelligence Training

Description
In this mixed-methods action research study, I guided a small cohort of university faculty members through a semester-long professional development program to learn strategies for creating more inclusive environments for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. During the program, and guided by my original, reconceptualized framework of Cultural Intelligence (CI),…

In this mixed-methods action research study, I guided a small cohort of university faculty members through a semester-long professional development program to learn strategies for creating more inclusive environments for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. During the program, and guided by my original, reconceptualized framework of Cultural Intelligence (CI), faculty sought to implement culturally responsive behaviors to demonstrate inclusion in teaching, classroom environments, or materials. To understand these behaviors in detail, faculty used an Innovation Configuration (IC) Map I developed over several research cycles. During this final cycle, I ascertained how well the IC Map helped faculty participants demonstrate CI via the three Cultural Capabilities of Cultural Openness, Cultural Awareness, and Cultural Responsiveness, to promote the outcomes of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Using document analyses, surveys, observations, and focus group discussions, I determined that faculty benefited from the program in building community and understanding better how to practically apply CI for CLD student inclusion, particularly as it related to demonstrating Cultural Responsiveness in teaching and classroom environments. Faculty reported a nearly unanimous need for greater Cultural Awareness in creating more responsive materials for not just CLD, but all, student success. Faculty consistently agreed on the relevancy of such professional development initiatives in helping them achieve DEI-related outcomes.
ContributorsBhatti-Klug, Renee Ronika (Author) / Beardsley, Audrey (Thesis advisor) / Graves Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / McGee, Jeff (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
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Participatory Action Research: Honors Students and Online Honors Seminar Courses

Description
Honors programs in the United States offer high-quality educational experiences for exceptional students at the undergraduate level. These experiences generally take place in a face-to-face format. In recent years, higher education embraced online learning as a strategy to increase flexibility and access for students with diverse needs. Research has clearly…

Honors programs in the United States offer high-quality educational experiences for exceptional students at the undergraduate level. These experiences generally take place in a face-to-face format. In recent years, higher education embraced online learning as a strategy to increase flexibility and access for students with diverse needs. Research has clearly established online learning as an effective model for high-quality education, yet, honors programs have been resistant to this shift in learning modalities. The community of inquiry theoretical framework provided a method for the assessment of online discussions and courses using a validated survey and coding instrument. Using a critical digital pedagogical lens to guide this mixed-methods participatory action research (PAR) study, an online honors seminar course was implemented in the fall of 2021. Honors students worked alongside the researcher as they developed an assessment tool based on the community of inquiry survey, selected different online discussion tools, and provided ongoing feedback throughout the course. Two research questions guided the study. First, what were student perceptions of different online discussion tools and their utility in facilitating social and cognitive presence in an online honors seminar course? And, second, how did engaging in a critical PAR research study impact an honors student’s experience in an online honors seminar course? Data were collected from students’ open-ended reflections, transcripts of online discussions, and responses to the revised community of inquiry survey. The results from this PAR study showed that students spoke favorably about all online discussion tools implemented in the online honors seminar course and each discussion tool was found to be effective in nurturing social and cognitive presence. Students also spoke favorably about their experiences engaging in the PAR study. The most important finding was that by authentically engaging students in the design, implementation, and assessment of an online honors seminar course high-quality learning outcomes could be achieved in an online environment. Within the honors community, future research and practice regarding the intersection of honors curriculum and online learning are essential to maintain the relevancy of honors programs.
ContributorsHacker, Jayci (Author) / Kurz, Terri (Thesis advisor) / Graves Wolf, Leigh (Committee member) / Rodari Meisner, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
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Tuning In To A Grace-Based Approach To Leadership: A Management Podcast Designed for Learning

Description
My research explored two issues in leadership development: how busy executives can sustainably learn with flexibility and efficiency and how to cultivate a grace-based approach to leadership. This is a dissertation in practice that offers an alternative format from traditional research yet still advances professional knowledge, rigorous thinking and…

My research explored two issues in leadership development: how busy executives can sustainably learn with flexibility and efficiency and how to cultivate a grace-based approach to leadership. This is a dissertation in practice that offers an alternative format from traditional research yet still advances professional knowledge, rigorous thinking and complex problem-solving. This reimagined manuscript includes a multi-modal presentation of the theory, methods, analysis and findings for an emerging leadership concept and an improved direction for mobile learning research. These findings can be experienced by listening to an embedded podcast series and reading draft articles for academic and business media journals that speak to the audience of influencers in my professional context of leadership researchers, advisors and coaches. The learning innovation involved is a podcast called Giving Grace Matters that includes narrative and interviews with high-performing executives about a grace-based approach to leadership, and the qualitative analysis of these interviews served as the basis for constructing the knowledge about this leadership concept using three guiding theories: Planned Behavior, Self-Determination, and Intentional Change. The research identified the novel concept of a grace-based approach to leadership that can be applied in organizations as well as the need for further evaluation of how a flexible learning framework for microlearning experiences, such as podcasts, can be intentionally designed.
ContributorsStephens Stauffer, Deborah (Author) / Graves Wolf, Leigh (Thesis advisor) / Chapman, Amy (Committee member) / Leahy, Sean (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023