EL Theses and Dissertations
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Item A narrative inquiry: Black girls’ intersectional experiences in advanced placement courses(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Curry-Royal, Christy L.; Sherif, VictoriaFor over six decades, the Advanced Placement program has offered colleges and universities an effective and dependable rigorous curriculum and assessment for senior high school students. During this time, the program has grown from 104 to over 21,000 participating public high schools across the country that offer students the opportunity to enroll and participate in rigorous college preparation courses (The College Board, 2016). Although Advanced Placement has experienced exponential growth over the years, there remains a dearth of knowledge about the Black girls’ experiences in Advanced Placement, especially challenges related to their intersecting identities of race, gender, and class. This study utilized Intersectionality, as a theoretical framework, and a Narrative Inquiry qualitative methodology. Both allowed me to explore of the experiences of Black girls in Advanced Placement with race, gender, and class, the meanings they assign to the experiences, and understand how these social identities overlap. This study’s findings highlighted that the study participants had experiential and non-experiential similarities. Their reasoning for selecting, enrolling, and participating in Advanced Placement differed, along with their selected path to earn college credit. The girls preferred classes with more diversity or diverse teachers and students. Their narratives revealed that race and gender played a role in their Advanced Placement experiences. The study conclusions were that the Black girls experienced intersectional microaggressions and exhibited self-determination. Additionally, the participants had support systems that impacted their ability to select, enroll, and participate in Advanced Placement, which seemed to aid them in being academically successful. By displaying the Black girls’ experiential realities, their experiences inform and help improve Advanced Placement programming and participation.Item The attitudes and beliefs of medical residents and fellows toward obesity(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Zayat, Janane Fuad Haddad; Herron, Jason P.The attitudes and beliefs of physicians predict the physician’s intent to treat obese patients. This study examined medical residents’ and fellows' attitudes toward obesity. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the attitudes of medical fellows or examined the attitudes and beliefs of the various specialties of medical residents specializing in various toward obesity. Moreover, no study has researched the medical residents or fellows’ weight and their attitudes or beliefs toward obesity. Participants (n=314) completed the “Physician” and “Obesity” survey. A descriptive analysis, the correlation between the participants’ formal obesity education and their competency in treating obesity, and an ANOVA to assess the statistical significance of the participant’s weights and their attitudes towards obesity were explored. Our findings suggest that even though the participants agree that obesity can be treated successfully, they are unsure of their ability to treat it. Moreover, results revealed that heavier physicians perceived an increased need for obesity training and were more empathetic. Statistics showed a stronger correlation between the inclusion of obesity education and the physicians’ ability to treat mild versus severe obesity. These results suggest the need for adequate comprehensive obesity training during medical residency and fellowship. Most participants omitted answering whether their obesity training was adequate, indicating further investigation and a need for future research on the adequacy of obesity training. Future research on the components of obesity in the curriculum during medical residency and fellowship, based on a shortened survey, is warranted.Item Can you see me now? Burnout and the experiences of overly involved undergraduate students of color(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Fonseca-Medina, Gabriel A; Thompson, Valerie J.This dissertation delves into the nuanced experiences of undergraduate student leaders of color who navigate the complexities of being overly involved in extracurricular activities at predominantly White institutions. Overly involved is a student who participates in twelve or more hours per week in their activities. Despite the increasing diversity within campuses, the voices of student leaders of color often remain marginalized within academic discourse. This general qualitative study seeks to illuminate their experiences, shedding light on their unique challenges and opportunities. Drawing upon Astin’s Theory of Involvement, Astin’s IEO Model, Maslach’s multidimensional Theory of Burnout, and Goodman’s Tapestry Model, this research employed general qualitative inquiry methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews and focus groups to gather rich narratives from ten overly involved (twelve or more hours) undergraduate student leaders of color throughout the United States. Through analysis, the study identifies common themes and patterns within their experiences, examining the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and other social identities. The findings of this study reveal the multifaceted nature of being overly involved as a student leader of color, highlighting the tensions between academic responsibilities, extracurricular commitments, and personal wellbeing. Participants articulate feelings of tokenization, impostor syndrome, and the burden of representation while expressing a sense of empowerment, community building, and identity affirmation through their involvement.Item Burnout in school counselors: A comparison of race and gender of counselor experiences(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Le, Diana; Herron, Jason P.This quantitative study aims to identify burnout among various groups of school counselors. The research examines whether there are statistical differences in burnout between school counselors of minoritized ethnicity compared to that of white school counselors. Specifically, this study explored the experiences of cisgender male school counselors compared to cisgender female school counselors. Lastly, it compared very experienced school counselors to less experienced ones in years. With the use of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), licensed school counselors in the United States will be measured. Using a criterion sample with a snowball sampling technique, the study yielded 437 acceptable responses to the CBI. There were 365 submissions by school counselors who identified as white or Caucasian. In comparison, there were 72 submissions from those of various ethnic groups, which were grouped together to form a minoritized group. Regarding analyzing gender differences, there were a staggering 410 or nearly 94% female submissions and 26 (5.95%) male submissions. Although the minoritized participants averaged a mean score higher than the white participants' scores, using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), there was no statistically significant difference in the burnout scores for both groups regarding personal-related and work-related burnout. However, for client-related burnout, there was a statistical difference in minoritized school counselors’ burnout being higher than that of white school counselors. This is also seen in female school counselors having statistically higher burnout as compared to male school counselors in the category of client-related burnout. Before this study's introduction, there was little knowledge about the subject of burnout among minoritized school counselors. The findings may bridge the gap regarding improving the United States educational system.Item The shift towards andragogical-based basic training curriculums: Exploring self-efficacy of community policing practices among police recruits(Wichita State University, 2024-05) Johnson, Nathan; Herron, Jason P.The purpose of this quantitative study was to help inform a gap in literature with providing understanding to how an andragogical-based law enforcement basic training curriculum impacts the self-efficacy beliefs of community policing practices among police recruits in Kansas. While police recruits based on their status of being at the beginning or at the conclusion of their basic training program, further levels of police recruits were explored: agency type, military service, basic training experience, and group conflict status. This study’s findings supported the previous research advocation for switching to an andragogical model. Specifically, the overall finding suggests an andragogical-model may increase problem-solving skills among police recruits. This was notable among the conflict status variable, which reflects the precept of diversity being shared and experienced among the police recruits within their autonomy may positively impact the learning environment. A notable finding of this study included many of the police recruits who identified with an underrepresented identity did not find a social psychological conflict within their identity of being a police officer. The limitation of this study focuses on being a baseline of understanding the impact of andragogy on the basic training environment and it is hoped to precipitate future research opportunities.