Browsing by Author "Carlson, Laurie, advisor"
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Item Open Access Academic capitalism and Jesuit higher education: a critical discourse analysis of mission statements(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Billings, Christine D., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Kirby, Erika, committee member; Palmquist, Michael, committee member; Stewart, D-L, committee memberSlaughter and Rhoades (2009) developed the theory of academic capitalism to explain the market-like behaviors of colleges and universities, which has been made more prevalent by the rise in neoliberal ideology and the new knowledge-based economy. Bok (2003), Giroux (2003), and others have warned against these market-like behaviors as a threat to the public good of higher education. Jesuit higher education institutions (JHEIs), of which there are 27 in the United States (U.S.), are related to the educational apostolate of the Society of Jesus whose involvement in education predates the colonization of the U.S. As a Catholic religious order, the Jesuit mission and charisms are infused within their sponsored institutions, including the promotion of justice which is often counter to academic capitalism. Mission statements convey an organization's raison d'etre. As a discursive tool that reflects and contributes to the construction of JHEI identity and purpose, mission statements may provide insight into how these institutions communicate their purpose and identity to internal and external stakeholders. In order to examine mission statements, scholars have utilized the transdisciplinary critical discourse analysis framework (CDA) (Fairclough, 1989, 1993) to explore how language as social practice (re)contextualizes the purpose of higher education. This study attempted to bring together the following three threads: CDA as a framework to examine language in use, mission statements as an expression of JHEI mission and purpose, and academic capitalism. The findings revealed language of resistance through the use of intertextuality and transitivity. By cohesively linking Jesuit charisms with the purpose of universities for the public good and students as social actors educated to promote justice, JHEI mission statements convey a resistance academic capitalism.Item Open Access Art-based narrative inquiry with Native American breast cancer survivors(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Warson, Elizabeth, author; Kees, Natalie, advisor; Carlson, Laurie, advisorBackground and aims. Breast cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native women are lower than any ethnic or racial group. This fact alone has contributed to the perception that breast cancer is not an "Indian" problem among health officials. Cancer statistics in general for American Indian and Alaska Natives are unreliable because of the frequency of racial misclassification, underreporting, and clustering data under the "other" category. Inclusive data from The Intercultural Cancer Council suggests that rates of breast cancer for American Indians and Alaska Natives, who experience the poorest 5-year survivorship, have been increasing over the past 20 years. The majority of the cancer research among Native people has concentrated on eliminating social, cultural, and structure barriers to healthcare. What has not been included in the literature are culturally-relevant psychosocial interventions incorporating the expressive arts. Behavioral research in cancer care for Native American women is needed to address quality of life factors. The purpose of this post modern narrative inquiry is to explore, through artmaking and storytelling, the belief systems surrounding wellness and physical illness from the perspective of Native women diagnosed with breast cancer. This narrative inquiry would provide the ground work for culturally-competent psychosocial interventions utilizing the expressive arts. Method. The participants were 2 American Indian women diagnosed with breast cancer from the Coharie tribe in Clinton, North Carolina, ages 74 and 66. These women were co-collaborators in an emergent narrative inquiry, incorporating a demographic interview, 3 main art task, and 8 open-ended interview questions. Their stories were analyzed discursively using the zoom model. To supplement the emergent themes from the analysis, 3 additional data sources, comprising interviews from a traditional healer and two tribal representatives, were included in the situational analysis. Results. Two positional "maps" were created from the layers of narrative and visual discourse analysis. The maps charted different positions along a four different continuums: cancer related medical treatment, traditional American Indian healing practices, wellness, and breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. The maps showed that wellness and spirituality were inseparable and a core belief to undergoing breast cancer treatment and survivorship. Traditional healing practices were viewed as a complementary approach to Western medicine; however, this approach was not a shared position with providers. The positional maps suggested that a more culturally-relevant, holistic, approach to cancer care was needed in this community.Item Open Access Exploring the phenomena of African American college student's active use of mental health resources(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Burns, Marvin Jerry, author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Gonzalez-Voller, Jessica, advisor; Ford, Bryant, committee member; Chavez, Ernest, committee memberThis qualitative study explores the regular and active use of mental health services for a group of African American undergraduate students, currently enrolled in collegiate institutions in the United States. Using phenomenological methodologies, this study intended to understand and describe the essence of the phenomena of the regular and active use of mental health services for these individuals. The researcher collected, transcribed, and analyzed data from semi-structured, open-ended interviews for themes that presented the essence of these individuals' experiences. Findings describe a group of individuals who are self-motivated to pursue mental health resources. These participants have (a) a strong desire to maintain their agency in selecting their mental health providers, (b) are most often constantly overcoming some levels of stigma, (c) believe in the benefit of counseling/therapy, (d) have a variety of experience and experiences with counseling/therapy, and (e) have a strong preference for working exclusively with providers who are persons of color or have similar racial and cultural familiarity to themselves. Peers, more often than family, encouraged and supported regular and active use of mental health services. Participants expressed that navigating access to a provider, cost, and stigma were barriers before and during use. Implications of this study encourage the application of multicultural and racially and culturally relevant training for all providers and reiterates the need for diverse counseling and mental health professionals to meet the mental health needs for African American college students.Item Open Access Federal sexual misconduct policy impact on intersectional identities: a critical quantitative study(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Gardner, John S., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Most, David, committee member; Munoz, Susana, committee member; Tungate, Susan, committee memberSexual misconduct is an epidemic on college campuses. Studies show consistently that one in five women on college campuses experience sexual assault during their academic career. When a broader range of types of sexual misconduct are included, the percentage of women and other gendered students who experienced sexual misconduct increases greatly, to at times above 50%, in the literature. Additionally, racial and ethnic minorities, trans* and gender non-binary persons, lesbian, and gay, and bisexual persons all experience sexual victimization at higher rates than their dominant group peers according to research studies. Research has neglected to address how intersectional identities experience sexual misconduct. In 2013, the federal government passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization of 2013 in order, in part, to address sexual misconduct on college campuses. The bill specifically focused on prevention efforts and reporting requirements for institutions of higher education. This study utilized a critical quantitative methodology to explore the question of how students have experienced the federal policy change at 21 Missouri institutions of higher education from 2012-2016 using an intersectionality framework. Within this issue, it is important to understand how marginalized populations were or were not served by policy and if the policy change impacted the rates of sexual misconduct. The study found that the Violence Against Women's Act of 2013 impacted different intersectional social locations differently. The data indicated the potential for effective educational efforts and increased assistance when examining the whole study population. In examining all participants over the five years of the study, there was a general indication of increased experience of sexual misconduct across several categories of sexual misconduct. The data also suggested more participants sought assistance after experiencing sexual misconduct over the time period of the study for the entire population of the study. However, the participants did not indicate that the effectiveness of the assistance received after experiencing sexual misconduct increased. A general theme across many social locations was the benefit of privileged aspects of social locations such as heterosexual or White, European-American, or Caucasian participants often had a better response in the data to the VAWA 2013 policy change compared to their less privileged peers. Inequity regarding the impact of the VAWA 2013 policy change was also evident with gender and ethnicity regarding transgender participants, gender and race regarding Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander participants, and race and sexuality regarding lesbian, queer, and questioning participants amongst other social locations throughout the time period of the study. The complexity of the 62 different social locations provides pathways for both praxis and future research.Item Open Access Parenting styles used with preschool children among Arab immigrant parents in a U.S. context(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Abu Al Rub, Majedh F., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Biringen, Zeynep, committee member; Rosen, Lee, committee member; Jennings, Louise, committee memberThe purpose of this research study was to examine whether there were statistically significant differences in parenting styles among Arab immigrant parents as a function of parent and child gender. Also this study was designed to examine experiences and perceptions of Arab immigrant parents in raising their children in the U.S., and how these differ from their experiences and perceptions in raising their children in their own countries. Quantitative data were collected first, from a convenience sample of such parents (49 families), using a paper-and pencil-structured questionnaire. The second part of the study was a qualitative exploration of parents' experiences and perceptions of raising their children in the U.S. The researcher conducted 5 one-on-one interviews with parents and used a systematic, coding process for analyzing and interpreting data from the interviews. Survey results showed that the most frequent parenting style reported by Arab fathers and mothers among the three subscales of parenting styles was authoritative followed by authoritarian and permissive. Mothers were reported higher ratings on the subscale of authoritarian parenting style than fathers. Also, results of the repeated measure ANOVA indicated a significant interaction of parent and child gender only for the use of the authoritarian parenting style, which suggesting a significant difference between mothers and fathers in regards to treatment of boys and girls for their scoring on the authoritarian subscale. Additionally, there were no statistically significant differences in parenting style based upon the child's gender, so there was no main effect found for child's gender. Interview results indicated that Arab parents changed their parenting practices from being strict and controlled in their country of origin, to being much more warm and nurturing in the U.S.Item Open Access "Reclaiming our time, reclaiming our time!" Black women student affairs mid-level administrators talk supervision at predominantly white institutions(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Nathan, B., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Hughes, Blanche, committee member; Leone, Deanna, committee member; Arthur, Tori, committee memberThe research is limited or nonexistent regarding; (1) Black Women student affairs mid-level administrators at predominantly white institutions, (2) the impact of both racism and sexism in student affairs supervision, (3) ways Black Women student affairs mid-level administrators challenge and resist racism and sexism in supervision, and (4) ways Black Women student affairs mid-level administrators supervise and want to be supervised. Black Feminist Thought served as the theoretical framework for this in-depth qualitative study seeking to understand the experiences of racism and sexism, how racism and sexism is challenged and resisted, and the various approaches of Black Women student affairs mid-level administrators in supervisor roles at predominantly white institutions. Using Sista Circle Methodology, data was collected primarily through sista circles. Data was presented through the use of poetry and spoken word to pay homage to the contributions of poetry made by Black Women. From the data, three theoretical constructs emerged: (1) The existence and prevalence of the 'T' word, Trauma, (2) Listen Up! I'm Speaking Now, and (3) What is the service of student affairs, supervision, and higher education? The findings support the need for transforming supervision in student affairs. Finally, the study confirmed student affairs administrators fail to acknowledge and analyze power structures and systems of oppression present within the job of supervising (Brown, R., Desai, S., & Elliott, C., 2020).Item Open Access Spirituality and atheist social work students: contributions for curriculum content on spirituality(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Fjelstrom, Jo, author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisor; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Tungate, Susan, committee memberThe purpose of this constructivist study was to gain information about a criterion sample of atheist social work students concerning their experiences and perspectives of spirituality and curriculum content on spirituality. Most of the twenty-two participants formed their atheist worldviews against the tide of a religious upbringing, primarily due to their assessment of a dissonance between their evaluations of reality and religious beliefs. From the findings and the literature, suggestions are made for curriculum content on spirituality: (a) educators should frame worldviews as constructions and treat mystical elements as cultural phenomena; (b) content should have a professional focus with academically appropriate content; (c) curriculum content should be planned around the goal of training social work students to effectively address issues about worldviews in practice; (d) inclusive language and content should be utilized that covers all worldviews, including atheist and other naturalist worldviews; (e) biases, stereotypes, and privilege should be addressed and countered; (f) specific dialogic techniques should be developed for use in the classroom; (g) educators who will teach content on worldviews should have specific training for teaching material on spirituality and worldviews; and (h) a task force should be formed to create guidelines for curriculum content on spirituality.Item Open Access The experiences of community college transfer students returning from academic suspension at a four-year research institution(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Carter, Carmen R., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Davies, Timothy, committee member; Kuk, Linda, committee member; Newman, Peter, committee memberMore students are beginning their higher education journey at community colleges with the intent of transferring to a four-year college or university. The purpose of this study was to attempt to gain a better understanding of the experiences of two-year community college transfer students who transferred to a large, four-year public research university, experienced academic difficulty which resulted in academic suspension, and returned to successfully persist towards a baccalaureate degree. The study used a qualitative, narrative inquiry research design to answer research questions related to how critical events in the lives of four community college transfer students affected their persistence at a four-year institution. A series of in-depth interviews allowed participants to share their experiences surrounding barriers to persistence, critical events which occurred during their suspension period, and factors that facilitated their persistence towards baccalaureate degree attainment once they returned from academic suspension. The narratives of the participants were analyzed using holistic content analysis to give further voice to the challenges the participants faced in their higher education journey. Four emergent themes developed across the participant narratives which were (a) Reluctance in Seeking Support, (b) Familial Influence, (c) Perseverance, and (d) Maturation. A discussion of the findings of this study indicated several implications for practice including an understanding that interventions for students facing academic difficulty must be invasive, realistic, yet hopeful, and assessed regularly for effectiveness.Item Open Access The life and career game Who You Are Matters!® among university students: a bricolage in postmodern career counseling(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Canji, Martha, author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Dik, Bryan, committee member; Feller, Rich, committee member; Jennings, Louise, committee memberCareer counseling has been expanding from traditional trait and personality models to constructivist models that emphasize subjective experiences, holistic interventions, psychological resources, narratives, and context. This study examines the narrative life and career game Who You Are Matters!® to learn about player experience, stories, and actions gaining a deeper understanding of the processes of storytelling and storylistening in life and career exploration and goal setting. Participants in the study were female, first-year, second-year, and/or first-generation college students who ranged between 18-23 years of age. Experiences and stories are explored through multiple lenses including well-being, psychological capital, agency, and transformational learning. Gratitude and broaden-and-build are also briefly examined as contributing factors that amplify player benefits. The findings are presented loosely as a bricolage that shapes the construction and interpretation of meanings and patterns that inform career exploration in game play. Findings suggest that the structure and context of game play focuses and funnels intentional goal setting and action through six synergistic themes. The study demonstrates how the game Who You Are Matters!® is efficacious in promoting life and career exploration, engendering psychological capital, and cultivating well-being, answering the National Career Development Association's call for more creative and holistic interventions that equip and inspire action and agency.Item Open Access The meaning of evaluation in the supervisory relationship for counselors-in-training(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Madani, Yaser, author; Kees, Nathalie, advisor; Carlson, Laurie, advisorEvaluation is an important component in the training programs of counseling students. Evaluation in the context of supervision experience may be best defined as a process that includes factors such as the supervisory relationship, the scope of evaluation, and the style of communicating supervisory feedback to supervisees. Previous research in the area of counselor education and supervision has not adequately addressed the topic of students' experience of evaluation in supervision and how that may impact supervisees. There was a need for a more detailed inquiry about the supervisees' perceptions about the meaning of evaluation in the context of their training and supervision experience. The overarching research questions for this study were "What is the meaning of evaluation in the supervisory relationship for counselors-in-training?", and "What are the underlying contexts that account for a counselor-in-training to experience different meanings for evaluation in the supervisory relationship?" A phenomenological approach in qualitative research was adopted for this study in order to describe, understand, and discover the meaning of evaluation in the supervisory relationships for 20 students who had experienced evaluation in practicum or internship. Inquiring about the in-supervision cognitions of the students interviewed suggests that the supervisees' meaning of evaluation may be influenced by their understanding of the purpose of evaluation, methods of evaluation, and more importantly the supervisory relationship. Similarly, the majority of the interviewees indicated that they had experienced intense feelings of being evaluated during their supervision. In general, students seemed to recognize evaluation as part of their professional and personal development. The students also shared many insights which should be considered in order to improve the overall objective of supervision programs. The findings of this research suggest the interaction of several different factors seemed to influence the students' experience of evaluation. Most of these factors involved conditions that were more directly related to the supervision setting, including different supervisors, classmates, and the client. In addition to a stage-based model of supervision, the findings from this study suggest that supervisors be sensitive to the impact of evaluation on their supervisees and to adopt a relationship-based approach when conducting supervisory evaluation.Item Open Access Understanding the lived experiences of Dr. Emily Lardner: lessons for the adoption and practice of learning communities in higher education(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Guram, Adrianna M., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Lynham, Sue, committee member; Gupta, Kalpana, committee member; Siller, Thomas, committee memberThe purpose of this biographical narrative study was to understand the experiences of Dr. Emily Lardner, who served as director of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education from 1996-2017. Utilizing a narrative approach, the research puzzle engaged with in this study was guided by exploring the question, "What can we learn from Dr. Emily Lardner's lived experiences as they relate to learning communities adoption and practice in higher education settings?" Dr. Lardner's description of her life story, transcribed from interviews conducted over the course of four months, forms a narrative highlighting her development as an individual and an academic. The analysis of this narrative reveals the importance of collaborations, creative thinking, and innovation to foster development, adoption, and diffusion in learning communities across the United States. The narrative inquiry became a dialectic knowing, emphasizing learning moments for both Lardner and the researcher. Dr. Lardner's lived experiences provide insights into the individual identities and environmental factors that created opportunities to transition the Washington Center's focus over 20 years—and still influence learning communities today. Researchers are encouraged to explore integrated learning as a conceptual framework for examining learning communities. Furthermore, researchers can re-center their scholarship to give voice to individual practitioners and students.Item Open Access Using office referrals to examine discipline patterns: positive behavior support in a high school(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wiley, Cynthia Loe, author; Cooner, Donna, advisor; Carlson, Laurie, advisorThe utility of systemic positive disciplinary frameworks such as school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) in high schools has not been determined. Most research to date has focused on elementary and middle schools that have instituted positive school-wide disciplinary frameworks with varying degrees of success. Similar research is necessary to determine if this type of disciplinary framework can be efficaciously applied at the high school level. The purpose of this three-year study was to describe discipline patterns in a comprehensive public high school pre- and post-implementation of a school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) system. Participants in the study were students from grades nine through twelve. The mean annual population of the school was 1,187. The research objective was to utilize longitudinal systematic observation data to provide a comprehensive description (Johnson, 2001) of a SWPBS system as it was applied in one high school and to increase understanding of universal level implementation of SWPBS in this particular context. Disciplinary incidences as measured by archival office discipline referrals (ODRs) were analyzed and described for each of the three years (one year of baseline data and two years of intervention data) under study. Overall ODR patterns were examined as well as the incidence of disciplinary referrals related to student grade level, gender, and selected disruptive and antisocial discipline categories. The descriptive analysis provided data in both aggregate and disaggregate form to render insights into educational reform, both process and outcome, in one high school. Information on implementation fidelity was provided. The study highlighted areas for improvement within this specific school and indicated that SWPBS may be beneficial at the high school level.Item Open Access We are not the same: the experiences of Black women multicultural directors at predominantly white institutions(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Love, Rashida N., author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Gonzalez-Voller, Jessica, committee member; Bimper, Albert, Jr., committee memberAlthough Black Women make up the largest group of racially minoritized administrators in the field of higher education (West, 2020), and are overwhelmingly employed in diversity related mid-level positions (i.e., Multicultural Directors), we know very little about their personal experiences in these roles. Unlike other colleagues who may be able to separate their work lives from their personal lives, Black Women Multicultural Directors exist in the inescapable position of having an everyday experience of the professional being personal. This qualitative study used Black Feminist Thought and Sista Circle Methodology (SCM) to explore and illuminate the lived experiences of Black Women Multicultural Directors at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs). Research themes were surmised under three theoretical constructs: (1) The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Role, (2) To Be a Black Woman Multicultural Director, and (3), The Secrets Behind Black Girl Magic that underscored four major implications:(1) Black Women Multicultural Directors experience a nuanced form of isolation in their roles, (2) Black Women Multicultural Directors who work at PWIs are doing work above and beyond their job descriptions in climates that continue to be oppressive, (3) Black Women did not feel comfortable bringing their "authentic selves" to the workplace, and (4) Black Women were not afraid to leave their institutions when departure was necessitated. The implications of this study highlight the need for PWIs to set Black Women Multicultural Directors up for success at PWIs by: providing them adequate resources and institutional support, being clear in their definition and expectation of Multicultural Directors, and working to change the campus climate to one that acknowledges DEI as the work of the campus, not just the Multicultural Office. To quote one of my sista colleagues who participated in the study, "I hope that by sharing our stories some aspiring Black Woman Multicultural Director can feel comfortable in their own truth and powerful in the role from the very beginning".