Department of Leadership and Counseling
Christopher Allan Bylone
Professor Patricia Pokay
Passing the Gavel: Succession Planning for Community Interest Student Organizations
One of the unique aspects of a university is the inclusion of vibrant student organizations that undergo constant leadership change. Detailed succession plans for leadership change in these organizations is critical. Succession planning research is fairly new and has not resulted in agreed-upon techniques, especially in university settings. This presentation will link what has already been done in the business world with what can be done for campus student organizations. Community interest student organizations will also be compared to family businesses. Based on these comparisons, suggestions will be made for student organizations.
Chiharu Hensley
Professor Dibya Choudhuri
Support Systems for Parents of Children with Disabilities
Based on a review of literature, the presenter proposes attending to the often overlooked counseling needs of parents of children with disabilities. To help these parents improve their coping and parenting skills, support systems provided by a counselor and other parents who also have children with disabilities appear to be of utmost importance. The presenter also proposes specific individual and group counseling interventions for parents of children with disabilities.
Hannah Hyde
Professors Diane Parfitt and Sue Stickel
Student Service in the Secondary Schools: How Students and Schools are Currently Experiencing Community Service
It has become common for secondary schools to require students to perform some type of community service, either through graduation requirements or service learning curriculum. The presenter has synthesized research on student service, highlighting the differing effects of service programs and emphasizing the methods of student service that are most effective in improving students’ academic, civic, and social achievement. By understanding which programs and service types can better promote certain desired effects, school personnel, including teachers, counselors, and administrators, will be able to use the information from this presentation to better design student service programs.
Wan-En Leu
Professors Elizabeth Broughton and Suzanne Dugger
College Adjustment of American College Students and International Students at EMU
College students today are dealing with more mental health issues than in the past (Kadison & DiGeronimo, 2005). One of the most frequently discussed issues reported by Eastern Michigan University’s Counseling Services is the adjustment of college students to college life (http://www.emich.edu/uhs/, 2006). Good data don’t seem to exist, however, about any possible differences between the adjustment by American college students and international students at EMU. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the college adjustment between American college students and international students at EMU as measured by the College Adjustment Scales (Anton & Reed, 1991). Participants will be randomly selected among undergraduate students.
Patrick Soule
Professor Yvonne Callaway
The Contemporary College Counseling Clinic: We Have Built It, but What Will Get the Students to Come?
This study will use a field-based research approach to identify the counseling needs of EMU undergraduate student populations. This research will be supported by a literature review of college student development theories and research about the developmental and transitional needs of contemporary college students. The study will also seek to identify student concerns around the use of traditional counseling centers and counseling training centers. This information will be developed into related survey questions. Additionally, the staff and faculty of Eastern Michigan University will be asked about ways that group counseling can support student development and the most effective outreach strategies for traditional and nontraditional EMU undergraduate students. This information will also be developed into survey questions. Finally, this project will focus on the use of survey data to identify strategies for adapting counseling clinic services to best attract and serve the EMU traditional and nontraditional undergraduate student population.
Department of Special Education
Jeff Barnett
Professor John Palladino
Compassion Fatigue and Teacher Burnout in Michigan Middle School Teachers
Research examined the relationship between compassion fatigue and the incidence of middle school teacher burnout. A strong connection between the two indicates the need to frame prevention planning and remedial response intervention in terms of the constructs and dictates of compassion fatigue. Eight subjects from Southeastern Michigan public schools were interviewed. Each subject was a novice teacher with less than six years of total experience. The study utilized qualitative methodology to explore theory as it relates to practice (Creswell, 2005). Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants for the study (Creswell, 2003). The study was conducted as a subcomponent of Dr. John Palladino’s 2007 project titled “Compassion Fatigue as Precursor to Special Education Teacher Burnout.” Subjects were queried across five constructs: the occurrence of student-induced stressful situations, caseload, teacher’s family history, symptoms experienced by the teacher, and, finally, the availability of development and support opportunities.
Patricia F. Smith
Professor Alicia Li
Language Problems in Children Who Have Visual Impairments
Because language is mostly learned by associating concepts with visual experiences, children with visual impairments must make connections between the two based on tactical and auditory information and without the benefit of visual stimuli. Because of the lack of visual stimuli, the children often experience language problems, including echolalia, prolonged periods of babbling, and/or excessive or inappropriate use of verbalism. Currently, very little research has been done in this area. To complete this study, the researcher will survey teachers of students with visual impairments to determine if these students have language problems. The survey will be completed via written questionnaire, with follow-up interviews to be conducted as needed. The researcher will then summarize the findings of the survey and make recommendations for interventions to improve the speech and language development of children who have visual impairments.
Heather Steffy
Professor Lizbeth Stevens
Moebius Syndrome and Consideration for AAC Use: What Every SLP Needs to Know
Moebius syndrome (i.e. congenital facial diplegia) is a disorder characterized by the underdevelopment of cranial nerves VI and VII. Affected individuals may present with impaired facial expression, speech intelligibility issues with and without concomitant motor problems, and hearing loss; those who are affected severely may require augmentative communication methods. An overview of common characteristics and of concerns of these individuals in determining their need for use of AAC will be provided. Data includes personal interviews with several affected individuals. Suggestions for addressing the AAC-related concerns of these individuals and for further research in this area of study will be offered.
Marliese Temme
Professor Gilbert Stiefel
Impact of Socio-Economic Factors on First Grade Literacy Achievement
Each year the number of students served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act increases. Researchers need to continue to investigate the reasons behind this increase so that educational curriculum development responds to these students’ needs. One proposed reason for this increase is the impact of cumulative socio-economic risk factors upon the cognitive performance of children. This study will investigate the effectiveness of an evidence-based literacy curriculum on first grade literacy achievement of students with differing numbers of socio-economic risk factors. The selected curriculum will incorporate the research-based instructional strategies in the Houghton Mifflin curriculum. This study questions whether this high quality evidence-based instructional program can offset the deleterious effects of multiple socio-economic risk factors on students in an urban school setting.
Erica Tepper
Professor John Palladino
Compassion Fatigue as a Precursor to Special Education Teacher Burnout
The researcher investigated how compassion fatigue theory relates to novice in-service elementary special education teachers’ initial experiences in the field of Special Education. One in-depth interview occurred, with eight participants representing elementary special education teachers in Michigan (with less then six years of experience). An outside transcriber was hired to convert each audio-recorded interview into hard copy transcript for the purpose of data analysis.
Department of Teacher Education
Paula Sizemore
Professor Joe Bishop
Songs: Poetical Considerations on Gender and Ethnic Theories
Building on selected quotations from gender and ethnic theorists, Songs presents the impact of the current power structure from the viewpoint of the victimized. The effects of markers, expression of patriarchal masculinity, female gender conformance, black male compliance, resistance of sexualized females, and the effects of socio-economic conflict are poetically expounded.
Yu Zhao
Professor Joe Bishop
Teacher Expectations toward ESL (English as a Second Language) Students in U.S. Higher Education
Since the publication of Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom in 1968, the relationships between teacher expectation and student performance have been well documented. Research shows that K-12 teachers tend to hold lower academic expectations of ESL students because of their language deficiency. However, no relevant research has been done at the higher education level. The present study investigated U.S. professors’ expectations toward ESL students. The researcher surveyed 122 professors in a Midwestern middle-sized university about their (1) beliefs of ESL students’ ability to learn in U.S. classrooms, (2) actual classroom practices, (3) grading policies, (4) relationships with ESL students, and (5) cultural awareness. Data revealed that professors generally held positive expectations toward ESL students. However, the researcher also used t test, ANOVA, and other statistical techniques to analyze belief and behavioral differences among different groups of professors, such as male and female professors, and across different disciplines.