Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Efficacy Development in Elementary Public and Private Schools

Teacher efficacy has been studied by researchers since 1976. As researchers discovered the breadth of impact of teacher efficacy, the study of the topic increased, and researchers identified positive effects of teacher self-efficacy. Considering these influences on the educational system, researchers sought to study all aspects of efficacy development to replicate positive experiences for teacher efficacy in a large number of schools. A gap in the literature existed regarding efficacy development across unique school settings. Through this qualitative, basic interpretive study, I sought to fill the gap in the literature around teacher efficacy development by adding to the base of knowledge regarding the sources of teachers’ perception of efficacy development in both public and private schools to determine how to best develop efficacy in all teachers across any school setting. I conducted a survey to categorize and identify participants and conducted individual interviews in three school settings: one public, one private nonsectarian, and one private religious-affiliated school to identify teachers’ perceptions of efficacy development across unique school settings. A total of 22 teachers completed the survey, and I interviewed a total of 14 teachers. Teachers in all three school settings reported perceived efficacy development practices in effect. The public school teachers reported the perceived efficacy development practices in their school were administration-driven, while the private school teachers (both private nonsectarian school and private religious-affiliated school) reported the perceived efficacy development practices in their school were teacher or team-driven

Perceived Stress in Undergraduate Nursing Students

This secondary analysis explored the prevalence of perceived stress in undergraduate nursing students and the effects of self-efficacy and helplessness on the perceived stress. There were three purposes of this study.  The primary purpose was to assess levels of perceived stress among undergraduate nursing students, based on the variables of age, gender, and academic term.  The second purpose was to identify how students’ reported feelings of self-efficacy and helplessness correlated to their overall perceived stress scores. The final purpose was to identify how students applied skills learned in a stress management program. Lazarus’ theory of stress guided this study. Following IRB approval, data were obtained from the primary investigators. The primary study included a sample of undergraduate nursing students at a Midwestern university in various terms of their nursing program. This secondary analysis utilized the primary investigation’s pre-survey demographic information and perceived stress scores (N = 256), and post survey qualitative responses regarding the use of stress management techniques (n = 35). Multiple analyses were used to obtain the data including a two-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and qualitative thematic analysis. Perceived stress was significantly higher for females than males (p = 0.03), and tended to decrease as students progressed further in the nursing program (p \u3c 0.001). Stress was statistically significantly positively associated with helplessness (p \u3c 0.001) and negatively associated with self-efficacy (p \u3c 0.001). Seven themes were found among the qualitative response data with the most prevalent being utilization of mindfulness/relaxation techniques and utilization of physical activity. The secondary analysis had similar findings to what has been identified in prior research. Demographic factors had varying effects on students’ overall perceived stress scores. Perceived stress had a positive correlation with feelings of helplessness (r = 0.92, p \u3c 0.001), and a negative correlation with self-efficacy (r = 0.49, p \u3c 0.001). The results of this secondary analysis can be used to understand the experience of stress for undergraduate nursing students. This knowledge can assist educators to plan interventions for stress management. Future research should include larger sample sizes and control groups, as well as, a more diverse sample

Outcomes of Camping: Perceptions from Camper Focus Groups

The Recreation and Leisure Studies De­partment at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and Morry\u27s Camp are working together to develop an evaluation re­search plan that blends appropriate measurement tools with assessing desired outcomes. Several methodological techniques are in place to gather qualitative and. quantitative longitudinal data from Morry\u27s Camp. This paper, however, will focus on one set of qualitative results gathered from three exploratory focus groups conducted with campers. The purpose of this paper is to describe the match between the camp\u27s objec­tives and the valued aspects of the camp experi­ence as articulated by the campers. Our intent is to offer camps interested in validating outcomes an example of one method of qualitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation. The paper also relates the Morry\u27s Camp findings to the professional literature surrounding youth from at-risk communities, resiliency, protective fac­tors, and youth developmen

New Directions for Entertainment-Education: Results from a Mixed Methods Study Investigating the Role of Narrative Persuasion and Social Norms from a Radio Program for Individual and Social Change in Mozambique

Encoded exposure, narrative persuasion and social norms are part of the most recent theorizing behind the health communication strategy known as entertainment-education. While much of the latest theoretical progress has taken place at academic settings in the Global North, the majority of entertainment-education continues to be practiced in the Global South. There is a paucity of theoretical tests in the entertainment-education literature from practice settings in the developing world. This study used survey and focus group data from the endline evaluation of Ouro Negro (English translation: Black Gold), an entertainment-education radio program in Mozambique designed around 14 public health topics, to answer two research questions: 1) What is the relationship between encoded exposure to entertainment-education and narrative persuasion?, and 2) What is the relationship between narrative persuasion and social norms? The study used data from the two arms of the evaluation: a survey arm, which utilized a population-based single pre and post design, and a focus group arm, which utilized a cross-sectional research design. The study included data collected from 1,910 women age 15-34 across five provinces and 20 districts who responded to the survey and 128 women age 15-34 in the same provinces and districts who participated in focus group discussions. Quantitative analysis used to answer the questions included factor and reliability analysis, regression techniques, and propensity score matching, while qualitative analysis included manual coding led by grounded theory. The results of the first research question indicated exposure to entertainment-education significantly predicted all narrative persuasion constructs, even after controlling for background variables, and that nearly all of the focus groups exhibited at least one response related to narrative persuasion. The results of the second research question indicated narrative persuasion did not significantly predict social norms constructs, and that behaviors related to program topics were not normative in the direction promoted by the radio drama. The results indicate three concrete calls to action for the field of EE moving forward: a call for marrying theory and practice across geographic settings, a call for utilizing measurement tools with populations outside of the United States, and a renewed call for commitment across sectors. Whether scholars, practitioners, and partners see these as challenges, or as exciting new opportunities, the results of this study indicate there are indeed new directions for the study and practice of entertainment-education.Dr.P.H., Community Health and Prevention -- Drexel University, 201

The core planar cell polarity gene, Vangl2, directs adult corneal epithelial cell alignment and migration

This work was supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) DTG PhD studentship to A.F., an Anatomical Society PhD Studentship (‘The Roles of planar cell polarity genes in a classical anatomical system: the cornea’) to D.A.P./J.M.C. and BBSRC Project Grants BB/J015172/1 and BB/J015237/1 to J.D.W. and J.M.C., respectively.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Surfaces, depths and hypercubes: Meyerholdian scenography and the fourth dimension

An appreciation of Meyerhold’s engagement with theatrical space is fundamental to understanding his directorial and pedagogic practice. This article begins by establishing Meyerhold’s theoretical and practical engagement with theatre as a fundamentally scenographic process, arguing for a reconceptualisation of the director as ‘director-scenographer’. Focusing on the construction of depth and surface in Meyerholdian theatre, the article goes on to identify trends in the director’s approach to space, with an emphasis on the de-naturalisation of depth on stage. This denaturalisation is seen as taking three forms: the rejection of depth as a prerequisite in theatrical space, the acknowledgement of the two-dimensional surface as surface, and the restructuring of depth space into a series of restricted planes. The combination of these trends indicates a consistent and systematic process of experimentation in Meyerhold’s work. In addition, this emphasis on depth and surface, and the interaction between the two, also highlights the contextualisation of Meyerhold’s practice within the visual, philosophical and scientific culture of the early twentieth century, echoing the innovations in n-dimensional geometry and particularly, the model of the fourth spatial dimension seen in the work of Russian philosopher P. D. Ouspensky