Walden University

About: Walden University is a education organization based out in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 3200 authors who have published 3707 publications receiving 55313 citations.

Supporting Student-Initiated Mobile Device Use in Online Learning

Abstract: Understanding the experiences of students who self-initiate mobile device use for online courses or course-related activities provides institutions with valuable insights. In this study, we report how students enrolled in online courses in higher education voluntarily used mobile devices for their coursework and course-related activities, the challenges in using these devices, and how they managed those challenges. We surveyed 103 college students enrolled in one or more fully online courses regarding their habits in using mobile devices for online learning. Findings reveal most participants use mobile devices for convenience, portability, and overall ease of use. The way the devices are used for course-related activities varies, however, with reasons ranging from taking notes and reading course materials, to downloading those materials, communicating, socializing, and other purposes. Challenges when using these devices often relate to access issues and overall limitations of the technology. Yet, despite these limitations, some reported that, depending on the task, even though using a mobile device often took longer compared to a laptop or PC, the convenience of using it was a greater benefit. Participants were surveyed about their experiences prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing additional perspectives for possible future research focused on emergency circumstances to remote teaching or alternative forms of instruction. Additionally, this study provides a foundation of how and why students choose to use mobile devices for coursework and in what ways they may need support from their institutions related to their use.

Queering Counselor Education: Situational Analysis of LGBTQ+ Competent Faculty

Abstract: Research demonstrates counselor educators often lack skills and knowledge to train counselors to become lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other sexualities and gender identities (LGBTQ...

Friendship in Young Adult Heterosexual Romantic Relationships

Abstract: Friendship in Young Adult Heterosexual Romantic Relationships by Billy Kidd M.S., Portland State University, 1999 B.S., Portland State University, 1995 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University December 2008 ABSTRACT Friendship is one of the pillars that supports satisfying, long-term, romantic relationships and marriage. Yet little is known about how romantic friendship is contextually experienced. This lack of knowledge limits the options of researchers and therapists. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to further substantiate a romantic friendship construct. The research question asked how friendship is experienced in heterosexual romantic relationships. Participants in two West Coast metropolitan areas, ages 18 to 29, were selected by convenience sampling. As per Giorgi’s phenomenological method, themes were abstracted from the transcripts of focus group and individual interviews. The themes were then shortened and entered into an Atlas.ti software environment. Finally, they were coded into psychological language and analyzed. A romantic friendship affiliation was shown to be the ideal style of relationship for future long-term partnering. Yet the participants’ actual lived experiences in serious romantic-friendship relationships were quite limited. Instead, their focus was on establishing economic independence and a full sense of adult identity, as well as improving their communication skills. Therefore, individual cases could not be contrasted, and substantive conclusions were not reachedFriendship is one of the pillars that supports satisfying, long-term, romantic relationships and marriage. Yet little is known about how romantic friendship is contextually experienced. This lack of knowledge limits the options of researchers and therapists. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to further substantiate a romantic friendship construct. The research question asked how friendship is experienced in heterosexual romantic relationships. Participants in two West Coast metropolitan areas, ages 18 to 29, were selected by convenience sampling. As per Giorgi’s phenomenological method, themes were abstracted from the transcripts of focus group and individual interviews. The themes were then shortened and entered into an Atlas.ti software environment. Finally, they were coded into psychological language and analyzed. A romantic friendship affiliation was shown to be the ideal style of relationship for future long-term partnering. Yet the participants’ actual lived experiences in serious romantic-friendship relationships were quite limited. Instead, their focus was on establishing economic independence and a full sense of adult identity, as well as improving their communication skills. Therefore, individual cases could not be contrasted, and substantive conclusions were not reached regarding the actual behavioral expression of heterosexual romantic friendship affiliations. A contrast study in Birmingham, Alabama, with participants with high IQs, had similar results. Both studies were supported by psychoneuroendocrine, attachment, social constructionist, and system theories. An important implication for social change was that researchers must account for the participants’ ambivalence concerning long-term partnering, their alternative life-course choices, and their desires for economic independence, when studying young, urban, mobile, single-adult romantic relationships. Friendship in Young Adult Heterosexual Romantic Relationships

Skill versus will: An investigation of a relationship between motivation to read, oral reading fluency, and demographics for third-grade elementary students

Abstract: Skill versus Will: An Investigation of a Relationship between Motivation to Read, Oral Reading Fluency, and Demographics for Third-grade Elementary Students by Stephanie Lee Embrey M.S., Walden University, 2006 B.A., Western Maryland College, 1990 Doctoral Study Proposal in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Teacher Leadership