Bryan, Valerie

The purpose of this phenomenological multi-case study and three-person
interview, was to discover what select prominent African-American scientists perceived
were obstacles to overcome to be successful leaders in their professional lives, and the
opportunities that aided in their professional growth. Through the addition of the threeperson
interview, the researcher discovered commonalities between the perceived
obstacles and opportunities of current science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) professionals and the perceptions of selected historically prominent scientists.
This study examined documents of the period and relics of prominent African-
Americans who were in STEM fields and lived from 1860 to 1968. A description of the
setting that influenced how the scientists perceived the phenomenon was written with the
approach being anchored in the social constructivist tradition. Commonalities emerged
through coding experiences of the individuals, which yielded patterns to help explain the
phenomenon. By investigating their perceptions, insight was gained into understanding the attributes, tools and skills, and tailored experiences that encouraged Thomas Burton,
Kelly Miller, George Carver, Daniel Williams, Matthew Henson, Ernest Just, Charles
Drew, Percy Julian, William Cobb, and Benjamin Peery to achieve success in STEM
fields between 1860 and 1968.
The significance of the study is multifaceted: understanding the obstacles that
African-American scientists had to overcome in their professional lives can result in the
development of science educators who are better informed regarding the appropriate
types of assistance that can be provided to aid their students in overcoming obstacles.
This can hopefully increase their opportunities to succeed within the science field. This
study can result in the development of science educators who are more sensitive in
addressing the needs of the developing minority student, and can encourage, educate, and
enlist more individuals to enter into the dialogue regarding the disparity of minority
representation in STEM fields.

This study identified factors that affect climate change risk perception in a
community college class. The purpose of this research was to determine if students were
more influenced by cultural cognition (political affiliation) or science comprehension.
Students in an undergraduate level environmental science and biology class were
evaluated, using an online survey, for science comprehension level, political affiliation
and risk perception at the beginning and end of each course. Data were analyzed to
determine improved scientific literacy and any variation in risk perception. The research
found that science comprehension did not contribute significantly to increased risk
perception and that political affiliation or political views had a more significant effect on
risk perception.

This qualitative, micro-autoethnographic study explored the perceptions of four female doctoral
students at FAU that made up the founding and consistent membership of a self-created, self-directed,
and self-sustaining blendedlearning cohort focused on doctoral dissertation completion. The
participants also served as co-researchers of this study that investigated their motivation to persist
through their doctoral programs in educational leadership with a focus on the dissertation phase. This
study utilized group and individual interviews, spontaneous drawing, document review, and the SDLRS
instrument to collect and analyze data on the group’s formation, development, challenges, culture,
sustaining factors, and outcomes. Findings show that while this group of doctoral students faced
substantial challenges and distractions, their self-created cohort evolved through the stages of group
development into a viable and supportive community of practice based on their learner motivation
orientations achievement and affiliation, personal strengths, and strategies that included dependence
on technology; meeting structure, time management techniques, rules, sharing, critiquing,
accountability, artificial deadlines, and emotional support. This study fills a major void in the literature.
While research exists that examine doctoral cohorts, graduate student retention factors, and graduate
student peer mentoring, literature is sparse regarding the outcomes of self-created and self-sustaining
graduate student cohorts. Given the high rate of attrition among doctoral students across disciplines in
the U.S., the implications of this study include improvement of graduate student advising, suggestions
for supportive restructuring of graduate study programs toward increased retention, and the creation of
an empowering model for student cohort formation to be validated through further research.

This study explored the healthy aging process by: (a) examining the selected
demographics of older adults in South Florida; (b) examining technology use of older adults in
South Florida; (c) examining the health literacy levels of older adults in South Florida; and (d)
determining whether a relationship exists between older adults living in South Florida use of
technology and their health literacy levels. Variables explored included health literacy,
education, ethnicity, and technology use.
The sample study included 102 older adults (age > 60) living in South Florida that had
completed profiles on the South Florida Quality Aging Registry, a part of the Healthy Aging
Research Initiative (HARI). The ethnicities of the participants among the South Florida Quality
Aging Registry were African American (17%); Afro Caribbean (7.8%); Hispanic (10.7%); and
European American (63.7%). The education mean was 15, indicating that the majority of
participants had an education level equivalent to completing high school. The mean health
literacy score was 3.88, demonstrating that the majority of the participants had moderate levels
of health literacy. The mean technology use score was 7.5 on a scale of one through ten,
indicating that the majority of the participants had a moderate level of technology use. Analysis
of variance, correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis was used to explore the
variables that may influence health literacy.

The history of the human-canine relationship and the human-canine bond is
longstanding and has grown and developed throughout the years. Today, dogs are
considered part of the family and are beneficial in impacting people across the United
States. Introducing the community to dog safety education may strengthen the awareness
and confidence of dog lovers across the state of Florida and hopefully reduce the number
of preventable dog emergencies.
This research suggested the reasons for dog ownership and the importance of
protecting our beloved canines by presenting a literature review covering the evolution of
the human-canine relationship, human-canine bond, positive effects of canines on
humans, history of humane education to demonstrate the importance of dogs in the lives
of American citizens and an overview of community education and the importance dog
safety community education. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the current state of
dog safety community education in Florida and to introduce the need for policies and
procedures for dog safety training for adults, if needed based on the research. This topic
was analyzed through a needs assessment administered through a Parks & Recreation
department in south Florida and online through social media. Ten key informants were
selected to interview for an in-depth understanding of their perspective on this topic.
Document analysis was conducted to see if results of the needs assessment were
addressed in brochures and other media locally. The participants were community
members of Florida who were also dog owners. Participants were adults over the age of
18. The participants’ anonymity was protected, as no names were collected from the
survey.
After carefully examining data collected from 10 interviews, document analysis,
and surveys of 150 participants who are dog owners in Florida, the researcher of this
study revealed factors that show substantial value that dog owners place on their dogs and
interest in educational opportunities to protect their safety. The significance of this study
presented additional research dispelling a misconception that dog safety education as
easily accessible and available in Florida based communities. This study was also
significant because it contributes to the literature by identifying the value dog owners
place on their dogs, as demonstrated in both survey and document analysis.

Almost twenty-one percent of the United States population spoke a language
other than English in 2011. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic increase in the
enrollment of students of Hispanic and other ethnic backgrounds in U.S. post-secondary
institutions between 1976 and 2013 (from 4% to 16%) (National Center for Education
Statistics NCES, 2016).
Until now, no systematic research has focused on the differential effects of selfefficacy
on academic achievement in monolingual and bilingual undergraduate college
students. The present study aimed to investigate this relationship, as well as contribute
additional insight on whether the academic self-efficacy of monolingual and bilingual
undergraduate college students plays a role in their academic success specifically in
science and math courses. Additionally, the findings of this research study were expected to provide data to inform the development of educational programs that might
specifically target monolinguals or bilinguals in enhancing students’ self-efficacy.
Seven instructors of foundational undergraduate science courses and math
courses at a southeastern university agreed to contribute to the study by asking their
students for their voluntary participation in the data collection. A total of 361 students
participated in the study. Overall, 256 (70.9%) participants reported being monolingual
and 105 (29.1%) reported being bilingual; 335 (92.8%) students were enrolled in
science courses and 26 (7.2%) were registered in math courses; 237 (65.7%) were
female students and 124 (34.3%) were male. Demographics, self-efficacy, and
sociolinguistic data were collected using the Self-Efficacy Research Study Online
Questionnaire. Final science and math grades were also collected from the instructors at
the end of the semester for all students who volunteered to participate in the study.
The findings of this research study revealed that the self-efficacy levels of
undergraduate college students in science and math predict their academic achievement
in these subjects. They also showed that the self-efficacy levels of bilingual participants
are higher than those of their monolingual counterparts. Findings also indicated that
when the relationship between final grade and self-efficacy was examined separately in
each linguistic group the correlation was significant and positive for monolinguals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the preferred method of learning
about heart disease by adult learners. This research study also investigated if there was a
statistically significant difference between race/ethnicity, age, and gender of adult
learners and their preferred method of learning preventative heart disease care. This
research study further explored the effectiveness of adult education on reducing or
preventing serious, life-threatening heart disease, including heart attack.
This research is of significant importance as the adult population and age in many
developed countries is increasing. It was anticipated that the study would unearth the
effectiveness of various educational methods of providing information to adult learners to
inform them how to prevent heart attacks.
For this quantitative investigation, participants were limited to students enrolled
in at least one college course (three credit hours) at the Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton campus who were 25 years of age or older. During the course of this study, three
methods of learning; formal, informal, and non-formal, as well as two delivery methods;
online and traditional, were evaluated.
Over one third of the study’s participants (35%) preferred to receive healthrelated
information via email (35%). This major finding was statistically significant (x²
(6) = 82.171; p < .001). Further, statistically significant findings were manifest for study
participants for omnibus age grouping and in the 25-35 years of age grouping, for those
who were White and Hispanic by ethnic background, and for both females and males
participating in this study. The results of this research may assist health department
administrators in utilizing varying methods for distributing health information, keeping
the preferred knowledge acquisition method of students on college and university
campuses especially in mind.

This mixed method research design explored the relationship between the selfefficacy
of senior adults and their use of the Internet. Two quantitative research questions
guided this study: (a) Is there a relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and
their level of use of the Internet? and (b) Do the demographics (gender, age, and
race/ethnicity) moderate the relationship between the self-efficacy of senior adults and
their level of use of the Internet? Two qualitative research questions guided this study: (a)
Is there a difference in views of senior adults in regard to their use of other technologies?
and (b) Is there a difference in views of senior adults in regard to barriers and benefits of
the Internet? Some of the benefits
discovered were that all the Internet users interviewed (a) had knowledge of the Internet;
(b) had access to the Internet; (c) are interested in using the Internet; and (d) use the
Internet to escape boredom in retirement, view favorite websites and to keep the mind
active.

The following document offers a qualitative case study in the field of adult and
community education from an educational leadership perspective using baseball as an
adult learning tool. Relevant existing theories (adult education, lifelong learning, adult
learners, and certain leadership practices) for successful facilitation of historical baseball
research were examined. The study focused on a purposeful sample population upon
which a pilot study was conducted, revealing the experiences of adult self-directed
learners who produce the seminal work in their field as an avocation. The findings of this
study included, but are not limited to, the passionate approach the study group members
have for their subject matter, their love of learning, and the self-directedness of nonformally
trained research historians using baseball as an adult learning tool. The findings
also revealed the group members belief in the academic worthiness of baseball history,
and their willingness to share their work with others to advance the field.

The purpose of this study was 1) to examine the significance of a patient’s active
or passive role in terms of his/her health management; 2) to determine if a relationship
exists between one’s active and passive scores and his/her self-directed learning
readiness, and 3) to identify if his/her view of one’s self as a patient (when diagnosed
with a chronic disease) impacted his/her own personal health management.
Utilizing the quantitative analysis of The Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale
and the Vanderbilt Pain Management Inventory, 81 individuals’ descriptive statistics
were analyzed. Self-directed learning was found to positively influence an individual’s
ability to be an active patient. The moderated demographic characteristics of age,
ethnicity, education level, and gender did not have a direct relationship between selfdirected
learning readiness and active/passive coping groups. Further, it was established that the majority of the participants within the study,
83.75%, considered themselves an active patient managing their lupus diagnosis.
However, 16.25% of the participants did not believe that they were actively managing
their illness.
Self-directed learning characteristics were examined through the responses to an
open-ended question. The two most prevalent themes pertained to active coping and
control. Characteristics of self-directed learning readiness appeared predominant amongst
the responses, particularly goal-orientation and accepting responsibility for learning.
Minimal themes regarding planning and enjoying learning were provided within the data.
These characteristics were identified throughout the study in hopes of further
research and program implementations that will help to develop leadership abilities and
activity levels of self-health management in chronically ill patients. This will enable
lupus patients to have a more positive outcome, it will help them successfully manage
their own health, and it will improve their overall quality of life.