2024 MU Dissertations - Freely available online
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Item You do too much, bruh : staff and student perceptions of implementing social-emotional learning curriculum and restorative practices to minimize exclusionary discipline for Black male students in urban elementary schools(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Triplett, Jim Olyn, Jr.; Cormier, Bret D.The purpose of this mixed methods study was to analyze staff and student’s perception of implementing the Caring School Community SEL curriculum and using restorative practices to help minimize exclusionary discipline for Black male students in urban elementary schools. The study was conducted on staff members and students at three of the four elementary schools in a small urban school district in the St. Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area. Participants completed a Qualtrics survey on social-emotional learning, restorative practices, and exclusionary discipline. The survey items were designed to determine: 1) staff members’ perception of the types of behaviors that lead to exclusionary discipline, 2) the impact of the SEL lessons and restorative practices on the behavior of Black male students, 3) which SEL competencies were the most effective in helping to change behaviors, 4) challenges with implementation, and 5) the kind of support they need with implementation. All staff members in this study were allowed to participate in a follow-up Zoom interview where they were asked more specific questions about the research topics. Black male students at the schools participated in a focus group to share their perception of which in-class behaviors led to exclusionary discipline and if the SEL lessons taught by their teachers and their participation in restorative circles helped to change their behaviors. The results of the research study found that physical aggression was one of the primary behaviors that led to exclusionary discipline for Black male students. Staff members and students felt that the SEL curriculum positively impacted Black male students' behavior; however, opinions were mixed on whether the SEL curriculum has helped change students’ behavior. Students felt they did a better job of showing their emotions because of the SEL lessons. Staff members felt it is too early in the implementation of the SEL curriculum to determine if it helped change student behaviors. One of the challenges identified by staff members with implementation is the lack of time in the instructional schedule for SEL lessons and restorative circles to be done with integrity and fidelity. The other challenge is the lack of training staff received on using restorative practices and how to facilitate a restorative circle effectively.Item The effects of Tier 1 Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports on student mental health risk(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Selders, Kimberly Jeanette; Lewis, TimothyYouth mental health needs are a significant concern, and students from different sociodemographic backgrounds experience disparate mental health difficulties. Unfortunately, most youth with mental health challenges do not obtain services in traditional mental healthcare systems. One recommendation to address the service gap is to provide school-based mental health services within a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a research-supported MTSS framework that has been shown effective at improving social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes for students. However, research examining the impact of PBIS on youth mental health is limited. This study addresses this gap in the literature by comparing student mental health risk, as identified on a universal screening instrument (the Early Identification System Self-Report), across elementary and middle schools implementing Tier 1 PBIS to schools not implementing PBIS. Moreover, the relationship between PBIS implementation and student mental health risk is explored across different student demographic subgroups (i.e., race, gender, disability, socioeconomic status) and specific types of mental health risk (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, peer relationships, emotion dysregulation, bullying, and school disengagement). Results from this study provide preliminary information regarding the extent to which adopting or sustaining Tier 1 PBIS is a potentially beneficial approach for preventing and responding to youth mental health needs.Item Regulatory mechanisms underlying nitrogen-induced suppression of nitrogen fixation in soybean(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Delpercio, Ryan David; Meyers, Blake C.Symbiotic nitrogen fixation (SNF) in soybeans is essential for converting atmospheric nitrogen into bioavailable forms through a symbiotic relationship with rhizobial bacteria. This dissertation investigates the regulatory mechanisms behind nitrogen-induced suppression of SNF in soybean, focusing on the molecular and physiological pathways involved in nodulation and nitrogen fixation. By employing RNA sequencing, small RNA analysis, gene expression studies, and the acetylene reduction assay to measure nitrogen fixation activity, I examined both plant (Glycine max) and bacterial (Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110) transcriptomes in nodules under high nitrogen conditions and compared them to nodules grown under low nitrogen conditions, which are more typical of field cultivation. The results reveal nitrogen’s strong regulatory effect on nodules and leaves, particularly under high nitrogen conditions, where high-yielding soybeans are frequently supplemented with nitrogen fertilizer. This practice suppresses SNF, making it an inefficient approach for sustainable agriculture. I also developed a novel, non-destructive method to assess belowground nitrogen fixation activity using aboveground leaf RNA markers, offering a practical tool for evaluating nitrogen fixation status without disrupting plant growth. Furthermore, I identified differential gene expression patterns and nitrogen-responsive biomarkers, providing new insights into nitrogen metabolism in both the host plant and its rhizobial symbiont. These findings offer strategies to enhance nitrogen use efficiency and reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers, contributing to more sustainable agricultural practices. Collectively, this research deepens our understanding of SNF regulation and its potential to optimize soybean cultivation in both high- and low-nitrogen environments.Item “Currents we have to swim against in this global sea”: imperial hegemony, migration, and counternarrative in and beyond Micronesia(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Padgett, J. Aaron; Scott, Rebecca R.This dissertation analyzes relations between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the United States (US) with attention to the bilateral Compact of Free Association as a mediating technology that continuously shapes and is reshaped by cultural and environmental politics of place, (de/re)territorialization, and mobilities. Western discourses tend to render Micronesia as adrift between the power competition of global hegemons in the contemporary era. The dissertation builds from a geocultural framework to articulate an historical-relational sociology of global connection that centers Micronesia against the spatial peripheralization of colonial racial capitalism. The study locates how the US and multilateral entities conceive of Micronesia and, more broadly, the world’s oceans, as extensions of the humanitarian/security state through racialized, militarized, and settler-extractivist imaginaries of the technofrontier. It also engages with Micronesian senses of place, heritage, and (embodied) mobility practices as counternarratives to these forms of imperial hegemony and governmentality. Drawing from rich traditions of interdisciplinary scholarship, this dissertation utilizes critical discourse analysis of secondary data including media items from news and popular culture, political speeches and documents, Micronesian podcast transcripts, and texts and discourses relevant to the three iterations of the Compact of Free Association. The dissertation also includes primary data collected in interviews with diasporic Micronesians to explicate alternative Micronesian continuities and futurities while showing how they are laden with dynamics of precarity, contingency, and possibility in imperial migration governance. This dissertation contributes to ongoing discussions of Micronesian continuity through the lens of intra-acting historiography and narrativization of Micronesia’s “place” in the Pacific and the world, which is especially pertinent in the aftermath of the Compact of Free Association’s recent renewal until 2043 and the concurrent acceleration of the climate crisis.Item Walking the leadership tightrope : a qualitative investigation of working principals’ experience of work-life balance(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2024) Love, Edwin Andrew; Lee, Se WoongIn the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns about educator anxiety, frustration, and burnout have risen. Schools face increased challenges in recruiting and retaining effective teachers. Though less publicized, there is also worry about the challenges that could drive principals from the profession. Many principals express dissatisfaction as well as struggles with physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Survey data indicates many feel improved work-life balance could be key to keeping them in the profession. Based off this data and the research-supported connection between work-life balance and wellness outcomes, effectiveness, and retention, this study sought to explore the working principal’s experience of work-life balance, the impacts they perceive from their experience, and the mechanisms they employ to manage the interaction between work and non-work spheres of life. The study employed qualitative methods to surface the individual experiences of principals and lay the groundwork for future research as well as individual and systemic supports that might equip principals for health, success, and longevity in their leadership roles.