OUR@Oakland

OUR@Oakland is Oakland University's institutional repository maintained by the University Libraries. The aim of OUR@Oakland is to collect, organize, and showcase the scholarship, creative work, and archival and special collections created by or affiliated with the Oakland University community.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 9

Recent Submissions

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    Shared curriculum planning in k-12 education: a systematic review of literature and remixing english curriculum for cultural congruence, relevance, and engagement
    (2026-01-01) Stein, Kimberly Ellen; Leigh, S. Rebecca; Bartley, Greg; Smith, Julia
    Students find curriculum more accessible when it mirrors their societal realities and personal identities. Traditional K-12 curricula often rely on skills-focused, monolithic resources that are inflexible and do not incorporate students interests and identities. This misalignment between students and curriculum contributes to student disengagement because the students cannot connect to the curriculum. One way to engage students in ELA classes is to redesign the curriculum to center contemporary literature that reflects students realities while working in traditional texts and skill-based instruction. Students demonstrated gains in behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and agentic engagement during the redesigned learning unit. Another way to address the misalignment between students and curriculum is to engage in shared planning, in which parents and community members work with teachers to plan student learning. Shared planning turns parents and community members into educational assets, which mitigates barriers and fosters trusting relationships between families and school systems.
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    Fight, Flight, or Skipping Class: What Predicts Fear and Avoidance Behaviors in the Face of School Violence?
    (2026-01-01) Czmer, Matthew; Parkhill-Purdie, Michele; Miller, Matt
    School violence is the threat or act of violence that occurs on school property, on the way to and from school, or at school-sanctioned events. It includes things like bullying and cyberbullying, hate speech, and in extreme cases, school shootings. Research suggests that both the experience of and concerns about school violence are associated with increased internalizing disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety), poorer academic performance, and the development of chronic conditions later in life. In addition to fear, children may avoid certain locations at school, or school altogether, if they feel they might be attacked or harmed. Children who feel fear or exhibit avoidance behaviors are more likely to carry a weapon with them to school. This project sought to identify predictors of fear and avoidance that might help identify particularly vulnerable groups who may benefit from intervention. The 2022 School Crime Supplement (SCS) data were utilized to test the hypotheses, and a Bayesian zero-inflated Poisson regression model was fit to the data due to the high number of students who reported no fear or no avoidance behaviors during the past school-year. A greater number of bullying experiences were found to be associated with both an increased number of avoidance behaviors and level of fear as well as higher odds of reporting any avoidance behaviors or fear. More frequent bullying was associated with an increased number of avoidance behaviors only. Private school attendance was associated with 2.2-2.9 times higher odds of reporting zero avoidance behaviors and zero fear compared to public school attendance. There was a small effect of household income such that higher income was associated with fewer avoidance behaviors and a lower level of fear. Lastly, males were found to be 15 less likely to report any level of fear compared to females. Consistent with prior literature, bullying victimization was associated with both increased avoidance and fear; additionally, this study found small associations between income and both outcomes and between sex and level of fear. The effect of private school attendance might be explained by the small sample of private school students in this dataset, so future work should oversample this group to learn more about their specific experiences. While this project lays the groundwork for identifying vulnerable groups, qualitative work is needed to understand how students conceptualize avoidance and fear, with the ultimate goal of designing a scale to measure these constructs.
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    Pride in Progress: Sn Online Spproach to Boost Sexual and Gender Minority Help-seeking Attitudes and Mental Health Literacy
    (2026-01-01) Dimock, Charles D; Parkhill Purdie, Michele; Miller, Matt; Heileman, Cortney
    This thesis evaluated an online psychoeducational intervention designed to improve mental health literacy and help-seeking attitudes among sexual and gender minority (SGM) adults. Participants completed baseline measures, viewed a multi-module SGM-affirming psychoeducational program, and then completed post-intervention assessments of literacy, attitudes, and related constructs. Regression analyses indicated that baseline mental health literacy strongly predicted post-intervention literacy, and baseline help-seeking attitudes strongly predicted post-intervention attitudes, whereas prior therapy experience did not significantly contribute to either outcome. The third hypothesis, which examined whether greater gains in mental health literacy would predict more favorable help-seeking attitudes, was not supported, suggesting that changes in literacy did not directly translate into changes in attitudes within this sample. Findings highlight the feasibility of brief, fully online psychoeducational approaches for SGM populations and underscore the need for future longitudinal research assessing whether increased literacy and improved attitudes translate into sustained engagement with affirming mental health care.
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    Do I Matter? The Connections Between Borderline Personality Traits and Mattering
    (2026-01-01) LeBlanc, Renée Marie; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil; Vonk, Jennifer
    This thesis examines the connection between borderline personality traits and mattering – ones sense of importance and significance to others. Although prior research has linked borderline traits to interpersonal vulnerabilities such as rejection sensitivity and attachment insecurity, mattering has received comparatively little attention as a distinct construct. This work positions mattering as a core relational perception that may underlie key characteristics of elevated borderline traits. To test these predictions, three studies were conducted using complementary methodologies in samples of U.S. undergraduates. Study 1 used a cross-sectional design to examine associations between borderline traits and trait-level mattering constructs. Study 2 used hypothetical vignettes to assess perceived rejection in romantic contexts. Study 3 utilized a daily diary design to assess fluctuations in emotional experiences and state-level mattering. Findings consistently demonstrated strong links between borderline traits and mattering, suggesting that these traits are closely tied to individuals’ perceptions of their relational significance.
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    Flipping the Script: Effects of Positive Self-talk on Artistic Gymnastics Performance
    (2026-01-01) Hart, Samantha; Taku, Kanako; Lewis, Mary
    Positive self-talk is a widely recognized cognitive tool that enhances athletic performance; however, its application within artistic gymnastics during early developmental stages remains underexplored. The present study employed a within-subjects repeated-measures research design to understand the effects of positive self-talk on performance, state anxiety, and confidence amongst female artistic gymnasts. Participants completed a three-session (n = 7) or single-session intervention (n = 5), with a total sample of N = 12 (Mean age = 10.08). Caregiver data were also collected (N = 11, Mean age = 42.73) to examine associations between caregiver and gymnast psychological characteristics. Participants were measured on performance (by their level-specific uneven bar dismount), state anxiety, and confidence. Wilcoxon signed-ranks test and Spearman correlations indicated that self-talk did not produce statistically significant changes. Future studies should employ larger samples and integrate self-talk interventions within athletes’ natural training environments to better evaluate their effectiveness in youth gymnastics.