Graduate Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Now showing 1 - 5 of 670
- ItemExperiences of Young Girls in Cape Breton with Period Poverty(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-09) Riome, BrennaMenstruation is a natural bodily function that has been heavily stigmatized and viewed as a private issue for individuals. Stigmas surrounding periods can directly impact how people view menstruation and seek help. Period poverty is one of the impacts from stigmatization. The lack of access to menstrual products and education pertaining menstruation significantly affects one's health, education, and social participation. This thesis investigates the experiences of adolescent girls in Cape Breton, a region with little to no research on menstrual health.
- ItemAn Examination of Lexical Neighborhood Density in Young Children’s Word Learning and Phonological Awareness(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-09) Lewis, ChristopherThe lexical restructuring model aims to explain the developmental origins of the phoneme as a unit in implicit and explicit phonological processing tasks (Metsala & Walley, 1998). Very little research, however, has directly examined the claims of the model using experimental methods — best suited for testing causal claims. One way this study explored claims of this model was by attempting to manipulate the lexical neighborhood density for a subset of items and examining the effects on early elementary students’ word learning and phonemic awareness. Additionally, the associations between task performance for items from different neighborhood densities and early literacy-related skills were examined. Twenty-nine students in kindergarten and 33 students in grades one and two completed a word learning training task that introduced 18 nonword-nonobject pairs. Six nonwords were from sparse neighborhoods, but had phonological neighbors introduced during the learning task (creating a sparse-to-dense condition) to experimentally facilitate lexical restructuring — or direct attention to the internal structure of these new items. Immediate word learning measures and pre- and post-test phonemic blending for the 18 nonwords were completed. Measures of word reading, phonological awareness, and nonword repetition were also completed. Overall, introducing neighbors for the six items did not facilitate word learning. However, the younger group did show greater gains in pre-to-post-test phoneme blending for items in the sparse-to-dense condition compared to items in the sparse and the dense conditions. Furthermore, repetition of multisyllabic nonwords composed of syllables with few lexical neighbors explained unique variance in word learning beyond grade and repetition of nonwords with many lexical neighbors. In the final analysis, phoneme blending for sparse nonwords explained unique variance in word reading beyond grade, general phonological awareness, and phoneme blending for dense nonwords. Overall, experimental support for a central claim of the lexical restructuring model was found in the younger sample. This study also provides correlational evidence related to the idea that processing words from sparse lexical neighborhoods (i.e., areas of the mental lexicon to undergo segmental restructuring the latest in development) is a better index of the degree of segmentation in lexical representations, and thus of individual differences in word reading development.
- ItemFacing Change: A Phenomenological Analysis of Experiences of Radical Facial Change after Orthognathic Surgery(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-08) Dempsey, HollyThis study explores the lived experiences of individuals who underwent radical facial change after orthognathic surgery, with a particular focus on those who had mixed or negative feelings about the aesthetic outcome. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach grounded in van Manen’s four lifeworld existentials (corporeality, relationality, spatiality, and temporality), the research examines how four participants made sense of their altered appearances. Central themes include loss and grief, seeking validation, preoccupation with facial features, a distorted and evolving self-concept, resilience and becoming experts in their own experiences. While participants described significant emotional and relational challenges, they also demonstrated remarkable adaptability and personal growth. These findings highlight a critical gap in academic literature around dissatisfaction with aesthetic outcomes after orthognathic surgery and stress the importance of holistic, patient-centered care. This research also contributes to the field of adult education by offering insights that can inform healthcare professionals' training and deepen their understanding of the psychological and social impacts of radical facial change. Ultimately, this study calls for increased empathy, comprehensive informed consent practices, and integrated mental health support for individuals undergoing radical facial change after orthognathic surgery.
- ItemA Qualitative Examination of School Pyschologist's Knowledge of and Experiences with Supporting Newcomer Students in Nova Scotia Schools(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-08) Yazbek, YaraNova Scotia schools are experiencing increased newcomer student enrolment, resulting in greater cultural and linguistic diversity. These students sometimes face complex academic, language, and mental health challenges that require specialized support. School psychologists are well-positioned to play an important role in addressing these needs, yet little is known about their preparedness to support this population. This study used qualitative description to examine how school psychologists in Nova Scotia understand and describe their knowledge and experiences working with newcomer students, particularly English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners. Nine psychologists participated in semi-structured interviews, and data were analyzed to identify common experiences and challenges. Participants expressed a strong commitment to ethical and inclusive practice but reported limited training, language barriers, and systemic constraints. Findings highlight the need for targeted professional development, culturally appropriate tools, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This study discusses implications for school psychologists and possibilities for future research.
- ItemInconsistent Leglislation for Absent Students: What Canadian Education Acts Say and do not Say About Attendence(Mount Saint Vincent University, 2025-08) Ford, KatelynAttendance, defined by education acts and managed by school policies that record student-presence or -absence (Gentle-Genitty et al., 2015), is a consistent positive correlate of academic success and well-being. When a student develops a pattern of missed schooling, it is often referred to as chronic absenteeism (CA) (Chang & Romero, 2008). To successfully monitor and understand rates of chronic absenteeism across Canada, accurate attendance tracking is critical. Valid and reliable attendance data are required to identify patterns of absenteeism. Such evidence could be used by school staff, including school psychologists and policymakers, to develop targeted interventions to support student success (Chu et al., 2019; Keppens et al., 2019; Landell, 2021). In Canada, publicly available attendance data are limited (Birioukov, 2021). However, all provincial and territorial education acts are publicly accessible. These acts govern education and regulate school structures, roles, responsibilities, and student attendance. To better understand how attendance is addressed across Canada at a provincial and territorial level, this study conducted a qualitative inductive descriptive analysis of attendance sections in all provincial and territorial education acts. It aimed to describe key themes and assess national consistency. Results indicated significant variation in each province’s and territory’s approach to addressing attendance within their Education Act.