Educational Psychology Commons^™

Unspoken Barriers: An Autoethnographic Study Of Frustration, Resistance And Resilience, Rose M. Wake

The Qualitative Report

Immigration, cultural capital, cultural hybridity are the contributing players within my autoethnographic research as a second-generation daughter of southern Italian migrants from the post war era. This autobiography of my lived experience identifies contributing influences of arrested development within my educational and life trajectory and explores theoretical frameworks as key comparative indicators for my thwarted stages of psychosocial development. My identity and role as a female is further explored within the construct of a determined and culturally hybrid adolescence in an effort to answer research questions of identity and role confusion. My narratives situate my life as a daughter, student ...

The Effect Of Goal Setting And Student Self-Reflection On Motivation And On Task Behavior In The Upper Elementary Public Montessori Environment, Kelsey E. Alesch, Frances E. Niblack-Rickard

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The purpose of this action research project was to study the effects of goal-setting and self-reflection on the intrinsic motivation and on task behavior of students in an upper level (ages 9-12) public Montessori classroom. The project used multiple data sources to better understand the impact of goal-setting and self-reflection on student academic achievement, prosocial behavior, and emotional wellbeing. Teacher-made rating scales and self-reflection prompts were used to determine student outlook on completion of their goals while semi-structured student interviews, given at the beginning, middle, and end of the project, gave insight into student perceptions of goal-setting benefits. After analyzing ...

The Effect Of Seesaw Technology On Parent Engagement At Private Montessori Schools, Stephanie Kurnava, Jamie Sellhorn

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

The researchers looked at how using Seesaw technology, in a six-week parent education intervention, would affect parent engagement with their children in learning at home as well as parent understanding of Montessori principles. The research participants were 31 parents and 2 teachers at two private, urban Montessori schools. Data was collected through pre and postintervention questionnaires, teacher logs of parent questions, and Seesaw usage data. Through the intervention, we saw parent knowledge of Montessori principles, parent engagement, parent efficacy, and parent confidence in Montessori education beyond preschool increase. Parents also enjoyed interacting with each other as a community of parents ...

Alcohol Expectancies Among Sudents In The City Of Pokhara, Nepal, Niran Tamrakar

Public Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences

Alcohol plays a vital role in various aspects of Nepalese society. It also presents public health risks. Though adolescents in Nepal are at high risk for negative consequences from alcohol use, there is limited information available on their alcohol behaviors and beliefs. The present study aims to describe alcohol expectancies among a sample of secondary students in Nepal to identify and understand motivations underlying their alcohol-related behaviors. A self-report survey was administered to 591 students from different Englishmedium schools in the city of Pokhara. This study began with the Chinese Adolescent Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (CAAEQ), then used qualitative methods to ...

The Development Of A Situational Judgment Test To Assess Collegiate Judgment: A Pilot Study, Jared Stevens

Public Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences

Traditionally, colleges and universities have focused primarily on cognitive predictors (e.g., ACT/SAT scores, high school GPA), and have struggled to find an accurate and objective way of measuring non-cognitive skills, often resorting to personality measures or interviews, or deciding not to measure them at all. Recently, there has been a push for alternative forms of student selection that result in less adverse impact and do not ignore important skills and traits that are necessary to be successful in college (Peeters & Lievens, 2005; Atkinson, 2001).

Growing evidence suggests Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) may be one way to achieve this goal. SJTs ...

A Support Program For College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Functioning Of Participants Versus Non-Participants And The Role Of Program-Sponsored Mentoring, Ayla Raven Mapes

Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly more students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are attending college. In response, many colleges are now offering these students the extra support of an Autism Support Program (ASP), many of which include a mentoring component. This study is one of only a handful of attempts to examine these programs empirically. Using a small sample of college students who identified as having ASD, I compared participants and non-participants of a university ASP. An online survey was used to assess demographic characteristics and pre-college academic performance, as well as students’ functioning across the following domains: social, adaptive, academic, emotional, and having ...

Teacher Perception And Their Understanding Of Progress Monitoring Throughout A Longitudinal Assessment System, Rena A. Duewel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the phenomenon of teacher perception and their understanding of progress monitoring throughout a longitudinal assessment system. This monitoring of student progress is to enhance their academic skills in mathematics and provide necessary interventions for growth as measured on a longitudinal assessment system through fidelity of implementation of interventions processed through progress monitoring. Data was collected from participant responses through interviews, a demographic survey, and focus groups. Interview respondents participated in a closed-door, face-to-face interview. The survey was used to collect specific demographic data to provide a concise snapshot of each individual ...

Supporting Student Connectedness And Social Satisfaction During Recess, Elizabeth Teasdale Wells

Graduate Master's Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This project examines the effects of how recess preparation and reflection can be focused on providing students an opportunity to connect socially and strengthen overall happiness. By investigating the role social satisfaction plays in a child’s life during recess, educators may gain knowledge about how to foster social connectedness for every child. While most studies about recess focus on a child’s level of physical activity or negative behaviors, researchers have yet to investigate recess as a place to improve a child’s well-being and social satisfaction. This study was conducted at a public elementary school through qualitative interviews ...

Promoting Second Language Learning Through Oral Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication, Eric H. Young

All Theses and Dissertations

Learning to speak a foreign language (L2) can be a challenging feat, made all the more challenging when done in only 50 minute, daily increments in class. Oral asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) provides learners with opportunities to practice spoken communication and evaluate their practice outside the classroom. In this dissertation, I explore methods for classroom integration of oral ACMC, linguistic traits developed in previous oral ACMC studies, methods for determining the effectiveness of oral ACMC, learner beliefs about the effectiveness of oral ACMC activities, and the effects of learners' deliberate practice in a series of oral ACMC activities on 3 ...

Interaction, Student Satisfaction, And Teacher Time Investment In Online High School Courses, Chad A. Turley

All Theses and Dissertations

This case study explores what differences exist between two online course models by investigating the results of a student end-of-course evaluation survey and teacher communication logs in two online high school courses. The two course models were designed with different types and levels of interaction, one with high levels of student content interaction, the second with high levels of student-content and student-teacher interaction. The majority of research on interaction in online learning has been conducted with adult learners at the university level. There is far less literature focusing on K-12 online learning while investigating interaction, student satisfaction, and teacher time ...

Evaluating Mode Comparability In Early Elementary Grades, Ye Lin

Theses and Dissertations

With the widespread use of technology in the assessment field, many testing programs use both computer-based tests (CBTs) and paper-and-pencil tests (PPTs). Both the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014) and the International Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet Delivered Testing (International Test Commission, 2005) have called for studies on the equivalence of scores from different modes to support the uses and interpretations of scores across modes. Studies of administration mode effects, however, are quite limited and have found mixed results in the early childhood literature. In addition, little research has focused on both construct comparability and ...

Learning On The Open Road: Examining The Effect Of Non-Sequential User Choice On Learning From Oers, Ethan Philip Valentine

Theses and Dissertations

In recent decades, open, online learning environments have become progressively more popular and well-funded. An integral aspect of this open learning movement is the transition of a substantial amount of control of the learning process from designers and instructors to the users engaging with the environment. With heavy investments coming from both the public and private sectors, and an ever-growing market of online learners, it is crucial that we better understand how the provision of user control over the learning process affects the quality of that learning process.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of one ...

A Phenomenological Study Of School Counselors' Experiences Following Student Suicide, Suzanne Lea Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, hermeneutic, phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of school counselors who have been impacted by the death of a student by suicide in the United States. The central question of the study was: How do school counselors describe their experiences following the death of a student by suicide? The three subquestions were: (a) How do school counselors describe their reactions when a student dies by suicide? (b) How do school counselors perceive their professional involvements in postvention activities following a student suicide? (c) How do school counselors cope after the death of a ...

Empowering First Aiders Through Innovative Instructor Resources, J. Victoria Logan, Dominique Macdonald

International Journal of First Aid Education

No abstract provided.

Improving Elementary Students’ Complete Mental Health: Examining The Added Impact Of A Teacher-Focused Strengths-Based Intervention, Mollie Mccullough Headley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is considered one of the most challenging professions, often associated with high levels of occupational stress and job turnover that perpetuates additional negative outcomes including depleted funding for school districts, poor education quality, and reduced student academic performance. Research shows that teachers are an integral part of the classroom with the power to positively influence students’ perceived classroom support and emotional competence (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). Positive psychology has facilitated school-based initiatives that foster feelings of subjective well-being (happiness) through the implementation of brief, scripted activities (i.e., Positive Psychology Interventions; PPIs) that reflect the thoughts and behaviors of happy people (Layous & Lyubomirsky, 2014). Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) for adults (Bolier et al., 2013) and youth including a multicomponent, multitarget PPI (i.e., Well-Being Promotion Program) that improves students’ well-being (Suldo et al., 2015). McCullough’s (2015) investigation of the efficacy of a strengths-based intervention (Utilizing Signature Strengths in New Ways) on elementary teachers’ well-being revealed promising effects on teacher reduced emotional distress, increased life and work satisfaction, and SWB. This study examined the additive impact of teachers’ participation in the brief strengths-based teacher intervention (SBTI) on elementary students’ social and emotional outcomes, as reflected in levels of SWB, psychopathology, as well as classroom engagement and relationships among teachers and students. Concurrently, these elementary students took part in a Classwide Well-Being Promotion Program, a 10-week intervention targeting a variety of positive psychological constructs (i.e., positive relationships, gratitude, kindness, character strengths, hope) with additional parent and teacher components. A total of 7 classes (4 fifth grade; 3 fourth grade) within one large elementary school received the classwide, multicomponent student intervention in spring 2016, while 3 teachers were randomly assigned to participate ...

Learning Statistics Through Guided Block Play: A Pre-Curriculum In Statistical Literacy, Robert P. Giebitz

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Learning to use data to investigate the world and make decisions has become an essential skill for all citizens. Play and curiosity are powerful motivators for learning. Inquiry – the process of asking questions and seeking answers – can engage the natural curiosity of young learners and motivate early learning. Recent research in statistics education has shown that children as young as 4 and 5 years old can learn to collect, organize, and interpret data they acquire through observation, counting, and measuring in a process of guided inquiry. Guided block play has been used for over 100 years to enable children to ...

“I Knew What I Was Going To School For”: A Mixed Methods Examination Of Black College Students’ Racialized Experiences At A Southern Pwi, Kamden K. Strunk, Sherry C. Wang, Andrea L. Beall, Cory E. Dixon, Daniel J. Stabin, Betool Z. Ridha

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

Researchers have consistently documented a range of racialized inputs and outcomes in U.S. higher education. Those dynamics appear especially salient, and their consequences especially pronounced in the U.S. region often referred to as the Deep South. This overwhelming body of evidence, including the documented patterns of racial segregation in Deep South higher education, disparate opportunities and advantages, and inequitable outcomes, offers less insight on how Black students make sense of their experiences. This study used explanatory mixed methods to document racialized differences in campus experiences and to understand how Black students made sense of and navigated those racialized ...

Resilience And College Persistence: Characterizing Students Who Have Failed Courses, Mary Merrifield

Dissertations

Students who fail a course early in their college careers are at risk of leaving college before completion of their programs. Little is known about this high-risk group and why some members of this group complete their programs while others do not. This research addressed this gap in the college-level persistence literature by focusing first on differences between completers and non-completers, then on differences between students who fail a course early in their college careers but become completers or non-completers. The goal was to understand the protective value of individual traits beyond the prediction of risk based on membership to ...

Improving School Leadership: The Connection Of Transformational Leadership And Psychological Well-Being Of The Followers, Pamela Bryant, Jennifer T. Butcher, Johnny O'Connor

School Leadership Review

In this current era of public school accountability in the United States, the passage of No Child Left Behind resulted in dramatic changes for public school districts (U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Although the recent reauthorization, entitled Every Student Succeeds Act, allowed greater flexibility on the state and local levels, effective school leadership still remained a critical factor when establishing and maintaining high standards of student learning (Executive Office of the President, 2015). Onorato (2013) noted the federal and state accountability mandates have forced public school administrators to transform the educational environment while serving as instructional leaders for teachers ...

Being Proactive About Media Engagement In First Aid Education, Emily Oliver, Gareth Bentley

International Journal of First Aid Education

Submitted below as full text of submission