Education Commons^™

Evidence Of Emotional Intelligence In College Presidents’ Public Writing: Does Their Emotional Intelligence Change Over Time?, Karen Powers Liebhaber

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher education (HIED) presidents face a wide variety of competing demands and pressures. High emotional intelligence (EI) has been found to be effective in good leadership, but few studies exist which examine HIED presidents’ EI. This quantitative growth model study attempted to expand the understanding of EI and its source of change among HIED presidents. Several conceptualizations link together in this study to better understand HIED presidents’ EI. First, higher EI has been linked to strong leadership and strong communication. Studies show EI can change over time and EI is associated with certain demographic factors. Further, language, particularly written language, …

Arkansas Parent Survey 2022, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

The Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey on education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children in late 2021 and addressed a variety of education-related topics.

Parent Survey 2022, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid

Arkansas Education Reports

In late 2021, the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey about education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children. The students of these parents attended traditional public schools (66%), public charter schools (10%), public magnet schools (4%), and private schools (7%). Eleven percent of parents reported that their child was homeschooled, and 2% reported that their child attended school through a virtual platform.

Mentors In Violence Prevention: Differential Impacts On Adolescent Bystander Intentions About Bullying, Dating Violence, And Sexual Harassment, Ayla Mapes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bystander approaches are promising interventions that can engage bystanders as prosocial allies to intervene in interpersonal violence situations among youth within school settings. The Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) bystander intervention program targets interpersonal violence using a peer-to-peer mentoring model to engage students in a discussion about violence prevention. Research on the MVP program is promising but limited. The current study examined the specificity of MVP intervention effects in two high school samples. The first was a pre/post-test design that included a smaller sample of high school students who participated in the MVP program in the 2013-2014 academic year. The …

Children’S Positive Peer Relationships And Their Bullying Behaviors: A Latent Profile Analysis, Lauren Mutignani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the current study, I aim to expand upon traditional methods for classifying children based on positive peer nominations and contribute to the field’s understanding of high-status bullies who maintain social resources despite bulling behaviors (e.g., van der Ploeg et al., 2020). Both reciprocated and one-sided (i.e., received and sent) positive peer nominations were used to distinguish socially meaningful subgroups. Participants included 659 children from 34 classrooms (M Age = 9.31 years, SD = .49 years; girls = 50.6%; Hispanic/Latino/a/x = 42.5%, White/European American = 29.9%, Black/African American = 2.3%, Asian/Asian American/Pacific Islander = 11.7%, Native American = 2.3%, Bi/Multiracial …

The Effectiveness Of Peer To Peer Mentoring In Reducing Symptoms Of Depression And Anxiety In College Students, Ryan Harra

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

University counseling centers are struggling against resource constraints to meet the rising demand for mental health care. Peer-based mentoring programs offer the potential for an alternative approach to mitigate the increasing demand for treatment and improve overall psychological well-being among college students. However, research investigating peer mentoring programs on college campuses is lacking. This study evaluates program feasibility and potential effectiveness in reducing anxiety and depression symptoms among college students that underwent a 4-week peer mentoring program. Results from this preliminary study indicate peer-based programs may be more effective in reducing symptoms of depression (especially anhedonic depression) compared to anxiety. …

Posterior Predictive Model Checking Of The Hierarchical Rater Model, Nnamdi Chika Ezike

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fitting wrongly specified models to observed data may lead to invalid inferences about the model parameters of interest. The current study investigated the performance of the posterior predictive model checking (PPMC) approach in detecting model-data misfit of the hierarchical rater model (HRM). The HRM is a rater-mediated model that incorporates components of the polytomous item response theory (IRT) model, such as the partial credit model (PCM) and generalized partial credit model (GPCM), at the second level of the hierarchy, to model examinees’ responses to performance assessments. To date, the HRM has not been rigorously evaluated using PPMC techniques. Monte Carlo …

Effects Of Recess On Educational Outcomes In Elementary School Children, Katelyn Whitham

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Introduction: Because physical activity is beneficial for physical and mental health, the declining opportunities to implement adequate recesses in schools are devastating for children. If educational outcomes are positively affected by increased recess time or quality, schools are more likely to receive funding for programs and resources that support this renovation to recesses, providing research in lacking topics. Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to find related, academic articles for cross examination of data collected on the effects that recess has on educational outcomes so that schools may use this as a resource to receive funding to increase …

Does Self-Reference In Concept Mapping Influence Transfer?, Daniel A. Parker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Concept maps are a popular learning activity that have successfully demonstrated student learning outcomes. Research suggests that concept mapping has a positive effect on recognition, recall, and transfer. Likewise, researchers in cognitive psychology have shown the value of referencing oneself with a concept. Known as the self-reference effect, learners who connect their experiences or traits with new knowledge are more likely to remember that knowledge than if they used other mnemonic devices. Previous research suggests that integrating self-reference in concept mapping may improve recall. However, to date, no study has investigated the influence of this combination on higher order learning …

Centropoly: The Structure Of Educational Failures In The U.S., Martha Bradley-Dorsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How did a country birthed in individual liberty and voluntary associations create just the opposite in its inflexible, layered, government-controlled public education system? Here, using public choice theory, I explain how near-sighted and unrelated reforms, often based in private motives, gave us what I call the public education centropoly – a hybrid government organization consisting of a set of monopolies layered beneath two additional government levels that especially fails disadvantaged students.

After defending the use of public choice theory (Chapter 1) and summarizing the U.S. public education system formation (Chapter 2), in Chapter 3 I examine the Elementary and Secondary …

Flourishing Through Communicative Language Learning: An Exploration Of University Learners’ Basic Needs, Well-Doing, And Well-Being, William S. Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last 25 years, world language education (i.e., “foreign” or “second” language education) in the United States has seen a meaningful turn toward pedagogical approaches emphasizing communication, contextualization, and culture. This has coincided with the blossoming of recent theoretical perspectives and empirical research centered on language learners’ emotions, beliefs, and well-being. Two frameworks, self-determination theory (SDT) and positive psychology, are leading this exploration. Although these two perspectives have enhanced the discussion around language learning, each has its gaps; positive psychology research and its recommendations for practice do not often agree on what constitutes well-being and flourishing, while SDT, which …

Evidence-Based Social-Emotional Learning And Its Influence On Teachers’ Perception Of Student Behavior: An Analysis Of Ruler And The Anchors Of Emotional Intelligence, Brent B. Harrington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to assess the extent by which an evidence-based Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) program influenced teachers’ perception of students’ behavior in a small and diverse PK – 8 school district in Westchester County, NY. Specifically, the researcher evaluated the Anchors of Emotional Intelligence and the RULER framework to determine its impact on school climate as viewed from the perspective of staff in the district. Prior to commencing the study, the researcher recognized the negative staff narrative around student behavior in the district as a significant problem of practice that was observable, actionable and high leverage.

This mixed-methods study …

Teen Stress And The High School Experience: Fostering The Adaptive Abilities To Survive And Advance, William P. Dewitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose if this study is to examine the stress experience of teenagers during their high school years. The study uses existing research to identify causes of stress and stress- management techniques and then gathers students’ perceptions through surveys and a group interview to provide student voice on the issue of stress.

Recent nation-wide efforts have been made in schools to provide more supports for the social and emotional well-being of students, but despite these efforts, stress levels of high school students remain elevated. Understanding the ways in which students identify stress and the adaptive abilities they use to manage …

How Does Disproportionality In Discipline Manifest In Rural Schools In Southeast Arkansas?, Julie Workman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African American students are disciplined in schools at disproportionately higher rates than White students. This trend was first reported in 1975 in a report by the Children’s Defense Fund and since that time, has been highly studied. However, most research has been conducted in urban or suburban schools, with less known about disproportionate discipline in rural schools. This study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to explore disproportionate discipline between African American and White students in five rural schools located in Southeast Arkansas. The research questions were as follows: (1) How is discipline disproportionality perceived in specific rural schools …

Dominant Leadership Dynamics Of School Administrators Leading Non-Instructional Personnel, Michael Ewton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the literature and many schools and school districts advocating for enhanced communication and engagement with parents, families, and the community at large, it is advisable that school-level administrators consider the manner in which they engage the non-instructional employees who serve their schools. This dissertation explores the dominant leadership dynamics experienced by high school principals responsible for supervising non-instructional support services and leading non-instructional operations personnel in their schools. Trained and expected to be instructional leaders, principals must still ensure their students receive the basic services necessary to maintain a safe and effective learning environment. Ensuring students receive the benefit …

The Effects Of A Literacy-Based Mentoring Program On Empowering Preadolescent Girls In Their Development Of Confidence, Self-Concept, And Leadership Skillset, Sophia Vincent

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study focuses on empowering preadolescent girls to develop confidence and move from a fixed to growth mindset, take responsibility for their actions, turn failures into learning opportunities, and cultivate a love for self. GIRLS: Leaders on the Rise is a literacy-based mentoring program for preadolescent girls designed to improve confidence, positive self-concept, and develop a leadership skillset through five targeted aspects of leadership: growth mindset, integrity, resilience, love and loyalty, and strengths. Adolescence is a time when students are discovering who they are and shaping their identities. Girls decline in their self-confidence during adolescence due to fear of failure, …

Altered Attitudes And Actions: Social-Emotional Effects Of Multiple Arts Field Trips, Angela Watson, Jay Greene, Heidi Holmes Erickson, Molly Beck

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In recent decades, institutions, teachers, and students report a decline in field trip attendance. The impact of this decline on educational and societal outcomes such as social-emotional skill acquisition is unknown. Social-emotional learning (SEL) are skills thought to be important to life and relationship success and are associated with better long-term student outcomes. This study describes the results of the first-ever longitudinal experiment of the effects of multiple arts- related field trips on elementary school students of color in a large urban school district. Treated students attended field trips to an art museum, a live theater production, and a symphony …

An Evaluation Of The Educational Impact Of College Campus Visits:A Randomized Experiment, Elsie Swanson, Katherine Kopotic, Gema Zamarro, Jonathan Mills, Jay Greene, Gary Ritter

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

We hypothesize that a lack of experience with college poses a non-trivial barrier to college access for historically underrepresented students. We study whether visits to a college campus during the eighth grade can reduce these psychological barriers to college access. Using an experimental design, we study whether college visits affect students’ knowledge about college, postsecondary intentions, college-going behaviors, academic engagement, and ninth grade course enrollment decisions. We recruited 885 students across 15 schools who participated in our project during the academic year 2017-2018. We randomized students within schools to either a treatment or control condition. Students in the control condition …

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

Graduate 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 …

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

Graduate 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 …

Community- Versus School-Based Mentoring Matches: Do Mentees’ Parents Differ In Family Risk, Perceived Support Or Reasons For A Mentor?, Meredith Sourk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores whether the parents or guardians of youth participating in community-based (CBM) and school-based (SBM) mentoring programs differ in their level of family stress, economic adversity and perceived social and community support. Participants were 131 parents of youth in either CBM (n = 79) or SBM (n = 52) programs sponsored by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBS-Canada). Parents completed an online survey that assessed demographic characteristics and involvement in BBBS-C programs. Additional measures assessed family stress, economic adversity, perceived support (interpersonal, community), and reasons for wanting a mentor. Parents of youth in CBM matches were less …

What College Presidents Need To Know About College Students And Student Affairs, Jennifer M. Miles

Journal of Research on the College President

The college presidency is filled with challenges and opportunities, ranging from maintaining communication with on-campus and off-campus stakeholders, coordinating work being done across campus, to simply keeping all of the institution’s operations up and running in an efficient manner. These activities are all designed around a specific purpose: providing opportunities for students to learn.

What College Presidents Need To Know About Adult Learners In Higher Education, David Deggs

Journal of Research on the College President

American higher education has undergone a metamorphosis over the past three decades that has resulted in the emergence of new paradigms for academic program content, modalities for instructional delivery, configuration and delivery of student services, and expansion of outreach models. Central to this metamorphosis is the adult learner in American higher education. Once thought to be the minority in American higher education, adult learners now comprise 74% of all undergraduate college students in the United States (Radford, Cominole & Skomsvold, 2015). This marked shift in the student demographics has caused many American higher education institutions to reconsider the mission, purpose …

Developing A Competency-Based Framework To Guide Elementary School Teachers' Efforts In Helping Bullied Children, Samantha Gregus

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study aimed to develop a competency-based framework designed to assist elementary school teachers in their efforts to help bullied children. Drawing from extant research, Gregus and Cavell (2017) created an initial draft of the framework that contained 25 components representing a mix of knowledge, attitudes, and skills. In Study 1, I obtained input on the framework from practicing elementary school teachers (n = 26) and researchers who study school bullying (n = 14). Teacher input was gathered via a series of focus groups and researchers responded using an online survey. Both teachers and researchers viewed the framework positively …

"That's Empowering!": The Influence Of Community Activism Curriculum On Gifted Adolescents' Self-Concepts, Ashley D. Beason-Manes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first of the following manuscripts addresses the experiences of a group of gifted middle school students as they engaged in community action projects that provided them opportunity to become activists in their school, neighborhood, and larger community. This study pays special attention to participants’ self-concepts as measured by the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (2012) and through participant interviews. The study finds evidence of students’ co-cognitive components of giftedness when themes of courage, sensitivity to human concerns, and sense of destiny are applied. Main themes from Harter’s scale are also applied, and participant interviews reveal evidence of academic and …

Attachment Styles And Trust Propensity In Females With Borderline Personality Disorder, Jacob Matthew White

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is one of the most frequently encountered and complex disorders in mental health care. Interpersonal impairment is a central issue for individuals with BPD. This complex disorder has received negative stigma along with historically more females than males receiving this diagnosis (Linehan, 1993). Therefore, this study examined a clinical sample of 30 females diagnosed with BPD. Through the collection of data this study used the following measures: a basic demographic questionnaire gathering specific age, ethnicity, current relationship status, parental relationship status, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR; Brennan, Clark & Shaver, 1998), and the Propensity …

Investigating The Factor Structure Of The Teachers’ Sense Of Efficacy Scale With Pakistani In-Service And Pre-Service Teachers, Sajid Ali Yousuf Zai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teachers with a high sense of efficacy are motivated to achieve and are generally optimistic about future learning. There is an extensive body of research that indicates a teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs can be a performance indicator for school outcomes. Research on characteristics related to teachers in Pakistan has been increasing over the last decade, however there are a number of instruments being used with this population without any documented validation studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES; Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) to determine the latent structure of …

Embracing Geek Culture In Undergraduate Library Instruction: The Til Subreddit For Resource Evaluation And Qualitative Assessment, Michelle Gibeault

University Libraries Faculty Publications and Presentations

A case study of a library instruction teaching experiment using the “Today I Learned” forum on the website reddit.com, this article addresses teaching and assessment methods intended to promote self-monitoring in both the library instructor and student. After experimenting in the context of one-shot, lower-division, library instruction sessions, the TIL structure demonstrated strong opportunities for (a) eliciting declarative feedback from students about what they learn in library instruction sessions, (b) discussing how appropriate resource selection can effectively support a claim, and (c) modeling behaviors of lifelong learning while introducing unfamiliar students to an online forum founded in that spirit.

Basic Counseling Techniques Training: The Differential Effects Of Two Models On Skill Development And Fully Functioning, Christopher Loyd Carver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of two models of basic counseling skill training on the development of fully functioning, and the frequency of basic skill utilization as assessed at the end of the course. Two groups of students were taught using the Carkhuff Human Resource Development model (1971) and Egan’s Skilled Helper model (2002). They were then given the Strathclyde inventory to assess fully functioning early and at the end of the semester, and skill frequency count was conducted on all participants. Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests were conducted to determine difference between groups in both measures. Additionally, …

Effects Of Intervention On Self-Regulated Learning For Second Language Learners, Lu Yu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of the study were to investigate the process of self-regulated learning and the effects of an intervention program on self-regulated learning designed for second language (L2) learners. 120 participants who were sophomores majoring in English education at a university in an Asian country were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or control group. The self-regulated learning intervention was composed of six weekly two-hour training sessions that focus on five main variables of self-regulatory process: goal setting, self-efficacy, time and study environment management, language learning strategies, and attribution. The operation of self-regulated learning processes in the context of …