Education Commons^™

School Crisis Response: Perceptions Of Experienced Responders, Travis E. Pinter

Theses and Dissertations

The needs of a school community following the death of a student or staff member are not something every educator and/or school administrator may be prepared to address. Multi-disciplinary crisis response teams, particularly those operating at the district level, are equipped to respond to such situations rapidly and effectively. School psychologists, due to their categorization as “scientist practitioners” in the educational environment and their training in both therapeutic intervention models and tiered service delivery, are especially qualified to coordinate training for, manage, and serve on K-12 crisis response teams. Unfortunately, the definitive manualized program on school crisis response, PREPaRE (Brock …

Exploring Levels Of Autism Symptom Support After Eligibility Determinations, Zachary Bella

Theses and Dissertations

The identification of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) occurs in educational and health settings. Many children with autism will only receive a classification of autism in the educational setting (Esler et al., 2022, Pettygrove et al., 2013, Wiggins et al., 2020). There is significant overlap between the early intervention offered to children with autism in health settings and what is provided through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) (National Autism Center, 2009; Morset et al., 2010). However, there is an increasing trend of children with autism being classified with significant developmental delay (SDD) instead of autism initially in schools and the impact of …

Parent-Focused Interventions, Family Need, And Family Adjustment For Parents Of Children With Autism, Sara Alexandria Carse

Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism often have disability-specific deficits such as delays in communication and social interaction, restricted interests, rigid thinking patterns, repetitive behaviors, atypical responses to sensory experiences, and challenging behaviors (Balbouni et al., 2016; Bishop et al., 2012; Chistol et al., 2017; Anixt et al., 2018). As a result, parents of children with autism face unique challenges compared to parents of neurotypical children and report high levels of stress, especially towards their child’s challenging behaviors (Stadnick et al., 2017). Parent stress has been shown to cause dysfunction in family adjustment (Keen et al., 2010). Families may seek child-focused or parent-focused …

Dancing Bees, Singing Whales. The Impact Of Idiosyncratic Information On Children’S Attitudes Toward And Moral Reasoning About Animals, Vittoria Sipone

Theses and Dissertations

Research in conservation psychology suggests that the tendency to engage in conservation behaviors develops from the interplay of both knowledge of and affinity toward nature (Schmitz & Rocha, 2018; Berenguer, 2007). The present study explores this connection between knowledge and attitudes by investigating the impact of information on individuals' attitudes and care toward animals. This study focuses on knowledge in the form of idiosyncratic information, due to considerations of potential cognitive strengths as well as the pervasiveness of “fun facts” in everyday life. Idiosyncratic information about natural items is not likely to be found in science textbooks at grade-school level, …

Impact Of Teacher Cognition On The Implementation Of Social- Emotional Learning Practices For El Students, Madeline Bliske

Theses and Dissertations

There is a well-established achievement and graduation rate gap between English Learner (EL) students and their monolingual English-speaking peers (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). The current study focuses on teacher cognition and characteristics that may impact the likelihood that they will implement culturally and linguistically sustaining (CLS) social-emotional learning (SEL) practices for EL students within their classroom. Specifically, I descriptively analyze whether personal, professional, or school characteristics are associated with teachers’ perception of EL students SEL competencies or implementation of CLS SEL practices. Utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), I evaluate whether teacher cognition (i.e., behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, …

An Investigation Of Personal And Professional Secondary Traumatic Stress Predictors In Urban School Personnel, K. Leigh Monahan

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the high rates of exposure to potentially traumatic events in childhood, educators may experience high levels of indirect trauma exposure that can lead to adverse consequences, such as Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). STS is a potential “constellation of symptoms that may run parallel to those of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including symptoms of intrusion, avoidance, arousal, and emotional numbing” (Molnar et al., 2017, p. 130). However, STS remains understudied in the school personnel population. This quantitative survey study explored to what extent a set of professional (i.e., supervisor support, colleague support, trauma-informed practices professional development, professional role) and …

The Almost Perfect Scale In Medical Students: Model Confirmation, Measurement Invariance, And Differential Item Functioning By Gender, Elizabeth Hollenback Ellinas

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the factor structure of two common perfectionism scales – the Almost Perfect Scale – Revised (APS-R) and the Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS) - in medical students. It was found that both two-factor models hold for them, albeit marginally for the APS-R. Measurement invariance by gender showed that while configural invariance and metric invariance hold, scalar invariance does not, indicating that the means for men and women may not be meaningfully compared by using these scales. Additionally, several items exhibited differential item functioning, most of which are in the Discrepancy scale of the APS-R. Overall, the SAPS …

Anxiety And Social Withdrawal Among Children: Associations With Emotion Awareness And Emotion Regulation Strategy Use At The Intra- And Interpersonal Levels, Janae Ellen Teer

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety and social withdrawal are two frequently experienced internalizing conditions among children. These early-onset challenges are associated with numerous maladaptive outcomes in the academic, social, and psychological domains (Levitt & Merrill, 2009; Long, 2018; Sanchez et al., 2018; Shernoff et al., 2017). While identifying anxious and socially withdrawn children in the classroom is difficult as symptoms generally occur internally, distinguishing between the conditions is perhaps more challenging as the two are closely associated, oftentimes overlapping constructs (Barzeva et al., 2019; Rubin et al., 2009). Particularly, it is unclear whether anxiety and social withdrawal are similarly or differently associated with key …

The Role Of Emotionally-Supportive Teacher Beliefs And Behavior In Student Aggression, Bridget Garrity Brinckman

Theses and Dissertations

Overt aggression is a pervasive problem in schools. In 2017 alone, the US Department of Education reported over 360,000 aggressive incidents. According to the General Aggression Model, emotion regulation plays a key role in aggression. Teachers play a role in student regulation through their supportive (e.g., expressive-encouragement) and unsupportive (e.g., punitive) responses to students. This study examined the role of the classroom teacher in student aggression. Teacher emotion-focused beliefs about both the reasons for aggression and the effectiveness of emotionally-supportive responses to aggression, were explored. Teacher likelihood of mental health referral for anger and fighting (i.e., an emotion and behavior …

Using Cost-Effectiveness Analysis To Select Mathematics Screening Measures In Middle School, Samuel Maurice

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the utility of using cost-effectiveness analysis to select universal mathematics screening measures in middle school. Participants (n=1586) were students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 at two suburban middle schools in Wisconsin. Screening data, including previous year criterion-measure (Wisconsin Forward Exam) scores, fall Measures of Academic Progress scores, and curriculum-based measurement scores were collected in the fall of 2016. Multiple imputation was used to account for missingness, and linear combinations of screening scores were created using receiver operator curve analyses. Costs were calculated based on published standards, the CostOut® Toolkit, and the experience of content experts. Results …

An Examination Of Whether Grit, Belonging And Institutional Compassion Contribute To Emerging Adult Goal Pursuits And Reduce Pandemic-Related Stress, Cynthia A. M. Schmahl

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTAN EXAMINATION OF WHETHER GRIT, BELONGING AND INSTITUTIONAL COMPASSION CONTRIBUTE TO EMERGING ADULT GOAL PURSUITS AND REDUCE PANDEMIC-RELATED STRESS

by

Cynthia A. M. Schmahl

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, May 2021Under the Supervision of Professor Jacqueline Nguyen, Ph.D.

This dissertation examines the merits of grit and belonging for emerging adults’ collegiate goal pursuits and the influence of institutional compassion amid COVID-19 challenges and stress. Participants were traditional full-time, undergraduate students ages 18-24, recruited from a national sample using Qualtrics, an online survey tool (N = 258; 60% women; 47.31% White, 18.46% Black/African American, 17.31% Asian, 10.77% Hispanic/Latino/a/x). Participants completed a survey …

Evidence-Based Practice Or Practice-Based Evidence? A Qualitative Examination Of School Psychologists’ Implementation Of Trauma-Informed Interventions, Abigail Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Children who experience traumatizing life events are reported to be at greater risk for behavioral and emotional impairments that can diminish school performance. To address this, school psychologists can implement trauma-informed evidence-based interventions (TI EBIs), or treatments with an empirical basis that support the unique psychosocial needs of traumatized children in schools. However, a research-to-practice gap is described as negatively impacting school psychologists’ implementation of empirically-based direct intervention services. The present study aimed to examine the TI EBI implementation experiences of 16 novice school psychologists with regard to the distinct barriers and facilitators experienced within the in vivo school context, …

Latinos Raising Academically Gifted Middle School Students: Parental Academic Socialization And Consejos, Martha Aracely Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study sought to understand how Latino parents use parental academic socialization (Hill & Tyson, 2009) and consejos (Delgado-Gaitán, 1994; Alfaro et al., 2014) as forms of home-based parental involvement to converse about education. A phenomenology approach was used to research and analyze data to describe the lived experiences of Latino parents raising academically gifted children middle schoolers while engaging in academic discourse. This study used semi-structured interviews with sixteen Latino participants who were US-born (n=7) and Mexico-born (n=9) from a large urban school district in a Midwestern city. The following major themes emerged: 1) parental academic socialization, …

Novel Approach In Measuring Training Effectiveness, Thomas Samuel

Theses and Dissertations

NOVEL APPROACH IN MEASURING TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS

by

Thomas Samuel

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2020

Under the Supervision of Dr. Naira Campbell-Kyureghyan

Conducting training for employees is a popular method, in industry, to increase awareness and competencies of individuals that helps start the journey towards a change in performance. Globally, fiscal investments in the order of hundreds of billions of dollars annually are made by organizations and governments to train employees in various concepts. Of the various types of training programs, safety related training is specifically important as it increases awareness of the work risks to employees and plays a critical …

School Psychologists' Beliefs, Perceived Competence, Knowledge, Social/Norms Expectations, And Implementation Of School-Based Trauma-Focused Interventions, Amanda Rian Hanrahan

Theses and Dissertations

Two out of every three children will experience a traumatic event before the age of 16 (APA, 2008). Due to a variety of barriers, many of these children will not receive the mental health treatment and support they need (GAO, 2009). Researchers have identified School Psychologists as the primary school-based mental health professionals to provide services in schools (Jaycox et al., 2007). The present study aimed to better understand the prevalence of childhood trauma, analyze the factors that lead to increased intervention implementation for School Psychologists, and identify factors that decrease the negative association between barriers and implementation frequency of …

Fostering Friendships Between Chinese International And American High School Students, Kai Tai Chan

Theses and Dissertations

Current research revealed that international students adjust more optimally to the host country when they have host-national friendships (e.g., Hechanova-Alampay, Beehr, Christiansen, & Van Horn, 2002; Hendrickson, Rosen, & Aune, 2011). The researcher aimed to study and examine the process of sociocultural adjustment for Chinese international high school students. Specifically, the present study focused on the perspectives of Chinese international high school students to: a) gain an overall understanding of Chinese international students’ perception of intercultural friendships with American high school students and b) identify factors that afford and constrain intercultural friendships between the two student groups as perceived by …

Deaf Cultural Socialization: Exploring The Role Of Parents In Deaf Cultural Identity Development, Macrae Husting

Theses and Dissertations

There is an assumption in the Deaf identity literature that suggests that parents’ hearing status determines the cultural identity and well-being of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. This dissertation challenges that assumption. It does so by proffering an alternative explanation of the role that parents play by introducing two forms of socialization as mechanisms through which parents influence their child’s cultural identity development and well-being. Deaf cultural socialization is the process by which parents transmit messages to children regarding the importance and meaning of Deaf culture and membership in the Deaf community. Minority status socialization is the process by …

Targeting Trauma: Improving School Outcomes For Students In Out-Of-Home Care, Anna Benton

Theses and Dissertations

The central purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS; Jaycox, 2002) program as implemented with students residing in out-of-home care (OHC) placements in an urban public high school in the Midwest United States. Utilizing single-case design methodology, CBITS was implemented. Six students (three in the treatment group and three in the waitlist control group) participated in this study, alongside their classroom teachers and parents/guardians. Three key school outcomes were assessed: traumatic stress symptomology, problematic classroom behaviors, and academic disengagement.

Screening results suggested that rates of exposure to trauma …

Effects Of A Mindfulness-Based Program On Children’S Social Skills, Problem Behavior, And Emotion Regulation, Jessica Bartley Willenbrink

Theses and Dissertations

This quasi-experimental wait-list control study examined the effects of a mindfulness-based program on students in two open-enrollment public charter schools located in a mid-sized urban city. Participants (n=176) were 3rd through 6th grade students. Students were identified as 54% Hispanic/Latino, 39% African American, and 7% other (e.g., White, Asian, American Indian). Three classrooms at each school served as the treatment group, and three classrooms at each school served as the control group, for a total of 12 participating classrooms. Students and teachers reported on students’ social skills, problem behavior, emotion regulation, and mindfulness before and after the program. The mindfulness …

The Relationship Between Teacher Accountability Measures And Self-Efficacy, Charisse Ann Kroner

Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to critically analyze teacher accountability and evaluation systems that are being utilized nation-wide, to discover how the systems impact teacher self-efficacy. One hundred thirty-two teachers from a large, diverse Wisconsin school district participated in a longitudinal study. The participants completed surveys at two time points (fall and spring) including collective efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, and sources of efficacy measures. A 2 x 2 mixed ANOVA showed no significant interaction between summary year status and changes in teacher self-efficacy. A multiple regression analysis revealed that sources of teacher self-efficacy included in the evaluation system positively predicted teacher self-efficacy …

Promoting Persuasion Knowledge In Third And Fourth Graders Through Advertising Literacy And Argumentation Interventions, Susan Locke Stanley

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to promote the development of persuasion knowledge in third and fourth graders by examining children’s interpretation and production of persuasive messages through an instructional intervention. Two interventions were delivered to students that focused on the skills associated with critical thinking (e.g., evaluating effectiveness of arguments, writing a persuasive argument using valid reasoning, and understanding the persuasive intentions and tactics of advertisements). One intervention used advertising as the instructional tool, such that students were taught about the purpose of advertising, advertising tactics, and the companies and advertisers behind the ads. Students learned that ads are …

Perceptions Of Belongingness In Stem Subjects And Career Development For Middle School African American Girls, Anya Woronzoff Verriden

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the hypothesis that African American girls’ early perceptions of support in middle school influences their narrowing or broadening of interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects and careers. As previously researched the belief that boys excel at math and science while girls do well in the humanities is not supported by findings. Therefore the purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction of contextual factors such as teacher, parent, and peer support for African American middle school girls and their interest in STEM subjects utilizing a qualitative research method. Students are making decisions about their …

A Qualitative Study Of Instructional Coaching Based On An Analysis Of Interviews From Teachers, Coaches, And Administrators, Samuel Reese Purdy

Theses and Dissertations

The “transfer of training problem” refers to the difficulty professionals have in adopting evidence-based practices after they receive training on those practices. This “transfer of training” problem is especially important to consider for educational professionals in urban settings where students are more likely to not meet grade level academic expectations and where teachers often report feeling underprepared to teach in diverse, dynamic classrooms. Instructional coaching is a type of ongoing, job-embedded professional development that may help teachers overcome the “transfer of training” problem. This study examines exit interview data from teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators who participated in pilot programs …

Case Study Examining The Treatment Effect Of Trainee Psychologists In Schools, Elliot Broch

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

CASE STUDY EXAMINING THE TREATMENT EFFECT OF TRAINEE PSYCHOLOGISTS IN SCHOOLS

The effects of school- based therapy carried out by trainee psychologists were examined in four urban schools (k4-8th grade) in socio economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Additionally, the treatment effects were compared between students serviced by trainees compared to those receiving treatment from licensed professionals. Trainee psychologists obtained moderate effect sizes (equivalent to that procured by licensed professionals) on measures of social emotional functioning. Discipline problems did not increase or decrease at a different rate for those receiving counselling from trainees and licensed professionals compared to their same age counterparts. …

Predictors Of International Students’ Socio-Cultural Adjustment, Wen-Hsin Chang

Theses and Dissertations

International students’ well-being and their adjustment have gained interest from researchers in different areas, including educational psychology, social psychology and counseling psychology. By using the social cognitive model, this study focused on finding the relationships among English fluency, social self-efficacy, cultural values, perceived social support, perceived discrimination and conflict handling styles and how they affect international students’ sociocultural adjustment. A hierarchical regression model found that international students with high social self-efficacy have less socio-cultural adaptation difficulties when they perceived low discrimination. However, when these students perceived high discrimination, they experienced higher socio-cultural adaptation difficulties. International students who valued openness to …

Making Test Batteries Adaptive By Using Multistage Testing Techniques, Wen Zeng

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation research is to investigate the possibility to improve both reliability and validity for test batteries under the framework of multi-stage testing (MST). Two test battery designs that incorporate MST components were proposed and evaluated, one is a multistage test battery (MSTB) design and the other is a hybrid multistage test battery (MSTBH) design. The MSTB design consists of three tests: The first test used the AMI (approximate maximum information) method as the routing strategy; and as for the second and third, the “On-the-Fly” strategy (OMST) was employed. The MSTBH design also consists of three tests; …

Transitioning Into Adulthood: Exploring The Educational Trajectories Among Undocumented Latinos, Michelle G. Parisot

Theses and Dissertations

The following qualitative study used semi-structured qualitative interviews to investigate the educational trajectories of five undocumented Latinos who were either in the process of transitioning into a college program or had recently enrolled in a college program. An initial interview was conducted with each of the participants followed by a follow-up interview about 3-months after the initial interview was conducted. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach was used to carry out this research study. Therefore, collaboration with participants and key community members was essential throughout the entire research process. A research team was created to perform thorough data analysis and …

Perceived Climate In Urban Schools: An Examination Of Risk-Taking Behavior And Self-Reported Beliefs Regarding Educational Attainment, Caitlin Elizabeth Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between school climate and the outcomes of risk-taking behaviors and self-reported beliefs regarding educational attainment. A school climate survey was administered to students attending an urban high school, and three perceptions of school climate were measured: Teacher-student relationships, safety, and attitude toward the school environment. Students also completed measures of self-reported risk-taking behaviors and beliefs regarding educational attainment. A total of 456 students were included in the current sample. Preliminary analyses indicated that a higher GPA was significantly associated with lower risk-taking behaviors, and also with self-reported beliefs regarding better …

Examining Whether School Finances And Academic Achievement Predict The Quality Of Reading Intervention Implementation In Response-To-Intervention, Joshua Anderw Looser

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine how financial capacity and reading achievement contribute to the implementation of high-quality reading interventions in the context of RtI. As a secondary research interest, the relationship between reading achievement and intervention intensity was examined. Financial capacity was operationalized in terms of per-pupil expenditure, while achievement was examined based on performance on the state standardized test. The quality of reading interventions was defined by four indicators: 1) evidence-based reading interventions, 2) psychometrically sound progress monitoring, 3) treatment integrity measures, and 4) interventionist training. Data regarding these four indicators and intervention intensity were obtained …

Using Differential Item Functioning To Test For Inter-Rater Reliability In Constructed Response Items, Tamara Beth Miller

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

USING DIFFERENTIAL ITEM FUNCTIONING TO TEST FOR INTER-RATER RELIABILITY IN CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE ITEMS

by

Tamara B. Miller

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2015

Under the Supervision of Professor Cindy M. Walker

This study used empirical and simulated data to compare and contrast traditional measures of inter-rater reliability to a novel measure of inter-rater scoring differences in constructed response items. The purpose of this research was to investigate an alternative measure of inter-rater differences, based in modern test theory, that does not require a fully crossed design for its calculation. The proposed, novel measure of inter-rater differences utilizes methods that are …