Education Commons^™

Incentives And Their Effect On Retention And Comprehension Of Mathematical Ideas, Dylan Mathess

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the benefits and/or disadvantages of providing rewards to students as a result of understanding and applying mathematical concepts during class time and on assessments. Rewarding student behavior by means of incentives have been used in the past to reward behavior and less on content knowledge. The goal was to analyze the effects of incentives on retaining and comprehending mathematical concepts. After analyzing the data, it was proved that providing incentives did not have a significant impact on demonstrating knowledge of mathematics.

Reinforcement Practicality For Middle School Students: A Meta-Analysis, Kelly C. Dreger Ed.D., Steve Downey Ph.D.

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The need for evolving support interventions that can help students in a wide range of settings is an ongoing requirement for middle schools today. Token reinforcement, which is a form of extrinsic motivation and incentivization, is studied within this meta-analysis to determine if significant treatment effects exist overall and if there are studies that show more gains than others. Most studies report significant positive gains individually, but the statistical significance is lost when the studies are reviewed as a whole. Variables such as sample size requirements, treatment effect variation, and session time all influence treatment effect size. Reinforcement has been …

Parents Opinions Matter: The Impact Of Incentives On Parent/Child Workshops Within The Raising A Reader Program, Samantha Kennedy

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research focused on the incentives parents/guardians found valuable when participating in parent/child workshops within the Raising a Reader program. The research took place over six weeks within the public school system in a low-income, rural district in Maryland. All parents and guardians with children in prekindergarten and kindergarten classes received invitations to be a part of the research. The research utilized artifact data from previous parent surveys, inquiry data consisting of pre and post assessments, and observational data during parent/child workshops. Data findings suggest that parent/child-centered incentives are most valuable to parents, including spending time with, reading with, …

Enhancing Overall Communication And Onboarding Procedures At Case Management Of The Carolina, Loren Mcneal

Education Projects

Case Management of the Carolina, a young case management organization, serves patients who qualify for community long-term care services. The organization employs less than 10 people but is struggling to retain qualified case managers. Onboarding, communication, and rebranding were some of the surface issues the owner was facing. Tammy Gordon, a previous and experienced case manager, partnered with me to help remedy some of those problems. Survey research and interview research were used to assist in diagnosing the true cause of turnover. Recommendations for new orientation documents were provided to assist with onboarding. Several virtual platforms were recommended to support …

Increasing Parental Engagement In Social-Emotional Learning At Home Through Incentive Based Program: A Guideline For Implementation, Shawn P. Kiley

Culminating Experience Projects

Current policies and practices strive to increase parental engagement with school activities with varying degrees of success. A lack of clear expectations and guidelines of how parents can engage in social-emotional learning within the home decreases the effectiveness of the social-emotional curriculum and negatively impacts the child’s mental health. This project attempts to create opportunities for parents to engage in social-emotional learning activities within the home while also addressing barriers that often prevent parents from engaging under typical standards. Children whose parents are engaged in their lives and school-based activities feel a better sense of belonging within their family and …

Effects Of School Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports In An African American All-Boys Urban School, Theresa Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Teachers and administrators spend a great deal of time addressing minor to moderate school discipline behaviors with punitive actions such as suspensions and expulsions from school. Past research has revealed that such punitive actions do not correct the unwanted behavior, and extensive use of punitive disciplinary actions have been linked to negative outcomes such as repeated suspensions, repeating grades due to time missed from school, increased likelihood of dropping out of school, or potential involvement in the juvenile justice system. This single case study design addressed the following research question: How school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) affected …

Federal Student Loan Servicing Accountability And Incentives In Contracts, Rajeev Darolia, Andrew Sullivan

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

Student loan servicers play a critical and underappreciated role in federal student loan programs. The federal government contracts out to servicers an array of many of the most critical functions related to student loan repayment, including account management, payment processing, and the provision of information about payment plans and solutions for distressed borrowers. In fact, most borrowers’ interactions with federal student loan repayment are almost exclusively with their servicer. We aim to improve upon the scarce research literature about federal student loan servicers by exploring the complicated set of measures that determine how servicers are compensated for servicing each debtor …

Faculty Perceptions Of Online Teaching At A Midsized Liberal Arts University, Dana L. Shreaves, Yu-Hui Ching, Lida Uribe-Florez, Jesús Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this mixed-methods study, faculty perceptions of online teaching at a midsized liberal arts university were examined to better understand faculty acceptance and participation in online teaching at the university. Seventy-nine participants responded to a survey that collected qualitative and quantitative data. Content analysis of faculty perceptions of online teaching was employed and resulted in the identification of six themes. An examination of 21 quantitative factors identified 17 factors reported by more than 50% of respondents to influence their decision to teach or not teach online. Study participants perceived online learning as attractive to students but they wanted any online …

The Evaluation Of The Jostens Renaissance Incentive Program And The Impact It Has On Students At A Southwest Florida High School, Saneik Buchanan

Dissertations

As state requirements for academic achievement continue to become more rigorous, school administrators and counselors strive to create positive school environments. Therefore, administrators and counselors must find creative incentive programs tailored to meet the needs of respective school settings, such as the Jostens Renaissance incentive program. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Jostens Renaissance education incentive program at one Title I high school in Southwest Florida by studying the relationship among students’ GPAs, attendance, and disciplinary issues before participation in the program. The evaluation was a quantitative, quasi-experimental design that utilized pre-existing data of …

Incentivized Learning And Libraries: A Comparative Study Of Summer Reading Programs In Connecticut, Andrew Morrison

Honors Scholar Theses

With digital forms of entertainment and media more inescapable than ever, it has become increasingly difficult to encourage children and teens to read. Simultaneously, despite an overwhelming amount of literature demonstrating the educational benefits of reading, especially as a necessity in the summer between academic years, library budgets are shrinking as federal funding nears its end. How do libraries promote summer reading amidst declining interest and decreased funding? Using data from public libraries across Connecticut, this paper investigates how libraries are adapting their children's summer reading programs to a changing landscape, how programs are designed to incentivize reading without eliminating …

Identifying The Best Practices That Are Being Used To Promote Higher Education In Both Civil Service And Non-Civil Service Police Departments, Raymond Trigg

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study was conducted to identify the best practices that are being used to promote higher education in both civil service and non-civil service police departments. This study also examined the higher educational incentives/policies that are currently established in municipal police departments to promote continued higher education. Factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, and rank and time of service were examined. Based on this examination, policy recommendations can be made to affect the level of education for municipal police officers positively. The organizational analysis provided a look at previously unseen aggregate …

Identifying Factors That Influence The Continuing Education Choices Of Municipal Police Officers, Sean O'Connor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study was conducted in an attempt to identify factors that influence the continuing education choices of municipal police officers. By examining factors such as tuition reimbursement, educational incentive pay, CEO education level, higher education standards for promotion and hiring, rank, and length of service, policy recommendations can be made to positively impact education levels among municipal police officers. In phase one of analysis, levels of organizational education were presented along with each variable’s presence in each department. Aggregate data is provided to give the reader an overview of higher education incentives and attainment within the County. In phase two, …

Technology And Teacher Preparation In Exemplary Institutions: 1994 To 2003, Mark J. Hofer

Mark Hofer

In a 1994 study commissioned by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Mergendoller, Johnston, Rockman, & Willis (1994) examined four exemplary institutions to identify their approaches to integrating technology into teacher education. A decade later, the field would benefit from a comparison of current approaches of infusing technology into teacher education to the 1994 findings. This study examines the approaches of the first seven teacher education programs to receive the ISTE NETS Distinguished Achievement Award. Current approaches to the process are outlined, including the identification of the key factors impacting their implementation. A comparison of the 1994 and the present …

The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Hurts Single Parents With Children Pursuing A College Education, Michelle S. Freeman, Alyssa Reed

ETSU Faculty Works

This article highlights some instances where the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) increased taxes for single parents at the moment their children are pursuing a college education. The article further recaps education credits that were saved (but not increased) by the TCJA and a deduction that was lost. The authors also discuss an implication of the TCJA that could cause the burden on families sending children to college to increase further. Finally, the article captures items that legislators could enact to relieve the additional burden on families with students pursuing a college education.

Incentives And Teacher Effort: Evidence From Lagos, Nigeria, Simileoluwa Adebajo

Master's Theses

According to recent research (Hattie, 2003), teachers contribute to around 30% of the overall variation in student achievement and success – more than any other influencing factor. This study seeks to understand how different types of incentives (monetary, near monetary and non-monetary incentives) influence the “effort” of public school teachers as perceived by the students in Lagos, Nigeria using a novel measurement tool – the teaching effectiveness survey – to measure the teachers’ outcomes. Using a randomized field experiment where students evaluate the changes in their teachers’ effort with a standard teaching effectiveness survey and differences in differences estimation, we …

School Desegregation And Federal Inducement: Lessons From The Emergency School Aid Act Of 1972, Emily Hodge

Department of Educational Leadership Scholarship and Creative Works

This study uses the example of the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972, a federal desegregation incentive program, to discuss the benefits and challenges of equity-oriented incentives. This study applies theories of policy instruments and the social construction of target populations to congressional records, archival program materials, and other historical sources to trace the origin and evolution of the incentives and mandates built into the Emergency School Aid Act. The study ultimately concludes that the program’s combination of a financial incentive with rigorous oversight offers lessons for how to incorporate equity-oriented incentives into current education policy.

Inentives And Education: Experimental Evidence From Medellin, Colombia, Theodore D. Wisinski, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

This research uses an experimental design to investigate how incentive structure influences goal achievement among disadvantaged high school students in Medellin, Colombia. Of particular interest is how treatment effects influence school performance as well as how this may vary with differing key characteristics of the participants. Medellin, Colombia, like much of South America suffers from high levels of inequality in the city proper. Improving educational outcomes in impoverished neighborhoods is essential for the growth of these neighborhoods and the greater community in which they are located. The model used in this experiment is inspired by the Family Independence Initiative (FII). …

Goal Effectiveness In Achieving Educational Outcomes: Experimental Evidence From 9th Graders In Medellin, Colombia, Daniel Salicath, Alessandra Cassar

Master's Theses

Does goal setting among low-income ninth graders leads to higher average goal achievements of educational outcomes? This question is explored by a field experiment motivated by the acknowledged California-based Family Independence Initiative (FII), to analyze the effectiveness of individual goal setting, incentives and self-help groups on the achievement of educational goals. By randomizing treatments and control with the cooperation of the Secretary of Education in Medellin, different classrooms were assigned to five different experimental groups that met systematically for five months. The results show that goal setting is a cost-effective method to help low-income students achieve educational outcomes. Setting a …

Education Policy Factors Contributing To Special Education Identification, Sivan Tuchman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Vital to the discussion around special education is the topic of identification and de-identification as having a disability that impacts one’s education. Variation in special education enrollment across geographic locations, racial groups, and schooling sectors causes researchers to question the process and incentives involved in identification and de-identification. The studies that comprise this dissertation aim to analyze the effects that educational policies have on special education identification and subsequent enrollment. Specifically, the studies cover the special education finance, school accountability, and school choice policies.

The special education finance reform effort of switching from a prospective to a capitation funding system …

Acceptability Of A School-Based Incentivised Physical Activity Intervention: The B-Active Program, Wendi Herman, Darren Morton, Ross Grant

Darren Morton

The purpose of this study was to examine the acceptability to students, parents and teachers of a school-based intervention that incentivised students using prizes to be more physically active (the B-Active program). Three hundred and eighty-five children (54% boys, 46% girls) in Years 3 – 6 from five schools participated in the study. Six parents and three teachers were also interviewed about their perception of the B-Active program. Overall, the students enjoyed the B-Active program but the level of acceptability was lower for the parents and teachers. This study indicates that to increase acceptability, parents need to be well informed …

Employee Participation In A College Based Wellness Program: Leader Support, Incentives, Job Satisfaction, Absenteeism, And Self-Efficacy, Tara Rebekah Rouse

Dissertations

This study investigated employee participation in a college based wellness program using the following factors: leader support, incentives, job satisfaction, absenteeism, and self-efficacy. Specifically, the research was conducted to determine whether there was a significant relationship or difference in participation in a college based wellness program when looking at leader support, incentives, and individual self-efficacy and if participation made any difference on job satisfaction and/or absenteeism. The theoretical framework of this research is based on Bandura’s social learning theory, also known as social cognitive theory and was supplemented using Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior. This study could be beneficial to …

West Virginia State Employees’ Preferences For Worksite Wellness Programming, Peter Kadushin, Sam Zizzi, Nidia Henderson

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Objectives: To investigate the wellness programming preferences of state employees in West Virginia.

Study Design: A survey-based, descriptive analysis of employees’ preferences

Methods: State employees (n = 18,791) of West Virginia were given a38-item wellness survey. Items assessed employees’ interest in programming, methods for receiving wellness information, and incentives for participation.Descriptive statistics were run to provide a summary of state employees’ preferences.

Results: The survey response rate was 40%. Respondents showed interest in physical activity (81.0%), nutrition (77.6%) and stress management programming (61.1%). A personalized webpage was the highest rated method of receiving wellness information and a discount on insurance …

Falling Below The Line: Minimum Subgroup Size And Special Education Enrollment, Sivan Tuchman

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought high-stakes accountability testing into every American public school with the goal of 100 percent proficiency for all students. Making annual yearly progress (AYP) toward this proficiency goal for the total student population as well as at-risk subgroups was required in order for schools to avoid possible sanctions, such as school restructuring. In implementing NCLB, states had flexibility to determine the minimum size of these subgroups as to provide statistical reliability and accountability for as many schools as possible. If a school did not meet the state’s minimum subgroup size, the …

The Role Of Performance Management In Good Governance And Its Application In Public Education, Carolyn J. Heinrich

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Cash On The Table? A Behavioral Analysis Of Refund Claimants And Annuitants In The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, Martin F. Lueken

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation documents pension benefit choices made by public school teachers enrolled in the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), where they choose between taking a lump-sum withdrawal of their refundable contributions and deferring a pension benefit. The analysis explores the extent to which vested teachers enrolled in TRS separate from service with positive pension wealth, estimates how much money is "left on the table" at a conventional discount rate, and investigates what types of teachers display higher or lower discount rates as indicated by cashout patterns. To control for the relative attractiveness between choices, the analysis relies on three central …

Faculty Development For The Use Of High-Fidelity Patient Simulation: A Systematic Review, Wendy M. Nehring, Teressa Wexler, Faye Hughes, Audry Greenwell

International Journal of Health Sciences Education

This is a systematic review of the research data between 1995 and June 2013 concerning faculty development in the use of high-fidelity patient simulation for health professionals and students with a search of the following databases: CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health Collection: Comprehensive, OVID Medline, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest Dissertation/Theses Database. The primary search terms were high-fidelity patient simulation and faculty development. Reference lists from relevant articles were also reviewed. Twenty-five studies were included for this review. The majority of the studies were surveys with a few quasi-experimental designs. The themes were similar to those found in the …

It's Not Just About The Money: Motivations For Youth Migration In Rural China, Yilin Chiang, Emily C. Hannum, Grace Kao

Emily C. Hannum

This study investigates the incentives for labor migration of youth in rural China using panel data from the Gansu Survey of Children and Families, a longitudinal study of youth in rural Gansu Province of China. We investigate the individual and altruistic economic motivations featured prominently in demographic and economic research on migration. However, we propose that the non-economic goal of personal development, a motivation suggested in numerous qualitative studies of women migrants in China and elsewhere, is also important, especially for young migrants. Analyzes indicate that, while young men and young women hold different motivations for migration, the desire for …

Measuring And Rewarding School Improvement, Geoff N. Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

There is now a widely held view that the most effective strategy for improving countries’ educational performances is to improve the day-to-day work of schools. This view follows several decades of significant increases in government expenditure on school education in developed countries, often with little or no accompanying evidence of improvements in the quality or equity of educational provision. A number of countries have introduced incentives – both rewards and sanctions – in an attempt to ‘drive’ improvements in the work of schools. Many of these incentive schemes have followed the model adopted in business of specifying and measuring desired …

Measuring And Rewarding School Improvement, Geoff N. Masters

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

There is now a widely held view that the most effective strategy for improving countries’ educational performances is to improve the day-to-day work of schools. This view follows several decades of significant increases in government expenditure on school education in developed countries, often with little or no accompanying evidence of improvements in the quality or equity of educational provision. A number of countries have introduced incentives – both rewards and sanctions – in an attempt to ‘drive’ improvements in the work of schools. Many of these incentive schemes have followed the model adopted in business of specifying and measuring desired …

Causes Of Job Turnover In The Public School Superintendency: An Explanatory Analysis In The Western United States, Toby A. Melver

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine the factors that affect public school superintendent turnover in five western states. An explanatory theory was developed to cover all of the possible variables and show the relationship between those variables. The questions that guided this research study were:

(1) What environmental factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(2) What governance factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(3) What personal factors influence the tenure of superintendents in western states?

(4) What are the incentives and/or disincentives that influence the tenure of superintendents in western states? …