Education Commons^™

Do-It-Together: Informal Transformative Sustainability Education, Derek Brannon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Climate Crisis is an urgent and inescapable reality students are thrust into. Learners must be prepared adequately for their futures, not only for their sakes but also because collective and transformative change is required. Transformative sustainability education provides one pathway to this transformation and focuses on radically altering students’ perceptions about the world and their agency in effecting change on ecological issues. The field of transformative sustainability education is emergent and thus is still fragmented, leaving gaps in the literature. Little research has been conducted on how informal and nonformal university spaces can be used to create transformative experiences …

Mis-Specification Of Functional Forms In Growth Mixture Modeling: A Monte Carlo Simulation, Richa Ghevarghese

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Growth mixture modeling (GMM) is a methodological tool used to represent heterogeneity in longitudinal datasets through the identification of unobserved subgroups following qualitatively and quantitatively distinct trajectories in a population. These growth trajectories or functional forms are informed by the underlying developmental theory, are distinct to each subgroup, and form the core assumptions of the model. Therefore, the accuracy of the assumed functional forms of growth strongly influences substantive research and theories of growth. While there is evidence of mis-specified functional forms of growth in GMM literature, the weight of this violation has been largely overlooked. Current solutions to circumvent …

Digital Searching: A Grounded Theory Study On The Modern Search Experience, Nicolas Armando Parés

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Grounded theory study explores US adults' modern information search process as they pursue information through digital search user interfaces and tools. To study the current search process, a systematic grounded theory methodology and two data collection methods, a think-aloud protocol and semi-structured interviews, are used to develop the theory. The emerging theory addressed two tightly connected research questions that asked, “What is the process by which humans search and discover information?” and “What is the process by which search and discovery interfaces and tools support the modern search process?”

The study collects participant data from US adults who have …

Moving Past ‘One Size Fits All’: Developing A Trajectory Deviance Index For Dynamic Measurement Modeling, Yixiao Dong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic Measurement Modeling (DMM) is a recently developed measurement framework for gauging developing constructs (e.g., learning capacity) that conventional single-timepoint tests cannot assess. Like most measurement models, overall model fit indices of DMM do not indicate the measurement appropriateness for each included student. For this reason, other measurement modeling paradigms (e.g., Item-Response Theory; IRT) utilize person-fit or model appropriateness statistics to indicate whether a measurement model appropriately describes the data from each individual student. However, within the extant DMM framework, no statistical index has yet been developed for this purpose. Thus, the current project advanced a person-specific DMM Trajectory Deviance …

Statistical Modeling Of Positive Peer Support On Longitudinal Adolescent Substance Use, Kady Rost

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To evaluate this study’s research question of ”Does the latent construct of Positive Peer Support (PPS) relate to the construct of Adolescent Substance Use (ASU) over time, controlling for neighborhood safety, race, and sex?”, Structural Equation (SEM) and Latent Growth Curve Modeling (LGCM) were used to investigate trajectories. Secondary longitudinal data from Zimmerman (2014) of 604 students enrolled for four consecutive years in public schools located in Flint, Michigan. In the secondary data resource, students who participated were declared “at risk” by GPA. Significant relationships were found in SEM: Positive Peer Support to Adolescent Substance Use, All Control Variables to …

A Grounded Theory Inquiry Into The Pedagogical Socialization Of Graduate Students Within Graduate Quantitative Methods Courses, Amanda Kay Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quantitative methods are one of the most highly technical fields of study within social sciences graduate programs. Although classroom pedagogy is an important factor connected to student success within graduate quantitative methods courses little is known on the pedagogical socialization experiences of masters and doctoral students. The purpose of this grounded theory inquiry was to discover graduate students perspectives on their pedagogical socialization experiences and the norms, values and role expectations transmitted during the teaching and learning of quantitative methods. Narrative data was collected from in-depth interviews among a theoretical sample of 31 masters and doctoral students enrolled in introductory, …

Assessing Robustness Of The Rasch Mixture Model To Detect Differential Item Functioning - A Monte Carlo Simulation Study, Jinjin Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Measurement invariance is crucial for an effective and valid measure of a construct. Invariance holds when the latent trait varies consistently across subgroups; in other words, the mean differences among subgroups are only due to true latent ability differences. Differential item functioning (DIF) occurs when measurement invariance is violated. There are two kinds of traditional tools for DIF detection: non-parametric methods and parametric methods. Mantel Haenszel (MH), SIBTEST, and standardization are examples of non-parametric DIF detection methods. The majority of parametric DIF detection methods are item response theory (IRT) based. Both non-parametric methods and parametric methods compare differences among subgroups …

How 6-12th Grade Staff Support Students With Depression: A Pilot Study To Develop Measures Of Implicit Associations, Explicit Attitudes And Helping Behavior, Paul M. Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students with emotional disabilities are disproportionately suspended and expelled in K-12 schools. Attribution theory suggests individuals are less likely to provide assistance to others if they believe the individuals are responsible for their own difficulties. To test attribution theory, this study created new measures of explicit attitudes and implicit associations of licensed 6-12th grade staff regarding students with depression as well as a helping behavior measure of staff toward students with depression. The survey was distributed within a single school district in the western United States. A majority of the sample (N = 52) held a mental health license (60%), …

A Comparison Of Bayesian Estimation Techniques In A Multidimensional Two-Parameter Partial Credit Item Response Model, Peiyan Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bayesian estimation methods have shown better performance than the traditional Marginal Maximum Likelihood (MML) estimation method for parameter estimation in relatively simple item response models. However, extant literature is lacking on the investigation of Bayesian parameter estimation approaches for a multidimensional two parameter partial credit (M2PPC) model, therefore this simulation study investigated the performance of two Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms: Gibbs Sampler and Hamiltonian Monte Carlo-No-U-Turn-Sampler (HMC-NUTS) for M2PPC models' parameter estimation. It compared the estimation accuracy and computing speed in different combinations of situations, including prior choices, test lengths, and the relationships between dimensions.

The datasets …

A Comparison Of Latent Class Analysis And The Mixture Rasch Model: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of 8th Grade Mathematics Achievement In The Fourth International Mathematics And Science Study (Timss-2011), Turker Toker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a comparison of the results of latent class analysis (LCA) and mixture Rasch model (MRM) analysis using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study - 2011 (TIMSS-2011) with a focus on the 8th-grade mathematics section. The research study focuses on the comparison of LCA with Mplus version 7.31 and MRM with WinMira 2011 to determine if results obtained differ when the assumed psychometric model differs. Also, a log-linear analysis was conducted to understand the interactions between latent classes identified by LCA and MRM. The data set used in the study was from four diverse …

A Comparison Between Propensity Score Matching, Weighting, And Stratification In Multiple Treatment Groups: A Simulation Study, Priyalatha Govindasamy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of propensity score techniques (matching, stratification, and weighting) with multiple treatment levels are similar to those used in binary groups. However, given that the application of propensity scores in multiple treatment groups is new, factors affecting the performance of matching, stratification, and weighting in multiple treatment groups are less explored. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the performance of different propensity score techniques with multiple treatment groups under various circumstances. Specifically, the study focused on examining how the three propensity score corrective techniques perform in estimating treatment effects under (1) overt and (2) hidden types of selection …

Toward A New Social Contract: A Tripartite Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Social Sustainability At Three Land-Grant Universities, Lyndsay Josephine Agans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, colleges and universities in the United States are adapting toward a model of behavior that incorporates issues of sustainability. This adaptation in universities and in society has implications on the organizational and nation-state level, the very core of which may serve to reshape the social contract between the two. In addition to supplying a strong counter-hegemonic argument that alters the competitive economic agenda-setting paradigm, this study serves as a tripartite comparative case study analysis of university adaptation toward social sustainability. By employing a social capital lens to understanding social sustainability in higher education, this study seeks to examine the …