School Psychology Commons^™

Validation Of The Chinese Version Of The Sense Of Self (Sos) Scale, Ronnel B. King, Fraide A. Ganotice, David A. Watkins

Ronnel B King

This study explored the cross-cultural applicability of the Sense of Self (SOS) Scale in the Hong Kong Chinese cultural context. The SOS Scale is a 26-item questionnaire designed to measure students’ sense of purpose, self-reliance, and self-concept in school. Six hundred ninety-seven Hong Kong Chinese high school students participated in the study. Both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation were adopted. Responses to this questionnaire are shown to have good internal consistency reliability, and support is provided for its construct validity in terms of its factorial structure and correlations with other educational outcomes such as learning strategies. In addition, …

Cross-Cultural Validation Of The Five-Factor Structure Of Social Goals: A Filipino Investigation, Ronnel B. King, David A. Watkins

Ronnel B King

The aim of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the five-factor structure of social goals that Dowson and McInerney proposed. Using both between-network and within-network approaches to construct validation, 1,147 Filipino high school students participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the five-factor model provided the best fit to the data compared with a series of alternative models. In addition, the five types of social goals also showed meaningful relationships to theoretically relevant constructs. Taken together, this study supports the applicability of the five-factor structure of social goals among Filipino respondents.

All Good Things Come To Those Who Wait: Validating The Chinese Version Of The Academic Delay Of Gratification Scale (Adogs), Ronnel B. King, Hongfei Du

Ronnel B King

The objective of this study was to examine the reliability and construct validity of the Chinese translation of the Academic Delay of Gratification Scale (ADOGS; Bembenutty & Karabenick, 1998). This scale measures the degree to which students postpone immediately available opportunities to satisfy their impulses in order to pursue important goals that are temporally remote but ostensibly more important. Chinese university students from Mainland China (N = 187) completed the ADOGS. Both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation were adopted in the study. Responses to this questionnaire are shown to have good internal consistency reliability and support is provided …

Cross-Cultural Validity Of The Inventory Of School Motivation (Ism) In Chinese And Filipino Samples, Ronnel B. King, Ganotice A. Fraide Jr., David A. Watkins

Ronnel B King

Students’ achievement goals in school have received increasing research attention because they have been shown to be important in predicting important outcomes. As such, there has been a growing interest in measuring and comparing them across different cultural groups. However, these comparisons cannot be made until validity evidence has been attained to support the use of an instrument in the new cultural setting. In this study, we investigated the cross-cultural applicability of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM, McInerney, Roche, McInerney, & Marsh, 1997) in the Hong Kong Chinese and Philippine contexts using both within-network and between-network approaches to construct …

Examining The Application Of Web 2.0 In Medical Related Organisations, Samuel K.W. Chu, Matsuko Woo, Ronnel B. King

Ronnel B King

Objectives: This study surveyed Web 2.0 application in three types of selected health or medical-related organisations such as university medical libraries, hospitals and non-profit medical-related organisations. Methods: Thirty organisations participated in an online survey on the perceived purposes, benefits and difficulties in using Web 2.0. A phone interview was further conducted with eight organisations (26.7%) to collect information on the use of Web 2.0. Data were analysed using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results: Results showed that knowledge and information sharing and the provision of a better communication platform were rated as the main purposes of using Web 2.0. Time …

The Reliability And Validity Of The Goal Orientation And Learning Strategies Survey (Goals-S): A Filipino Investigation, Ronnel B. King, David A. Watkins

Ronnel B King

The Goal Orientation and Learning Strategies Survey (GOALS-S; Dowson & McInerney, 2004) is an instrument designed to assess four sets of constructs: (1) academic goals, (2) social goals, (3) cognitive strategies, and (4) metacognitive strategies of high school students. This instrument was initially developed and validated among students in Australia. The applicability of this instrument to the Philippine setting was tested in a study involving 1,147 Filipino students from Metro Manila. Responses to this questionnaire are shown to have good internal consistency reliability. Support is provided for its within-network construct validity in terms of its factorial structure and evidence of …

Competitiveness Is Not That Bad. . .At Least In The East: Testing The Hierarchical Model Of Achievement Motivation In The Asian Setting, Ronnel B. King, Dennis M. Mcinerney, David A. Watkins

Ronnel B King

Competitiveness has usually been viewed as a negative trait as it leads to suboptimal outcomes. However, research in cross-cultural psychology has indicated that competitiveness may hold different meanings for people from individualist and collectivist cultures. The current study investigates the effects of competitiveness on different educational outcomes in the collectivistic Chinese cultural context. Utilizing the hierarchical model of achievement motivation, this study aims to examine the relationships among individual differences (trait mastery and trait competitiveness), achievement goals (mastery and performance goals), and learning strategies (deep and surface learning strategies). Six hundred ninety-seven secondary school students from Hong Kong answered questionnaires …

Florida Association Of School Psychologists 38th Annual Conference, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Schools: Evidence-Based Screening and Assessment

Epidemiological studies indicate a progressively rising prevalence trend for ASD over the past decade. Yet, compared to population estimates, identification rates have not kept pace in our schools. Many children with ASD are overlooked, misdiagnosed with another psychiatric condition, or present with coexisting psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. School psychologists must be prepared to recognize the presence of risk factors and/or early warning signs of ASD, engage in case finding, and be familiar with screening and assessment tools in order to ensure that students are being identified and …

Teachers' Beliefs Towards Grade Retention In A Rural Elementary School, Sarah Elizabeth Terry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study examined the beliefs of kindergarten through fourth grade teachers regarding effects of retention on academic, emotional, and social areas, as well as alternative interventions to retention. The teachers were asked to take a web-based pre-survey on grade retention. After completing the initial survey they were then asked to watch a web-based PowerPoint presentation on research-based evidence regarding retention before taking a web-based postsurvey. The results of this study revealed that teacher‟s beliefs towards grade retention were not significantly changed when presented with a research-based PowerPoint presentation regarding the negative effects of retention practices, as measured by the pre …

Group Dynamics, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Engagement-elevating activities used in a course such as group dynamics fall into two broad categories: topic-focused short-term activities and problem-focused, longer-term projects. Topic-focused activities are, in most cases, deliberate applications of a concept or process in a group-based experience and are typically tied to the content of the course in a direct way. For example, when students study group decision-making they may meet in small groups to make a series of decisions. Afterwards, they examine their group’s decisions, and gauge for themselves the extent to which their group reacted as theory and research would suggest. Problem-focused projects, in contrast, ask …

Round Numbers As Goals Evidence From Baseball, Sat Takers, And The Lab, Devin Pope, Uri Simonsohn

Operations, Information and Decisions Papers

Where do people’s reference points come from? We conjectured that round numbers in performance scales act as reference points and that individuals exert effort to perform just above rather than just below such numbers. In Study 1, we found that professional baseball players modify their behavior as the season is about to end, seeking to finish with a batting average just above rather than below .300. In Study 2, we found that high school students are more likely to retake the SAT after obtaining a score just below rather than above a round number. In Study 3, we conducted an …

Stereotype Threat And Minority Students' Academic Achievement, Clédicianne Dorvil

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This action oriented research project presents a manualized program that can be used in the school setting to remediate stereotype threat. A meta-analytic review was conducted in order to identify evidenced-based interventions that intervened on stereotype threat effects. The findings from the meta-analysis were utilized to create the manual for the Study Skills Group. A pilot study was conducted with middle and high-school aged individuals to evaluate the efficacy of the program. Pre and post program evaluation forms were utilized to monitor change during the course of the program. The Study Skills Group manual received positive ratings for the session …

A Study Of The Relationship Between Elementary School Students' Performance On Progress Monitoring Measures Of Oral Reading Fluency And Reading Comprehension To The Pennsylvania System Of School Assessment, Elana E. Weinstein

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

National education legislation has mandated school district accountability for demonstrating student reading progress. As a result, Response to Intervention models promote benchmark assessments to identify at-risk students and promote proficiency on state assessments. The current study examined third and fourth grade students’ Response to Intervention data and standardized assessments from a suburban school district to determine if Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and reading comprehension benchmark assessments (4Sight assessments) have utility in predicting performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA). Results from the current study expanded prior research by analyzing individual benchmark assessments with yearly state assessments. Analyses identified …

The Complex Nature Of Asperger’S Syndrome: Assessing Knowledge And Perceptions Of School Psychologists, Kelly L. Herman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The complex nature of Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) often results in difficulty effectively meeting the needs of individuals with this disorder. Despite advancements in research and increasing focus on this disorder, limited awareness and understanding often result in difficulty identifying and, therefore, adequately supporting individuals with AS. Inadequate or faulty treatment further results from inappropriate diagnosis or failure to recognize psychiatric disorders likely to coexist with AS. This paper provides a literature review of AS and problems resulting from limited awareness, failure to identify or diagnose the disorder, failure to recognize common comorbid conditions, and failure to provide the appropriate supports …

School Psychologists' Knowledge And Self-Perceived Competency In Identifying, Assessing, And Treating Childhood Anxiety Disorders In The School Setting, Jaime Moldovan

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in the school setting but highly under-recognized, compared with the more outward behavioral disorders. Because of the many negative consequences of anxiety going unnoticed in children, school psychologists should be able to identify, assess, and treat children with anxiety in the school setting. This study utilized survey research to explore whether or not school psychologists felt knowledgeable and competent in identifying, assessing, and treating anxiety disorders in the school setting. Specifically, it explored whether or not there was a relationship between years of experience and levels of degree on knowledge and competence with identifying, assessing, …

The Implications Of Executive Function And Prototypical Student Performance In Middle School, Sabrina Anne Hartman

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Over the course of the past 25 years, “executive functions” have been investigated more and more frequently in relation to cognitive functioning across the lifespan. Within that time frame, researchers have examined various changes that are specific to the adolescent brain. The research has begun to elucidate the relationship between executive functioning and the developmental period of adolescence. Previous studies have examined the utility of using specific rating scales as a means to assess executive functioning across the lifespan, with most of these utilizing scale level analyses. Given the lack of specificity regarding what elements exactly comprise “executive functioning,” the …

Parent Perceptions Of Preadolescent Giftedness And Self Concept, Letitia Pickel

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Parent perceptions of preadolescent giftedness with regard to the social-emotional development and self-concept of their children were investigated for this study. This study utilized a qualitative approach through information provided by the parents of 21 preadolescent children, with IQ‘s of 110 and above, who participate in a suburban school districts gifted and talented / enrichment program. Interviews were conducted with each parent and included 7 open-ended questions that were intended to elicit personal views regarding their child‘s social-emotional development and self-concept. Information from these interviews, incorporated with the background and demographic questionnaire were examined for potential themes and patterns with …

Using A Performance Consistency Model To Explain Variations In Test-Retest Performance, James S. Whitaker

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Subtest-level interpretation of intelligence tests is necessary for understanding the relationship between cognitive deficiencies and academic problems and for designing interventions based on assessment results. However, the practice of subtest interpretation continues to be discouraged by those who claim that subtests have poor reliability and thus minimal interpretative power. This perception of subtest instability may be the result of misguided conceptions of reliability and not actual properties of subtests. With this in mind, the present study sought to determine the extent to which a neuropsychologically based performance model fit WISC-IV subtest test-retest data and offered an alternate means of understanding …

The Relationship Of Teacher Perceptions Of Principal Support Styles And Teachers' Own Attitudes About The Use Of Support Styles With Children, Michael Simcha Lax

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

This study assessed the role that principal modeling has on influencing teachers’ classroom styles and behaviors. Teachers differ in the degree to which they employ autonomy supporting or controlling behaviors. The degree to which teachers demonstrate autonomy supportive behaviors has a direct effect on the level of autonomous motivation demonstrated by students. This is because students are more likely to develop self-determined motivation in a social environment which provides support for autonomy (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan, 1991). Higher levels of student autonomy is associated with a lower school drop out rate (Vallerand, 1997) and higher levels of academic achievement …

The Role Of Esl Teacher Support In Facilitating School Adjustment In English Language Learners, Mary Sharp-Ross

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Immigrant students are the fastest growing sector of the US school population.These students are English Language Learners (ELLs) who enter our schools with a constellation of social-emotional risk factors that predispose them to psychological disorders, as well as undermine their learning and educational outcomes. English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESL) teacher support is indicated to be a primary protective factor for ELLs facing the pervasive task of acculturation to a new society and school culture. This study surveyed 200 ESL teachers in Pennsylvania in order to gather information regarding their beliefs about the social-emotional and acculturation needs of their …