Education Economics Commons^™

Are Private Universities Exempt From Student Concerns About Textbook Costs? A Survey Of Students At American University, Lindsay Renee Murphy, David Rose

Office of Academic Innovation Publications

A survey conducted in the fall of 2015 at American University in Washington, DC shows that rising textbook prices similarly affect students at an expensive private university as those at community colleges and state schools. Research on high textbook costs that has demonstrated corollary unwanted behavior changes in students, including not purchasing the book, resorting to illegal online downloads, and poor study habits, were confirmed at American University as well. Solutions that have been proposed to this problem of prohibitive textbook prices, including Open Educational Resources (OER), could have an equally profound impact at American University, and potentially similar private …

Savings Without Sacrifice: A Case Report On Open-Source Textbook Adoption, Virginia Clinton

Educational Foundations and Research Faculty Publications

Rising textbook costs have prompted the development of open-source textbooks to increase access to education. The purpose of this case report is to examine open-source textbook adoption through the COUP framework (costs, outcomes, use, and perceptions) comparing a semester with a commercial textbook to a semester with an open-source textbook. Students (N = 520) were enrolled in an undergraduate course at a mid-sized public university in the United States. Results indicated that although costs were substantially lower, student learning outcomes and perceptions of quality were similar or better with an open-source textbook. Although students were much more likely to …

On Human Capital Development In Bangladesh, Sijia Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation consists of three chapters on human capital development in Bangladesh. The first chapter provides microeconometric evidence that access to electricity has a positive impact on the nutritional status of children under five in rural Bangladesh.

Correlation Between Instructional School Culture And Student Achievement In An Urban District, Wayman Graham

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The Teachers Talent Toolbox needed a tool that could compile usable information on any given learning institution through data collection and analysis and provide usable qualitative and quantitative data that could be used to identify the causes of low achievement and provide necessary interventions within the school to improve student outcomes. To answer this need, the Instructional Culture Index/Insight Survey was developed by the New Teacher Project in 2016 and has been widely used and implemented in many schools and districts. This survey instrument was validated and deemed reliable by the RAND Corporation also in 2016. The purpose of this …

Budget Fy 2018-2019, Swosu Administration

SWOSU Fiscal Year Budgets

We are pleased to present the FY 2019 budget highlights for your review. These highlights will summarize important aspects of our budget plan, its accomplishments and challenges.

Black-White Earnings And Employment Differences In The K-12 Teaching Labor Market – Potential Impact On Black Males With Learning Disabilities, Donald D. Dantzler

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study addresses one possible barrier to more African American (or Black) males with learning disabilities moving through the educational pipeline – the dearth of African American (or Black) teachers. Despite recent attention being given to the educational benefits to Black (and other) students from the presence and contributions of Black teachers, the K-12 teacher labor market in the United States remains largely represented by White teachers. In order to assess whether Black teachers are treated unfairly in this labor market, the notion of competitive labor markets eroding racial disparities over time is studied. In particular, this study builds on …

The Price Of Graduate And Professional School: How Much Students Pay, Sandy Baum, Patricia Steele

Commissioned Research

Like tuition and fees for undergraduate students, prices for graduate and professional study have risen rapidly over time. But average published prices tell us little about how much students actually pay. Despite high sticker prices, many students enrolled in research doctoral degree programs pay no tuition and fees because institutional grant aid, fellowships and tuition waivers cover these charges. Master’s degree students and those in professional practice degree programs are much less likely to receive this assistance. In 2011–12, one-third of full-time graduate and professional degree students received grant aid from their institutions. This included 71 percent of research doctoral …

The Hidden Curriculum In Financial Literacy: Economics, Standards, And The Teaching Of Young Children, Debbie Sonu, Anand R. Marri

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Cost Estimate Of A Promise Scholarship Program For The Evart (Michigan) Public Schools, Bridget Timmeney, Brian Pittelko, Michelle Miller-Adams

Reports

No abstract provided.

Bullies And Allies Near The Playground: Mothers' Experiences Of Aggression In Their Children's Schools, Mara Vicente Robinson

Dissertations

Despite an increasing understanding of the importance of both parent-involvement and aggression among women, there appears to be little understanding of how these two areas influence each other; specifically, the lack of literature examining the extent to which female guardians experienced aggression from other female guardians and the effect it had on their involvement in their children’s schools. In an effort to investigate the extent to which aggression was prevalent among female guardians, the factors that influenced the aggression, and the effects of that aggression on women’s involvement in their children’s education, a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used …

The Impacts Of Natural Disasters On Educational Attainment: Cross-Country Evidence From Macro Data, Lois Onigbinde

Master's Theses

Do natural disasters impact educational attainment? Education as a paramount factor of economic development suffers from the uncontrollable effects of these increasing events from storms to floods, earthquakes to wildfires. Globally, educational resources are destroyed, directly and indirectly, students and teachers are displaced or killed, parents’ income is affected because of natural disasters. Investments in human capital for rich- and low-income countries are exposed to the uneven impact of natural disasters that adjusts household and country-level decisions, leaving them to short and long-run losses. Exploring the influence of natural disasters on secondary school attainment across a sample of 85 countries …

School Facility Conditions And The Relationship To Teacher Job Attitudes: A Replication Study, Andrew T. Curry

Theses and Dissertations from 2018

This study was designed to answer the research questions: a) To what extent are job attitudes of teachers influenced by the conditions of school facilities in Arkansas; b) What are the perceptions of teachers in regards to the conditions of the school buildings; and c) Is there a difference between attitudes of teachers in “newer” facilities versus “older” facilities? The overall purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between age of the school building and the attitudes of the teacher. The instruments used in this study to measure the attitudes were the Commonwealth Assessment …

School Culture And Student Achievement: An Examination Of Two High-Achieving, High-Poverty Arkansas Schools, Tammi Hasty Davis

Theses and Dissertations from 2018

This study was developed to produce qualitative data about the cultures of two high-poverty, high-achieving elementary schools in Arkansas. The research was intended to contribute to the existing information regarding professional collaboration, collegiality, and self-determination/efficacy as related to student assessment data. The focus of this study was provided by a single research question: What features characterize the cultures of low socio-economic schools in Arkansas that enjoy high student achievement? The assessment data was collected and analyzed by reviewing the ACT Aspire scores of third, fourth, and fifth grade students as reported on the My School Info website. This information is …

Quantifying The Return On Investment Of After School Programming, Ayesha Patel

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Each fiscal year, there is a battle on Capitol Hill as lawmakers wrestle with reconciling political promises to financial reality. This process is completed with the goal of efficiently allocating scarce resources, in this case tax dollars and other government revenue, across the needs of the over 325 million diverse residents of the United States. Some budget items garner almost universal support, such as defense funding, infrastructure and education. While individuals may differ on how much funding each of these causes should receive, almost all agree that they should be funded by the federal government. Other budget items, such as …

Effective Resource Utilization In Arkansas Public Schools, Ryan Sanders

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Teacher pay in Arkansas public schools varies widely from district to district across the state. This pay discrepancy is driven by both the funds available to a district and by how these funds are allocated. There is a standard per student budget given to districts across the state, but this budget can be supplemented by additional property taxes collected on property within a district. This leaves districts with more highly valued property at an advantage. Districts are free to allocate their budget for teacher pay as they see fit, with constraints on number of students per teacher and minimum teacher …

Tennessee Promise: Impact On College Choice In Upper Northeast Tennessee, Jennifer R. Barber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between the new statewide two-year financial aid program, Tennessee Promise, and college choice among high school seniors in four counties in upper Northeast Tennessee. Independent variables included GPA, concern about ability to pay for college, and plans to attend a two-year or four-year institution. The dependent variables were scored on three dimensions: cost factors, social factors, and academic factors relating to college choice. Additionally, respondents reported perceptions of Tennessee Promise related to college choice. A 22-item survey was administered to high school seniors from four counties in upper Northeast …

Perspectives Of Rural Nebraska Community Leaders On Pre-Kindergarten In Public Schools, Bradley G. Stauffer

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The investigator in this study explored perspectives of rural Nebraska community leaders on pre-kindergarten in public schools. Thirty rural Nebraska community leaders were interviewed, 10 from each of three different communities ranging in population from around 1,000 to 2,500. For this qualitative study, the investigator asked two primary research questions related to the impact of pre-kindergarten on:

1. Child development
2. Community development

Six main themes were derived from the interviews:

1. Child Development
2. Community Development
3. Changes in the Family and Society
4. Funding
5. Equity
6. Educating the Community

The literature review focused on the efficacy of pre-kindergarten and early childhood education. Three seminal research …

Effects Of Spending On New York Counties Six Year Graduation Rate, Maxwell B. Costello

Applied Economics Theses

This study set out to find out more about the costs and benefits of educational spending. This was goal was then split into the steps of: reviewing previous literature, developing a model, and testing the model. The main difficulties associated with this were in finding appropriate substitutes for the theoretical variables. Due to the limited availability of data, this study focused on the six-year high school graduation rate of New York State Counties, class size, income, and spending per student as variables. These variables represented educational level, a portion of the efficiency of spending, the parent’s ability to help educate …

An Investigation Measuring The Impact Of Financial Literacy Programs On University Student Debt, Morgan O'Sullivan

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Student loan debt is the most common form of debt in the United States today outside of mortgage debt. The research for this study sought to (1) investigate whether financial literacy programs in the State of Florida have an impact on student debt levels, as well as (2) determine how the responsibility for the provision of financial literacy education was distributed throughout a university community. The research provided for a survey that was sent to 70 institutions in the State of Florida analyzing whether or not these institutions had financial literacy programs in place. A survey was also sent out …

Literacy Rates Analysis: An International Comparison, Macarena Arce

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper attempts to provide a more complete reckoning of the economics of literacy rates around the world. It consists on a literature review about the economic benefits and costs of literacy rates and then it shows two econometrics models that attempt to predict literacy rates based on GDP, government expenditure, and several other independent variables.