Educational Psychology Commons^™

A Reflection: Acue Made Teaching Effective And Enjoyable, Sailesh Maharjan

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

After attending the Effective Teaching Practices course through the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), teaching a class, large or small, has become more satisfying and enjoyable. Due to my ACUE experience, my teaching style continues to evolve. I’ve become more attuned to student dynamics. As instructors, we have the power to facilitate our classes in many effective ways, and ACUE offers teaching strategies that are based on research. I proactively have been implementing many of the techniques I have learned in ACUE, and I have noticed a significant increase in my students’ engagement in class discussions and activities. …

School Administrator Perceptions And Actions Toward Reducing Mental Health Factors To Learning, Andrew Charles Teti

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Approximately one in five children have a mental health need that impacts their academic functioning (World Health Organization, 2004). This study investigated what actions school administrators who oversee kindergarten through eighth grade, and how their perceptions of mental health have impacted those decisions. Both a survey and an interview were conducted with current school administrators in three counties in Western Pennsylvania. Findings suggested that administrators take mental health factors to learning very seriously and place a significant amount of pressure on themselves to address this barrier. Additionally, school administrators utilize a team approach to focus on mental health in the …

Connection Between Tutoring Format Type And Reading Scores Of Elementary Aged Children, Emma T. Moates, Theresa M. Nowak, Jonathan S. Gore

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Extant research shows that response to intervention (RTI) individual and small group interventions increase children’s reading skills; however, little information is available that investigates whether the type of intervention format makes a difference in learning to read. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten class (ECLS-K) database was used to identify third-grade children who received individual, small group, or combined individual and small group tutoring, to increase their reading skills. The current study compared reading scores associated with each intervention type to determine which reading intervention format was most beneficial. The results from this study showed that children receiving small group …

Educational Achievement, Engagement, And Persistence In Choctaw Nation: A Study Of The Success Through Academic Recognition Program, Suzanne Delap

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has developed a unique initiative to support academic achievement within their tribal territory. The Success Through Academic Recognition (STAR) program is an example of an Indigenously-developed approach to supporting students from grades 2-12, with the hope of promoting achievement, persistence, and engagement. To study the STAR program, a mixed-methods approach was employed to first analyze quantitative demographic and performance data collected from a cohort of high school students from 2014 to 2018. Next, phenomenological interviews were conducted within the same cohort, to describe the lived experiences of STAR students within the Choctaw community. The database …

Caballerismo In Latinx Men In Higher Education, Victor Carrasco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Latinx men continue to be marginalized in higher education, and more research is needed to understand how to retain them using anti-deficit frameworks (Cook et al., 2012). Studies have investigated caballerismo as a protective factor for LatinX men. Caballerismo is defined by egalitarian beliefs, affiliation, positive family relationships, and empathy (Arciniega et al., 2008; Neff, 2001). Despite its promise as an anti-deficit framework, little is known about how caballerismo informs Latino students’ experiences in higher education. Therefore, this study addresses the following research questions: a) How does caballerismo manifest in Latinx men in higher education, b) how does caballerismo intersect …

How Parents, Teachers, Psychologists, And Educational Environments Influence Developmental Transitions Of Preadolescent Twice-Exceptional Students, Karen B. Arnstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this collective case study was to examine the perceived developmental transitions of preadolescent, twice-exceptional students to understand both the supports and barriers from the perspective of parents, teachers, and psychologists. The case for this study, located in a western U.S. state, was a private school educating twice-exceptional students. The research questions guiding the study included the following: How do parents perceive growth in both academic and psychosocial development? How do educators perceive growth in both academic and psychosocial development? What are the supports that promote successful developmental transitions? What are the barriers that inhibit successful developmental transitions? …

Living The Dream: Building Self-Determination To Improve Postsecondary Outcomes, Pete Gladstone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite recent federal legislation outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization of 2004 that mandates effective postsecondary transition planning for all students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), students with intellectual disability (ID) continue to experience inequitable postsecondary outcomes, particularly in the areas of postsecondary education (PSE), employment, and independent living (Lipscomb et al., 2017). It has been established that one effective method for improving those outcomes is to develop students’ self-determination abilities, and there is near unanimous agreement within the education community that doing so should be a primary objective during the transition process (Izzo & Lamb, …

Impacted Youth: Why School Psychologists Need To Consider Diverse Approaches Of Support, L. Morgan Beidleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper examines trends among youth who are highly impacted by multiple adverse experiences. It outlines potential patterns of risk and protective factors often experienced by this population and encourages school psychologists to recognize, consider, and advocate for the needs of these youth. It goes on to describe and interpret the cultural practices of Leadership Coffeehouse, a Denver-based social enterprise that seeks to support disconnected youth through professional development and hands-on learning. Finally, because of the unique training school psychologists receive, considerations for expanding the role into non-traditional educational settings are proposed.

A Call For Radical Action: How Ordinary Racism, Superimposition Of White Values, And The Hyper-Visible- Invisible Dichotomy Are Pushing Black Girls Out Of Schools, Joselina Tejada

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This paper explains and analyzes how ordinary racism, superimposition of white values, and the hyper visible-invisible dichotomy operate in K-12 schools to stymie the academic and socio emotional development of Black girls, criminalize them, and push them out of schools.

Losing As And Fs: What Works For Schools Implementing Standards-Based Grading?, Matt Townsley, Tom Buckmiller

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this essay is to document what works when K-12 schools implement standards-based grading through a deep dive into related literature and to suggest areas for future considerations. To ignore what others are doing and what is presented in the research literature on teaching and learning is not only inefficient, it is also irresponsible and unprofessional (Gupton, 2010). As more schools work to implement a robust teaching, learning and assessment system, K-12 teachers and administrators in the early stages of redesigning their grading practices will be looking towards the successes and struggles of early adopters in order to …

Explorations Of Classroom Talk And Links To Reading Achievement In Upper Elementary Classroo, Amanda P. Goodwin, Sun-Joo Cho, Daniel Reynolds, Stephanie Nunn, Rebecca Silverman

2020 Faculty Bibliography

The current study reports on a large-scale quantitative analysis of classroom talk practices and links to different measures of reading achievement within upper elementary classrooms. Data involving 745 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and 18,844 students from the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) study were used. Talk was quantified via various talk-related indicators from 2 observation protocols and a student survey. Dimensionality analyses suggest these indicators represent 4 factors consisting of teacher explaining, questioning, encouraging of student talk, and big-picture communicating. Links to 2 different standardized reading achievement measures were also modeled with improved ratings of teacher explanations and questioning predicting …

The Distal Role Of Adolescents’ Awareness Of And Perceived Discrimination On Young Adults’ Socioeconomic Attainment Among Mexican-Origin Immigrant Families, Lorey Wheeler, Prerna G. Arora, Melissa Y. Delgado

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Cultural-ecological frameworks posit that there are harmful effects of social stratification on developmental outcomes. In particular, awareness of aspects of social stratification in society and interpersonal experiences of discrimination, more generally and within specific contexts, may differentially influence outcomes across life stages; yet, few studies have examined the distal effects during adolescence on early adult developmental outcomes. The current study fills this gap by examining distal mechanisms linking adolescents’ (Time 1: ages 13–15) awareness of and perceived general and school discrimination to young adults’ (Time 3: ages 23–25) socioeconomic attainment (i.e., educational attainment, occupational prestige, earned income) through adolescents’ (Time …

Maker Fridays: Engaging Rural And Underrepresented High School Students In Pre-Engineering Design And Creativity, Michelle Howell-Smith, Kirstie Bash

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The engineering field struggles to develop sufficient interest and sustained participation across underrepresented demographic groups including women and individuals from rural, Hispanic, or Native American origin. It is critical to foster interest in engineering during formative years when students are deciding career paths. Northeast Community College (Northeast) addressed the shortage of diverse students entering into engineering fields by developing a course to engage rural and underrepresented high school students in maker design and creativity and to determine best practices that attract and retain these students. The Maker Fridays pre-engineering course was part of the Fridays@Northeast program that targets high school …

A Longitudinal Examination Of Peer Victimization On Depressive Symptoms Among Asian American School‑Aged Youth, Prerna G. Arora, Lorey A. Wheeler, Sycarah Fisher, Marymilt Restituyo, Jessica Barnes‑Najor

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The current study sought to examine the prospective relationship of peer victimization on changes in Asian American youth’s depressive symptoms during early adolescence, a crucial period for the development of depression and engagement in peer victimization among youth. Further, as guided by cultural–ecological frameworks, the current study also sought to examine the role of school-based peer support and gender as moderators on the relationship between peer victimization and depressive symptoms among this understudied population. Participants included Asian American youth (N = 232; M age = 12.96, SD = 1.40; 51% girls) who completed questionnaires in the school context. Data …

Statewide Policies To Improve Early Intervention Services: Promising Practices And Preliminary Results, Miriam Kuhn, Courtney Boise, Sue Bainter, Cindy Hankey

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The State of Nebraska Co-Lead agencies, who are responsible for developing statewide early intervention policies, rolled out professional development for two evidence-based strategies across several pilot sites. Implications of these strategies for child/family assessment, Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) development, and Early Intervention service delivery were examined utilizing family (n=30) and professional interviews (n=50), and analyses of IFSPs (n=30). The results of this mixed method study indicate widespread strategy implementation with fidelity fosters early working relationships with families and enables teams to generate, using family members’ own words, a robust group of high-quality child …

Youth With Juvenile Justice Contact: Special Considerations In Measurement, Anne Elizabeth Biehl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Students who have contact with the juvenile justice system are a particularly vulnerable and unique school-aged population. The risk factors that plague the likelihood of justice-involvement are numerous and inter-connected. Early experiences of trauma and adversity, limited familial and financial capital, and challenges with mental health all contribute to increased likelihood of youth contact with juvenile justice systems. Despite said risk factors effects on young people overall, youth of color are particularly susceptible to become justice-involved. School and community discipline statistics are grossly, racially disproportionate.

Pathways from schools to the justice system have been widely investigate in the literature. There …

Pivotal Perceptions: A Phenomenological Exploration Of Trauma-Informed Practices In An Urban School, Marni Choice-Hermosillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study sought to examine the experiences of teachers in an urban K-8 school after a system-wide whole school implementation of trauma-informed practices. The practices teachers implemented in their classrooms that aligned with their personal perceptions of trauma-informed practices and its efficacy were explored. Additionally, the personal and professional barriers to implementation were also investigated. Identified practical strategies at both the elementary and middle school levels included establishing and maintaining relational trust and classroom community, actively teaching emotional regulation skills, and teaching and reinforcing rituals, routines and expectations throughout the school year. Lack of confidence and previous personal assumptions …

What He Learned To Think He Earned, Andrew Matschiner

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"This story offers an autobiographical counterstory examining different ways young white, middle-class children in the United States learn to accept and celebrate their place in a viciously unequal society. The story explores this process through the experiences of a young white student named Zack growing up in Cedar Grove and attending Cedar Grove Elementary.

The story focuses on what researchers call white racial socialization (Hagerman, 2018), socialization practices (Hughes et al., 2006), and white habitus (Bonilla-Silva, Goar, & Embrick, 2006). This counterstory attempts to pull back the curtain on how white children are socialized to accept and celebrate the status …

A Look Into Mindset, Motivation, And Self- Regulation: How To Foster Motivation And The Growth Mindset In The Classroom, Jennifer Slack

Award Winners

People are naturally curious beings, and the desire to learn is a natural and innate part of human nature. So why is it that by the time students reach their secondary education, their motivation is at an all time low? As students’ motivation is directly linked to their success and well-being, this problem is troubling. Many researchers have sought to find the cause of this shift, and what they have found is that although there cannot merely be a single determining factor to account for this shift, the vast majority of our schools and classrooms are promoting strategies, systems, and …

Racially Diverse Adolescent Friendship Groups: A Phenomenological Research Study, Arielle Brooke Mottes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School psychologists and other school personnel are trained to engage in selfreflective and culturally humble practices to better serve an increasingly racially diverse student population. While most literature on cultural humility (CH) focuses on its development in professionals, this research study looks at its development in students experiencing the phenomenon of racially diverse friendship. Previous research has found there to be a significant relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and social competence. The intended purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between ToM and CH amongst high school students who are part of racially diverse friendship groups. …