Educational Psychology Commons^™

Variability Across Repeat Assessment Of Working Memory And Processing Speed In Referred Populations, Dawn Baker

Theses and Dissertations

Developmentally, it is expected that the processes of working memory and processing speed will improve throughout childhood as a child's brain develops. However, students with learning, attention, and other childhood disorders often display difficulties in these areas. This study investigated the use of repeated measures to ascertain variability over time of two important cognitive processes: Working Memory and Processing Speed in a clinically referred population as measured by the WISC-IV to determine if a significant discrepancy exists between administrations. The study also investigated whether differences in Working Memory and Processing Speed from administration to administration would be greater in children …

Bullying, The Law, And Safe Schools, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Few issues have generated more interest from educators in the last decade than bullying. And with good cause: various sources report that approximately 160,000 students avoid school every day for fear of being physically or emotionally abused by their peers.

Prevention strategies are difficult to develop without first understanding why bullies act as they do. Research suggests that bullies may be influenced by such factors as the personal characteristics and physical appearances of their victims, including their race, clothing, size, gender, sexual orientations (actual or perceived), general “look,” and family socioeconomic status. Some bullies, who typically lack social skills and …

Multidimensional Perfectionism And Social Connectivity Among Youth: Findings And Implications, Alexander Nounopoulos

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Although traditional researchers exploring perfectionism frequently cast the construct in a negative light, a steady stream of recent studies have demonstrated that perfectionistic beliefs can yield both positive and negative outcomes. Despite this progression in the research, perfectionism remains an understudied phenomenon among youth, especially as it relates to the ways in which these individuals are perceived by others. The current study builds on the previous literature by exploring adolescent perfectionism across a variety of psychological and psychoeducational dimensions. Moreover, a unique addition to the literature offered by this study was the inclusion of peer-reports along with self-reported measures in …

Integration Of School Psychology And Neuropsychology: An Inquiry, Megan Colleen Moerke

All Master's Theses

A state level survey was conducted to examine interest regarding the integration of a neuropsychological perspective into school psychology practice among practicing school psychologists in Washington State. Potential respondents were contacted through e-mail and invited to participate in the original survey developed by the author. The 25 question survey sought to answer questions regarding neuropsychological training, attitudes and beliefs toward the incorporation of a neuropsychological perspective, current professional practices, interaction with neuropsychologists through referral and consultation, and potential barriers to the incorporation of a neuropsychological perspective. A total of 433 school psychologists completed the online survey for an approximate response …

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of And Expectations For School Readiness: Self-Regulation And Success, Latoya Mccrea

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Early childhood education plays a very important role in influencing the success of a child later in the learning process. Because of this, scholars in the field of education have consistently sought to predict factors that ensure school readiness. Unfortunately, there is not enough information on factors that ensure school readiness and particularly on how teachers perceive school readiness. This study examines teachers' perceptions regarding the specific readiness skills and self-regulation needed by children entering kindergarten, as well as their familiarity with and their training in early childhood learning programs and executive functions. The study reviews the current literature on …

An Exploration Of The Perceived Academic Self-Efficacy And Locus Of Control Of Urban Students With Learning Disabilities, Olukayode Abimbola Nuga

Wayne State University Dissertations

The search for an answer to the question of the achievement gap between Black and other minority students and their White counterparts has been pervasive. This study, however, reframes the question not by using the White student as a frame of reference against which to make the comparison but by using the Black student himself. Therefore, relying on some scholarly work that found that studies of achievement within ethnic groups yielded far more significant results than between groups, the study focused on a comparison of the academic achievement between urban Black students with learning disabilities and their typical peers. The …

Ideology And Decision Making In School-Based Counseling, Michelle Klein Brenner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The present study built on the design and results from the pilot study in an attempt to explore the relationship between psychologists' personal ideologies and the decisions they make in school-based counseling. Of particular interest was whether higher levels of self-reported ideology were related to support of relevant school policies. Participants included 166 psychologists who responded to an online survey that included questions related to personal and professional ideologies, attitudes toward school policies, training and preparedness in four areas of interest, and hypothetical scenarios. Consistency among responses in areas including theoretical orientation, political party, and training and preparedness in ethics …

Health Habits, Wellness, And Behavior Of Male Student Athletes Participating In High School Sports, Michelle D. Lividini

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a pathological preoccupation with muscularity, more common in men than in women. MD is estimated to affect several hundreds of thousands of individuals. There has been little research related to MD in the male adolescent population and the prevalence is unknown. The mean age of onset of MD is estimated to be 19 years, and sports participation increases the risk for developing MD as well as other psychological difficulties. The pilot study revealed a potential relationship between MD symptoms and athletic and academic performance, low levels of self-esteem, high levels of perfectionist qualities, and use of …

Relations Of Parenting Quality, Interparental Conflict, And Overnights With Mental Health Problems Of Children In Divorcing Families With High Legal Conflict, Irwin N. Sandler, Lorey A. Wheeler, Sanford L. Braver

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

The current study examined the associations between child mental health problems and the quality of maternal and paternal parenting, and how these associations were moderated by three contextual factors, quality of parenting by the other parent, interparental conflict, and the number of overnights parents had with the child. Data for the current study come from a sample of divorcing families who are in high legal conflict over developing or maintaining a parenting plan following divorce. Analyses revealed that the associations between child mental health problems and positive maternal and paternal parenting were moderated by the quality of parenting provided by …

Comparing Second Grade Students' Creative And Content Knowledge Performance On Figural Transformation Activities Introduced In A Standard Or Enhanced Manner With Nutrition Content Knowledge Taught Through Factual Or Fantasy Reading, Angela Naomi Webb

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Creativity and problem solving are skills students need for success in the 21st century. With the increasing pressures of achieving higher student scores in emphasized content areas, teachers' instruction in science, social studies, music and art has been reduced to provide additional time for teaching reading and mathematics.These lost instructional areas often allowed students to express themselves creatively. Therefore, educators need to find a way to incorporate creativity into content areas like reading and mathematics.

This 16 week repeated measures study examined second grade students' academic and creative performance on figural transformation drawings during an extended reading-science-creativity integrated unit. A …

Comparing Sixth Grade Students' Creativity In Word Play To Spatial Construction With Integrated Academic Content Eliciting A Distal Or Proximal Perspective, Ksenia S. Zhbanova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Pressing global problems require solutions from innovative ideas that depend upon educating a new generation to think creatively. The current study aimed at assisting 24 sixth grade students in a summer program develop their creativity skills in two different areas while integrating academic content. Student performance was examined for transfer of skills across domains and for support of Construal Level Theory, which holds that addressing topics distant in space, time, probability or experience leads to abstract thought supporting greater creativity.

The study was a counterbalanced, repeated measures, two-experimental condition study with students divided into two groups of 12 each. In …

The Nature Of Parental Interactions In An Online Charter School, Jered Borup, Charles R. Graham, Randall S. Davies

Faculty Publications

A belief commonly held in the K–12 education community is that parents can have a positive impact on their child’s learning. However, little research has examined parental involvement in an online learning environment. In this study, researchers using survey data found that generally students and parents viewed parent–instructor and learner–parent interactions as motivational. Students viewed learner–parent interaction as significantly more motivational than did their parents. The quantity of reported parental interactions was generally negatively correlated with course outcomes. These negative correlations may be the result of parents’ tendency to increase interaction levels following poor student performance and may not reflect …

Academic Performance, Course Completion Rates, And Student Perception Of The Quality And Frequency Of Interaction In A Virtual High School, Abigail Hawkins, Charles R. Graham, Richard R. Sudweeks, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications

This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of teacher– student interaction and academic performance at an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide virtual high school. Academic performance was measured by grade awarded and course completion. There were 2269 students who responded to an 18-item survey designed to measure student perceptions on the quality and frequency of teacher–student interaction. Quality of interaction was subdivided into three constructs representing feedback, procedural, and social interaction. A confirmatory factor analysis helped to establish the fit of the statistical model for teacher–student interaction. Hierarchical logistical regression indicates that an increase in the quality and frequency of interaction …

Caring In A Technology-Mediated Online High School Context, Andrea Velasquez, Charles R. Graham, Richard Osguthorpe

Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to describe how caring is experienced in the technology-mediated context of the Open High School in Utah, an online charter high school. Two female teachers, two male students, and two female students were interviewed three times over 9 months regarding their experience of caring teacher–student interactions. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Discovered themes were then organized into three superordinate themes: engrossment, motivational displacement, and reciprocity. Results suggest not only that caring interactions are possible in the online context, but also that specific caring pedagogies can strengthen the teacher–student relationship online. Additionally, …

An Analysis Of Research Trends In Dissertations And Theses Studying Blended Learning, Jeffrey S. Drysdale, Charles R. Graham, Kristian J. Spring, Lisa R. Halverson

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the research of 205 doctoral dissertations and masters' theses in the domain of blended learning. A summary of trends regarding the growth and context of blended learning research is presented. Methodological trends are described in terms of qualitative, inferential statistics, descriptive statistics, and combined approaches to data analysis. Research topics are divided into nine topics (learner outcomes, dispositions, instructional design, interaction, comparison, demographics, technology, professional development, and other), each containing several sub-topics. Patterns in these topics are analyzed to identify gaps in research and to highlight opportunities for future research as the field of blended learning continues …

Developing Caring Relationships In Schools: A Review Of The Research On Caring And Nurturing Pedagogies, Andrea Velasquez, Richard West, Charles R. Graham, Richard Osguthorpe

Faculty Publications

Education has been criticized for a disproportionate focus on the technical aspects of teaching with less focus on its ‘human’ aspects. Consequently, many researchers and theorists have expressed a need to answer what role care plays in education. Our purpose in this review is to examine the definition of caring pedagogies and synthesize relevant research helpful to understanding its application. We briefly consider moral development and ethical care theories pertinent to teaching and learning and synthesize the research findings related to defining and measuring caring pedagogy; as well as developing caring characteristics in teachers and students, caring classroom communities, and …

Predicting Students’ Confidence: How Teacher Feedback And Other Sources Influence Self-Efficacy In Mathematics Classrooms, Megan Kleine-Kracht Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

In this two-part dissertation, the sources of self-efficacy were investigated for elementary and middle school students in mathematics classrooms. In the first study, the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Scale (Usher & Pajares, 2009) was validated with a younger sample. Participants included 367 fourth- through sixth-grade students; these participants completed two surveys investigating their beliefs regarding their capabilities to perform successfully in mathematics. This study included an examination of the psychometric properties and a confirmatory factor analysis of the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, and an investigation into the relative power of mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, …

An Examination Of Education Services For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Rural Areas, Melissa A. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Much research and media attention in recent years has focused on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a pervasive developmental disorder that impacts children in multiple areas of their lives. Early identification and intervention, as well as access to mental health, behavioral, and pediatric services for this population are crucial to their later outcomes and quality of life (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001; Blane & Borden, 2008; Jacobson & Mulick, 2000; Rogers & Vismara, 2008). Unfortunately, research suggests that access to educational services may be complicated for individuals living in rural areas (Applequist, 2009; Collins et al., 2005, Ludlow, Conner, & Schechter …

The Cultural Discontinuity Hypothesis: An Appalachian American Perspective In Eastern Kentucky, Timothy W. Conner Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

K.M. Tyler et al. (2008) propose a quantitative method to measure differences between school and home experiences had by students of ethnic minority status and how such differences (cultural discontinuity) may affect psychological factors related to student achievement. Although study of cultural discontinuity has been applied to understanding African American, Asian American, Latino American, and Native American student populations, little attention has been given to the ways in which cultural discontinuity may manifest in the Appalachian American population. This study conceptualizes the socio-cultural conditions that would warrant such an investigation, establishing evidence from ten interview subjects of the presence of …

Reading Self-Efficacy In Early Adolescence: Which Measure Works Best?, Raven Richardson Piercey

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and reading achievement and to examine the predictive validity of a variety of reading self-efficacy measures in a sample of 364 students in Grades 4 to 6. Mean differences in self-efficacy were also examined by gender, ethnicity, and school type. Results suggested that the four measures of reading self-efficacy were psychometrically sound. Mean differences were not present for students based on gender or ethnicity. Elementary school students reported higher levels of reading test self-efficacy than did middle school students. Reading self-efficacy predicted reading performance as measured by four …