Education Commons^™

Predictors Of Adolescents’ Interest In Stem Majors And Careers, Ei Myint

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Research Winner 2019:

The United States currently faces a shortage of qualified workers in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The first critical step in preventing the labor shortage in STEM is understanding the factors that guide adolescents toward STEM pursuits. Drawing on Eccles’ expectancy-value theory (EVT), the current study aims to identify factors that are relevant to adolescents’ interest in STEM majors and careers. Data were collected from 629 adolescents (M_age = 16.09). Participants attended a high school in northern California and predominantly identified as Asian American (82% of the sample). Preliminary analyses …

Libraries & Student Success, Melissa Bowles-Terry

Library Faculty Presentations

What makes a difference in student success? The framing questions for this presentation are:

1. What makes students stay in college and finish a degree? What prevents them from finishing?

2. What can librarians and faculty do to increase students' chances of succeeding at learning and at earning a degree?

This presentation will address high impact practices identified by George Kuh and adopted by the AAC&U, and give some examples of how libraries can support those high impact practices. It will also address student engagement, as measured by tools like the National Survey of Student Engagement or NSSE, and how libraries can …

Thinking Like A Scientist: A Thematic Analysis Of Students' Experiences At The Sacnas Research Conference, Rosa Perez, Rachael D. Robnett

McNair Poster Presentations

The underrepresentation of minority students in STEM fields is a concern in today’s society. Research suggests that identity plays a major role in students’ ultimate success within these fields. Using identity theory as a theoretical framework, this study explores the ways in which identity affects the academic careers of underrepresented students in STEM. The participants of this study consisted of undergraduates from various colleges and universities around the United States that attended the SACNAS 2010 research conference. Thematic analysis was used to identify four overarching themes from a set of narrative responses collected after the event. The identified themes include …

Examining The Relationships Between Internalizing And Externalizing Problems And Academic Achievement, Lara Elizabeth Conrad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The relationship between internalizing and externalizing problems and academic achievement for children and adolescents has been inconclusive. Particularly the relationship between the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) reports of internalizing and externalizing problems and academic performance on the Woodcock-Johnson, Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III:ACH). The current study examined the self and parent reports of internalizing and externalizing problems as measured by the BASC-2 and the relationship with academic skills as measured by the WJ-III:ACH. The referral source (private practice or school setting) was evaluated for severity of presenting internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Secondary data analysis was …

Identity Status: The Impact On Academic Performance, Milan Jelenic

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand how environmental factors contributed to identity achievement with potentially positive effects on academic performance for fifth grade students. Early adolescents have not been studied partly because of the predominant acceptance of Erikson's (1968) theory of identity development. Four questions guiding the study were (a) whether adolescents acquired an Achieved identity status earlier than previous research has suggested, (b) if environmental issues such as familial obligations expedited identity achievement, (c) if identity status impacted academic performance, and (d) what was the impact of an Achieved identity on academic performance. Participants were …

The Motivating Language Of Principals: A Sequential Transformative Strategy, William Tobias Holmes

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study implemented a Sequential Transformative Mixed Methods design with teachers (as recipients) and principals (to give voice) in the examination of principal talk in two different school accountability contexts (Continuously Improving and Continuously Zigzag) using the conceptual framework of Motivating Language Theory. In phase one, teachers were surveyed using the ML Toolbox. The survey was administered using the Dillman Tailored Design Method, and the return rate was 67.48%. The major findings that emerged were: (a) significant differences in Motivating Language (ML), Direction-Giving Language (DG), Empathetic Language (E), and Communication Competence (CC) variables between the Continuously Improving and Zigzag Clusters; …

Comparing Division Ia Scholarship And Non-Scholarship Student-Athletes: A Discriminant Analysis Of Academic Performance, Lisa Melanie Rubin

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Many research studies have examined the academic performance and graduation rates of college student-athletes. The limited focus on scholarship student-athletes has overlooked the majority of NCAA student-athletes, those participating in collegiate athletic programs without athletic scholarships. Therefore, this study contributes to a gap in the literature about non-scholarship student-athletes. The following dissertation examined the academic performance, time-to-degree, and demographic and profile characteristics of Division IA scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes. The theoretical framework for this study was work motivation viewing athletic scholarships as extrinsic rewards. The researcher applied descriptive discriminant analysis utilizing secondary data to compare scholarship and non-scholarship student-athletes across …

Division I Student-Athlete Degree Choice Assessment, Tony Terrell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Though the NCAA has established rules that require student-athletes to complete their college degree in an expeditious manner, the 40/60/80% rule may impinge on student-athlete academic decisions (i.e., degree choice).Yet limited empirical data exist regarding the nature and prevalence of student-athlete degree impingement. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Student-Athlete Degree Choice Questionnaire (SA-DCQ). The SA-DCQ assesses factors that influence Division I student-athletes' degree choice. An initial 40 item, 4 component SA-DCQ instrument was piloted with 170 Division I student-athletes. In order to develop scales, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) was conducted. PCA results yielded 13 …

Efficiency Of Fiscal Expenditures In Nevada Elementary Schools Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Todd Patrick Yocum

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For decades educational researchers have attempted to find links between school funding and student achievement. These attempts have generated many contradictory viewpoints and have produced many unanswered questions. Ever increasing accountability on states, districts and schools combined with severe financial strain has made measuring school fiscal efficiency a valuable tool for school leaders looking to get more student achievement with fewer resources.

The methodology for this study was comprised of two phases. Phase I analyzed the per pupil expenditures of Nevada elementary schools over a three-year period and developed descriptive statistics that revealed the expenditure patterns by category. Phase II …

Bridging The Gap: Transitioning Information Literacy Skills For Student Success, Jennifer L. Fabbi, David Forgues

Library Faculty Presentations

Context: UNLV, University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes, Inquiry & Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, iSkills Assessment

Bridging The Information Literacy Gap: First-Year Students Reflect For Success, Jennifer L. Fabbi, Dan Gianoutsos, David Forgues

Library Faculty Presentations

UNLV Context

• Fall 2011: 22,138 undergraduate students; 72% were fulltime; 5135 freshmen with a 76.4% first-yr retention rate (2010 to 2011); 40.6% six-year graduation rate

• Budget-induced movement to large-enrollment classes – Program eliminations and consolidations underway

• General Education Reform developments – Articulation of University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes, especially Inquiry and Critical Thinking – New general education requirements extending vertically throughout the curriculum

• Focus on enhancing the first-year experience for incoming students

School Counselor Assignment In Secondary Schools: Replication And Extension, Jennifer L. Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Before school counselors can carry out the duties and responsibilities outlined as part of a comprehensive school counseling program, they must know which students they are responsible for helping. The topic of assigning students to school counselors has only recently been seen in the educational research arena in a study by Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin (2009). The current study attempts to replicate and extend the findings of Akos, Schuldt, and Walendin by addressing the questions of how secondary school counselors are assigned and what are their perceptions of their assignment. In addition, the study attempts to determine whether a particular …

Building Faculty Capacity For Better Teaching And Learning, L Dee Fink, Patricia A. Iannuzzi

Library Faculty Presentations

Enhancing faculty capacity for teaching in ways that promote greater levels of student engagement and significant learning is an essential part of all other institutional changes designed to advance higher quality student learning. In this session, participants will lay out a general strategy for campus leaders to cultivate that faculty capability and then identify specific actions needed to implement such a strategy. Participants will also identify key elements of effective teaching and learning centers and brainstorm ways to build a teaching- and learning-centered institutional culture.

Delta Project On Postsecondary Costs, Productivity, And Accountability: A Campus Perspective – University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Patricia A. Iannuzzi

Library Faculty Presentations

I will start by pointing out that I don’t completely agree with Director Wellman’s conclusions that it’s a horrible state of affairs when investments from tuition and state sources are misdirected to support non‐instruction infrastructure. As a research university with aspirations of enhancing its research agenda, in a state that desperately needs that research UNLV expects to grow those support services in order to grow its research initiatives, and thereby contribute in meaningful ways to the reinvention of the Nevada economy – one sorely hampered by its single industry focus. The Delta Project data calls into question the relationship of …

Passage And Initial Implementation Of The Supplemental Educational Services Element Of The No Child Left Behind Act: An Historical Inquiry Study, Brad D. Christensen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With reports alleging a sharp decline in student achievement in the last several years, there has been a call for higher standards in the United States education system. In response, with bipartisan support, politicians overwhelmingly passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. NCLB, the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), mandated increasing the educational performance of all children by focusing on accountability for student achievement, flexibility, higher academic standards, research-based reforms, parental choice, annual testing to measure student progress, analysis of the annual testing data, and sanctions for schools where students did …