Education Commons^™

Accuracy Of Covid-19 Relevant Knowledge Among Youth: Number Of Information Sources Matters, Patricia Wonch Hill, Judy Diamond, Amy N. Spiegel, Elizabeth Vanwormer, Meghan Leadabrand, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Can comics effectively convey scientific knowledge about COVID-19 to youth? What types and how many sources of information did youth have about COVID-19 during the pandemic? How are sources of information associated with accurate COVID-19 knowledge? To answer these questions, we surveyed youth in grades 5–9 in a Midwestern United States school district in the winter of 2020–2021. The online survey used measures of COVID-19 knowledge and sources, with an embedded experiment on COVID-19 relevant comics. Guided by an integrated science capital and just-in-time health and science information acquisition model, we also measured level of science capital, science identity, and …

Real-Life Conundrums In The Struggle For Institutional Transformation, Julia Mcquillan, Nestor Hernandez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Intersecting systems of inequality (i.e., gender and race/ethnicity) are remarkably resistant to change. Many universities, however, seek National Science Foundation Institutional Transformation awards to change processes, procedures, and cultures to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments more inclusive. In this article we describe a case study with observations for eight years of before (2000–2007), five during (2008–2013), and seven after (2014–2020) intensive efforts to increase women through reducing barriers and increasing access to women. Finally, we reflect on flawed assumptions built into the proposal, the slow and uneven change in the proportion of women over time, the strengths …

The Ideology Of Baby-Mama Phenomenon: Assessing Knowledge And Perceptions Among Young People From Educational Institutions, Opeyemi S. Adeojo, Daniel Egerson, Gabriel Mewiya, Rowland Edet

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the knowledge and perception of the ideology of baby-mama concept among the youths. Particularly, this paper assessed the knowledge of the concept of baby mama among youths and also their opinion on the acceptability of this style of family structure. The study employed a qualitative approach through an in-depth interview research method. Forty respondents between the ages of 16 and 40 years were selected across three educational institutions in Oyo state, south-west Nigeria. The participants of the study voluntarily agreed to participate in the research and everything said during the course of the interview was transcribed and …

What Help Do Faculty Perceive Is Needed To Improve Their Community Engagement Through Outreach?, Kiyomi D. Deards, Saundra Wever Frerichs, Patricia Wonch Hill, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

• A survey-based needs assessment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a research-intensive land grant university, explored ways to meet the goal of increasing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) outreach
• 40% of surveyed faculty reported barriers to doing STEM outreach
• Over 50% of faculty reported an inability to individually resolve barriers to STEM outreach in ways that ensure broader community engagement in their research through outreach
• Using a sociological lens, the current study examined institutional-level barriers and enablers to faculty engaging in outreach
• Results suggest several institutional approaches to STEM outreach, including creating infrastructure with experts in science communication; providing science …

Adjusting The Late Policy: Using Smaller Intervals For Grading Deductions, Brandon Bosch

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Most late policies involve some type of initial large deduction when an assignment is late, followed by subsequent deductions around a certain interval. In many cases, instructors will select 24 hours as their interval. While this type of late policy is common, it can be criticized for being too punitive. Moreover, large intervals can encourage students to hold on to their assignments longer than necessary, increasing the possibility that students receive a second large deduction. To address some of these issues, I share my experience of using one-point deductions for each hour an assignment is late.

Why Does The Importance Of Education For Health Differ Across The United States?, Blakelee R. Kemp, Jennifer Karas Montez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The positive association between educational attainment and adult health (“the gradient”) is stronger in some areas of the United States than in others. Explanations for the geographic pattern have not been rigorously investigated. Grounded in a contextual and life-course perspective, the aim of this study is to assess childhood circumstances (e.g., childhood health, compulsory schooling laws) and adult circumstances (e.g., wealth, lifestyles, economic policies) as potential explanations. Using data on U.S.-born adults aged 50 to 59 years at baseline (n = 13,095) and followed for up to 16 years across the 1998 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement …

Treating Participation As An Assignment, Brandon Bosch

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Participation is a funny thing. Some of us grade it obliquely, bumping up the final grades for students that were truly exceptional at it. Some of us explicitly state on the syllabus how important it is for students to come to class “ready and willing to participate,” but only allocate 10% of the overall grade to this supposedly valued activity. But perhaps the most common thing that we do as instructors with participation is this: despite the fact that participation is one of the most commonly “submitted” activities in a class, very few instructors treat participation like an actual assignment. …

Workplace Faculty Friendships And Work-Family Culture, Megumi Watanabe, Christina Falci

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although various work-family policies are available to faculty members, many underuse these policies due to concerns about negative career consequences. Therefore, we believe it is important to develop an academic work culture that is more supportive of work-family needs. Using network data gathered from faculty members at a Midwestern university, this study investigated the relationship between friendship connections with colleagues and perceived work-family supportiveness in the department. It also explored the role of parental status in the relationship for men and women. Results show that faculty with larger friendship networks have more positive perceptions of work-family culture compared to faculty …

Alcohol Expectancy, Drinking Behavior, And Sexual Victimization Among Female And Male College Students, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel M. Schmitz, Scott A. Adams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

College students have high rates of heavy drinking, and this dangerous behavior is strongly linked to sexual victimization. Although research has examined risk factors for sexual assault, few studies have simultaneously studied the various pathways through which risks may affect sexual assault and how these pathways may be uniquely different among females and males. As such, the current study uses path analyses to examine whether alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between social factors (e.g., hooking up, amount friends drink) and drinking behavior and experiencing sexual victimization, and whether drinking behavior mediates the relationship between alcohol expectancies and sexual victimization among …

Leadership And Nonverbal Behaviors Of Hispanic Females Across School Equity Environments, Helen A. Moore, Natalie K. Porter

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Nonverbal behaviors of Hispanic elementary school students and their peers were examined in a small-group cooperative task with a total of 202 subjects. Thirty-five randomly selected groups were videotaped in ten desegregated schools, each group was gender-homogeneous, with three Hispanic and three Anglo students. Analysis of the videotapes revealed that Hispanic females used less vertical and horizontal space than Anglo females, and were also less likely to verbally interrupt or physically intrude on other group members They had similar rates of handling the group resource cards and were given similar leadership scores by multi-ethnic trained observers. Among males, Hispanics are …

The Desegregated School And Status Relationships Among Anglo And Hispanic Students, Peter Iadicola, Helen A. Moore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Desgregated elementary school students display verbal and non-verbal indicators of status relationships in a structured, videotaped interaction game. Both Hispanic and Anglo third grade student responses are analyzed across ten schools for a case study of factors that influence racial/ethnic integration outcomes. Variance in student outcomes are primarily explained by socioeconomic dimensions of the schools. These findings suggest that school desegregation poses a contradiction for Hispanic students.

Hispanic Women: Schooling For Conformity In Public Education, Helen A. Moore

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The educational experiences of Latinas are tied to norms of an Anglocentric and androcentric school system. Based on a sample of 1,000 male and female Hispanic and Anglo elementary school students, we analyze teacher expectations for three dimensions: behavioral, social and academic achievements. Teachers do rate Hispanic females as more conforming to the behavioral norms of the school. Regression analyses indicate that higher teacher ratings are assigned to Hispanic females who combine high academic scores with low scores on behavioral conformity norms. These findings indicate that teachers reward assertiveness, leadership and action when considering future student success. The dilemmas of …

Resegregation Processes In Desegregated Schools And Status Relationships For Hispanic Students, Helen A. Moore, Peter Iadicola

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The resegregation of students in desegregated elementary schools generates potential barriers to social integration and academic achievement. WE are interested in the role of greater status inequality in reducing academic achievement for minority students. We generate multiple measures of internal schooling processes such as ability grouping, high stakes testing, and unequal burdens of busing across racial ethnic groups at ten desegregated elementary schools in California selected as case studies from a larger sample of 182 schools. Hispanic student enrollments ranged from 10 percent to 53 percent of each campus and we assess variations in resegregation practices and student and campus …