Education Commons^™

Interrelationship Among Students’ Ict Usage, Attitude, And Academic Performance In Nordic Countries: Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling On Pisa 2018 And Timss 2019, Dukjae Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

The usage of digital devices has been an interest in the field of education as one of the useful instructional methods for students’ better learning. Although the usage seemed to be related to their academic performance (e.g., Pekto et al., 2017; Skryabin et al., 2015), it was still unclear if the usage itself directly affected better academic results. Therefore, this dissertation explored an interrelationship between students’ usage of digital devices and academic performance with a mediation effect of their attitude toward using digital devices. The study analyzed the datasets of five Nordic countries collected from PISA 2018 and TIMSS 2019, …

The Other Side Of The Story: An Exploratory Case Study Of Barriers Experienced By Tennessee Transfer Pathways Students, Alexis Hartley

Doctoral Dissertations

The vital topic of improving the experiences of transfer students is investigated comprehensively in this research. A qualitative method was used in the design of the case study to explore the experiences that transfer students had while participating in a state transfer pathway program. In particular, this approach focused on the barriers that transfer students faced and the knowledge and actions that were required to overcome these barriers. After completion of an accredited associate's degree, students who have participated in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway (TTP) are eligible to transfer into a four-year program at one of the state's participating four-year …

I’Ve (Urn)Ed This: An Application And Criterion-Based Evaluation Of The Urnings Algorithm, Ted Daisher

Doctoral Dissertations

There is increased interest in personalized learning and making e-learning environments more adaptable. Some e-learning systems may use an Item Response Theory (IRT)-based assessment system. An important distinction between assessment and learning contexts is that learner proficiency is expected to remain constant across an assessment, while it is expected to change over time in a learning context. Constant learner proficiency during an assessment enables conventional approaches to estimating person and item parameters using IRT. These IRT-based systems could be abandoned for alternative approaches to modeling learners and system learning content, but assessments may provide more functions than adapting learning material …

Aberrant Response Detection: Incorporating Cumulative Sum Control Chart And Change-Point Analysis, Siyu Wan

Doctoral Dissertations

The detection of aberrant responses in psychological and educational testing is crucial for maintaining the validity and reliability of assessment scores. This dissertation evaluates the performance of a new detection method, known as the bootstrap method, specifically targeting random guessing behaviors. A simulation design is used to compare the bootstrap method with traditional cumulative sum control chart (CUSUM) and change-point analysis (CPA) methods, considering various test lengths and severity rates. The findings indicate that the bootstrap method did not exhibit superior performance in detecting aberrant responses compared to the traditional methods. It demonstrated lower detection power and higher type I …

The Evaluation Of "The Wrong Answer Project" As Validity Evidence For The Social Consequences Of Testing, Darius D. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of educational tests for making high stakes decisions has had societal consequences for decades. Parents, teachers, and administrators have been willing to pay off, lie, cheat, and steal so that their children, students, and they themselves would not fall prey to the negative consequences of subpar performance on educational assessments. Respected psychometric scholars have supported Samuel Messick’s claim over the years, but their advocacy has caught minimal traction. I founded an initiative in 2019 – The Wrong Answer Project – that shows promise as a vehicle for collecting validity evidence based on the social consequences of testing and …

The Impact Of Special Education Status And Text-To-Speech On Test-Taker Engagement, Maura O'Riordan

Doctoral Dissertations

If a student is not engaged during a test, their test score will not be an accurate representation of what they are capable of. This is a concern because of the possible negative impact on the validity of test score interpretations and decisions being made based on such test scores that are not in the best interest of the student. If this is negatively impacting an entire subgroup of students, such as special education students, differentially, there may be larger-scale impact. To date, limited research has examined the relationship between test-taker engagement and special education status. The purpose of this …

Student Choice-Of-Text In An Upper Secondary Independent Reading Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study, Brian M. Deloach

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the effects of student choice-of-text and reading comprehension outcomes in a 12-week independent reading program in an upper-secondary school. Students aged 17-18 (N = 52) were divided into two groups with one receiving an assigned text of age-appropriate Lexile estimate and genre; the other group was given free choice-of-text from an appropriate Lexile level from a classroom library. This quasi-experimental study followed a pretest-posttest, one-way ANCOVA model with both groups receiving the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test series before and after the intervention. Both groups made modest gains; however, the ANCOVA results revealed no statistically significant difference between the …

Accreditation Of Teaching And Research Universities In Afghanistan: A Policy Implementation Analysis, Sayed Javid Mussawy

Doctoral Dissertations

The quest for quality has encouraged many countries to establish quality assurance and accreditation models to sustain and improve quality. While some established their own procedures, a great majority of the countries including those in the developing world have adopted quality assurance policies developed in the Global North to respond to internationalization and to participate in the knowledge economy. However, most universities in developing countries lack adequate infrastructure to implement accreditation standards. Thus, investigating the implementation of accreditation policies in developing nations provides new insight into the opportunities and challenges posed by internationalization of quality assurance and accreditation. This study …

An Experiential Approach To Test Design And Validation, Sergio Andres Araneda Galarce

Doctoral Dissertations

In this Dissertation, I will present the theoretical basis and two proof-of-concept studies of something I will call an “Experiential” approach to Test Design and Validation. This approach finds its origins in Game design, where the effort goes around the experience elicited by a device (a game). The idea of the experiential approach is to apply the mindset of game design into test design. First, I present a literature review of conceptual frameworks referring to “Experience” and a novel conceptual framework for the context of Educational Testing. Then, I do a literature review of scientific epistemologies and feminist epistemologies in …

Validating Middle School Principals' Opinions About The Impact Of Investments, David Adler

Doctoral Dissertations

Accountability for American public education systems, which spend more than $750 billion annually as of 2019, has been a topic of longstanding controversy. The test-based accountability movement has led to conditions that penalize schools that educate traditionally underserved students (low socioeconomic status, English language learners and students with disabilities are examined in this paper). Further, leaders of these schools lack evidence-based guidance to help make high-impact improvements, as schools serving high proportions of these students are rarely cited as exemplars of high-quality education. In three phases, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a demographically normed, test-based status metric to …

Online Program Management Providers And Higher Education: A Revelatory Case Study On Value Co-Creation, Britta Svoboda

Doctoral Dissertations

With an increase in distance learning and online degree programs, many higher education institutions have partnered with online program management (OPM) providers, leading to a dramatic growth of the OPM industry over the past decade. The purpose of this study was to develop an empirically based understanding of the value proposition of entities of higher education partnering with OPMs through an in-depth, revelatory case study of value co-creation as experienced in the partnership between a doctoral research institution, specifically an academic department, and its OPM provider. The following research question guided this study: How does an OPM co-create value with …

An Examination Of University Employees' Green Workplace Behaviors, Stephanie Nicole Jones

Doctoral Dissertations

As colleges and universities implement or enhance campus sustainability programs and administrators seek to understand the impact of such programs on their campuses, much effort has focused on understanding the green behavior of students enrolled at these institutions. However, given that universities employ large numbers of faculty and staff, it is also important to understand employees’ green behaviors. This descriptive survey research study sought to better understand the green behaviors of employees at a research university in the southeastern part of the United States. Potential participants were emailed a link to an online Qualtrics survey consisting of 31 closed and …

The Gendered, Racialized, & Dis/Abled Experiences Of Neurodivergent Black Women Graduate Students Across Higher Education, Kat Stephens

Doctoral Dissertations

Black women graduate students with dis/abilities; those identifying as neurodivergent are scarce in contemporary research. Throughout widespread disability studies, research, and the research on neurodiversity, this lack is consistent regarding minoritized race and gender groupings (Matthews, 2019; Strong et al., 2020). Larger neurodivergent, ADHD, and Autism conversations tend to skew toward White boys and men (Travers, 2018). The convergence of disability (race, gender, and place/space) as another marginalized community and diverse student population, is an additional gap in the literature, despite the benefits of DisCrit (Annamma et al., 2013). Black women graduate students with disabilities, specifically those identifying as neurodivergent …

How Well Does The New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program Work For Black Men? A Mixed Methods Study, Michael A. Dejesus Iii

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research trended towards a deficit-oriented approach to understanding and explaining Black male underachievement. The past education research has focused on discussing the underachievement of Black males in Higher education. Finding solutions often were prescriptive in “fixing” behaviors in Black males to improve academic achievement. Additionally, there has been a trend towards race-neutrality in education policies, programs, and admissions criteria. And there is a lack of research on whether race-neutrality further exacerbates Black male underachievement by ignoring key race and gender targeted supports services that could improve Black male academic outcomes in higher education. While Black men have historically struggled …

Avatars & Choice: Fostering Student Agency, Engagement, And Equity In Assessment, Sandra M. Sweeney

Doctoral Dissertations

Provision of item choice and use of digital avatars in reading assessment contexts may play a critical role in fostering student agency, engagement, and equity in assessment. Using a mixed methods approach, this study was conducted over four phases within an equity framework. Phase I consisted of a survey, during Phase II an iOS software application and reading test was developed, Phase III was an experimental study, and during phase IV post-experiment interviews were conducted. Research questions for this study (1) explored student interests and experiences related to assessments and technology use, (2) investigated the effect of item choice and …

The Journeys Of Six Mom Pedagogues: Enacting Personal Convictions And Disrupting The Status Quo, Macy Halladay

Doctoral Dissertations

Home education or “homeschooling” began to re-emerge in the late 1960’s in the US, parallel to civil rights initiatives and shifting educational policies (Murphy, 2014). Nevertheless, few studies have been dedicated to examining the lives and practices of homeschool parents (Goldberg, 2021; Lois, 2006; Ray, 2021). Rather, topics have centered on homeschool demographics, academic outcomes, and challenges (Hauseman, 2011; Isenberg, 2007; Lines, 2000; Shepherd, 2010).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of six homeschool mothers’ everyday lives and the meanings assigned to their pedagogical decisions and related feelings in their journeys of becoming Mom …

The Policy Feedback Loop: Exploring English Learner (El) Policy, Policy Implementation, And The Relationship Between Policy, Research, And Practice, Nathan D. Koerber

Doctoral Dissertations

This study will explore the EL policy implementation process and offer evaluative feedback by systematically reviewing the history of US federal educational language policy and its impact on schools and classrooms, as well as the role research, has played in the development of EL policy. Additionally, this study will explore how current language policy implementation impacts programming and practices in both the UK and the US through two separate case studies, as a means of providing evaluative feedback on the policies.

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the complicated history of EL policy and its impact, as well …

Measurement Invariance Across Immigrant And Non-Immigrant Populations On Pisa Cognitive And Non-Cognitive Scales, Maritza Casas

Doctoral Dissertations

International large-scale educational assessments (ILSAs) have played a relevant role in educational policies targeting immigrant students across countries as their results are used by governments as input for decision-making purposes. Given the potential impact that ILSAs can have, the psychometric features of these assessments must be carefully assessed and empirical evidence about the extent to which the inferences made based on test results are valid must be collected. To do so, the first step is to determine if the test results have the same meaning across countries and groups of examinees that is, if the measures are invariant so that …

Using Generalizability And Rasch Measurement Theory To Ensure Rigorous Measurement In An International Development Education Evaluation, Louise Bahry

Doctoral Dissertations

Between the United States and Great Britain, over 30 billion USD was spent in 2018 on international aid, over a billion of which is dedicated to education programs alone. Recently, there has been increased attention on the rigorous evaluation of aid-funded programs, moving beyond counting outputs to the measurement of educational impact. The current study uses two methodological approaches (Generalizability (Brennan, 1992, 2001) and Rasch Measurement Theory (Andrich, 1978; Rasch, 1980; Wright & Masters, 1982) to analyze data from math and literacy assessments, and self-report surveys used in an international evaluation of an educational initiative in the Democratic Republic of …

Financing Public Higher Education In Afghanistan: Alternative Sources And Options, Hassan Aslami

Doctoral Dissertations

Adequate financing is key to achieving the priority goals of higher education – access, quality, and relevance. In Afghanistan, the demand for higher education has increased remarkably while public higher education institutions still rely heavily on inadequate government funding. In addition, the constitutional provision guaranteeing free higher education up to the bachelor’s level in public institutions, the overall weak economy of the country, and the lack of institutional autonomy, contribute to financial austerity in public higher education institutions. This study explored alternative funding sources and options for financing public universities in Afghanistan. An integrated theoretical framework guided this study as …

Assessing Graduate Student Needs And Responsive Institution Assets: Application Of An Asset And Capacity Building Hybrid Framework, Jessica D. Osborne

Doctoral Dissertations

This study seeks to better understand the needs of graduate students at a large southeastern university through a qualitative needs assessment framed by Altschuld’s (2015) asset / capacity building needs assessment model. Through graduate student focus groups and faculty, staff and administrator interviews, this study investigates the needs, successes, and assets of and for post-baccalaureate students within the university setting and context. Qualitative analysis procedures inductive thematic content analysis, primarily following an interpretivist paradigm (Fereday & Muir-Cochraine, 2006; Saldana, 2016). Findings illustrate the existence of both specific graduate student needs as well as assets to supplement these needs. Study analysis …

Evaluating Approaches For Dealing With Omitted Items In Large-Scale Assessments, Seong Eun Hong

Doctoral Dissertations

Large-scale assessments (LSAs), such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are low-stakes tests for examinees; consequently, they might randomly guess or generate no responses. Such disengaged test-taking behavior can undermine the validity of test score interpretation. To account for such behavior, various methods have been proposed over the years, which can be classified as ad hoc or model-based. For instance, the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) uses a common time threshold (e.g., 5 seconds) method for all items: if an examinee spends more than or equal to five seconds on an item, the omitted …

Defining Inclusion: Surveying Educator Perceptions And Practices In Chile, Christina A. Bosch

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite earlier attempts to arrive at unified theories or conceptualizations, the international literature on inclusive education has increasingly documented the proliferation of operationalizations of inclusion in and even within single instances of policy, research, and practice, and called for further scholarly attention to such subjectivity. Specifically, there is a dearth of international research linking definitions to perceptions to practices within special and/or inclusive education, and findings on the efficacy of interventions to promote inclusive education practices in Spanish-speaking contexts or literature are similarly sparse. This study investigates how Latinx educators in K-12 schools conceptualize and practice inclusion with respect to …

Indigenous Assessment Developers On Elements Of The Disjuncture-Response Dialectic: A Critical Comparative Case Study, David A. Sul

Doctoral Dissertations

The disjuncture-response dialectic proposes that the assessment development practices of Indigenous assessment developers exist within a broader environment where attention to broader themes such as settler colonialism (Wolfe, 2006) and Indigenous sovereignty is incorporated. To understand this dialectic, this study sought insight from Indigenous assessment developers about the issues they face when developing culturally specific assessments for use within their environments and settings.

This study used a critical (Giroux, 1979; Horkheimer, 2018; McKenzie, 2012) comparative case study approach (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017b) with a convenience sample of three Indigenous assessment developers representing a cross-section of culturally specific assessment development projects …

Reducing Youths Unemployment In Nigeria: The Development Of A Technical And Vocational Education And Training Survey Instrument, Omotola Olabisi Akinsola

Doctoral Dissertations

Youth unemployment has been on the rise for many years in Nigeria. Despite the high number of youths enrolled in formal education in Nigeria and the number of graduates each year, job opportunities to absorb these graduates are few. TVET has been proposed as an educational intervention in reducing youth unemployment.

A systematic review revealed that the interventions aimed at reducing youth unemployment were pooled into four categories: the use of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in schools, the introduction of entrepreneurship education in schools, the engagement of public-private partnership (PPP), and career guidance counseling for students.

In …

Educators Perceptions Of Ebd, Inclusion, And Evidence-Based Practices, Andrea Larmon

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of education has been changing with regard to inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Not only are we seeing more students with disabilities being educated in public schools, but we are seeing students with more significant special education needs. Although schools are expected to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), many of the staff within the school, such as special education teachers, general education teachers, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and even administrators, aren’t sure how to provide the services and implement the strategies to allow the students …

Indigenous Assessment Developers On Elements Of The Disjuncture-Response Dialectic: A Critical Comparative Case Study, David A. Sul

Doctoral Dissertations

The disjuncture-response dialectic proposes that the assessment development practices of Indigenous assessment developers exist within a broader environment where attention to broader themes such as settler colonialism (Wolfe, 2006) and Indigenous sovereignty is incorporated. To understand this dialectic, this study sought insight from Indigenous assessment developers about the issues they face when developing culturally specific assessments for use within their environments and settings.This study used a critical (Giroux, 1979; Horkheimer, 2018; McKenzie, 2012) comparative case study approach (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2017) with a convenience sample of three Indigenous assessment developers representing a cross-section of culturally specific assessment development projects across …

An Investigation Of Fit Criteria Within Mg-Cfa For Examining Non-Negligible Measurement Invariance, Abdolvahab Khademi

Doctoral Dissertations

One desirable property of a measurement process or instrument is the maximum invariance of the results across subpopulations with similar distribution of the traits. Determining measurement invariance (MI) is a statistical procedure in which different methods are used given different factors, such as the nature of the data (e.g. continuous, or discrete, completeness), sample size, measurement framework (e.g. observed scores, latent variable modeling), and other context-specific factors. To evaluate the statistical results, numerical criteria are often used, derived from theory, simulation, or practice. One statistical method to evaluate MI is multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) in which the amount of …

It’S All The Rage: An Animated Approach To Screening For Postpartum Depression, Amanda Gorham

Doctoral Dissertations

Postpartum depression presents a complication for mothers which can, in some cases, be severe and even life-threatening. Instruments commonly used to screen for this psychological condition have been challenged by an extensive body of literature, with many mothers being unidentified and even untreated for their symptoms. The presented research introduces a newly developed screening instrument for detecting probable postpartum depression using text-free scenario-based animations, based on the lived experience of the condition as qualified by empirical research and the existing body of literature. Developed items were controlled for quality via Think Aloud Protocol and alignment studies with subject matter experts …

An Investigation Of How Institutional And State Characteristics Influence Community College Award Rates, Jacob A. Kamer

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges are an essential element of the American postsecondary landscape and workforce preparation. In 2017, over six-million students, which represented roughly one-third of the total undergraduate enrollment in the United States, were enrolled in community colleges. In the past ten years, the importance of community colleges in the economic need for greater postsecondary credential attainment has been underscored by state policies and national initiatives. The wide variation in both the nature of community colleges and the students they serve makes examining the outcomes of these institutions difficult and oftentimes imprecise.

Assessing the performance of community colleges and determining what …