Education Commons^™

Examining Arkansas' Ninth-Grade Gpas And Long-Term Outcomes, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid, Sarah R. Morris

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we examine Arkansas’ students’ ninth-grade GPAs and their relationship to high school graduation and college enrollment. We follow seven cohorts of Arkansas first-time freshmen who were still enrolled in twelfth grade four years later. We find ninth-grade GPAs strongly influence future academic successes. We suggest policies to help all freshmen succeed.

The Impact Of Corporal Punishment For Timorese High School Graduates, Veronica Godinho Pereira

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the impacts of corporal punishment for Timorese high school graduates. Physical punishment is a pervasive method of disciplining students and children used in Timor-Leste because it has been such a tradition (UNICEF 2017). Few researchers have attempted to analyze the negative impacts of corporal punishment and possible gender differences; there is no known research on the impacts of corporal punishment in Timor-Leste. This study uses an in-depth interview method, where data were collected from 26 Timorese high school graduates composed of both men and women from both private and public schools in Timor-Leste. The ages of the …

International Students In The Campus Carry Debate: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry, Andre Richardo Grant

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study purposefully sampled 15 graduate international students at a Southern University (SU). Semi-structured interviews were used to determine their perceptions and attitudes regarding the implementation of campus carry policies at the institution. The study aimed to answer the following research questions: How has the implementation of the campus carry policy at SU impacted international students’ perceptions of their experiences at the institution? How has the implementation of campus carry policies at SU influenced international students’ perceptions of the social ecology of the institution? and How did SU formally include international students in the on-campus campus carry policy …

A Case Study Of Eastern Region Arkansas Promise Participants And Their Expectations For The Future, Robin Freeman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of how Eastern Arkansas youth with disabilities and their parents describe their expectations for the future, after participating in the Arkansas PROMISE program. The study sought an understanding of how participants viewed themselves and their expectations for the future, for employment, for participation in higher education, for independent living, and for future financial support. The research used a case study approach, interviewing five students and five parent participants. Participants were asked a series of questions to get an understanding of their experiences, their expectations for the future, and their …

Centropoly: The Structure Of Educational Failures In The U.S., Martha Bradley-Dorsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How did a country birthed in individual liberty and voluntary associations create just the opposite in its inflexible, layered, government-controlled public education system? Here, using public choice theory, I explain how near-sighted and unrelated reforms, often based in private motives, gave us what I call the public education centropoly – a hybrid government organization consisting of a set of monopolies layered beneath two additional government levels that especially fails disadvantaged students.

After defending the use of public choice theory (Chapter 1) and summarizing the U.S. public education system formation (Chapter 2), in Chapter 3 I examine the Elementary and Secondary …

A Longitudinal Study Of Gifted Status And Academic Growth, Sarah Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Charlene A. Reid, Bich Tran

Policy Briefs

In this brief, we assess the relationship between being identified as gifted and academic growth among students who scored at or above the 95th percentile on state assessments in third grade. We follow five independent cohorts of these high-achieving students through eighth grade. Using regression analysis controlling for student and district characteristics, we find that students who received gifted services demonstrated statistically significantly greater academic growth on mathematics and literacy achievement across the time period examined than similarly high achieving peers that were not identified as gifted.

Gifted Education In Arkansas: A Longitudinal Study Of Gifted Status And Academic Growth, Bich Tran, Jonathan Wai, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This study assesses the effectiveness of gifted programs in Arkansas by leveraging student-level achievement and demographic data of students who scored at or above the 95th percentile on state assessments in third grade. We follow five independent cohorts of these high-achieving students through eighth grade and examine the difference between the longer-term academic performance of the students that were exposed to gifted and talented services compared to similarly high achieving peers that were not identified as gifted. Using regression analyses controlling for student and district characteristics, we find that students who received gifted services demonstrated statistically significantly greater academic growth …

Investing In Our Future: A State-Level Analysis Of The Relationship Between Education Funding And Economic Growth, Corinna Campbell-Green

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research paper aims to investigate associations between education investments and economic growth on the state level. These relationships are measured in terms of two dependent variables: state gross domestic product output and cumulative personal incomes by state. These dependent variables, or indicators of economic growth were selected from previous supportive literature. The present study analyzes publicly available aggregate school finance data reports and aggregate GDP output reports for the year of 2018. Two hypotheses were tested to assess these associations. The results of the present study showed significant, positive associations for both tested hypotheses. This study further supports existing …

Faith-Based Education And Civic Value Formation, Matthew H. Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the founding of the United States, scholars and policymakers have argued that education should not merely train the minds of students, but also prepare them for active participation in a democratic republic. This dissertation, divided into three chapters, studies the leaders, schools, and content that shape students’ character.

While educational leadership in U.S. public schools is widely studied, there is much less scholarly attention to educational leadership in Protestant and other private schools. The first chapter investigates principal leadership and tests for systematic differences in educational priorities and preparation for their responsibilities by educational sector. Using a nationally-representative sample …

Understanding Gender Gaps In Student Achievement And Stem Majors: The Role Of Student Effort, Test Structure, Self-Perceived Ability, And Parental Occupation, Lina Anaya Beltran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has become a policy goal for many countries. This dissertation focuses on the origin and measurement of gender gaps in student achievement and self-perceived ability, as well as their potential role in predicting college career choices in STEM.

The first two chapters provide an international overview of gender achievement gaps and focus on issues around measurement using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). These chapters study the role of student effort in predicting gender gaps in achievement and whether or not test structure, defined as question difficulty …

Chronic Absenteeism At One Arkansas High School, Michelle Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic absenteeism is a fairly new concept in education. Many schools have only started tracking chronic absenteeism with the start of Every Student Succeeds Act. The following research studied chronic absenteeism at an Arkansas High School, which answered the two research questions in this study. The first research question studied the demographics of the chronically absent student which included grade level, race/ethnicity, Special Education and English Language Learner status, and free or reduced lunch status. The second research question studied the class period of the chronic absence which included the time of day and type of class. High School X …

Factors Influencing Stakeholder Support Of A Bond Referendum In A Rural Kansas School District, Joshua M. Woodward

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine factors that influence stakeholder support of bond elections targeted for capital improvements in a rural school district in Kansas. The study uses existing research to identify factors that influence school bond referendum success. To better understand the factors identified in the research literature that influence stakeholder support in the focus district, data were gathered from stakeholders within the school district of focus through a perceptual survey and focus group interviews.

The availability of research on school bond referendum success and failure is plentiful. However, specific research on factors that influence rural school …

New Normal: How School Operation And Learning Changes In A Pandemic, Margaretha Audrey Stefani Cahya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to past and present studies, pandemics impacted many aspects of society, including education. The current COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted for more than a year during the study, has brought notable educational changes at every level of education. This research was conducted to explore the extent of educational changes during a pandemic and the deviation between the education plan and its implementation in Northwest Arkansas public school districts. The study's data was collected from school district public documents and teacher interviews from school districts classified as low to high SES in suburban and rural areas. Both sources were analyzed and …

Does Affordability Guarantee Accessibility? Analyzing The Effect Of Subsidized Tuition On Diversity In University Demographics, Matthew Cole

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

During the 2020 presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden announced his initiative to make higher education free for any individual whose parents earn less than $125,000. This proposal was inspired by progressive representatives, such as Bernie Sanders, who have made a larger issue of American higher education costs (Berger). Although this initiative garnered little focus during the election – Biden has not addressed it since being elected and the proposal was even removed from his campaign website – his endorsement shows just how much the notion of “free” college has grown amongst Americans in recent years. This growing sentiment …

The Effect Of School District Consolidation On Student Achievement: Evidence From Arkansas, Josh B. Mcgee, Jonathan N. Mills, Jessica Goldstein

Arkansas Education Reports

School district consolidation is one of the most widespread education reforms of the last century, but surprisingly little research has directly investigated its effectiveness. To examine the impact of consolidation on student achievement, this study takes advantage of a policy that requires the consolidation of all Arkansas school districts with enrollment of fewer than 350 students for two consecutive school years. Using a regression discontinuity model, we find that consolidation has either null or small positive impacts on student achievement in math and English Language Arts (ELA). We do not find evidence that consolidation in Arkansas results in positive economies …

Early Access: Elementary School Outcomes For Arkansas Better Chance Pre-Kindergarten Participants, Sarah Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Emily Jordan, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

The Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program has been providing low-income and at-risk Arkansas children with tuition-free pre-K since 1991. Enrollment in the state’s public pre-K programs has increased modestly over the last ten years. This brief reports the results of an analysis of the 3rd and 5th grade outcomes for students who attended ABC pre-K in the academic years of 2011-12 through 2014-15. We find that students who enroll in ABC programs in the year prior to starting Kindergarten outperform similar peers on math and reading state tests in 3rd grade, but these effects largely fadeout by 5th grade.

Investigating Outcomes For English Language Learners In Arkansas Better Chance (Abc) Pre-K, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Josh B. Mcgee, Emily Jordan, Charlene A. Reid

Policy Briefs

Students with limited English proficiency face a number of educational challenges, and there are dramatic achievement gaps between these students and their English proficient peers. This brief describes the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade outcomes of English Language Learner (ELL) students who attend Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) pre-Kindergarten, a state-funded program that is free to income-eligible families. Results indicate that ABC has the potential to improve academic outcomes for ELL students in Arkansas.