Education Economics Commons^™

The Impact Of Poverty Informed Faculty On Community College Student Success, Barbara J. Embacher

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Community college completion has been proven to be a ticket to a middle-class life. Moreover, we know that poverty causes educational barriers, including community college completion. Community colleges across the nation are identifying significant equity gaps between students from poor versus middle-class or affluent households. One solution to close equity gaps and increase student success rates for students experiencing poverty is to educate college faculty through professional development. This includes 1) information on the causes, myths, stereotypes, and other facts about poverty, 2) the impact poverty has on student achievement, and 3) instructional strategies that can help students experiencing poverty …

Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report 2023, Alexandra Daro, Greg W. Welch, Venessa Bryant

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was reauthorized with renewed emphasis on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, which seeks to provide equal access to quality child care for families. The CCDF program is necessary to ensure children from families with lower income have the opportunity to experience stable, high-quality early experiences while their parents experience a pathway to economic stability. A primary goal of the CCDF program is to ensure that families with lower income receive CCDF funds to help them access quality child care in the same manner as families that …

Profiles Of Well-Being Among Early Childhood Educators, Amy M. Roberts, Alexandra Daro, Kathleen C. Gallagher

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Research Findings: This study used a person-centered data analytic approach to identify distinct subgroups of early childhood educators (n= 133) based on their responses to multiple indicators of well-being (psychological, financial, and health indicators). Various fit indices established a two-class solution. Specifically, one group was characterized by more positive well-being and the other by less positive well-being. Subgroup differences were the greatest for indicators of psychological well-being, including self-care and self-compassion. In addition, educators with less than a bachelor’s degree, working as assistant teachers, receiving less pay, with more adverse childhood experiences, were overrepresented in the less positive …

Tuition Related Library Fees Information, Ted Naylor, Casey Hoeve, Kiyomi D. Deards

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Tuition related library fees information, supplemental to the article 'How Libraries are Funded: Transparency Issues in Student Tuition and Fees Among ARL Libraries' in Journal of New Librarianship (2023) by Casey Hoeve and Kiyomi D. Deards.

The data were collected by Ted Naylor and enhanced by Casey Hoeve and Kiyomi D. Deards.

The Nebraska Covid-19 Early Care And Education Provider Survey Iii: “Holding It Together—And Hanging By A Thread” May 2022, Alexandra Daro, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Kristen M. Cunningham

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

In February 2022, the Buffett Early Childhood Institute conducted the Nebraska COVID-19 Early Care and Education Survey III, in collaboration with state agencies, University of Nebraska faculty, and organization partners. This third survey examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nebraska’s child care professionals and its implications for practice and policy. Results from the previous surveys, released in April and August 2020, indicated that early care and education professionals in Nebraska, who were already vulnerable prior to the pandemic, have been negatively impacted from the start of the pandemic. The first survey elevated providers’ immediate needs, including funding relief, …

Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report 2021, Greg W. Welch, Elizabeth Svoboda, Alexandra Daro, Venessa Bryant, Caitlyn Glissmeyer

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Consistent with the 2019 MRS, the Institute conducted a survey of all licensed child care providers across the state to obtain private pay child care rates for children with or without medical and behavioral needs. Categories of focus for data collection and reporting included: 1. Geographic location: rural or urban 2. Type of care: Family Child Care Home I, Family Child Care Home II, Child Care Center, and School Age License 3. Age group of children: infant, toddler, pre-school, and school-age 4. Status of medical and behavioral needs 5. Accreditation 6. Extent to which child care providers participate in Child …

Elevating Nebraska’S Early Childhood Workforce: Report And Recommendations Of The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission. April 2021 One-Year Update, Buffet Early Childhood Institute

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

On Jan. 30, 2020, the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission released its report and recommendations, Elevating Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce. With a strong commitment to collaborative action, commission members vowed that the report would not just sit on the shelf—and they have been true to their word. Even the COVID-19 pandemic could not prevent commission members and the organizations they represent from engaging with partners in diverse communities across the state to pursue the report’s vision, goals, and recommendations.

In fact, the pandemic’s dramatic impact on the early childhood workforce and the children and families they serve has only served …

Longer-Term Impact And Efficacy Of Nebraska's In-School Elementary Grades Savings Programs, Jennifer Davidson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The prevalence of in-school savings programs is widespread. Research on program efficacy is not. This mixed-methods case study contributes to the gap in the research literature. The study examined the in-school savings program, conducted in the elementary grades, from multiple perspectives. The first perspective was a longitudinal one that assessed high school student financial behaviors and evaluated if there were any lasting effects from participation in the program when they were in elementary school. The second perspective was an educational one that assessed what elementary school teachers and administrators who implemented the programs thought about the benefits of the program. …

Pay No Attention To The Regulation Behind The Curtain: The Implications Of The Return To Title Iv (R2t4) Federal Aid Policy On Time To Degree, Apri Medina

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Federal aid programs and their effect on student persistence, stopout, and completion have long been studied, but current literature does not fully capture the temporal nature of these programs due to insufficient methods, imprecise data, or both. Using event history methodologies, I leverage a unique level of access to data at a public four-year, research intensive university to explore how the Return to Title IV federal aid withdrawal policy, one of the most prominent yet understudied aspects of federal financial aid policies, influences time to degree. The treatment of this policy is associated with a 58.6% reduced risk (reduced conditional …

Age Discrimination And Academic Labor Markets, Sam Allgood

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

In a sample of Canadian Ph.D.’s, Warman and Worswick (2010) report that forty-two percent obtained their degree at thirty-four years of age or older. One implication is that those starting their academic career vary in age. As a result, academic labor markets provide a somewhat unique way to investigate the outcomes of workers of different age with similar work experience. This study uses a national sample of over 9,000 faculty to look at the relationship between age at the time a person earns their degree and income. Older individuals are less likely to attend graduate programs in Carnegie Research I …

Elevating Nebraska’S Early Childhood Workforce: Report And Recommendations Of The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission, Susan Sarver, Catherine Huddleston-Casas, Cama Charlet, Renee Wessels

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Executive Summary The science of early childhood development makes clear that the early years, from birth through age 8, are a time of unparalleled human growth and development— and that healthy development during these pivotal early years requires reliable, positive, and consistent interactions between the developing child and familiar, caring adults. Because of today’s economy, in which most parents of young children work outside the home, families often rely on early childhood professionals to provide positive interactions and experiences that young children need to thrive. Yet, despite what we know about the critical role of early childhood professionals in young …

Ready To Teach All Children? Unpacking Early Childhood Educators’ Feelings Of Preparedness For Working With Children With Disabilities, Mindy R. Chadwell, Amy M. Roberts, Alexandra Daro

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Early childhood settings have the potential to support learners with diverse learning needs, including children with disabilities. However, if educators do not feel prepared to teach children with disabilities, this potential may not be fully realized. The current study examined early childhood educators’ (n = 1,296) feelings of preparedness for working with children with disabilities, including predictors of preparedness, and associations with assessment practices. Research Findings: Nearly 70% of educators felt well prepared to teach typically developing children whereas only 20% felt well prepared to teach children with disabilities. Educational attainment and education-related major predicted feelings of preparedness. Furthermore, feelings …

The Nebraska Covid-19 Early Care And Education Provider Survey Ii: Experiences, Economic Impact, And Ongoing Needs, Alexandra Daro, Kathleen Gallagher

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Nebraska COVID-19 Early Care and Education Provider Survey II, released in early August 2020, is a second survey following The Nebraska COVID-19 Early Care and Education Provider Survey that was conducted in March 2020. Both surveys were conducted by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska. Results from the March 2020 survey suggested that the coronavirus was negatively impacting early care and education professionals in Nebraska. Imminent threats of illness and directives for enhanced cleaning and precautionary methods (e.g., social distancing) were causing child care providers to experience high levels of stress. They were struggling to …

Lifelong Effects Of Poverty, Jill Mccaslin-Timmons, Marilyn Grady

Contemporary Issues in Educational Leadership

Poverty in the United States affects children in public schools. In reviewing the poverty literature, the following themes emerged the struggle to define poverty in the United States, characteristics of families in poverty, the impact of poverty on school performance, and the lifelong effects of poverty on children.

A personal story of a public school administrator who grew up in poverty is part of the report. The impact of the experiences of poverty continue to affect the way the individual thinks about poverty and interacts with families who experience poverty.

Buffett Early Childhood Institute: Five Year Report 2013-18, Buffett Early Childhood Institute

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute began operations in June 2013. We were charged with creating a new model for how public higher education can engage in early education by helping to transform the lives of young children and their families. This report presents a by-thenumbers profile of who we are and what we’ve accomplished in our first five years. Following the numbers you’ll find brief descriptions of programs, initiatives, financials, and the Institute itself.

The Nebraska Panhandle: An Assessment Of Birth-Grade 3 Care And Education, Panhandle Birth – Grade 3 Leadership Team

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

This report summarizes the collaborative work of the Panhandle Partnership, Inc., Educational Service Unit (ESU) 13, and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska in documenting and assessing birth through Grade 3 programming in the Nebraska Panhandle. The report summarizes findings from 15 school-community conversations and includes data snapshots from local communities that provide information about the status of young children and the services and supports that exist to serve them and their families. Work in the Panhandle was undertaken on the basis of an agreement between the three organizations to work together to better understand and …

Nebraska Child Care Market Rate Survey Report 2019, Greg W. Welch, Elizabeth Svoboda, Amanda Garrett, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Molly Goldberg, Alexandra Daro

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was reauthorized with renewed emphasis placed on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program, which seeks to provide equal access to quality child care for families. The CCDF program is necessary to ensure children from low-income families have the opportunity to experience stable, high-quality early experiences while their parents experience a pathway to economic stability. A primary goal of the CCDF program is to ensure that low-income families receive CCDF funds to help them access quality child care in the same manner as families that pay the full …

Risk Factors For Depression Among Early Childhood Teachers, Amy Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma U. Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

This study examined possible risk factors associated with teachers’ depression in a variety of early childhood settings. Teachers with lower pay, no health insurance, multiple jobs, greater job stress, and more adult-centered beliefs reported more symptoms of depression. To reduce these symptoms, efforts should be made to support teachers’ mental health at multiple levels, including individual, environmental, and policy.

Researchers used data collected in 2015-16 from a large survey of early childhood educators in Nebraska. Four early childhood settings were sampled: licensed family child care homes (home-based), licensed child care centers (center-based), state-funded PreK programs, and elementary schools serving children …

Early Childhood Teacher Turnover In Nebraska, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Susan Sarver, Alexandra Daro

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Teacher turnover is a serious challenge across early childhood settings. Turnover can be expensive for early childhood programs, burdensome to staff, and harmful to children throughout the nation. Nebraska is no exception. This research brief describes teacher turnover in the state’s early care and education settings, including licensed child care, state-funded PreK, and Kindergarten through Grade 3.

Research Questions The following research questions were asked across early childhood programs (licensed child care, state-funded PreK, and K-3): 1. What was the average rate of annual teacher turnover? 2. According to administrators, what was the most common reason teachers left their employment? …

Perspectives Of Rural Nebraska Community Leaders On Pre-Kindergarten In Public Schools, Bradley G. Stauffer

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The investigator in this study explored perspectives of rural Nebraska community leaders on pre-kindergarten in public schools. Thirty rural Nebraska community leaders were interviewed, 10 from each of three different communities ranging in population from around 1,000 to 2,500. For this qualitative study, the investigator asked two primary research questions related to the impact of pre-kindergarten on:

1. Child development
2. Community development

Six main themes were derived from the interviews:

1. Child Development
2. Community Development
3. Changes in the Family and Society
4. Funding
5. Equity
6. Educating the Community

The literature review focused on the efficacy of pre-kindergarten and early childhood education. Three seminal research …

Workforce Well-Being: Personal And Workplace Contributions To Early Educators' Depression Across Settings, Amy M. Roberts, Kathleen C. Gallagher, Alexandra Daro, Iheoma Iruka, Susan Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

Building on research demonstrating the importance of teachers' well-being, this study examined personal and contextual factors related to early childhood educators' (n =1640) depressive symptoms across licensed child care homes, centers, and schools. Aspects of teachers' beliefs, economic status, and work-related stress were explored, and components of each emerged as significant in an OLS regression. After controlling for demographics and setting, teachers with more adult-centered beliefs, lower wages, multiple jobs, no health insurance, more workplace demands, and fewer work-related resources, had more depressive symptoms. Adult-centered beliefs were more closely associated with depression for teachers working in home-based settings compared …

Connect Oer Annual Report, 2016-2017, Brady Yano

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Earlier this year, SPARC launched Connect OER—a platform to share and discover information about Open Educational Resources (OER) activities at campuses across North America. Through Connect OER, academic libraries create and manage profiles about their institution’s efforts on OER, producing valuable data that we use to populate a searchable directory and produce an annual report.

As the first Connect OER Annual Report, this document summarizes insights from the Connect OER pilot, which ran from May - July 2017. The data encompass 65 SPARC member libraries spanning 31 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces who participated in the pilot. Our analysis …

Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey: A Focus On Providers And Teachers, Amy M. Roberts, Iheoma U. Iruka, Susan L. Sarver

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey was undertaken by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska to better understand the current status, working conditions, and attitudes of caregivers and teachers working with children from birth through Grade 3. Representing the largest and most comprehensive survey ever completed of the state’s early childhood workforce, it provides important insight into the everyday challenges of the professionals who care for and educate our youngest citizens. Research has long made clear the important role adults play in young children’s lives. Children who form strong relationships with adults feel safe to explore …

Craft Publishing: A Proposal For A Programmatic Paradigm Shift In Academic Libraries, Sue Ann Gardner, Paul Royster, Linnea Fredrickson, Brian Rosenblum, L. Ada Emmett

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

This presentation will include the parameters by which an effective, at-cost publishing program may be structured in academic libraries. With advances in technology, electronic storage, and connectivity, and contrary to the claim that such activities may result in a “race to the bottom,” libraries have proven to be natural entities within which to effect a paradigm change in scholarly publishing. Activities to date, however, have been more often than not underfunded and understaffed. Even among those that have been well supported, efforts across the community have been ad hoc. Within the context of recent initiatives and discussions, the authors will …

Nebraskans Speak About Early Care And Education: Buffett Early Childhood Institute/Gallup Survey On Early Childhood Care And Education In Nebraska, Gallup, Inc.

Buffet Early Childhood Institute Reports and Publications

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute/Gallup Survey on Early Childhood Care and Education in Nebraska demonstrates that the vast majority of Nebraskans recognize the importance of high-quality early care and education. However, Nebraskans also report its lack of availability and affordability across the state. Most Nebraskans agree that the state should make early care and education a higher priority than it currently is today. Results from this study are based on questionnaires completed by more than 7,100 Nebraska residents. Gallup conducted the survey in English and Spanish via mail in late August through September 2015. The following represent key findings from …

Should College Be Required For Everyone?, Brianna Braggs

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

College is a place where you go to increase your education and build yourself up. As the world knowledge increases, the amount of education needed increases as well. College should be required because you get higher pay, there are more advantages in the job force and many more opportunities. In my research I determined that college should be required for everyone. I also discovered college graduates in the future will be more prevalent in the workforce.

An Analysis Of The District Marginal Costs Of Mandatory State Standardized Tests, J. Eli Crow

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) the estimate for the district marginal cost of mandatory state standardized assessments, (b) if student enrollment can be used to predict the district marginal cost of mandatory state standardized assessments, and c) the unit (per student) district marginal cost of mandatory state standardized assessments. The study included the use of a simple linear regression analysis with associated plots and trend lines.

The study established that district enrollment was correlated with district marginal cost of standardized testing which allowed the researcher to calculate the total and per student district level marginal cost …

Building Research Collaborations, Athletics, And Research: Kickoff Conversation, August 23, 2012, University Of Nebraska–Lincoln

Office of Research and Economic Development: Publications

Just as Nebraska Athletics has long been regarded as a pioneer in the field of collegiate strength and conditioning programs, was among the first to emphasize the link between health and nutrition and athletic performance and stood in the vanguard in life skills training for student-athletes, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) now is taking the lead by integrating athletics and research and using cutting-edge imaging technology to better elucidate the biological underpinnings of behavior and performance. No other university in the nation is conducting research in this way.

This emerging collaboration between athletics and research at UNL led to allocation …

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

Comparison Of Grade Point Average Of Honor Senior Students And College Of Liberal Arts Senior Students At A Florida University, Iwasan D. Kejawa

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Attrition rates in theHonor College program division of Florida Atlantic University have risen in recent years. It has been determined that even though a higher high school grade point average is required for admission into the honor program of the university, many applicants to the program were under-prepared to asumme the workload demanded of the students by the Honor College. The requirements for admission into the honor program of the Florida Atlantic University is an overall high school grade point average of 3.5 and a score of 1000 points on the SAT examination while the requirement into the College of …