Educational Psychology Commons^™

Mental Health Treatment Effects In An Alternative Middle Schools, Beth Devilla

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an alternative school in West Virginia. The school enrolled sixth to eighth grade students who had been suspended, expelled, or were facing expulsion. Using archived data, the academic performance of students who were in a mental health treatment program was compared to the performance of students who were in the alternative school but were not enrolled in the mental health program. All archival data was de-identified by the Psychologists on staff at the agencies so there were no identifiable human subjects. The research staff was provided access to existing …

The Impact Of A Grade Nine Transition Program On Student Success In The Piedmont Region Area Of North Carolina, Phillip Jermaine Johnson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Grade 9 transition program at an urban high school in the piedmont area of North Carolina. Grade 9 is a pivotal year that determines which students prevail and which students fail to finish high school (Hertzog, 2003). It is essential that schools put in place components that ease the transition into high school and provide ongoing support.

Investigation measuring instruments that were used by the researcher included a student survey and a teacher survey which involved Grade 9 students and those teachers who taught Grade 9 students. The data that …

Impact Of Stress-Coping Strategies On Perceived Stress, Intrinsic Motivation, And Self-Efficacy Levels Of Students, Tanya M. Hudson

Education Dissertations and Projects

Impact of Stress-Coping Strategies on Perceived Stress, Intrinsic Motivation, and Self-Efficacy Levels of Students. Hudson, Tanya M., 2013: Dissertation, Gardner-Webb University, Stress/Coping/Adolescents/ Motivation/ Self-Efficacy/Stress-Coping Strategies Stress-coping strategies are identified by researchers as conditions used suitable to a situation when adolescents have a change in their environment or a stressor that they cannot control. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the impact of stress-coping strategies on perceived stress levels, levels of intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. According to the research, stress results from an imbalance between the requirements of the environment and one's ability to cope with it (Aldwin, 2007). …

Looking At The Workplace Through Mathematical Eyes, John J. Keogh

Other Resources

This thesis is concerned with the idea that people may know more about mathematics than they think they do and rely on it more than they realize, especially in work. That they more readily account for what they ‘do’, dismissing what they ‘know’ as ‘commonsense’ or ‘part of the job’, seems to extend a self-perception of not ‘being a maths person’ and permits it to be transmitted within families, across generations and throughout communities. At the same time, the pervasiveness of modern technology, and the proliferation of information represented in mathematical shapes, patterns, relationships, quantities and chance, would seem to …

Student Perceptions Of School Climate: A Validity And Data Use Study Of A District-Developed Survey, Mya L. Martin-Glenn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 25 years, researchers have consistently reported that students' perceptions of their school's climate can have a measurable impact on their level of engagement in school, motivation to learn, social development, and, ultimately, their academic achievement. In light of the continued emphasis on education reform and school accountability, the ability to accurately measure the learning environment, interpret the results from that measure, and then determine the appropriate course of action in addressing areas of concern has become increasingly important for school leaders. This dissertation used an embedded mixed methods design to examine one district's self-developed measure of their …

Sexting: You Found The Sext, What To Do Next? How School Psychologists Can Assist With Policy, Prevention, And Intervention, Morgan J. Aldridge, Kelli Jo Arndt, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Early Monday morning, it is brought to the school psychologist’s attention that Katie, a 15-year-old student, engaged in “sexting” over the weekend; she sent a naked picture of herself to her boyfriend. The boyfriend immediately forwarded the picture to a group of his friends. At school on Monday, many students were talking about the picture, and Katie was humiliated. The school is unaware of how many students this sext message has reached. What can the school psychologist do to intervene with the female student, her boyfriend, and his friends? What, if anything, can be done to prevent this message from …

Adaptation Of The Child - Parent Relationship Therapy Model For Use With Senior Citizen Volunteers In School Settings: A Pilot Study, Angela M. Yoder, Fred Washburn, Shannon Mills, Danessa Carter, Brian Brausch, Jiwon Lee

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This study provides a proposal for crucial volunteer services to fill the gap for overburdened school counselors when parents are unable to engage in Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), a highly effective intervention for childhood problems. CPRT has been successfully adapted for use with individuals other than the child’s parents. The researcher in this pilot study adapted CPRT for use with senior citizen volunteers who often possess untapped abilities and talents. Seniors received several weeks of training, and then met with children for 1/2 hour supervised, video-taped play sessions for several weeks. Childhood adjustment problems were assessed before and after the …

Adaptation Of The Child - Parent Relationship Therapy Model For Use With Senior Citizen Volunteers In School Settings: A Pilot Study, Angela Yoder, Fred Washburn, Shannon Mills, Danessa Carter, Brian Brausch, Jiwon Lee

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This study provides a proposal for crucial volunteer services to fill the gap for overburdened school counselors when parents are unable to engage in Child-Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT), a highly effective intervention for childhood problems. CPRT has been successfully adapted for use with individuals other than the child’s parents. The researcher in this pilot study adapted CPRT for use with senior citizen volunteers who often possess untapped abilities and talents. Seniors received several weeks of training, and then met with children for 1/2 hour supervised, video-taped play sessions for several weeks. Childhood adjustment problems were assessed before and after the …

Applying Principles Of Psychology To Contemporary Society, Gary J. Burkholder

Walden Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Mexican-Origin Youths’ Trajectories Of Depressive Symptoms: The Role Of Familism Values, Katharine H. Zeiders, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Adriana J. Umana-Taylor, Lorey A. Wheeler, Norma J. Perez-Brena, Sue A. Rodriguez

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Purpose—To describe Mexican-origin youths’ trajectories of depressive symptoms from early to late adolescence and examine the role of three aspects of familism values: supportive, obligation, and referent familism. Methods—Mexican-origin adolescents (N = 492) participated in home interviews and provided self-reports of depressive symptoms and cultural values at four assessments across an 8-year span. Using a cohort sequential design and accounting for the nesting within the 246 families (2 youth per family), we examined depressive symptoms from ages 12 to 22 years and the within-person, between-sibling, and between-family effects of familism values. Results—Mexican-origin males’ depressive symptoms decreased across …

Mental Health Outcomes Of First Generation College Students: Is Generational Status Associated With Increased Risk For Depression And Anxiety?, James L. Pease

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were differences in mental health outcomes between first generation college students and non-first generation college students. The sample (n = 6,449) consisted of undergraduate students, aged 18-22, in bachelor's degree programs, and was drawn from 15 colleges and universities throughout the United States. Acculturative stress was used as a theoretical framework for why first generation college students (pioneers) may screen higher in prevalence and severity of mental health outcomes. The particular mental health outcomes examined in this study were the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety. The results …

Ethnic Identity Among Arab Americans: An Examination Of Contextual Influences And Psychological Well-Being, Rand Ramadan Fakih

Wayne State University Dissertations

Existing theories and research have indicated that ethnic identity is crucial for ethnic minority young adults because ethnicity is an important component of their personal identity that is likely to influence various aspects of their development. Given the centrality of this construct, the overarching aim of the present study was to examine ethnic identity and psychological well-being among members of an ethnic group that have long been ignored in the psychological literature: Arab Americans.

Specifically, the goals of the study were threefold. The first goal was to examine the association between multiple contextual factors (such as students' perceptions of their …

Risk Taking Behaviors In Emerging Adults And Peer, Sibling & Parental Relationships, Malasri Rani Chaudhery-Malgeri

Wayne State University Dissertations

Research shows emerging adults are more likely than younger and older cohorts to engage in such risky behaviors. However, research on the outcomes of emerging adults and their relations with peers, parents, and siblings is less conclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between emerging adults' perceptions of peers', siblings', and parents' risk-taking behaviors, and risk behavior after controlling for participants' sensation seeking tendencies. This study explored the moderating role of emerging adults' relationships with peers, siblings, and parents in the relation between these models' risk taking behaviors and emerging adults' risk taking behaviors, The mediating …

Examination Of The Acquired Preparedness Model And Alcohol Use In Emerging Adults, Richard Michael Staszkow

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive utility of the acquired preparedness and alcohol use in emerging adults. Data were collected from a sample of 273 participants, ages 18 to 25 years old, from an urban university in the Midwest. The participants completed self-report questionnaires via SurveyMonkey. It was predicted that expectancy variables would mediate the relations between impulsivity and the frequency and quantity of drinking. Results suggest that social pressure self-efficacy was found to fully mediate the relation between the impulsivity variables (lack of premeditation and positive urgency) for both drinking frequency and quantity. Increased confidence, …

Child And Family Predictors Of Bullying In Middle School Students, Rene Michele Nota

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the shared variables that contribute to direct and indirect aggression, specifically bullying and to explore the role of family context, and adolescent personality characteristics on predicting bullying behavior. The theoretical framework of this study was based on evidence that no specific element can describe why some individuals are at risk for behaving aggressively and other are more resilient. The study included 259 middle schools students in grades six through eight. The students were enrolled at a single middle school located in a suburban area. The largest group of students was African American, …

The Mediating Influence Of School Engagement Between An Adolescent's Contextual Environment And Academic Accomplishment, Najim Uddin Ahmed

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current study explored several contexts that may influence an adolescent's academic performance in school, including school engagement, parenting behaviors, teacher behaviors, peer relationships, and academic self-efficacy. The outcome of interest was academic performance.

Participants in this study were 332 ninth through twelfth grade high school students (159 males and 164 females) from a suburban public high school in the midwestern United States. The average age of the students was 16.5. The participants completed seven surveys to measure academic performance in school, including school engagement, parenting behaviors, teacher behaviors, peer relationships, and academic self-efficacy.

Mediational analyses were used to investigate …

A Journey Without A Roadmap, Geraldine French

Reports

No abstract provided.

Personal And Social Factors In Risk-Taking Behaviors Of Emerging Adults, Katherine A. Roeser

Wayne State University Dissertations

The transitional period from adolescence to young adulthood is defined as the stage of life that begins at the conclusion of high school and ends with the acceptance of adult roles (i.e., career, marriage, parenthood). The focus of the present study was on college students' excessive use of alcohol and other drugs and participation in high-risk sexual activity and the association between those behaviors and personal and social factors such as sensation seeking, peer influence, perceived general resistance to peer influence, perceived self-efficacy to resist risky behavior, and emotion regulation. The participants were 427 emerging- adult, undergraduate students 18 to …

Predicting Students’ Confidence: How Teacher Feedback And Other Sources Influence Self-Efficacy In Mathematics Classrooms, Megan Kleine-Kracht Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

In this two-part dissertation, the sources of self-efficacy were investigated for elementary and middle school students in mathematics classrooms. In the first study, the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Scale (Usher & Pajares, 2009) was validated with a younger sample. Participants included 367 fourth- through sixth-grade students; these participants completed two surveys investigating their beliefs regarding their capabilities to perform successfully in mathematics. This study included an examination of the psychometric properties and a confirmatory factor analysis of the Sources of Middle School Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale, and an investigation into the relative power of mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasions, …

An Examination Of Education Services For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders In Rural Areas, Melissa A. Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

Much research and media attention in recent years has focused on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a pervasive developmental disorder that impacts children in multiple areas of their lives. Early identification and intervention, as well as access to mental health, behavioral, and pediatric services for this population are crucial to their later outcomes and quality of life (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001; Blane & Borden, 2008; Jacobson & Mulick, 2000; Rogers & Vismara, 2008). Unfortunately, research suggests that access to educational services may be complicated for individuals living in rural areas (Applequist, 2009; Collins et al., 2005, Ludlow, Conner, & Schechter …

The Cultural Discontinuity Hypothesis: An Appalachian American Perspective In Eastern Kentucky, Timothy W. Conner Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

K.M. Tyler et al. (2008) propose a quantitative method to measure differences between school and home experiences had by students of ethnic minority status and how such differences (cultural discontinuity) may affect psychological factors related to student achievement. Although study of cultural discontinuity has been applied to understanding African American, Asian American, Latino American, and Native American student populations, little attention has been given to the ways in which cultural discontinuity may manifest in the Appalachian American population. This study conceptualizes the socio-cultural conditions that would warrant such an investigation, establishing evidence from ten interview subjects of the presence of …

Reading Self-Efficacy In Early Adolescence: Which Measure Works Best?, Raven Richardson Piercey

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and reading achievement and to examine the predictive validity of a variety of reading self-efficacy measures in a sample of 364 students in Grades 4 to 6. Mean differences in self-efficacy were also examined by gender, ethnicity, and school type. Results suggested that the four measures of reading self-efficacy were psychometrically sound. Mean differences were not present for students based on gender or ethnicity. Elementary school students reported higher levels of reading test self-efficacy than did middle school students. Reading self-efficacy predicted reading performance as measured by four …

Stability Of Academic Performance Across Science Subjects Among Chinese Students, Meng Fan

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

With data describing 110,520 eighth grade students from 592 junior high (middle) schools in China, a three-level hierarchical linear model was developed in this study to create a multivariate multilevel environment to examine (a) the effects of student-level and school-level variables on science achievement in four subject areas (science inquiry skills, biology, earth science, and physics) and (b) the consistency or stability of academic achievement across the four subject areas among students and among schools. Results indicated that (a) student characteristics, including gender, parental SES, time spent in learning, and the type of family separation, were related to high academic …

Choice Amount And Choice-Making In Children: A Comparison Of Children With And Without Symptoms Of Adhd, Liesa Klein

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research has demonstrated that increased options can have a negative impact on choice experience, post-choice affect, and purchasing behavior in adults. While the use of choice and choice interventions is sometimes used in educational settings, this negative impact, the choice overload hypothesis, has yet to be examined in children. Further, if the presence of choice overload were to be identified in this population it may have further implications on children with ADHD who exhibit deficits in executive functioning. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to examine choice duration in children with and without symptoms of ADHD; (2) to …

School Psychology Programs: Graduate Preparation In Traumatic Brain Injury, Susan C. Davies

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

Although traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents, it remains a low incidence category for special education identification. Students with TBI can present with unique educational and psychosocial needs. Using surveys administered to program directors and interns, this study explored how school psychologists are prepared to identify and facilitate appropriate services for students with TBI.

Detecting Low Incidents Effects: The Value Of Mixed Methods Research Design In Low-N Studies, Isadore Newman, Carolyn Ridenour, Carole Newman, Shannon Smith, Russell C. Brown

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Many important educational situations such as traumatic brain injury among preschoolers, school gun violence, preadolescent eating disorders, and adolescent suicide happen relatively infrequently. In this article, the authors explain why mixed methods research designs offer more meaningful empirical results than do qualitative or quantitative designs alone when asking research questions about low incident situations. The authors present and explain three mixed methods models applicable to low incidents situations.

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies In College Students With Adhd Tendencies, Christopher Shelton

Masters Theses

College students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are often faced with many challenges throughout their academic careers. While research examining the effects of ADHD on college students is on the rise, much is still unknown. It is thought that significant problems exist even in students with ADHD symptoms below the clinical threshold. Therefore, the present study examined the relationship between self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies and college students with ADHD tendencies. In addition, the study examined the relationship between SRL strategies and GPA, ADHD tendencies and GPA, and ADHD tendency subtypes and SRL strategy use. Participants included of 310 college …

Influence Of Institution Type On Self-Regulated Learning Strategies In First Generation College Students, Alex Spalding

Masters Theses

Researchers have investigated the factors related to academic success among first-generation college students (FGS), students the U.S. Government's Educational Opportunities Program defines as those with neither parent having completed a 4-year college degree by the time the student has entered college (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005). Recent explanations of FGS' academic performance point to the complex relationships among the unique attributes that FGS bring to college, the characteristics of the academic institutions in which they are enrolled, and the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) practices in college students.

The current study explored the relationship between the institution type and …

Using Careless Speech For Careful, Well-Crafted Writing— Whatever Its Style, Peter Elbow

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Bringing the resources of speech to writing enables writers to understand and attain written eloquence.

The Power Of The Poetic Lens: Why Teachers Need To Read Poems Together, Amy L. Eva, Carrie A. Bemis, Marie F. Quist, Bill Hollands

The Journal of the Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning

Poetry reading circles can become the means for new (and experienced) teachers to reflect on their professional growth.