Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dreamers: Stories Of Daca Recipients In Higher Education During The 2018-2021 Political Climate, Alicia Billini

Dissertations

Immigration has been a longstanding conversation, or debate, in American politics and society throughout history. Whether, or how much, to embrace immigrant populations into U.S. society has been a source of polarization over time, specifically as related to the handling or treatment of undocumented immigrants. A particularly acute dimension of this issue in the United States is the question of undocumented immigrants who were brought into this country as children illegally by their parents (Council on Foreign Relations, 2021). Efforts to address the needs of this unique population of immigrants have been caught between the historically and widely divergent values …

A Discipline In Search Of A Voice: A Corpus Linguistic Study Of Evaluation Scholarly Literature, Aaron Wilson Kates

Dissertations

Linguists use the concept of discourse community (DC) to describe the speech of groups of people associated by some extrinsic purpose or interest (Swales, 1990). One defining feature of a DC is a shared lexicon. Scriven (1994), in his discussion of evaluation as a discipline, addresses the need for evaluation to have a “core subject” which would then allow, among other things, the development of “concepts and language to deal with core problems,” while noting that there exists a definite lack of clarity of language among evaluators (p. 147). Christie and Rose (2003) suggest that the lack of clarification around …

Understanding The Influence Of Interdisciplinary Research: An Examination Of Carol Hirschon Weiss’S Scholarship, Gregory Dee Greenman Ii

Dissertations

Research evaluation is the subfield of evaluation that examines the processes and products of scientific and technological research. This dissertation explores the case of interdisciplinary research evaluation by reviewing the publications of one of the most influential and highly cited scholars in evaluation, public administration, and knowledge utilization: Carol Hirschon Weiss. As one of the foundational theorists of evaluation, the evaluation perspective of Weiss's work typically pervades discussions. That approach ignores her influence in other fields, particularly her centrality to the knowledge utilization field. Prior research indicates that the influence of interdisciplinary research is challenging to ascertain because research evaluation …

A Metaevaluation Of The Commission On Fire Accreditation International Accreditation Process, Stacy A. French

Dissertations

Fire and emergency services throughout the country are being required by local governmental authorities to provide efficient and effective services. In 1996, the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) and the International Association of Fire Chief (IAFC) executed a master trust agreement that established the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) to award accreditation to those fire and emergency services that demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness in the services provided. As of this study, no documented research had been published that challenged the current CFAI Accreditation process to ensure the highest level of accountability and usefulness for both the public and fire …

Improving Evaluation In Nonprofit Organizations: A Study Of How Evaluation Requests For Proposals Are Developed, Responded To, And Fulfilled, Nakia S. Matthews

Dissertations

It is often necessary for nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to formulate a Request for Proposal (RFP) to procure essential contracted services. This is most common when seeking the services of an external evaluator. Since most NPOs do not have internal evaluation staff, developing an appropriate RFP can be quite challenging. With limited literature and resources to guide NPOs on how to prepare RFPs, the process for procuring qualified evaluators can be even more daunting. This lack of resources and supports can lead to insufficient or incomplete RFPs, subsequently narrowing the pool of qualified potential bidders and reducing the extent to which …

Using Dynamic Lndicators Of Basic Early Literacy Skills (Dibels) Oral Reading Fluency Data To Predict Michigan Educational Assessment Program Outcomes, Lisa Lockman

Dissertations

Schools are under legislative pressure to ensure students make adequate progress each year, and therefore, must identify students in need of intervention at early grade levels. Educators use diagnostic tools to measure student progress, attempting to determine which children may be most at risk for future reading failure. The Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) is widely used for early identification of students who have risk factors. This study incorporated a quantitative, correlational, ex post facto design to examine the relationship between students’ third grade scores on the spring DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessment and their fifth grade …

Comprehending Male And Female Levels Of Engagement In Subsets Of The National Survey Of Student Engagement: Explicating The Dynamics Of Gender Role Conflict As A Mediating Factor For Males, Jacob Glen Arndt

Dissertations

Male enrollment and graduate rates in higher education have paled in comparison to female achievement since the early 1980’s, and explanations as to the reasons behind why males are falling behind have not been fruitful in addressing these issues. One area that has received very little attention in the literature is the role that gender role conflict may play in male student performance.

The purpose of this research is to explore male and female engagement levels, while attempting to understand if levels of male gender role conflict are a mediating factor of engagement for men. This study utilized the three …

Examining The Role Of Research Mentoring In Predicting Research Self-Efficacy Among Minority Professional Psychology Doctoral Students, Donald Edward Knight

Dissertations

The involvement of racial/ethnic minority doctoral students in the conduct of psychological research is of significance in meeting the mental health challenges of an increasingly diverse US population. However, scant empirical evidence exists regarding the mentored research experiences and resulting increases or decreases in confidence these students encounter in conducting research. The purpose of this study is to examine predictors [i.e., Research Mentoring Experiences (RME), perceptions of the Research Training Environment (RTE), and Interest in Research (IRQ)] of research self-efficacy among a sample of racial/ethnic minority PhD students in APA-accredited clinical and counseling psychology programs. The study is guided by …

Bayesian Item Response Theory: Statistical Inference And Power Analysis, Jason W. Bodnar

Dissertations

The regulatory pharmaceutical approval process is flawed in that industry clinical trials (ICTs) are always powered for efficacy and rarely powered for safety. The key safety parameter is the adverse event (AE). This practice may result in efficacious products with confounded safety. An ICT’s ability to be powered for detecting AE trends may improve patient safety. Therefore, this dissertation’s purpose was to determine if power analysis resulted in feasible sample sizes for substantiating AE hypotheses. AEs were modeled with three Bayesian 2PL IRT models. The unidimensional latent trait, transfusion-related AE, was modeled as a patient predisposition for experiencing an AE. …

Death By Boredom: The Role Of Visual Processing Theory In Written Evaluation Communication, Stephanie D. H. Evergreen

Dissertations

Evaluation reporting is an educational act and, as such, should be communicated using principles that support cognition. This study drew upon visual processing theory and theory-based graphic design principles to develop the Evaluation Report Layout Checklist intended to guide report development and support cognition in the readers of evaluation reports. It was then reviewed by an expert panel and applied by a group of raters to a set of evaluation reports obtained from the Informal Science Education evaluation website with maximum variability sampling. Results showed fairly high exact percent agreement and strong to very strong correlation with the author’s ratings. …

Understanding The Impact Of The Kalamazoo Promise From The Perspectives Of Parents And Community Group Members, Charles Pearson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to uncover the emerging views of parents and community group stakeholders in regards to The Kalamazoo Promise, and what they believed were the important issues that must be understood by implementers of The Promise in order to provide more effective implementation.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a full-tuition scholarship provided to all eligible graduates of the school district. The qualification criteria are simple, and all graduates attending at least the four years of high school are eligible.

A case study was conducted in one representative school in this midsized, urban district. A multiple-phase approach was …

Curriculum-Based Measures In Writing: A School-Based Evaluation Of Predictive Validity, Christina M. Terenzi

Dissertations

Recent research in the area of Curriculum-Based Measures (CBM) in writing has shown that traditionally used metrics, such as total words written and total words correct, may not be the best tools for measuring writing performance, for both secondary and elementary aged children (e.g., Gansle, Noell, VanDerHeyden, Naquin, & Slider, 2002; Tindal & Parker, 1989a; Watkinson & Lee, 1992). Evidence suggests that more advanced measures, such as production-independent measures (e.g., percentage of correct word sequences) may be stronger predictors of student skill level in the area of writing. The present study replicated portions of a recent seminal study and investigated …

Have Charter Schools Materialized Their Promise A Contrast Between Rhetoric And Reality, Mary Kay Kempker-Vandriel

Dissertations

Charter schools are a growing force in American education. Parents are demanding a choice in their child's public education. Are charter schools better than traditional public schools? Have charter schools kept their promise?

In the study regular public schools and charter schools were compared along five dimensions: (a) opportunity for learning and access to quality education, (b) innovative teaching methods and participative management, (c) teacher job satisfaction, (d) parent involvement, and (e) school accountability. Existing data from the 1999/2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) were analyzed with primarily chi-square tests and one t-test. These analyses provided results in relation to …

A Study Of The Effect Of Group Family Play On Family Relations For Families With Children Considered At-Risk For Educational Failure, Carmen Colleen Baldus

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

New Teachers’ Perceptions Of Discipline-Related School Problems And Teacher Satisfaction, Amy L. Kavanaugh

Dissertations

Satisfaction The public is concerned with school safety because of recent school shootings resulting in multiple deaths. Educators are concerned that perceptions of school safety may affect new teacher attrition.

Three questions were examined in this study: (1) What is the trend of new teachers’ perceptions of discipline-related school problems? (2) Do new teachers’ perceptions of school problems vary by teacher gender, school level, size, location, and percentage of minority students?, and (3) Are new teachers’ perceptions of school problems related to their professional satisfaction?

National data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Schools and Staffing …

A Systems Approach To Designing An Internship Model That Benefits The Sponsoring Organization, Peter-Comelius Dams

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Curriculum-Based Measurement To Evaluate The Effects Of A Remedial Education Program, Michael D. Hixson

Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of two Direct Instruction programs: Corrective Reading: Decoding and Connecting Math Concepts. The effectiveness of the interventions was evaluated using a single-subject experimental design with curriculumbased measurement (CBM) probes as the main means of assessment. Other methods of assessment included standardized achievement tests, school reports, and pre- and postcurriculum- based assessment probes. The CBM probes for all students were sensitive to the effects of the interventions, although there was a great deal of variability in the CBM reading probes and little correspondence across methods of assessment. The results indicate that the two Direct Instruction programs …

The Relationship Between Selected Environmental Variables And Attrition, Persistence, And Academic Success Of Majority And Minority College Students, Carole J. Woolford-Hunt

Dissertations

Research indicates that college student persistence, attrition, and success is related to the student’s ability to gain academic and social integration into the university community. This theory has guided researchers to explore either the academic or social factors that promote integration. Under the umbrella of social integration exists the underresearched category of environmental factors.

The overall purpose of this study was to identify selected environmental factors that affect minority and majority students’ persistence and success rates in a Midwestern state-run university. The environmental variables of size of college within a larger university, residential versus nonresidential nature of colleges within a …

The Comparison Of Selection-Based And Topography-Based Verbal Behavior Across Populations, Carl T. Sundberg

Dissertations

Michael (1985) distinguished between selection-based (SB) and topography-based (TB) verbal behavior. Several studies comparing the ease of learning the two systems have shown conflicting results. The data indicate that subjects with fewer lower verbal skills have done better with TB systems (subjects with developmental disabilities in studies by Hodges & Schwethelm, 1984; Sundberg & Sundberg, 1990; Weirmanski, 1984; Wraikat, 1991; Wraikat, Sundberg, & Michael, 1991; and the bottom half of subjects in Cresson, 1994). The higher functioning subjects have done better (or have not shown a difference) with SB systems. (Bristow & Fristoe, 1984; Stratton , 1992; Tan, Bredin, Poison, …

A Comparison Of Sociological And Demographic Factors Of Custodial And Noncustodial Single Fathers, Daniel D. Petterson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine what differences, if any, exist in the sociological and demographic factors that are observed to be characteristics of fathers who have custody of their children, as opposed to fathers who do not have custody of their children. A review of the literature revealed that a large amount of information has been collected dealing with the situation of single mothers, but that nothing comparable exists regarding single fathers. The evidence from the literature also indicated that the increase in single fathering is at least paralleling the increase in single parenting in general. It …