The impact of teacher achievement emotions on the co-production of education services

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2013Educational policy in the United States has evolved into a more intense system of accountability, resulting in an intensification of achievement emotions experienced by teachers. Two theoretical paradigms were used to analyze whether such emotions impact teacher effectiveness in the classroom: the control-value theory of achievement emotions and the theory of co-production. Path analysis was used to test the hypothesized model of teacher effectiveness. Two of the four hypothesized factors contributing to teacher achievement emotions, perceived level of control over instruction and perceived levels of student achievement, were found to be significant. The remaining two variables, attribution of responsibility for student achievement and the correlation between teachers' values and educational reforms, were non-significant. The post-hoc model removed these two non-significant factors and added additional paths from the variable teachers' perceived control to teacher's coping response and teacher effectiveness. The post-hoc model fit the data well as demonstrated by significant path.and goodness of fit scores. The path model was transferable across the study's demographic subgroups with the exception of experience level. Modifications were made to the post-hoc model for this subgroup by addressing paths to the coping response variable, and such changes resulted in a significant fit to the data for this subgroup. The results of this study underscore the need for teachers to feel in control of their teaching in order to implement effective teaching strategies. Therefore, educational policies that diminish or remove such control may impact teacher effectiveness Under No Child Left Behind legislation, schools labeled as failing progressively remove more and more control from the teacher. The findings of this study indicate that such practices may be counterproductive and instead may be contributing to the problem of undesired student achievement levels. Enhancing teachers' feelings of self-efficacy in the classroom is recommended for enhancing student achievement, as is looking at the issue through the lens of co-production. Co-production of education services posits that education is co-produced by the teacher and the student. Effective reforms in education, therefore, must address both sides of the teacher-student nexus.Chapter one: Introduction -- Chapter two: Review of the literature -- The accountability movement -- The post-Sputnik crisis -- The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 -- A nation at-risk -- 1989 Education Summit -- The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 -- Race to the top -- The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act -- State of Alaska: reform & accountability -- Teacher effectiveness -- Measuring teaching effectiveness -- Teaching and learning International Survey (TALIS) -- Co-production -- Theoretical concept of co-production -- Porter and co-production of education services -- Co-production and contingent inputs from outside the student-teacher nexus -- Factors impacting the co-production of education services -- Motivation -- Ability -- Effort -- Co-production and reciprocal interdependency -- Co-production and educational reforms -- Co-production and educational reforms: U.S. Department of Education Teachers' opinions on the concept of co-production -- Achievement emotions -- Pekrun's control-value theory of achievement emotions -- Frenzel's contribution to the control-value theory of achievement emotions -- The impact of educational reforms on achievment emotions -- Coping -- The coalescence of two theories -- Theoretical model for the study -- Differences between this study's design and Frenzel et al.'s design -- Chapter three: Methodology -- Chapter four: results -- Psychometrics of study's scales -- Reliability of the Teacher Co-Production Survey -- Selection of study variables -- Analyses of participant demographic variables and assessment measures -- Means and standard deviations of scales, and correlations between demographic variables and scale items -- The teachers' sense of efficacy scale -- The teacher questionnaire of values and attitude towards educational reforms -- Causal dimension scale, revised, and student achievement vignettes -- The assessment of teacher enjoyment, anxiety, and anger related to teaching -- The brief COPE scale -- The teacher and learning international survey teacher questionnaire -- Correlations between study scales -- Path analyses to evaluate hypotheses -- Assumptions -- Model estimation -- Post hoc model -- Group comparisons -- Summary of results -- Chapter five: discussion -- Implications -- High stakes accountability and co-production of education services -- Study limitations -- Recommendations -- Suggestions for further research -- References

Relationship between perceived and actual quality of data checking

Data quality is critical to reaching correct research conclusions. Researchers attempt to ensure that they have accurate data by checking the data after it has been entered. Previous research has demonstrated that some methods of data checking are better than others, but not all researchers use the best methods. Perhaps researchers continue to use less optimal data checking methods because they mistakenly believe that they are highly accurate. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived data quality and actual data quality. A total of 29 participants completed this study. Participants checked that letters and numbers had been entered correctly into the computer using one of three randomly assigned data checking methods. Afterwards, they rated the quality of their data checking method. The sample correlations between perceived and actual data quality were small to moderate and confidence intervals for the population correlations did not include high values. We conclude that the relationship between actual and perceived data quality is not high

The costs of accessible quality assured syphilis diagnostics: informing quality systems for rapid syphilis tests in a Tanzanian setting.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the costs of Rapid Syphilis Test (RSTs) as compared with rapid plasma reagin (RPR) when implemented in a Tanzanian setting, and to determine the relative impact of a quality assurance (QA) system on the cost of RST implementation. METHODS: The incremental costs for RPR and RST screening programmes in existing antenatal care settings in Geita District, Tanzania were collected for 9 months in subsequent years from nine health facilities that varied in size, remoteness and scope of antenatal services. The costs per woman tested and treated were estimated for each facility. A sensitivity analysis was constructed to determine the impact of parameter and model uncertainty. FINDINGS: In surveyed facilities, a total of 6362 women were tested with RSTs compared with 224 tested with RPR. The range of unit costs was $1.76-$3.13 per woman screened and $12.88-$32.67 per woman treated. Unit costs for the QA system came to $0.51 per woman tested, of which 50% were attributed to salaries and transport for project personnel. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that rapid syphilis diagnostics are very inexpensive in this setting and can overcome some critical barriers to ensuring universal access to syphilis testing and treatment. The additional costs for implementation of a quality system were found to be relatively small, and could be reduced through alterations to the programme design. Given the potential for a quality system to improve quality of diagnosis and care, we recommend that QA activities be incorporated into RST roll-out