Improving Measurement and Expanding Meta-Analytic Knowledge: Social and Emotional Learning in Elementary and Early Childhood

In the last several decades, the development of student social and emotional skills in educational contexts has received much attention, both domestically and internationally. Whereas previous school-based educational practices had primarily focused on the teaching and testing of cognitive skills, we now recognize that there are constituents of academic success beyond the cognitive skills that are traditionally taught and tested, and the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) has emerged as a result. This two-study dissertation attempted to fill existing gaps in the development of SEL practices by exploring new horizons in both intervention and measurement with preschool and elementary students. Whereas a great amount of meta-analytic evidence exists for K-12 contexts, no previous studies have used meta-analysis to synthesize the literature on preschool SEL interventions. The objective of the first study was to determine the effects of universal and targeted preschool SEL interventions on the development of social and emotional skills and the reduction of problem behaviors. Results showed medium effects for both universal (g = .35) and targeted interventions (g = .48), and meta-regression analyses identified intervention type as accounting for 83% of the heterogeneity found in universal interventions. The objective of the second study was to develop Likert and innovative items (situational judgment test and forced choice) using the Big Five as an assessment framework to measure social and emotional skills in elementary-aged students. This represents several advantages in the field, considering many assessments of student social and emotional skills rely on Likert items alone, and Big Five-based self-report measures for elementary-aged students are rare, albeit the Big Five serving as an empirically supported framework upon which to organize social and emotional skills. Results from a pilot study with these items showed moderate evidence for reliability and validity and also indicated where improvements could be made for future iterations of such items. Together, the two studies make significant contributions to the field - the first by extending meta-analytic evidence to the preschool population, and the second by examining best practices for developing innovative item types for elementary students. Conclusions from the two studies, implications, and future directions for measuring and developing young children’s social and emotional skills are discussed

What Do Grades Mean? Variation in Grading Criteria in American College and University Courses

This study examined differences in the criteria used by college and university instructors in the United States to assign course grades. Two hundred and fifty course syllabi (159 from universities and 91 from four-year colleges) developed by randomly selected instructors from five academic disciplines (education, maths, science, psychology, and English) were examined to determine the extent to which instructors employed different criteria in assigning course grades in introductory-level courses. Sources of variation in grade assignment included the use of product versus process criteria, the prevalence of using performance exams, and the framing criteria for grades. Differences between institution types and among academic disciplines were also investigated. Results revealed significant differences among the five academic disciplines in grading criteria and the use of examinations, with instructors in education and English relying more heavily on process criteria. A significant interaction between institution type and academic discipline in grading criteria was also identified. Theoretical, practical, and policy implications are discussed along with avenues for further research

Taxonomic review of the orders mysida and stygiomysida (Crustacea, Peracarida)

The order Mysida (2 families, 178 genera, 1132 species) contains species across a broad range of habitats, such as subterranean, fresh, brackish, coastal, and surface to deep-sea habitats. The Stygiomysida (2 families, 2 genera, 16 species), however, are found primarily in subterranean waters, but always in waters with a marine influence. The Mysida and Stygiomysida body is divided into three main regions: cephalon, thorax, and abdomen. They are shrimp-like in appearance, containing morphological features earlier referred to as defining a "caridoid facies". The shrimp-like morphology was to some extent diagnostic for the historic Decapod taxon Schizopoda, containing the Nebalia, Mysida, Lophogastrida, and Euphausiacea. In 1904 the concept of Schizopoda was abandoned, and the Mysidacea (Mysida and Lophogastrida) along with Cumacea, Amphipoda, Isopoda, and Tanaidacea were placed in a new taxon, the Peracarida. Later discoveries of groundwater mysids led to the establishment of Stygiomysida, but placement to either Lophogastrida or Mysida remained unclear. The presence of oostegites and absence of podobranchiae, coupled with non-statocyst bearing uropods have been used to classify the Stygiomysida as a primitive Mysida family, comparable to Petalophthalmidae. On the other hand, equally suggestive characters, but for a Lophogastrida affiliation, was suggested for the archaic foregut characters and again, non-statocyst bearing uropods. With the inclusion of DNA sequence data of ribosomal genes, sister group relationships between Stygiomysida, Lophogastrida, and Mictacea within the Peracarida are observed, which supports a classification of the Stygiomysida as a separate order removed from the Mysida