Graduate Session: Presentation 5 - Can We Build It? An Action Research Study of Integrated Academics and Resilience

In this presentation, the findings of a study in which an English Language Arts learning unit integrated with resiliency-building topics will be described

The Currency Question

This essay is an edited version of a presentation made by Mark Shanda at the Fourth Annual OSU Mini-Conference on Excellence in Teaching, held May 21, 2010

Latino Children\u27s Kindergarten Entry: Views of Parents and Teachers

This study examined parental and teacher expectations of kindergarten readiness of Latino children. The perceptions of Latino mothers, Latino fathers, and kindergarten teachers were analyzed and compared. Specifically, parents\u27 and teachers\u27 responses were compared in three areas: perceptions of what parents can do to prepare children for kindergarten, priorities for requisite kindergarten entry skills, and rankings of the importance of specified skills to be emphasized in kindergarten. Differences between kindergarten teachers\u27 expectations for nonnative English-speaking children and native English-speaking children were also examined. The parent sample consisted of 35 Latino mother/father pairs. AJI were parents of children who entered kindergarten Fall, 2000. The teacher sample consisted of 33 kindergarten teachers from two large school districts in a western state. Major findings indicate that some differences do exist between teachers\u27 and Latino parents\u27 priorities for requisite kindergarten entry skills as well as their rankings of the importance of specified skills to be emphasized in kindergarten. Supporting previous research, both mothers and fathers rated academic concepts such as counting, reading, and writing higher than teachers. By contrast, teachers rated more developmentally appropriate concepts higher. All groups agreed that parents could do more to prepare children for kindergarten, but parents and teachers differed in their responses of what parents could specifically do to encourage this preparation. Teachers mentioned reading to children, enriching the child \u27s environment, and communication more often than both mothers and fathers. Parents were more likely to mention emotional support and discussing school with their children as ways parents could foster kindergarten preparation. Teachers expected native English-speaking children to know how to follow directions upon kindergarten entry more than they expected it for nonnative English speaking children. Furthermore, teachers who had training in ESL education placed more emphasis on incorporating speaking skills in nonnative children\u27s kindergarten curricula than did teachers without multicultural training. Also included in the study are concrete examples of concerns Latino parents have as their child enters school, challenges teachers face in having linguistic diversity in their classroom, as well as teacher suggestions for improving ESL kindergarten preparation. Implications of these findings for parents, schools, and children are discussed. Suggestions for future research are then offered

The Impact of Attribution Theory on Information Technology Professionals’ Perceptions of Glass Ceilings

As of 2021, women comprised almost half of the United States workforce, nearly 47%. Despite this, women represent only 24% of top earning officers and only 6% of chief executive officer positions. Glass ceilings are a phenomenon that represent an invisible barrier that prevents professional advancement for minority populations, including women, in business. Glass ceilings can impact several minority groups, but mostly appear to be a distinctive gender phenomenon. The challenges for women are well documented, but less understood are the attributional causes of glass ceilings as perceived by information technology (IT) professionals. The framework for this dissertation is the attribution theory, which explains how glass-ceiling viewpoints are formed by gender using mental and cognitive observations. The Career Pathways Survey (CPS), designed to examine employees’ views on the causes of glass ceilings, was the measurement tool used. The first purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the differences of gender perceptions about which CPS subscale was most strongly associated with glass-ceiling beliefs for professionals in the IT sector. A secondary purpose was to understand the associations between the CPS subscales and the demographic variables in the study. Discriminant analysis findings support external attributional views for both men and women in the IT industry. The findings also show a positive relationship between CPS subscales and the demographic variables examined. The findings from this dissertation should encourage U.S. corporations to increase their investment in the development and advancement of female IT professionals, strengthening corporate cultures and promoting inclusion and diversity in leadership roles

A Comparison of Impostor Phenomenon in Community College and Public University Students

Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is a feeling of illegitimacy or fraudulence despite evidence to the contrary. Most people experience feelings of impostorism in their lifetime, and it has been associated with several outcomes in the literature. Although there is some evidence higher education may facilitate feelings of IP, community college students have been largely excluded from the literature. The current study expanded the research by examining the prevalence of IP in community college (CC) students and analyzing differences based on demographic variables: gender, under-represented minority (URM) status, first-generation status, Pell Grant eligibility, and disability. Comparisons were made between CC students and students in their first or second year at a public four-year university. The effect of demographic variables and possible interactions were also explored in the total college student sample. The relationships between self-reported grade point averages (GPA), intent to persist, and IP were investigated to see if IP or GPA were predictive of intent to persist. This study utilized a quantitative non-experimental design to examine survey data. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (Clance, 1985) and a short demographic questionnaire were given online to 829 participants. The CC students comprised 63.3% of the sample, and they were from three different community colleges. A factorial analysis of variance was selected to examine group differences. A t-test was conducted to look at IP differences between CC and four-year university students, and a multiple linear regression with correlational analyses were utilized to look at the relationships and predictive power of GPA, IP, and intent to persist. Results showed most CC students indicated frequent feelings of impostorism. There were no significant differences between CC and the four-year university students. Students with a diagnosed disability had significantly higher levels of IP in both the CC and the total college student sample. There were also significant differences based on URM. There were no significant interactions. IP was correlated with intent to persist and IP levels were found to have some predictive value for intent to persist; self-reported GPA did not

Can We Build It? An Action Research Study of Integrated Academics and Resilience

This study was an action research project seeking to gather evidence regarding the impact of integrating academic objectives and resiliency-building topics. As the focus on trauma and mental health increased, literature provided rich descriptions of how trauma may negatively impact students. Research presented findings indicating potential physical, mental, emotional, social, academic, and behavioral effects resulting from trauma. What was lacking were studies investigating the impact of implementing trauma-informed instructional strategies. In an effort to address gaps in the literature and improve professional practice, action research in a mixed methods approach was conducted with two research questions exploring the impact, if any, the integration of topics, specifically chosen to build resiliency through reading and writing, have on student academic achievements and perceptions of resilience. An integrated unit in a sixth-grade English language arts classroom was studied, and data in the form of academic assessments, Brief Resilience Scale assessments, and reflective journal entries were gathered. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicated a positive impact on academics and resilience when the integrated unit was implemented