Texas Digital Library
University of Houston-Clear Lake: UHCL Institutional RepositoryNot a member yet
4292 research outputs found
Sort by
Teachers Perceptions and Beliefs of Discipline in K-8 Charter Schools in Post-Katrina New Orleans
Full text linkThere has been a narrative that has circled the country that the charter school experiment of the entire New Orleans public school system has been a chided success. However, what has been glaringly absent has been the voices of the African American teachers who work or worked in this system post-Katrina in the lower levels of the school system. Though strong opinions and targeted initiatives have been pushed and implemented by the charter schools in New Orleans, one aspect that has been the source of dissension has been the discipline practices. The purpose of this qualitative research study is to explore the perceptions and beliefs of veteran African American teachers of discipline practices in post-Katrina K-8 charter schools. This study is one of the few endeavors to represent the viewpoints of the veteran African American teachers that worked in these charter schools in the first 10-12 years after the reopening of the schools post-Katrina. Data were collected from these veteran participants through semi-structured open-ended interviews. The study offers recommendations regarding professional development for teachers that are new to the city and diversity committees that include veteran African American teachers. Evaluation of the discipline practices that are used should be continuous and evaluated for improvements
Conservative White Women: How Fear of Crime Perpetuates the Patriarchy
Full text linkTo understand White women’s political-ideological perspectives, two studies were conducted. I examined White women’s attitudes regarding fear of being a victim of crime, patriarchal beliefs, attitudes towards police discrimination, attributes in a presidential candidate, sexism, and trait preferences in a romantic partner. Through correlational analyses, I found that White women who believe the world is dangerous and fear being a victim of crime are more likely to endorse a conservative ideology. In addition, when White women endorse a conservative ideology, they are more likely to desire a president and romantic partner with dominant traits. Through both studies, I uncover a better understanding of why White women endorse and perpetuate patriarchal beliefs in exchange for protection
Perceived Power and Conspiracy Theory Belief
Full text linkAs conspiracy theories become increasingly intertwined with politics, it is important to understand the formation of conspiracy theory belief. Currently in the field of psychology, there is no consensus regarding the factors that lead to conspiracy theory endorsement. As this field of study is relatively new, research has yet to explore the role of perceived power, the power that one feels they have regardless of real-world power. I argue that decreased perceived power is related to an increased endorsement of conspiracy theories. A diverse sample of 347 participants were recruited via MTurk to complete a series of questionnaires. Perceived power was measured through a questionnaire regarding participants’ personal perceived privilege and oppression based on six aspects of identity: gender, religion, race, sexual orientation, economic status, and political affiliation. Participants were also asked to rate their belief in political conspiracy theories. When asked directly to rate their privilege and oppression, decreased privilege ratings or increased oppression ratings led to higher conspiracy theory belief in: cisgender men asked about gender privilege or oppression, White participants asked about race privilege or oppression, heterosexuals asked about sexual orientation privilege or oppression, and Christians asked about religious privilege or oppression. Additionally, Republicans who reported higher political affiliation oppression also reported higher belief in conspiracies. However, cisgender women who reported higher gender privilege reported higher belief in conspiracies. The same is true for atheists with higher perceived religious privilege and Black participants with higher perceived race privilege
The effects of TELPAS in the reclassification of long-term English learners
Full text linkThe purpose of the study was to examine the effect of the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) on the reclassification of long-term English Learners (LTELs). Through a mixed-methods approach, the research design consisted of a quantitative and qualitative section. The quantitative component of this study utilized archival data, including test scores and student demographic data from a purposeful sample of high school students in grades 9-11 who are identified as English learners (ELs) with more than six years in U.S. schools. The data were analyzed by the researcher using frequencies, percentages, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlations (r), and linear regression. The descriptive statistics revealed that of the 30 students that attained Meets or Masters on the STAAR English I or II End of Course (EOC), 0% met the reclassification status based on the student’s less than Advanced High proficiency levels on TELPAS. The quantitative findings also revealed a statistically significant relationship between TELPAS reading and STAAR English I or II EOC and that TELPAS reading scores effectively predict STAAR reading achievement. The qualitative component of the study purposefully selected students identified as LTELs to participate in the interviews. The participants’ responses were analyzed using a constant comparative approach and an inductive coding process.
Eight themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of this study: (a) student perceptions of the TELPAS, (b) student self-efficacy on language proficiency, (c) student perceptions of STAAR EOC and TELPAS, (d) attitudes towards TELPAS, (e) student experiences learning English, (f) student perceptions of program effectiveness, and (g) student self-efficacy on TELPAS readiness. This study highlights significant implications for ESL teachers, curriculum and instruction departments, campus administrators, and policymakers in identifying effective teaching practices and programming to improve performance on TELPAS and increase the number of LTELs meeting reclassification
An experimental therapy for opioid withdrawal syndrome
Full text linkThe ongoing opioid crisis in the United States needs alternative therapeutics. To explore the role of the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor in opioid physical dependence and withdrawal syndrome, morphine dependent rats were treated with pimavanserin, a highly selective 5-HT2A inverse agonist in current medical use. In experiment 1, rats were rendered morphine-dependent after seven days of continuous infusion at 0.6 mg/kg/hr. On the seventh day, morphine infusion ceased, and a day later, rats were injected with either 0.3 or 1.0 mg/kg pimavanserin or saline. A non-morphine dependent saline-infused control group received only saline. One hour post injection, rats were observed under blind conditions for somatically expressed behavioral withdrawal signs utilizing a validated observation checklist. Compared to morphine dependent/saline-injected rats, the non-dependent rats and both morphine-dependent pimavanserin dose groups exhibited significantly reduced withdrawal signs, p < .001, based on Tukey’s HSD test for non-independent pairwise comparisons. The higher pimavanserin dose (1.0 mg/kg) fully reversed the effect of morphine infusion on withdrawal signs, while the lower dose (0.3 mg/kg) largely reversed it. In experiment 2, utilizing only non-dependent/salineinfused rats, pimavanserin showed no significant effect on overall withdrawal signs.
Given pimavanserin’s high selectivity for the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, these findings indicate that the activity of this receptor plays a role in opioid physical dependence. These results suggest the need for further research on pimavanserin as a novel therapeutic for managing the aversive withdrawal symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal syndrome
An Examination of Non-Resident Students Versus Resident Students in Student Achievement, Student Attendance, and In-School Suspension Placements
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative study was to assess whether participation in an interdistrict program, a form of school choice, has any impact on student achievement, student attendance, and student in-school suspension (ISS) placements. A Multiple Linear Regression ANOVA was conducted with Algebra I and English I scores as the dependent variables. For Algebra I, the independent variables, resident/non-resident, student attendance, in-school suspension placement, and economically disadvantaged, were significant in predicting student scores while ethnicity was not significant. For English I, all the independent variables were significant in predicting student scores. However, given the lower R square values for both the Algebra I and English I Linear Regression ANOVAs, this model should not be used to predict the students Algebra I and English I scores
The Journey of Persistence: A Case Study of African American Men in Community College
No full textMost of the material on post-secondary Black males focuses on this group's lack of academic accomplishment. According to research, Black males have poorer levels of academic achievement, ranking at or near the bottom of most success measures such as enrollment, persistence, engagement, and attainment (de Brey et al., 2019; Same et al., 2018). However, much of the research on post-secondary Black males is deficit-based.
This study seeks to understand how this group believes their academic, social, and intrapersonal experiences have aided their persistence through community college. This qualitative study explored what motivates full-time, part-time, first-generation, second-generation, traditional, non-traditional, and working Black male students to persist toward an associate degree or certification. An Anti-deficit framework guided this study, emphasizing factors influencing persistence among Black men attending community college. The framework provided a counternarrative to the profusion of deficit-based literature on post-secondary Black males
Psychological Flexibility and Interconnected Transcendence: Associations with Well-Being and Prosocial Feelings and Behaviors
Full text linkPsychological flexibility is the construct that underlies Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes et al., 2012). Recent research has called for a greater understanding of psychological flexibility, suggesting that the intrapersonal nature of psychological flexibility may extend outward towards others as an interpersonal construct (Cherry et al., 2021; Doorley et a., 2020; Kashdan et al., 2020; Tyndall et al., 2019). Psychological flexibility appears to be associated with constructs such as quiet ego and self-transcendence, which posit a meta-awareness of the self, a reduction in the salience of the self, finding meaning in life, and resisting a pathological connection with the self (Ciarrochi et al., 2013; Wayment et al., 2014; Worth & Smith, 2021). Both theories of self-transcendence and quiet ego propose that an explicit focus on connectedness with others (e.g., people, animals, environment) while decreasing the salience of the self can lead to increased prosociality and well-being (Vago & Silbersweig, 2012; Wayment & Bauer, 2017). Given the proposed unique relationships among psychological flexibility, quiet ego, and self-transcendence, psychological flexibility may have distinct and underlying interconnectedness and interpersonal components that has been sparsely researched to this point. To investigate this, a correlational cross-sectional design was conducted to examine the relationships among psychological flexibility, quiet ego, and self-transcendence, as well as their relationship with measures of well-being and prosocial behavior. An analysis was conducted on data collected from three hundred and twelve adults through the Prolific survey service. We hypothesized that psychological flexibility would be moderately associated with constructs that promote reduced salience of self, an increased focus on connectedness with others, and prosocial feelings and behaviors. As hypothesized, psychological flexibility demonstrated moderate to strong relationships with constructs that have a significant interpersonal and interconnected component. This may suggest that psychological flexibility can extend beyond its intrapersonal focus and begin to be considered in the realm of interpersonal functioning. Lastly, these findings may suggest that psychological flexibility should be studied further in an interpersonal and interconnected context potentially leading to interpersonal treatment targets
Childhood Maltreatment and the Mediating Effects of Rumination on Trait Mindfulness and Executive Functions in College Students
No full textChildhood maltreatment has been associated with a myriad of challenges in later life, including difficulties related to cognitive processing, emotional regulation, social-behavioral functioning, and academic achievement (Becker-Blease & Kerig, 2016). The current study investigated how childhood maltreatment affects college students by examining the interrelationship of several important variables known to be associated with maltreatment: trait mindfulness, executive functioning, and rumination. Findings suggest that ruminative thoughts may have a mediating effect on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and trait mindfulness. Findings also suggest that ruminative thoughts may have a mediating effect on the relationship between childhood maltreatment and executive functions. These findings may be useful for colleges and universities in considerations for providing a tiered system of support for students with maltreatment histories who experience ruminative thoughts. Addressing ruminative thoughts may help improve important life functions of those students
Acceptance, Loss, and Death Attitudes
Full text linkThe awareness of mortality is undeniably emotion provoking. A person’s attitude toward death has a strong predictive impact on psychological wellbeing. Therefore, it is important to understand factors that shape these attitudes. The primary aim of this study was to explore the influence of exposure to death through human loss on death attitudes from an ACT framework. Specifically, the study sought to understand how characteristics of the loss (i.e., cause of death, relationship to deceased, relationship closeness) impact death attitudes. Data was collected from 226 individuals that have experienced a loss of another human. The survey utilized standardized measures including the Death Attitudes Profile-Revised, Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory, and Religious Commitment Inventory-10 to investigate differences in death attitudes across varying demographics (age, religion, SES) when considering characteristics of the loss and specific ACT processes. Correlation analyses revealed greater number of losses experienced to be associated with lower levels of fear and greater levels of acceptance toward death. Hierarchical regression analyses found age, traumatic losses, ACT processes (acceptance and values), and commitment to religion, to be significant predictors of neutral acceptance attitudes toward death. Additionally, age and acceptance were significant predictors of death avoidance. Results have implications for the importance of individuals to intentionally be mindful of mortality and engage with the death and dying process of significant others. Exposure to and active awareness of death will increase overall acceptance and mortality. Further, the present study hypothesizes ACT as a potential intervention for negative attitudes toward death and psychological disorders where negative death attitudes essentially contribute to the maintenance of the disorder