The LAIR at East Texas A&M
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A Comparative Study of Texas–Mexico Border vs. Non-Border Students’ Achievement on High-Stakes State Test: A Propensity Score Matching Method
No full textTexas–Mexico border region is a unique place where two countries and culture connected. We sought to investigate border school district students’ academic performance as measured by Texas standardized test: the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). To do so, we first used propensity score matching (PSM) techniques to analyze data collected from a public database: Texas Assessment Management System (TAMS). Specifically, we provided a PSM analysis of nonborder and border school districts regarding their demographic characteristics [i.e., identified as a rural district, percentage of economically disadvantaged (ED) students, percentage of English learners (ELs), mobility rate, instructional hours, principal experience, teacher experience, teacher–student ratio, and teacher turnover rate]. Then, multiple regression analyses were conducted to compare Texas border and non-border school students’ reading, math, and science achievements, respectively, based on a matching sample with control for demographic variables. The results of the current study indicate that no significant difference was found between border and non-border school districts, regarding students’ academic performance in reading, math, and science, when districts were matched and demographic characteristics were controlled. We further found that demographic variables, such as percent of ED students, principal experience, and teacher turnover rate, significantly impact students’ academic achievement. Such findings have suggested that the achievement gap between border and non-border districts can be closed if extra support can be provided to ED students, and funding could be allocated in border districts to maintain experienced principals and teachers
Prestressed Steel-Concrete Composite I-Beams with Single and Double Corrugated Web
No full textComposite steel girders with concrete have been used for many years and advances in structural and fabrication technology have established their optimization. One of the changes in structural steel I-beams during the past few years has been the availability of web corrugation. The economic design of steel girders normally requires thin webs. Moreover, using externally prestressed tendons as a strengthening technique controls deflections and stresses. However, this strengthening technique causes shear buckling of the steel beams. In this study, the flexural behavior of externally prestressed composite steel-concrete I-beams with a single and double corrugated web was experimentally and numerically investigated. Three simply supported prestressed steel-concrete composite I-beams with single corrugated web (SCW) and double corrugated web (DCW) were tested under four-point loading. The tested beams were externally prestressed by using straight tendons along the full length. The experimental results showed that using SCW was more efficient in shear buckling resistance than DCW with the same equivalent web thickness. The ABAQUAS package was used to simulate the nonlinear behavior of the tested beams. The developed model was validated against the experimental results to carry out a parametric study in order to investigate the effect of various parameters on the behavior of the composite beams with SCW and DCW. Using stiffeners at the loading points as deviators to maintain the prestressed tendon positions increased the beam capacity and improved the beam performance
Principals\u27 Perceptions of Leadership Practices that Lead to Academic Success in Suburban Schools: An Interpretive Qualitative Research Study
No full textThis interpretive qualitative study was designed to explore three middle school principals’ use of transformational leadership practices that improve students’ academic success outcomes. An interpretive qualitative research study seeks to view the world from participants’ perspectives—seeing the world through their eyes to inform the experiences and views operating in their lives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In seeking to view principals’ perceptions of transformational leadership, a broad range of historical leadership and peer-reviewed research practices was highlighted. However, information on how transformational leadership, from a principal’s perception, affects their academic practices in suburban middle schools was limited. The historical perspective of the effective schools research (ESR) movement has proven to be a valid template for transformative change and improvement in schools today. Past and present studies about transformational leadership are captured in the evolving history, exploring the effect on student learning, school and community engagement, and culture. In addition, this scholarly research illuminates the leadership factors and domains of transformational leadership practices, focusing on principals’ perceptions through their experiences. This research was conducted using an interpretive qualitative design to address the central phenomenon of transformational leadership from principals’ perceptions of leadership practices that lead to academic success. For this interpretive qualitative design, the Zoom platform was used to conduct one-on-one interviews; transcribed notes, and audio recordings with three principals using semi-structured open-ended questions relating to their experiences and behavioral systems of leadership effectiveness in suburban middle schools were analyzed to develop findings and conclusions
A Case Study: Women of Color Advancement to Senior-Level Leadership at Higher Education Institutions
No full textThe purpose of this research was to explore how the intersection of gender and raceinfluence the advancement of women of color to senior-level leadership positions at higher education institutions. This study discusses perceptions and perspectives on advancement and a variation of obstacles that continue to prohibit and limit opportunities for women of color. It also examines effective strategies women of color utilize and find most helpful in navigating institutional practices and ingrained biases that work in tandem to limit advancement for women of color. The researcher developed an in-depth analysis of women of color with senior-level rankings operating within a public university system. This study represents a single-case study at a public university. Using Pratt-Clarke’s (2010) transdisciplinary applied social justice model power domains as the theoretical framework, the analysis was informed through exploratory tools such as intersectionality, theory of gendered organizations, and critical race theory
Examining Differences in Social and Emotional Learning Program Implementation at an Urban Title I District
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative study was to examine differences in perceived SEL implementation levels across different campus levels (elementary and secondary) when SEL professional development and coaching support were provided to campus staff. A causal-comparative research designed utilized survey data previously collected to examine differences between elementary and secondary school groupings perceived SEL implementation. Data were analyzed using SPSS software to report the frequencies, means, and standard deviations. An independent samples t-test was used to answer each research question
Achieving Communicative Competence in Students of Foreign Languages in Virtual Learning Environments: A Meta-Analysis
No full textThe purpose of this quantitative, meta-analysis was to discover what differences in effect size exist among strategies used in face-to-face settings and/or digital teaching and learning platforms to achieve communicative competence in foreign language learners. After strategies with the largest effect sizes were identified, results were synthesized to describe which practices were better suited to provide comprehensive, standards-aligned curricula in digital learning environments. The assessments used to measure students’ competency in their second language (L2) were also examined. To provide a backdrop for this investigation, the history of foreign language teaching in the U.S. was surveyed, and the political and social influences that shaped the pedagogy of each time period were discussed. Other critical components, such as face-to-face and digital learning environments, approaches to virtual learning, and curriculum design models were compared. Finally, assessment and evaluation standards that can be universally upheld in virtual, foreign language courses to create uniformity from one program to the next were presented. The results suggested that individual practice as a teaching and learning strategy had a statistically significant impact on student assessment outcomes. It also revealed other needed ingredients for developing communicative competence in foreign language learners. Lastly, recommendations for teachers and other course designers hoping to develop effective curriculum and assessment practices in virtual, foreign learning environments were made
Factors That May Predict Parental Self-Efficacy of Setting Screen Time Limits
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether specific factors contributed to an increase in parental self-efficacy setting screen time limitations among adolescents. More specifically, the goals were to examine which factors played a role in increasing parental self-efficacy in setting screen time limitations with adolescents. An online survey with demographic questions and the Parenting Scale was used to address the following research question: Do gender, education, and elements from The Parenting Scale (laxness, overreactivity, and verbosity) predict parental self-efficacy in setting screen time limitations among adolescents? The hypothesis includes the following: H1o = There is no statistical significance between independent variables of interest (e.g., PS and demographic questionnaire) and the binary criterion. H11 = There is a statistical significance between independent variables of interest (PS and demographic questionnaire) and the binary criterion. While there were no statistically significant findings, this study adds to the literature on parental self-efficacy in setting screen time limits with adolescents
Investigating the Characteristics of Grades K-3 Teachers Resistant to Literacy Coaching Support
No full textThe purpose of the study was to identify characteristics of teachers who were receptive or resistant to coaching. The study investigated how teachers’ perceptions of their literacy coaches’ support compared to coaches’ perceptions of the support they provided to teachers. Teachers’ reasons for resisting literacy coaching were examined as well as teachers’ suggestions for improving literacy coach support. In January 2023, eight coaches employed in the studied district and approximately 125 teachers working at elementary schools served by the coaches were invited to take a survey. The final study participants consisted of 7 literacy coaches (88%) and 43 kindergarten through third grade teachers (34%). There were two surveys with corresponding questions, one for teachers and one for literacy coaches. The Coaching Evaluation Survey - Revised (Castillo et al., 2010) was the original survey used with some modifications. Mean scores for the three survey factors, Role, Function, and Activities; Jim Knight Coaching Cycle; and Interpersonal/Communication Skills, were reported and compared for teachers and coaches. Survey responses were used to identify teachers resistant to coaching. There were 9 teachers identified as resistant to coaching and 34 that were receptive. Receptive teachers were more likely to be 40-49 years of age, while resistant teachers were more likely to be 50 years old or older. The greatest percentage of receptive teachers had 5 years or less of teaching experience, while the majority of resistant teachers had 6 to 10 years teaching experience. None were new teachers. Both receptive and resistant teachers wanted their coach to provide teaching tools, strategies, activities, attend campus meetings, and use data to guide instruction. They wanted coaches to conduct more observations and provide specific feedback and model lessons in the classroom, as well as build relationships and trust with teachers, have realistic expectations, and recognize others’ teachers’ knowledge. Teachers would like coaching programs that are personalized, collaborative, and experiential in nature and eventually leading to more effective teacher practice and improved student academic success
The Necessity for Affirmative Therapy Training: Initial Development and Validation of the Stillwell Affirmative Counseling Competency Scale
No full textSexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) minorities continue to experience significant mental health disparities, making them two to four times more likely to present for counseling. Although Affirmative Therapy is the best practice per research findings, counselor education rarely incorporates this training, and counselors report feeling under-prepared to serve this population. There is no current measure to determine whether counselors increase their competency post-training for the few counselor education programs that train on Affirmative Therapy. Therefore, this study aims to create the Stillwell Affirmative Counseling Competency Scale (SACCS) to be utilized by Affirmative Therapy training programs that will measure a clinician’s competency based on the Society for Sexual Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE) Competencies. This study was conducted in multiple stages, utilizing a quantitative research method throughout the scale development. The steps followed Devillis and Thorpe’s scale development model: (A) creating a large pool of potential items based on the two competencies outlined by SAIGE, (B) item review by subject-matter experts to establish content validity and reduce the items in the scale, and (C) a pilot study of the SACCS and utilizing an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to understand the underlying factor structure and assess for convergent and divergent validity
The Rashomon Effect: Appropriations of Akira Kurosawa’s Cinematic Technique in Recent Cinema
No full textWhen examining the work of director Brian De Palma, most scholars have noted how many of his films openly imitate or even steal narrative elements from the work of Alfred Hitchcock (Obsession (1976), Body Double (1984), and Raising Cain (1992)). Other critics have focused on the autobiographical components De Palma has included in many of his works. Many of De Palma’s films reference his childhood sibling rivalry, his inability to adequately look after his brother, his surgeon father whose openness to exposing his son to his medical work traumatized him greatly, and catching his adulterous father on film. While critics have traced the autobiographical and Hitchcockian influences embedded in De Palma’s work, critics have failed to examine how director Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon (1950) and the Rashomon Effect have influenced many of De Palma’s film narratives. This dissertation employs a formalist method of analysis to examine the various structural and philosophical aspects director Brian De Palma has appropriated from Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950), and especially the Rashomon Effect, for use in his own films: Blow Out (1981), Snake Eyes (1998), and Femme Fatale (2002). These three films serve as case studies meant to illuminate De Palma’s penchant for appropriating cinematic techniques from other directors