Combs, Julie
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/4611
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Browsing Combs, Julie by Author "Combs, Julie P."
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Item Academic Achievement for Fifth-Grade Students in Elementary and Intermediate School Settings: Grade Span Configurations(Current Issues in Education, 2011) Combs, Julie P.; Clark, David M; Moore, George W.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony K.; Edmonson, Stacy L.; Slate, John R.Few researchers have addressed student achievement outcomes as a function of grade span configurations for older elementary-aged students. Thus, this study was designed to determine differences between students’ Grade 5 reading and mathematics achievement in elementary schools (K–5) as compared to intermediate schools (Grade 5, 5–6) for 5 academic years. Using archival statewide data, researchers used a rigorous five-step distance-based formula to match elementary schools to intermediate schools on four demographic/school characteristic variables. Students in K-5 settings attained statistically significantly higher levels of reading and mathematics achievement than did their counterparts, with moderate mean effect sizes of 0.37 and 0.47, respectively.Item Data Analysis in Mixed Research: A Primer(International Journal of Education, 2011-04) Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Combs, Julie P.The purpose of this methodological article is to provide a primer for conducting a mixed analysis—the term used for analyzing data in mixed research. Broadly speaking, a mixed analysis involves using quantitative and quantitative data analysis techniques within the same study. In particular, a heuristic example using real data from a published study entitled “Perceptions of Barriers to Reading Empirical Literature: A Mixed Analysis” (Benge, Onwuegbuzie, Burgess, & Mallette, 2010) is used with the aid of screenshots to illustrate how a researcher can conduct a quantitative dominant mixed analysis, wherein the quantitative analysis component is given higher priority and qualitative data and analysis is incorporated to increase understanding of the underlying phenomenon.Item Describing and Illustrating Data Analysis in Mixed Research(International Journal of Education, 2010) Combs, Julie P.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.In this methodological paper, the authors propose a tool that brings together various quantitative and qualitative data analysis (i.e., mixed analysis) techniques into one meta-framework to assist mixed researchers (who use qualitative and quantitative approaches within the same study) in the data analysis phase of mixed research studies. A meta-framework for mixed analysis techniques is described, which incorporates 13 criteria that methodologists have used to create their mixed analysis typologies. In particular, a heuristic example is used with the aid of screenshots to illustrate how one can utilize several of these data analysis techniques to conduct mixed analyses.Item An Exemplar for Teaching and Learning Qualitative Research(The Qualitative Report, 2012) Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Leech, Nancy L.; Slate, John R.; Stark, Marcella; Sharma, Bipin; Frels, Rebecca; Harris, Kristin; Combs, Julie P.In this article, we outline a course wherein the instructors teach students how to conduct rigorous qualitative research. We discuss the four major distinct, but overlapping, phases of the course: conceptual/theoretical, technical, applied, and emergent scholar. Students write several qualitative reports, called qualitative notebooks, which involve data that they collect (via three different types of interviews), analyze (using nine qualitative analysis techniques via qualitative software), and interpret. Each notebook is edited by the instructors to help them improve the quality of subsequent notebook reports. Finally, we advocate asking students who have previously taken this course to team-teach future courses. We hope that our exemplar for teaching and learning qualitative research will be useful for teachers and students alike.Item Hispanic Student Access to Advanced Placement Courses(Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, 2011) Borg, Susan; Combs, Julie P.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.This qualitative, collective case study describes the perceptions of academically successful Hispanic students regarding their access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses in 4 suburban Texas high schools. A multistage, purposeful sampling scheme was used to select 28 participants for 4 focus groups. Six participants from the focus groups participated in interviews. The conceptual framework focused on Coleman’s (1988) theory of social capital. Classical content analysis revealed 4 major themes: (a) future, (b) course placement, (c) educational work ethic, and (d) relationships. The theme of relationships varied the most with discussion of the value of relationships with counselors, peers, parents, teachers, and other family members. Participants had both positive and negative experiences with two subcategories, counselors and teachers, who influenced their opinions about their placement in courses. Implications for researchers and practitioners are provided.Item Math and Reading Differences Between 6-8 and K-8 Grade Span Configurations: A Multiyear, Statewide Analysis(Current Issues in Education, 2013-08-15) Clark, David M; Slate, John R.; Combs, Julie P.; Moore, George W.We analyzed the effect of grade span configurations (i.e., 6-8 versus K-8) on reading and math performance in Texas public schools for the last 5 school years. Participants in this study were 628 Texas schools (i.e., 314 middle schools and 314 K-8 schools) distributed across the 5 school years examined. Schools configured as K-8 schools were matched to middle schools using a rigorous distance-based formula. All 15 reading comparisons (i.e., grade level by school year) yielded statistically significant results, with effect sizes ranging from small to large. Eleven of the 15 math comparisons yielded statistically significant results, with all of the effect sizes being small. Regardless of student grade level or school year examined, students who were enrolled in K-8 schools had higher average passing rates on the TAKS Reading and Math assessments than did students enrolled in middle schools. Implications of our findings are discussed.Item Relationships among Attitudes, Coping Strategies, and Achievement in Doctoral-Level Statistics Courses: A Mixed Research Study(International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 2012) Combs, Julie P.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.Because of the important role that attitudes toward statistics and motivation have played in statistics courses, Ramirez, Emmioglu, and Schau (2010) recently conceptualized that Eccles and Wigfield’s (2002) Expectancy-Value Model (EVM) is applicable for students enrolled in statistics courses. However, to date, the applicability of the EVM for understanding students’ attitudes toward statistics has not been tested empirically. Thus, the purpose of this mixed research study was twofold: (a) to build on Ramirez et al.’s (2010) conceptualization by testing the EVM as a viable framework for understanding the statistics learning context; and (b) to examine the role that coping strategies play within the EVM framework by exploring interrelationships among attitudes, coping strategies, and statistics achievement. A qualitative-dominant mixed research design was used. Specifically, 18 doctoral students who had recently taken a statistics class participated in three in-depth focus groups. The ensuing qualitative data were supplemented by quantitative data via scores from a measure of coping strategies used in statistics courses that was administered to all participants. The qualitative and quantitative data provided strong support for the EVM. Moreover, the emergence of five coping strategies themes suggested the appropriateness of expanding the EVM to a more solution-focused model, namely, the Expectancy-Value Coping Strategies (EVCS) model, wherein coping strategies mediate the relationship between statistics attitudes and statistics achievement.Item Research Courses in Education Leadership Programs: Relevance in an Era of Accountability(International Journal of Education Policy & Leadership, 2011-05) Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Combs, Julie P.Master’s degree research course offerings of 72 university education leadership programs were examined to explore how relevant the courses were to the inquiry needs of practicing school leaders. Research course titles and descriptions were analyzed using content analysis. Findings revealed considerable variation in research course requirements, course titles, and course descriptions. Analysis of course descriptions indicated minimal emphasis on the research skills required for school improvement. Results also suggested a lack of consensus on the importance of developing research skills for school leaders across university education leadership programs. Implications for education leadership preparation programs are discussed with an emphasis on the need for further studies on the research skills required by practicing school leaders.Item School Size and Incidents of Violence among Texas Middle Schools(Journal of Educational Issues, 2015) Kohler, Elizabeth A.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.; Combs, Julie P.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.; Edmonson, Stacy L.Although many studies have been conducted regarding (a) school violence in middle schools and (b) the size of schools, to date, no researcher appears to have examined the role that the size of the middle school plays in determining incidents of violence specifically fighting, assaults, and aggravated assaults. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the incidents of school violence, specifically fighting, assaults, and aggravated assaults, and the size of middle schools in the state of Texas for 3 school years. All 842 middle schools in Texas were included in this study. Compared to small schools, medium schools, and large schools, very small schools had a statistically significantly lower proportion of students involved in assaults, proportion of students involved in aggravated assaults, proportion of incidents of assaults, and proportion of incidents of aggravated assaults. Further, very small schools had a statistically significantly lower proportion of students involved in fights and proportion of incidents of fights than did large schools. A trend emerged across the 4 school sizes for all 6 indicators of school violence, which, in every case, reflected a sharp increase from very small schools to small schools—peaking at small schools. Thus, very small schools appear to be at a greater advantage than are other types of schools with respect to incidents of school violence. Implications of the findings are discussed.Item Team Performance Pay and Motivation Theory: A Mixed Methods Study(The Journal of Research in Education, 2013) Wells, Pamela; Combs, Julie P.; Bustamante, Rebecca M.This study was conducted to explore teachers’ perceptions of a team performance pay program in a large suburban school district through the lens of motivation theories. Mixed data analysis was used to analyze teacher responses from two archival questionnaires (Year 1, n = 368; Year 2, n = 649). Responses from teachers who participated in the team pay performance system reflected high levels of expectancy. Results were mixed for teachers’ perceptions of equity. Some teachers expressed concerns related to distributive justice and procedural justice of the performance pay process. Implications for researchers and practicing educators are discussed.Item University-based Principal Preparation Programs in Texas in 2019: Where is Special Education?(School Leadership Review, 2021) Lê, Ann Hoa; Combs, Julie P.Most principal training programs in the United States focus very little on preparing aspiring instructional leaders to lead programs for students with disabilities. An examination of principal preparation programs and their SPED components is necessary at a time when standards have been revised and new certification exams have been constructed in Texas. To explore the presence of SPED topics in principal certification courses, we used a classical content analysis with a group of university-based principal preparation programs. Almost half of the universities in our study required 18 semester hours or fewer for principal certification, and none of these had course titles specific to SPED. Implications for supporting new principals in practice are provided.