College of Education
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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 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.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 Collaboration patterns as a function of article genre among mixed researchers: a mixed methods bibliometric study.(Macrothink (Journal of Educational Issues), 2017) Jordan, John; Wachsmann, Melanie; Hoisington, Susan; Gonzalez, Vanessa; Valle, Rachel; Lambert, Jarod; Aleisa, Majed; Wilcox, Rachael; Benge, Cindy L.; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J.Surprisingly, scant information exists regarding the collaboration patterns of mixed methods researchers. Thus, the purpose of this mixed methods bibliometric study was to examine (a) the distribution of the number of co-authors in articles published in the flagship mixed methods research journal (i.e., "Journal of Mixed Methods Research" ["JMMR"]) as a function of article genre (Quantitative Phase); (b) the relationship between the genre of articles published in "JMMR" and degree of collaboration in these articles (Quantitative Phase); (c) the difference between the number of authors in empirical research articles and non-empirical research articles published in "JMMR" (Quantitative Phase); and (d) select leading mixed methods researchers' collaboration experiences as a function of genre of article (Qualitative Phase). An analysis of all articles published in "JMMR" from 2007 (its inception) to 2015 (the latest complete year at the time that the study was conducted) revealed (a) a statistically significantly higher proportion of empirical research articles (63.2%) than non-empirical research articles (36.8%), (b) that empirical research articles were 1.4 times (95% confidence interval = 1.10, 1.78) more likely to involve multiple authors than were non-empirical research articles; and (c) that empirical research articles contained statistically significantly more authors than did non-empirical research articles. With respect to the qualitative phase, four themes (i.e., mental perception, mixed methods research, publication and research aids, and independent/group work) emerged regarding collaboration for empirical articles versus for non-empirical research articles. Implications of these findings are discussed.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 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 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 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 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 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 The quality inclusion process: Assuring the quality of inclusive practices for students with disabilities(National School Development Council (Catalyst for Change), 1997) Stockall, NancyItem Transforming Personalized Speech: Bridging the Worlds of Home, School, and Clinic for the Preschooler with Language Delays(Canadian Society for the Study of Education (Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l'éducation), 1995) Stockall, NancyTeachers and speech and language therapists worked with language-delayed and language-disordered preschoolers in a program to remediate communication problems (Haas, 1993). Despite these efforts, the children failed to demonstrate generalization of learned communicative strategies across settings. Only when professionals recognized and accepted the established communicative signs of the child's home were they able to collaborate with the mothers in transforming and creating new communication patterns that met the child's needs in a variety of settings and contexts. /// Dans le cadre d'un programme visant à remédier à des problèmes de communication (Haas, 1993), des enseignants et des orthophonistes ont travaillé avec des enfants d'âge scolaire aux prises avec des troubles du langage et des retards dans le développement du langage. En dépit de ces efforts, les enfants n'ont pas réussi à appliquer, d'une manière générale et dans des contextes différents, les stratégies de communication qu'ils avaient apprises. C'est seulement lorsque les praticiens ont reconnu et accepté les signes de communication établis au sein du foyer de l'enfant qu'ils ont pu collaborer avec les mères pour transformer les modes de communication existants et en créer de nouveaux qui puissent répondre aux besoins de l'enfant dans divers contextes.Item Uncovering Pre-Service Teacher Beliefs about Young Children: A Photographic Elicitation Methodology(Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc. (Issues in Educational Research), 2011) Stockall, NancyThis illustrative paper provides an introduction to using mixed qualitative methods of photo-elicitation, face to face interviews and semiotic analysis to uncover pre-service students' beliefs about young children. The researchers share their experience on conducting a study using photo-elicitation and engaging pre-service teachers in a discussion about their beliefs of young children. The researchers found that the photo elicitation technique was useful in getting in-depth interview data but that the conversations about the photos actually entrenched students' current beliefs about children rather than provoking doubt or reflective practice. The researchers suggest that Pierce's semiotic theory holds promise for changing beliefs of pre-service teachers through the creation of a dialectic (ie, a context of reconciliation of opposing beliefs). While photo-elicitation provides a richness of data, dialogue is not enough to actually induce change.Item Dark Side of the Trickster: Collaboration or Collusion?(Trinity University (Trickster's Way), 2002-04) Stockall, NancyItem The #acadv Community: Networked Practices, Professional Development, and Ongoing Knowledge Sharing in Advising(NACADA Journal, 2019) Pasquini, Laura A.; Eaton, Paul WilliamThe #acadv Twitter chat is an organic, online community of higher education academic advising professionals. Using a longitudinal study, we explored the way a self-directed learning network sustains ongoing professional development and knowledge sharing by examining the archives of 203 structured online discussions. In mapping the chat topics to published core competencies, we discovered that this advising community scaffolds on-demand learning for discussion of advising approaches and strategies, distribution of resources for supporting student success, collective sharing of personal advising philosophies, and encouragement to engage in reflective assessment about advising practice. Community members are motivated to contribute to networked practice to enhance professional development activities, share open educational practices, and support advising competency development in an occupational community of practice.Item Team Performance Pay and Motivation Theory: A Mixed Methods Study(The Journal of Research in Education, 2013) Wells, Pamela; Combs, Julie P.; Bustamante, R. 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 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, R. M.; Edmonson, Stacey 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 Higher education as a human right: Comparing early college approaches to university access for racial minority students in Costa Rica and the United States(Current Issues in Education, 2015) McAlister-Shields, L.; Bustamante, R. M.Despite the United Nations emphasis on Education as a human right for all world citizens, access to higher education by students representing traditionally marginalized racial minority groups, particularly those of African descent, continue to be a challenge in many nations. In Costa Rica and the United States, early college high schools represent one approach to facilitating college going and retention rates of racial minority students by enhancing college readiness skills and dispositions. Demographic profiles of African Americans and Afro-Costaricans, as well as an overview of the educational systems in both countries, provide an important backdrop to the comparative description of early college high schools. Strengths and challenges of each approach are presented. Emerging concerns also are outlined for further research on the demographic reporting of Afro-Costaricans as well as the need for further studies on the role of early college high schools in enhancing university access and college success in various nations.Item The Competency-Based Movement in Student Affairs: Implications for Curriculum and Professional Development(Journal of College Student Development, 2016) Eaton, Paul WilliamThis paper examines the limitations and possibilities of the emerging competency-based movement in Student Affairs. Utilizing complexity theory and postmodern educational theory as guiding frameworks, examination of the competency-based movement will raise questions about over-application of competencies in graduate preparation programs and continuing professional development, particularly in relation to complexity reduction. Following this discussion, possibilities of utilizing the Student Affairs Competencies to increase complexity and create postmodern curricula will be examined.Item We Need To Talk: Digital Practices & Ethics in Our Profession(2018 ACPA Convention, 2018-03-12) Eaton, Paul W.; Pasquini, Laura A.; Ahlquist, JosieAs Student Affairs educators leverage technology for professional practice, we have failed to discuss how our digital lives intersect with our work lives. This competency-based, case study guide is designed to facilitate conversations about expectations and realities of what it means to be a professional online. To help you discuss ways to support digital-ethical professional practice in higher education, we have identified a few scenarios to discuss and develop a positive culture online. We encourage your to start an open dialogue on these issues and identify potential solutions to address unwanted interactions and inappropriate behaviors in professional online networks. Please feel free to bring these case studies back to your campus and/or graduate programs to continue the conversations. This resource is shared with the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0