Search

The evidence that teacher preparation programs have an impact on teacher quality is often limited. Progress in research on this topic will remain rather limited in its influence on practice until more proximal measures of teacher education outcomes can be established. The dearth of variables to measure the impact of teacher preparation programs on teacher skills constitutes a measurement problem. As a part of a three year Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded project, the big picture motivating questions for the present study are as follows: (1) What is the best characterization of the dimensional structure of the core competencies (CC) survey?; and (2) How does the choice of dimensional structure change inferences about differences in quality among teacher preparation programs in Colorado? This study utilized data collected from all teacher preparation programs in Colorado. There are two groups of self-selected participants in this study: novice teachers in their first three years of teaching (graduates); and respondents just completing their preparation programs at the time of survey administration (candidates). A total of 648 graduates from 18 programs responded to at least some portion of the graduate survey, and a total of 355 candidates from 13 programs responded to at least some portion of the candidate survey. Both surveys were administered using the survey software Qualtrics via the internet. Three approaches are used for exploring dimensional structure: (1) exploratory factor analysis (EFA); (2) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); and (3) bi-factor analysis. Findings show the following: (1) on the basis of a purely exploratory approach, an argument can be advanced for collapsing CCs into an overall composite; (2) on the basis of a confirmatory approach, an argument can be advanced for reporting 8 dimensions; (3) the bi-factor approach can be seen as a compromise between the first two approaches; and (4) the consequence of decisions made about how to represent the dimensional structure of the instrument such that each different outcome measure lead to different results. Tables are appended.

The least squares distance method (LSDM) was used in a cognitive diagnostic analysis of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) items administered to 4,498 8th-grade students from seven geographical regions of Turkey, extending analysis of attributes from content to process and skill attributes. Logit item positions were compared between data for Turkey and the full international data. The Pearson correlation between item logit positions was r = 0.82, though several items were not invariant across the datasets. Results indicated that the majority of the TIMSS items were well explained by a set of 20 attributes (R[superscript 2] = 0.65). This study provides an extension of work by Dimitrov (2007) in use of LSDM in cognitive diagnostic analysis. An appendix contains The Content, Cognitive Process and Skill Attributes for the TIMSS-R (1999). (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)

Reviews of 227 comparative studies and 50 descriptive studies covering the time periods 1931-1999 and 1975-1999 respectively, revealed little change in response rates over time for postal mail surveys. Significant differences were found in comparative studies' response rates based on the academic area represented by the journal in which studies were published, with response rates higher for education and psychology journals than for business journals. Based on results of these reviews, as well as a review of textbook advice to researchers, it is recommended that the minimum standard for response rate vary by population accessed but be set at 50% for business surveys and 70% for surveys in education or psychology. (Contains 4 tables and 88 references.) (Author/SLD)

This study examined cognitive coaching conferences between 1994 and 1997 as teachers practiced their coaching skills. Participants were part of a 3-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The cognitive coaching process was used to provide teachers with support in implementing content standards. Coaches participating in the study audiotaped planning and reflecting conferences at least twice during the 3-year period. Thirty-three coaches were involved. Of these coaches, most were Anglo women, and most were elementary teachers. Audiotapes were transcribed and analyzed using the qualitative software, NUD*IST. Conferences for many coaches changed in character over the 3 years, with greater fluidity and thoughtfulness associated with later conferences. Not all teachers exhibited growth, however, and both conference length and word usage changed only slightly. Results overall support the idea that cognitive coaching can be useful in encouraging teachers to think beyond concrete, surface behaviors when planning instruction for their students. (Contains 23 references.) (Author/SM)

This study evaluated differences between persisters and nonpersisters in a 3-year teacher development program. Participants were K-12 teachers from a large school district with both urban and suburban schools. They were part of a grant to help teachers implement state content standards through cognitive coaching, nonverbal classroom management, and monthly dialogue groups. Teachers participated in either treatment or control groups, completing evaluations just before the training began in November 1994 and 10 months after the initial training in September 1995. The assessment measured personal empowerment, teacher efficacy, learner-centered beliefs, conceptual level as psychosocial variables, and school culture. It also examined satisfaction with teaching, satisfaction with current teaching position, and enthusiasm for teaching. Of the 230 treatment group participants, 61.7 percent persisted to project completion. Of the 195 comparison group teachers, 83.1 percent persisted to the final data collection. Few effects were found for personological, background, or school climate variables, with gender and school socioeconomic status being the exceptions. The primary source of differences between persisters and dropouts was in response to the treatment. Participants engaging more actively in the project were more likely to persist. Persistence was also a function of support of the school principal. (Contains 30 references and 10 tables.)

The link between resilience and peer friendship in certain high risk students is examined by describing the relationship between two measures: a measure of effective peer friendships completed by students and their parents (My Child's Friendships, B. Doll, 1993) and a second measure of resilient beliefs (Adolescent Resiliency Belief System, C. Jew and K. Green, 1995). Results from both measures are described for a population of 104 rural middle school students, all of whom were participants in an effective education program, the Wellness Project, intended to foster resilience. Results show the expected positive correlations between friendship competencies and optimistic beliefs. Students with more competent friendship qualities were also the students with optimistic beliefs about their competence in other domains. However, this relationship did not extend to parent ratings of student friendship competencies. The parent and student versions of the scale might be assessing somewhat different constructs. In addition, the correlation between the student form of the friendship survey and the resilience survey may be an artifact of their shared status as student self-report measures. Also, the reliability of both forms of the friendship scale and the resilience scale is not entirely satisfactory, so that the described relationships cannot be considered stable. (Contains 4 tables and 27 references.) (SLD)

The Resiliency Scale (C. Jew, 1992) is a recently developed measure intended to assess an individual's level of three facets of resiliency (optimism, skill acquisition, and risk-taking). Separate exploratory factor analyses with three diverse groups have led to definition of subscales bearing some similarities. In this study, items comparable across the three variations of the scale intended for use with three age groups (adults, 9th graders, 7-12th graders) were identified. This paper reports results of the attempt to explore the stability of the structure of resiliency across age groups as well as across gender. The ninth grade sample consisted of 408 students. Another sample consisted of 392 students in grades 7 through 12, and the third sample was 304 college students. A 17-item, 3-factor model was found to be at least partially invariant between the 9th grade and the 7-12th grade data sets. In addition, analyses suggested that the structure of the resiliency scale was dramatically different for females as compared to male respondents. Results are discussed in light of developmental and identity differences. An appendix lists the three factors. (Contains 2 tables and 27 references.) (Author/SLD)

Teachers in this study participated in a 3-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education Fund for Innovation in Education. The purpose of the grant was to provide teachers with support in implementing standards-based education. Both treatment and control groups of teachers received instruction in implementing standards-based education from the school district. Teachers in the treatment group also received training in cognitive coaching and coached each other monthly as they implemented the standards. In addition, they received training in nonverbal classroom management, which is a set of nonverbal techniques designed to help teachers decrease the time spent managing in order to increase time spent helping students achieve the standards. Thirty-six coaches received training to provide teachers with feedback on their classroom management skills. Finally, teachers in the project met in monthly dialogue groups across grade levels with teachers from other schools to discuss their implementation of standards. Teachers in the treatment group compared to teachers in the control group increased significantly in teaching efficacy and attitudes toward school culture. Based on these findings, this model appears to have promise for increasing teacher professionalism and efficacy and helping teachers to implement innovations. (Contains 89 references and 14 tables.) (Author/SM)

This study examines the personal empowerment and efficacy of teachers, relating these constructs to environmental characteristics in order to provide information for school counselors who are helping teachers in personal growth. The study also assesses the relationship to teacher conceptual level in order to determine its relationship to empowerment and efficacy. A group of 411 teachers completed a collection of scales and surveys in the spring of 1997. Multiple regressions were conducted for the Vincenz Empowerment Scale (Vincenz, 1990) with the School Culture Survey (Saphier, 1985), Teacher Efficacy Scale (Gibson and Dembo, 1984), Learner-Centered Battery (McCombs and Lauer, 1997), Standards-Based Implementation Survey (Seahorn, 1995), and Paragraph Completion Method (Hunt, Butler, Noy, and Rosser, 1978), as well as for satisfaction and age-related variables. Results indicate that empowerment is related at a low to moderate level to personal teaching efficacy, administrator professional treatment of teachers, reflective self-awareness, honoring of student voice, and satisfaction with teaching as a career. Strategies are presented for school counselors to use in helping teachers increase empowerment. (Contains 67 references.) (SM)

The purpose of this review was to look for trends across time in response rates and variables studied for published mail surveys and to compare response rates and variables studied for different target populations. Studies were identified in databases in four fields: education, psychology, business and marketing, and sociology. A total of 225 articles published between 1931 and the present were selected and classified according to population group and a number of survey characteristics. Mean response rates show a cyclical pattern, with the 5-year period with the highest response rate being 1956 through 1960. There was a decline for the following 10 years, with a rebound in 1971-75, followed by another drop and a rebound in 1986-90. Between 1991-95, the response rate was within one percent of the lowest mean percentage of any period studied. As journals lower their standards (response rate required) for publication, they might increase the number of articles accepted, and this may affect the mean response rate for the period. The overall response rate was affected by the disproportionate number of surveys of the general public. The study also suggests that more highly educated populations tend to have higher response rates. It was disappointing not to find a trend of increasing response rates as researchers learn more about the relative effectiveness of survey procedures. Why this should be so raises interesting research questions. (Contains 6 tables.) (SLD)

Experimental studies of response rates to mail surveys were reviewed and differences in response by population type were described. Cases were selected for review if they were experimental studies that manipulated a response enhancement factor. Results suggest significant differences in typical response rates for different populations. Higher response rates may be expected from surveys of customers and educators than from surveys of the general population. Results suggest few significant differences in effects of experimental treatment by population type, a result possibly due to limited sample sizes and thus low power for such analyses. One appendix lists the 22 studies reviewed, and the other presents treatment definitions and representations. (Contains 4 tables and 12 references.) (Author/SLD)

Barriers to doctoral dissertation completion were identified from a review of empirical studies of doctoral graduates and graduate students who had not completed a dissertation (ABD students) and reviews of components of doctoral persistence. The Dissertation Barriers Scale, comprising 45 items, was constructed and administered jointly with 2 validation measures, to samples of 142 graduates of a College of Education and 97 ABDs. Results suggest four subscales to explain item intercorrelations. They were labeled: (1) advisor/committee functioning, 11 items, alpha=0.82; (2) personal organization and skills, 9 items, alpha=0.81; (3) time management and external pressures, 12 items, alpha=0.81; and (4) research skills, 7 items, alpha=0.71. The remaining items formed unique factors and were deleted. Subscales significantly differentiated graduates and ABDs. Subscales also correlated significantly, though at low to moderate levels, with validation measures. Results suggest the Dissertation Barriers Scale to be useful in research of doctoral student persistence. (Contains 4 tables and 20 references.) (Author/SLD)

Teachers' attitudes play a critical role in the effectiveness of technology. The Technology Attitude Survey (TAS) was developed to assess teachers' attitudes toward the general use of technology as an educational tool in the classroom. Reliability and validity of the TAS were investigated. A small pilot study showed high reliability. Pretest and posttest data were then collected from 86 foreign language teachers participating in a training program on the use of technology to enhance foreign language instruction. A single underlying factor explained item intercorrelations. Reliability for the measure was high. Validity was supported by moderate correlations with the computer competency scale of the Teacher Effectiveness Scales. The TAS appears to be a reliable measure of teachers' attitudes toward technology. The Scale is attached. (Contains two tables and eight references.) (Author/SLD)

Meta-analysis, a way of cumulating the results of research studies, focuses on the magnitudes of effect sizes and seeks to explain effects through study characteristics. This meta-analysis used the methods developed by G. V. Glass to summarize the research on mail survey response rate manipulations. A narrative review using the same studies set the stage for this review and a related review using descriptive methods. Results will demonstrate the similarities and differences one may see in analyzing the same data in different ways, as well as indicating the effectiveness of treatments meant to enhance mail survey response rates. Studies were coded and repeated measure main effects were summarized, as were absolute mean differences between the two levels of the variables and the 95% absolute confidence intervals for the absolute differences. Results were clearcut in that treatments were either strong or far from significant. Primary findings suggest that class of postage, incentives (especially when enclosed), followup, precontact, personalization of the cover letter, personalization of postage, and sponsorship to be effective methods of inducing responses to mail surveys. Questionnaire length also has an effect on response rate. Found to be ineffective were use of anonymity, color, cover letter appeals, deadlines, personalization of labels, and the status of the sender. Appendixes give category codings and correlations among dependent variables. (Contains 10 tables and 19 references.) (SLD)

As individuals mature, they show increasing responsibility for events in their lives, but with variation in this form of maturation from one individual to another. These individual differences can be observed in doctoral candidates' activities associated with completion of the doctoral dissertation. The purpose of this study was to assess doctoral candidates' concepts of responsibility associated with dissertation completion, questioning who is perceived as responsible for different dissertation tasks and whether the student or the university should be responsible for these tasks. The developed scale, which uses a semantic differential format, was completed by 142 graduates and 97 nongraduates in a college of education. A factor analysis of the scale indicated two factors, a conclusion supported by a Rasch analysis. Some differences in attributed responsibility were noted between graduates and nongraduates with the nongraduates rating responsibility for tasks higher for university effort than student effort. A two-group discriminant analysis predicted a group membership of 78% of the subjects. The scale is useful for assessing attitudes of doctoral candidates in a college of education toward responsibility for dissertation tasks and for planning student advising based on these attitudes. An appendix contains the responsibility scale. (Contains 4 figures, 7 tables, and 11 references.) (Author/SLD)

Person fit statistics are generated when item response theory is used to construct measures. While person fit statistics are well grounded in theory, their utility in aggregate reporting of survey data has not been demonstrated. This study evaluated effects on reliability and validity of including and excluding misfitting person response patterns, using the Rasch model. The following mail survey data sets were used: (1) responses of 3,839 adults to a survey on the effects of the women's movement; (2) responses of 271 people to a survey on self-health care attitudes; (3) responses of 555 teachers to a survey about test use; (4) responses of 410 teachers to a survey about attitudes toward research; and (5) responses of 213 college students and graduates to a survey about dissertations. Omission of misfitting persons served to increase reliability for all data sets, but had inconsistent effects on validity coefficients. All effects were small. (Contains 3 tables and 21 references.) (Author/SLD)

Response patterns to the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) were analyzed for a sample of 203 Hispanic and 254 Anglo first- through fifth-grade children from a rural school district in southern Colorado. Gender distributions were nearly equal. Gender and ethnic differences were examined within the context of determining whether the CPM functioned in a similar manner across groups. The greatest differences in test structure were found between boys and girls, not between ethnic groups. Some performance differences were found between Anglo and Hispanic children, particularly with fourth- and fifth-grade girls. Results suggest that use of the CPM subtests may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying these gender and ethnic differences. One figure and eight tables are included. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/SLD)

The effects of two cover letter manipulations and their interactions with demographic variables on response to the initial mailing of a survey were investigated. The two manipulations, type of appeal and type of respondent group identification, were intended to affect respondents' perceptions of their social responsibility and position. In all, 599 replies were received from male (28 percent) and female (72 percent) teachers. Seventy-three percent were Anglo, with the remainder largely Hispanic. The appeal manipulation was appeal to the respondent's professional expertise or appeal to affiliation with a sample of teachers. No simple effects of either cover letter was found, although an interactive effect was found. Effects of gender and ethnicity on response rate were significant, with higher response rates for females and Anglos. Three tables present study data. An appendix lists the appeals made. (SLD)