Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Socialization experiences of STEM international graduate students at American public research universities: a multivariate analysis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Johnson, Catherine Mary; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. MyersSTEM international graduate students encounter unique challenges at American public research universities. One of these challenges relates to the cultural isolation international graduate students face as they traverse American higher education (Lee & Rice, 2007). Factors found influential to international students' persistence include the faculty advisor and advisee relationship (Rice et al., 2009), peer interactions (Rose- Redwood & Rose-Redwood, 2013), and identity formation (Gomes & Tran, 2017; Phelps, 2016). As a multiple regression study, the research questions were designed to determine the extent international graduate students' faculty mentor and peer relationships, cultural congruity, and identity prominence influence intercultural relevancy as parts of the socialization process (Kuh & Love, 2001; Museus & Quaye, 2009). Over a thousand international graduate students from 12 research universities participated in the Graduate Student Experiences survey; an NSF funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate project. The final analytical sample (n = 953) was analyzed using ordinary least squares regression. The first set of results indicated that mentor's cultural support, peer interactions, social and professional identity prominence had significant positive effects on international graduate students' cultural integrity in STEM. The second set of models indicated that mentors' cultural support, peer interactions, cultural congruity, social and professional identity prominence were positively associated with levels of international graduate students' connections with cultural representatives. These findings suggest faculty mentor's cultural support, peer interactions, social and professional identity are important for developing intercultural relevancy within international graduate students at American public research universities. More importantly, students' perceptions of intercultural relevancy differ across groups. This study contributes to the research on graduate education in several ways. First this study provides a quantitative look at international graduates' experiences in the U.S. The contribution of this study is the use of data from a nationally administered graduate student experiences survey at 12 institutions that included newly developed measures of intercultural relevancy in STEM, identity prominence, and mentor interaction. Measures of intercultural effort provide another way to interpret graduate student socialization. The empirical findings add to the growing body of literature on graduate education, international students.Item The relationship of formal reasoning, motivation, and conceptual change: a quantitative study of introductory biology students across the United States(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2018) Bernard, Romola Alaica; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. Myers; Steven Kalinowski (co-chair)There is a noticeable disconnect between conceptual change research carried out in different domains of knowledge. This is starkly apparent in the divide between theoretical models of conceptual change stemming from cognitive and educational psychology, and empirical studies on conceptual change rooted in science education. This study operationalized models of conceptual change that accounted for the rational aspect of conceptual change that dominates in the natural sciences, and the extrarational aspects of conceptual change that are focal in the social sciences. Mixed effects models of conceptual change were investigated. In addition to prior knowledge, formal reasoning ability was incorporated as a critical rational aspect of conceptual change. Academic motivation, plus the teaching and learning environment students experience were included as essential extrarational aspects of conceptual change. The final operational model of conceptual change has post-instruction score as the response variable, and pre-instruction score, formal reasoning ability, intrinsic motivation, representation of racial group in science, teacher experience, and teaching practice as the most important predictors of conceptual change. Prior knowledge and formal reasoning ability are by far the strongest predictors of improving post-instruction conceptual understanding of evolution by natural selection for introductory biology students. There are two noteworthy findings. One, a crucial student characteristic, formal reasoning ability, has been ignored in conceptual change research. When formal reasoning ability is included as a predictor, self-efficacy is not at all important in predicting conceptual change. Two, another student characteristic, race, plays an important role in predicting conceptual change.Item Beginning band instrument selection preferences and performance scores over time(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Quinones, Joseph Ramon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Kristin Harney; Nick Lux (co-chair)This quantitative study examines the process of guiding students in beginning band instrument selection at Monforton Middle School, in Bozeman, MT. Data from 46 students was collected to identify if correlations exist between students initial instrument tone production and preference ratings and the students' performance throughout the first 15 months of playing the instrument they selected. Data for this study was collected through instrument tryout forms prior to students selecting and instrument and playing assessment rubrics for each of the 12 playing assessments, all of which were requirements of beginning band class. While data did not suggest that stronger initial tone production and preference ratings correlated with higher scores on playing assessments, there is evidence to suggest the overall instrument selection process was beneficial in guiding students to select an instrument that is well suited to them, as students, on average, scored 82% on their playing assessments. Further research to better prove the effectiveness would likely require a control group of students not receiving guidance in the instrument selection process; this would likely not be possible because student education would be inhibited through the lack of guidance.Item The internal vertical transfer phenomenon: an exploration of the lived experiences and perceptions of internal transfer students from an embedded two-year institution(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Morley, Michelle Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bryce HughesExisting literature focuses on external transfer students, transitioning from community colleges to a new and separate four-year college and understanding the transfer process and transfer student success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological inquiry was the examination of the intricacies of the transfer process between a two-year embedded institution to the parent four-year institution and how internal transfer students navigate the transfer process towards successful baccalaureate degree completion. Three research questions guided this study -- (1) How do internal transfer students who started at a two-year college within a regional public institution describe their transfer experiences to their four-year programs? (2) How do transfer experiences differ between students who selected to start at the two-year institution and those who intended to start at the four-year level but were placed into the two-year program? (3) What do internal transfer students believe the institution should do to support their retention? Utilizing an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 internal transfer students enrolled in four-year programs. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. Phase one involved transcribing the interviews. Phase two consisted of a two-part coding process. Open coding identified areas of comparisons and led to the development of a broad set of codes. In the second phase, the theoretical frameworks of Schlossberg's Transition Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory were applied during the axial coding process. Six themes emerged: Sense of Agency; Sense of Identity; Paying for College; Institutional Supports; Institutional Procedures; and Building Transfer Capital. Results indicate internal transfer students often face challenges similar to external transfer students. Of particular interest were the differences in experiences between the participants who were placed at the two-year college and those who chose to begin at the two-year college. The participants who chose to begin at the two-year college described greater difficulty identifying as students of the parent campus whereas the participants who were placed at the two-year college identified as students of the parent campus from the time they began at the two-year college. Institutional recommendations focused on faculty engagement and advising experiences are provided.Item The 2011 Dear Colleague letter: a quantitative analysis of Title IX's impact on sexual violence management(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Aderholdt, William David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sweeney WindchiefThis is a nationwide policy analysis of the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - a policy which changed how institutions of education responded to reports of sexual violence. Due to the substantial requirements placed on institutions of higher education as a result of this guidance, there is a need to determine how the policy has impacted the management of sexual violence. To accomplish this, Clery Act data from 2001-2017 were collected from 3,634 institutions of higher education from throughout the United States. Uniform Crime Data, a national crime database, was used as a comparison to determine if any changes to reporting rates were also present in the general population of the United States. The Integrated Postsecondary Data System, a database comparing institutions of higher education, was used to determine if institution characteristics (degree program, sector, residential classification, and size) changed how the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter impacted the management of sexual violence. The datasets were analyzed using single- and multiple-group interrupted time-series analysis. The results of this examination found the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter increased reports of sexual violence through the Clery Act by 350%. Three primary conclusions of this study include: 1) The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter caused a significant increase in the management of sexual violence by institutions of higher education; 2) This increase was not due to an increase in reporting by the general population; and 3) Institutions of higher education implemented the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter guidance despite unique characteristics; however, there existed significant differences between these groups.Item Aesthetics thinking(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Home Gun, Melanie Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Priscilla LundThis mixed-methods phenomenological study explores aesthetic education and the visual arts as an intervention for students who have learning disabilities to enhance reading as measured by standardized test scores, self-concept scores, and through interviews that investigate students' self-esteem, self-concept, motivation, and self- efficacy. Participants range between the ages of 10 and 11 and are in grades four and five. The study investigated seven children's feelings about themselves and towards reading before and after the intervention. The research study is aimed to determine whether using the visual arts and an aesthetic education intervention in reading helps children with learning disabilities read more effectively by having the opportunity to express themselves artistically. Moreover, the visual arts and the use of an aesthetic education in the core curriculum is not readily available for children in the elementary grades in most public schools in the United States. The focus of this study is on children in a small rural town in North Eastern Montana of mixed demographics and socio-economic status. While not intended to be an exhaustive literature review, this research highlights important findings that correlate aesthetic education and the visual arts with reading acquisition within this small and rural community of children with learning disabilities. Further, the study explores self-concept through the authentic expression of individuals and the phenomenon and lived experiences from the intervention of their cohort. From this research, I hope that educators and policymakers will reconsider how aesthetic education and the visual arts can influence educational practices and policies and use the arts in the public schools again as part of a core curriculum.Item The motif of meeting: a content analysis of multi-voiced young adult novels(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Stolp, Susan Hardy; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Joyce Herbeck; Ann Ewbank (co-chair)The purpose of this study was to discover, through content analysis, polyphonic narrative strategies used in a small sample of multi-voiced young adult novels. The objective was to trace the paths of the individual narrators toward eventual meeting with or understanding of each other, looking for trends, commonalities, and unique qualities that characterize the polyphonic fugue described by McCallum (1999) and Bakhtin (1981). I envisioned these points of meeting as Bahktin's (1981) units of narrative analysis known as the chronotope, perfect alignments in time and space, functioning as connectors among strands within multi-voiced narratives. In Vivo Coding, springing from the actual language of participants, and Emotion Coding, making inferences about narrators' subjective experiences, were the guiding qualitative methodologies used in this content analysis. The combination of In Vivo and Emotion Codes provided the data that was used to analyze and interpret narrators' emotional journeys as well as their interactions with one another. The content analysis revealed a complexity of emotions among the ten individual narrators from the three novels studied. Patterns in their emotional journeys were determined and displayed using artistic representation. Points of meeting between and among narrators proved to be the impetus for individual change and growth. In terms of the fugue, the voices are independent of one another but also have shape and meaning in conjunction with one another (McCallum, 1999), and through analysis and interpretation of narrators' emotional arcs, these shapes and meanings emerged. In terms of significance, this content analysis provided evidence for the use of multi-voiced young adult literature to be a means by which to read with a critical literacy lens, for adolescents to realize their existence as part of a greater whole, and to imagine literature as a catalyst toward personal growth.Item Motivation and pedagogical ecology of school-based outdoor science teaching: a multiple case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Vallor, Rosanna Rohrs; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann EwbankThis study examines why and how teachers incorporate school-based outdoor teaching in their pedagogies. Research demonstrates that students gain in a range of areas when learning outdoors, but teachers can face multiple barriers when considering outdoor teaching, and many choose not to teach outdoors. There is limited research about why and how successful teachers choose to plan and manage outdoor teaching. Using a multiple case study of three public-school teachers, in grades 4, 7, and high school, who have consistently taught outdoors for over 15 years each, the study addressed why exemplary teachers choose to teach outdoors and how exemplary teachers accomplish outdoor teaching. Each teacher constituted an individual case. Semi-structured interview responses, questionnaires, field observation notes, and video-recall interviews were coded and analyzed using NVivo software. Analytic narratives based on themes within the coded data were then developed for individual cases, followed by cross-case analysis of the three cases. The findings indicated that the teachers were motivated to teach outdoors by perceived positive student impacts, by outstanding available outdoor spaces, and by their personal connections to the natural world. Teachers plan and manage outdoor teaching, with administration and community cooperation, to take advantage of opportunities for students to engage in their local environment. These findings were synthesized into the Pedagogical Ecology of Outdoor Teaching (PEOT) model. The PEOT model includes teachers' motivations, contextual factors, and teacher-operational factors in sequential, iterative relationship, and illustrates the complexity and uniqueness of teachers' situations when considering outdoor teaching. Future research incorporating the PEOT model could analyze teachers' contexts and environmental connections to determine assets and needs in their situations. Action plans to address those needs could then be developed to assist teachers and districts to develop outdoor teaching opportunities.Item The impact of social belonging on the academic performance of first-generation students at Montana State University(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Oliveri, Christiane Nadine; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tricia SeifertIn the United States, first-generation college students are significantly less likely to persist in college and complete a four-year college degree than continuing-generation students (Cataldi, Bennett, & Chen, 2018; DeAngelo & Franke, 2016; Engle & Tinto, 2008; Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004). The same is true at Montana State University (MSU), where only thirty-one percent of first-generation students graduate within six years (Montana State University, 2018c). It was hypothesized that generational status would predict academic performance at MSU, and that sense of belonging, along with peer and faculty involvement, would mediate the relationship. In addition, a conditional effect was hypothesized, so that there would be an interaction between generational status and belonging, with belonging being a stronger predictor of college grades for first-generation students than for continuing-generation students. A self-report online survey was utilized to assess peer and faculty involvement and sense of belonging. The sample consisted of 184 first-year, first-time, part-time and full-time students at MSU. Factor analysis was used to better delineate between peer involvement and belonging scales. Logistic regression and linear regression were utilized to determine the relationships between independent and dependent variables. First-generation college students had significantly lower levels of influential positive peer involvement when compared to continuing-generation students. Specifically, they had lower levels of agreement that peers would help or listen if they had a problem, and that it was easy to make friends at MSU. Peer involvement and faculty involvement significantly predicted higher sense of belonging for all students. Peer involvement had a negative impact upon college grades for all students, which approached significance. Faculty involvement had a positive impact on college grades for all students. Stigma/stereotype threat variables had an impact on college grades. Sense of belonging did not significantly impact college GPA. Finally, a conditional effect emerged for generational status and peer involvement upon college GPA, which approached statistical significance. Policies, programs, and services must be changed at institutions of higher education to help first-generation college students feel more supported by their peers and welcomed to campus, along with balancing social vs. academic priorities during college.Item The space between: the plight of rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Patterson, Joshua Glenn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: David HendersonDespite growing awareness of the teacher staffing crisis in rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts, little has been done to effectively address the issue. As opposed to a general lack of supply, current state and national research attribute the problem to challenges in teacher recruitment and retention. While many of these studies have identified factors associated with teacher staffing challenges, none have fully conveyed the essence of the struggle through the experiences of school leaders who endure the crisis. Therefore as revealed through the experience of eligible superintendents, the purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate teacher staffing challenges in rurally isolated, impoverished Montana school districts and the role of state school funding policy in the recruitment and retention of high quality teachers. Anchored by punctuated equilibrium social theory, the study's conceptual model provides a basis for multiple instrumental case studies. Investigative research began with two focus groups of eligible superintendents and was followed by multiple interviews with the superintendents of four representative case study school districts. Audio recordings of interviews were transcribed and reviewed using typological data analysis methods to identify semantic relationships, themes, and significant statements. Study trustworthiness was established through bracketing the researcher's personal experiences with teacher staffing challenges, thick description, peer review, member checking, and triangulation with school district related information and other state research. Findings indicate that current Montana school funding policy may exacerbate the staffing challenges experienced in these remote and poor districts as well as their organizational functioning.