To address the critical issue of the underrepresentation of women in physics, the Physics Education Research community has focused on exploring the factors contributing to student success; however, few studies have explored the meaning of success in physics as seen by women and other marginalized populations. This study, guided by Feminist Standpoint Theory and Critical Race Nepantlera Methodologies, incorporates qualitative methods to explore the central question, "how do women in physics conceptualize the meaning of success in physics?" We begin with an analysis of metaphors of success in physics constructed by nine women studying physics at a single institution, followed up with a supplementary poetic analysis elaborating on a single participant's metaphor. These studies reveal a conceptualization of success in physics as a journey that incorporates the features of satisfactions, struggles, hope, and recognition while studying physics. After noticing a lack of representation of participants identifying as Latinas, we conducted complementary analysis of metaphors by 20 Latinas pursuing a degree in physics throughout the United States. The follow-up metaphor analysis expanded on the conceptualizations to include those of success in physics as building puzzles, overcoming gravity, peaceful landscapes, sports, and riding vehicles among others, used to structure concepts such as learning and contributing knowledge, overcoming struggles with social perceptions, and achieving significant milestones. This metaphor analysis was followed up with a descriptive analysis of the goals mentioned by the Latina students in their discussions of success. The analysis revealed individual participants identifying a wide range of goals, with a noticeable prevalence of goals related to belonging, social responsibilities, resource provision, positive self-evaluation, self-determination, and happiness. In conclusion, this dissertation provides a wide range of conceptualizations to help guide and encourage educators engaging in discussions with students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, about their success in physics with the consideration that success is a highly personal concept.

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The study sought to understand the relationship between the type of state mandate for financial education and 18-24-year-olds' financial literacy and financial capability. Using extant data from national surveys about financial literacy and financial capability in 2015 and 2018, this study determined there was rarely a significant difference in young adults' financial literacy and financial capability as related to the level of financial education they received in high school. For 2015 literacy, the education mandate as a main effect within ethnicity was p = .025. Within certain demographic main effects, there were significant results. In 2015, ethnicity and educational attainment were each significant for financial literacy p = .000. In 2018, gender, ethnicity and educational attainment were each significant for financial literacy, p = .000, while income was significant p = .005. In 2015, ethnicity was significant for financial capability p = .001, while educational attainment and income were each p = .000. In 2018, gender was significant for financial capability p = .016, while ethnicity, educational attainment, and income were each significant p = .000. Interaction effects existed in some cases, with 2015 financial literacy at gender by education mandate p = .008 and income by education mandate p = .040; for 2015 capability, gender by education mandate p = .019; for 2018 capability, educational attainment by education mandate p = .024. Understanding how demographic factors influence financial literacy and financial capability and can influence how policymakers and educators address these differences to provide effective financial education for all students.

Over the past 20 years, value-added models (VAMs) have become increasingly popular in educational assessment and accountability policies because of the sophisticated statistical controls these models use to purportedly isolate the effect of a single teacher on the learning gains of his or her students. The present research uses a Monte Carlo simulation study design in order to investigate whether VAMs are able to provide accurate estimates of teacher effectiveness when all assumptions are met and to determine how robust the models are to endogenous peer effects and nonrandom assignment of students to classroom. The researcher generates three years of simulated achievement data for 18,750 students taught by 125 teachers, and analyzes this data with a linear mixed model similar to the SAS EVAAS Multivariate Response Model (MRM; M1), a basic covariate adjustment model (M2), and variations on these models designed to estimate random classroom effects. Findings indicate that the modified EVAAS may be too computationally onerous to be of practical use, and that modified covariate adjustment models do not perform significantly differently than the basic covariate adjustment model. When all assumptions are met, M1 is more accurate than M2, but both models perform reasonably well, misclassifying fewer than 5% of teachers on average. M1 is more robust to endogenous peer effects than M2, however both models misclassified more teachers than when all assumptions are met. M2 is more robust to nonrandom assignment of students than M1. Assigning teachers a balanced schedule of nonrandom classes with low, medium, and high prior achievement seemed to mitigate the problems that nonrandom assignment caused for M1, but made M2 less accurate. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Selection effects systematically attenuate correlations and must be considered when performing meta-analyses. No research domain is immune to selection effects, evident whenever self-selection or attrition take place. In educational research, selection effects are unavoidable in studies of postsecondary admissions, placement testing, or teacher selection. While methods to correct for selection bias are well documented for univariate meta-analyses, they have gone unexamined in multivariate meta-analyses, which synthesize more than one correlation from each study (i.e., a correlation matrix). Multivariate meta-analyses of correlations provide opportunities to explore complex relationships and correcting for selection effects improves the summary effect estimates. I used Monte Carlo simulations to test two methods of correcting selection effects and evaluate a method for pooling the corrected matrices. First, I examined the performance of Thorndike's corrections (for both explicit and incidental selection) and Lawley's multivariate correction for selection on correlation matrices when explicit selection takes place on a single variable. Simulation conditions included a wide range of selection ratios, samples sizes, and population correlations. The results indicated that univariate and multivariate correction methods perform equivalently. I provide practical guidelines for choosing between the two methods. In a second Monte Carlo simulation, I examined the confidence interval coverage rates of a Robust Variance Estimation (RVE) procedure when it is used to pool correlation matrices corrected for selection effects under a random-effects model. The RVE procedure empirically estimates the standard errors of the corrected correlations and has the advantage of having no distributional assumptions. Simulation conditions included tau-squared ratio, within-study sample size, number of studies, and selection ratio. The results were mixed, with RVE performing well under higher selection ratios and larger unrestricted sample sizes. RVE performed consistently across values of tau-squared. I recommend applications of the results, especially for educational research, and opportunities for future research.

There is an increase in the popularity of alternative certification programs; however, some administrators are still reluctant to hire these graduates to teach within their schools. With the shortage of certified teachers in Mississippi, some school districts have no choice but to hire alternatively certified teachers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if students taught by teachers trained in alternative teaching programs had significantly different changes in language arts scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 nd edition, as compared to fellow students who were taught by teachers trained in traditional teaching programs. Scores from the 2008--2009 Mississippi Curriculum Test 2nd edition were used for base line data. Scores from the 2009--2010 Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 nd edition were used to determine what degree of growth had taken place. The results were analyzed by using the educational software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to conduct independent t tests. Data are presented using descriptive statistics. Results of the t tests confirmed that students taught by both types of teachers had some degree of success. Seventh grade students who were taught by traditional route teachers showed the greatest amount of growth difference. With the continuing debate over teaching certification programs, studies such as this can help create social change by providing statistical evidence of the effectiveness shown by teachers certified through both programs. School officials can use these results to help in making hiring decisions of potential teacher candidates. The end result is to provide students with the best possible teacher regardless of certification type.

Published Article / This article describes a process of student learning outcomes assessment for a health sciences programme in radiography at a university in South Africa. Its purpose is to demonstrate that while the process of student learning outcomes assessment is universal, it can be used both nationally and internationally. As long as underlying premises are met, assessment needs to be considered within the context of a country's unique culture, society and history. Underlying premises include understanding the institution's mission and vision, determining that the programme's mission and vision are congruent with those of the institution, and involving faculty early in the assessment process.

Amidst ever-growing demands for accountability and increased graduation rates to help justify the rising costs of higher education, few topics in undergraduate education elicit a broader range of responses than student evaluations of teaching (SETs). Despite debates over their efficacy, SETs are increasingly used as formative (pedagogical practices) and summative (employee reviews) assessments of faculty teaching. Proponents contend SETs are a necessary component in measuring the quality of education a student receives, arguing that they further enable educators to reflect upon their own pedagogy and thus informing best practices, and that they are a valid component in summative evaluations of faculty. Skeptics argue that SETs are ineffective as the measurements themselves are invalid and unreliable, students are not qualified evaluators of teaching, and faculty may lower educational standards due to pressure for higher ratings in summative evaluations. This study dives more deeply into this debate by exploring faculty perceptions of SETs. Through the use of surveys of 27 full- and part-time faculty within one division at a private, four-year teaching-focused college, this study explored faculty perceptions of SETs primarily as an initial step in a larger process seeking to evaluate perceived and potential efficacy of SETs. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed using Patton's (2008) Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE) framework for engaging evidence based upon a four-stage process in which evaluation findings are analyzed, interpreted, judged, and recommendations for action are generated, with all steps involving intended users. Overall, the study data suggests that faculty were generally very supportive of SETs for formative assessments, and strongly reported their importance and use for evaluating their own pedagogy. Findings also indicated faculty relied primarily upon the students' written qualitative comments over the quantitative reports generated by externally determined scaled-questions on the SETs. Faculty also reported the importance of SETs as part of their own summative evaluations, yet expressed concern about overreliance upon them and again indicated a desire for a more meaningful process. The utility of the UFE framework for SETs, has implications beyond the institution studied, nearly every higher education institution is faced with increasing demands for accountability of student learning from multiple stakeholders. Additionally, many institutions are grappling with policies on SETs in summative and formative evaluation and to what extent faculty and administrators do--and perhaps should--utilize SETs in measuring teaching effectiveness is a pertinent question for any institution of higher education to examine. Thus, the study suggests that to what extent faculty reflect upon SETs, and to what extent they utilize feedback, is a salient issue at any institution; and Patton's model has the potential to maximize the utility of SETs for many relevant stakeholders, especially faculty.

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