<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the influence that a threat to university students&rsquo; academic competence had on their reported competence, self-efficacy, and the avoidance of help seeking in academics. This dissertation was conceptualized based on symbolic self-completion theory which maintains that when individuals are actively committed to pursuing certain self-definitions, they define themselves as complete (e.g., competent or possessing a desired quality) through the use of symbols of attainment. These symbols can consist of any behavior or material possession that is accepted by others as proof that the individual possesses the desired self-definition. In the present study, the desired quality is being a competent university student, and potential symbols of attainment are measures of perceived competence, self-efficacy, and the avoidance of help seeking in academics. Providing written advice to future undergraduate students was also examined as an additional symbol of attainment. A pre/posttest design was used to gather measures surrounding an academic threat to current undergraduate students (n=203). Results of this dissertation support that being an undergraduate student does represent a self-defining goal and suggest that some students are invested in establishing and maintaining competence within this desired self-definition. This dissertation found that following an academic threat the experimental group did exaggerate (i.e., increase) responses to some of the measures. In addition, both academic commitment and self-esteem were important in determining the extent to which a student engaged in the symbolic self-completion process using measures that focus on competence, self-efficacy, and the avoidance of help seeking in academics. </p>

<p> The university environment in science can feel unwelcoming for ethnic underrepresented minority (URM) students due to cultural incongruity. Thus, it can be difficult for a Latino student&mdash;seeking congruity in social and value domains&mdash;to develop a coherent identity as both an ethnic minority and as an emerging scientist. Using longitudinal archival data spanning an academic year, the proposed study sought to examine whether and how motivational experiences for freshmen and sophomores contribute to identity processes, specifically among Latinos in science education. Current hypotheses were mostly unsupported, but unexpected findings suggests there is room to explore a differential influence of Social Congruity and Value Congruity on two components of Identity Integration: Conflict and Closeness. Greater Social and Value Congruity at the beginning of the academic semester independently and positively predicted greater Conflict and Closeness at the end of the same semester, respectively. Potential interpretations and implications are discussed.</p>

Instructional time is a precious commodity within the school day. Research has shown (Gettinger & Ball, 2008; Hollywood, Salisbury, Rainforth & Palombaro, 1994) that students are only academically engaged for a fraction of time that is protected for instruction. In order to increase academic achievement, we must increase and protect instructional time. This study used a multiple baseline design across teachers to examine teacher behavior and student engagement. Teachers and students were systematically observed in the classroom. In the first phase, the data from these observations were provided graphically to teachers, thus serving as performance feedback. Performance feedback has been demonstrated as an effective means of increasing treatment integrity and facilitating teacher behavior change (Noell et al., 2005). During the second phase of the study, consultation meetings included a review of the data, collaborative brainstorming of strategies for increasing instructional time and goal setting. It was hypothesized that sharing performance feedback would lead to increased levels of observed instructional time. Results show inconsistent effects for increasing instructional time across participants.

<p> This dissertation aims to address a gap in the literature regarding the effect of the achievement-focused student identity on prosocial values and behaviors, specifically among students who predominantly value prosociality. Largely, research on identity and motivation addresses academic outcomes and psychological well-being outcomes (Settles, Sellers, &amp; Damas, 2002; Jaret &amp; Reitzes, 2009) while more recent literature that has addressed prosocial motives (Yeager, et al., 2015) has solely assessed academic performance outcomes. Drawing upon values literature (Schwartz, 1992) it can be inferred that the achievement-focused student identity may inhibit or decrease prosocial values and behaviors. Further, this may be particularly deleterious for the psychological well-being of students who hold prosociality as a central guiding feature of their self-concept. First, I examine whether certain social identities tend to have a higher tendency towards prosociality (Study 1). Second, I assess how a salient achievement-focused identity affects student behaviors (with particular attention to more prosocially inclined students) during a stressful academic situation (Study 2a &amp; 2b). Next, I devise a novel measure to assess the centrality of prosociality to the self and perceptions of conflict between prosocial values and achievement-focused settings (Study 3). Then, I assess how a salient achievement-focused identity impacts prosocial values and behaviors, and offer a new "integrated" approach to the student identity. Last, I assess how this expanded and "integrated" identity influences students' academic perceptions and psychological well-being, specifically for those students who are more prosocially inclined (e.g., women and lower income) as well as for those who perceive higher levels of prosocial-achievement conflict (Study 4).</p>

<p> This study follows incoming freshmen students for three semesters, tracking their GPA along with several psychological constructs. Theory of Intelligence, Performance Goals, Learning Goals, Confidence in Intelligence, Campus Connectedness, Sense of Belongingness: Antecedents, School Coherence, Leadership, and Followership were assessed. Results are discussed for each semester, along with the three-semester differences in scores and GPA. Retention is addressed in correlation with the measures.</p><p>

In this project, I used an object relations model to examine the benefits of the relationship between athletes and influential coaches. To accomplish this task, I examined the formative experiences of five men who were varsity athletes in college and focused on two questions: (1) In what ways can an athlete's relationship with his coach compensate for deficits resulting from parental inadequacies or empathic failures? (2) In what ways can an athlete's emotional bond with his coach enhance his self-esteem and facilitate his transition from adolescence to adulthood? In addition to interviewing these athletes, I interviewed the coach designated by each athlete as the most influential in his personal development. Subjects participated in a semi-structured interview, and the data from these interviews were qualitatively analyzed. Seven themes emerged from the stories told by these five athletes and their coaches: (1) the coach/player relationship as a "good fit" for the athlete, given his circumstances and psychological needs; (2) the coach/player relationship as reparative of the player's early childhood deficits; (3) the coach/player relationship as an opportunity to help the player to modulate his aggression; (4) the coach/player relationship as a facilitation of the player's experience of separation-individuation; (5) the coach/player relationship as a medium for identification with an important adult male role model; (6) the coach/player relationship as a means to enhance the player's achievement; and (7) the coach/player relationship as a context in which limits are set on the player's behavior. From these ten interviews, a template emerges in which the coach/player relationship can be seen as a therapeutic construct in which caring and strong role models can have lasting effects on the lives, values, and successes of young men.

This study compares children's friendship quality in after-school programs and regular school day classrooms. Participants were drawn from ten after-school program sites and a control group from ten elementary school classrooms. Three hundred and thirty six children in grades three, four and five were asked to describe their friendship experiences by identifying their friends using a program or class roster and completing a questionnaire about the quality of their very best friendship. Friendship quality information was compared in six areas: companionship and recreation, validation and caring, help and guidance, intimate disclosure, conflict resolution, and conflict and betrayal. Findings showed a significance difference in the quality of friendships based on student age, gender, friendship level and whether the student attended an after-school program. Results supported the hypothesis that students in high-quality after-school programs have higher quality friendships than children in low quality programs. Findings did not support the hypothesis that children in after-school programs have higher quality friendships than children who do not participate in after-school programs. Preliminary evidence suggests that after-school programs have both a higher number of children with challenging behaviors and a higher number of children who receive special education services as compared to school day classrooms. This difference in population may account for the friendship quality difference between the after-school program group and the control group.

<p>This research project explored the anatomy of satisfaction of undergraduate students&rsquo; experiences in order to identify the themes common to students who were satisfied with their college careers. The study also examined the conditions that help students thrive on campus focusing on college seniors who self-reported as very satisfied with their college experience. Furthermore the study analyzed the motivation behind satisfied students&rsquo; behavioral choices, including their choice of major and extracurricular involvement. Assessment of the quality of students&rsquo; relationships to others on campus served as a component of this research as well. A grounded theory qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data. The study found that satisfaction is a function of a student&rsquo;s integration on campus. Integration resulted when students enjoyed their majors, actively engaged in campus life, and formed and maintained successful social relationships. Characteristics common among satisfied students included openness to experience, self-awareness, sociability, and a willingness to make intrinsically motivated decisions with respect to behavioral choices. Students thrived in an environment that promoted the exploration of their intrinsically motivated behavioral choices, where they felt seen, valued, and supported in their identities, activities, and interests, and where they were afforded opportunities to discover, grow, and expand their capabilities and skills. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: college satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, student engagement, thriving </p>

<p> Institutions of higher education are replete with programs designed to position incoming undergraduate students to successfully persist toward a degree and to do and be well along the way. This longitudinal field study of incoming students&rsquo; transitional year focused on outcomes associated with two common types of program: bridge programs and living-learning programs. Bridge programs are intended to boost achievement and persistence of structurally disadvantaged (e.g., low-income) students to close the gap between them and their more advantaged peers, usually with some combination of financial and academic support. Living-learning programs are intended to generally promote achievement and persistence through the intentional formation of communities in which groups of students live together in wings of residence halls and engage in curricular and/or cocurricular activities together. Social-psychological interventions have been inspired by critiques that such programs inadequately support students who are at a structural disadvantage. Specifically, critiques have argued that financial and academic support are insufficient, that students also need psychological support. To strongly test that claim, I replicated one of these interventions within a bridge program and examined whether it affected students&rsquo; wellness and success at the end of their transitional year, over and above the bridge program itself. I also examined whether living-learning programs contributed to students&rsquo; wellness and success over and above living in conventional residence halls, and whether either of those two types of residential groups differed from students living off-campus. </p><p> Results from the intervention did not fit the theoretical framework on which it was based, the same framework contextualized in the bridge program, or an alternative framework on which other similar interventions are based. Results regarding residential groups suggest that living-learning communities did not augment wellness or success, at least at the particular institution under study. Rather, living on campus generally is associated with a greater sense of social-belonging, higher life satisfaction, more extracurricular activity, and taking advantage of campus resources. Practical advice and recommendations for administrators and researchers are outlined in the Discussion.</p>

<p> In the United States, approximately 400,000 children reside in foster care, and most have been exposed to caregiver abuse, neglect, or abandonment. A majority of foster children suffer the effects of damaging circumstances including poverty, violence, inferior health care, and substandard housing. Consequently, young foster youth frequently struggle to accomplish developmental tasks such as establishing secure attachment relationships, cultivating pre-academic skills, and acquiring social-emotional competence. The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of Peace4Kids, a nonprofit community-based organization, on young foster youths&rsquo; social-emotional development and pre-academic skills. Data collected from parents, teachers, and administrators during semi-structured interviews documented children&rsquo;s experiences as they attended the organization&rsquo;s Saturday Core Program. Participants noted that as foster children participated in a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences at Peace4Kids, their social, emotional, and academic development were positively impacted. Parents, teachers, and administrators reported that the organization&rsquo;s culture of consistency, trust, and accountability promoted secure attachment relationships among foster youth, staff members, and peers at the Saturday Core Program. Participants iterated that secure relationships provided a foundation for foster children to subsequently acquire social and emotional capacities, including persistence, conflict resolution, self-regulation, and autonomy. As youth in foster care developed social-emotional competencies, pre-academic skills such as literacy and numeracy emerged. This study&rsquo;s findings indicate that a comprehensive approach is necessary to address the unique needs of foster children who have experienced prior trauma. Additionally, this research study contributes to a growing body of work that explores the role of attachment relationships in group and organizational settings.</p>