In light of the continued need to help students who are having academic troubles in higher education, the primary purpose of this research study was to examine the differences in study skills between those college students enrolled in EDPSY 100 and those not enrolled in EDPSY 100. The overall goal of the "Study Skills for College Students" course is to help students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to take more responsibility for their own learning.In addition, this research study assessed which study strategies the EDPSY 100 students learned during a 15-week study skills course.The study skills' scores came from a self-reported measure, the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), which was developed by Weinstein, Palmer, and Schulte (1987).For this study, 105 EDPSY 100 students (49 females, 56 males) and 114 non-EDPSY 100 students (94 females, 20 males) were asked to complete the following: a consent form, pre-LASSI, post-LASSI, and demographic questionnaire.A multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine significant gains in learning strategies for EDPSY 100 students following a 15-week course in study skills training. The initial findings of the analysis revealed that the EDPSY 100 and non-EDPSY 100 students significantly differed. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in their use of study strategies after the EDPSY 100 students completed a one-semester study skills course. / Department of Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was to determine if the present college experience and curriculum fosters cognitive development through graduate school. This thesis also assessed whether any gender differences exist between males and females. The assessment of cognitive ability was undertaken by two distinct instruments. One instrument measured this ability objectively and the other in a more subjective manner. A total of 110 students completed the two measures and these were students covering all four undergraduate levels and also master's and doctoral students. The results of the study suggest that the graduate school curriculum may foster cognitive growth. There were some gender differences with the females performing at a higher level on the subjective instrument. The findings of this study could be used to improve current curriculum by implementing more critical thinking courses. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The primary purpose of this study was to develop and establish the reliability and validity of the East Asian Student Stress Inventory. Data was obtained from 235 East Asian students at the University of North Texas during the fall semester of 1992. The procedures used were a two-week interval test-retest for reliability, experts' assessment of test items for face validity, a factor analysis, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient for construct validity. Significance was set at the .05 level. The EASSI was identified as having moderately high reliability. High test anxiety, physiological symptoms, social support, financial difficulty, and culture shock were found to be constructs of the EASSI. Majority of independent variables in this study effectively identified stressors and stresses among East Asian students.

The objectives of this study were to construct and develop a two-tiered multiple-choice test for the measurement of student misconceptions in optics at the level of secondary education in Thailand, as well as to investigate the effects of gender, grade level, and type of school upon levels of student misconceptions. Misconceptions were measured by the Two-Tiered Optics Misconception (TTOM) test instrument developed for this study. Based upon criteria-evidence, the validity or appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of inferences derived from scores obtained from administration of the instrument was demonstrated at acceptable levels. The TTOM was administered to 932 high school subjects from randomly selected all-male, all-female, and coeducational 10th through 12th grade classes in Bangkok, Thailand. A mixed analysis of variance model was used to investigate the effects of gender, grade level, and type of school upon subject misconception scores in the field of optics. Analysis of the data revealed the following: 1) a paper-pencil test based upon a pattern of two-tiered multiple-choice questions and reasons developed for this study provided a valid and reliable measure of student misconceptions in optics at the level of secondary education in Thailand; 2) gender, grade level, and type of school did not have significant effects upon subject misconception scores among Thai high school students; 3) the subgroup school within type was found to have a significant effect upon subject misconception scores; 4) when fixed grade levels were considered for type of school, there were significant differences in misconceptions among 12th grade subjects from different types of schools; 5) certain consistent misconceptions in the area of optics, related to the properties of a converging lens, images from a plane mirror and a converging lens, light rays, regions of light travel, shadow formation, and lightning flashes, existed among Thai physics students at the level of secondary education. / Graduation date: 1994

This exploratory study investigated the relationships between community college students' Myers-Briggs typology preferences and their problem-solving skills. The literature provides reason to believe that students' MBTI preferences are related to problem-solving style and ability. The educator's ability to teach problem-solving will be enhanced through an identification of motivational patterns affecting learning. A sample of 577 community college students participated in the study. Achievement Level for each student was identified using the New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test. In addition, problem-solving ability was measured using the New Jersey Test of Reasoning Skills. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Form F, provided the MBTI profile scores. Chi Square analyses, correlations, and stepwise regression techniques were employed to identify and test relationships. The best identified predictor was the student's preference on the Sensing/Intuition index. Preference on the Judgment/Perception index also proved to be significant. Students who have the least skills in mathematics problem-solving have stronger preferences in the direction of the sensing dimension and the judgment dimension. Implications and recommendations for classroom instruction were presented and recommendations for related research were suggested. / Ed. D.

Stephan and Stephan (1985) introduced intergroup anxiety theory which encompasses situations in which people interact with individuals from different racial, ethnic, cultural backgrounds, namely the "outgroup". In the present study, the researcher aimed to compare intergroup anxiety of International students and African-American students when they expected to interact with ingroup members versus outgroup members, namely White-American students. The participants were presented with pictures and demographic information of hypothetical participants and were told that they would interact with these other participants in a nonverbal game. It was expected that intergroup anxiety would be lower when participants expected to interact with ingroup members, compared to the condition when they expected to interact with outgroup members. The results indicated that anxiety towards ingroup members was not significantly different from the anxiety towards outgroup members. It was found that African-American students had significantly lower levels of trait anxiety compared to International students. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a self-esteem inventory for Thai college women. Research questions included whether or not the developed inventory proved to be unidimensional or multidimensional and, if the latter proved to be the case, how many dimensions underlie the construct. The item pool consisted of 70 self-esteem statements derived from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Adult Form), and items developed for this investigation. Responses to each item were based upon a four point, Likert-type scale. The Delphi technique was applied as the content validation method. As a result of the Delphi process, 68 items were retained and used as a pilot study instrument. The pilot study was conducted among 70 college- age women in Bangkok, Thailand. Based upon item discrimination criteria, 52 items were selected for the final test instrument. The reliability of the pilot study instrument was determined to be +.91, based upon the Hoyt-Stunkard method. The 52-item instrument was then administered to 531 college-age female students in Bangkok, Thailand. Internal consistency reliability was +.94. Factor analysis was utilized to establish construct validity, to determine the dimensionality of the self-esteem instrument, and to identify the number of latent factors related to self-esteem. The concept of self-esteem was found to be multidimensional. The final 36-item instrument which resulted from this study was assessed by Hoyt-Stunkard analysis of variance to assure its reliability. Internal consistency reliability for the final instrument was +.91. Findings revealed that seven factors which reflected characteristics of self-esteem among Thai women were clustered significantly. These factors consisted of: 1) sense of family relations, 2) sense of self-worth, 3) sense of adequacy, 4) sense of competence, 5) sense of efficacy, 6) sense of confidence, and 7) sense of social and peer relations. Conclusions and implications derived from the study will provide a contribution to educational and psychological fields and to related women studies. / Graduation date: 1993

The aim of this research was to test a series of theoretical models based on Beck (1967) cognitive diathesis-stress and Kwon and Oei (1994) linear mediational models as well as earlier research findings to determine the best-fitting model to explain the aetiological processes of suicide attempts in Taiwanese people. The participants were patients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorders (MDD) recruited from three hospitals in Taiwan. They were used for data analyses in both cross-sectional (main) study and longitudinal (follow-up) study. In addition, a sample of students recruited from three universities in Taiwan was used for data analyses in the generalized study to examine the generalization of the results from clinical depressed patients to nonclinical university students. In the main study, by the application of structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques, four initial models were compared using the MDD patients (N = 162). The SEM analyses showed that two interactional models failed to provide an adequate fit to the given data, suggesting that the hypothesis of interaction between dysfunctional attitudes and negative life events in predicting the psychopathology of Taiwanese MDD patients was not supported. The SEM analyses supported two mediational models in terms of goodness-of-fit. Because the two mediational models were very similar, they were combined to form a combined mediational model. The SEM analyses indicated that the combined model provided an adequate fit to the given data. After modifying the model to improve its goodness-of-fit, the final modified combined mediational model was selected as the most appropriate in representing the data of Taiwanese MDD patients. The final model revealed that dysfunctional attitudes mediated the relationship between negative life events and depressive hopelessness, which in turn increased depression, which then precipitated suicidal ideation, which finally resulted in suicide attempts. In addition, it was found that negative life events exerted direct influences on depressive hopelessness and suicide attempts; sex and age exerted direct influences on negative life events. However, social support buffered the impact of negative life stress on dysfunctional attitudes and compliance with medications prevented the development of depression. In the follow-up study, the final modified combined mediational model was validated and reexamined with two-wave panel data gathered from the same population of Taiwanese MDD patients who participated in assessments twice, separated by a six-month interval (N = 142). The SEM analyses showed that the model provided an adequate fit to the two-wave panel data, suggesting that the model can be applied for predicting suicide attempts over six months in Taiwanese MDD patients. In the generalized study, the findings obtained from the MDD patients were replicated in a sample of Taiwanese university students (N = 324). Results revealed that the final modified combined mediational model failed to fit the given data. The result suggests that the most appropriate model for Taiwanese MDD patients can not be generalized to Taiwanese students. Some cautions and limitations should be noted. First, the models obtained from clinical and nonclinical people in Taiwan should not be directly generalized to people outside Taiwan. Further research using clinical and nonclinical samples from other countries to cross-validate the models was suggested. In addition, the researcher’s interventions during the follow-up period may disturb the relationship between predictor variables and subsequent suicide attempts. However, the problems appear to be unavoidable because of the research ethics of protecting participants from suicidal risk. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1339675 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 2008

The purpose of this study was to answer the question, "Do British Columbia school psychologists use a multifaceted approach to assess English As A Second Language students?" Another purpose of the study was to measure the prevailing procedures used to psychologically assess ESL students in British Columbia school districts. A data collection design was developed that consisted of a mailed self-administered questionnaire that was to be completed by all of the school districts in British Columbia. The questionnaire items were grouped in 3 separate sections - The first section (4 items) of the questionnaire requested personal and demographic information. The second section (35 items) asked participants to indicate on a 4 point Likert scale (always(1) - usually(2) -sometimes(3) - never(4)) the techniques and testing instruments they used during the psychological assessment of an ESL student. These techniques and instruments were selected from the literature outlining multifaceted assessments and included (a) the use of tests translated into the student's L I, and the assessment of the student's L 1, (b) reference to peers and siblings, (c) use of translators, (d) parental involvement, (e) number of years in an English - speaking school system before assessment, (f) use of norm-referenced standardized tests, (g) assessment of the student’s social/cultural/linguistic background, and (h) an awareness of the bias found in widely used tests, and the use of test results to prescribe treatment. The third section (open-ended) invited the participants to briefly describe the guidelines, if any, that their district followed to distinguish learning English As A Second Language difficulties from cognitive processing problems. The results revealed that many B.C. school psychologists involved in the assessment of ESL students are cognizant of the linguistic/ socio/cultural bias found in norm-referenced standardized tests and, as a result, are not extensively administering tests such as the WISC-R to ESL students, nor are they relying exclusively on the test scores to prescribe treatment for ESL students. Moreover, many psychologists are using peers and siblings to establish more realistic norms. Many of the psychologists are assessing the students' academic records (when available) and health records, and involving the ESL students' parents in the assessment process. The data also indicated that several phases of a multifaceted assessment need to be addressed by many of the school psychologists in British Columbia that are involved in the assessment of ESL students. These include: 1)the assessment of the students' L 1, and the use (when appropriate) of standardized tests translated into the student's L 1 2)involving trained translators in the interview and assessment of ESL students, and the interview of the students' parents 3) measuring the students' current level of functioning with 'dynamic' assessment and adaptive behaviour measurement (such as Feurerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device) 4) involving the students' classroom teacher in the assessment through the use of anecdotal reporting 5) understanding that it takes at least five years, on the average, for an immigrant child who arrives in the host country after the age of six to approach grade norms in L2 Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. This study has revealed the wide range of psychological assessment procedures currently employed by British Columbia school psychologists. Some psychologists are utilizing all of the data at their disposal to accurately assess ESL students, while others are employing practices that may produce inaccurate and misleading results. In this regard, this study has established a need for valid multifaceted psychological assessment of ESL students procedures to be adapted by all of British Columbia's 75 school psychologists.

The purpose of this study was to answer the question, "Do British Columbia school psychologists use a multifaceted approach to assess English As A Second Language students?" Another purpose of the study was to measure the prevailing procedures used to psychologically assess ESL students in British Columbia school districts. A data collection design was developed that consisted of a mailed self-administered questionnaire that was to be completed by all of the school districts in British Columbia. The questionnaire items were grouped in 3 separate sections - The first section (4 items) of the questionnaire requested personal and demographic information. The second section (35 items) asked participants to indicate on a 4 point Likert scale (always(1) - usually(2) -sometimes(3) - never(4)) the techniques and testing instruments they used during the psychological assessment of an ESL student. These techniques and instruments were selected from the literature outlining multifaceted assessments and included (a) the use of tests translated into the student's L I, and the assessment of the student's L 1, (b) reference to peers and siblings, (c) use of translators, (d) parental involvement, (e) number of years in an English - speaking school system before assessment, (f) use of norm-referenced standardized tests, (g) assessment of the student’s social/cultural/linguistic background, and (h) an awareness of the bias found in widely used tests, and the use of test results to prescribe treatment. The third section (open-ended) invited the participants to briefly describe the guidelines, if any, that their district followed to distinguish learning English As A Second Language difficulties from cognitive processing problems. The results revealed that many B.C. school psychologists involved in the assessment of ESL students are cognizant of the linguistic/ socio/cultural bias found in norm-referenced standardized tests and, as a result, are not extensively administering tests such as the WISC-R to ESL students, nor are they relying exclusively on the test scores to prescribe treatment for ESL students. Moreover, many psychologists are using peers and siblings to establish more realistic norms. Many of the psychologists are assessing the students' academic records (when available) and health records, and involving the ESL students' parents in the assessment process. The data also indicated that several phases of a multifaceted assessment need to be addressed by many of the school psychologists in British Columbia that are involved in the assessment of ESL students. These include: 1)the assessment of the students' L 1, and the use (when appropriate) of standardized tests translated into the student's L 1 2)involving trained translators in the interview and assessment of ESL students, and the interview of the students' parents 3) measuring the students' current level of functioning with 'dynamic' assessment and adaptive behaviour measurement (such as Feurerstein's Learning Potential Assessment Device) 4) involving the students' classroom teacher in the assessment through the use of anecdotal reporting 5) understanding that it takes at least five years, on the average, for an immigrant child who arrives in the host country after the age of six to approach grade norms in L2 Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. This study has revealed the wide range of psychological assessment procedures currently employed by British Columbia school psychologists. Some psychologists are utilizing all of the data at their disposal to accurately assess ESL students, while others are employing practices that may produce inaccurate and misleading results. In this regard, this study has established a need for valid multifaceted psychological assessment of ESL students procedures to be adapted by all of British Columbia's 75 school psychologists. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate