Increasing demands for accountability from both the public and the government have resulted in increasing pressure for higher education professionals to use data to support their choices. There is significant speculation that professionals at all levels of education lack the knowledge to implement data-driven decision making. However, empirical studies regarding whether or not professionals at four-year postsecondary institutions are utilizing data to guide programmatic and policy decisions are lacking. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the knowledge and habits of undergraduate admission professionals at four-year colleges and universities regarding their use of data in decision making. A survey instrument was disseminated and, the data collected from the instrument provided empirical information, which serves as the basis for a discussion about what specific knowledge admission professionals at four-year institutions possess and how they use data in their decision making. The instrument disseminated was designed specifically for this study. Therefore, before the research questions were addressed, Rasch analysis was utilized to evaluate the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Data was then used to determine that undergraduate admission professionals perceived themselves as using data in their decision making. The results also indicated admission professionals feel confident in their ability to interpret and use data to in their decision making.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-12-12T09:27:15Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciane de Sousa Lopes Araújo.pdf: 776445 bytes, checksum: ccfa9a5d62a62c67baab32748b057d1f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-12T09:27:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciane de Sousa Lopes Araújo.pdf: 776445 bytes, checksum: ccfa9a5d62a62c67baab32748b057d1f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-10-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This paper deals with the relation between school actions and functional illiteracy. The interest in the subject took place when observing that a significant portion of students of Brazil’s public schools are in a situation of school failure. This fact is reflected in publications such as those published by INAF (National Indicator of Functional Literacy), which show that a large part of Brazil’s population is in the condition of functional illiterates. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate what academic production - dissertations and theses - has obtained on functional illiteracy and on literacy, and how these productions evaluate the effectiveness of the methods. For that, a survey of investigations on functional illiteracy, teaching methods and literacy and alphabetization, expressed in dissertations and theses defended in postgraduate programs in Brazil, was carried out. We also looked for research carried out in Brazilian universities that discussed the student's relationship with knowledge, teacher training and public policies related to literacy and alphabetization. This research has as background the theoretical discussion between Capovilla and Seabra and Emília Ferreiro regarding the methods of literacy, which becomes a fundamental discussion for teacher training courses, as well as for alfabetization and literacy, according to Magda Soares and Roxane Rojo. The survey pointed out the importance of experiences with situations of literacy in their daily lives for all within the school, especially for those who had little access to literate culture. The initial hypothesis that there is no interest in studying in schools, actions aimed at combating functional illiteracy was confirmed and it was not possible to identify in the analyzed studies - dissertations and theses - actions and discussions, concerning both the high rates of illiteracy and functional illiteracy within the school, as to the ways of reducing or eliminating such difficulty of the Brazilian children and young people in the space of the institution / O presente trabalho aborda a relação das ações da escola com o analfabetismo funcional. O interesse pelo tema ocorreu ao observar que uma parcela significativa de alunos das escolas públicas brasileiras encontra-se em situação de fracasso escolar. Tal fato se reflete em publicações, como as divulgadas pelo INAF (Indicador Nacional de Alfabetismo Funcional), que demonstram que grande parte da população brasileira encontra-se na condição de analfabetos funcionais. A presente dissertação teve, então, o objetivo de investigar o que a produção acadêmica - dissertações e teses - tem obtido sobre o analfabetismo funcional e sobre alfabetização e letramento, e como essas produções avaliam a eficácia dos métodos de alfabetização. Para tanto, foi realizado um levantamento de investigações sobre analfabetismo funcional, métodos de ensino e alfabetização e letramento, expressas nas dissertações e teses defendidas em programas de pós-graduação no Brasil. Também procuramos pesquisas realizadas em universidades brasileiras, que discutissem a relação do aluno com o saber, formação de professores e políticas públicas relacionadas à alfabetização e ao letramento. Esta pesquisa tem como pano de fundo a discussão teórica entre Capovilla e Seabra e Emília Ferreiro a respeito dos métodos de alfabetização, o que se torna discussão fundamental para a pauta dos cursos de formação de professores, e ainda para a alfabetização e letramento, conforme Magda Soares e Roxane Rojo. O levantamento apontou a importância das vivências com situações de letramento em seu cotidiano para todos dentro da escola, principalmente para aqueles que tiveram pouco acesso à cultura letrada. A hipótese inicial de que não existe interesse em estudar nas escolas as ações voltadas ao combate ao analfabetismo funcional foi confirmada e não foi possível identificar nas pesquisas analisadas - dissertações e teses - ações e discussões referentes tanto às altas taxas de analfabetismo e analfabetismo funcional dentro da escola, quanto às formas de diminuir ou eliminar tamanha dificuldade das crianças e de jovens brasileiros no espaço da instituição escolar

A new ESSA indicator of school quality and student success provides flexibility to broaden a states’ definition of school and student success. Educational research has found school success is in part determined by a school’s climate and should be considered in improvement/reform strategies (Cohen et al., 2009; Thapa et al., 2013). Yet, school climate research is often difficult and time consuming, and employs a variety of conflicting definitions and dimensions, instruments, and empirical approaches to determining school climate. Given these significant limitations with current measures, the purpose of this study was to validate an instrument measuring school climate based on the four most commonly accepted dimensions of school climate, using items adapted from a well-regarded and established theoretical framework to provide an effective measure for educators and researchers. The sample selected for this study was a portion of teachers who indicated teaching 3rd or 8th grade as their primary teaching assignment (n=500) from the larger study sample (n=4974). A Rasch Rating Scale Model was used to evaluate unidimensionality, item fit and difficulty, reliability, and potential differential item functioning on a 23-item school climate survey. Results of the study showed the instrument was not unidimensional and was split into two subdimensions: student-centered and teacher/school support. All items were retained and displayed appropriate fit. Significant differential item functioning (DIF) was found between 3rd and 8th grade teachers on both subdimensions, further suggesting multidimensionality in the scale. Study findings suggest researchers should be mindful of any school climate instrument not validated at the item level for unidimensionality, and that an instrument may perform differently for teachers at different grade levels.

Cette thèse saisit les « violences interpersonnelles » pour en interroger l’étoffe. Pourquoi et comment, depuis la Quatrième Conférence mondiale sur les Femmes de l’ONU (Pékin, 1995), les « violences interpersonnelles » ainsi dénommées dans la recherche et les politiques publiques sont-elles devenues un problème de santé publique et un objet statistique concernant au premier chef les femmes qui en sont victimes ? Pour répondre, j’éprouve la nature et la solidité de cette définition à la fois sanitaire et statistique des violences interpersonnelles. Je mobilise de nombreuses sources statistiques produites dans les deux décennies passées pour en faire un terrain d’enquête. Je me situe entre la sociologie de l’émergence du problème « violences interpersonnelles » et la sociologie des enquêtes. Pour rendre lisibles les sources quantitatives disponibles depuis vingt ans, je conduis mon analyse en entrant dans leurs motifs cognitifs et dans les dispositifs complexes dont elles sont tissées. Je saisis les discordances criantes entre ces sources et mène une comparaison à plusieurs niveaux pour en tirer des conclusions épistémo-pratiques sur : 1) la manière dont s’engage la cognition à travers les instruments de mesure ; 2) la contribution de l’histoire des catégories statistiques et l’histoire institutionnelle dans laquelle celles-ci prennent place depuis la fin des années 1960. Entre mouvements féministes, enquêtes de victimation et enquêtes de santé, entre utilitarisme et droits humains, les violences interpersonnelles demeurent un objet politique et de recherche fracturé, pour lequel le consensus sanitaire apparent contient de nombreuses incertitudes cognitives et politiques. / This dissertation addresses interpersonal violence in order to question the texture it is made of. Why and how has it come that since the 4th UN World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), “interpersonal violence” so named in research and public policies have become a public health issue and a statistical matter primarily concerning women as victims? To answer this question, I put the health and statistical content of interpersonal violence to the test. I mobilize numerous statistical sources that have been built during the last two decades, in order to tackle them as a fieldwork. I position my work between the sociology of the emergence of the “interpersonal violence” issue and the sociology of survey research. In order to make the sources that have been available for twenty years easier to understand, I analyze them paying a particular attention to their cognitive motives and the complex arrangements they rest upon. I address the striking gaps between these sources and compare them on several analytical levels in order to draw meaningful epistemological and practical conclusions on: 1) the way cognition is closely related to measurement tools; 2) the contribution of the history of statistical categories and the institutional history in which these categories have been taking place since the late 1960s. Between feminist movements, victimization and health surveys, between utilitarianism and human rights, interpersonal violence remains as a fractured political issue and research topic, about which the apparent public health consensus encompasses numerous cognitive and political uncertainties.

Background: Response bias can distort treatment effect estimates and inferences in clinical trials. Although prevention, quantification, and adjustments have been developed, current methods are not applicable when subject-level reliability is used as the measure of response bias. Thus, the objective of the current study is to develop, test, and recommend a series of bias correction strategies for use in these cases. Methods: Monte Carlo simulation and logistic regression modeling were used to develop the strategies, examining the collective impact of sample size (N), effect size (ES), reliability distribution, and response style on estimating the treatment effect size in a series of hypothetical clinical trials. The strategies included a linear (LW), quadratic (QW), or cubic weight (CW) applied to the subject-level reliability; a reliability threshold (%); or a combination of the two (W-%). Bias and percent relative root mean square error (RRMSE (%)) were calculated for each treatment effect estimate and RRMSE (%) was compared to inform the bias correction recommendations. Results: The following recommendations are made for each N and ES combination: N=200/ES=small: no adjustment, N=200/ES=medium: 40%-LW, N=200/ES=large: 40%-QW, N=2000/ES=small: 40%-LW, N=2000/ES=medium: 55%-CW, N=2000/ES=large: 75%-CW, N=20000/ES=small: 70%-CW, N=20000/ES=medium: 85%-CW, N=20000/ES=large: 95%-CW. Conclusion: Employing these bias correction strategies in clinical trials where subject-level reliability can be calculated will decrease error and increase accuracy of estimates and validity of inferences.

<p>The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. </p><p>Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. </p><p>Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively.</p><p>Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. </p><p>Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. </p><p>Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. </p><p>Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.</p>

The thesis includes six self-contained papers that from various perspectives examine place attractiveness and migration in Sweden. Paper I provides an extensive overview of Swedish municipalities’ place marketing engagement to attract in-migrants, based on survey responses from 220 municipalities. The results suggest that, although this kind of marketing has become more prominent during the last few years, there is little evidence of any significant effects on migration flows. Paper II addresses place marketing campaigns directed towards the Stockholm region carried out by rural municipalities. The results show no general evidence of success, but in a few cases a positive impact of these campaigns cannot be ruled out conclusively. Paper III explores the effect of tourism on interregional net-migration in Sweden. The results indicate that tourism exerts a positive influence on migration, and it is shown how its effects vary depending on age group. Paper IV scrutinizes recent survey research on migration motives in the Nordic countries. This paper employs a different questionnaire design and surveys a somewhat different migrant population. The findings do not support recent research and the importance of employment-related motives is emphasised. Paper V focuses on residential preferences and explores what place attributes people would consider important if they were to migrate. Special attention is given to demographic, socio-economic and geographical determinants. The results show how these aspects influence residential preferences, and make some contributions to methodological issues on researching preferences. Paper VI aims at a conceptual framework whereby place attractiveness can be better understood. It is suggested that needs, demands and preferences are central factors and the attractiveness of places increases with the successive fulfilment of these factors. But the more factors a migrant seeks to fulfil in his or her destination selection, the fewer the choice possibilities.

Adults associate their childhood with playing outdoors, often in natural settings. This type of free play is valuable to child development. Children tend to use outdoor play areas in physically active ways, and time spent outdoors relates positively to increased physical activity in children. However, children today are spending an increasing amount of time indoors rather than outdoors. Recent research has shown that the amount of time children spend in outdoor play is directly related to parental concerns about their children's exposure to outdoor hazards. The purpose of this project was to investigate the relationship between parental attitude toward nature and the development of fine and gross motor skills in young children. The sample for this study was drawn from parents of children ages 3 to 5 years old enrolled at one of two University Child Development Centers. The assessment tool used was composed of sections that ask parents about their attitudes toward nature, about their young children spending time outdoors, how much time their children actually spend in outdoor and indoor activities, and standard demographic questions. The childcare centers independently assessed d correlations and ANOVA. Results from this study indicated that parents had positive views toward nature and towards their child's recreation. Children who participated in certain indoor activities tended to score higher in the area of fine motor skills. However, children who spent more time indoors in free play had lower gross motor skill scores. Parents who scored better on the Parental Attitude toward Their Child's Outdoor Recreation scale reported that their child spent more time in outdoor free play and outdoor organized sports and activities. Parents preferred outdoor play spaces when compared to indoor play spaces and specifically those outdoor spaces that were constructed with more nearby natural components.

This paper analyses if European citizens are willing to show solidarity with debt-ridden EU member states during the recent crisis. Based on a theoretical concept comprehending four di-mensions of solidarity - generalised willingness to support, existence of social cleavages, rea-sons of supporting others, acceptance of conditions a crisis country has to meet to receive as-sistance - we derived hypotheses stating that the existence of a European wide solidarity is rather unlikely. We analysed data from two Eurobarometer surveys 2010 and 2011 and a unique survey conducted in Germany and Portugal in 2012. Descriptive and multilevel analyses indi-cated that in 2010 and 2011, a narrow majority of all EU citizens supported fiscal assistance for crisis countries, and socio-economic and cultural cleavages in attitudes regarding financial as-sistance for crisis countries were rather low. Findings from the two country comparison showed that the willingness to show solidarity was predominantly guided by moral reasoning instead of the respondent’s self-interest. However, German and Portuguese respondents disagree on austerity measures, with the exception of social spending cuts. Taken all together, we come to the conclusion that recent years have brought a new legitimacy to the use of EU bailout measures which are now a given European practice.

abstract: Increasing public criticism of traditional teacher evaluation systems based largely on classroom observations has spurred an unprecedented shift in the debate surrounding educational accountability policies, specifically about the purposes for and measures used to evaluate teachers. In response to growing public demand and associated federal mandates, states have been prompted to design and implement teacher evaluation systems that use increasingly available, statistically complex models (i.e., value-added) intended to isolate and measure the effects of individual teachers on student academic growth over time. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of school administrators and teachers within one of the largest school districts in the state of Arizona with regards to the design and implementation of a federally-supported, state policy-directed teacher evaluation system based on professional practice and value-added measures. While much research has been conducted on teacher evaluation, few studies have examined teacher evaluation systems in context to better understand the standards of effectiveness used by school administrators and teachers to measure system effectiveness. The perceptions of school administrators and teachers, considering their lived experiences as the subjects of the nation's new and improved teacher evaluation systems in context, must be better understood if state and federal policymakers are to also better recognize and understand the consequences (intended and unintended) associated with the design and implementation of these systems in practice. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014