A predictive model of undergraduate graduation rate at the institutional level is important and useful to researchers, administrators, and policy makers in higher education. Graduation rate is a key indicator for higher education institutional performance. This study aimed to replicate, revise, and validate the model of Institutional Performance…

The primary aim of the first study in this dissertation was to adapt two existing measures, Identity Management Strategy Scale and Outness Inventory, assessing multidimensional disclosure and concealment construct to be developmentally appropriate for sexual diverse youth in the school context. Both adapted measures were sent to experts in the…

Deliberate practice serves as a potential framework to understand what activities, attributes, and characteristics make an individual an expert in their chosen field or profession. Historically, deliberate practice activities included those that were highly structured with purposeful goals, frequent repetition, and active feedback with immediate…

The nutrition environment in schools can influence the risk for childhood overweight and obesity, which in turn can have life-long implications for risk of chronic disease. This dissertation aimed to examine the nutrition environment in primary public schools in California with regards to the amount of nutrition education provided in the…

The review of current supervision models and instruments revealed a crucial need for a valid, reliable instrument that assesses the quality of the supervision environment as a venue for promoting counselor development. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was the construction and initial validation of the Chae Optimal Supervision…

The concept "academic culture" has been used as a framework to understand faculty work in higher education. Academic culture research builds on organizational psychology concepts of culture and climate to better understand employee practices and work phenomenon. Ample research has investigated faculty teaching at the disciplinary and…

Next to leisure, sport, and household activities, the most common activity resulting in medically consulted injuries and poisonings in the United States is work, with an estimated 4 million workplace related episodes reported in 2008 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009). To address the risks inherent to various occupations, risk…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the structural validity and stability of scores on a measure of global classroom quality, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Kindergarten-Third Grade (CLASS K-3; Pianta, La Paro, & Hamre, 2008). Using data from a sample of 417 kindergarten classrooms in the rural Southern and Mid-Atlantic…

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid survey instrument to measure student perceptions of the outdoor physical campus environment. Using campus planning and environments literature and expert consultation, a survey instrument was developed to measure student satisfaction with the outdoor campus environment and the…

The purpose of this national, quantitative study was to (1) provide psychometrics for the ACUHO-I/EBI RA Survey, a joint project between between Educational Benchmarking, Inc (EBI) and The Association of College and University Housing Officers--International (ACUHO-I), and (2) explore the sophomore resident assistant (RA) experience. This study…

Two overlapping issues have given rise to this study: the need for assessment instruments to use with Spanish-speaking Latinos and the need for normative data on current and future Spanish-language instruments. Numerous career assessment instruments exist for the English-speaking population. These instruments may be administered on computer-based…

High fidelity simulation has become a widespread and costly learning strategy in nursing education because it can fill the gap left by a shortage of clinical sites. In addition, high fidelity simulation is an active learning strategy that is thought to increase higher order thinking such as clinical reasoning and judgment skills in nursing…

The purpose of this study was to determine which of three competing models will provide, reliable, interpretable, and responsive measures of elementary students' understanding of the nature of science (NOS). The Nature of Science Instrument-Elementary (NOSI-E), a 28-item Rasch-based instrument, was used to assess students' NOS…

An instrument comprising sixteen original vignettes was field tested to gather evidence of their validity and reliability in measuring heterosexist attitudes among educators. Two-hundred seventy pre-service and in-service teachers and counselors completed the instrument. The items were analyzed using statistical methods informed from Classical…

Item response theory scaling has been well established in achievement testing, but the practice has seen limited use in student development research. The purpose of this study was to explore the reliability and validity of a graded response model scaling of an existing college student satisfaction survey. The existing survey was found to measure…