This study investigates the Asymmetric Information Management (AIM) technique's ability to detect fraudulent insurance claims submitted online. The AIM instructions inform claimants that, inter alia, more detailed statements are easier to accurately classify as genuine or fabricated. To test this, truth tellers (n = 55) provided an honest…

Although using machine learning for predicting which students are at risk of failing a course is indeed valuable, how can we identify which characteristics of individual students contribute to their being At-Risk? By characterising individual At-Risk students we could potentially advise on specific interventions or ways to reduce their probability…

This dissertation uses sociocultural linguistics to investigate how Black undergraduates at a Historically White Institution (HWI) understand Blackness, and how their racial socialization experiences in their pre-college years inform that perspective. This project reveals that many Black undergraduates in the HWI context may not have the benefit…

This study examined intervention fidelity (IF) and the extent to which this essential feature of response to intervention (RtI) was included within artifacts (laws and guidance documents) for states requiring RtI for specific learning disability (SLD) identification. Intervention fidelity is defined as the degree to which an intervention is…

Behavior is a form of communication. For many young children, they may engage in certain behaviors to consciously or subconsciously communicate a need to access something, such as a desired adult or peer, sensory stimulation, or a tangible item. Other times, children may engage in a behavior to escape or avoid something, such as a particular…

This study used a large administrative data set of Head Start programs across the United States, the Head Start Program Information Report (PIR), to explore disparities in program rates of screening, referral, and identification for early intervention between Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) and Head Start (HS) programs. Results from…

Teachers' conceptions of gifted and talented students significantly influence their nomination skills and teaching practices. However, research indicates that these conceptions are often incorrect or inconsistent, even among teachers who have completed coursework in gifted and talented education. This study aimed to explore pre-service teachers'…

Language educators employ visual depictions of people for reasons including use as writing or conversation prompts, use as illustrations of vocabulary, or simply use as decoration. Despite research documenting so-called visual agism across mass media, there has been little attention to the issue in such language education materials. This project…

Handwriting difficulties may signal dysgraphia or other writing difficulties that can affect literacy performance. Existing instruments measure different handwriting features to identify students for interventions but can take extra testing time and restrict potential indicators appropriate for evaluating adolescents. This exploratory study aimed…

Purpose: Speech sound disorder (SSD) is one of the major speech disorders in school-age children. Given the heterogeneity in terms of subtypes within SSD, there is a need to develop techniques for a quick identification of these subtypes. Furthermore, given the paucity of studies from children with SSD from Cantonese-speaking homes and a noted…

This paper explores the growing complexity of detecting and differentiating generative AI from other AI interventions. Initially prompted by noticing how tools like Grammarly were being flagged by AI detection software, it examines how these popular tools such as Grammarly, EditPad, Writefull, and AI models such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing…

The field of gifted education in the United States faces an existential crisis due to well-founded charges that many school programs fail to identify students who reflect the diversity of the overall student population. In this study, we used a mixed methods light approach to explore gifted education coordinators' perceptions of equity and…

This study uses a rigorous research process to explore the psychometric properties of the Gifted Rating Scale-School Form (GRS-S) within the Qatari educational context. We employed stratified cluster sampling of 326 students (aged 6-13 years, M = 10.9) from 25 public schools in Doha. Data was collected in the second semester of the 2023-2024…

According to Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), state parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. In this paper we focus on access to higher education for persons with intellectual disabilities and the recognition or non-recognition of these persons as students…

In this paper I engage in an autobiographical inquiry into my experience of my son's autism assessment referral and how this experience has continued to guide me in my learning journey as a mother, educator, friend, and family member. Thinking about how a parent's greatest gift in this world is their children, I inquire into the messiness of…