This study is intended to provide researchers with empirically derived guidelines for conducting factor analytic studies in research contexts that include dichotomous and continuous levels of measurement. This study is based on the hypotheses that ordinary least squares (OLS) factor analysis will yield more accurate parameter estimates than…

Institutional diversity is a long-held value in U.S. higher education with origins dating back 300 years to pre-Revolutionary colonial colleges. Institutional diversity is still valued today, but Institutional theory predicts that institutional organizations, such as universities, will homogenize without intervention to prevent loss of diversity.…

Meta-analytic Structural Equation Modeling (MASEM) has drawn interest from many researchers recently. In doing MASEM, researchers usually first synthesize correlation matrices across studies using meta-analysis techniques and then analyze the pooled correlation matrix using structural equation modeling techniques. Several multivariate methods of…

The purpose of this study was to review the graduate gender divide in STEM fields in the context of the recent Great Recession. The rationale for this study was a continuation of the pipeline paradigm at the graduate level. The goal was also to examine the gender divide in STEM across select institutional types, such as land-grant institutions, as…

Student achievement to reward or sanction schools. These unadjusted accountability indicators do not account for differences in student or school characteristics that contribute to variations in assessment results. Since the "Coleman Report" (1966), a guiding principle in accountability design has been that educational outcomes data…

Examination regimes at the end of secondary school vary greatly intra- and cross-nationally, and in recent years have undergone important reforms often geared towards increasing student achievement. This research presents a comparative analysis of the relationship between examination regimes and student achievement in the OECD. Using a micro…

As the use of contracting for Information Technology (IT) services steadily increases, IT managers are challenged with reconciling the need for flexibility achieved through the use of contract workers, with the need to understand the factors that maximize the performance and behaviors of contract and permanent IT workers. While several research…

This dissertation encompasses three chapters that study the Brazilian higher educational system and determines the barriers to acquiring higher education in the country. Below are the individual abstracts for each chapter. Chapter 1: "Rural and urban schools' performance in Brazil and its impact on access to higher education". Recent…

This study examined the perceptions of Kentucky SBDM council members concerning the productivity and efficacy of the councils. The major variables studied were council member position, council member demographic characteristics, perceived efficacy, and perceived productivity. The research data came from an already completed field survey. This…

In California, Algebra I is the 8th grade math content standard. The United States Department of Education found the annual 8th grade General Math California Standards Test to be out of compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 since it assesses 6th and 7th grade math standards and not Algebra I math content. In response to the…