The nonequivalent-groups anchor-test (NEAT) data-collection design is commonly used in large-scale assessments. Under this design, different test groups take different test forms. Each test form has its own unique items and all test forms share a set of common items. If item response theory (IRT) models are applied to analyze the test data, the…

Much has been written on the topic of critical pedagogy since the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire brought his critical approach and theory of knowledge to the world stage in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" in 1968. As a self-reflexive pedagogy, it is in a near constant state of shaping and re-shaping. Through all of this, critical pedagogy…

This grounded theory study asks, among teachers who have had transformative professional experiences, what elements emerge to explain their transformational experience? The purpose of this study is to explain the elements which may foster individual teacher professional transformation at a rural New England school district. Participants are…

Recent advancements in testing differential item functioning (DIF) have greatly relaxed restrictions made by the conventional multiple group item response theory (IRT) model with respect to the number of grouping variables and the assumption of predefined DIF-free anchor items. The application of the L[subscript 1] penalty in DIF detection has…

This dissertation sought to interrogate the ways in which White, rural students from West Virginia conceptualized diversity before, during, and since their transition to a large PWI in their home state. Using Critical Whiteness Studies and intersectionality as driving theory, student participants and I engaged in deconstruction of privilege…

Service-learning is defined and applied in myriad ways across the world. While the roots of this pedagogy lie in the well-intentioned acts of addressing unmet social needs and, in general, helping people, this has not always been the outcome of the interactions. In many cases, engaging in service-learning has led to harmful reproductions of…

School bullying is a complex social phenomenon in need of further exploration regarding its connections to contextual aspects, group norms, and societal structures. This calls for research approaches that can get closer to participants' experiences and the different social processes involved in school bullying. One such approach is the…

Background: Regression Discontinuous Design (RDD) is widely used in educational studies. Through RDD, researchers can obtain unbiased results when Randomized Experimental Design (RED) is inaccessible. Compared to RED, the RDD only requires a cut score variable (continuous) and a cutoff value to assign students to the treatment or control groups.…

The study sought to understand the experiences of faculty engaged in curriculum reform to integrate social determinants of health in medical education. The continuing disparities in health are in part a result of lack of education at U.S. medical schools on social and structural inequities as root causes of health disparities. The study used a…

Throughout recent decades, there has been a surge in work to create a diverse classical music canon by finding and promoting works written by composers of underrepresented identities. Despite these efforts, one area that has received little attention is the music written by women during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Reviving the works of…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States in early 2020, individuals have been motivated to protect themselves against the risk of the virus by the wearing of masks, social-distancing, and receiving vaccinations. This study utilizes Rogers' (1975) Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to test motivations of collegiate student-athletes to…

Critical Consciousness (CC) refers to a critical theory that recognizes oppressive systems and provides those oppressed with a framework to overcome and act against these structures. Although the theory's origin addressed illiterate adults and empowered them to become critically aware, critically reflective, and active agents of change,…

Black student leaders attending predominantly White institutions face difficulties that have not been addressed during their collegiate experience. Black students who attend predominantly White institutions often participate in groups/organizations that embrace their ethnic and racial background more than those that do not. Clubs and Organizations…

Thanks in part to the research and scholarship of Frank Abrahams (e.g., 2005, 2006, 2007, 2019), his welcoming of scholars into the field, as well as his dedication to the development and growth of the music education profession, music teaching and learning maintains particular positions connected to critical pedagogy and the work of Paulo Freire.…

The Vlogs on YouTube have been excellent sources to satisfy craving for mystical and enigmatic distant land detached of our immediate surroundings. Despite the benefits of free world tours in high definition videos, many of the vloggers' framing of the distant land and culture for the purpose of crafting interesting and attractive travelling…