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Publication The Moderation Effect of Approach Motivation Between Schizotypy and Creative Ideational Behavior(Dovepress, 2024-05-09) Wang, Lixia; Pei, Yilai; Zhu, Yuanfei; Long, Haiying; Pang, WeiguoIntroduction The schizotypy-creativity link has been studied from different perspectives over the past few decades, yet the results of this relationship are inconsistent in the literature. Previous studies have suggested that two basic motivational systems—Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS, avoidance motivation) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS, approach motivation)—underlie the relationship between schizotypy and creativity. Few empirical studies, however, have examined how the relationship interacts with other variables. This study fills these gaps and explores the role of the approach and avoidance motivation assessed by trait behavioral activation and inhibition in the link between schizotypy as a dimensional personality trait and creative ideational behavior as a measure of creativity. Method Undergraduate students (N = 388) completed questionnaires including the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) measuring 3 dimensions of schizotypy, Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) measuring creative ideational behavior, and BIS/BAS Scales measuring trait behavioral motivation. Bivariate Pearson correlation was computed, and hierarchical linear regression was performed to explore the effects of schizotypy, BIS/BAS, and their interaction on creative ideational behavior. The conditional effect of schizotypy based on different levels of the moderator was further tested. Results The total score, positive dimension and disorganized dimension of SPQ were all positively correlated with RIBS, BAS, and BIS. Negative dimension of SPQ was not significantly correlated with the RIBS score but was positively correlated with BIS. Additionally, after controlling gender and age, BAS significantly moderated the relationship between the positive and disorganized dimensions of schizotypy and creative ideational behavior measured by RIBS. However, BIS was not a significant moderator. Discussion The findings of this study regarding the relationships between different dimensions of schizotypy, two motivational systems, and creative ideational behavior were mostly consistent with previous findings. The significant moderated effect of BAS on the relationship between two dimensions of schizotypy and creative ideational behavior made significant contributions to the understanding of the relationship between schizotypy and creativity.Publication The Influence of Climate on Flourishing and Motivational Outcomes for U.S. Masters Swimmers(MDPI, 2023-01-21) Fry, Mary D.; Wineinger, Troy O.; Long, Haiying; Guivernau, Marta; Gano-Overway, Lori A.; Iwasaki, SusumuThe climate in which older adults exercise and participate in sport may play a role in promoting a lifetime commitment to exercising. However, little research has examined the relationship of caring (C) and task-involving (TI) climates, motivation, and well-being with respect to older adult athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Masters swimmers’ perceptions of the climate, effort, enjoyment, and flourishing as well as explore the mediating effects of effort and enjoyment on the relationship between climate and flourishing. U.S. Masters swimmers (n = 294; Mage = 63.57 years; 84.40% White) with 1–80 years of swimming experience (M = 34.54 years) participating in coach-led programs completed an online survey. The results of latent variable, multiple-mediator analyses via structural equation modeling revealed two important contributions to the literature: (1) when Masters swimmers perceived that they were in C and TI climates, they were more likely to report higher levels of effort and greater enjoyment and flourishing; (2) the Masters swimmers’ effort levels directly influenced their flourishing, mediating the relationship between climates and flourishing. This research has important implications for practice and policy, as U.S. Masters Swimming appears to be a fruitful avenue for promoting an enjoyable physical activity that can be experienced throughout a lifetime.Publication From single attitudes to belief systems: Examining the centrality of STEM attitudes using belief network analysis(Elsevier, 2023-04-07) Quintana, RafaelMany achievement and motivation theories claim that a specific set of beliefs, interests or values plays a central role in determining career choice and behavior. In order to investigate how attitudes determine behaviors, researchers generally investigate each attitude in isolation. This article argues that studying belief systems rather than single attitudes has several explanatory advantages. In particular, a system-level approach can provide clear definitions and measures of attitude importance. Using a nationally representative sample of 13,283 9th graders and measures of 136 STEM-related attitudes, I implement a belief network analysis to investigate which attitudes are most influential in determining STEM career choice. The results suggest that identity beliefs, educational expectations and ability-related beliefs play central roles in individuals’ belief systems.Publication A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the ‘Return to Duty Readiness Questionnaire’(MDPI, 2022-12-23) Cooper, Carly; Frey, Bruce; Long, Haiying; Day, CharlesThe Readiness to Return to Duty Questionnaire (RDRQ) is a recently developed screening instrument for detecting fear-avoidance behavior in a military musculoskeletal pain population. The RDRQ was developed based on the Fear-Avoidance Model which postulates four factors resulting in overall fear-avoidance behavior. While research investigating the factor structure of the RDRQ does not exist, research investigating the factor structure of other measures of fear avoidance have found evidence of one and two factor solutions. In the present paper we assess the adequacy of the proposed factor structure of the RDRQ using confirmatory factor analysis. The results favor a three-factor model. Theoretical implications for research using the RDRQ are discussed.Publication Development and validation of a military fear avoidance questionnaire(Frontiers Media, 2022-10-03) Cooper, Carly; Frey, Bruce; Day, CharlesChronic pain due to musculoskeletal injury is one of the leading causes of disability and reduced combat readiness in the U.S. Army. Unidimensional pain management systems are not effective in addressing the complex phenomenon of pain-related disability. Growing evidence has supported use of the Fear Avoidance Model (FAM) as a suitable model to address pain-related disability and chronicity from a multidimensional pain neuroscience approach. While several fear avoidance measurement tools exist, one that addresses the complexity of the Army environment encouraged the authors to develop and test the reliability and validity of a military specific questionnaire. This study developed and validated an Army specific fear avoidance screening, the Return to Duty Readiness Questionnaire (RDRQ), which subsequently demonstrated good psychometric properties. Reliability coefficients demonstrate high internal consistency values both during pilot study (α = 0.96) and validation study (α = 0.94, ωt = 0.94). A Correlation Coefficient of 0.74 when compared with the Fear Avoidance Components Scale (FACS) suggests good concurrent validity. Future study should include replication in a new army population, investigation of responsiveness, test-retest reliability, structural validity and establishing severity scores with minimal clinically important differences to enhance utility.Publication Multidimensional Scaling of Cognitive Ability and Academic Achievement Scores(MDPI, 2022-12-01) Meyer, Em M.; Reynolds, Matthew R.Multidimensional scaling (MDS) was used as an alternate multivariate procedure for investigating intelligence and academic achievement test score correlations. Correlation coefficients among Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-5) and Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) validity sample scores and among Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (KABC-II) and Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition (KTEA-2) co-norming sample scores were analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS). Three-dimensional MDS configurations were the best fit for interpretation in both datasets. Subtests were more clearly organized by CHC ability and academic domain instead of complexity. Auditory-linguistic, figural-visual, reading-writing, and quantitative-numeric regions were visible in all models. Results were mostly similar across different grade levels. Additional analysis with WISC-V and WIAT-III tests showed that content (verbal, numeric, figural) and response process facets (verbal, manual, paper-pencil) were also useful in explaining test locations. Two implications from this study are that caution may be needed when interpreting fluency scores across academic areas, and MDS provides more empirically based validity evidence regarding content and response mode processes.Publication The Effect of Concerns About COVID-19 on Anxiety, Stress, Parental Burnout, and Emotion Regulation: The Role of Susceptibility to Digital Emotion Contagion(Frontiers Media, 2020-12-18) Prikhidko, Alena; Long, Haiying; Wheaton, Michael G.Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused social and economic turmoil, which has led to enormous strain for many families. Past work with pandemic outbreaks suggests that media attention can increase anxiety and compensatory behaviors. Social isolation can lead to increase in online communication and parents who use social media may be affected by other people's emotions online through what is known as digital emotion contagion (DEC). The current study aimed to examine the role of DEC in the relationship between stress, concern about COVID-19, parental burnout and emotion regulation (ER). Methods: In April 2020, an online survey was advertised in Social Media Parenting Groups and published on FIU Psychology online research system SONA. Data were analyzed using correlational analysis, linear and multiple linear regression, and moderation analysis. Results: Concern about COVID-19 predicted stress, depression, and parental burnout. Susceptibility to DEC significantly increased the impact of stress on parental burnout. Having relatives infected with COVID-19 increased the effect of DEC on parental burnout. A higher level of ER buffered the relationship between emotion contagion and concern about COVID-19. Conclusion: These findings suggest that susceptibility to digital emotion contagion may have a negative effect on parents. Digital emotion contagion may increase parental burnout and is tied to stress.Publication Dataset for measuring the conceptual understanding of optics in Rwanda [version 2; peer review: 2 approved](F1000Research, 2022-05-10) Ndihokubwayo, Kizito; Ralph, Michael; Ndayambaje, Irénée; Uwamahoro, JeanThis dataset is an accumulation of data collected to test Rwandan physics students’ conceptual understanding of light phenomena and to assess instructional tools for active learning of optics. We collected and analysed data from 251 grade 11 (senior 5) students using our Light Phenomena Conceptual Assessment (LPCA) tool and from 136 grade 10 (senior 4) students using Geometric Optics Conceptual Understanding Test (GOCUT) in 2019. Before collecting data, we designed and validated LPCA and GOCUT, and tested their reliability. Data were collected before and after students learnt about the unit of light. Both day and boarding schools in rural and urban areas were included in our sampling. Data collected were test scores from students after performing a 30-item LPCA test or 25-item GOCUT test in 40 minutes. The data may be reused to extend students' understanding of optics concepts through item analysis, analysis of school characteristics such as location and school type, or by analysing students' characteristics such as subject combinations.Publication The Effect of Concerns About COVID-19 on Anxiety, Stress, Parental Burnout, and Emotion Regulation: The Role of Susceptibility to Digital Emotion Contagion(Frontiers Media, 2020-12-18) Prikhidko, Alena; Long, Haiying; Wheaton, Michael G.Background and aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused social and economic turmoil, which has led to enormous strain for many families. Past work with pandemic outbreaks suggests that media attention can increase anxiety and compensatory behaviors. Social isolation can lead to increase in online communication and parents who use social media may be affected by other people's emotions online through what is known as digital emotion contagion (DEC). The current study aimed to examine the role of DEC in the relationship between stress, concern about COVID-19, parental burnout and emotion regulation (ER). Methods: In April 2020, an online survey was advertised in Social Media Parenting Groups and published on FIU Psychology online research system SONA. Data were analyzed using correlational analysis, linear and multiple linear regression, and moderation analysis. Results: Concern about COVID-19 predicted stress, depression, and parental burnout. Susceptibility to DEC significantly increased the impact of stress on parental burnout. Having relatives infected with COVID-19 increased the effect of DEC on parental burnout. A higher level of ER buffered the relationship between emotion contagion and concern about COVID-19. Conclusion: These findings suggest that susceptibility to digital emotion contagion may have a negative effect on parents. Digital emotion contagion may increase parental burnout and is tied to stress.Publication They Saw It Coming: Rising Trends in Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidality in Creative Students and Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis(Frontiers Media, 2021-03-01) Kerr, Barbara A.; Birdnow, Maxwell; Wright, Jonathan Daniel; Fiene, SaraPrevious research has established that creative adolescents are generally low in neuroticism and as well-adjusted as their peers. From 2006 to 2013, data from cohorts of creative adolescents attending a counseling laboratory supported these results. Clinical findings of increased anxiety, depression, and suicidality among creative students in 2014 led the researchers to create 3 studies to explore these clinical findings. Once artifactual causes of these changes were ruled out, a quantitative study was conducted. Study 1, an analysis of mean differences of pre-2014 and post-2014 cohorts showed that post-2014 cohorts scored significantly higher in Neuroticism, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness and lower in Extraversion on Big 5 inventories. Regression analyses suggested that while Neuroticism was associated with gender, Conscientiousness and Grade Point Average for the earlier group, Neuroticism in the post 2014 groups was related to complex interplay of all personality dynamics except Agreeableness. In the qualitative Study 2, focus groups of 6–10 students, for a total of 102 participants were queried about the reasons they perceived for increased anxiety and depression in creative students. Increased achievement pressures and awareness of environmental and social problems were major sources of external stressors; perfectionism and desire to fulfill expectations of others were the primary sources of internal stress. The authors suggest that creative students' openness to experience and advanced knowledge made it possible for these students to see the potential for environmental and social crises and respond to their inability to solve these problems with anxiety and depression. Study 3 was a qualitative study that followed up 19 participants from the post-2014 cohort to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and creativity. While the majority perceived a negative effect of the pandemic on their mental health, most also produced a surprising variety of creative works during that time. In conclusion, rapid changes in the lives of creative adolescents since 2014 suggest that scholars focus on current cohorts and the ways in which adolescent personality is shaped by internal expectation and external pressures and global events. Despite the pandemic, creative young people continued to create.Publication THE EFFECT OF NON-NORMALITY ON THE CUTSCORE OPERATING FUNCTION: ESTIMATION CORRECTNESS IN NON-NORMAL MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Pace, Jesse Rey; Poggio, John; Patterson, Meagan; Peyton, Vicki; Reynolds, Matthew; Rice, SuzanneCertification testing attempts to classify individuals into mutually exclusive categories, such as competent and non-competent. There is some potential for error whenever a classification decision is made as a result of a test score. The Grabovsky and Wainer cutscore operating function (GW-CSOF) is a recent addition to classification error estimates. This method allows for the prediction of error rates at all possible cutscore locations, but requires that certain assumptions about the examinee distribution are met. How the estimates made by the GW-CSOF compare to actual error values is currently unknown. Furthermore, the extent to which deviations from GW-CSOF assumptions impact error estimates is also unknown. The aim of this dissertation was to explore the extent to which non-normality of examinee true scores impacted the correctness of the GW-CSOF estimates. Monte Carlo methods were used to generate true score samples with systematically increased non-normality, and GW-CSOF estimates were compared to actual error rates. Findings indicated that GW-CSOF produced good estimates of error rates and optimal cutscore location in truly normal and minimally non-normal simulations. The degree to which GW-CSOF produced incorrect estimates was significantly correlated with the degree of non-normality. Specific guidelines for standard setting are discussed.Publication Cognitive Test Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and Performance on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators Examination(University of Kansas, 2019-12-31) Zhao, Yang; Frey, Bruce B; Kingston, Neal M; Peyton, Vicki; Hansen, David M; Kim, ChangHwanThe Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam is broadly used as a partial requirement of obtaining teacher licensure. The inferences made based on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam results are of high stakes for teacher candidates, often determining if they are admitted into teacher education programs. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the levels of Cognitive Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy among the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam takers and the correlations with exam performance. The data analyzed in this study were collected through a survey administered on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam takers who took the exam between 2014 and 2019 in the United States. The revised version of the Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale (Cassady & Johnson, 2002; Cassady & Johnson, 2014) and the English version of the General Self-Efficacy scale (Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1981) were used to measure Cognitive Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy. Results showed a negative correlation which was statistically significant between Cognitive Test Anxiety and the exam performance. Results also indicated a non-significant trend indicating chances of higher scores with higher levels of Self-Efficacy. In addition, it was found that the latent interaction between Cognitive Test Anxiety and Self-Efficacy, indicating positive moderation effect of Self-Efficacy on scores, was not statistically significant. Overall, for this study, it is concluded that the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam takers with higher levels of Cognitive Test Anxiety are more likely to receive lower scores.Publication Barriers and Persistence Strategies of Online Master's Students(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Arrington, Tiffany L; Wolf-Wendel, Lisa; Niileksela, Christopher R; Reynolds, Matthew R; Patterson, Meagan; Skrtic, ThomasThe purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of students who enrolled in one of several, newly established online masters and online graduate certificate programs in the School of Education at the University of Kansas. Ten students who finished their online- graduated degrees (Completers) and three students who started but discontinued their programs (Non-completers) were asked to describe the barriers they faced and the strategies they utilized while striving for completion in their academic program. Consistent with online-persistence literature, Completers and Non-Completers reported technology skills, competing work commitments, or personal/health circumstances were barriers to persistence reported with frequency. Program pace, a barrier that describes the intensity of program expectations, emerged as a barrier unique to the experiences of Completers at KU. Non-completers reported unexpected circumstances and program dissatisfaction contributed to their withdrawal. Completers and Non- Completers reported the use of persistence strategies that helped them a) manage time, b) maintain relationships, and c) monitor their own progress.Publication The Relationship Between Hope and Stigma in the Decision to Seek Mental Health Treatment(University of Kansas, 2018-08-31) Ternes, Michael Shawn; Krieshok, Thomas S; Cole, Brian P; Hensley, Kristen; Roberts, Michael C; Templin, JonathanThere is a significant disparity between the number of people who could benefit from mental health treatment and the number of people who seek mental health treatment. Barriers to treatment can include self-reliance and stoicism, a lack of trust for health providers, and, importantly, concern for stigma. Mental health self-stigma has been identified as a primary factor, yet there is a paucity of research examining self-stigma in context with other explicit and implicit influences on the decision-making process involved in a person’s decision to seek treatment. In this study, participants sourced from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (n = 150) were randomly assigned to one of three study conditions to review and select options for navigating a mental health challenge, as well as report on characteristics such as hope, cognitive and psychological flexibility, distress tolerance, self-stigma, and situational and dispositional forms of rationality and intuition. Self-stigma was observed to have a large and significant association with the decision to seek treatment (β = -.494, p < .001). Hope, while not directly related to the decision to seek treatment (β = .010, p = .912), was related to other characteristics, such as cognitive flexibility (β = .433, p < .001), which did display a significant relationship with stigma (β = -.402, p = .001) and facets of distress tolerance. This study reveals hope and cognitive flexibility as potential avenues for intervention in an attempt to address stigma and promote mental health treatment.Publication Exploring Pathways of Western and East Asian Students’ Persistence in Learning: The Role of Learning Beliefs, Choice, and Internationalization of Learning Motivation(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Wang, Yurou; Hansen, David; Patterson, Meagan; Zhao, Yong; Frey, Bruce; Duan, Changming; Fry, MaryAbstract This dissertation examines the widely spread assumption that East Asian students are more persistent than their American counterparts because they are more likely to believe that success results from efforts rather than innate ability. The examination was conducted through comparing the impact of three factors—learning beliefs, preference of choice, and internalization of learning motivation—on learning persistence between East Asian and American college students (Western and East Asian). Specifically, the dissertation reports findings of two related studies. The first study was the development of a new measurement scale Internalization of Learning Motivation Scale based on Self-determination theory. The second study was discovering the different pathways for Western and East Asian students towards persistence. The difference in internalization of learning motivation, learning beliefs, preference of choice and persistence between Western and East Asian college students was address. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensionality and reliability of the scale, and Structural equation modeling were conducted to identify the relationships among all the factors. The new internalization scale was proved to be valid and reliable. The findings also suggested different pathways to persistence in learning between Western and East Asian students.Publication Observing racial socialization: How do White parent-child dyads talk about race?(University of Kansas, 2019-08-31) Zucker, Jenna Kelley; Patterson, Meagan MThis paper explores the relationship among White parents’ racial socialization behaviors, their perceived socialization practices, and their children’s perceptions of those behaviors. In contrast with previous studies which have relied primarily on parental self-reports of socialization, I presented the parent-child dyad with two race-relevant news clips (i.e. NFL kneeling controversy and Confederate statue removal) and asked them to watch and discuss the clips. I then separated parent and child for independent interviews during which I asked what they had discussed, if they had talked about these or other issues before, and how the subject of race may be approached in their household. Participants were White parent-child dyads (N = 10) in Midwestern US college towns. Children were between the ages of 10-12. In addition to the observation and interviews, parents and children were also given racial socialization and racial bias measures. Results indicate that although parents express an interest and sense of comfort surrounding race-related conversations with their children, parents employed a combination of colorblind and color-conscious messages when discussing current events with their children. Other related themes also emerged in parent-child conversations about race, such as the role of the media, the current political climate, and race as a contemporary versus historical issue. This study uses a novel, mixed-methods approach to study how White parents discuss race, the messages they think they are sending, and ways in which their children perceive those messages. Little research has been done to look at the congruency between messages parents send and those the child perceives, especially with children in this age range.Publication Modeling Ecological Risk, Health Promotion, and Prevention Program Effects for Rural Adolescents(University of Chicago Press, 2019-01-25) Wu, Qi; Guo, Shenyang; Evans, Caroline B. R.; Smokowski, Paul R.; Bacallao, Martica; Stalker, Katie C.Objective: Universal prevention programs such as Positive Action (PA) mitigate risk factors and enhance promotive factors, often leading to improved adolescent functioning and school climate. The current study used 5 waves of data to assess the impact of PA on adolescent mental health and perceptions of school climate 1 year after completion of the program in a sample of low-income, rural youth. Method: Following multiple imputation and propensity score analysis, we ran 4 (2-level) hierarchal linear models to examine program effects. Results: PA program participants reported significant increases in self-esteem and significant decreases in school hassles relative to youths who did not participate in PA. Participation in PA did not have a significant impact on internalizing symptoms or aggression. Risk factors across the adolescents’ ecology had a strong negative impact on the outcomes, and some promotive factors modestly bolstered adolescent functioning. Conclusions: Findings highlight the influence that risk factors—especially negative interpersonal conflicts—have on adolescent outcomes and indicate that, although PA can help improve adolescents’ perceptions of themselves and their school climate, the program might need to be tailored for use in low-income, rural areas.Publication Growth Modeling in a Diagnostic Classification Model (DCM) Framework–A Multivariate Longitudinal Diagnostic Classification Model(Frontiers Media, 2020-08-07) Pan, Qianqian; Qin, Lu; Kingston, NealA multivariate longitudinal DCM is developed that is the composite of two components, the log-linear cognitive diagnostic model (LCDM) as the measurement model component that evaluates the mastery status of attributes at each measurement occasion, and a generalized multivariate growth curve model that describes the growth of each attribute over time. The proposed model represents an improvement in the current longitudinal DCMs given its ability to incorporate both balanced and unbalanced data and to measure the growth of a single attribute directly without assuming that attributes grow in the same pattern. One simulation study was conducted to evaluate the proposed model in terms of the convergence rates, the accuracy of classification, and parameter recoveries under different combinations of four design factors: the sample size, the growth patterns, the G matrix design, and the number of measurement occasions. The results revealed the following: (1) In general, the proposed model provided good convergence rates under different conditions. (2) Regarding the classification accuracy, the proposed model achieved good recoveries on the probabilities of attribute mastery. However, the correct classification rates depended on the cut point that was used to classify individuals. For individuals who truly mastered the attributes, the correct classification rates increased as the measurement occasions increased; however, for individuals who truly did not master the attributes, the correct classification rates decreased slightly as the numbers of measurement occasions increased. Cohen's kappa increased as the number of measurement occasions increased. (3) Both the intercept and main effect parameters in the LCDM were recovered well. The interaction effect parameters had a relatively large bias under the condition with a small sample size and fewer measurement occasions; however, the recoveries were improved as the sample size and the number of measurement occasions increased. (4) Overall, the proposed model achieved acceptable recoveries on both the fixed and random effects in the generalized growth curve model.Publication Translating Educational Research into Classroom Practice: Working Together to Close the Gap(University of Kansas, 2017-05-31) Burghart, Hayley; Harrington, Robert; Lee, Seungyeon; Moos, FelixThe research-to-practice gap, the disconnect between what we know about education and what we do in practice (Olswang & Prelock, 2015) or the gap between the production of new knowledge through research and its inclusion in routine practice by educators (Greenwood & Abbott, 2001) has been discussed and examined in the education field for many decades. However, this gap continues to be a challenge researchers and educators face (Kane, 2016). The current literature on the research-to-practice gap does not address the process by which teachers are engaging with educational research when facing challenges in the classroom. If teachers are to participate in closing the gap, we need to better understand their selection processes for various outlets of educational research. The current study is a mixed methods survey research design examining how pre-service teachers (n = 28) select sources of information (academic and non-academic) to solve instructional and behavioral challenges they may encounter in the classroom, why they choose the sources they do, and their opinions on solutions to close the research-to-practice gap. The findings showed that pre-service teachers were more likely to use their personal relationships with colleagues as source of gathering new information because these colleagues provide practical information for challenges they face in their classrooms. Suggestions for interventions proposed by pre-service teachers and future directions are discussed.Publication The Impact of Entrepreneurship Education Programs on Entrepreneurship Intention: Updating the Field of Entrepreneurship Education(University of Kansas, 2019-05-31) Alanazi, Ahmed; Templin, Jonathan; Templin, Jonathan; Zhao, Yong; Kingston, NealEntrepreneurship education programs have had an increasing presence in higher education institutions in the last few years. Despite their popularity and the rapid growth of these programs locally and internationally, the extent of their impact on entrepreneurship intention is still unclear. Thus, research findings continue to create conflict among researchers. This thesis meta-analyzed 47 effect sizes from 38 studies published from 2014 to 2018 to reveal the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship intention in higher education settings. The results show clear evidence that entrepreneurship education affects entrepreneurship intention, the weighted mean effect size was found to be = .313 (lower limit = 0.262, upper limit = .364). Higher education institutions and government agencies should focus on these types of education programs to support the economy, innovation, and start-up businesses, and to attract companies locally. Discussion and research limitations are discussed in this thesis.