Education Research Symposium

Title:
Unveiling the Impact of Adult Emotion on Child Learning Motivation

Abstract:

It is widely known that children’s emotions influence their learning motivation, but is their learning motivation also influenced by other people’s expressed emotions? According to the theory of emotional contagion, individuals are affected by the emotions expressed by others. This study (N=100) explored the possibility adults’ expressed emotions can affect children’s learning motivation. We found that children’s learning motivation increased when they received positive emotional expressions from adults towards a specific subject and decreased when they got negative emotional expressions. This research emphasizes the importance of expressed emotions, as a psychological mechanism, for promoting learning motivation from a social perspective. The results show a strong implication for educators’ expressions of emotions in children’s learning.

Title:
The Relationship between School Climates and Adolescent Test Anxiety

Abstract:
Test anxiety is a mental disorder that arises from the fear of failure in exams, posing a risk to one’s self-esteem, sense of identity, personal and professional aspirations, as well as external evaluations by others. As the primary source of test anxiety, schools play a crucial role in identifying, mitigating, and addressing adolescent test anxiety. School climate, denoting the overall atmosphere and experiences within schools, is a potential source of preventive measures that schools can take to prevent students’ test anxiety. The current study examines the relationship between school climates and adolescent test anxiety at individual, school, and country levels. A positive school climate is hypothesized to be inversely related to adolescent test anxiety symptoms. The study includes 68,072 fifteen-year-old students from sixteen countries and economies. Adolescents’ and their school principals’ self-reports of perceived school climates include three aspects (safety, teaching and learning, and school community), as well as students’ self-reports of test anxiety. Regression analyses and fixed effects are implemented to test the hypothesis. The results indicate that a higher sense of belonging is related to fewer symptoms of test anxiety. Furthermore, greater parental emotional support is associated with lower test anxiety at school and country levels, but not at the individual level. Contrary to expectations, teachers’ support, enjoyment of cooperation, valuing cooperation, and school policies for parental involvement are linked to higher levels of test anxiety at individual, school, and country levels. Additionally, disciplinary climate and teaching and learning are negatively correlated with test anxiety at the individual level but positively related to test anxiety at school and country levels.

Title:
Parental Academic Socialization: Exploring Its Association with Adolescent Learning Engagement

Abstract:
Learning disengagement among middle and high school students is a significant concern, with far-reaching implications for individual development. Grounded in the Development-in-Sociocultural-Context (DISC) Model, this study investigates the complex nature of school engagement as a multidimensional construct, encompassing behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. It focuses on the influence of parental academic socialization on each engagement dimension, employing a multi-informant methodology. This study further examines the role of parental emotion socialization in moderating the relationships between academic socialization and student engagement. The sample included 172 adolescents and their parents, predominantly Black/African Americans (94%), with females representing 55% of the young participants. The findings highlighted that both student and parental perceptions of academic socialization significantly predicted all three dimensions of engagement, with adolescents’ perceptions contributing more substantially to variations in school engagement. However, while parental emotion socialization was a notable predictor across all engagement dimensions, its moderating effect on the academic socialization-engagement relationship was not confirmed in this study. These results underscore the critical role of appropriate parental involvement in children’s education to promote learning engagement and mitigate potential negative consequences.

Title:
Nevertheless, She Persisted: Leveraging Pretend Play and Role Models to Increase Girls’ Engagement in Science

Abstract:
Women have been and continue to be underrepresented in science. Recent work points to pretend play, or imitating a female scientist, as an intervention to improve girls’ engagement in science and raise their persistence to that of their male peers (Shachnai et al., 2022). The present study examines how the gender of the science role model influences pretend play’s effectiveness for girls. Four to seven-year-old girls played a science game in three conditions (baseline, female scientist, male scientist). Before the science game, girls in the female and male scientist conditions were told a story about a female or male scientist. Girls in these conditions were then asked to pretend to be the scientist during the game. Girls in the baseline condition neither heard the story nor pretended to the scientist. Persistence was measured by the number of trials completed in the game. We also included a group of boys in the baseline condition to assess their persistence at the baseline level. Preliminary results (N = 112) suggested a main effect of condition: girls in the female and male scientist conditions persisted longer than girls in the baseline condition. There was no difference in persistence between female and male scientist conditions, suggesting that pretend play as both female and male scientists improves girls’ persistence in science. This finding suggests that pretend play is a robust intervention for young girls in science that is not impacted by the gender of the role model scientist.

Title:
Impact of Teachers’ Sense of Support on Students’ Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Teachers’ Beliefs.

Abstract:
Teachers are entrusted with great hopes and expectations from schools and parents, especially concerning child academic outcomes. However, focusing solely on teachers’ pedagogy doesn’t fully capture the complete spectrum of educational processes that are beneficial for a student’s academic achievement. This study considers teachers’ motivational beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy and sense of responsibility), their relationships with student outcomes (i.e., subject-specific interest, self-efficacy, post-secondary aspirations), and their sense of support (i.e., teachers’ expectations, professional learning community, and principal support) as supplemental drivers for student academic achievement. Some notable findings from the study reveal that (a) math teachers’ self-efficacy correlates positively with students’ interest in math; (b) math teachers’ self-efficacy mediates the relationships between teachers’ sense of support and students’ subject-specific self-efficacy, and (c) teachers’ motivational beliefs do not predict students’ aspirations for higher education. These findings offer implications for understanding the various ways high school teachers are influenced by the school ecosystem, and how this may be related to students’ academic development. Further results, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Title: ChatGPT Usage and Academic Resilience in Non-Native English Graduate Students: A Mix Methods Study in TOP 30 Universities in the U.S

Abstract:
As a powerful AI model, ChatGPT has been widely used in academic experiences. This mixed-methods study explores the association between ChatGPT usage and academic resilience among international graduate students at the top 30 U.S. universities. Utilizing both questionnaires and interviews, the study investigates students’ fundamental engagement with ChatGPT and its perceived impact on their academic endeavors. Despite unanimous participant acknowledgment (N=105) of ChatGPT’s beneficial effects on their academic resilience, quantitative analyses revealed no statistically significant association between usage frequency and resilience levels as measured by Cassidy’s (2016) Academic Resilience Scale (ARS-30). Additionally, the study identified proofreading, resource discovery, summarization, and programming as primary functions employed by students, which notably enhanced their efficiency and confidence. Furthermore, a higher GPA was associated with more frequent ChatGPT usage, and faculty support for ChatGPT positively influenced students’ attitudes toward this technological tool. The findings offer valuable insights for educators and policymakers on integrating ChatGPT in academic settings to support international students. Future research directions are discussed, emphasizing the need for continued exploration into effective integration strategies for AI tools in higher education.

Title:
Peers over Parents? The Role of Racial Socialization on Ethnic-Racial Identity Development

Abstract:
The principal question of this study is the following: does peer-level ethnic-racial socialization have the same effect as from parents on Black adolescents ERI development? By effect, we mean whether ethnic-racial socialization can mitigate the adverse effects of discrimination and boost identity development? Linear growth modeling was used to estimate the changes of ethnic-racial identity across time. To detect how various sources of ethnic-racial socialization may mitigate discrimination and boost the ethnic-racial identity development of Black adolescents, our study incorporated moderation analyses between socialization and discrimination. The results indicated that discrimination is associated with increased ethnic-racial identity development and that some forms of ethnic-racial socialization mitigate the effects of discrimination. Both peers and parents were able to mitigate discrimination through preparation for bias and boost ethnic-racial identity development. Thus, both peers and parents adequately socialize Black adolescents and prepare them for instances of discrimination.

Title:
Challenging Assumptions: The Role of Maternal CDS in Early Gender Socialization

Abstract:
This study examines gender influence in maternal child-directed speech (CDS) among American monolingual English-speaking families, using data from 6 corpora of the CHILDES database, for children aged 12 to 36 months. We analyzed the frequency and types of nouns and adjectives used by mothers to determine if maternal CDS exhibits gendered language that might affect gender socialization. Findings indicate no strong preference for gender-biased language in maternal CDS, although subtle gender differences in linguistic patterns were observed. Girls received more maternal speech than boys, which could differentially impact their cognitive and social development. However, the use of gender-biased nouns and adjectives was not evident. These results suggest that gender socialization through maternal speech before age 3 might be minimal, pointing to the need for further research on other factors influencing gender socialization beyond the maternal and verbal domains.

Title: Who is Responsible for My Child’s School-readiness? Parental Educational Efficacy Shapes Kindergarten Preparedness in the Home

Abstract: This study examines whether parental perceptions of their efficacy as an educator – feeling anxious about reading and doing math, both alone and with their child — operationalized as QR-efficacy, mediates the relationship between a parent’s race, income, and education and where they place responsibility for their child’s school-readiness (LRSR; i.e., with preschools or with parents). Existing literature displays that educational disparities exist along racial compositions of SES, specifically that Black parents tend to hold lower levels of educational attainment and have lower incomes than their White counterparts. While investigating racial gaps in school-readiness, as a product of structural racism, remains relevant to the study of social inequality in education, few studies have also emphasized the importance of parental intrapersonal perceptions that often drive the decisions and behaviors parents employ for their child’s cognitive development. A stepwise regression procedure was conducted to analyze regression coefficients and model fit of four models regressing LRSR on a parent’s race, education, income, and the mediating variable, QR-efficacy. Supplementally, a structural equation model assessed direct and indirect relationships between the independent, dependent, and mediating variables. Results suggested that parents who hold higher levels of QR-efficacy place significantly greater locus of responsibility for school-readiness with parents than with preschools. This relationship held across parents’ race, education level, and income, suggesting that interventions focused on closing gaps in school-readiness may benefit from investigations that consider parental intrapersonal perceptions as well as socio-demographic factors.

Title:
Every Minute Counts – Causal Effect of School Start Times on High School Performance

Abstract:
As American adolescent-aged students begin their high school careers, they almost universally fall victim to a puzzling, paradoxical policy decision. At this stage in their lives, their bodies stop the release of melatonin later, which makes it more difficult to wake up in the morning. However, at this same time, they are expected to begin the school day earlier than they did in either middle or elementary school, despite this being a direct contradiction to the recommendations of medical professionals and researchers. Several existing papers have linked later start times with improved academic performance. In an effort to contribute to this evidence, I use student-level data from 14 schools in northwest Indiana (from 2015-16 to 2020-21) to conduct an IV regression analysis on how changes in school start times affect performance on the ISTEP+ 10th grade state test. My initial analysis shows significant positive effects of later start times on the ISTEP+ math exam in multiple years, while there is no similar significant effect on English performance. This evidence aligns itself in supporting the notion that delaying high school start times for students would lead to improved outcomes.

Title: Understanding Disproportionality: Exploring the Prevalence and Persistence of Disproportionality in Special Education Placement in the U.S.

Abstract:

Disproportionate overrepresentation in special education is a topic of great interest to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike due to concerns around equitable access to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is mandated as part of federal special education law, known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The current study investigates disproportionately by race/ethnicity in special education placement between 2012-2019. Placement refers to the educational environment where a student receives their special education and related services outlined in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). IDEA requires schools to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible. However, there are concerns that this mandate is unequally implemented, resulting in disproportionate overrepresentation of minoritized students in more restrictive environments (MRE). Using relative-risk ratios, this study finds that there is evidence of disproportionate overrepresentation of minority students in MREs at the state-level during the time frame studied, with disproportionate overrepresentation most pronounced for Black/African American students. Additionally, this study finds that measures of representation in MREs remained largely stable and consistent during the time frame studied, providing evidence that accountability efforts by the federal government to reduce disproportionate overrepresentation have not been successful in the near-term. Given that this research is largely exploratory in nature, future research should consider expanding to analyze state-level trends in disproportionality, taking into consideration contextual and sociodemographic factors. There is also an opportunity to complete further analysis of longitudinal trends at the local district (LEA) level as more data becomes available through public IDEA reporting.

Title:
Cashing In Tokens: An Experiential Analysis of Community Formation and Understanding Amongst Black Students at Predominately White Universities

Abstract:
Since 2023, 85 bills have been introduced in U.S. Congress that prevent colleges from having various forms of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, with 14 becoming law. With formalized offices and administrative support in limbo, Black students will likely have to rely on their own community networks more than ever. This phenomenological research (using semi-structured interviews with Black college students and recent alumni and thematic coding) finds that Black students at selective PWIs form community amongst each other to create belonging, explore their ethnic identities, and serve as a buffer between them and their racialized experiences of their university. Additionally, class status and feelings of racial distrust and loyalty shape the demographics of individual student communities and social circles. This suggests that university diversity initiatives are not universally accepted by Black students as indications of racial solidarity. Universities should go beyond DEI initiatives to support Black students on PWI campuses.

Title:
Non-Grievable: Disabled Politics in Cook County Jail

Abstract:
Cook County Jail (CCJ) is just one example of what James Kilgore coined “carceral humanism,” by which jails and prisons swap the language of punishment for rehabilitation, care, and protection of the vulnerable. But amidst this turn, people incarcerated in the jail have continued to face neglect, violence, and lack of sufficient health care by the state, all of which contribute to an ongoing process of disablement. The carceral logics underlying such a transition have implications for many incarcerated people who do not identify as disabled administratively or otherwise. In the jail, correctional staff tend to respond to every need—from outside contact, to paper, to medical care—with the same ideology and explicit warning: “Don’t give them what they want; they’re manipulating you.” In a facility where incarcerated people must put themselves at risk to have their basic needs met, and one of the few routes to do so includes ADA compliance, how does the institution restructure conventional borders of disability? What constitutes ‘access,’ to the facility, to each other, and to accommodation, in a facility built to be inaccessible? I employ a collage of ethnographic methods, including site visits, interviews with newly-freedpeople, testimony from incarcerated people, and institutional documentation.

In this work, I begin with the 17 men whose lives were lost while incarcerated in 2023 and raise that though death is against the interest of the jail, the institution is constructed to disable people inside physically, socially, and politically. I continue that the jail enforces indifference, impotence, and inefficacy among staff, which renders them unable to respond to incarcerated people’s needs. These are three modes of engagement that I will explore here and throughout the thesis. I then raise that the jail disables incarcerated people through the grievance system(wherein they file complaints for review by jail staff) by nullifying the only institutional mechanism that exists to self-advocate and denying insiders’ needs. I next discuss how the jail further weaponizes care as a mode of punishment, medicalizes and criminalizes responses to scarcity, and ultimately attempts to silence incarcerated people entirely. Finally, I describe how people both inside and outside of the jail wall find ways to make their needs known anyway, through reclaiming state mechanisms of compliance and through non-compliant radical actions.

Title:
A “Low Quality” Group: Stigmatization and Identity Construction of Vocational School Students in China

Abstract:
In the public discussion around education in China, vocational school students have been labelled as losers and “low-quality groups”. In the hierarchical ideology of Chinese society, vocational school students are stigmatised in opposition to the modelling Chinese youth with a bright future. However, stigmatisation is not a static and objective reality, but is constantly interpreted and reconstructed in the interaction between the discriminated group and the social environment. This paper examines the dialectical relationship between group stigma under hierarchical social ideology and identity constructions of vocational school students through an internal lens. The semiotic analysis in this article revolves around short videos uploaded by a vocational school vlogger on a Chinese social media platform. The study shows that vocational school students reconfigured the differential axes of stigmatized identities and invented new identity subcategories in their discursive practices by performing and commenting on stigma. In the identity crisis of vocational school students, the fractal recursion of stigma becomes a strategy for vocational school students to position themselves. Vocational school students’ performance of stigma is neither a culture of group resistance nor a simple reproduction of hierarchical ideology. Rather, it is a negotiation of the destigmatization of personal identity through the reinterpretation of group stereotypes. By distancing themselves from the “criticized image,” vocational school students can create a socially acceptable image for their own benefit. This semiotic process is a social action of vocational students as marginalized group in education system trying to find their place in Chinese society.

Title:
Negociando with New Neighbors: English Language Instruction of Displaced Migrants in Chicago

Abstract:
Chicago has seen upwards of 36,000 displaced migrants between January of 2023 and the present. Most come with minimal to no formal understanding of the English language, and the school-aged children are often in Chicago Public Schools with understaffed English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors. Parents are equally struggling to find adequate programming to help them learn a language they see as key to socioeconomic mobility. This case study of a Chicago adult-ESL tutoring program frames the experience of displaced migrants as one with immense good intentions but minimal research-led programming and training. I find that volunteers look to migrant voices and experiences but falter when meeting the realities of low attendance, decreasing funding, and social chaos. 

Title:
Addressing Misogyny: How Do Teachers Combat (Online) Misogyny Amongst Adolescent Boys
in the Classroom?

Abstract:
This research proposal outlines an investigation into how high school teachers might combat
(online) misogyny among adolescent boys in American high school classrooms. Drawing on
literature from education, psychology, and gender studies, this study aims to explore teachers’
perceptions and potential interventions regarding (online) misogyny. The research will utilize
qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews with high school teachers, to gather
insights into their experiences and strategies. The study will also examine the influence of social
media on adolescents’ gender identities and peer interactions within the school context.
Through this research, I aim to identify potential interventions and best practices for addressing
(online) misogyny in high school settings, contributing to the development of strategies that
effectively promote gender equity and positive socialization among students. The symposium
presentation will serve as an opportunity to discuss preliminary ideas and solicit feedback for
refining the research design and methodology for the MA thesis.

Title:
The Social Justice Contextualization of Society in the Schoolhouse: Reparative Curriculum

Abstract:
Curriculum in the United States is a standardization tool of power that requires critical study. As curriculum continues to evolve to reflect the growing needs of students, parents, teachers, and the nation, educational standards continue to become increasingly stratified across subject matter. This study aimed to study five curricular learning units: Chicago Public Schools’ Reparations Won, Facing History & Ourselves’ Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, the Pulitzer Center’s 1619 Project’s American Institutions, the College Board’s African-American Studies course, and the Florida State Department of Education’s African American History. Informed by critical race theory and cultural capital theory, this paper leveraged qualitative methods to identify thematic overlap between the studied curriculum. The findings of this paper posit that 1) the voices of marginalized groups are incorporated to create a discursive space in curricula, 2) historical consciousness is an analytical tool indicative of reparative curricula to reinforce student’ learning, and 3) rights are contextualized as both civic and human rights through protection of the legal word and violation committed by institution entities. 

Title:
Embracing Neurodiversity: Exploring Inclusive Education Practices in Neurodiverse-Focused Schools

Abstract:
This study explores the potential of schools to serve as spaces for inclusion and empowerment for neurodiverse individuals. Focusing on City Elementary, a Chicago independent school that works with neurodiverse children, this case study examines the school’s approach to education and the perspectives of educators, parents, and students within the school. This research underscores the significance of explicit pedagogical strategies, personalized education approaches, and the integration of social-emotional awareness in shaping a transformative educational experience for neurodiverse learners. It also critically examines and challenges the conventional deficit-focused perspective on disabilities. City Elementary offers an alternative model for neurodiverse education. This research underlines the necessity of creating systemic changes that accommodate and celebrate neurodiversity in all educational settings.

Title:
Unraveling Social Integration: Factors Impacting Chinese International Students’ Adaptation in US Higher Education

Abstract:
Over the past two decades, the number of international students in the United States has nearly doubled. However, enrollment does not necessarily equate to inclusion, and our understanding of the social integration of international students, particularly their interactions with teachers outside the classroom and variation among this population, is limited. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 60 Chinese international students across various US colleges and universities, this study examines how high school backgrounds and college types influence the social integration of Chinese international students in US colleges. The study reveals that students who attended American high schools exhibit higher levels of social integration due to the close-knit community and support systems available. They form closer friendships with local American peers and engage more proactively with professors. Additionally, the study finds that liberal arts colleges and smaller private research universities offer more opportunities for interaction with local American peers and faculty compared to larger institutions. Conversely, students at larger universities often experience greater exclusion within the Chinese international student community. However, despite limited social interactions outside exclusive Chinese communities, there remains a sense of satisfaction and belonging among these students. This research highlights the significance of considering high school backgrounds and college types in understanding the experiences of Chinese international students in US higher education.

Title:
Community, Trust, and Capital: Parental Social Capital in Brighton Park’s Community Schools

Abstract:
Community schools have emerged as popular strategy nationwide to offer shared leadership and expanded services to students and communities. In Chicago, this reform has emerged as a means of redressing disinvestment from neighborhood schools, offering increased funding and expanded programming through partner agencies. While research continues to emerge on how this impacts outcomes for students both in academics and beyond, this study addresses how these schools are shaping the lives of parents and community members beyond their direct implications for youth. Through Bourdieu’s social capital framework, this study uses an ethnographic and parent-centered lens to focus on community schools in Brighton Park, a neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago, revealing how these schools cultivate collaborative leadership practices and networks of trust within and around the schools, and the importance of these practices on the social capital available to parents and local communities.

By integrating discussions of social capital theory and legacies of school reform for community control in Chicago, this research interrogates the role of community schools in modifying patterns of inequality through social capital networks. While the study is ongoing, preliminary results suggest that Brighton Park’s community schools, by creating community- and parent-oriented spaces for socialization as well as social service administration, create and cultivate informal parental networks that can lead them to key resources. Furthermore, for Brighton Park’s predominantly Hispanic population, many of whom are migrants, the community schools offer new avenues into bureaucratic spaces of school leadership, providing connections and resources necessary to influence school decision-making.