Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- All Subjects: Developmental Psychology
Description
Increasing elementary school attainment globally remains a key focus for improving internationally child development (UNESCO, 2010), and for girls in particular (UNICEF, 2015). This dissertation was designed to test and explore specific areas to target to improve educational attainment for rural indigenous communities using a mixed-methods approach (i.e., quantitative survey of 264 mothers and qualitative interviews with 37 of those mothers 3.5 years later) with a Mayan community in Camanchaj, Guatemala. The first study was designed to examine the educational trajectories available to children in this community (e.g., dropping out, graduating 6th grade) by age, grade, and gender, and identified risks and vulnerabilities for educational attainment. The second study was a logistic regression to examine maternal factors that predict the likelihood of a child graduating from elementary school or dropping out in this community, above and beyond covariates of poverty and health and found that maternal education predicted educational attainment for both boys as girls as well as maternal beliefs about the importance of school for getting a job, which was particularly strong predictor for boys. The third study probed findings from Studies 1 and 2 using Experiential Thematic Analyses and Frequency Analyses to examine processes and cognitions involved in a child’s graduating elementary school, dropping out, and community beliefs and attitudes regarding education and gender equality. Findings highlight the need for interventions that are contextually and culturally appropriate and that consider complex and interacting factors of poverty, health, and gender inequality as well as maternal and community-level attitudes and beliefs to promote elementary school attainment globally.
ContributorsEngland, Dawn Elizabeth (Author) / Martin, Carol L (Thesis advisor) / Cooper, Carey E (Committee member) / Bradley, Robert H (Committee member) / Miller, Cindy F (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Segregation into own-gender peer groups, a common developmental pattern, has many potentially negative short- and long-term consequences. Understanding the social cognitive processes underlying intergroup processes may lead to a better understanding of, and a chance to improve, intergroup relations between boys and girls; however, until recently gender-typed cognitions have not received a lot of attention. Therefore, in two complementary studies, this dissertation examines developmental patterns and predictors of a particular type of social cognition, gender-based relationship efficacy (GBRE). The first study examines mean-level and interindividual stability patterns of GBRE longitudinally in two developmental periods: childhood and pre-adolescence. Specifically, the first study examined children’s and pre-adolescents’ GBRE toward own- (GBRE-Own) and other-gender (GBRE-Other) peers over a one-year period. Using a four factor repeated measures analysis of variance, the results indicated that GBRE-Own is significantly higher than GBRE-Other across both cohorts. GBRE-Other, however, increased from childhood to pre-adolescence. Stability and cross-lag effects were examined using a multi-group panel analysis and revealed that GBRE-Own and GBRE-Other were stable. Additionally, high levels of GBRE-Own led to lower levels of GBRE-Other one year later, but high levels of GBRE-Other led to higher levels of GBRE-Own. Implications for understanding segregation processes and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The second study examined potential affective/cognitive, behavioral, and contextual predictors of GBRE-Other in pre-adolescence. Several hypotheses were tested using panel models and regression analyses, but there was limited support. Results indicated that GBRE-Other predicted more positive attitudes toward other-gender peers and higher preferences for other-gender peer interaction and that, for boys, anxious attitudes toward other-gender peers negatively predicted GBRE-Other and, for girls, parental attitudes toward their children’s other-gender friendships negatively predicted GBRE-Other. The lack of significant findings in the second study should be interpreted cautiously. In general, GBRE is an important construct and more research is needed to fully understand the developmental progression and implications.
The second study examined potential affective/cognitive, behavioral, and contextual predictors of GBRE-Other in pre-adolescence. Several hypotheses were tested using panel models and regression analyses, but there was limited support. Results indicated that GBRE-Other predicted more positive attitudes toward other-gender peers and higher preferences for other-gender peer interaction and that, for boys, anxious attitudes toward other-gender peers negatively predicted GBRE-Other and, for girls, parental attitudes toward their children’s other-gender friendships negatively predicted GBRE-Other. The lack of significant findings in the second study should be interpreted cautiously. In general, GBRE is an important construct and more research is needed to fully understand the developmental progression and implications.
ContributorsField, Ryan David (Author) / Martin, Carol L (Thesis advisor) / DeLay, Dawn (Committee member) / Miller, Cindy F (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Examinations of Racism in U.S. Pre-K-12th Grade Educational Contexts
Description
Racism primarily has been examined in United States (U.S.) educational contexts via survey and qualitative investigations, which reveal Black, Indigenous, and People of Colors’ (BIPOCs’) self-reported experiences of individual racism. Missing from this research is a focus on the perpetrators of racism and the institutional nature of racism in U.S. education. Experimental examinations of racism in U.S. education are efficacious in identifying perpetrators of racism and offer objective evidence of racism, which can underscore the importance of qualitative and survey findings. However, experimental examinations of racism in educational contexts are infrequent, examine a wide array of perpetrators (e.g., peers, teachers, principals) and educational domains (grading, diagnoses, liking), and reveal mixed findings. Thus, I utilized meta-analytic techniques to explore the magnitude of the effect of racism in pre-K-12th grade contexts as demonstrated by experimental examinations. In addition, I explore moderation of the effect of racism by 1) the type of experimental technique, 2) the specific perpetrator, 3) the BIPOC target, 4) the region of the US, and 5) the design of treatment assignment. Using 71 effect sizes from 57 studies, I found evidence that racism is present in U.S. pre-K-12th grade education for BIPOC [Cohen’s d=0.15, 95% CI(0.05, 0.25)]. Heterogeneity existed in the overall effect, and moderators included the U.S. region, and the level of racism (e.g., individual versus institutional) explained the heterogeneity of the effects. The findings are discussed in terms of theoretical and methodological implications and future directions for research.
ContributorsJanssen, Jayley (Author) / Seaton, Eleanor (Thesis advisor) / Miller, Cindy F (Committee member) / Causadias, Jose (Committee member) / Jager, Justin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023