“I Feel Proud Because I Made Them Stop Fighting”: How Do Adolescent Friendships Create and Constrain Masculinities?

Primary author: Emma McMain
Faculty sponsor: Zoe Higheagle Strong

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

The notion of “boyhood in crisis” circulates through educational spaces, perpetuating the ideas that boys are physically aggressive, “emotionally illiterate,” and lack intimate friendships. To complicate and challenge this crisis model, there is a need for more research that explores masculinities as complex, relational, and performative. This study, framed by feminist poststructural theory, considers how adolescent boys shape one another’s masculinities when discouraging physical fights. Critical discourse analysis techniques were applied to four interviews to highlight the “discourses” (repeated and dynamic patterns of words, thoughts, images, and actions, such as a discourse of men as instinctive fighters) that create and are created by performances of masculinity. I also considered the discourses that did not appear from these boys’ stories but could work as points of resistance to dominant forms of masculinity that uphold a binary of “reason” over “emotion” and individual “choice” over more collectivist beliefs.

This project complicates what counts as “progress” in studies of peer aggression: masculinities constrained the range of ways in which boys could resist fights, yet friendship emerged as an important shaper of identity. This research calls for moving beyond a discourse of “good choices” (which puts the responsibility of ceasing violence on boys alone) to explore how adolescents are simultaneously agentic and constrained by their social worlds.

Theoretical Model of Language Task Engagement

Primary author: Joy Egbert
Co-author(s): Seyed Abdollah Shahrokni; Haixia He; Pruksapan Bantawtook

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Focusing on learner task engagement in classrooms is one way to help learners achieve (Borysenko, 2018). A task is a classroom activity or exercise with clear goals, a sequence or process for meeting those goals, and a specific beginning and end. A task includes a number of different elements, including goals, materials, group formations, process, modes, assessments, and products (Egbert & Ernst-Slavit, 2010). Engagement in a task means involvement, which can be seen on a scale from completely unengaged (or “disengaged”) to total engagement, or what Csikzentmihalyi (2014) describes as the phenomenon of “flow.”
For the language task engagement model presented in this poster, we have:
1.Reviewed the theoretical framework of task engagement elements based on our previous research;
2.Conducted a comprehensive literature review, including existing instruments (e.g., Wigfield & Guthrie’s [1997] MRQ), studies, teacher anecdotes, theories, and so on to discern both the most salient and additional engagement elements;
3.Translated almost 1,000 survey responses into English, coded for engagement elements, and computed interrater reliabilities;
4. Run descriptive statistics for frequencies and reviewed patterns across all data;
5. Identified critical concepts in task engagement and hypothesized relationships between/ among them;
6. Created a bi-factor model of language task engagement.
We are sharing the model so that other researchers and educators can help us to test the model, which includes task engagement facilitators, task elements, indicators of task engagement, and task outcomes, and which suggests the relationships among these factors.

Cheating Detection in Tests: A Systematic Review

Primary author: Tarid Wongvorachan
Faculty aponsor: Chad Gotch

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

High-stakes testing is significant in education across the world. Unfortunately, widespread cheating undermines the interpretations and uses of test results. When test-takers cheat, other test-takers, testing programs, and test users can suffer substantial negative consequences. Educational measurement professionals have developed numerous cheating detection methods to counter these potential consequences, but to-date no research has undertaken a comprehensive inventory of the field. The purpose of this systematic review is to document current trends and identify needs for further research, in order to improve the security of high-stakes testing programs. From an exhaustive library database search, I selected 62 primary studies for the in-depth review. Each study was reviewed for both general (e.g., authorship) and specific level characteristics (e.g., application of empirical data and type-I error). This review produced 27 variables that were synthesized to portray characteristics of the field as a whole.

Examination of these variables showed that cheating detection methods are in an emerging stage. Future research needs to expand beyond the current focus on western countries, employ more real test data (vs. simulated), and use more varied data sets. The field also needs a single standard to assess proposed detection methods. Further, machine learning could be a viable addition to the predominant statistical approaches observed in the literature. Expansion of the research base in these directions could help strengthen the security of high-stake testing in education, and ultimately support valid interpretations and uses of test scores.

Effect of College Readiness Program on Student Motivation for College

Primary author: Oluwasola Oni
Faculty sponsor: Olusola Adesope

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Previous studies have indicated disparity between first-generation students and students of parents with higher educational attainment (Horn and Nunez, 2000). Consequently, programs have emerged demonstrating success in bridging the gap in increasing college enrollment among first-generation and low-income students. This research explored the effect of the Coug Rise College Readiness Program on students’ motivation to pursue college. This study examined disparity in educational attainment, race, and gender as independent variables influencing student motivation. The two groups of students were assessed (1) continuing high school students (track 3) and (2) prospective college freshmen (track 2). This non-randomized purposive sampling study comprised of 28 first-generation and low-income students (males and females) across 7 racial identities; ten (10) Hispanic/Latinx, six (6) white, three (3) American Indian or Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, one (1) Black or African American, one (1) was Asian and the remain seven (7) were Multi-racial. We performed a test of independence chi-square on SPSS because variables were ordinal and categorical. Findings from this study showed that there was no difference in student motivation based on the level of educational attainment, race, and gender. However, across the different races in the study, all the students confirmed that they were motivated to enroll in college after the summer program. These findings have eliminated the level of educational attainment, race, and gender as factors influencing students’ perception. Hence, it enhanced the influence of the program on student motivation. In conclusion, the study contributes to the growing literature on college readiness programs.

Parental Engagement in Children’s English Language Learning: A Case Study of Transnational Chinese Families in the United States

Primary author: Yue Huang
Co-author(s): Anne Marie Guerrettaz; Sarah Newcomer
Faculty sponsor: Anne Marie Guerrettaz; Sarah Newcomer

Primary college/unit: College of Education
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Transnational migration redefines the lives of millions of Chinese migrant families in the United States, including parental engagement in child language education. This case study examines ways how parents from two Chinese transnational families participate in their children’s English language learning at home while living in the United States, using observations, interviews, and discourse analysis. Grounded on the traditional Chinese parenting concept of guan (Chao, 1994) and the Third Space theory (Bhabha, 1996), this study proposes “transnational guan” as a hybrid form of parental engagement, impacted by the families’ transnational experiences. Findings revealed by this study include: (a) a unique, multimodal “storybook” genre and related parent-child shared reading activity, (b) new parental roles during children’s English language learning, including amateur tutor and bridge, and (c) interactions that elucidate nuanced dynamics of parent-child relationships. Regarding the theoretical contribution, this study presents that homes of the transnational families are a Third Space, and the transnational guan is the parents’ reactions to such Third Space. Concerning practical implications, this study uncovers unique academic goals of educated transnational families. It also breaks with dominant discourses and stereotypes of academically high-performing Chinese students in the United States by revealing more complete picture of their complex educational situations.