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  • 1. Beard, Karen An Exploratory Study of Academic Optimism and Flow of Elementary School Teachers

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, ED Policy and Leadership

    The goal of this research was to examine individual teachers' beliefs about their experiences, abilities, students, and academic tasks through two concepts evolving out of positive psychology - flow and academic optimism. Researchers have theorized and found correlational support for the idea that flow is an optimal psychological state underlying peak performance. This study examined two competing models of flow. Jackson (1998) defined flow as a holistic, subjective experience encompassing all nine of Csikszentmihalyi's original elements. Quinn (2006) conceived of flow as a causal model, with antecedents and consequences defining flow as the merging of awareness and application. The results from CFA and SEM of 260 elementary school teachers, demonstrated that Jackson's model provided a better explanation of flow for teachers. For teachers, flow is a holistic and integrated concept with nine aspects. Hoy and colleagues (2006) theorized that collective teacher efficacy, faculty-trust in students and parents, and academic emphasis are dimensions of a single latent trait of schools called academic optimism. The (Hoy, et. al., 2007) model of individual academic optimism was well supported. Teacher academic optimism is a second-order factor comprised of three first order factors: sense of teacher efficacy, teacher trust in parents and students and individual teacher academic emphasis. In this analysis, the measures of individual academic optimism were refined. The construct of general life optimism describes an individual's positive expectation about the future. Enabling structure describes the extent to which the structure of a school supports teachers' work. The correlational results yielded that a teacher sense of flow and academic optimism were positively related. General life optimism was positively correlated with academic optimism. Enabling school structure was positively correlated with academic optimism but the relation with flow was not supported. Fi (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Wayne K. Hoy PhD (Advisor); Anita Woolfolk Hoy PhD (Committee Member); Richard G. Lomax PhD (Committee Member); Ann M. Allen PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Educational Theory; Elementary Education; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Psychology; School Administration; Secondary Education; Teacher Education; Teaching
  • 2. Wooding, Jennifer Inviting Educators into Their Learning The Relationship Between Personalized Professional Learning and K-5 Teacher Academic Optimism

    Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2024, Education

    This mixed-methods study explored the relationship between teacher academic optimism and personalized professional learning in a rural Appalachian elementary school in southeastern Ohio. Twenty K-5 educators participated, with pre/post-surveys utilizing the Teacher Academic Optimism Scale-Elementary (TAOS-E) yielding quantitative data. Six teachers engaged in personalized professional learning (treatment group), while fourteen formed the control group. One-on-one interviews with the treatment group added a qualitative dimension, enhancing overall validity and reliability through data triangulation. Results indicated positive changes in self-efficacy, trust, academic emphasis, and overall academic optimism for both groups. Unexpectedly, the control group experienced statistically significant gains in self-efficacy, trust, and overall academic optimism, prompting further investigation into external variables. As a practitioner in the elementary school, the researcher explores these influences in the discussion section. Qualitative analysis highlighted themes of personalized learning's value, appreciation for meaningful experiences, and varied learning format preferences. The study underscores the positive impact of a four-week personalized professional learning experience. Emphasis on job- embedded learning and collaboration enabled teachers to apply new skills in real-world situations. Interviews with the treatment group revealed positive changes in mindset and practices, emphasizing themes of positivity, reflection, engagement, relationship building, trust, effective communication, and a language shift. Overall, the teachers in the treatment group perceived the personalized professional learning approach as meaningful and positive even though the quantitative results were not significant and did not indicate a relationship between their overall levels of academic optimism.

    Committee: Mary Heather Munger Dr. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Elementary Education
  • 3. McGuigan, Leigh The role of enabling bureaucracy and academic optimism in academic achievement growth

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Educational Policy and Leadership

    Collective teacher efficacy, faculty trust in students and parents, and academic emphasis are school characteristics that have been found to be associated with academic achievement, even when controlling for socioeconomic status. In this study of forty elementary schools, factor analysis of survey results supported the theory that these three characteristics are dimensions of a single latent trait of schools, called academic optimism. The construct of enabling bureaucracy describes the extent to which the structures and processes of a school support teachers' work. Enabling bureaucracy was correlated with academic optimism. The study found no relationship between academic optimism and school value added gain scores, which report the extent to which students have achieved the annual test score gains they would be expected to make, based on the actual testing history of similar students. There was a relationship between academic optimism and percentages of students proficient on state mathematics and reading tests, even when controlling for socioeconomic status.

    Committee: Wayne Hoy (Advisor) Subjects:
  • 4. Duffy-Friedman, Margaret Academic Optimism in High Schools

    Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2007, College of Education and Human Services

    This study contributes to the research foundation of academic optimism (Hoy, Tarter & Woolfolk Hoy, 2006) through incorporating the following three aims: to determine the relationship between academic emphasis, collective efficacy, faculty trust in students and parents, and academic optimism; to explore the relationship of academic optimism with state student achievement and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards; and to identify the practices in schools that demonstrate academic emphasis, faculty trust in students and parents, and collective efficacy that comprise academic optimism. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to collect quantitative survey data and qualitative interview data on academic emphasis, collective efficacy and faculty trust in students and parents from teachers and principals in one high and one lower performing Midwestern high school, as identified by state and federal standard mandates. This study provides an opportunity to describe how the construct of academic optimism, also linked to student achievement, translates into practice in the high school setting.

    Committee: Ralph Mawdsley (Advisor) Subjects:
  • 5. Smith, Rachelle Academic Optimism of Columbus City Schools' High School Teachers in Relation to the Black-White Achievement Gap

    Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 0, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

    The Black-White achievement gap has been an acknowledged problem in American public education since the 1960s with the release of the Coleman Report (1966). Academic optimism has been linked to student achievement since its development in 2006. This study seeks to confirm the link between academic optimism and student achievement, and to see if there is a connection between academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap in an urban public-school setting.164 high school teachers from an urban school district in Ohio were surveyed to assess the level of academic optimism in their schools. This variable was then compared to the difference in math and ELA test scores between Black and White students at each school. The results of this study confirmed a significant positive correlation between academic optimism and student achievement, as well as between each of the three components of academic optimism (academic emphasis, collective efficacy, and faculty trust) and student achievement. However, there was no significant correlation found between academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap, nor between the factors of academic optimism and the Black-White achievement gap.

    Committee: Matthew Barclay (Committee Chair); Anne Ross (Committee Member); Julie Hao (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education History; Education Policy; Educational Theory
  • 6. Huff-Franklin, Clairie AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF VALUE-ADDED AND ACADEMIC OPTIMISM OF URBAN READING TEACHERS

    Doctor of Education, Miami University, 2017, Educational Leadership

    AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF VALUE- ADDED AND ACADEMIC OPTIMISM OF URBAN READING TEACHERS The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between state-recorded value- added (VA) scores and academic optimism (AO) scores, which measure teacher self-efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis. The sample for this study is 87 third through eighth grade Reading teachers, from fifty-five schools, in an urban school district in Ohio who have VA scores. Teachers were given an AO survey to find out through quantitative methods what relationship exists, if any, between value-added and academic optimism scores. The findings of this study is that no correlation was found between AO and VA. However, by exploring other confounding variables, other concepts were confirmed. The question driving this research may promote discussion about what teacher characteristics are actually effective and desirable and whether a district would like their teachers to duplicate them or not.

    Committee: Kate Rousmaniere (Committee Chair); Molly Morehead (Committee Member); Andrew Saultz (Committee Member); William Boone (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Education; Education History; Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Educational Tests and Measurements; Educational Theory; Elementary Education; Hispanic Americans; Middle School Education; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Special Education
  • 7. Amin, Neelum Parental Attitude as a Predictor of School Achievement among an Ethnically Diverse Sample Living in Poverty

    Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2016, School Psychology

    A large and growing body of literature examines factors that promote academic achievement in children. Apart from direct parental involvement, parental attitudes and dispositions, such as parental optimism, have been found to influence youth development. Using a correlational research design, this study examined (a) the relationship of parental optimism and students' academic achievement within a sample of U.S. families living in poverty (n=1500), and (b) the possible roles of gender and ethnic/cultural group membership in moderating this relationship. The Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier et al., 1994) measured parental optimism and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement Brief Battery (Woodcock et al., 2007) measured student academic achievement. Results of regression analyses revealed that parental optimism did not predict achievement for the overall sample. Parental optimism did significantly predict achievement in individuals from a Hispanic background, although this relationship was no longer statistically significant once the influence of parental homework involvement was considered.

    Committee: Kevin Bush Dr. (Advisor); Amity Noltemeyer Dr. (Committee Member); Anthony James Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Educational Psychology
  • 8. Mull, Lindsay The Role of Academic Optimism and Study Habits in College Student Test Anxiety

    Honors Theses, Ohio Dominican University, 2016, Honors Theses

    In the current study, academic optimism (including trust in professors, academic press, and identification with university) and study habits were explored as predictors of two dimensions of test anxiety: worry and emotionality. Using multiple linear regression, surface approach study habits and trust in professors emerged as predictors of worry, whereas identification with university emerged as a predictor of emotionality. Surface approach study habits and trust in professors accounted for 24% of the variance for worry, and identification with university accounted for 12% of the variance for emotionality. These relations held true for female students only. Future studies should continue to investigate the predictive value of academic optimism and study habits in college student test anxiety, as well as continuing to identify other predictive factors.

    Committee: Dr. John Marazita Ph.D (Advisor); Dr. Chenelle Jones Ph.D (Other) Subjects: Psychology
  • 9. Krier, Timothy An Exploratory Study of Professional Learning Community and Academic Optimism, and Their Impact on Student Achievement

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2014, EDU Policy and Leadership

    This study first develops the conceptual and theoretical justifications for investigating whether professional learning community (PLC) may serve as an organizational and cultural mechanism for explaining academic optimism (AO). Using school as the unit of study, this study explores extant data from 105 “high-need” elementary, middle, and high schools (and 2,020 teachers) who used Title 1 School Improvement funds to participate in Ohio's now-defunct literacy project across the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. Principal Axis Factoring, Pearson Product Correlation, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to explore associations between PLC, AO, and their respective sub-scales. Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to explore relationships with school-level student achievement and other school-level demographics. Analysis identified many medium to strong positive correlations with subscales among themselves and across constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis models suggested a mixed result for the two latent constructs of PLC and AO. The combined effect of all five PLC sub-scales explained a moderate amount of variance in school-level AO. There was no statistically significant effect for either PLC, its subscales, or AO on school-level academic achievement; only prior achievement had such an effect.

    Committee: Ann Allen Ph.D. (Advisor); Ann O'Connell Ed.D. (Committee Member); Scott Sweetland Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership
  • 10. Riegel, Lisa Efficacy and Academic Emphasis: A Leadership Factor in Elementary School Principals, and its Relationship to Hope, Resilience, Optimism, and View of Intelligence

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, EDU Policy and Leadership

    The goal of this research was to explore the construct of academic optimism at the principal level and examine possible explanatory variables for the factors that emerged from the principal academic optimism scale. Academic optimism contains efficacy, trust and academic emphasis (Hoy, Tarter & Woolfolk Hoy, 2006). It has been studied at the individual and collective level and has been shown to predict academic achievement, even after controlling for socio-economic status and prior student achievement (Hoy, Tarter and Woolfolk Hoy, 2006; McGuigan & Hoy, 2006; Hoy & Smith, 2007). Academic optimism is also associated with a number of positive organizational behaviors, including professional success (Lee, Dedrick, & Smith, 1991), and a more humanistic (Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990) and student-centered approach (Czerniak & Schriver, 1994). In its 2011 report on school principal effectiveness, the Wallace Foundation noted that principal leadership is among the most pressing matters on a list of public school issues, coming in second after teacher quality. Because of academic optimism's relationship to positive outcomes and behaviors at the teacher level, and because the principal plays a vital role in establishing school climate and trust (Aelterman, Engels, Verhaeghe, Sys, Van Petegem, & Panagiotou, 2002), this dissertation study explored principal academic optimism. Human resource literature has also connected hope, resilience, and optimism to positive organizational behaviors (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2007). This research investigated these variables as possible predictors of the factors that emerged from the principal academic optimism scale. I added view of intelligence as a possible predictor, because the impact one's view of intelligence has on motivation and resilience has been noted in the literature (Burns & Isbell, 2007; Dweck, 1999). Much of the literature on principal leadership also notes the importance of context. When considering possible explanatory variables (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Ann Allen (Advisor); Ann O'Connell PhD (Committee Member); Belinda Gimbert PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership
  • 11. Wu, Hsin-Chieh COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY, ACADEMIC OPTIMISM, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN TAIWAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, EDU Policy and Leadership

    Previous research indicates that collective efficacy, faculty trust in students and parents, and academic emphasis together formed a single latent school construct, called academic optimism. In the U.S., academic optimism has been proven to be a powerful construct that could effectively predict student achievement even after controlling for socioeconomic factors (Hoy et al. 2006a; 2006b; Smith & Hoy, 2007). However, this new construct has never been tested in cultural settings other than the U.S. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine the nature of academic optimism and its ability to predict academic achievement in Taiwan elementary schools. Furthermore, this study also incorporated another important school characteristic, collective responsibility (Lee & Smith, 1996; Lee & Loeb, 2000; LoGerfo & Goddard, 2008), into the theoretical model to examine its relationship with both academic optimism and student achievement in Taiwan. One hundred three out of 104 public elementary schools in Hualien County, Taiwan were included in the survey. The results of structural equation modeling analysis indicated that academic optimism works in Taiwan in much the same way as it does in the United States. Academic optimism also had the same three dimensions and could significantly affect student achievement after controlling for SES. Further, The results also demonstrated that collective responsibility is a significant factor that has a positive influence on academic optimism and an indirect effect on academic achievement, regardless the level of SES. This suggested that through improving collective responsibility, academic optimism could be increased, and thus raise student achievement. To conclude, the results of this study have extended the theory of academic optimism in two ways. First, the study showed that the construct of academic optimism existed and worked in an Asian culture setting. Second, it revealed that collective responsibility seems to be an impo (open full item for complete abstract)

    Committee: Wayne K. Hoy PhD (Advisor); Anita Woolfolk Hoy PhD (Committee Member); Richard G. Lomax PhD (Committee Member); Scott R. Sweetland PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership
  • 12. Kurz, Nan The relationship between teachers' sense of academic optimism and commitment to the profession

    Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2006, Educational Policy and Leadership

    Using the theoretical frames of positive psychology and social cognitive theory, this study explored teachers' beliefs that influence their commitment to the profession. While commitment significantly influences teacher effectiveness, little has been known about teachers' cognitive thought processes related to commitment. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between teachers' commitment and key beliefs. In particular, teachers' beliefs about their ability to bring about desired student outcomes (teachers' sense of efficacy); thoughts about quality relationships with their students and parents (trust); and high priorities for academic tasks (academic emphasis) form the underlying construct of academic optimism as a characteristic of individual teachers. To test the relationship between teachers' sense of academic optimism and commitment to the profession, data were collected from a random sample of third and fourth grade teachers in Ohio. Correlational and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to analyze the data and the proposed models. In addition, analyses included an investigation into teacher factors (years of experience, certification/licensure status, and degree attained) and student factors (socioeconomic status, minority background, and identified status) related to teachers' sense of academic optimism. The results of the investigation supported the hypotheses that academic optimism is comprised of teachers' sense of efficacy, and their emphasis on academics. Teacher factors are not related to teachers' sense of academic optimism. Academic optimism is positive related to students' socioeconomic status, but teacher experience and expertise factors are not related to teachers' sense of academic optimism. Finally, academic optimism is related to teachers' to the profession.

    Committee: Anita Woolfolk Hoy (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Educational Psychology