Carolyn Barber

Sample Size in Psychological Research over the Past 30 Years

The American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Statistical Inference was formed in 1996 in response to a growing body of research demonstrating methodological issues that threatened the credibility of psychological research, and made recommendations to address them. One issue was the small, even dramatically inadequate, size of samples used in studies published by leading journals. The present study assessed the progress made since the Task Forces final report in 1999. Sample sizes reported in four leading APA journals in 1955, 1977, 1995, and 2006 were compared using nonparametric statistics, while data from the last two waves were fit to a hierarchical generalized linear growth model for more in-depth analysis. Overall, results indicate that the recommendations for increasing sample sizes have not been integrated in core psychological research, although results slightly vary by field. This and other implications are discussed in the context of current methodological critique and practice.

Fostering Young People’s Support for Participatory Human Rights Through Their Developmental Niches

The last 6 decades of empirical research on civic engagement among young people living in democracies and of the recognition of international human rights have seen the achievement of many milestones. This article focuses on some connections between these 2 areas and examines the ways in which everyday settings such as neighborhoods and the schools that exist within them can foster support for human rights (especially the practice of participatory rights) among adolescents. Secondary analysis of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Civic Education (CIVED) Study (data collected in 1999 from nationally representative samples of 14-year-olds in 28 countries) is presented. A cluster analysis of 12 attitudinal scales in 5 countries sharing the Western European tradition (Australia, England, Finland, Sweden, and the United States) is presented. A new conceptual model is also introduced, a modification of Super and Harknesss Developmental Niche. This model frames an analysis unpacking some findings from the CIVED Study and focusing on the everyday experiences and neighborhood niches for the development of participatory human rights. The larger message is that research on social justice attitudes among young people is a valuable form of social advocacy and action.

Social and Self-Perceptions of Adolescents Identified as Gifted, Learning Disabled, and Twice-Exceptional

The purpose of this study is to examine the social and self-perceptions of twice-exceptional students, those students who meet criteria for being identified as both gifted and learning disabled. In particular, we focus on how twice-exceptional students are similar to, or different from, students with only a learning disability or who are only identified as gifted. Using data collected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we identified a group of 90 twice-exceptional adolescents as well as three matched comparison groups. Overall, twice-exceptional adolescents had less positive perceptions of maternal relationships and self-concept than did gifted or nonidentified adolescents. Further, perceptions of maternal relationships mediated and moderated group differences in self-concept. Implications for adults working with twice-exceptional adolescents are discussed.

Twelve tips for getting started using mixed methods in medical education research

Background: Mixed methods research, which is gaining popularity in medical education, provides a new and comprehensive approach for addressing teaching, learning, and evaluation issues in the field. Aim: The aim of this article is to provide medical education researchers with 12 tips, based on consideration of current literature in the health professions and in educational research, for conducting and disseminating mixed methods research. Conclusion: Engaging in mixed methods research requires consideration of several major components: the mixed methods paradigm, types of problems, mixed method designs, collaboration, and developing or extending theory. Mixed methods is an ideal tool for addressing a full range of problems in medical education to include development of theory and improving practice.

The Relation of High-Achieving Adolescents' Social Perceptions and Motivation to Teachers' Nominations for Advanced Programs.

The discrepancies between test-based and teacher-based criteria of high achievement are well-documented for students of all ages. This study seeks to determine whether certain high school students who score high on tests of academic achievement are more likely than others to be nominated for advanced academic programs by their teachers. Using Gagnés Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent as a guide, this study focused on three categories of correlates: social perceptions, individual motivation, and demographic background. Analysis of data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 revealed separate correlational patterns for nomination to advanced English programs and nomination to advanced math programs. High-achieving English students were more likely to be nominated by teachers for advanced work in the subject if they had high intrinsic motivation to read, if they were female, and if they were not Black. To contrast, high-achieving mathematics students were more likely to be nominated by teachers for advanced work in this subject if they had high math self-efficacy, if they were female, and if their friends did not place high importance on social relationships. Moreover, high-achieving male math students were more likely to be nominated if they had high levels of intrinsic motivation in math and if their friends valued academic goals. These results speak to the importance of considering the context of a particular subject area when deciding on who is eligible for enrollment in advanced programs. They also show a potential bias against poorly motivated male students in subjects that are traditionally male dominated.

Volunteerism as purpose: examining the long-term predictors of continued community engagement

This study frames continued long-term participation in community engagement activities as indicative of a sense of ‘purpose’ as defined by Damon, Menon, and Cotton Bronk (2003). Using data from US-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined factors that predict whether students participating in civic engagement activities between the ages of 12 and 18 would report similar participation six years later. Multilevel logistic regression analyses revealed no demographic differences beyond age and highest level of education attained. However, continued participation was most likely among individuals who participated in a combination of voluntary and required community-based civic activities as an adolescent, and who participated in any of a number of various types of extracurricular activities. Other factors, including religiosity, sense of belonging in school, achievement, and having parents engaged in civic activities, were also positively related to continued community engagement.

A Comparison of Adolescents’ Friendship Networks by Advanced Coursework Participation Status:

Friendships serve as a source of support and as a context for developing social competence. Although advanced coursework may provide a unique context for the development of friendships, more research is needed to explore exactly what differences exist. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study, we compared the friendship networks of students taking advanced mathematics and English coursework to those of similar nonparticipants. Groups were compared on the number of sent or received nominations based on students’ listings of friends, the presence and reciprocation of best friendships, and friends’ academic engagement and diversity. Controlling for background, advanced coursework participants had larger networks and more engaged friends than did nonparticipants. Small differences in age heterogeneity and in the likelihood of reciprocal best friendships with female friends were found in English course-taking. Participants’ networks were also somewhat less racially diverse.

Immigrant and native-born adolescents’ civic knowledge and attitudes in Sweden and the United States: Emergent citizenship within developmental niches

Using the Developmental Niche for Emergent Participatory Citizenship (Torney-Purta and Amadeo, 2011) as a framework, we examined differences between immigrant and native-born youth’s civic knowledge and support for women’s rights in Sweden and the United States, and explored whether experiences with peers and parents, and in formal and informal educational contexts, could account for such differences. Using data from the IEA Civic Education Study of 1999, we found that immigrants had lower civic knowledge and less support for women’s rights than their native-born peers in both countries. Differences in civic knowledge were partially explained in both countries by the lower likelihood of immigrants speaking the tested language at home, and remaining gaps were moderated by differences in the association of school activities with knowledge between the two groups. Gaps in support for women’s rights were partially explained by differences in language spoken at home (a possible proxy for cultural dissimilarity) in the United States, but not in Sweden. Experiences in various social or educational contexts, including perceptions of supportive classroom and school climates, were predictive of civic outcomes overall, but did little to account for differences in attitudes between the two groups in either country.

Measurement Invariance in Comparing Attitudes Toward Immigrants Among Youth Across Europe in 1999 and 2009: The Alignment Method Applied to IEA CIVED and ICCS

This study applies the alignment method, a technique for assessing measurement equivalence across many groups, to the analysis of adolescents’ support for immigrants’ rights in a pooled data set from the 1999 International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study and the 2009 IEA International Civics and Citizenship Education Study. We examined measurement invariance across 92 groups (country by cohort by gender), finding that a five-item scale was statistically well-grounded for unbiased group comparisons despite the presence of significant noninvariance in some groups. Using the resulting group mean scores, we compared European youth’s attitudes finding that female students had more positive attitudes than did male students across countries and cohorts. An analysis of countries participating in both studies revealed that students in most countries demonstrated more positive attitudes in 2009 than in 1999. The alignment methodology makes it feasible to comprehensively assess measurement invariance in large data sets and to compute aligned factor scores for the full sample that can update existing databases for more efficient further secondary analysis and with metainformation concerning measurement invariance.