Heidi Curtis - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Heidi Curtis
The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy ... more The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy of parent-teacher home visits is associated at the high school level with parent-teacher engagement, student attendance, and graduation rates. Research questions include how home visits impact parent-teacher relationships, perceptions of home visit barriers, and home visit associations with student outcomes. Participants were high school teachers who were invited to conduct home visits for rising 9th graders, and the students visited at home. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, attendance and graduation data were collected for students participating in home visits, and teacher participants completed a survey, followed by semistructured interviews. When comparing the relationship scale for teachers who conducted home visits with those who had not, the Mann-Whitney test resulted in a p-value of .18. Furthermore, over three years, the chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 4% h...
Christian Higher Education
Abstract Despite an increasing number of individuals completing doctoral degrees from earlier yea... more Abstract Despite an increasing number of individuals completing doctoral degrees from earlier years, approximately 50% of students who begin a program never complete their degree. Attrition rates for students enrolled in online doctoral programs are higher than students who attend courses in a face-to-face setting. Research has identified that the lack of social integration is one of the key components associated with high student attrition rates in doctoral programs. Creating and maintaining positive student-faculty and student-student relationships are essential factors in doctoral persistence. As the popularity and demand for online doctoral programs increases, student retention and completion rates decrease. The literature suggests that the physical disconnect experienced by students, as well as the challenges of building relationships with faculty and peers, are contributing factors to the high rates of attrition in online doctoral programs. To that end, this study sought to determine how an institution can build relationship and community in a fully online doctoral program.
Although questions exist about the effectiveness of online education, it is a growing part of the... more Although questions exist about the effectiveness of online education, it is a growing part of the pantheon of educational choices available to students in America today. Online education first gained popularity for advanced learners, but atrisk populations are increasingly enrolling in online learning environments. This study explored student achievement in a K-12, full-time, online learning environment and the effect parents had on student success. Themes from semi-structured interviews found that parents of current or former students in a full-time, online school perceived multiple facets of student success in the online environment. Online K-12 schools can provide support to families by communicating, being transparent with tools, and individualizing instruction. Students must be self-motivated, engaged and participating, and accountable for their own learning. Parents should be available to monitor, mentor, and motivate students.
lnternational Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 2019
More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before. The ... more More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before. The sheer physical combination of students with autism and their typical peers is insufficient to address the social deficits of students with autism. While evidence-based practices (EBPs) for social skills exist, these practices are not being implemented routinely in public schools. A mixed-methods study was conducted to identify barriers to the implementation of EBPs for social skills for students with HFA in early elementary inclusive settings. Thirty-three (n=33) district inclusion related elementary school stakeholders completed a survey created to examine the barriers to the implementation of EBPs for social skills. Additional data collection methods included an open-ended survey question, focus groups (n=12 of the 33 survey respondents), semi-structured interviews, and researcher field notes. Training, time, support, prioritization, materials, and staff mind-set were the top six barriers to the successful implementation of EBPs for social skills as identified by elementary inclusion stakeholders. These barriers revealed three key factors necessary to successfully implement EBPs for social skills: support, preparation, and motivation. The identification of barriers is the first step in bridging the gap between research and practice within inclusion school settings.
Journal of Latinos and Education, 2017
Latinos disproportionately face societal and educational hardships. Thus, it is incumbent upon th... more Latinos disproportionately face societal and educational hardships. Thus, it is incumbent upon the education system to offer a method of support that remediates this inequitable reality, particularly from a Critical Race Theory perspective. Research has offered a connection between racial and ethnic identity and academic success in youth of color, though little research is explicitly connected to Latinos. This study offers a mixed-methods approach to explore the development of racial and ethnic identity in Latino youth through a culturally responsive school intervention, cuento (story) group work. Findings indicated an increase in racial and ethnic identity after the eight-week intervention. KEYWORDS racial and ethnic identity; culturally responsive; school intervention; cuento Latinos comprise over 17% of the United States population, yet stark inequities exist between this group and their ethnic and racial counterparts (Brown & Patten, 2014; U. S. Census Bureau, 2016). In a statistical profile compiled from U.S. Census data, Latinos face greater disproportionalities in many areas when compared to the rest of the population, including having the highest high school dropout rate of any population group (Brown & Patten, 2014). Overall, people without a high school diploma or equivalent earn nearly $700,000 less over a lifetime than those with a diploma or GED, in addition to having poorer health outcomes and costing the government approximately a quarter of a million dollars due to situations such as welfare benefits and smaller contributions to tax revenue (Stark & Noel, 2015). Moreover, 64% percent of the entire Latino population has an educational career that peaks at a high school diploma or less, as compared to their White counterparts at 37.2%. Other areas in which Latinos rank at the bottom of the U.S. population include personal income levels and post-secondary education attainment. In relationship to these facts, Latinos have the second highest group poverty rate in the U.S., surpassed only slightly by African Americans (Brown & Patten, 2014). Cumulatively, this information suggests that educators should reflect on the current system and attempt to discover methods of intervention that can provide additional support and garner marked improvement in the academic success of Latinos. One method of offering support to Latinos includes understanding the impact racial and ethnic identity (REI) has on academic success and the overall well-being of individuals (Chavous, Rivas-Drake,
TRANSITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PARENT-TEACHER HOME VISITS: EFFECTS ON PARENT ENGAGEMENT AND STUDENT OUTCOMES, 2020
The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy ... more The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy of parent-teacher home visits is associated at the high school level with parent-teacher engagement, student attendance, and graduation rates. Research questions include how home visits impact parent-teacher relationships, perceptions of home visit barriers, and home visit associations with student outcomes. Participants were high school teachers who were invited to conduct home visits for rising 9th graders, and the students visited at home. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, attendance and graduation data were collected for students participating in home visits, and teacher participants completed a survey, followed by semistructured interviews. When comparing the relationship scale for teachers who conducted home visits with those who had not, the Mann-Whitney test resulted in a p-value of .18. Furthermore, over three years, the chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 4% h...
The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy ... more The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy of parent-teacher home visits is associated at the high school level with parent-teacher engagement, student attendance, and graduation rates. Research questions include how home visits impact parent-teacher relationships, perceptions of home visit barriers, and home visit associations with student outcomes. Participants were high school teachers who were invited to conduct home visits for rising 9th graders, and the students visited at home. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, attendance and graduation data were collected for students participating in home visits, and teacher participants completed a survey, followed by semistructured interviews. When comparing the relationship scale for teachers who conducted home visits with those who had not, the Mann-Whitney test resulted in a p-value of .18. Furthermore, over three years, the chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 4% h...
Christian Higher Education
Abstract Despite an increasing number of individuals completing doctoral degrees from earlier yea... more Abstract Despite an increasing number of individuals completing doctoral degrees from earlier years, approximately 50% of students who begin a program never complete their degree. Attrition rates for students enrolled in online doctoral programs are higher than students who attend courses in a face-to-face setting. Research has identified that the lack of social integration is one of the key components associated with high student attrition rates in doctoral programs. Creating and maintaining positive student-faculty and student-student relationships are essential factors in doctoral persistence. As the popularity and demand for online doctoral programs increases, student retention and completion rates decrease. The literature suggests that the physical disconnect experienced by students, as well as the challenges of building relationships with faculty and peers, are contributing factors to the high rates of attrition in online doctoral programs. To that end, this study sought to determine how an institution can build relationship and community in a fully online doctoral program.
Although questions exist about the effectiveness of online education, it is a growing part of the... more Although questions exist about the effectiveness of online education, it is a growing part of the pantheon of educational choices available to students in America today. Online education first gained popularity for advanced learners, but atrisk populations are increasingly enrolling in online learning environments. This study explored student achievement in a K-12, full-time, online learning environment and the effect parents had on student success. Themes from semi-structured interviews found that parents of current or former students in a full-time, online school perceived multiple facets of student success in the online environment. Online K-12 schools can provide support to families by communicating, being transparent with tools, and individualizing instruction. Students must be self-motivated, engaged and participating, and accountable for their own learning. Parents should be available to monitor, mentor, and motivate students.
lnternational Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 2019
More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before. The ... more More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before. The sheer physical combination of students with autism and their typical peers is insufficient to address the social deficits of students with autism. While evidence-based practices (EBPs) for social skills exist, these practices are not being implemented routinely in public schools. A mixed-methods study was conducted to identify barriers to the implementation of EBPs for social skills for students with HFA in early elementary inclusive settings. Thirty-three (n=33) district inclusion related elementary school stakeholders completed a survey created to examine the barriers to the implementation of EBPs for social skills. Additional data collection methods included an open-ended survey question, focus groups (n=12 of the 33 survey respondents), semi-structured interviews, and researcher field notes. Training, time, support, prioritization, materials, and staff mind-set were the top six barriers to the successful implementation of EBPs for social skills as identified by elementary inclusion stakeholders. These barriers revealed three key factors necessary to successfully implement EBPs for social skills: support, preparation, and motivation. The identification of barriers is the first step in bridging the gap between research and practice within inclusion school settings.
Journal of Latinos and Education, 2017
Latinos disproportionately face societal and educational hardships. Thus, it is incumbent upon th... more Latinos disproportionately face societal and educational hardships. Thus, it is incumbent upon the education system to offer a method of support that remediates this inequitable reality, particularly from a Critical Race Theory perspective. Research has offered a connection between racial and ethnic identity and academic success in youth of color, though little research is explicitly connected to Latinos. This study offers a mixed-methods approach to explore the development of racial and ethnic identity in Latino youth through a culturally responsive school intervention, cuento (story) group work. Findings indicated an increase in racial and ethnic identity after the eight-week intervention. KEYWORDS racial and ethnic identity; culturally responsive; school intervention; cuento Latinos comprise over 17% of the United States population, yet stark inequities exist between this group and their ethnic and racial counterparts (Brown & Patten, 2014; U. S. Census Bureau, 2016). In a statistical profile compiled from U.S. Census data, Latinos face greater disproportionalities in many areas when compared to the rest of the population, including having the highest high school dropout rate of any population group (Brown & Patten, 2014). Overall, people without a high school diploma or equivalent earn nearly $700,000 less over a lifetime than those with a diploma or GED, in addition to having poorer health outcomes and costing the government approximately a quarter of a million dollars due to situations such as welfare benefits and smaller contributions to tax revenue (Stark & Noel, 2015). Moreover, 64% percent of the entire Latino population has an educational career that peaks at a high school diploma or less, as compared to their White counterparts at 37.2%. Other areas in which Latinos rank at the bottom of the U.S. population include personal income levels and post-secondary education attainment. In relationship to these facts, Latinos have the second highest group poverty rate in the U.S., surpassed only slightly by African Americans (Brown & Patten, 2014). Cumulatively, this information suggests that educators should reflect on the current system and attempt to discover methods of intervention that can provide additional support and garner marked improvement in the academic success of Latinos. One method of offering support to Latinos includes understanding the impact racial and ethnic identity (REI) has on academic success and the overall well-being of individuals (Chavous, Rivas-Drake,
TRANSITIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PARENT-TEACHER HOME VISITS: EFFECTS ON PARENT ENGAGEMENT AND STUDENT OUTCOMES, 2020
The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy ... more The purpose of this study was to examine how the increasingly popular parent engagement strategy of parent-teacher home visits is associated at the high school level with parent-teacher engagement, student attendance, and graduation rates. Research questions include how home visits impact parent-teacher relationships, perceptions of home visit barriers, and home visit associations with student outcomes. Participants were high school teachers who were invited to conduct home visits for rising 9th graders, and the students visited at home. In this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, attendance and graduation data were collected for students participating in home visits, and teacher participants completed a survey, followed by semistructured interviews. When comparing the relationship scale for teachers who conducted home visits with those who had not, the Mann-Whitney test resulted in a p-value of .18. Furthermore, over three years, the chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 4% h...