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ESRS - Emporia State Research Studies Vol. 52, Iss. 1 Jan-Feb 2022

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Emporia State Research Studies Vol. 52, Iss. 1 January-February 2022

EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Artwork “Untitled” by James Ehlers


Emporia State Research Studies Volume 53, no. 1 January-February, 2022

George B. Yancey, Jayashree George, Christine K. Koo, and Weiwei Liu: Help Seeking Attitudes and Behavior in India, the United States, and China

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Mari Caballero, Marj Bock, and Catherine Ayantoye: What Works for Me: Use of Direct Instruction, University Design for Learning, Mathematics Lesson Plan Template

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Kathleen Howe and Teddy Roop:

(Re)defining the ABS’s of Misinformation—

What Literacy Teacher Educators and K-12 Teachers Need to Know About Dyslexia and the Dyslexia Debate

Lesly R. Krome:

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The Evolving Role of Female Leaders: A Closer Look at Generation

Z & Y’s Perspectives

44

Geethalakshmi Shivanapura Lakshmikanth, Liz Diers, and Lidan Fan: Transitioning Computer Science Major from the Mathematics Department to an Information Systems Department—Reasoning, Administrative Process and Curriculum Changes

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 53, no. 1, p. 1 – 14 (2022) _____________________________________________________________________________________

Help Seeking Attitudes and Behavior in India, the United States, and China GEORGE B. YANCEYa, JAYASHREE GEORGEb, CHRISTINE K. JOOc, AND WEIWEI LIUd Southeast Missouri State University, b Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, c Private Practice, d Korn Ferry; Corresponding Author: gyancey@semo.edu a

______________________________________________ Across cultures, there are differences in attitudes towards seeking help. This also corresponds with differences in the number of mental health care workers between countries. We inquired into the attitudes towards seeking help among participants in the United States, India, and China, gender differences in help seeking attitudes, and interactions between gender and country in help seeking attitudes and behavior. In a convenience sample of 1,412 participants (728 from India, 479 from the USA, and 205 from China), we found that participants from the United States sought help the most, followed by the Indians, and then the Chinese. The North Indians had the most positive help seeking attitudes, followed by the participants from the United States, China, and South India. While American women were more likely to have sought help than American men, in India and China, the men were more likely to have sought out help compared to their female counterparts. This study was done before the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a study is useful in providing comparison data with those done during the pandemic and in the years thereafter. Keywords: help seeking attitudes, mental health, cross-cultural, gender, help seeking behavior

INTRODUCTION What makes someone seek help as a way to find lifeenhancing change while another shuns help because they see it as a personal weakness or moral failure? What shapes such attitudes? These were some of the questions Fischer and Turner (1970) and Fischer and Cohen (1972) sought to answer in the early nineteen seventies. Fischer and Cohen (1972) debunked the common notion of the times that one’s socioeconomic status correlated with seeking help, the assumption that upper class persons would be more open to seeking help than lower class persons. These early ponderings formed the impetus for the current inquiry, with the idea that understanding people’s views toward mental health and seeking help from both the United States and non-Western cultures, such as India and China, might provide useful information to mental health providers in the United States and elsewhere. Cultural attitudes are important to reckon with in psychotherapy as they have an impact on alliance. Attitudes towards help seeking impact whether clients access help, and having accessed help, whether they continue without prematurely dropping out. College students were the majority of the participants in the early articles, similar to our current inquiry. The research for this article was based on pre-COVID-19 experiences. Within the current context of the pandemic, rates of

depression and anxiety and other correlated symptoms are on the rise globally (Zaidi et al., 2020). Many countries have responded by creating avenues for seeking help. What attitudes in the pre-pandemic context shape our understanding of help seeking behavior among participants in India, China, and the United States? This is the purpose of our inquiry. EAST VERSUS WEST According to the World Health Organization’s Global Health Workforce Statistics (2018), for every 100,000 people in the population, the United States had 10.5 psychiatrists, 4.3 nurses, 60.3 social workers, and 29.9 psychologists working in the mental health sector in 2016. In 2016, India had had .3 psychiatrists, .8 nurses, .1 social workers, and .1 psychologists per 100,000 citizens. In 2015, China had 2.2 psychiatrists, 5.4 nurses, and no numbers reported for social workers or psychologists for the number of people working in the mental health sector per 100,000 citizens. The relatively small number of mental health care workers in China and India, per capita, does not indicate that Chinese and Indian citizens have less need of mental health care. Fong and Li (2014) estimate that “in China, 173 million adults have a mental disorder, 91.3% of whom have never received professional help” (p. 868). In India, the Central


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Bureau of Health Intelligence (2011) estimated that in 2002 over 61 million people were suffering from mental and behavioral disorders. A year-long epidemiological study by the World Health Organization World Mental Health Survey Initiative, found the treatment gap in India to be 95% (Sagar et al., 2017). While there is a great need for mental health care in China and India, compared to the United States, fewer Chinese and Indians seek help from mental health care providers. In a study of 747 undergraduate students (191 European Americans, 194 Chinese Americans, 170 Hong Kong Chinese, and 192 Mainland Chinese), Chen and Mak (2008) found that the European Americans were much more likely to actually seek help than the other three groups. While Asians in North America make less use of mental health services (Bui & Takeuchi, 1992; Zhang et al., 1998) than their European American counterparts, a study of Indian Americans and Asian Indians found no difference in their attitudes about seeking help from a mental health care professional. Both groups evinced negative attitudes towards seeking help (Shah, 2010). Are Easterners less likely to seek the help of mental health professionals because of negative attitudes about the mental health field? In Chen and Mak’s (2008) study of European American, Chinese American, Hong Kong Chinese, and Mainland Chinese undergraduate students, the European American students had the most positive help seeking attitudes, followed by the Chinese Americans, the Mainland Chinese, and the Hong Kong Chinese, in that order. While they did uncover statistically significant differences in help seeking attitudes, the effect sizes were not large. The differences in actually seeking help were much larger. If Asians need help as much as Europeans and their help seeking attitudes are, perhaps, only slightly less positive, why are they less inclined to actually seek help? Previous research (Cheung & Snowden, 1990; Kung, 2003; Mak & Chen, 2006; Leaf et al., 1986; Pearson, 1993; Sue, 1988; Takeuchi et al., 1993) suggests that people from East Asian cultures may view receiving help from outsiders as shameful, not only for themselves, but also for their families (Snider, 2003). Wong (2007) found that in China family and friends are frequently part of the process of seeking counseling services. While stigma may be universal, the particular experience and construction

2 of stigma is highly textured, specific to cultures, and is, at its essence, a moral process (see Yang et al. (2007) for a further expansion of stigma as a moral process). For instance, Kleinman and Kleinman (1999) and Yang et al. (2007) discuss the nature of stigma in Chinese culture as shaped by sociopolitical forces, where mental illness may be seen as polluting the family and social network, and seeking help for it may be seen as dangerous to the family. Kleinman and Kleinman (1999) talk about those individuals who sought help after the Cultural Revolution and found their symptoms unabated as many deep-seated feelings could not be worked through. The authors say: Most of our research subjects continued to live in the very same work-units (danwei) where they had been victimized by co-workers, neighbors, friends and even family members. They could not express their deeply negative feelings for fear they would recreate the greatly feared turmoil of the past. (p. 17) According to Wang and Hernandez (2020), “In the Mao era, mental illness was declared a bourgeois delusion and the country’s psychiatric system was dismantled. Even today, discrimination persists, and many people with mental illnesses are shunned, hidden at home or confined in institutions” (para 4). Also, Tracey et al.’s (1986) research suggests that the Chinese cultural values of self-restraint and control, and sometimes suppression of emotional problems, are held in high esteem. These run counter to the central idea of “talk” therapy where open expression of feelings in an atmosphere of trust is highly valued. Turning to India, in addition to both the lack of services and the poor quality of existing services, attitudinal and knowledge barriers to help seeking exist. A study of psychiatric patients from South India found fear of stigma and discrimination and a lack of knowledge about mental illness reduced help seeking (Raguram et al., 1996). A study of medical students in North India found that only 13% sought help from mental health professionals, although close to 75% felt that their studies were taking a toll on their physical and mental health. When asked why they did not seek help, the main reasons were the stigma of being labeled as mentally ill, being labeled as weak by peers, and a lack of time (Grover et al., 2019). In a study 521 people from across India, Gaiha et al. (2014, p. 150) found that “a significant proportion of respondents reported perilously low


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 mental health literacy; unaware of basic information vis-à-vis what constitutes mental illness, where mental health care is available and that medical treatment for mental health concerns exists and may prove efficacious.” While differences in help seeking behavior and attitudes have been found in studies comparing participants from the United States and members of far Eastern cultures, we were curious about Indian help seeking behaviors and attitudes relative to the United States and China. Geographically, India rests in South Asia. Culturally, because of its long history as a British colony, perhaps India resides somewhere in the middle on the East-West cultural continuum. These thoughts led us to our first two hypotheses: H1: The US participants will be the most likely to seek help from mental health providers, followed by the Indian participants, followed by the Chinese participants. H2: The US participants will have the most positive attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider, followed by the Indian participants, followed by the Chinese participants. While we do not have much evidence about differences in help seeking attitudes and behavior between North and South India, we do want to investigate to see if differences emerge. Given Soman et al.’s (2009) report that South India, specifically the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, had the world’s highest suicide rates, perhaps South Indians have more negative attitudes and are less likely to seek help, but this is more of an exploratory research question than a hypothesis.

THE IMPACT OF EXPERIENCE ON ATTITUDES Fischer and Turner (1970) found that participants who had sought mental health treatment had significantly more positive attitudes towards help seeking than those with no experience. While some people’s attitudes towards mental health care may become worse after a bad experience, this does not seem to be the case for the typical person who has sought help. Carson et al. (2009) reported that many of India’s training programs are not accredited and Azar (2009)

3 reported that licensing is not mandated to practice clinical psychology in India. However, today you can obtain a clinical psychologist or rehabilitation psychologist license in India from the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). Nonetheless, the regulation of mental health fields in India appears to be a work in progress (Agrawal, 2015). Mental health counseling is still relatively new in post Mao China, although there has been much growth since 1987 (Chang et al., 2005). Qian et al. (2012) report that since the early 2000s China has experienced tremendous growth in counseling services. Nonetheless, Song et al. (2019) conclude that “Despite the rapid development of professional mental health services and increased demands for counseling in the contemporary China, the use of counseling services is minimal” (p. 1027). This changed dramatically at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan. Wang and Hernandez (2020) report psychologist Du Mingjun’s observation that “Because of the pandemic, they are braver in coming to ask for help … More and more people are accepting this. That is new” (para 11). Du Mingjun was one of many psychologists who helped launch a government authorized 24-hour hotline to deal with the uptick in depression, anxiety, insomnia, and acute stress. While more help may be available during the pandemic, a remaining barrier to seeking help may be the poor quality of service. In an earlier survey of mental health practitioners across China, Gao et al. (2010) found the quality of training to be not very good. This led us to our third hypothesis: H3: The relationship between experience (those who have sought help from a mental health professional versus those who have not) and attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider will be moderated by country. The relationship will be stronger for Western participants than it will be for Eastern participants. MEN VERSUS WOMEN Previous research indicates that women have more positive attitudes about help seeking than men (Atkinson et al., 1990; Cook, 1984; Fischer & Turner, 1970; Garland & Zigler, 1994; Kuhl et al., 1997). One explanation for this difference is based on gender roles. For example, in Mendoza and Cummings’ (2001) study, men who saw themselves as similar to all men had more negative attitudes


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 towards help seeking, compared to men who saw themselves as similar to men and women. Research also shows that men who believe that men should strive for success and power and that men should be emotionality restrictive had more negative attitudes toward help seeking (Blazina & Watkins, 1996; Good & Wood, 1995). While the research findings above suggest that men might be less likely to seek help, they are based on Western samples. Gender stereotypes are not universal. For example, Ward and Sethi (1986) administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) to 237 South Indian and 210 Malaysian university students and found that the masculine and feminine sex roles in the BSRI might not be applicable to South Asia. More to the point, in a study comparing men of Indian and Pakistani ancestry with men of United Kingdom ancestry in seeking treatment for cardiac chest pain found that: Displaying a high threshold for pain and discomfort was a masculine attribute valued by white men in the study but not by the Indian and Pakistani men. White men's fears of being seen to be weak contributed to delays in seeking medical treatment and led to reluctance to disclose symptoms to others. Indian and Pakistani men emphasized wisdom, education and responsibility for the family and their own health as more valued masculine attributes, and this contributed to a greater willingness to seek medical help (Galdas et al., 2007, p. 223). Not only are South Asian men less “macho” about seeking help compared to their Western counterparts, South Asian women may be less likely to seek help than their Western counterparts. A study by Dasgupta and Warrier (1996, p. 238) of Indian American women experiencing domestic abuse found that they were reluctant to seek help because their ideal of the “good” wife and mother made them feel “responsible for the reputation of their families.” For the Indian woman, an important dimension of femininity is the concept of personal sacrifice for the sake of the family’s honor. Assuming that Chinese gender stereotypes follow more closely to the South Asian model than the Western model, our last two hypotheses were: H4: There will be an interaction between country and gender such that Western women will be more likely to seek help from

4 mental health providers than Western men, but Eastern men will be more likely to seek help from mental health providers than Eastern women. H5: There will be an interaction between country and gender such that Western women will have more positive attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider than Western men, but Eastern men will have more positive attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider than Eastern women.

METHODS Participants: There were 1,412 participants in our study: 728 from India, 479 from the USA, and 205 from China. The Indian participants came from a variety of locations. One researcher collected data from South India (Kerala, Karnataka and Chennai). Another researcher collected data from North India (New Delhi). Because we had two Indian samples, we decided to analyze the data separately for the two Indian groups. The American participants were all students from a single university in the American Midwest. The Chinese participants were all students from a single university in South China. The universities were chosen because the researchers had connections with them, which helped with access. Thus, they were convenience samples. There were more female participants than male participants from each country. Sixty-one percent of the Indian participants were women, 65% of the American participants were women, and 62% of the Chinese participants were women. Most of the participants were young adults. The median age of the participants from America and India was in the 18-21 category. The median age of the Chinese participants was in the 22-25 category. Measures: Help seeking attitudes. We used Fischer and Turner’s (1970) Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale. The scale has 29 items and uses a four-point Likert scale from 0 (disagree) to 3 (agree) with slightly disagree or slightly agree in between. Their instrument produces an overall score and scores for four dimensions: (1) recognition of the need for psychotherapeutic help, (2) interpersonal openness, (3) stigma tolerance, and (4) confidence in mental health practitioners.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 In their initial study, Fischer and Turner used Tryon’s (1957) method for determining internal consistency. With a sample of 406 participants, the internal consistency was .67 for the need help dimension, .62 for the openness dimension, .70 for the stigma tolerance dimension, and .74 for the confidence dimension. For the overall scale, the internal consistency was .83 and the test-retest reliabilities were consistently over .80 for four out of five groups. Regarding validity, the overall scale correlated -0.04 with Crowne and Marlowe’s 1964 social desirability scale for women and .20 for men. Thus, social desirability did not have a great impact. As predicted, participants with high scores on authoritarianism and participants with an external locus of control had negative attitudes towards seeking help. Help seeking behavior. A single question was used to measure this variable, “Have you ever sought help from a mental health professional (e.g., psychiatrist/psychologist/counselor /social worker/etc.)?” The participant simply answered yes or no. Demographics. Gender and age were the only demographic variables measured.

PROCEDURES The American data were collected from university students in large Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Sociology classes. The students received an informed consent form, a survey, and an envelope at the beginning of class. First, they signed the informed consent form and passed them down to the end of the row so the researchers could collect them. Then they completed their surveys and put them in the envelope. They were instructed to not put their name on their survey. After 15-20 minutes, the researchers collected the envelopes. Similar to the American data, the researcher who collected data in South India first distributed the informed consent form. However, many of the students took a long time to fill out the form and many said that they were hesitant to sign a form. Many lost the motivation to fill out the survey and, therefore, did not participate. The researcher realized that in the particular contexts within South India there was hesitation about signing something that looked official. The rest of the surveys were administered to groups of students with a verbal administration of informed consent. The researcher

5 emphasized that participation was voluntary and that there would be no negative consequences to not participating. The North Indian data were collected from university students at a university in Uttar Pradesh. The students were from many departments, such as education, psychology, communications, and home science. The researcher met with the students in their classrooms to inform them about the purpose of the study, the confidentiality of their responses, and how to fill out the survey. Then the students signed the informed consent form and put it inside a covered box with a slit on top. Next the students completed the survey. The survey was prepared in both English and Hindi. The translation was checked by two Indians whose first language is Hindi but who also speak fluent English. After completing the survey, the students put the survey in a blank envelope, which was provided with the survey, and then placed the envelope inside the covered box. The Chinese data were collected from university students in large Learning English as a Second Language classes. The students received an informed consent form, a survey, and an envelope towards the end of a class. For those who wished to take the survey, they signed the informed consent form and passed it down to the end of the row so the researchers could collect them. The students who did not wish to participate left early from the class. After handing in their informed consent form, the students completed their surveys. They were instructed not to put their name on their survey. After they completed the survey, the students sealed their survey in the envelope provided and then they put their envelope in a mail box at the center of the classroom rostrum. This box was then sent to the researcher.

RESULTS The first hypothesis was supported. The Americans did seek help the most (31%), followed by the Indians (21%), and then the Chinese (12%) (χ2 (2) = 34.89, p < .001). In the Indian sample, 22% of the South Indians had sought help and 20% of the North Indians had sought help. For the second hypothesis, it was difficult to make blanket statements about which country has the most positive attitudes about mental health care because of the different attitudes between Indians from South India and Indians from North India. The North


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Indians had the most positive help seeking attitudes (M = 1.70, SD = 1.49), followed by the Americans (M = 1.68, SD = 1.56), then the Chinese (M = 1.60, SD = 1.51), with the South Indians having the lowest help seeking attitudes (M = 1.57, SD = 1.42). The differences were statistically significant (F (3, 1187) = 7.40, p < .001) with the North Indians and Americans having significantly more positive attitudes towards help seeking than the Chinese and South Indians. These four groups did not follow the same pattern for the four dimensions of help seeking: recognizing the need for psychotherapeutic help, interpersonal openness, stigma tolerance, and confidence in mental health professionals. On recognizing the need for psychotherapeutic help (F (3, 1306) = 3.99, p < .01) and on interpersonal openness (F (3, 1298) = 22.11, p < .001), the Americans had the highest scores and the Indians, North and South, had the lowest scores. The descriptive statistics appear in Table 1. On the other hand, on stigma tolerance (F (3, 1326) = 43.09, p < .001) and on confidence in mental health professionals (F (3, 1324) = 10.48, p < .001), the North Indians had the highest scores, followed by the Americans, the South Indians, and then the Chinese. The descriptive statistics appear in Table 2. Our third hypothesis was supported. Country and experience with mental health care interacted in predicting attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider (F (3, 1137) = 9.87, p < .001). Specifically, of those who have sought help from a mental health professional, it was the Americans who demonstrated more positive attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider. In India and China, having experienced mental health care did not improve one’s attitudes towards seeking help. The interaction is depicted in Figure 1.

Table 1. Need for Help and Interpersonal Openness by Country

6 Recognition of Need for Psychotherapeutic Help

Country

N

M

SD

USA

476

1.56a

0.63

North India

431

1.49

0.42

South India

201

1.42b

0.40

China

202

1.51

0.43

Interpersonal Openness

Country

N

M

SD

USA

478

1.70a

0.57

North India

424

1.43b

0.49

South India

201

1.51b

0.50

China

199

1.52b

0.46

Note: A four-point Likert scale was used (0=disagree to 3=agree). Thus, an average score of 1.5 would be half way between slightly disagree and slightly agree. Alphabetic subscripts designate which means are significantly different using a Tukey post hoc test with p < .05.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Table 2. Stigma Tolerance and Confidence in Mental health Practitioners by Country Stigma Tolerance Country

N

M

SD

USA

474

1.77b

0.64

North India

458

2.10a

0.64

South India

199

1.64c

0.63

China

199

1.63c

0.52

Confidence in Mental Health Practitioners Country

N

M

SD

USA

472

1.73b

0.56

North India

449

1.88a

0.46

South India

207

1.71b

0.45

China

200

1.69b

0.47

Note: A four-point Likert scale was used (0=disagree to 3=agree). Thus, an average score of 1.5 would be half way between slightly disagree and slightly agree. Alphabetic subscripts designate which means are significantly different using a Tukey post hoc test with p < .05.

7 Our fourth hypothesis was supported. Country and gender interacted in predicting who had sought help and who had not (F (3, 1251) = 4.87, p < .01). While American women were more likely to have sought help than American men, in India and China, the men were more likely to have sought out help compared to their female counterparts. This was especially true of the Chinese men and women. The results are depicted in Table 3. Our fifth hypothesis was partially supported. Country and gender interacted in predicting attitudes towards seeking help from a mental health provider (F (3, 1103) = 11.84, p < .001). The American women did have significantly more positive attitudes towards help seeking than the American men. However, in India and China, our expectation that the men would have more positive attitudes than the women was not as clear cut. While the Chinese women were the least likely group to have sought out the help of a mental health provider, as shown in the third hypothesis, they held slightly more positive attitudes towards seeking help than the Chinese men. In North India the men had slightly more positive attitudes than the women, and in South India the men and women held similar attitudes. These differences are depicted in Figure 2.

1.95 1.90 1.85 1.80 1.75 1.70 1.65 1.60 1.55 1.50

Sought Help Not Sought Help

Figure 1. Country by Mental Health Care Experiences Interaction in Predicting Overall Help Seeking Attitude.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Table 3. Country by Gender Interaction for Predicting Help Seeking Behavior Country

Percentage of Men Who Have Sought Help

Percentage of Women Who Have Sought Help

USA

24%

36%

North India

21%

19%

South India

32%

19%

China

17%

08%

1.80 1.75 1.70 1.65

Men

1.60

Women

1.55 1.50 USA China North South India India Figure 2. Country by Gender Interaction in Predicting Overall Help Seeking Attitude

DISCUSSION Different Help Seeking Behaviors and Attitudes across Countries: Our first hypothesis was supported. Participants from the United States did seek help the most, followed by the Indians, and then the Chinese. However, our second hypothesis was not fully supported. The North Indians and the Americans had more positive help seeking attitudes than the Chinese and the South Indians. Our first hypothesis was consistent with previous results in which Asians and people with Asian heritages were less likely to seek help from a mental health professional than Westerners (Bui & Takeuchi, 1992; Chen & Mak, 2008; Li & Browne, 2000; Zhang, et al., 1998). However, just because Asians do not seek

8 out professional help does not mean they do not suffer from mental health issues (Li & Browne, 2000). It has been suggested that their reticence may be due to their cultural teachings that receiving help from outsiders is shameful (Cheung & Snowden, 1990; Kung, 2003; Mak & Chen, 2006; Leaf et al., 1986; Pearson, 1993; Sue, 1988; Takeuchi et al., 1993; Wang & Hernandez, 2020), not just for oneself but also for one’s family (Snider, 2003). For example, Lee et al., (2005), in a study of schizophrenia outpatients in Hong Kong, found that over 50% of the outpatients hid their mental illness from co-workers and friends to protect themselves. For example, almost 70% felt that promotion at work would be adversely affected and nearly 60% felt that their partner would leave him or her if their mental illness was made known. These fears are real as 44.5% of the outpatients who did disclose their mental illness were laid off as a result. In China, the individual who seeks help for a mental disorder must also consider the possible negative consequences of seeking help on his or her family. Yang and Pearson (2002) report that in Chinese society mental illness is often seen as a moral “defect” that is not only attached to the individual sufferer, but to his or her entire family. As Yang et al. put it: Something crucial is missed when stigma is seen as affecting the individual only; in these examples from Chinese society, stigma is most grievously felt as its conditions reverberate across social networks, such that both the entire network is threatened or devalued and the individual sufferer is shunned, banned, or discriminated against within that network as a defensive response. The end result for individuals with mental illness and their families in China can be a kind of social death that threatens the very existence, value, and perpetuity of the family group (2007, p. 1529). In addition to the stigma attached to seeking help, the quality of care in China is also suspect. Mental health counseling is still relatively new in China, despite recent growth (Chang et al., 2005; Qian et al., 2012), and the quality of training is not very good (Gao et al., 2010; Wang & Hernandez, 2020). Thus, there are many good reasons why China trailed both India and the United States in help seeking attitudes and behavior in our study. While the Indians and the Chinese in our study were less likely to actually seek out help from a mental


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 health provider compared to their American counterparts, the North Indians in our sample had high stigma tolerance and high confidence in mental health providers. On the other hand, they were also low in interpersonal openness and in recognizing a personal need for mental health services. It was the Americans who had consistently positive attitudes towards help seeking across all four dimensions. Nonetheless, we were somewhat puzzled by the North Indians’ positive attitudes. In recent years Indian schools and universities have been mandated to have a counselor on staff. This has increased access to mental health services and might explain why Indian students have more positive attitudes towards help seeking than Chinese students. However, anecdotally, some of the respondents in our study pointed out that barriers remain towards seeking help because of the lack of laws and ethical guidelines protecting client confidentiality. The regulation of the mental health fields in India appears to be a work in progress (Agrawal, 2015; Azar, 2009; Carson et al., 2009). What is also a work in progress is the idea of recontextualizing therapy, a Western enterprise, to suit the exigencies in the Indian cultural context. These explanations are cogent with our samples from India. In terms of the larger societal context, the role of stigma persists in being a barrier towards accessing mental health treatment. Similar to the Chinese experience, stigma also plays a role in India regarding help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. However, this phenomenon has to be seen in the context of low numbers of available mental health practitioners, somatization of symptoms and clients’ particular idioms of distress (Kleinman & Kleinman, 1999). In studies by Mishra et al. (2011) and Naik et al. (2012), faith healers were more commonly accessed by patients and their caregivers. In the study of caregivers of clients with schizophrenia at New Delhi and Bilaspur, Naik et al. (2012) found that despite the relatively greater accessibility of psychiatrists in New Delhi and the greater socioeconomic status of the caregivers, faith healers were more frequently accessed by the caregivers at both centers. The authors say: It seems that the traditional methods of help seeking which have been passed across generations may be deeply ingrained in people. These socioculturally sanctioned methods of help seeking may not show an immediate and drastic change with an increasing affluence, socioeconomic progress, or exposure to a globalized culture of a metropolitan city. (p. 343)

9 Naik et al. (2012) also cite that the awareness of mental health resources, higher education or economic resources may not be enough to stem the tide of stigma associated with mental illness and seeking help. and while efforts must be made to reduce misconceptions and stigma, the individual’s perceptions and attitudes about illness must be taken into account even as mental health treatment is offered as another item on the menu of care available for treating mental illness. In fact, Bhugra (2004) highlights the fact that understanding patients’ idioms of distress is important as such cognitive schemas modify the experience of stigma. Another factor mitigating stigma is the somatization of psychiatric symptoms (see Raghuram & Weiss, 2004), thereby normalizing the illness process and perhaps accentuating visits to non-psychiatric physicians. The apparent generational gap between urban college students’ attitudes towards help seeking in our study and the clinical samples cited in the literature, may indicate a changing landscape in mental health consumption due to structural changes already underway and measures taken by the psychiatric community in India. Some light is shed on these cross-cultural differences by comparing participants who have seen a mental health provider with those who have not. As our third hypothesis revealed, in the United States, those who had experience with mental health counseling had much more positive attitudes about mental health care than those without experience. This seems to indicate that the mental health experience in America is positive, for the most part. In India and China, on the other hand, first-hand experience with mental health care is not related to dramatically higher attitudes and in North India there is no difference in help seeking attitudes between those with experience and those without experience. Thus, it seems that the positive attitudes of the North Indians towards help seeking may be based more on theory than on practical experience. Different Help Seeking Behaviors and Attitudes across Gender: Our fourth hypothesis explored the interaction of gender and country in predicting who had actually sought help. As expected, the American women were more likely to seek help than the American men. One possible explanation for this difference is based on gender roles. The masculine ideal is not consistent with asking for help (Blazina et al., 1995; Mendoza & Cummings, 2001).


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Also as expected, the Asian men were more likely to seek help than the Asian women, especially in China, as Table 3 depicts. This is consistent with Dasgupta and Warrier’s (1996) finding that Indian women may be reluctant to seek help to protect their family’s reputation. The percentage of women who sought help was over four times higher in America than in China, with India in between. We had expected Asian men to seek help more than American men. As Galdas et al. (2007) found in their study of cardiac chest pain, men of Indian and Pakistani ancestry were more likely to seek help than men of United Kingdom ancestry. However, the percentage of men who sought help was roughly the same across all three countries. Our fifth hypothesis explored the interaction of gender and country in predicting who had positive attitudes towards help seeking. The American women had more positive attitudes about help seeking than the American men. This is consistent with previous research (Atkinson et al., 1990; Cook, 1984; Fischer & Turner, 1970; Garland & Zigler, 1994; Kuhl et al., 1997). Again, the masculine gender role of not asking for help may explain the difference. We had expected the opposite results from the Asian participants. While the American men in our study did have the lowest help seeking attitudes, the Chinese men and the South Indian men also had relatively low help seeking attitudes, as can be seen in Figure 2. It was only the North Indian men from New Delhi who evinced significantly higher help seeking attitudes. We had also expected the Asian women to have lower help seeking attitudes than the American women, and they did, but their help seeking attitudes were not lower than the Asian men, except for the North Indian women, as can be seen in Figure 2. In America, the women had positive attitudes towards help seeking and they were comfortable seeking help. However, in China the women had more positive attitudes towards help seeking than the Chinese men, but they were less likely than the Chinese men to actually seek help. While the poor quality of mental health care in China combined with cultural messages of not seeking help from outsiders or bringing shame to the family may explain why men and women in China are reluctant to seek help, they do not explain why Chinese women are the least likely group to actually seek help.

10 To gain additional insight into the Chinese women, we examined differences in help seeking attitudes for the women by country. The Chinese women were more likely to perceive a need for help and they were higher on interpersonal openness than the Indian women, but they were the lowest on stigma tolerance and confidence in mental health providers. Perhaps the costs and benefits of receiving mental health care are different for women in different countries. For example, it might be a liability for a Chinese woman to receive mental health care if she is then perceived by potential suitors as “damaged goods.” Thus, while a woman in China might feel the need for mental health care and feel that mental health care might be beneficial on a personal level, these benefits might be outweighed by potential social costs. As Yang et al. (2007, p. 1529) observed about seeking help for mental health in China, “Especially threatened are the material and social opportunities for the patient to marry, have children, and perpetuate the family structure.” In addition, societal discrimination against women may also play a role. Pearson (1995, p. 1159) notes that in China “women occupy fewer psychiatric hospital beds and generally receive fewer resources (e.g., health insurance) than men.” Not only can many Chinese women simply not afford good quality mental health care, but the various patriarchal barriers preclude women from accessing services, which are scant to begin with. More research is needed to uncover why Chinese women do not seek out the help they need compared to the men. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH Regarding the internal validity of this study, the primary limitation was that survey research did not allow us to make any causal inferences. For example, we cannot say what caused the American women to be more likely to seek help and the Chinese women to be less likely to seek help. In future studies, it would be useful to examine the effectiveness of different interventions aimed at improving help seeking attitudes and/or behaviors. Another internal validity limitation of this study is the questionable cross-cultural validity of Fischer and Turner’s (1970) Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale. Their scale was developed by US psychologists using US participants. Developing help seeking scales that fit different cultural contexts might be a worthy psychometric pursuit. Regarding the external validity of this study, the primary limitation was that we used convenience


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 samples, not random samples. Thus, we cannot generalize our findings to the US, Indian, or Chinese populations. Replications of this study will need to collect data from more heterogeneous groups. For example, Dubow et al. (1990) found in a study of American adolescents that young people value selfreliance and are slow to share personal problems with others. If this study were replicated with an older sample, perhaps the help seeking attitudes and behaviors might be different. Another question that future researchers might address is the gender of the mental health providers. Duffy et al. (2002) found that 68% of mental health providers in America are women (65% of psychiatrists, 49% of clinical psychologists, 79% of social workers, 92% of psychiatric nurses, 72% of counselors, 67% of marriage and family therapists, 66% of rehabilitation counselors, 70% of school psychologists, and 32% of pastoral counselors). In a study of American undergraduates, Snell et al. (1992) found that both men and women were more likely to disclose personal information to a female counselor. Gao et al. (2010) surveyed the professional training of 1,391 mental health practitioners across China (i.e., psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists, and the counselors working in industry, prisons, and schools). Sixty-two percent of the respondents were women and 38% were men. While they used a convenience sample, the results suggest that the profession appears to be mostly female, as it is in America. We were unable to discover the percentage breakdown of men and women in the mental health fields in India. While American men and women prefer disclosing personal information to a female counselor, we do not know if this is true in India or China. To examine this, it would be useful to ask people about their therapeutic preferences regarding therapist gender and approach. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Although one cannot generalize the findings to all Chinese women or all women of Chinese origin in the US, or even all Asian women, the data do suggest, in step with other research, that while Asians, in general, are hesitant to seek help, Chinese women may need to surmount more barriers to getting the help they need. Perhaps the difficulty might be a question of “cultural fit” between talk therapy, that is essentially a Western invention, and the requirement of restraint and emotional control among the Chinese. Perhaps the idea of individual

11 therapy might be a more uncomfortable fit compared with family therapy that might help garner more help for the family without individuals having to give up their familiar and familial roles. Perhaps the current pandemic might offer data regarding mental health usage. As global needs rise, countries have to individually and collectively respond to the crisis both at the height of the pandemic and in the duration thereafter. These data might offer ideas related to the mitigation of barriers to seeking mental health help and people’s help seeking behaviors. REFERENCES Agrawal, G. (2015). Psychology in India: A career with uncertain opportunities. Online Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1(2), 1-7. Atkinson, D. R., Jennings, R. G., & Liongson, L. (1990). Minority students' reasons for not seeking counseling and suggestions for improving services. Journal of College Student Development, 31(4), 342-350. Azar, B. (2009). International practitioners: What does it take to practice psychology abroad? Cultural competence is always in demand; educational requirements vary widely. APA gradPSYCH, 7(2), 38. https://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2009/03/coverabroad Blazina, C., & Marks, L. I. (2001). College men’s affective reactions to individual therapy, psychoeducational workshops, and men’s support group brochures: The influence of gender-role conflict and power dynamics upon help-seeking attitudes. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 38(3), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.38.3.297 Bui, K.-V. T., & Takeuchi, D. T. (1992). Ethnic minority adolescents and the use of community mental health care services. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(4), 403–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00937752 Carson, D. K., Jain, S., & Ramirez, S. (2009). Counseling and family therapy in India: Evolving professions in a rapidly developing nation. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 31(1), 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-008-9067-8


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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 53, no. 1, p. 15 – 32 (2022) _____________________________________________________________________________________

What Works for Me: Use of Direct Instruction, Universal Design for Learning, Mathematics Lesson Plan Template MARI CABALLEROa, MARJ BOCKa, AND CATHERINE AYANTOYE a

Department of EE/EC/Sped/ED, Emporia State University; Corresponding Author: Mari Caballero, mflake@emporia.edu

______________________________________________ In this article the authors share a structured lesson plan template that incorporates direct instruction, Universal Design for Learning, and models to facilitate co-teaching within inclusive general education classrooms. The article includes a sample mathematics direct instruction and Universal Design for Learning lesson plan in the article. The authors use this lesson plan template to structure thei co-planning and collaboration. Keywords: mathematics, inclusion, co-teaching, DI, UDL

INTRODUCTION During the 2017-2018 academic year, 7 million students ages 3-21, i.e., 14 percent, received special education services under the Individuals with Special Needs Education Act (IDEA). More specifically, in fall of 2017, 63 percent of these students spent 80 percent or more of the school day in general education classrooms. An additional 18 percent spent 40 to 79 percent of the school day in general education classrooms. Further, 13 percent spent less than 40 percent of the school day in general education classrooms. Consequently, in fall of 2017, 94 percent of all students with special needs ages 621 spent a portion of the school day in inclusive, general education classrooms (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2018; United States Department of Education, 2018) where they completed educational activities grounded in the general education curriculum facilitated by highly qualified general education teachers (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). Effective inclusion of students with special needs cannot occur without ongoing collaboration between general and special education teachers to support the educational performance of students with special needs who attend inclusive general education classrooms (Friend, 2014; Friend & Bursuck, 2012). Co-teaching is a special education delivery service model that supports ongoing collaboration between general and special education teachers (Friend & Cook, 2017). Co-teaching (Friend, 2014; Friend & Bursuck, 2012; Friend & Cook, 2017) is a practice developed specifically to support the provision of

effective educational services for students with special needs in inclusive K-12 general education classrooms. When co-teaching, “two or more professionals with distinctly different areas of expertise jointly deliver core or supplemental instruction to a diverse, blended group of students, primarily in a single physical space” (Friend, 2014, in Friends, 2018, p. 160). To co-teach, a general education teacher and a special education teacher (i.e., working in a coactive and coordinated fashion) plan, deliver and assess instruction in a single classroom (Bauwens, Hourcade, & Friend, 1989; Murawski, 2009; Friend & Bursuck, 2012). Coteaching meets the IDEA principle of least restrictive, most appropriate environment (Friend & Bursuck, 2012). Co-teaching also assures that most students with special needs have access to the general education curriculum and highly qualified teachers (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 2002). Co-teaching includes six approaches: One teach, one observe; station teaching; parallel teaching; alternate teaching; teaming; and one teach, one assist (Friend & Cook, 2017; Friend & Bursuck, 2012). The one teach, one observe approach makes room for one teacher to lead large-group instruction while the other collects data for instructional planning purposes. Data such as academic, behavioral, and social relating to students can be collected as needed including that required for Individualized Educational Plans (IEP) progress monitoring. Station teaching assigns each professional a station in the classroom for shared instructional delivery for both. professionals. Both are assigned a station each in the classroom. This coteaching model includes a third station for students to


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 do independent work. In parallel teaching both teachers jointly prepare instruction, but each delivers the content to half of the class consisting of heterogenous student groups. This approach promotes differentiation of instruction and student participation. Alternate teaching gives room for one teacher to teach most of the students while the other teacher works with a small group of students needing pre-teaching, re-teaching, enrichment etc. In teaming, both teachers plan a lesson and share instructional delivery to all students. One teach, one assist allows one teacher to lead instruction while the other teacher walks around the class to provide assistance to students individually as needed. As already stated, co-teaching is a special education service delivery option that necessitates the collaboration of two professionals, this is the reason it is often referred to as a professional marriage. Although the level of collaboration may be different for certain co-teaching situations, the collaborative relationship is crucial in having and maintaining successful co-teaching. Co-teaching practices that support collaborative partnerships include understanding each other’s philosophies and beliefs as relates to instruction, maintaining parity, preferred classroom routines, and acceptable classroom behavior and responses (Friend & Cook, 2017). Both teachers create lesson plans together and decide on co-teaching models for each that support the curriculum, and address the academic and behavioral needs of the students (Ploessl, Rock, Schoenefeld & Blanks, 2010; Brown, Howerter, Morgan, 2013). For example, alternative teaching or parallel teaching would be a better choice for a lesson with varied assessment outcomes. Ploessl, Rock, Schoenefeld, and Blanks (2010) advised using one teach, one observe sparingly; this model should be used primarily for unplanned, co-teaching interactions. They also suggest that, communication, co-planning, shared delivery of instruction and assessment, and conflict resolution are activities that must be engaged in to increase the effectiveness of co-teaching. THE PROBLEM: EFFECTIVE INCLUSION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS FOR MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION As already noted, students with special needs must have access to the general education curriculum, including the mathematics curriculum (IDEA, 2004). “In the area of mathematics, teachers are expected to provide effective instruction on curriculum that

16 address higher level math skills and encompasses open-ended problem-solving tasks as set forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards” (Maccini & Gagnon, 2006, p. 218). Therefore, students with special needs are also expected to learn these Principles and Standards (NCTM, 2000). Consequently, it is important for teachers to use effective instructional procedures and strategies to help all students master the standards (Maccini & Gagnon, 2006). Students with special needs struggle in a variety of areas in mathematics. Often students with special needs have a difficult time expressing mathematical ideas (Storeygard, 2012). Similarly, many students with special needs present difficulties participating in mathematical conversations and explaining mathematical strategies. They may also experience difficulties focusing on mathematical ideas (Storeygard, 2012). In addition, attention problems, specifically in an inclusive classroom, can lead to a lack of mathematical understanding. The ability to retain information, including that specific to mathematics, is another common area where students with special needs struggle. This deficit can be easily seen when working in the numbers and operations content strand and will lead to prolonged difficulty in mathematics. Finally, students with special needs can have a difficult time achieving mathematics proficiency (Doabler, 2012). Mathematics proficiency includes both conceptual and procedural understanding, which are dependent upon each other (NCTM, 2011). Both types of understanding are particularly evident when students are working on problem solving. If students do not have both procedural and conceptual understanding, they tend to have a very difficult time. With problem solving, there is typically not one correct way to go about solving a problem. If students do not have a strong conceptual understanding of numbers and operations, they will have a difficult time determining the procedure to use in a problem. During the problem solving process, students may be at varying levels. Some students may be in the concrete stage, while others are in the semi-concrete (representational), and finally others are in the abstract stage (Vaughn, 2007). Those students who are in the concrete stage and are still working on their conceptual understanding need to be using manipulatives and hands-on tools. Those in the semi-concrete should be using more visuals as a representation. Once students get to the abstract stage and have true conceptual


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 understanding, they will be able to efficiently and effectively use mathematics procedures. This is a process that takes time for students with disabilities, which is why problem solving is difficult for students that do not have procedural and conceptual mathematics understanding. Both general and special education teachers need to have an awareness of these areas of difficulty specific to mathematics so commonly presented by students with special needs. When teaching, helping students make connections to other areas of mathematics, other subject areas, and real life is a useful strategy for students with special needs (Allsopp, 2018). Using visual representations is another effective tool that teachers can use when working with students with special needs. Specifically, using a concreterepresentational-abstract (CRA) approach can be beneficial for all students including those with special needs (NCTM, 2011). Teachers can support conceptual understanding by leading students through a progression of concrete examples using hands on activities as a starting place for students, followed by incorporating pictorial representations, then abstract symbols (Doabler, 2021). Peer mediated instruction and working in small groups can also be useful for students with special needs. This will not only help with mathematics understanding, but also with motivation (NCTM, 2011). Clearly no two students are alike. Consequently, both general and special education teachers should strive to customize instruction for each student. Customizing instruction for all students can be overwhelming for teachers. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a model developed to help teachers do create learning opportunities for students with varying disabilities (Salend & Whittaker, 2017). When using UDL principles, teachers develop lesson plans that allow students: (a) to access lesson content in multiple ways and (b) to demonstrate what they have learned in multiple ways. In addition, teachers who utilize the UDL model develop lesson plans that incorporate a variety of practices that increase student motivation (Universal Design for Learning, 2018; Salend & Whittaker, 2017). Consequently, teachers who develop lesson plans utilizing UDL develop lessons that are effective for all students in their classrooms including those with special needs. In addition to UDL, many effective general and special education teachers rely on direct instruction (DI) to facilitate the teaching and learning process in

17 their classrooms (Stephan & Smith, 2012). DI is a teacher led whole class instructional approach. When using DI, teachers begin the lesson by activating their students’ prior knowledge and then introduce new content. They model (I do) the new learning activity, e.g., modeling addition problems involving carrying. They model completion of the new activity three or more times. The teacher and the students then begin the new activity together (We do), e.g., the teacher and students complete at least three addition problems involving carrying together. The students then do the remaining problems independently (You do), e.g., students work independently on solving addition problems involving carrying. As students work independently, teachers monitor student performance and provide individual help as needed (Stephan & Smith, 2012). This highly structured whole-class instructional approach, DI, utilizes clear, concise language and a consistent learning routine. The modeling and guided practice portions of a direct instruction lesson, lead to high levels of student engagement and success for all students including those with special needs. DI assures that students do not practice errors; instead, students practice correct, effective thinking and problem solving (Stephen & Smith, 2012). While DI and UDL are effective instructional strategies for all students it can be challenging for teachers to implement these strategies simultaneously in the classroom. THE SOLUTION: STRUCTURED CO-PLANNING USING A DI/UDL LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE Figure 1 is a sample Direct Instruction, Universal Design for Learning mathematics lesson plan. We developed the lesson plan template to structure our co-planning and co-teaching for mathematics instruction in an inclusive elementary education classroom. Our template ensures that we utilize DI in the lesson. We script the language in the DI section of the lesson plan to promote consistent use of clear and concise language and mathematics vocabulary throughout the activity. We know how important concise and specific language s for all students. However, we realize that it is critical for our students with special needs. In addition, our template includes the UDL strategies which are aligned with the Core Standards for Mathematics (2010). When coplanning, the general education teacher identifies the mathematics standards and content for the lesson as well as how he or she plans to assess student performance on the lesson content. Together, the general and special education teachers should


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 identify which co-teaching strategy they will use for this particular lesson. The co-teaching approach identified should meet the unique learning needs of all students in the class. It may be different than coteaching strategies they have used in the past for the class. Once they know how they plan to co-teach the lesson, the general and special education teachers then create the basic lesson plan utilizing DI. As they complete this portion of the lesson plan, they may find it helpful to script the directional language. By scripting the lesson, there will be consistent, concrete language used by both co-teachers as they facilitate the activity. They will then identify at least five UDL strategies from each area: representation, action and expression, and engagement, which will be used in the lesson. We have found that we are often using at least three UDL strategies for each area automatically. However, we often need to identify a few additional UDL strategies for each area to incorporate in the lesson plan. The UDL strategies incorporated in the lesson should be highlighted in that section of the lesson plan. We often provide alternate forms of activity assessment as we identify appropriate UDL strategies. In addition, the special education teacher identifies any assessment accommodations listed on Individual Education Plans

18 (IEPs) for students with special needs to assure that these accommodations occur as required by each student’s IEP. We have found that our DI/UDL lesson plan template structures the co-planning process for us. We spend no more than 30 minutes once a week to plan the lessons for the week. In addition, the DI/UDL lesson plan is a key component in our co-teaching and collaboration; we know who is doing what. Finally, this method allows us to see when all of our students’ achievements have improved; this achievement is for all students including those with special needs. By analyzing student performance on Annual Yearly Progress monitoring assessments and progress monitoring on IEP goals and objectives, our DI/UDL lesson plan process supports improved educational outcomes for all students. We have found joint lesson planning to be a critical component for effective co-teaching. Further, effective co-teaching is critical to inclusive educational practices for students with special needs. Please feel free to use the blank DI/UDL lesson plan template (see Figure 2) in your work as you collaborate to support students with special needs in your schools.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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DI/UDL MATHEMATICS LESSON PLAN Co-Teaching Lesson Plan Subject & Topic: Math and Early Number Sense Developed by: Mrs. Martin (Gen Ed Teacher) Mrs. Cooper (Sped Teacher) Grade level: Kindergarten Date: August 28, 2020

Common Core Mathematics Standard CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.1: Count to 100 by ones and by 100. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.A.3:Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.4: Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality. CCSS.Math.Content.K.CC.B.5: Given a number from 1-20, count out that many objects.

Unit: Numbers and Operations/Counting & Cardinality

Materials The Gummi Bear Counting Book by Lindley Boegehold Paper bear cut outs (10 per student) Gummi Bear Candy or plastic bears (at least 10 per student) White board for each student OR iPad with the whiteboard application (Educreations Interactive Whiteboard (this is free) or another whiteboard application) Examples of other children’s literature books with a focus on early counting and number recognition How do Dinosaurs Count to Ten by Jane Yole and Mark Teague Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes How Many Bugs in a Box by David Carter My Granny Went to Market by Stella Blackstone

Technology Bold all that apply o o o o o o o

Teacher laptop SMART Board LCD projector SMART Senteos Computers iPad or tablet iPod or mp3 player(s)

Co-Teaching Strategy Bold the one that applies o o o o o o

Station Teaching Parallel Teaching Team Teaching Alternative Teaching One teach, one assist One teach, one observe

o o o o o o o o

Webcam Digital camera Document camera Digital microscope Video camera Scanner Color printer Calculators


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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Direct Instruction Procedure General Education Teacher Script, Special Education Teacher Script

Introduction

I Do “We have been practicing counting out loud all the way up to 50. Let’s review doing that! Remember, when we are counting, we count slowly and stay together as a class. I will point to our number line as we count.” (Count aloud with class to 50 and point to the numbers as you count.) “Today, we are only going to talk about the numbers up to 10! That seems easy doesn’t it? But, we are going to do a lot of different things with these numbers!” “Have you ever eaten gummy bears or another kind of candy and wanted to count how many pieces of candy that you had?” Using the document camera or smart board show the students 10 gummy bears. “I will count the gummy bears aloud.” Slowly move the gummy bears and count them. “This time I only want to count 4 gummy bears. Watch me as I count just 4 gummy bears.” Slowly move the gummy bears and count them. We Do “Now, let’s all count 10 bears aloud together.” Slowly move the gummy bears and count them with the students. “Let’s practice just counting 6 gummy bears.” Slowly move the gummy bears and count them with the students. (Give each group of students 10 cut out paper bears) “I have given each group of students 10 paper bears. We are going to label each paper bear with a different number. Take one of your bears and let’s label it with the #1.” (Model this on the smart board or document camera with the students. After all students have labeled their first bear, label the rest of the 10 bears.) “Now, we have 10 bears with their own number. Let’s put the bears in order from 1 to 10.” (Model putting the bears in order from leftto-right.) Give small groups of students about 50-60 gummy bears on a napkin. “Please do not touch your gummy bears until we begin the activity. At the end of the activity, you will be able to eat your gummy bears! Mrs. Cooper and I will be working together as we begin reading this book. Then you will get to work with your group too during the lesson. So, watch how we work together.” “Today we’re going to read a book about different activities that the gummy bears get to do. I think you will like the book because it rhymes too! The book is The Gummi Bear Counting Book. It is written by Lindley Boegehold.”


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Lesson

I Do Begin reading the story Have your paper bears laid out on the smart board or document camera, just like they are on the students’ desks. Begin reading the first 2 lines of page 1. After the question mark, stop reading, “Watch me as I look for the paper bear that is labeled 1. Let me see, yes this bear has a 1on it because I can see on our number line what the number 1 looks like.” Point to the bear labeled 1. “Now I am going to put 1 gummy bear on the bear labeled 1.” Put one gummy bear on the bear that is labeled 1.

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UDL Procedures Bold all that apply Multiple Means of Representing *Think aloud strategy *Use multiple modalities for instruction (auditory, visual & kinesthetic) *Sequence instruction from concrete to representational to abstract (CRA) *Use tangible/concrete materials/manipulatives to illustrate & teach abstract concepts (base-ten blocks, fraction strips, Cuisenaire rods, geoboards) *Explicitly teach math vocabulary *Use math word walls with visuals

Continue reading page 1. Read the first 2 lines of page 2. After the question mark, stop reading, “I am going to find the paper bear that is labeled 2. Let me see, yes, this bear has a 2 on it. I can use my number line to make sure I have the number 2, just like I did before.” Point to the bear labeled 2. “Now I am going to put 2 gummy bears on the bear labeled 2. I will count my gummy bears as I move the bears onto my paper gummy bear. 1 bear, 2 bears.” Put two gummy bears on the bear that is labeled 2. Continue reading page 2. We Do Read the first 2 lines of page 3. After the question mark, ask the students, “Can you point to the paper bear that is labeled 3? Remember you can use your number line to help you if you need it.” Point to the bear labeled 3.

*Pre-teach concepts and vocabulary before the lesson *Use visual representations (concept maps, pictures & other visual aids) *Use virtual manipulatives (digital objects that resemble physical objects) *Use color-coding/different fonts for operation symbols to encourage operation sense & reduce confusion *Record lessons for review; provide access to students *Highlight essential components in texts, worksheets, problems *Use story maps or graphic organizers for sequencing, retelling or summarizing

Multiple Means of Action & Expression *Repeat directions *Simplify directions *Read aloud text/problems, repeat, review *Use practical/familiar items to improve focus *Use hands on activities *Provide multiple strategies for skill instruction *Provide guided notes

After all students have pointed to the correct bear, ask the students, “Can you put 3 gummy bears on the bear that is labeled 3?” Put three gummy bears on the bear that is labeled 3. “Now that we have 3 gummy bears on the number 3, let’s count our gummy bears together.” Read the first 2 lines of page 4. After the question mark, ask the students, “Can you point to the paper bear that is labeled 4?” Point to the bear labeled 4. After all students have pointed to the correct bear, ask the students, “Can you put 4 gummy bears on the bear that is labeled 4?” Do the same thing for the number 5. After reading the first two lines about the number 5, read the rest of the page, turn the page to the number 6 and read the first two lines. “Now, it’s your time to work with your small group to figure out which bear has the number 6 on it and how many bears to put

*Provide frequent opportunities for cumulative & distributed review of rules, facts, formulas, strategies, etc. *Teach math strategies, mnemonics, stories, rhythm or music & use visual cues to teach rules or facts *Encourage use of note taking; allow use of notes during assignments *Teach & use the two-column notes strategies to assist with a review of concepts/test-taking *Provide desk & pocket size tools (multiplication & measurement tables, number lines, addition tables, bar models, fraction & decimal conversions, etc.) *Encourage use of calculator to check work *Use technology, computer algebra systems, online tools, digital manipulatives *Use tablets & apps for note-taking, procedural/conceptual review, frequent practice, etc. *Use computer assisted instruction for highly structured systematic tutorials, and independent practice with immediate feedback *Allow for class presentations to be given as a group *Explicitly teach purpose & application of mathematical models and tools; teach use of knowns & unknowns for strategy selections


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

on the number 6 bear. Take turns sharing your ideas with your group, just like Mrs. Cooper and I did.” Have students work with their small group and figure out which bear has the number 6 on it. Have students work together to figure out how many bears to put on the number 6 bear. Allow students time to figure out the answer.

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Multiple Means of Engagement *Reduce math anxiety-don’t use timed math facts tests *Allow choice in problem solving strategy *Encourage positive self-talk *Set purpose for learning

“Please point to the bear with the number 6.” “What strategy did you use to figure out which bear had the number 6 on it?” “Let’s count the bears aloud you put on the number 6 bear. Point to the bears as you count them. We will count together.” Count with the students the 6 gummy bears that are on the number 6 bear. “What strategy did you use when you were counting the 6 bears?”

*Create a safe learning environment

Continue reading for the numbers 7, 8, 9, and 10 and repeat the same procedure that was done for the number 6.

*Connect to prior learning & background knowledge

*Reduce emphasis on peer competition & perfection *Make learning relevant/connect examples to student’s daily life *Make connections between math and the real world *Use flexible grouping (heterogeneous grouping to minimize the barriers of disability) *Provide environmental accommodations (quiet space with minimal distractions for independent work, headphones or earplugs, study carrels) *Create consistent classroom routines & procedures to help focus attention on mathematics

*Use culturally relevant & developmentally appropriate examples *Provide immediate corrective feedback

Provide each student with a white board or iPad (using the whiteboard application). Students will be still working with their groups, but everyone will have their own white board. “Children, for the next part of our activity, you will each write your own answers on your white board, but you may talk with your group as you decide how to answer the questions. On your white board, write the number 6.” (Allow students time to write a number on their boards) “After you are done writing the number 6, check with your group to see if everyone has the same answer. If everyone does not have the same answer, talk about it with your group to figure out which answer is correct.” Give students time to talk with their group and come up with a consensus. “Please show me your boards.” (Write the number 6 on your smart board or white board.) “If you do not have the correct number, please erase your answer and write the number 6.” “Can someone tell me how they know how to write the number 6?” Have students share strategies. “Now we have the number 6 written on our whiteboards! Please draw 6 circles on your board underneath the number 6.” Give students time to work and talk with group. “Check with your group to see if everyone has 6 circles drawn on their white boards.” (Allow students time to work with group.) “Children, please show me your boards.”

*Use small group instruction *Teach self-monitoring (self-questioning, self-evaluation and self-regulation strategies) *Monitor progress frequently to ensure appropriate application & encourage student to set goals based on data


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Check to see if all students drew 6 circles on their boards. After the students have their answers on their boards, draw 6 circles on your smartboard or whiteboard. “Let’s count my circles together.” (As a class, count the circles). “This is a great way to check to see if you have drawn the correct number of circles.” “Let’s practice this with one more number. Remember everyone needs to write their own answer, but you will have time to talk with your group.” “On your white board, write the number 9.” (allow students time to write a number on their boards) “After you are done writing the number 9, check with your group to see if everyone has the same answer. If everyone does not have the same answer, talk about it with your group to figure out which answer is correct.” Give students time to talk with their group and come up with a consensus. “Please show me your boards.” (Write the number 9 on your smart board or white board.) “If you do not have the correct number, please erase your answer and write the number 9.” “Can someone tell me how they know how to write the number 9?” Have students share strategies. “Now we have the number 9 written on our whiteboards! Please draw 9 circles on your board underneath the number 9.” Give students time to work and talk with group. “Check with your group to see if everyone has 9 circles drawn on their white boards.” (Allow students time to work with group.) “Children, please show me your boards.” Check to see if all students drew 9 circles on their boards. After the students have their answers on their boards, draw 9 circles on your smartboard or whiteboard. “Let’s count my circles together.” (As a class, count the circles). “This is a great way to check to see if you have drawn the correct number of circles.”

You Do Students will be working independently on their whiteboard or iPad, while answering the questions you provide verbally. “Let’s pretend I have 3 gummy bears. Write the number 3 on your board and draw 3 pictures to represent the 3 gummy bears. Your pictures can be circles or any representation that you would like.” Students should show the number 3 on their board with a representation of the number 3.

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

“Let’s pretend I have 1 jolly rancher. Write the number 1 on your board and draw 1 picture to represent the 1 jolly rancher. Your pictures can be circles or any representation that you would like.” Students should show the number 1 on their board with a representation of the number 1. “Let’s pretend I have 9 suckers. Write the number 9 on your board and draw 9 pictures to represent the 9 suckers. Your pictures can be circles or any representation that you would like.” Students should show the number 9 on their board with a representation of the number 9.

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Summative Assessment

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Students can independently answer the following question using a whiteboard app on their individual iPad. The Educreations App allows students to write and draw their answers. When they are done answering the questions, they can email their answers to you or you can review them directly on their iPad. Teachers will work together to get students set up with their iPads. 1. 2.

Write the numbers 1 through 10 on your whiteboard app. Under each number draw the appropriate number of circles to represent the number.

***If students are successful with these questions, we may choose not to use the additional question. While waiting for other students to finish, students could work individually or in small groups with the other children’s literature books with an early number theme that are located in the materials list. ***For students who struggled with the first question, provide support by having them work in a small group with one teacher before having them move onto the second and third question. 3.

Review

Choose the numbers that they struggled with during the lesson, as well as 2 numbers that they didn’t struggle with and ask them to write the numbers and draw 2 representations. Use a few numbers that they knew, as well as a few they struggled with.

“Today we learned how to write numbers, recognize numbers, count to find the correct number, and draw a picture to represent a different number. Wow!! I am going to say a number and as a class we are going to clap that number. My number is 5, let’s clap 5 claps. (clap and count to the number 5). Great! Tomorrow, we are going to talk about 1 more and 1 less than a number! We will have another treat to use! Guess what??? Now, we can eat our gummy bears!!”

Figure 1. Sample DI/UDL Elementary Mathematics Lesson Plan


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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DI/UDL MATHEMATICS LESSON PLAN Co Teaching Lesson Plan Subject & Topic: Developed by: Date:

Grade level Unit:

Common Core Mathematics Standard Materials

Student Math IEP Goal

Technology Bold all that apply o o o o o o o

Teacher laptop SMART Board LCD projector SMART Senteos Computers iPad or tablet iPod or mp3 player(s)

Co-Teaching Strategy Bold the one that applies o o o o o o

Station Teaching Parallel Teaching Team Teaching Alternative Teaching One teach, one assist One teach, one observe

o o o o o o o o

Webcam Digital camera Document camera Digital microscope Video camera Scanner Color printer Calculators


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Direct Instruction Procedure

Introduction

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Lesson

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I Do UDL Procedures Bold all that apply Multiple Means of Representing

We Do

*Think aloud strategy *Use multiple modalities for instruction (auditory, visual & kinesthetic) *Sequence instruction from concrete to representational to abstract (CRA)

You Do

*Use tangible/concrete materials/manipulatives to illustrate & teach abstract concepts (base-ten blocks, fraction strips, Cuisenaire rods, geoboards) *Explicitly teach math vocabulary *Use math word walls with visuals *Pre-teach concepts and vocabulary before the lesson *Use visual representations (concept maps, pictures & other visual aids) *Use virtual manipulatives (digital objects that resemble physical objects) *Use color-coding/different fonts for operation symbols to encourage operation sense & reduce confusion *Record lessons for review; provide access to students *Highlight essential components in texts, worksheets, problems *Use story maps or graphic organizers for sequencing, retelling or summarizing Multiple Means of Action & Expression *Repeat directions *Simplify directions *Read aloud text/problems, repeat, review *Use practical/familiar items to improve focus *Use hands on activities *Provide multiple strategies for skill instruction *Provide guided notes *Provide frequent opportunities for cumulative & distributed


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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review of rules, facts, formulas, strategies, etc. *Teach math strategies, mnemonics, stories, rhythm or music & use visual cues to teach rules or facts *Encourage use of note taking; allow use of notes during assignments *Teach & use the two-column notes strategies to assist with a review of concepts/testtaking *Provide desk & pocket size tools (multiplication & measurement tables, number lines, addition tables, bar models, fraction & decimal conversions, etc.) *Encourage use of calculator to check work *Use technology, computer algebra systems, online tools, digital manipulatives *Use tablets & apps for notetaking, procedural/conceptual review, frequent practice, etc. *Use computer assisted instruction for highly structured systematic tutorials, and independent practice with immediate feedback *Allow for class presentations to be given as a group *Explicitly teach purpose & application of mathematical models and tools; teach use of knowns & unknowns for strategy selections Multiple Means of Engagement *Reduce math anxiety-don’t use timed math facts tests *Allow choice in problem solving strategy *Encourage positive self-talk *Set purpose for learning *Create a safe learning environment *Reduce emphasis on peer competition & perfection *Make learning relevant/connect examples to student’s daily life *Make connections between math and the real world *Use flexible grouping (heterogeneous grouping to


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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minimize the barriers of disability) *Provide environmental accommodations (quiet space with minimal distractions for independent work, headphones or earplugs, study carrels) *Create consistent classroom routines & procedures to help focus attention on mathematics *Connect to prior learning & background knowledge *Use culturally relevant & developmentally appropriate examples *Provide immediate corrective feedback *Use small group instruction *Teach self-monitoring (selfquestioning, self-evaluation and self-regulation strategies) *Monitor progress frequently to ensure appropriate application & encourage student to set goals based on data


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

Summative Assessment

Review

Figure 2. Blank DI/UDL Mathematics Lesson Plan Template

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 REFERENCES Allsopp, D. H., Lovin, L. A. H., & Ingen, S. V. (2018). Teaching mathematics meaningfully: solutions for reaching struggling learners. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Brown, N. B.; Howerter, C. S.; Morgan, J. J. (2013). Tools and strategies for making co-teaching work. Intervention in School & Clinic, 49(2), 84-91 https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451213493174 Cole, J. E., & Washburn-Moses, L. H. (2010). Going beyond the math wars. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(4), 6. Doabler, C. T., Cary, M. S., Jungjohann, K., Clarke, B., Fien, H., Baker, S., & Chard, D. (2012). Enhancing Core Mathematics Instruction for Students at Risk for Mathematics Special needs. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44(4), 48–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/004005991204400405 Friend, M. (2014). Co-Teach! Building and sustaining effective classroom partnerships in inclusive schools (2nd ed.). Greensboro, NC: Marilyn Friend, Inc. Friend, M. & Bursuck, W. D. (2012). Including students with special needs: a practical guide for classroom teachers (6th edition). New Jersey: Pearson. Friend, M. & Cook, L. (2017) Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals. (8/E.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Friend, M.; Cook, L.; Hurley-Chamberlain, D; Shamberger, C. (2010). Coteaching: An illustration of the complex of collaboration in special education. Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 9-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474410903535380 Maccini, P, & Gagnon. J. C. (2006). Mathematics instructional practices and assessment accommodations by secondary special and general educators. Council for Exceptional Children, 72(2), 217-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440290607200206. Murawski, W. W. (2009). Collaborative teaching in secondary schools: Making the co-teaching marriage work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. National Center for Education Statistics, National Elementary and Secondary Enrollment Projection Model, 1972 through 2028. See Digest of Education Statistics 2018, table 204.30.

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 53, no. 1, p. 33 – 43 (2022) _____________________________________________________________________________________

(Re)defining the ABC’s of Misinformation - What Literacy Teacher Educators and K-12 Teachers Need to Know About Dyslexia and the Dyslexia Debate KATHLEEN HOWEa AND TEDDY ROOPb a

Park University, b Emporia State University; Corresponding Author: Kathleen.howe@park.edu

______________________________________________ Dyslexia legislation has spread across the United States in recent years. Literacy teacher educators and K-12 teachers were largely excluded in efforts to bring about these laws. Dyslexia advocates--parents, professional associations, and companies, crafted a narrative that is not in sync with the larger body of literacy research, aiming to influence the nature of teacher preparation and K-12 instruction. The authors present an overview of legislation and seek to clarify key terms across the dyslexia debate to inform K-12 teachers and teacher educators beyond what is shared by advocates, while ensuring all students, not just those identified as at-risk or as having dyslexia, learn to read. Keywords: dyslexia, literacy instruction, K-12 teachers, teacher educators, legislation

INTRODUCTION It is important higher education literacy teacher educators and K-12 teachers understand key terms and concepts used within recent dyslexia legislation that has spread across the nation and not just the narrative presented by dyslexia advocates (Worthy et al., 2017). A complete understanding of the issue and key terminology will ensure literacy professionals are fully equipped to align their programs with the legislative mandates and can knowledgeably speak with lawmakers and state department of education regulators about dyslexia and reading instruction moving forward. This is especially important as Worthy and colleagues (2017) note, the “dyslexia discourse” is currently being “propagated” within “closed circles” of tightly connected organizations who intentionally exclude teacher educators, teachers, and use language that can intimate those on the outside (p. 66). Additionally, it is important for teacher educators and teachers to be in a position to support all students, including those at risk for or identified as having dyslexia, in light of what we know from actual “evidence” rather than “ideology” upon which reading laws and policies are too often crafted (Allington, 2005; Worthy et al., 2017). Currently, over 40 states have enacted dyslexia legislation (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). The laws are in response to lobbying efforts by dyslexia advocates primarily made up of parent groups, dyslexia

professional associations, and private companies that provide tutoring services and instructional materials for use with students identified as dyslexic (Gabriel, 2020). Through well-coordinated efforts, these groups created a narrative to push forward their agenda related to dyslexia (Worthy et al., 2017). According to Gabriel (2020) and Johnston and Scanlon (2020), they successfully raised concerns with legislators across the country about reading challenges they claim are experienced by large numbers of K-12 students. They believe such reading challenges result from an under-identification of students with dyslexia and the failure to deliver a specific type of instruction to all students within the general education population (Gabriel, 2020). Central to their concerns is the way decoding is taught (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). Advocates assert their claims are backed by “the science of reading” (SOR), which they narrowly recognize as almost exclusively made up of basic scientific studies (Gabriel, 2020; Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). They point to studies involving fMRI brain scans of word learning as evidence that the instructional approaches they favor are the “solution” for teaching decoding to students identified as “at risk” or diagnosed with dyslexia (Gabriel, 2020; Worthy et al., 2017). Their argument is problematic because evidence from medical studies conducted within a lab does not equal evidence for the science of reading instruction (Shanahan, 2020). In addition, their argument is built upon misinformation – inaccurate or misleading definitions


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 of key terms associated with reading instruction (MacPhee et al., 2021). Creating even more challenges is that input into the legislation from literacy teacher educators and K-12 teachers is noticeably missing (Hoffman et al., 2020; Worthy et al., 2018b). Common across state dyslexia legislation is a mandate that state departments of education create a literacy council to inform and monitor the implementation of the legislation. Teacher educators and K-12 teachers are not well represented on such councils as available seats are reserved for individuals who subscribe to the legislation’s narrow point of view. Essentially, the councils create echo chambers. However, the current laws significantly impact the work of those excluded, shift the field’s understanding of literacy, in general, and the way in which teachers assess and instruct students to read (Worthy et al., 2017). The absence of key stakeholders who are literacy professionals is no accident. Throughout the dyslexia “discourse” teacher educators and K-12 teachers have been painted as the “problem” and the dyslexia laws as the “solution” that comes in the form of specific commercial trainings, certifications, and programs that occur outside of traditional degree programs (Gabriel, 2018). Dyslexia advocates go so far as to say that dyslexia is not the problem, rather “disteach-ia” is. They argue there is a mismatch between the outdated beliefs and practices of teacher educators, K-12 teachers, and what advocates suggest is “settled science” throughout their narrative about dyslexia (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020; Worthy et al., 2016; Worthy et al., 2018b). In actuality, the mismatch comes by way of misinformation – the way in which key terms are defined and discussed throughout advocate’s discourse. SO WHAT DO TEACHER EDUCATORS AND K-12 TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CURRENT DYSLEXIA LEGISLATION? The authors present an overview of the ways in which key terms at the center of the dyslexia movement are promoted by advocates and contribute to the spread of misinformation across social media, popular media, and within the existing legislation. The authors believe literacy teacher educators and K-12 teachers will benefit from a factual discussion of the terminology used within this movement. An exploration of the key terms and concepts used will equip them to be able to respond to the narrative espoused by dyslexia advocates and

34 better frame their work in light of the current legislation. Suggestions for further readings are included for several of the key terms discussed. The overview begins with the very concept at the center of the debate, dyslexia. It is important to begin with dyslexia as the entire movement and narrative around it hinges on acceptance of how this key term is defined. HOW IS DYSLEXIA DEFINED? Problems exist with how dyslexia is defined, primarily because existing definitions are vague and do not prove useful for distinguishing between someone with dyslexia and someone who experiences other difficulties learning to read (Stanovich, 1994; Worthy et al., 2018b). Lack of consensus across various fields, including education, medicine, psychology, communications, and more is well documented (Elliott & Grigorenko, 2014). Yet, existing state legislation includes a definition crafted by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), implying consensus exists. The International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) definition of dyslexia states: Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. (IDA, 2021) This definition is not helpful as the information it provides does not narrow down specific characteristics that only apply to someone with dyslexia. In other words, it is impossible to know where a “garden variety” struggling reader ends and a student with dyslexia begins based on this definition. Stating a reader with dyslexia exhibits inaccurate and dysfluent word recognition, poor spelling, struggles with decoding, and issues related to phonological awareness is overly broad and could describe a wide range of readers who face challenges for a variety of other reasons (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). Adding the caveat that such difficulties are not


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 related to intellect and are biological in nature is also not helpful and raises alarm bells for some that the definition and associated legislation favors white, middle and upper-class students (Worthy et al., 2018b). Specifically, the concern is that use of environmental and economic factors to diagnose dyslexia invite subjective perceptions and raise concerns related to equity (Elliot, 2020). Upon closer examination of IDA’s definition, one may reasonably conclude that advocates intentionally want to cast the net wide to fit claims that large numbers of people within the general population are impacted by dyslexia. Gabriel (2018) deconstructs IDA’s definition of dyslexia and discusses how this and other branding tactics have allowed advocates to create a narrative to establish the need for the dyslexia legislation that has swept across the country. According to Gabriel (2018), it is key that dyslexia is positioned as neurobiological versus cognitive or behavioral in nature and continuum-based. First, by defining dyslexia as neurological it becomes “natural, verifiable, and therefore unassailable” (Gabriel, 2018, p. 263). Advocates can point to brain scans as proof it exists as a “scientific and biological reality,” not a vague construct that is not included within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), or one for which various fields and disciplines such as education and medicine are unable to agree upon a common set of diagnostic criteria. (Gabriel, 2018; Johnston & Scanlon, 2020; Worthy et al., 2018b). Second, Gabriel (2018) points out by referencing dyslexia as occurring along a continuum, advocates are able to make it familiar, special, and more common than otherwise believed to parents and policy makers alike. Gabriel (2018) suggests by linking dyslexia to other more familiar spectrums such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), advocates are able to shift the focus from deficit to something that is natural and experienced by many to varying degrees. In other words, framing dyslexia along a continuum suggests that everyone could be “a little bit dyslexic” and avoid the stigma associated with identification as a “struggling reader”. In addition, use of the metaphor of a continuum allows advocates to make dyslexia seem more prevalent than previously thought. When discussing the number of individuals with dyslexia, it is not unusual to read 1 in 5 or 20 percent of the

35 population mentioned by dyslexia advocates, organizations and associations. (Gabriel, 2018). Third, Gabriel (2018) notes advocates frequently link dyslexia to a variety of positive associations. The “coupling of dyslexia with creativity” (Elliot & Grigorenko, 2014), and spotlighting creative, high performing individuals with above-average intelligence, not only normalizes dyslexia, but according to Gabriel (2018) suggests it may even be special, desirable or come with an “advantage”. Positioning dyslexia as special through these positive associations separates it from more negative associations that are thought of with “general reading difficulties” or being known as a “struggling reader”. Others have pushed back and challenged this approach as racist and an attempt to separate white, middle and upper-class students from minority students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds (Elliot, 2020; Worthy et al., 2018b). IDA’s definition notes identification is not based on “cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction” (IDA, 2021), which alludes to existing identification pathways. This pre-dates current legislation via Response to Intervention (RTI) tiered interventions and assessments, specifically IQ tests for placement per IDEA into Special Education for specific reading difficulties. Johnston (2019) also references intelligence and not so subtly alludes to socio-cultural-related challenges often experienced by students from diverse and lower income backgrounds to distinguish ways “some students” differ from those with dyslexia. Johnston (2019) cites the work of Kang et al. (2016), Norton et al. (2015), and Ramus (2014) to back claims that struggling readers “may have grown up in environments that were not print-rich or where they were not exposed to reading materials, may have low IQs, or may have low motivation that causes dyslexia” (Johnston, 2019, p. 340). In short, dyslexia has been rebranded from something that is vague, confusing, mysterious, and a deficit that is undesirable, rare or found in only a few who experience reading difficulties to a commonly occurring scientifically verifiable neurological condition that may even have advantages (Gabriel, 2018).


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

THE ABC’S OF MISINFORMATION WITHIN THE DYSLEXIA MOVEMENT Educators are often criticized for use of contentspecific terms that are confusing or hard to understand for those outside the field, particularly parents and the general public. It is also not uncommon for educators to debate amongst themselves about the superiority of one theoretical model, instructional approach, and more over others. Yet, in the case of the recent dyslexia movement, it is individuals outside the field of education who are using words and terms that are confusing or not easily understood by literacy practitioners and researchers alike. In addition, the way in which the science of reading is being narrowly defined within the current dyslexia movement and within media is problematic and contributes to a climate of incomplete or inaccurate information (Hoffman et al., 2020; MacPhee et al., 2021; Wetzel et al., 2020). In their, book The Misinformation Age, O’Connor and Weatherall (2019) explore how false beliefs form, persist and spread. Dyslexia advocates follow what appears to be a blueprint straight out of O’Connor and Weatherall’s book. Tactics include the spread of misinformation using distribution of selective research studies to cast doubts on existing evidence and create confusion (O’Connor & Weatherall, 2019). Other tactics include the use of influencers who insert themselves within networks of social connections to help shape other’s beliefs through the promotion of false narratives (O’Connor & Weatherall, 2019). According to O’Connor and Weatherall (2019), the influencers first become “trusted advisors” by frequently sharing information on a desired topic, and then use their status to shape other’s beliefs through the promotion of false narratives. MacPhee et al. (2021) conducted a critical metaphor analysis of media stories showing ways in which journalists have framed the science of reading and support for the current dyslexia movement by “weaponize[ing] science to tell an incomplete story about reading education” (p. 7). In addition, Hoffman et al. (2020) note that most of the critiques of reading education related to the science of reading are coming from the media and not from what is included in the professional literature. The science of reading is being used across media to silence teacher educators through the use of unfounded claims about

36 evidence-based reading instruction (Hoffman et al., 2020; Wetzel et al., 2020). The next section considers some key terms and concepts commonly heard within the dyslexia movement. More specifically, it presents the following for each: 1) What misinformation dyslexia advocates share, 2) What the research actually says that teacher educators and K-12 teachers need to know, and 3) Suggested readings for those interested in learning more. We begin the ABC’s of misinformation with A for authentic text, followed by B for balanced literacy, and end with C for the ThreeCueing System. AUTHENTIC TEXT Issues surrounding phonics instruction is at the heart of dyslexia advocates’ concerns (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020; Silverman et al., 2020). Advocates have specific thoughts regarding how phonics should be taught, including what types of text and other materials should be used to teach students to decode (i.e., sand, clay, and other manipulatives) (Worthy et al., 2018a). Advocates promote a sequential, synthetic, multi-sensory approach to phonics instruction (Gabriel, 2020). Additionally, they believe phonics instruction should be delivered to students in a whole group setting and follow what is known as “structured literacy” lessons (Gabriel, 2018). As part of the narrative to advance this specific approach to phonics instruction, advocates pit the use of different types of text against each other, leading educators to believe it is an either-or situation. In addition, information is framed in ways that suggest use of certain types of text, such as authentic, predictable or leveled is incorrect, not evidence-based, and that decodable text should be used exclusively to teach beginning reading. References to use of “leveled texts” is part of the negative narrative used by dyslexia proponents when speaking about text selection for phonics instruction. Its use is associated with an instructional approach that occurs in small groups known as guided reading and which advocates claim ignores explicit phonics instruction. Advocates pit guided reading groups against their preferred way to teach phonics (sequential, synthetic, & multisensory) during whole group “structured literacy” instruction. They falsely insinuate that guided reading groups cannot or do not involve explicit systematic phonics instruction because it includes the use of leveled text. In addition, they create the inaccurate allusion that


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 structured literacy, not guided reading, and use of decodable text, not leveled, is the only way to teach phonics systematically and explicitly and that phonics instruction is the sum total of beginning reading. There is a role for and reason for using authentic, decodable, predictable, and leveled text as part of beginning reading instruction (Hiebert & Martin, 2001). It is not one type at the expense of the others. Additionally, there are a variety of approaches to teaching phonics, including analytic, analogy, embedded, synthetic, integrated, and through spelling (Stahl et al., 2006). Cunningham (2003) outlines six key research findings that are helpful for guiding phonics instruction. Included amongst the findings is that there is no “best way” to teach phonics (Cunningham, 2003, pp. 66-71). Cunningham (2003) references the findings of The National Reading Panel (2000) and its review of experimental studies related to phonics instruction. The Panel (NRP, 2000) essentially notes that any phonics instruction is better than no phonics instruction. Or, as highlighted by Cunningham (2003) from the Panel’s report, “explicit and systematic phonics is superior to nonsystematic or no phonics, but that there is no significant difference in effectiveness among the kinds of systematic phonics instruction” or in the “effectiveness among tutoring, small-group, or whole-class phonics instruction.” (NRP, 2000, p. 71). Literacy professionals do not dispute that the best method for teaching all students to read, including those with dyslexia, includes explicit, systematic phonics instruction as noted within the NRP Report (2000). However, literacy professionals support use of a more broad instructional approach for teaching all students to read that goes beyond an overemphasis on decoding (ILA, 2016; NRP, 2000). Dyslexia advocates believe higher education and K12 teachers ignore or do not believe in what advocates claim to be “settled science” within the science of reading (SOR) for their preferred instructional approach and over-emphasis on teaching phonics (Gabriel, 2020; Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). However, what is “settled” amongst literacy professionals is that achieving automaticity in word recognition is essential to reading and that students must be taught to decode if they do not know how or struggle to do so (Stahl, 1992). In addition, they believe that individual student needs should dictate the type of approach and sequence of instruction needed. Automatic word recognition, text fluency,

37 vocabulary, and comprehension strategies are as important as the need to teach students to decode (ILA, 2016). In addition, phonological awareness and phonemic awareness (PA) are positioned within the larger context of what literacy professionals recognize as key literacy content within balanced literacy, are essential to reading instruction, and to automaticity of word recognition (ILA, 2016). Suggested reading for teacher educators and K-12 teachers interested in learning more about PA, phonics, and use of text to teach reading: ●

Anderson & Scanlon (2020) - The Development of Sight Vocabulary.

●

Goodwin (2015) - Word detectives: Morphological instruction that supports academic language.

●

Mesmer et al. (2012) – Toward a Theoretical Model of Text Complexity for the Early Grades: Learning From the Past, Anticipating the Future.

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Miles et al. (2018) - Rethinking Sight Words.

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Yopp & Yopp (2000) - Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom

BALANCED LITERACY Dyslexia advocates have created more confusion within their narrative by making “balanced literacy” a euphemism for “whole language”. They reduce balanced literacy to the equivalent of small group instruction in which teachers use “leveled books” to teach students how to decode following the “threecueing system” (Hanford, 2018). Like use of different types of text previously discussed, there is also a role for and reason for whole group, small group, and one-on-one instruction. Ongoing use of formative and summative assessment allows a skilled reading teacher to track individual student progress and design and deliver instruction that meets an individual’s needs (Barone et al., 2020). Reducing “balanced literacy” to a type of instructional grouping is as inaccurate as advocates’ explanation of what or how the “three-cueing system” is understood and used by most teacher educators and teachers. References to the “three cueing system” or the belief that reading is “a natural process that does not need to be taught” are simply used to promote


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 advocates’ beliefs and practices and cast doubt on other practices than what advocates prefer. A chapter by Pearson and Raphael (2003), “Toward a more complex view of balance in the literacy curriculum,” provides a cogent summary of what the larger community of literacy researchers have come to accept as the meaning of balanced literacy. As noted by the authors, balanced literacy involves “balance” in instructional approaches, materials, and assessments (Pearson & Raphael, 2003). What is often referred to as the “Big Five” represents the “content” of reading such as phonological awareness/phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (NRP, 2000). The report written by the RAND Reading Study Group, & Snow (2002) captures consensus among literacy scholars related to the importance of comprehension in learning to read. Meaning making (comprehension) is the “point” of learning to read, which literacy educators worry current legislation and advocates’ over-emphasis on phonics ignores. Additionally, researchers and teacher educators recognize that other key literacy domains play important roles in effective reading instruction such as writing, spelling (orthography), word study (morphology) and affective factors such as student’s attitudes, interests and motivation. Some advocates reference specific writing and language terminology such as syntax and semantics. Literacy educators agree each of these are key components within literacy instruction. Where the two sides differ is with the approach. Like phonics instruction, advocates believe there is one “right” way for explicit, systematic instruction and it is best delivered sequentially to all students using a whole group approach, or “structured” and “multisensory” approach, despite research support over all other approaches. Teacher educators are committed to preparing literacy teachers to know, select, and apply a wide range of literacy and language theories, instructional practices, materials, and assessments in order to successfully teach all learners to read (ILA, 2017). Because they do not subscribe to the narrative that one “right” approach exists for “all” learners does not mean they do not know or believe in the “science of reading” (Johnston & Scanlon, 2020). In fact, teacher educators and K12 teachers do and they recognize this body of research to include a much broader collection of study types, topics and research methods than advocates. Additionally, what is lacking and needed

38 to better inform the field, is noted by Shanahan (2020) in his call for more “data that evaluate the effectiveness of teaching” or, in other words, the science of reading instruction (p. 2). Suggested reading for teacher educators and K-12 teachers interested in learning more about balanced literacy: •

Burkins & Yates (2021) - Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

•

Cowen (2003) – A Balanced Approach to Beginning Reading Instruction

•

Fisher et al. (2020) – Defining Balance, Finding Balance

•

Fitzgerald (1999) – What is This Thing Called “balance?”

(THREE) CUEING SYSTEM References to the three-cueing system as an ineffective approach to teaching reading is also an attempt to spread misinformation and an illustration of advocates’ lack of knowledge and complete understanding of what they are criticizing. Journalist Emily Hanford (2019) who routinely uses her blog and social media account to advocate for the current dyslexia legislation, criticizes teachers’ use of the “three cueing system” alleging they do so because they do not know how else to teach reading. The three-cueing system is grounded in an assessment practice, not an instructional approach. It is connected to a useful and informal way to assess and analyze student errors made when reading by using “running records” and conducting “miscue analysis” (Clay, 1993; Goodman et al., 1987). Teachers pay close attention to what students actually said when they read words as part of connected text, and they may also provide prompts, when students practice reading, get stuck, or make a mistake in order to redirect the reader’s attention to whether or not their pronunciation or attempt to decode a word: a) looks right, b) sounds right, and c) makes sense. Each of these cues correlate with an important aspect of word recognition – orthography, phonology, and semantics. Notably, the first two “cues” call a reader’s attention to the symbol-sound relationship of a letter, syllable or word. Despite a fourth cue, pragmatics, later added to the model, advocates only


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 reference the original 1960’s three-cueing system in their criticism. Advocates are critical of “three-cueing” and mistakenly equate it to an instructional approach, because it is closely associated with Reading Recovery and Whole language. Both draw upon Goodman’s (1976) miscue analysis work and adhere to an embedded approach to phonics instruction (Stahl, 2006). As discussed in a prior section, literacy professionals agree that phonics must be taught if students do not know how or struggle to decode (NRP, 2000; Stahl, 1992). Furthermore, literacy professionals agree that reading instruction needs to be grounded in meaning-making. Afterall, meaningmaking, is the point of reading as highlighted within the report produced by the RAND Reading Study Group & Snow (2002) on comprehension. Twisting and misrepresenting the origins of the cueing systems by equating its use to an instructional approach for how to teach reading lends support to advocates’ call for a sequential, synthetic, multisensory approach to phonics instruction at the exclusion of all other approaches. Also, included in advocates’ narrative is that dyslexia (a construct advocates are unable to clearly explain and identify with unique characteristics different from other reading challenges) is far more common and impacts large numbers of the general population. Hence, this becomes the basis for the need for legislation that requires screening assessments of all students. The assessments required are not new or different from what any reading professional knows and uses to diagnose students’ strengths and growth areas. Tools such as informal phonemic awareness assessments, phonics assessments, sight word lists, spelling inventories, and more can be used flexibly to help target a student’s instructional needs and ensure they are progressing along developmental continuums that detail specific characteristics at emergent, beginning, basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. Furthermore, enacting laws that add more requirements for testing is unnecessary. RTI and MTSS systems are already required and are intended to do what this new legislation proposes. It's redundant and will no doubt lead to confusion in schools that are already strapped for time, money, and resources. Not to mention, it could end up failing the neediest student populations. If RTI or MTSS are not working as planned or not yet fully implemented,

39 why not invest in appropriate resources and more professional learning opportunities for teachers and school districts so they receive the support needed to realize full implementation? We know high quality teachers matter most for ensuring student success (Allington, 2002). Why not invest in teachers to make instructional decisions based on individual student needs within fully functioning (and fully supported) RTI or MTSS systems, not in mandating new and redundant testing or by legislating singular instructional approaches and practices that are not actually proven as the “only” way to help students who experience challenges learning to read. Requiring more assessments fits an agenda aimed at identifying and labeling large numbers of students as “at risk” for dyslexia. Once identified, the laws mandate the specific type of instruction students receive, and some draft legislation specifies who delivers the intervention services. The laws prompt a shift from services provided by reading specialists to dyslexia specialists. It redefines “expertise” in reading as one who is certified by advocates within a “closed circle” such as the Center for Effective Reading Instruction (CERI) or by the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), instead of one who has earned an advanced degree from an accredited teacher education program (Worthy et al., 2017). Certification includes training in one instructional approach (i.e., CERI and structured literacy training) or one instructional program (i.e., ALTA’s Orton Gillingham training for Certified Academic Language Therapist), rather than knowledge and training in a wide range of theories and approaches. Suggested reading for teacher educators and K-12 teachers interested in learning more about literacy assessment, RTI, and reading specialists: •

Bean & Kern (2018) - Multiple Roles of Specialized Literacy Professionals

Johnston (2011) article - Response to Intervention in Literacy: Problems and Possibilities

Valencia & Riddle Buly (2004) article What Struggling Readers Really Need

Risko & Walker-Dalhouse (2020) - Making the Most of Assessments to Inform Instruction


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40

WHAT TEACHER EDUCATORS AND K-12 TEACHERS CAN AND SHOULD DO TO STAY INFORMED AND HELP SHARE ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT DYSLEXIA AND LITERACY EDUCATION? In addition to taking time to read, attend professional learning sessions, and taking other steps to stay informed and knowledgeable of current literacy research and related issues, use what you know and learn to examine your existing literacy programs to evaluate alignment with dyslexia legislation. Review existing standards such as the Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals (ILA, 2017) and the Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading (IDA, 2018) for overlapping components presented in the legislation. Compliance with existing legislation does not need to be an “either-or” proposition. Instead, consider how to make it an “and” situation that ensures teachers are fully prepared to help all students learn to read. Furthermore, literacy teacher educators and teachers can focus on the following action steps to make sure ideology and misinformation does not silence research and best practices moving forward. 1.

2.

3.

Establish and maintain relationships with lawmakers and policy administrators such as state department of education personnel. Schedule routine visits with your representative. Send emails and letters on issues related to education. Be helpful. Share your background knowledge and resources so you are perceived as helpful and a “go to” resource for matters within your area of expertise, not just the current dyslexia legislation. Direct your service and volunteer efforts towards participation in state-level committees. Intentionally seek out opportunities to serve on work groups and advisory councils related to student learning standards, assessments, program certification requirements and more. Make yourself available to help state department staff with their work given they often have full plates, are short staffed, and welcome assistance. Join and engage in professional organizations. Make use of their existing advocacy and legislation committee work

and resources. Consider adding membership to a literacy professional group that has a different orientation than those with which you currently hold memberships. Even consider joining a professional organization outside of literacy but within a related field that shares common goals such as associations for school administrators, special educators, or speech-language pathologists. 4.

Follow a diverse group of thought leaders on social media and on the internet, including Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, and blogs. Make sure you follow, like, reshare, and comment on posts that represent a wide range of literacy viewpoints. Educate yourself about what is important to them, who is influencing them, and what they are doing about it.

5.

Actively develop literacy outreach programs with parents and community members in mind. Provide them with useful information so over time you become a trusted advisor or “go to” person for matters related to literacy education. Partner with both groups on likeminded initiatives. Allow them to see you as a resource and help to educate them about the work you do. Invite them to observe a class or campus literacy clinic. Develop events that target their interests and invite them to attend or assist you with hosting an event such as a book study.

6.

Expand outlets where you submit literacy articles beyond scholarly journals or ones that literacy scholars primarily tend to read. Tailor your communication style and format. Reach a wider, more diverse readership by disseminating literacy information in popular media outlets that publish at a much more frequent and faster pace than what it takes for peer-reviewed academic journals.

7.

Create or examine existing advisory councils for your education programs. Ensure that you are including and hearing from voices across a broad group of stakeholders. It is easier to address problems, misinformation and differences


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 up front rather than after the fact, especially if relationships are already established. 8.

Approach alignment to legislation with an open mind. See where and how you can enhance what you already do well and strengthen areas in need of updates or changes. Complete a crosswalk of dyslexia standards to other existing professional standards. Based on what you learn, review and make updates to your existing course names, titles, catalog descriptions, course content, and standards alignment. Keep the process about informing teacher preparation and student learning outcomes versus compliance.

CONCLUSION The importance of literacy instruction and achievement is collectively embraced across the public by a myriad of stakeholders, not limited to parents, policymakers, and educators. Often these groups’ beliefs clash regarding how best to achieve literacy success for all students. Academic freedom is a pillar of higher education. In addition, program accreditation and other modes of accountability are not unfamiliar to Schools of Education. However, the strong voices behind dyslexia-based organizations, advocates, and their recent rebranding of the science of reading are influencing radical changes through prescriptive legislation that threaten the integrity of literacy teacher educators’ academic freedom (Hoffman et al, 2020; Worthy et al., 2018b). Dyslexia advocates crafted a narrative built upon misinformation that is not in sync with the larger body of literacy research. The laws aim to influence the nature of K-12 instruction and teacher preparation consistent with their agenda. It is important for teacher educators and K-12 teachers to have a full understanding of the current dyslexia debate, especially key terms and concepts, so they know the implications, can add their voices to the public conversation, and appropriately respond to the requirements related to these laws for the benefit of all students (Worthy et al., 2017).

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43 Wetzel, M. M., Skerret, A., Maloch, B., Flores, T. T., Infante-Sheridan, M., Murdter-Atkinson, J., Godfrey, V. C., & Duffy, A. (2020). Resisting positionings of struggle in “science of teaching reading” discourse: Counterstories of teachers and teacher educators in Texas. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S319-S330. http://doi:10.1002/rrq.358 Winorgrad, P., Flores-Duenas, & Arrington, H. (2003). Best practices in literacy assessment. In L. M. Morrow, L. B. Gambrell & M. Pressley (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (2nd ed., pp. 201-238). The Guilford Press. Worthy, J., DeJulio, S., Svrcek, N., Villarreal, D. A., Derbyshire, C., LeeKeenan, K., Wiebe, M. T., Lammert, C., Rubin, J. C., & Salmeron, C. (2016). Teachers’ understandings, perspectives, and experiences of dyslexia. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 65, 436-453. http://doi: 10.1177/2381336916661529 Worthy, J., Long, S. L., Salmeron, C., Lammert, C., Godfrey, V. (2018a). “What if we were committed to giving every individual the services and opportunities they need?” Teacher educators’ understandings, perspectives, and practices surrounding dyslexia. Research in the Teaching of English, 53 (2), 125-148. Worthy, J., Salmeron, C., Long, S., Lammert, C., & Godfrey, V. (2018b). “Wrestling with the politics and ideology”: Teacher educators’ response to dyslexia discourse and legislation. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 67, 377-393. Worthy, J., Villarreal, D. A., Godfrey, V., DeJulio, S., Stefanski, A., Leitze, A., & Cooper, J. (2017). A critical analysis of dyslexia legislation in three states. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 66, 406-421. http: doi: 10.1177/2381336917718501 Yopp, H., & Yopp, R. (2000). Supporting phonemic awareness development in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 54(2), 130-143. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20204888


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 53, no. 1, p. 44 – 54 (2022) _____________________________________________________________________________________

The Evolving Role of Female Leaders: A Closer Look at Generation Z & Y’s Perspectives LESLY R. KROME Department of Psychology and Counseling, Southeast Missouri State University, lkrome@semo.edu

______________________________________________ One of the most prominent theories surrounding the sparsity of female leadership is role congruity theory (RCT) by Eagly and Karau (2002). The authors argue that women must behave in ways that are inconsistent with their traditional gender role expectations when they hold leadership positions and that this incongruency leaves followers with an unfavorable evaluation of them. This effect occurs even when women exhibit democratic leadership, a style of leadership that more closely conforms to female role expectations (Eagly & Johnson, 1990; Goethals & Hoyt, 2017). However, as Generation Z enters and becomes established in today’s workplace and society, is this perspective changing? Generation Z, along with Generation Y (Millennials), are generally more progressive and more formally educated than previous generations (Parker et al., 2019), which could affect their attitudes and perspectives concerning factors within role congruity theory. Research was conducted which evaluated Generation Z and Y’s perspectives on male and female leaders demonstrating both democratic leadership behaviors and autocratic leadership behaviors. A 2 x 2 factorial MANCOVA (the covariate was participant sex) revealed that the sample of Generation Z and Y participants did not view female leaders less favorably than male leaders across both leadership styles, which contradicts RCT. Implications and discussions about female leadership bias are addressed. Keywords: women, role congruity theory, implicit leadership theory, stereotyping, democratic/autocratic leadership, Generation Z/Y

INTRODUCTION Women facing adversity in the workplace is not a new phenomenon. Sexual harassment, discrimination, and conflicting work/non-work role expectations (to name a few examples) have been holding women back since they started to enter the workforce in mass during the mid-to-late 20th Century (Wright & Rogers, 2015). While women have only been an active part of the commercial workforce for a brief part of human history, they now make up almost half (47%) of the U.S. labor force (Department of Labor, 2019). Despite sharing the working burden approximately equally, being considered equal to their male counterparts on the job is a challenge that women continue to face. One noteworthy example is the wage gap that shows women are less valued than men in the workplace; women earned 81.2% of men’s salaries for equivalent full-time, year-round work in 2018 (US Census Bureau, 2019). This number is even lower for minority women and women with advanced degrees (US Census Bureau, 2019). So, while women have an indispensable presence in the workforce, they clearly face barriers that can negatively affect their careers. These

detriments not only hurt women’s careers; they also can halt women’s advancement in the workplace and their progression to leadership roles. A salient example can be seen in the huge discrepancy between female workers and female leaders in Fortune 500 companies. In 2019, only 33 women held a CEO position in a top Fortune 500 company (Zillman, 2019). This means that only 6.6% of top companies employed women in a major leadership position. Out of the 47% of the available female working population, why are so few women being selected to higher-ranking positions when the chances are approximately equal across the major genders? One interpretation is that women are being stymied by systematic social barriers to female leader success. These barriers can be better understood though the lens of Social Dominance Theory (SDT). SDT recognizes that individuals separate themselves according to a group-based social hierarchy existing within the formal organization (Sidanius et al., 1991). The hierarchy is generally quite linear. There is a dominant group, which consists of individuals who possess a physical or social characteristic deemed


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 desirable by the organization. Those without this characteristic are kept out of the dominant group and are considered the subordinate group (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). The members of the dominant group police their power to ensure it stays within their group. The dominant members do this by maintaining their positive group identify and keeping the subordinate group subjugated using hierarchylegitimizing myths. Hierarchy-legitimizing myths are the beliefs and attitudes held by members of the group that support the social hierarchy by justifying the unequal treatment between the two groups (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). In SDT, there are three primary systems that can be identified: an age system, an arbitrary-set system, and a gender system (e.g., patriarchy). Under the patriarchy system a disproportionate amount of social and political power is assumed by male members of the group (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Female members of the group are less favored than the male members of the group and receive leftover resources and hold less positive social identity; their perceived social value is less than that of the men (Sidanius & Pratto, 1999). Male (and sometimes female) members of the group perpetuate hierarchy-legitimizing myths in the organization using sexism. The members of the organization justify the systematic social inequality of the groups through this structure. In this way the female members’ abilities to demand more power and social value is suppressed. The idea that women work for organizations that have mechanisms in place to suppress their success is concerning. However, the large discrepancy between women who have risen in organizations to achieve a position of power and women outside of positions of power provides evidence to that effect: the systematic suppression of female workers in the organization is a factor responsible for the lack of female leaders. An alternative explanation is that women do not make good leaders and that is why they are not in positions of authority, but research has not supported this supposition (Eagly et al., 1995; Goethals & Hoyt, 2017; Paustian-Underdahl et al., 2014; Van Engen & Willemsen, 2004). This in turn begets the question of what makes a good leader? A plethora of leadership theories exist that examine factors including (but not limited to) follower preferences, leader effectiveness, leader emergence, and more (Barling et al., 2010; Foti & Hauenstein, 2007; Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Moss &

45 Ngu, 2006). To quickly summarize, a small but meaningful representation of some of this research found that democratic leadership styles tend to be more favorable to followers and more productive than autocratic leadership styles, under certain conditions (Foels et al., 2000; Gastil, 1994). Democratic leaders, who seek input from followers, involve followers in the decision-making process, and foster responsibility and participation from followers often have slightly more positive outcomes than autocratic leaders, who discourage follower participation and involvement in decision-making (Goethals & Hoyt, 2017). While this research only skims the surface of the leadership literature, it is important for establishing context when describing female leadership. As previously mentioned, meta-analyses have revealed that followers often express greater satisfaction with democratic leaders, though several variables moderate this effect, such as group size and gender make-up (Foels et al., 2000; Gastil, 1994). In addition, productivity often increases when followers are led by democratic leaders in applied settings (non-laboratory or field experiment). Gastil (1994) also found that democratic leadership was more productive than autocratic leadership when followers were performing moderately to highly complex tasks. Although there are fewer female leaders than male leaders in the workplace, female leaders tend to adhere to the better-suited democratic leadership style more so than the autocratic leadership style (Eagly & Johnson, 1990). One would think that if women are more likely to adopt the advantageous democratic leadership style, they would be preferred for a leadership position. Unfortunately, data shows that is not necessarily the case. Role Congruity Theory (RCT; Eagly & Karau, 2002) helps explain why. RCT suggests that female leaders face conflicts regarding their role expectations that contributes to the negative evaluations that they receive when in a position of power (Eagly & Karau, 2002). The conflict exists between the role expectations as a woman and the role expectations as a leader, leading to the perceived role incongruity. The effect is twofold: first, women are viewed less favorably than their male counterparts for leader roles due to specific expectations typically surrounding what a leader is; these expectations are viewed as contradictory to what the role expectations of what a woman should be. Second, when women act in a


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 manner consistent with typical expectations of a leader, the women are typically viewed less favorably than men for those same behaviors because of the incongruity with their gender role. This conflict requires investigation into what specific role expectations of leaders are and why they are viewed as incompatible with women’s gender role expectations. Implicit Leadership Theory (ILT) is one perspective that can help illuminate the specific role expectations of leaders. Lord, Foti, and De Vader (1984) examined how leadership was viewed by individuals and concluded that people hold an implicit leadership theory that draws on prototypes of ideal leadership behavior; this prototype then informs individuals of what a leader is and should be. If an individual is compared to the prototype and found to match it, then the person is viewed as a leader. Offerman, Kennedy, and Wirtz (1994) then studied what the most common prototypes for a leader were. They compiled a list of eight specific traits often associated with leaders: sensitivity, dedication, tyranny, charisma, attractiveness, masculinity, intelligence, and strength. While these eight traits were found to be the most frequent prototypes for leaders, one can look at the list and see that incongruities exist between them. For example, a leader can be sensitive but also tyrannical. Does the leader need to be strong or does the leader need to be intelligent or both? If the latter, which one of these characteristics (strength or intelligence) is identified in the leader first? Despite the contradictions in the list and the questions surrounding it, these eight criteria can spark a person’s understanding of “this is what a leader is.” The eight prototypes identified can be examined in a number of ways. Trait theory of leadership discusses how leaders are identified if they possess certain characteristics whereas the behavioral theories of leadership discuss specific actions leaders can take to invoke leader authority (Barling et al., 2010). Either of these theories and other ones can be the focus for the eight leader prototypes examined in ILT. However, looking at ILT from the perspective of social psychology’s stereotyping may be enlightening, considering the stereotypical gender role expectations expected of women under RCT. Fisk, Cuddy, Glick, and Xu (2002) examined stereotypes and determined that two dimensions can encompass a wide range of stereotypes. Those two dimensions are warmth and competence. Fisk et al.

46 (2002) identified four types of out-group combinations based on the aspects of warmth and competence. High warmth and low competence results in paternalistic prejudice which predicts pity and sympathy. High warmth and high competence evoke admiration and pride. Low warmth and low competence create contemptuous prejudice resulting in anger and resentment whereas low warmth and high competence creates envious prejudice seen to provoke jealousy. When looking at the common issues female leaders face, these four dimensions can provide a framework for understanding unfavorable evaluations from subordinates. Female leaders that are friendly and democratic may be perceived as less competent than male leaders due to sexism and sex stereotypes which evoke paternalistic prejudice (Eagly & Karau, 2002; Fisk et al., 2002). Women who lack warmth and are perceived as less competent will received disdain and anger (contemptuous prejudice) from others, both male and female audiences. Alternatively, the female leader who acts dominantly and forcefully may be viewed as lacking warmth but possessing competence, resulting in envious prejudice and jealousy from followers. When a woman (or man) acts in a leadership role, are followers forming certain stereotypes based on their implicit leadership prototypes? Do these stereotypes help or hurt the female leader? While not every one of the eight prototypes from ILT can be clearly mapped into the four stereotype dimensions, some of the prototypes are intuitive. Sensitivity and dedication can be seen to have high warmth, whereas tyranny would have low warmth. Intelligence and strength can be allocated alongside high competence. Charisma may fall into high warmth and high competence. It is not clear how attractiveness and masculinity are viewed in this framework, but masculinity is most certainly considered an implied leadership trait in ILT and thus may be more associated with competence. One of the most interesting findings from Offerman et al. (1994) is that masculinity (or simply being male) was one of the criteria that acts as a leadership prototype. This demonstrates a facet of the role incongruity that women face when attempting to reach a position of power or influence. If women act in ways that are traditionally considered masculine, then they are viewed as violating their gender role expectations. On the other hand, not acting masculine is a violation of the role expectations of being a leader. The role expectations of being a man or


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 woman and acting masculine or feminine derive from gender stereotypes and historical divisions of labor and responsibilities between men and women (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Women are perceived to be interpersonally oriented and men are perceived to be more action oriented (Eagly & Karau, 2002). Additionally, men have historically held most leadership positions and thus are readily associated as a leadership prototype. Because of this, a female leader may feel the need to take more action, act more aggressively, and/or be more dominant because of the association between leadership, masculinity, and these behaviors, but in doing so she violates the gender stereotype and draws the ill-will of her followers for this discrepancy. Feminist Communication Theory (FCT; Griffin, 2009) provides further support to RCT by highlighting the difficulties women face when communicating in a “non-masculine” manner in the workplace. According to this perspective, men and women use language differently: women use more communal language, use social and emotional words more often, and ask more questions (Griffin, 2009; Hollander & Abelson, 2014). In contrast, men use action words more frequently, exert more force in their communication, and interrupt more often. Some linguists argue that language is “man-made” and has been dominated by men historically (Griffin, 2009). Women are expected to conform to the masculine style of communication, especially in the workplace, but when they do, they are often viewed as unfeminine and it is an undesirable trait (Griffin, 2009). This creates a “double-bind” due to the contradictory role expectations of women, particularly when in the workplace. However, as the previous research has demonstrated, there are several other trait prototypes for leadership; masculinity is not the only way to convince followers a person is a strong leader. Offerman et al. (1994) found that dedication, charisma, intelligence, and sensitivity were the most salient criteria (as evaluated by participants) for the leadership prototype and all have positive connotations to them. It is also clear from this list that one does not have to be a specific gender or sex to hold these traits. There should be no incongruity between being a woman and being dedicated (disciplined or hard-working), charismatic (inspirational, dynamic), intelligent (knowledgeable, clever, educated), and sensitive (attuned, understanding) to followers’ needs. In fact, these criteria fit closely with the democratic form of

47 leadership while only partially mapping on to the autocratic leadership style. Theoretically, women who demonstrate the democratic leadership style will activate the most relevant criteria for the leadership prototype and should be viewed positively as a leader. However, the complex relationship between leader and followers does not make for a straightforward answer. Meta-analysis has revealed some complex relationships that naturally occurring groups (as opposed to artificial laboratory groups) have with democratic leadership. Although followers prefer democratic leaders over autocratic ones generally, as groups become more male, followers demonstrate an increasing dissatisfaction with the democratic leadership style (Foels et al., 2000). Though this effect was not statistically significant, it does present a problematic trend: the more masculine the group is the less attractive democratic leadership becomes. Women are at a disadvantage if this trend still exists, as democratic leadership is their preferred leadership style (compared to autocratic). However, is it possible that attitudes regarding leadership, specifically female leadership, may have started to shift as new generations of followers enter the workplace and other public spaces? Generation Y, or Millennials, are those born between 1981 and 1996. Generation Y has come into their own and established themselves in society and the workplace (Parker et al., 2019). Generation Z (Centennials) are starting to do the same. Generations Z, or the population born after 1996, are still in their fledgling state; in 2019 this generation would be individuals 22 years old or younger. But the small percentage of Generation Z age 18 and older are present in the workforce, academia, and society as a whole. They are entering public spaces and are affected by leadership in a variety of ways, whether it is the professor in the classroom, one’s supervisor, or the leader of the nation. Does Generation Z hold the same attitudes about female leadership that their predecessors do? A recent Pew Research Center survey found that Generation Z and Generation Y are very alike in terms of education and political affiliations: both groups are better educated and more progressive than the generations that came before them (Parker et al., 2019). Do these factors influence Generation Z and Y’s perspectives on what good leadership looks like, be it male or female?


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 THE CURRENT STUDY The following research was conducted to answer a variety of questions relevant to the topic of female leadership and perspectives of effective and desirable leadership. Based on the established research on democratic v. autocratic leadership research and ILT, it was hypothesized that: H1: Women (and men) demonstrating the democratic leadership style would have more favorable evaluations than when demonstrating the autocratic leadership style. H2: Women (and men) would be viewed as warmer and more competent when displaying the democratic leadership style than when displaying the autocratic leadership style. Based on the research on Generation Z and Generation Y’s progressive nature, the following was also hypothesized in contradiction of RCT: H3: Men demonstrating the democratic leadership style would not have more favorable evaluations than women demonstrating the democratic leadership style. H4: Men demonstrating the autocratic leadership style would not have more favorable evaluations than women demonstrating the autocratic leadership style. METHODS Participants: A total of 108 participants took part in this study. The participants were mostly female (69.4%) and mostly white (83.3%) college students recruited at a small regional university in the United States. The average age of participants was M = 20.4 years (SD = 4.3) and ages ranged from 18 to 42 years. Of this sample, 92% of participants were 22 years of age or younger, indicating affiliation with Generation Z. Because the desired sample were Generations Z and Y, the two responses outside this age range (ages 41 and 42) were kept out of analysis, bringing the total sample size to 106. All participants were treated in accordance with APA ethical guidelines. Materials: The current study was vignette-based and relied on four different vignettes depicting variations of autocratic and democratic leadership and variations of the leader’s biological sex being depicted as female or male (Appendix A). The vignettes first described the leader’s actions to reflect

48 either the autocratic leadership style or the democratic leadership style; this was the first independent variable (IV). The relevant leader behaviors came straight from Chelladurai and Saleh’s (1980) validated Leadership Scale with appropriate focus to the “Democratic Behavior” and “Autocratic Behavior” subscales. For instance, the democratic behaviors described in two of the scenarios included that the leader let the group set their own goals, share in decision-making, and asked for the opinion of others whereas the autocratic behaviors described in two of the scenarios discussed how the leader kept to him/herself, refused to compromise, and worked independently from others. Then each vignette was manipulated to reflect that the leader was either male or female (the second IV). The vignette further discussed a situation that arose in the workplace and how the situation played out based on the leadership style of the supervisor. To assess positive or negative evaluations of the leader in the scenario, a brief survey was created using a Likert scale from one (strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree). This survey assessed the dependent variable (DV) of leader favorability and included eight items, four of which were reversecoded. Sample items included “I would respect this leader if I was working for him/her,” “This is a good leader,” and “I would look for a new job if this was my leader.” The Cronbach’s Alpha for this survey was .96, indicating high reliability. Fisk et al.’s (2002) Competence and Warmth Scales were used to assess how participants viewed the leader in terms of competence (DV2) and warmth (DV3), two concepts central to stereotyping. This scale also used a five-point Likert scale (1 = not at all; 5 = extremely) and asked various questions regarding the competency, efficiency, intelligence, friendliness, trustworthiness, warmth, etc. of the leader. For example, participants were asked: “How competent do you view this leader to be?” and also “How warm do you view this leader to be?” Each subscale was analyzed independently, a precedent set by the authors of the scale in their 2002 study. The Cronbach’s Alpha for the competence subscale was found to be .86, indicating high reliability. The Cronbach’s Alpha for the warmth subscale was found to be .95, which also indicated high scale reliability. Finally, participants filled out a demographic survey in which their age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, and political orientation were asked. Additionally,


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 participants were asked what their major or intended major was. Participant sex was identified as a potential covariate for the current study due to the manipulation of leader sex in the vignettes. Procedure: Participants were recruited from an online database over the span of one semester. The database tracked students taking Introductory Psychology courses at a small midwestern university and provided students with research studies to take in order to satisfy their course requirements. The study was conducted entirely online through the Qualtrics surveying software. Participants first completed the informed consent and then were randomly assigned to read one of the four vignettes. After reading the vignette, participants filled out the leadership evaluation survey, the competence and warmth subscales (Fisk et al., 2002), and filled in their demographic information. Participants were thoroughly debriefed and told the purpose of the study. RESULTS The data were uploaded into SPSS and first screened prior to analysis following Tabachnick and Fidell’s (2007) recommendations. All reverse-coded items were changed, and the reliability analysis was run for the DV of leader favorability (α = .96) as well as each subscale of the Competence (α = .86) and Warmth (α = .95) Scales. The data were screened for univariate and multivariate outliers, but none were found. However, there were three cases where data were missing at random for the leader favorability DV. The participants’ respective response averages for the survey were imputed for the missing value for the three separate cases (mean substitution; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). For the competence subscale, there was one case where data were missing at random and the participant’s mean for the competence subscale was imputed for the missing value. Two participants each had one data point missing at random for the warmth subscale. The participants’ respective means for the warmth subscale were imputed in both cases. There were four cases where participants failed to fill in any responses for both the warmth and competence subscales and these participants were excluded from analysis. In addition, there were three cases where the sex of the participant was not disclosed. Because the current study identified that participant sex was a potential covariate, these cases were excluded from the analysis as well, bringing the sample size down to 99.

49 While there was no skewness present in the DVs, two of the DVs, leader favorability (z = -1.30) and warmth (z = -1.15), appeared to demonstrate platykurtosis. However, upon further investigation the null hypothesis was not rejected, as the absolute values for each of the DVs after dividing by standard error was not greater than z = 3.29, which is the recommended threshold for a medium-sized sample (50 < N < 300); as such the distributions were assumed to be normal (Kim, 2013). Normality was further assumed due to cell size (49 participants were in the leader sex male and 50 participants were in the leader sex female conditions while of those same participants 50 were in the autocratic leader condition and 49 were in the democratic leader condition). Despite the even distribution in cell size, Box’s M revealed that homogeneity of variance-covariance was violated F (18, 31600.21) = 2.21, p = .002. Because Box’s M is highly sensitive, the p-value was not less than .001, and the cell sizes were equal, the author chose to overlook this violation, as per instruction by Tabachnick and Fidell (2007). Furthermore, the assumption of equality of variance was tested using Levene’s Test of Equality of Error Variance and was met, as there was no significance level below .05 for any of the DVs: Leader favorability F(3, 95) = 2.01, p = .12, competence F(3, 95) = 1.96, p = .13, and warmth F(3, 95) = 0.83, p = .48. Finally, multicollinearity and singularity were assessed using Pearson product-moment correlations. While the DV of leader favorability was positively and highly correlated with warmth (r = .88) and competence (r = .75), none of the correlations were .90 or higher, which would cause statistical problems in the analysis (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). A 2x2 factorial MANCOVA was run with the leader’s sex and leadership style as the two IVs and participants’ leader favorability rating and perceptions of warmth and competence as the three DVs; the participants’ sex served as a covariate. The multivariate tests were examined, and participant sex was not found to be a significant covariate, F(3, 92) = .33, p = .80, η2p = .01. Additionally, there was no interaction between leader sex and leadership style, F(3, 92) = .32, p = .81, η2p = .01. Furthermore, the sex of the leader was not found to have a significant effect on the DVs, F(3, 92) = 1.48, p = .23, η2p = .05. However, the autocratic or democratic nature of the leader did have a significant effect, F(3, 92) = 81.70, p < .001, η2p = .73 and needed to be examined further.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 A test of between-subjects effects revealed that leadership style was found to have a significant effect on all three DVs: leader favorability, F(1, 98) = 189.92, p < .001, η2p = .67, perceived competence, F(1, 98) = 40.14, p < .001, η2p = .29, and perceived warmth, F(1, 98) = 176.76, p < .001, η2p = .65. The rating for the autocratic leader, either male or female was consistently lower than the democratic leader’s rating on all three DVs, supporting Hypotheses 1 and 2 (see Figure 1). Men and women were found to be equivalently rated on their leader favorability, competence, and warmth in each leadership style, thus supporting Hypotheses 3 and 4 (see Table 1). DISCUSSION Hypothesis 1 was supported: democratic leaders were more favorably rated than autocratic leaders, which is consistent with most current research on the subject. However, while this piece of information is common knowledge, it does demonstrate that women’s preferred leadership style is more favorably evaluated and should support positive evaluation of female leaders. As previously discussed, this is not always the case, specifically in groups that are more masculine (Foels et al., 2000). Because the sample for the current study was mostly female (69.4%), the results make sense. However, had the sample been mostly male, the outcome of the study may have been different. Hypothesis 2 was also supported: Women and men were rated as warmer and more competent when displaying the democratic leadership style than when displaying the autocratic leadership style. The literature would indicate that it is expected that the leaders were viewed as warmer when demonstrating the democratic leadership style (M = 22.96) as opposed to the autocratic leadership style (M = 12.12) since the autocratic leader tends to lack personalized interactions with followers, consideration for follower’s opinions, and doesn’t seek followers’ input on decision-making (Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980; Goethals & Hoyt, 2017). However, it is interesting to find that the democratic leaders were viewed as more competent than the autocratic ones, since leaders can be successful using either method. Previous research has pointed out that under authentic conditions democratic leadership has slight advantages over autocratic leadership in terms of productivity (Gastil, 1994). The current study was not an authentic scenario, but still the democratic leader was perceived to be more competent than the

50 autocratic one. Though competency is not the same as productivity, these ideas are related and the outcome of the current study fits with previous research. The difference in scores of competence between the combined male and female autocratic leaders (M = 16.49) and male and female democratic leaders (M = 21.70) was noticeable and provides further support for favorability of the democratic leadership style. This brings back the question of: are certain stereotypes being held that impacts how perceptions of competence and warmth are determined? Sex stereotypes did not appear to influence evaluations of warmth and competence, since male and female leaders were equally evaluated on the Warmth and Competence Scales (Table 1). This does not mean that other stereotypes were not being made; in fact, it is quite possible that they were. The democratic leader (male or female) was evaluated highly on warmth and competence and also on the third DV, leader favorability. While this can be explained by the three DVs being correlated, an alternative explanation may be that participants rated the leader high in favorability due to feelings of admiration and pride, which is predicted by stereotyping research (Fisk et al., 2002). Additionally, when leader warmth and competence were both low, leader favorability was also low, which could be an indication of contemptuous prejudice, featuring resentment and anger. High agreement with statements from the leader evaluation survey such as “I do not like this leader,” “This leader is off-putting,” and “I would look for a new job if this was my leader,” could be interpreted as contempt or resentment. While the current study was not designed to directly test the formation of stereotypes, greater attention needs to be paid to stereotyping and how evaluations of leadership are formed around them. Finally, Hypotheses 3 and 4 were also supported: Men demonstrating the democratic and autocratic leadership styles did not have more favorable evaluations than women demonstrating the democratic and autocratic leadership styles. Though these two hypotheses were the null hypotheses, they are in direct contradiction with RCT and are therefore not necessarily expected. However, they were predicted given the demographics of the current study’s sample. Generations Z and Y were the primary target for this study and of the 99 participants, 92% were 22 years of age or younger, indicating that the vast majority of the sample were


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 members of Generation Z. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that two-thirds of Generations Z and Y say that they are glad that there is an increasing number of women running for public office and view this increase in female representation as a positive societal change (Parker et al., 2019). Generation Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation to date in the U.S. and they (along with Millennials) are more liberal than their preceding generations (Parker et al., 2019). These factors, as well as a greater propensity to pursue higher education, may be contributing to the more egalitarian views on leadership that Generations Z and Y exhibit. LIMITATIONS As with all research, the current study had several limitations. The purpose of this study was to gather information about leadership evaluations, specifically as they relate to male and female leaders, from young adults (i.e., Generations Z and Y). The study was successful in that endeavor, but in order to draw appropriate conclusions, the sample needed to be compared to another. Comparing the responses of Generations Z and Y to other generations (e.g., Generation X, Baby Boomers, or the Silent Generation) would allow for generalization of the information. Because a convenience sample was utilized, this aspect of the research was missing. An additional weakness with the current sample was it was mostly female (69.4%). It would have been more ideal to have a 50/50 split of participants who identify as male v. female in a study looking at perceptual differences in leaders based on their sex. Additionally, the study used vignettes to solicit participants’ responses and draw evaluations of their attitudes and beliefs surrounding male and female autocratic/democratic leadership. Vignettes have a strong place in social psychology research (Barter & Reynold, 1999; Langer, 2016; Steiner et al., 2016), but sometimes lack external validity. Creating hypothetical scenarios for participants to assess is not as ideal as putting them in the actual scenario, but it does easily allow participants to evaluate and consider the topical constructs of the study and is an accepted practice in the field of psychology. While vignette research is a useful means of collecting information on specific topics, in the future more robust formats for research may be desirable.

51 FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS Future studies on the topic of female leadership or other similar topics may look into moving away from vignette research into something with greater external validity. While vignette research is accepted in the field, it may be desirable to present the research in more realistic terms. For instance, rather than having participants evaluate a hypothetical scenario, perhaps participants could evaluate the male v. female leader’s resumes or a filmed interview. These stimuli may translate to the “real world” in a more meaningful way and allow for more critical thought in participant response. As previously mentioned, comparing Generations Z and Y to other generations would be a priority should the current study be revisited. Gathering greater information about Generations Z and Y and how they compare to their predecessors would allow for robust conclusions about these generations to be drawn. The element of comparative research would provide greater credence to the conclusions drawn from the current study if they were replicated with another sample. Following this line of research, the author would like to look more closely into stereotyping, so that greater understanding of stereotype formation can be understood for male and female leaders. The current study examined perceptions of leader warmth and competence and how this related to leader sex and style, but was not designed to closely investigate the stereotype formation process. There are important outcomes associated with stereotype formation that may be intuitive, but are worthy of explicit discussion. For example, the stereotypes formed in the Fiske et al.’s (2002) four-part theory (i.e., paternalistic prejudice, contemptuous prejudice, envious prejudice, and admiration) have further implications than attitude formation and there are additional factors that can cause these stereotypes to form (Fiske et al., 2002). The stereotypes can be formed based only on perceived status of the character and the evaluators’ perceptions of competition (or a lack there of). High competence perceptions can result from evaluations of high status and low competence perceptions can result from evaluations of low status. Feelings of competition can invoke participants to rate a character as low in warmth whereas a lack of competitive perceptions may result in a high warmth assessment. These perceptions and cognitions can influence stereotyping


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 and subsequent behavioral decisions. Future research should be designed to test stereotyping of male and female leaders more directly through this theory. Additionally, moving away from the democratic and autocratic leadership dyadic theory, transformational leadership would be a topic of interest for future studies. Transformational leadership exemplifies many qualities of a democratic leader and there are many existing validated measures to examine this concept (Barling et al., 2010). Transformational leadership discusses the “four I’s”: Individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and idealized influence (Barling et al., 2010). Individualized consideration can be seen in the democratic leader’s care for the opinion of the followers and their involvement in decision making, but additional leadership features, such as charisma, ethicality, openness to innovation, creativity, problem-solving, and conveying a vision for the future are found in the transformational leadership style (Barling et al., 2010). A large body of research points to transformational leadership as a “more active and motivating form of leadership” (Goethals & Hoyt, 2017, p.xi) that inspires greater engagement, effort, and loyalty in followers (Barling et al., 2010). Women make highly effective transformational leaders, more so than men (Goethals & Hoyt, 2017). The reason for this finding is because of some of the factors that put female leaders at a disadvantage in RCT: women are more communal and sociable, which helps them to perform higher in factors associated with transformational leadership, specifically individualized consideration. While these behaviors may be congruent with women’s role expectations and incongruent with many peoples’ protypes for leadership, they make for better transformational leaders. A follow-up study examining how men and women demonstrate transformational leadership and are evaluated for it would be of interest. GENERAL DISCUSSION Women face many barriers in assuming positions of leadership. Though the current study did not find support for RCT in the given sample, there is a vast body of evidence supporting this impediment to female leadership. Additionally, there are social structures and organizational cultures in place that contribute to a woman’s difficulty in rising to leadership positions in the workplace. SDT and FCT

52 are two such theories that provide evidence to this effect, but they are by no means a comprehensive list. Additionally, women who do make it into positions of power may be met with specific and challenging demands that their male counterparts do not have to face. For instance, the “glass cliff” phenomenon occurs when women are more likely than men to be appointed to leadership positions that are risky and in which success is less likely and failure may be expected (Ryan et al., 2016). This effect has been observed repeatedly and while women are disproportionately less likely to assume a leadership position, they are also disproportionately likely to assume a tumultuous and undesirable leadership position. Provided the lack of female leadership representation, the social pressures to be a successful female leader make failing a catastrophic event, which makes the glass cliff all that more perilous. Despite the obstacles that female leaders face, they continue to prove themselves in leadership positions. Women are highly successful leaders. When placed in leadership positions with expected failure, women can turn those “guaranteed” losses into wins by successfully navigating through the challenge (Ryan et al., 2016). In fact, one believed reason for why women are assigned leadership in failure situations more often than men is because women are viewed as more competent during a crisis (Ryan et al., 2016). Though born from sex stereotypes, the idea that women are more successful in an unsuccessful situation is exactly why female leadership is so powerful. The outlook on female leadership can be seen as optimistic. Given only 100 years since women’s right to vote was secured, the strides women have made in the workplace, at home, in politics, and in society as a whole is impressive, considering the vast expanse of human history (Wright & Rogers, 2015). Should women continue to progress and succeed as they have in the last century, the female leaders of the future should expect an egalitarian welcome. Additionally, as new generations continue to support female leadership there is little doubt that women will maintain their earned spot in the workplace and will be recognized and valued for the advanced leadership positions they earn.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 REFERENCES Barling, J., Christie, A., & Hoption, C. (2010). Leadership. In S. Zedeck (Ed), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, (Vol. 1, pp. 183-240). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Barter, C., & Renold, E. (1999). The use of vignettes in qualitative research. Social Research Update, 25. Department of Labor. (2019, October 4). Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.ht m. Chelladurai, P., & Saleh, S. D. (1980). Dimensions of leader behavior in sports: Development of a leadership scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2(1), 34-45. Eagly, A. H., & Johnson, B. T. (1990). Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 233-256. Eagly, A. H. & Karau, S. J. (2002). Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders. Psychological Review, 109(3), 573-598. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.109.3.573 Eagly, A. H., Karau, S. J., & Makhijani, M. G. (1995). Gender and the effectiveness of leaders: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), 125. Foti, R. J., & Hauenstein, N. (2007). Pattern and variable approaches in leadership emergence and effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 347. doi: 10.1037/00219010.92.2.347 Foels, R., Driskell, J. E., Mullen, B., & Salas, E. (2000). The effects of democratic leadership on group member satisfaction: An integration. Small Group Research, 31(6), 676-701. Gastil, J. (1994). A meta-analytic review of the productivity and satisfaction of democratic and autocratic leadership. Small Group Research, 25(3), 384–410. doi: 10.1177/1046496494253003 Goethals, G. R., & Hoyt, C. L. (2017). Women and Leadership: History, Theories, and Case Studies, Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing Group LLC.

53 Griffin, C. (2009). "Feminist Communication Theories". In Littlejohn, Stephen W.; Foss, Karen A. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Communication Theory. SAGE. pp. 391–392. ISBN 978-1-4129-5937-7. Hollander, J. A., & Abelson, M. J. (2014). Language and Talk. In J. D. McLeod, E. J. Lawler, & M. Schwalbe (Eds.), Handbook of the Social Psychology of Inequality (pp. 181–206). New York: Springer. Judge, T. A., & Piccolo, R. F. (2004). Transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic test of their relative validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 755-768. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.89.5.755 Kim H. Y. (2013). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: Assessing normal distribution using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics, 38(1), 52–54. doi:10.5395/rde.2013.38.1.52 Langer, P. (2016). The research vignette: Reflexive writing as interpretative representation of qualitative inquiry—A methodological proposition. Qualitative Inquiry, 22(9), 735744. doi:1077800416658066. Lord, R. G., Foti, R. J., & De Vader, C. L. (1984). A test of leadership categorization theory: Internal structure, information processing, and leadership perceptions. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 34, 343378. Moss, S. A., & Ngu, S. (2006). The relationship between personality and leadership preferences. Current Research in Social Psychology, 11(6), 70-91. http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp.html Offerman, L. R., Kennedy, J. K., & Wirtz, P. W. (1994). Implicit leadership theories: Content, structure, and generalizability. Leadership Quarterly, 5(l), 43-58. Paustian-Underdahl, S. C., Walker, L. S., & Woehr, D. J. (2014). Gender and perceptions of leadership effectiveness: A meta-analysis of contextual moderators. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(6), 1129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0036751


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Parker, K., Graf, N., & Igielnik, R. (2019, January 18). Generation Z looks a lot like Millennials on key social and political issues. Pew Research Center. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/01/17/ge neration-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-keysocial-and-political-issues/. Ryan, M. K., Haslam, S. A., Morgenroth, T., Rink, F., Stoker, J., & Peters, K. (2016). Getting on top of the glass cliff: Reviewing a decade of evidence, explanations, and impact. The Leadership Quarterly. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.10.008 Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999). Social Dominance: An Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Sidanius, J., Pratto, F., Martin, M., & Stallworth, L. M. (1991). Consensual racism and career track: Some implications of Social Dominance Theory. Political Psychology, 12(4), 691–721. Steiner, P. M., Atzmüller, C., & Su, D. (2016). Designing valid and reliable vignette experiments for survey research: A case study on the fair gender income gap. Journal of Methods and Measurement in the Social Sciences, 7(2), 52–94. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Vol 5. Boston, MA: Pearson. US Census Bureau. (2019, September 25). American Community Survey (ACS). Retrieved October 21, 2019, from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/. Van Engen, M. L., & Willemsen, T. M. (2004). Sex and leadership styles: A meta-analysis of research published in the 1990s. Psychological Reports, 94(1), 3-18. Wright, E. O., & Rogers, J. (2015). American Society: How it Really Works. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Zillman, C. (2019, May 16). The Fortune 500 has more female CEOs than ever before. Retrieved October 11, 2019, from https://fortune.com/2019/05/16/fortune-500female-ceos/.

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EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES Vol. 53, no. 1, p. 55 – 63 (2022) _____________________________________________________________________________________

Transitioning Computer Science major from the Mathematics Department to an Information Systems Department – Reasoning, Administrative Process and Curriculum changes GEETHALAKSHMI SHIVANAPURA LAKSHMIKANTHa, LIZ DIERSa AND LIDAN FANb a) Accounting, Information Systems and Finance Department, School of Business, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS 66801 (glakshmi@emporia.edu and ldiers@emporia.edu ) b) School of Business, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045 (lidan.fan@ku.edu )

______________________________________________ Incoming students may be confused to encounter the Computer Science (CS) major offered within different departments at different universities. It is found that the CS program is most frequently either in the School of Liberal Arts, sciences and Mathematics, or School of Engineering (specifically Electrical Engineering and computer science), or in the Dept. of Information Systems (IS) of School of Business. Graduating high school students find it often confusing to comprehend the difference in curriculum when the CS program is listed as a part of the Mathematics Dept. v/s an IS Dept within the same school. Scientific literature and studies have shown the advantages of having a CS program in an IS Department and the estranged relationship with the Mathematics Department. This paper explores the reasoning behind the transition of the CS program from the Mathematics Dept.to the IS Dept. of an AACSB accredited School of Business, of a Mid-west region, State University, with detailed description of the administrative process and the curriculum changes brought about from this transition. The information in this paper serves as a template for other universities that are working on a similar transition or contemplating the process with little (or incomplete) information at their disposal. Keywords: computer science, program transition, computer science and math, information systems, administrative process, state university program, computer science and business school.

INTRODUCTION The term ‘Computer Science’ was coined way back in 1952 (Tedre 2014) as the science of computing, but only appeared in an ACM article (Fine 1959) in 1959. The addition of the term, ‘Science’ was much under debate during the early 60s as scientists believed that Computer Science was not about the science of computers (Matti 2006). In (Fine 1959) Louis Fein argued that it was vital to start Computer science as an academic program, much like Harvard starting a program in Management sciences, in 1921. The work of Louis Fein along with George Forsyth made this proposal come into action with universities deciding to add an academic degree program in Computer science. Purdue University in the US was the first University to add the Computer Science program, way back in 1962 (Knuth 1972). Since its inception there has been a lot of debate on the different terms used to describe this newly formed field of science, Computing science, computer engineering, software engineering, data science, data logy (Naur 1966) and Procedural Epistemology,

where understanding the role of knowledge, belief, and action play an important role in both CS and Economics (Tedre 2011). Another area of debate was the distinction between the various multi-disciplinary fields that are closely related. For example, Computer Science was more focused on understanding the concepts of logic, algorithms, and computing in general (Denning 1999), whereas Computer engineering was focused on the hardware components used in the field of computing. Information science and information technology are defined as the terms that involve the study of commercial computing systems in a practical setting that revolves around information collection, storage, and computation. The next process in line to achieve the introduction of a CS program was to finalize the existing discipline that is more closely related to this new field of ‘Computer Science’. It was proven that the algorithmic focus of CS and logic building is more closely related to the mathematical sciences (Denning 1999) than any other existing field in academia.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Knuth, Donald E. discusses in (Knuth 1972) on how the newly formed discipline named, Computer Science, was similar and at the same time, different when compared to Mathematics. Here, he describes the similarity in dividing any field of science into two main categories, Theoretical and Applied, much like how Mathematics is broadly divided. It is also evident that both Mathematics and CS are based on man-made laws that can be proven, instead of nature’s laws. It is also important to note that the very first computer was built to solve mathematical equations at a higher computational speed. It is this background and foundational connection that CS has with Mathematics that prompted the obvious decision to include the academic program of Computer science under the Department of Mathematical sciences, which in most universities at the time was a part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In the next section we explore how the field of CS curriculum design was insufficient with just the expertise brought by the Mathematical Sciences Department. ESTRANGED RELATIONSHIP WITH MATHEMATICS The CS program in universities across the US evolved as the discipline of CS and its definition evolved. It is important to note that as the field of CS in academia evolved its relationship with mathematics started getting estranged. Graves, D.F. in (Graves 1990) gives a detailed insight into the connection of a high schooler who is proficient in mathematics to be successful in a college level CS program. However, there was no evidence that supports that a student taking math-oriented programming courses has a similar effect. Norton in (Norton 1988) argues that most of the curriculum related issues in CS are largely unanswered by Math faculty as they have little to no experience in designing the CS curriculum. It is very rarely does one find math faculty members who are proficient with the and they are not many math professors who are proficient or have experience with programming and computer architecture and Operating systems, which define the core courses of the CS program. Computer literacy is a skill that comes with the science of computing, and it is not an essential skill that students gain from being a part of the Mathematics Department. Any program taught at an educational institution is architectured, evaluated and adapted to suit the needs

56 of the society and is required to always, offer technical relevance to aspiring students enrolled in the program. Programs are designed and evaluated based on either the competency approach or the learning outcomes-based framework approach. In 2016, the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM) and the IEEE Computer society (Clear et al. 2020) worked on the Computing Curricula 2020 project, also known as CC2020, as an update to the Curricula 2005 document (Computing Curricula 2005). The main aim of this project was to examine the current state of curricular guidelines for undergraduate academic programs in Computing. It also presents a future direction for these programs in the world of Computing. The program evaluation was inspired by the CoLeaf (Competency Learning Framework) (Frezza et al. 2018) and was further refined as a competency-based educational framework (Frezza, Clear, and Clear 2020; Frezza, Daniels, and Wilkins, 2019). Accordingly (Computing Curricula 2005) defines the competencybased approach as putting the knowledge sets or entities delivered by a particular program, in the context of a task or job or associated disposition. On the other hand, the learning outcomes-based approach focuses on the knowledge and skills only. The CS 2013 report (Computing Curricula 2013) provides a framework that is based on the ‘Body of Knowledge’ that is sub-divided into 18 Knowledge Areas (KA), corresponding to an area of study in the world of Computing Science. Each KA is further divided into Knowledge Units (KUs) and Learning Outcomes (LOs). When arriving at the competency model for Computing education, four main areas are said to be of influence, Knowledge, Skills, Dispositions and Task. It is also represented by the equation (Computing Curricula 2005): Competency = Knowledge + Skills + Dispositions + Task. Knowledge, being the first factor is defined as the ‘know-what’ dimension that can be understood as factual (Computing Curricula 2005). Skills refers to the ability to apply knowledge or ‘know-what’ to a particular task or job. Dispositions frame the ‘knowwhy’ dimension of competency. Task is the construct that frames the skilled application of knowledge and makes dispositions concrete (Computing Curricula 2005).


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Accordingly, when applied to the CS program, the knowledge vocabulary for CS competencies is divided into 18 KAs, that is sub divided into 225 KUs. Some of the KAs of the CS program are Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Machine Learning et cetera. A detailed set of KUs for each KA and the corresponding Tier of mastery has been identified in (Computing Curricula 2005) and (Frezza et al. 2018). Accordingly, 18 KAs were identified for the program in Computing Science. Out of the 18 KAs, Mathematics and Statistics is defined as the Knowledge Area, PK 12 and categorized as Professional and Foundational Knowledge part of the program competencies for the CS Program. The need for professional and foundational knowledge is a well-defined problem in computing science and is studied at various levels and scenarios in literature (Billett 2009; Eraut 2010; Frezza, Daniels, and Wilkins 2019; Nylen et al. 2017; Waguespack et al. 2019). It can be inferred that the foundational knowledge offered by the Mathematics Department with courses such as Discrete Mathematics, Calculus, Statistics and Discrete Mathematics is only a part of the competencies required from a successful CS program. The Skills, Dispositions, and relevance to Tasks parts of the competencies defined above in the equation can only be offered by a department that focuses on these competencies through courses such as Programming and Problem Solving, Algorithms, Systems Programming et cetera that are not the expertise of the Mathematics Department. Mathematics, as we all know is an integral part of everyday life, in the industry and society and is therefore an integral part of Secondary and post secondary education (Douglas and Salzman 2020). Mathematics education and the program in academic institutions has been well studied and results are frequently published (National Research Council 2013; National Academy of Sciences 2013; Transforming Post-Secondary Education 2018; Hacker 2016; Handel, 2016). Hacker in (Hacker 2016) mentions how advanced Math curriculum underpins new technology and the topics covered in a standard curriculum do not meet the needs of most students, workers, and citizens. Michael Handel (Handel 2016) has conducted extensive research on the use of Mathematics in workplaces and in his findings has found only about 22% of population use advanced mathematics and only 5% use Calculus. There is agreement over the need for Mathematics reform in terms of Program overhaul at secondary

57 and post-secondary levels. It is also noted by the National Research Council (National Research Council 2013; Saxe and Braddy 2015) that mathematics is central to academic disciplines such as CS, Engineering, Social science, and partnerships between mathematics and other disciplines has become more common to keep up with the growing dynamics of these STEM fields. An essential skill that a CS major needs to work in a professional environment is applying the knowledge of computing in the real world, such as data analysis, data processing, programming, office automation and computer architecture and organization. One can argue that the foundations of these skills lie in the field of applied mathematics, such as Algorithms and statistics. However, the similarity stops there. Designing a CS curriculum that is highly applied mathematics based does not offer the skill development required by a CS professional, but that of an Applied mathematician. There are several publications that support the idea that a CS curriculum designed by the Dept. of Mathematics is incomplete with respect to the competencies expected of a CS major when they become part of the work force. For Ex: (Ellis and Kuerbis 1985) explores the development and validation of essential computer literacy competencies of a science teachers, (Rising 1983) discuss why it is essential to separate CS from Math, and (Wileman 1982) discuss the insufficiencies and relationship between mathematical competencies and CS aptitude and achievement. In summary the CS program with its evolution has seen its transition away from the curriculum designed by Mathematics faculty and stepping closer to computational and information systems curriculum. In the following section we explore the pathway followed by the CS program at a Mid-west State University from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dept. to the AACSB accredited information systems Dept. at the University’s School of Business. TRANSFERRING THE CS PROGRAM FROM ONE DEPARTMENT TO ANOTHER – PATHWAY, AT A MID-WEST STATE UNIVERSITY Emporia State University (ESU) was founded in 1863 and was first accredited in 1898. ESU has over 200+ undergraduate and graduate academic programs within its four colleges – College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LA&S), School of Business, School of


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Library and Information Management and The Teachers College. Among the many departments and colleges at Emporia State University, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest and was founded in 1971. The CS program was part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department at inception and offered by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The School of Business was founded in 1917. In April of 2002, ESU’s School of Business received Accreditation from the international accrediting agency called AACSB which is only granted to 5% of institutions worldwide. Among the various Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees that the school offers, we are only going to concentrate on the Bachelor of Science in Computer science program in this paper. The history and transition information of the CS curriculum considered here, in this paper is from 2004-2005 to date, 2020-2021 academic year. The CS program was offered by the Dept. of Mathematics and CS until 2014. With the transitioning of the area of CS from being mathematical based to mathematical foundation based with emphasis on applied programming and computer organization and architecture, the CS academic program also transitioned to the Dept. of Accounting, Information Systems and Finance (AISF). The IS concentration curriculum that existed in the School of Business was closer to the CS curriculum outcome that was expected of graduating students than that offered by the Math department. Starting in 2014, the CS program is offered by the School of Business. Even though the CS program has been in the University for long, and the course catalog listed very relevant courses to help the student achieve the best knowledge in CS with a foundation in mathematics and IS, the program needed review, change and implementation of the new curriculum to match the ever-changing world of CS and skill requirement. Another important reason for CS Curriculum review was, 2018 was the year when the CS program had reached its five-year milestone in the School of Business. The following sections give a detailed account of the CS Curriculum changes, right from the time where it was a part of the Math Dept. to the time where it

58 transitioned to the School of Business and finally to present day, with the updated curriculum. The administrative process conducted to execute this CS curriculum change is also detailed in the following sections of the paper. It is unusual to transfer an existing degree program to a new college or school within the same university. During the time the Computer Science concentration was offered by LA&S, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, many of the required courses were taught by School of Business faculty. The School of Business Information Systems and Computer Science (IS/CS) faculty expressed interest in rescuing the struggling program by transferring ownership of the program into the School of Business. After the transfer, the IS/CS faculty updated the degree curriculum requirements. In universities, even with struggling programs, enrollment numbers drive many decisions and degree programs are generally not given up without extensive deliberation. Although many university policy manuals address the procedures for developing a new course or new program, many do not address the procedures to follow for transferring an existing program between departments in different colleges/schools. Normally, an intensive review process must be completed on campus, followed by the program proposal review and approval by the Board of Regents before it can go into effect. However, although this program was new to the School of Business, the curriculum for the CS major was previously approved. The following section gives a detailed account of the administrative process conducted at various levels of the University, starting from the CS Dept., all the way to the President of the University to conduct a thorough review of the CS program and update it to the present-day curriculum. CS CURRICULUM REVIEW – ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS The steps in the approval process will vary by university. Generally, any change is initiated by those closest to the subject matter, which in our case is the IS/CS discipline. The IS/CS faculty approved the transfer proposal, and it was then reviewed and approved at the department level. The School of Business Dean approved it and presented it to the Provost for University approval. It was then determined that this type of change did not require


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022 Board of Regents approval. Although getting the change moved through all the approval steps can be a lengthy process, we were fortunate to move quickly because of the cooperation of the LA&S administration being willing to release ownership of the Computer Science program. The curriculum update required more steps in the approval process, including School of Business and university-level curriculum committees and Board of Regents evaluation and approval. Be aware of the deadlines for publishing changes in your university catalog. Our annual university catalog is considered a contract with the students. Typical publishing deadlines are in the early spring for any changes to be included in the catalog for the upcoming school year. The university catalog typically includes the organizational structure and the curriculum requirements of all programs offered. Multiple catalog changes were needed to record the transfer of the Computer Science program into the School of Business, but initially the curriculum remained the same. Our university catalog describes the Bachelor of Science Computer Science as a program designed for students who desire a major in computer science based on a sound foundation in mathematics (ESU Course Catalog, n.d.). The current curriculum requirements include: Computer Science Core – 33 credit hours of IS/CS courses Required Mathematics – 14 credit hours Restricted Electives – 18 hours in selected IS/CS or Mathematics courses Unrestricted Electives – 6 hours CS or Mathematics The composition of the Restricted Electives for each student will be dependent on the choice of specialization in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Computer Security, or Advanced Programming. Students can now graduate with a degree in Computer Science with as few as 14 credit hours in Mathematics and no classes in Physics. Before transfer of the program to the School of Business, students were required to take 19 credit hours of Mathematics and 5 credit hours of Physics.

59 RESULTS OF CS CURRICULUM REVIEW AND UPDATING We all agree that the field of CS is ever changing and keeping up with the dynamics of the field is possible only with periodic review and reform of CS curriculum, even though it is a challenging process. It is quite interesting to read the survey results (Jalics and Golden 1995) conducted nationwide (in the US, with over 185 participating CS Departments) that probes into the CS curriculum in the year of 1995 and compare it to the curriculum and program requirements of today. Denning and McGettrick in (Denning and McGettrick 2005) explain very well how the CS program taught in universities needs to be frequently recentered. Moller and Crick in (Moller and Crick 2018) propose a very interesting and practical University-based model that supports CS curriculum reform. The CS curriculum review and updating conducted at ESU’s School of business also brought about a drastic transition that better supports the outcomes of the program. Increased enrollment in the CS program was one way we could measure the effectiveness of the program. Figures 1(a), 1(b) and 2(a) and 2(b) give a snapshot of the old CS curriculum and current and updated curriculum, respectively. The course catalog for the current academic year was retrieved from (ESU Course Catalog, n.d.) One can easily notice the CS curriculum being heavy on mathematics courses in Figures 1(a) and 1(b) and being more application and real-world skill oriented with mathematics foundations in Figures 2(a) and 2(b). Through several rounds of proofing, the modified program was included in the University’s catalog and became effective starting Fall of 2019.


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

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Figure 2(a). Current CS Curriculum – Required

Figure 1(a). Old CS Curriculum – Required courses

Figure 2(b). Current CS Curriculum - Electives

Figure 1(b). Old CS Curriculum – Electives


EMPORIA STATE RESEARCH STUDIES 53(1), 2022

61 REFERENCES

Figure 3. CS Enrollment – Fall 2000 to Fall 2021 These updated specializations and course curriculum changes resulted after hiring a consultant to review the CS program. The consultant encouraged changes to allow specializations for our students to have more relevance in the workplace. The changes also open options to students to continue with a Mathematics focus or to take advanced IS/CS courses. Students majoring in CS at that time were included in discussions before adopting the curriculum changes, and they highly approved of the specializations and reduction of required Mathematics courses. Figure 3 shows the comparison of enrollment numbers when the CS program was with the Math Dept. v/s School of Business. It is evident from the figure that after the CS Program transitioned and its curriculum reviewed, the school experienced growth in the number of students selecting CS as their major. CONCLUSIONS This paper summarizes the reasoning, administrative process and results of a CS curriculum change and details its transition between two schools within the same University. The paper also highlights the need for a periodic curriculum review and reform to the CS program as the field of CS is fast changing. It is also important for students and educators to be aware and ready, to maintain sustainability of the program while always keeping the program outcomes, current. The authors believe that it is important for higher education universities to recenter the CS curriculum periodically, at least once in 3-5 years, to offer the best skillset to its students. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Authors would like to thank the Biz Hornet Centre at Emporia State University’s School of Business and its student advisors for helping us retrieve CS course catalogs from the academic year 2004 to date and enrollment numbers from 2000 to date.

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