Francis Huang
University of Missouri Columbia, Education, Faculty Member
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Corruption is a problem that continues to plague developed and developing countries worldwide. Previous studies have explored the negative implications of corruption on several aspects of human development, but, despite its serious and... more
Corruption is a problem that continues to plague developed and developing countries worldwide. Previous studies have explored the negative implications of corruption on several aspects of human development, but, despite its serious and long-lasting consequences, the impact of corruption on educational outcomes has started to receive attention only in recent years. This study empirically investigates the relationship between corruption and educational outcomes, using a sample of 50 countries. Study findings show that corruption is negatively associated with educational outcomes, after controlling for other variables, and suggest that continued efforts be made to control corruption.
Research Interests:
Studies suggest that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) are negatively associated with student perceptions of school climate and attitudes toward school. However, this relationship has not been considered in the case of disciplinary... more
Studies suggest that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) are negatively associated with student perceptions of school climate and attitudes toward school. However, this relationship has not been considered in the case of disciplinary approaches such as restorative practices (RP) and in-school suspensions (ISS). Using a sample of 30,799 secondary school students from a large urban school district, student-level survey data were matched with discipline records to investigate whether the type of disciplinary resolution received was related to student perceptions of disciplinary structure, supportive relationships, school bonding, disengagement, and safety. The findings of the current study suggest that students who received suspensions generally had worse perceptions of school climate and more negative attitudes toward school than their peers without a record of discipline incidents.
Clustered data are a common occurrence in the social and behavioral sciences and pose a challenge when analyzing data using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In addition to potentially compromising point estimates and standard errors,... more
Clustered data are a common occurrence in the social and behavioral sciences and pose a challenge when analyzing data using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). In addition to potentially compromising point estimates and standard errors, factor structures may also differ between levels of analysis when using nested data. However, multilevel CFA (MCFA) can address these concerns and although the procedures for performing MCFA have been proposed over a decade ago, the practice has seen little use in applied psychometric research. This article presents a step-by-step procedure for conducting a MCFA with R using the lavaan package. The dataset and complete R syntax, as well as a function for generating the required matrices, are provided.
Research Interests:
Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is a statistical procedure commonly used in fields such as education and psychology. However, MANOVA’s popularity may actually be for the wrong reasons. The large majority of published research... more
Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) is a statistical procedure commonly used in fields such as education and psychology. However, MANOVA’s popularity may actually be for the wrong reasons. The large majority of published research using MANOVA focus on univariate research questions rather than the multivariate questions that MANOVA is said to specifically address. Given the more complicated and limited nature of interpreting MANOVA effects (which researchers may not actually be interested in given the actual post-hoc strategies employed) and that various flexible and well-known statistical alternatives are available, I suggest that researchers consult these better known, robust, and flexible procedures instead, given the proper match with the research question of interest. Just because a researcher has multiple dependent variables of interest does not mean that a MANOVA should be used at all.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the use of protective measures (e.g., mask wearing and social distancing) has become an important public health concern. Despite being an effective and low-cost measure, mask... more
Due to the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the use of protective measures (e.g., mask wearing and social distancing) has become an important public health concern. Despite being an effective and low-cost measure, mask wearing in the U.S. is a contentious issue. We investigated data coming from a natural experiment ( n = 1,993) collected in a Midwestern state where survey questions about mask wearing and COVID-19 were presented in a random order. Primed respondents ( n = 1,011), who answered COVID-19 related questions prior to the mask questions, indicated no differences in the efficacy of masks in stopping the spread of the virus compared to nonprimed respondents ( n = 982). However, primed respondents who were not worried about getting sick were 37% less likely to believe in the efficacy of masks compared the nonprimed, nonworried respondents. Nonworried respondents represent a high-risk group who are likely not to wear a mask. Implications for the messages used ...
Research Interests:
Abstract To address the need for brief teacher stress interventions, the study aimed to evaluate a bibliotherapy-based stress management training for teachers using a randomized control design (N = 52). The intervention reduced stress... more
Abstract To address the need for brief teacher stress interventions, the study aimed to evaluate a bibliotherapy-based stress management training for teachers using a randomized control design (N = 52). The intervention reduced stress (d = −0.43) and mental health symptoms (d's = −0.50 - 0.60) and improved a spectrum of specific coping skills (d's = 0.62–1.35). However, the intervention did not improve teacher satisfaction, efficacy, or classroom management; additional contextual or training supports are likely needed to improve these outcomes. Findings were largely replicated with the wait-list group. This brief, feasible program has promise for widespread dissemination to improve teacher stress and well-being.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Although family-school engagement is important across child and adolescent development, most research, programs, and policies have focused primarily on elementary students and contexts. The current study extends beyond elementary settings... more
Although family-school engagement is important across child and adolescent development, most research, programs, and policies have focused primarily on elementary students and contexts. The current study extends beyond elementary settings by exploring the unique and shared contributions of developmental context on family-school engagement (i.e., across and within elementary- and middle-school settings). Data were drawn from two randomized controlled trials that evaluated the efficacy of teacher training in universal classroom-management practices. Participants included 3,174 students and 207 teachers across 21 elementary and middle schools in the Midwest. Using hierarchical linear modeling, results revealed that family-school engagement was significantly higher in elementary than in middle schools. Student-level characteristics (i.e., identifying as White, participation in the free/reduced-price lunch program, and having lower levels of disruptive behavior) were also associated with higher levels of family-school engagement. In addition, student characteristics (i.e., race/ethnicity and level of disruptive behavior) moderated the relations between family-school engagement and developmental context. Regardless of developmental context, family-school engagement predicted positive end-of-year behavioral outcomes (i.e., increases in youth prosocial skills and decreases in youth concentration problems, disruptive behaviors, and emotional dysregulation). Last, moderation analyses revealed that these effects of family-school engagement were especially pronounced in middle school for concentration problems and emotional dysregulation. Overall, findings provide further support for the value of family-school engagement across development in fostering positive youth outcomes. However, it is evident that more steps must be taken to ensure family-school engagement practices are developed to support the unique needs of middle-school students and contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Although turnover rates are alarmingly high for early career and veteran teachers, turnover rates are even higher for those who identify as a teacher of color. To increase the retention of teachers, job satisfaction has become an... more
Although turnover rates are alarmingly high for early career and veteran teachers, turnover rates are even higher for those who identify as a teacher of color. To increase the retention of teachers, job satisfaction has become an important construct to analyze. Teacher cooperation and principal support within the school are two influential factors that directly relate to job satisfaction. Using the restricted 2011-2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, a nationally representative dataset, principal support, teacher cooperation, and their moderation effects were analyzed in relation to teacher job satisfaction using a series of multilevel models. After controlling for teacher- and school-level characteristics, principal support and teacher cooperation were statistically significant predictors of job satisfaction for all teachers. The moderation effect between the two variables of interest and race were also statistically significant. These findings emphasize the need to maintain professio...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The use of multilevel modeling (MLM) to analyze nested data has grown in popularity over the years in the study of school psychology. However, with the increase in use, several statistical misconceptions about the technique have also... more
The use of multilevel modeling (MLM) to analyze nested data has grown in popularity over the years in the study of school psychology. However, with the increase in use, several statistical misconceptions about the technique have also proliferated. We discuss some commonly cited myths and golden rules related to the use of MLM, explain their origin, and suggest approaches to dealing with certain issues. Misunderstandings related to the use of the intraclass correlation, design effects, minimum sample size, multilevel factor structures, model R², and the misestimation of standard errors are reviewed. Many of the cited myths have much truth in them-though at times, researchers may not be aware of the exceptions to the rules that prevent their overall generalization. Although nesting should be accounted for, researchers should realize that MLM, which is a powerful and flexible technique, is not the only method that can be used to account for the clustering effect. (PsycINFO Database Record
Research Interests: Psychology and Medicine
Students involved in bullying experience mental health issues and negative psychosocial outcomes. Few studies have investigated how teacher-student relationships (TSRs) may buffer the negative outcomes experienced by students involved in... more
Students involved in bullying experience mental health issues and negative psychosocial outcomes. Few studies have investigated how teacher-student relationships (TSRs) may buffer the negative outcomes experienced by students involved in bullying. To investigate the moderating role of TSRs with bullying involvement status and psychosocial outcomes, we used data from 691 middle school students, 85 teachers, and 6 schools in one urban district. We used both student- and teacher-reported outcomes and regression models included baseline measures (i.e., depression, concentration problems, emotional regulation problems, behavioral engagement) taken 8 months earlier. Regardless of bullying involvement, student-reported TSR had a beneficial association for all outcomes controlling for baseline measures and student demographic variables. However, bully/victims with low TSRs experienced a heightened risk for depressive symptoms suggesting increased attention to this subgroup of students. (Psy...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Self-report surveys are widely used to measure adolescent risk behavior and academic adjustment, with results having an impact on national policy, assessment of school quality, and evaluation of school interventions. However, data... more
Self-report surveys are widely used to measure adolescent risk behavior and academic adjustment, with results having an impact on national policy, assessment of school quality, and evaluation of school interventions. However, data obtained from self-reports can be distorted when adolescents intentionally provide inaccurate or careless responses. The current study illustrates the problem of invalid respondents in a sample ( N = 52,012) from 323 high schools that responded to a statewide assessment of school climate. Two approaches for identifying invalid respondents were applied, and contrasts between the valid and invalid responses revealed differences in means, prevalence rates of student adjustment, and associations among reports of bullying victimization and student adjustment outcomes. The results lend additional support for the need to screen for invalid responders in adolescent samples.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Threat assessment has been widely endorsed as a school safety practice, but there is little research on its implementation. In 2013, Virginia became the first state to mandate student threat assessment in its public schools. The purpose... more
Threat assessment has been widely endorsed as a school safety practice, but there is little research on its implementation. In 2013, Virginia became the first state to mandate student threat assessment in its public schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the statewide implementation of threat assessment and to identify how threat assessment teams distinguish serious from nonserious threats. The sample consisted of 1,865 threat assessment cases reported by 785 elementary, middle, and high schools. Students ranged from pre-K to Grade 12, including 74.4% male, 34.6% receiving special education services, 51.2% White, 30.2% Black, 6.8% Hispanic, and 2.7% Asian. Survey data were collected from school-based teams to measure student demographics, threat characteristics, and assessment results. Logistic regression indicated that threat assessment teams were more likely to identify a threat as serious if it was made by a student above the elementary grades (odds ratio 0.57; 95% low...
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Psychology, Perception, Bullying, Adolescent, Medicine, and 15 moreStudents, Humans, Aggression, Female, Male, Child and Adolescent Psychology, Crime Victims, Ethnic Groups, African Americans, Peer group, Ethnic Group, European Continental Ancestry Group, Youth & Adolescence, Cross Sectional Studies, and Adolescent Behavior
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Studies suggest that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) are negatively associated with student perceptions of school climate and attitudes toward school. However, this relationship has not been considered in the case of disciplinary... more
Studies suggest that out-of-school suspensions (OSS) are negatively associated with student perceptions of school climate and attitudes toward school. However, this relationship has not been considered in the case of disciplinary approaches such as restorative practices (RP) and in-school suspensions (ISS). Using a sample of 30,799 secondary school students from a large urban school district, student-level survey data were matched with discipline records to investigate whether the type of disciplinary resolution received was related to student perceptions of disciplinary structure, supportive relationships, school bonding, disengagement, and safety. The findings of the current study suggest that students who received suspensions (in- or out-of-school) generally had worse perceptions of school climate and more negative attitudes toward school than their peers without a record of discipline incidents.
Research Interests:
Districts have been engaged in efforts to reduce " differential processing " of discipline-referred students based on their racial backgrounds. They strive for fair assignment of exclusionary consequences across racial groups. The current... more
Districts have been engaged in efforts to reduce " differential processing " of discipline-referred students based on their racial backgrounds. They strive for fair assignment of exclusionary consequences across racial groups. The current study examines discipline records for one academic year in an urban school district (N = 9,039 discipline referred students) to identify the factors associated with equitable assignment of out-of-school suspension (OSS). Multilevel logistic regression found that student participation in restorative interventions substantially reduced the odds that individual students received OSS. However, such participation was only marginally associated with more comparable assignment of OSS to Black students relative to their White peers. Together these findings suggest that alternatives to suspension, such as restorative interventions, may yield benefits for all student groups, but they may result in only marginal narrowing of the disparities in suspension rates between Black and White students. This indicates that greater attention is needed to address the inequitable school contexts in which disparities arise.
Research Interests:
Graduate schools of business use computer simulations to achieve a wide variety of pedagogical ends. They are venues for teamwork. They give students realistic experiences in a safe environment. They allow experimentation. However, the... more
Graduate schools of business use computer simulations to achieve a wide variety of pedagogical ends. They are venues for teamwork. They give students realistic experiences in a safe environment. They allow experimentation. However, the learning process is not complete unless s tudents have the opportunity to reflect upon and criticize the events that transpire during the simulation. The purpose of
Research Interests:
Many adolescents engage in risk behaviors such as substance use and aggression that jeopardize their healthy development. This study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline... more
Many adolescents engage in risk behaviors such as substance use and aggression that jeopardize their healthy development. This study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships is conducive to lower risk behavior for high school students. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional, student-report survey data from a statewide sample of 47,888 students (50.6 % female) in 319 high schools. The students included ninth (26.6 %), tenth (25.5 %), eleventh (24.1 %) and twelfth (23.8 %) grade with a racial/ethnic breakdown of 52.2 % White, 18.0 % Black, 13.1 % Hispanic, 5.9 % Asian, and 10.8 % reporting another or two or more race/ethnicities. Schools with an authoritative school climate had lower levels of student-reported alcohol and marijuana use; bullying, fighting, and weapon carrying at school; interest in gang membership; and suicidal thoughts and beh...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
School climate is well recognized as an important influence on student behavior and adjustment to school, but there is a need for theory-guided measures that make use of teacher perspectives. Authoritative school climate theory... more
School climate is well recognized as an important influence on student behavior and adjustment to school, but there is a need for theory-guided measures that make use of teacher perspectives. Authoritative school climate theory hypothesizes that a positive school climate is characterized by high levels of disciplinary structure and student support. A teacher version of the Authoritative School Climate Survey (ASCS) was administered to a statewide sample of 9099 7th- and 8th-grade teachers from 366 schools. The study used exploratory and multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (MCFA) that accounted for the nested data structure and allowed for the modeling of the factor structures at 2 levels. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses conducted on both an exploratory (N = 4422) and a confirmatory sample (N = 4677) showed good support for the factor structures investigated. Factor correlations at 2 levels indicated that schools with greater levels of disciplinary structure and student s...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Accurate measurement is essential to determining the prevalence of bullying and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention efforts. The most common measurement approach is through anonymous self-report surveys, but previous studies have... more
Accurate measurement is essential to determining the prevalence of bullying and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention efforts. The most common measurement approach is through anonymous self-report surveys, but previous studies have suggested that students do not adhere to standard definitions of bullying and may be influenced by the order of questions about types of victimization. In the current study, we have presented findings from 2 randomized experiments designed to determine (a) the impact of using or not using a definition of bullying and (b) asking about general versus specific types of bullying victimization and how the order of these questions affects victimization-prevalence rates. The study was conducted using a sample of 17,301 students attending 119 high schools. Findings indicate that the use of a definition had no impact on prevalence rates, but asking specific bullying-victimization questions (e.g., "I have been verbally bullied at school") prior to ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Student attitudes toward aggression have been linked to individual aggressive behavior, but the relationship between school-wide normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior poses some important measurement challenges that... more
Student attitudes toward aggression have been linked to individual aggressive behavior, but the relationship between school-wide normative beliefs about aggression and aggressive behavior poses some important measurement challenges that have not been adequately examined. The current study investigated the factor structure, measurement invariance, and criterion-related validity of a six-item Aggressive Attitudes scale using a large sample of seventh- and eighth-grade students (n = 39,364) from 423 schools. Analytic procedures accounted for the frequently ignored modeling problems of clustered and ordinal data to provide more reliable and accurate model estimates and standard errors. The resulting second-order factor structure of the Aggressive Attitudes scale demonstrated measurement invariance across gender, grade, and race/ethnicity groups. Criterion-related validity was supported with eight student- and school-level indices of aggressive behavior.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This study explored the viability of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first grade reading achievement of Spanish-speaking... more
ABSTRACT This study explored the viability of using kindergarten measures of phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and orthographic knowledge, administered in English, to predict first grade reading achievement of Spanish-speaking English language learners. The primary research question was: Do kindergarten measures of early literacy skills in English predict first grade reading achievement for Spanish-speaking students as effectively as they do for English speakers? Participants were 3,448 economically disadvantaged students (50% spoke Spanish at home) from 243 schools. Regression analyses demonstrated that kindergarten variables accounted for similar percentages of variance in first grade reading for both Spanish speakers (43% in fall, 46% in spring) and non-Spanish speakers (49% in fall, 46% in spring) and that fall and spring variables were equally effective in predicting later achievement for both groups.
Research Interests:
Clustered data (e.g., students within schools) are often analyzed in educational research where data are naturally nested. As a consequence, multilevel modeling (MLM) has commonly been used to study the contextual or group-level (e.g.,... more
Clustered data (e.g., students within schools) are often analyzed in educational research where data are naturally nested. As a consequence, multilevel modeling (MLM) has commonly been used to study the contextual or group-level (e.g., school) effects on individual outcomes. The current study investigates the use of an alternative procedure to MLM: regression using Taylor series linearization (TSL) variance estimation. Despite the name, regressions using TSL are straightforward to conduct, can yield consistent and unbiased estimates and standard errors (given the apropriate conditions), and can be performed using a variety of commercially- and freely-available statistical software. I analyze a subsample of the High School and Beyond (HSB) dataset using MLM, regression using TSL, and ordinary least squares regression and compare results. In addition, 12,000 random samples are drawn from the HSB dataset of varying level-one and level-two sample sizes in order to compute biases in standard errors based on the different conditions. Sample R and SAS syntax showing how to run regressions using TSL are provided.
Research Interests:
The Authoritative School Climate Survey was designed to provide schools with a brief assessment of 2 key characteristics of school climate--disciplinary structure and student support--that are hypothesized to influence 2 important school... more
The Authoritative School Climate Survey was designed to provide schools with a brief assessment of 2 key characteristics of school climate--disciplinary structure and student support--that are hypothesized to influence 2 important school climate outcomes--student engagement and prevalence of teasing and bullying in school. The factor structure of these 4 constructs was examined with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in a statewide sample of 39,364 students (Grades 7 and 8) attending 423 schools. Notably, the analyses used a multilevel structural approach to model the nesting of students in schools for purposes of evaluating factor structure, demonstrating convergent and concurrent validity and gauging the structural invariance of concurrent validity coefficients across gender. These findings provide schools with a core group of school climate measures guided by authoritative discipline theory.