Nancy Leech

University of Colorado | UCD · School of Education and Human Development

There has been increased attention on teachers’ use of exclusionary discipline with the youngest learners in elementary schools; however, little is known about early childhood teachers’ use of particular discipline practices and social emotional supports. The present study reports results from a survey of 936 teachers working in elementary schools...

School psychologists utilize multiple types of data in their everyday work. Adopting a mixed methods way of thinking can assist school psychologists in incorporating multiple types of data into their decision making. The purpose of this mixed methods case study is to update our understanding of mixed methods research publication trends in the Journ...

The purpose of this study is to expand our knowledge of how academic faculty members in schools of education view their careers by exploring occupational commitment. Ninety-one academic faculty members from 11 U.S. research institutions volunteered to participate in this quantitative survey study. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to dete...

Occupational embeddedness is defined as what keeps people in their current occupation and is believed to have three dimensions: Fit (perceived compatibility), Links (ties to others), and Sacrifice (material or psychological losses upon career change). Occupational embeddedness is highly relevant for academic faculty in higher education, who have a...

Due to the myriad of sampling schemes and data collection techniques available, choosing among these can present challenges for researchers when conducting a mixed methods research study. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to delineate methods of sampling and data collection for mixed methods research studies. Topics covered in this chapter for mixed...

The promotion of Social emotional learning (SEL) in elementary schools has increased; however, little is known about early childhood teachers’ perceptions about the effectiveness of their elementary school’s approach to SEL. The present study used mixed methods methodology to explore the perceptions of 1154 preschool through second grade teachers w...

We utilized a survey to explore how early childhood personnel delivered high-quality and inclusive preschool special education and related services to young children with disabilities in one Western state. We conducted quantitative analyses on 418 participants’ survey responses, including t-tests and Mann Whitney tests to examine differences in the...

In this mixed methods study, we used a state-wide survey to explore 936 preschool through second-grade teachers’ perceptions about inclusion in their elementary school’s social emotional multitiered system of supports (MTSS). Overall, early childhood teachers reported feeling included in their school’s social emotional MTSS. Results of a one-way be...

The transition to remote teaching in K–12 schools during the spring of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) presented new challenges to teachers across the United States. This survey-based mixed methods study investigates these challenges, as well as differences by grade level, to better understand teachers’ experiences remote te...

This study utilized a nationally distributed survey to explore early childhood teachers’ experience of providing remote learning to young children and their families during the early months of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to analyze 805 participants’ responses to closed and open-end...

Recent surveillance efforts indicate that 1 in 54 American children meet the criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), making it the fastest growing neurodevelopmental disorder in the U.S. Despite evidence that ASD can be reliably diagnosed as early as 24 months, the median age at ASD diagnosis in 2016 in the U.S. was 51 months. The CLEAR Autism...

This study explored similarities and differences in how early childhood education (ECE) teachers (n = 947) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers (n = 160) provided remote learning to young children and their families following COVID-19 shelter in place orders in the spring of 2020. The most utilized remote learning activities for bo...

This study used a nationally distributed survey to explore how classroom-based early childhood personnel delivered remote services to young children with disabilities and their families during the early months of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A concurrent equal status fully mixed-method approach was used to analyze 221 participants’ r...

Multiple professional associations and agencies have recommended that schools establish threat assessment processes and procedures. Such recommendations have been directed at school districts in Colorado, a state that has experienced multiple school shootings. In this exploratory study, the nature and prevalence of threat assessment conducted in fo...

Threat assessment involves evaluating and intervening with individuals who make threats of violence. This study examined the resulting actions and outcomes of threat assessment cases in three Colorado school districts. A particular focus of the study was on potential disparities. The sample consisted of 253 threat assessment cases reported by parti...

During the Coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) remote learning presented many new challenges for K-12 teachers, and likely presented unique challenges for different content areas and grade levels. To investigate this problem, a survey-based quantitative study was conducted. A total of 831 teachers in a midwestern state completed a survey on the...

The purpose of this editorial is to advocate for increased use of nonparametric statistics in mixed methods research studies, or more aptly labeled as mixed research to denote the fact that more than methods typically are mixed (e.g., philosophical assumptions and stances, research questions). First, we outline how the strengths of using nonparamet...

This study employed survey research methods to collect data from teachers from a district with long-term, high conflict between teachers and the school board and teachers from two districts with short-term, medium conflict between teachers and the school boards. Teachers in highly politicized school districts had quite different perceptions of teac...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate higher education faculty’s motivation to teach and to validate the Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) survey with this population. Design/methodology/approach Confirmatory factor analysis and t -tests on data from 101 higher education faculty and data from K-12 teachers show that th...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate motivation to teach for higher education faculty within schools of education. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized survey research methods to collect data from higher education faculty at nine universities identified from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of teaching websit...

Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children (PTR-YC) is a standardized model of positive behavior support designed to deliver individualized interventions for preschool-aged children with severe and persistent challenging behaviors. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare effects of PTR-YC with those of a “business as usual” (BAU) com...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occurs in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups; however, children from culturally and linguistically diverse groups are, on average, misdiagnosed more often and identified later than White children. Understanding current practices and procedures is important for ensuring the use of evidence-based identificatio...

Purpose This paper aims to compare the psychometric properties of the Research Motivation Scale (RMS) from faculty in schools of education in American research universities to previous findings on this scale when administered to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty. Design/methodology/approach This study was an explorato...

The Factors Influencing Teaching Choice (FIT-Choice) scale was completed by 86 high school students of color prior to beginning a class focusing on motivating students to become interested in teaching. Findings based on confirmatory factor analysis support the underlying FIT-Choice scale factor structure reported in previous studies. Students’ perc...

States differ in the procedures and criteria used to identify ASD. These differences are likely to impact the prevalence and age of identification for children with ASD. The purpose of the current study was to examine the specific state variations in ASD identification and eligibility criteria requirements. We examined variations by state in autism...

Instruction in research methods, particularly statistical training, is an essential requirement for most higher education advanced-degree students. However, results from the institutional survey reported here demonstrate that many faculty in schools of education still do not require or offer a variety of research and analysis courses to provide thi...

This study examined the association between various types of peer-directed violence and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adolescents. A nationally representative sample of 15,425 high school students completed the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. All types of peer victimization (bullying, physical violence, and dating violence) were found to b...

In this article, we provide a typology of mixed analysis techniques, namely the Mixed Analysis Matrix, that helps researchers select a data analysis technique given the number of (a) data types collected (i.e. quantitative or qualitative; or quantitative and qualitative) and (b) analysis types used (i.e. quantitative or qualitative; or quantitative...

Scant explicit guidance currently exists on how to teach mixed research courses. Thus, the purpose of this mixed research study was to compare and to contrast pedagogical approaches used by instructors in mixed research courses, as well as the learning experiences of students enrolled in a mixed research course. This investigation involved the use...

In this article we present results of an empirical study of the relationship between research productivity and research-related merit ratings over a 10-year period for tenured and tenure-track faculty in a school of education. The purpose of the study was to assess change in faculty productivity as a result of the institution's change in the Carneg...

There is considerable evidence that being exposed to the suicide or suicidal behavior of another can increase the risk for suicide. Significant relationships between media coverage and youth suicide have been documented in the professional literature. Exposure to familial suicidal behavior has also been established as a risk factor for youth suicid...

This chapter describes a precollegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color to explore teaching and presents the findings from case studies on two Black male students enrolled in the course who are now preparing to pursue a career in teaching. The research questions guiding the two case studies include: (a) What factors influe...

In this editorial, we outline a model for teaching a doctoral-level mixed research course either face-to-face or on-line. This model is designed to provide doctoral students with varied opportunities to acquire the knowledge and skills to formulate, to plan, and to implement rigorous and successful mixed research studies and programs of research. W...

Conversations continue to evolve within the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) regarding the nature of the dissertation in practice and the associated inquiry skills/coursework (Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, 2012). Questions abound, for example, regarding the nature, scope, impact, and format of the dissertation in pr...

For applied linguistics researchers, validity is an important concept to consider and assess in all research studies.

In this article, we provide a framework for analyzing and interpreting sources that inform a literature review or, as it is more aptly called, a research synthesis. Specifically, using Leech and Onwuegbuzie's (2007, 2008) frameworks, we delineate how the following four major source types inform research syntheses: talk, observations, drawings/photo...

For many researchers, writing the research report is among the most difficult steps. When writing about a mixed methods research study, researchers have had little guidance for how to structure the manuscript. Thus, the purpose of this article is to present multiple approaches to reporting information from a mixed research study. Recommendations fo...

The disparity between the educational attainment of Mexican heritage and White individuals illustrate a need for research on factors associated with the high educational attainment of some immigrant and first-generation students of Mexican descent. Using autobiographies, student interviews, and family interviews as data sources, this article explor...

In this article, we outline a course wherein the instructors teach students how to conduct rigorous qualitative research. We discuss the four major distinct, but overlapping, phases of the course: conceptual/theoretical, technical, applied, and emergent scholar. Students write several qualitative reports, called qualitative notebooks, which involve...

To better understand how skilled and knowledgeable researchers develop in schools of education, the process of becoming a successful researcher needs to be explored. The purpose of the paper is to present three theories/studies including scientific and technical human capital, Levine's study of schools of education, and Lovitts' model of the factor...

The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of mixed research techniques in empirical studies published in gifted education journals. During Phase 1, empirical full-text databases and relevant electronic bibliographic databases related to gifted education were searched during a time span of 10 to 18 years, resulting in the identificati...

In counseling research, reliability is an extremely important concept. Reliability of scores refers to how consistent scores remain across time, instruments, and conditions. The most commonly reported methods of assessing reliability are Cronbach’s alpha and Kuder-Richardson's index of reliability, otherwise known as measures of internal consistenc...

The goal of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of gender on teachers' willingness to refer students to a gifted and talented program. Teachers (N = 28) were provided with one of two profiles (i.e., female or male) describing a gifted student. Results indicated that teachers' decisions for referral to gifted programs were significant...

The results of a content analysis of the articles published in the leading counseling journal, Journal of Counseling & Development, between 2002 and 2010 are presented. The authors present a brief description of mixed research to encourage counseling researchers to explore mixed research as a viable research tool.

The need for African American male teachers is clear; however their pathway to teaching is in disrepair. This article shares research findings and a description of a pre-collegiate course designed to encourage high school students of color, including African American males, to explore teaching More specifically, drawing from survey and interview da...

In recent years, it has become more common for health science researchers to conduct and to write research reports and articles that involve the combining or mixing of quantitative and qualitative approaches within the same study. The purpose of this article is to delineate the challenges of writing mixed research studies and present a potential so...

The purposes of this paper are to outline seven types of qualitative data analysis techniques, to present step-by-step guidance for conducting these analyses via a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software program (i.e., NVivo9), and to present screenshots of the data analysis process. Specifically, the following seven analyses are prese...

From the perspective of doctoral students and instructors, we explain a developmental, interactive process based upon the Checklist for Qualitative Data Collection, Data Analy-sis, and Data Interpretation (Onwuegbuzie, 2010) for students' writing assignments re-garding: (a) the application of conceptual knowledge for collecting, analyzing, and inte...

This article provides guidelines for conducting, reporting, and evaluating mixed research studies in 3 sections: research formulation, research planning, and research implementation. To date, no such guidelines are available. Detailed descriptions of each subsection are included. The authors hope that these standards assist researchers from the fie...

The goal of this mixed methods study was to explore differences among teachers (n = 52 special education teachers, n = 195 general education teachers, and n = 30 gifted education teachers) on their perceptions of students with disabilities and their willingness to refer them to a gifted and talented program. In this follow-up to an earlier work, da...

The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine the generalization practices in qualitative research published in a reputable qualitative journal. In order to accomplish this, all qualitative research articles published in Qualitative Report since its inception in 1990 (n = 273) were examined. A quantitative analysis of the all 125 empi...

This article provides an innovative meta-framework comprising strategies designed to guide qualitative data collection in the 21st century. We present a meta-framework comprising strategies for collecting data from interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents/material culture. We present a template for collecting nonverbal data during inte...

Mixed research has arisen in response to the demand for quantitative research and qualitative research. Not too much material is available on the topic of teaching mixed research. Hence this special issue on teaching methodologies was instituted. Mixed researchers must develop a philosophical way of thinking in their research and writings. Two case...

Many students deem statistics courses to be the most difficult in their programs of study, providing mostly negative experiences characterized by high levels of anxiety. Recent research on statistics anxiety has identified several teacher characteristics that help reduce students’ statistics anxiety levels. However, little attention has been placed...

This article describes the supervision and training aspects of two student counselors in their service to a transgender and lesbian married couple. Through journal assignments, multiple themes emerged from these supervisees’ responses to serving this unique couple. Two critical areas of reflection included both counselors’ concerns of clinical prep...

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate application of a new framework, the validation framework (VF), to assist researchers in evaluating mixed research studies. Based on an earlier work by Dellinger and Leech, a description of the VF is delineated. Using the VF, three studies from education, health care, and counseling fields are evaluated....

As online education continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the nuances of online learning. However, to date, research on online learning has largely been characterized as being low quality. To increase the quality and promote rigor in online education research, researchers are beginning to argue for the importance of...

The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.

Despite the abundance of published material on conducting focus groups, scant specific information exists on how to analyze focus group data in social science research. Thus, the authors provide a new qualitative framework for collecting and analyzing focus group data. First, they identify types of data that can be collected during focus groups. Se...

The two main areas that novice researchers need to understand in order to conduct rigorous mixed research studies are discussed. The four crises or challenges that researchers face when undertaking mixed methods research and how they can be overcome is highlighted.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent and inclusive framework for conducting mixed analyses. First, we present a two-dimensional representation for classifying and organizing both qualitative and quantitative analyses. This representation involves reframing qualitative and quantitative analyses as either variable-oriented or case-orien...

The mixed methods paradigm is still in its adolescence, and, thus, is still relatively unknown and confusing to many researchers. In general, mixed methods research represents research that involves collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or in a series of studies that investigate the same underly...

To appear in T. T. Kidd (Ed.), Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices.

In this article the authors outline five types of debriefing and introduce a new type of debriefing, namely, that of debriefing the interpretive researcher. Next they present eight main areas accompanied by example questions to guide the interviewer when debriefing the researcher. They also present five authenticity criteria developed by Guba and L...

Qualitative researchers in school psychology have a multitude of analyses available for data. The purpose of this article is to present several of the most common methods for analyzing qualitative data. Specifically, the authors describe the following 18 qualitative analysis techniques: method of constant comparison analysis, keywords-in-context, w...

Learning basic statistical concepts does not need to be tedious or dry; it can be fun and interesting through cooperative learning in the small-group activity of Statistics Poker. This article describes a teaching approach for reinforcing basic statistical concepts that can help students who have high anxiety and makes learning and reinforcing thes...

The purpose of the present article is to demonstrate how quantitative research articles can be made much more reader-friendly. In particular, we illustrate how statistical language and research terminology can be simplified in reports. Moreover, using a published article, we demonstrate how quantitative reports could be re-structured to make them m...

Due to the continued growth of qualitative research methodology, the demand for large-scale quasi experimental studies, and a renewed interest in mixed methodologies, there is concern regarding methods courses taught in schools or colleges of education in the United States. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of current methods...

One of the most important steps in the qualitative research process is analysis of data. The purpose of this article is to provide elements for understanding multiple types of qualitative data analysis techniques available and the importance of utilizing more than one type of analysis, thus utilizing data analysis triangulation, in order to underst...