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Academic confidence and dyslexia at university

Thesis structure

Table of Contents

FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
Section 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Academic confidence and dyslexia at university
I    Dyslexia
II   Academic Confidence
III  Academic Behavioural Confidence
IV  Location and Stance of the Study: Impact Statement
1.2  Research Design and Methodological Overview
I    Background: The preceding small-scale enquiry
II   Structure and Process; The espistemological position of the enquiry
III  Register
1.3  Research Importance
1.4  Research questions and hypotheses
​
Section 2: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES - A review of selected literature
Introduction
2.1 Dyslexia
I     Dyslexia, whatever it is, is complicated
II    Theoretical standpoints of dyslexia
1. Dyslexia is a phonological processing disturbance
2. Dyslexia is attributable to visual disturbances
3. Dyslexia is a rapid auditory processing disturbance
4. Dyslexia results from a mildly dysfunctional cerebellum
5. Dyslexia is a manifestation of natural human neuro-diversity
6. Dyslexia is a multi-factorial information processing difference
III   Equitability in learning systems - accommodating dyslexia?
IV   Labels, categories, dilemmas of difference, inclusivity
V    Impact of the process of identification
VI   To identify or not to identify - is that the question?
VII  Measuring dyslexia - "How dyslexic am I?"
VIII Dyslexia - summary
2.2 Academic Confidence
I     Overview
II    Underpinning research perspectives:
1. An overview of Social Cognitive Theory
2. Self-efficacy in social cognitive theory and in learning
3. Dimensions of self-efficacy
4. Task/domain specificity
5. Mediating processes in learning (academic) self-efficacy
6 Agency
III   Social Cognitive Theory in education and learning
IV   Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC)
1. Historical development of ABC
2. Recent research using the ABC Scale
​
Section 3: RESEARCH DESIGN - Methodology and Methods
3.1 Research design overview
Design focus 
3.2 Research Participants - groups and subgroups
3.3 Data Collection
I     Objectives
II    Questionnaire design rationales
1. Demographic data
2. Quantitative data
Likert Scales
1 The Academic Behavioural Confidence Scale
2.1 Six psychometric scales
2.2 The Dyslexia Index (Dx) Profiler
3. Qualitative data
4. Questionnaire Pilot
3.4 Procedure
3.5 Data Reduction
3.6 Developing the Dyslexia Index Profiler
I    Background and Rationale
II   Establishing the Dyslexianess Continuum
III  Designing the Dx Profiler
IV  Validating the Dx Profiler using a small-scale enquiry
1. Rationale, methods and processes
2. Recruitment of participants
3. Process
4. Results and Outcomes
5. Discussion
6. Generating the Dyslexia Index
7. Concluding summary
​
​
Section 4: RESULTS and ANALYSIS
4.1 Overview
I    Objectives
II   Analysing quantitative data - Rationales
1. Internal consistency (reliability) - Cronbach's É‘
2. Effect sizes
3. Null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST); ANOVA
4. Dimension reduction
5. Multiple regression analysis
III  Analysing qualitative data - Rationales
4.2 Terminology
4.3 Results
I    Demographics
1. Distribution by gender
2. Distribution by domicile
3. Distribution by study level
II   How students with dyslexia learned of their dyslexia
III  Dyslexia Index
1. Internal reliability of the Dx Profiler - Dx20, Dx16 Scales
2. Dx Profiler distributions and basic statistics
3. Setting boundary values for Dx
IV  Academic Behavioural Confidence
1. Internal reliability of the ABC Scales
2. Difference in mean ABC values
4.4 Relating results to hypotheses
4.5 Further analysis: Dimension reduction
I    Overview - applying dimension reduction to the ABC Scale and the Dx
Profilers
1. Assumptions and preliminary work
2. Eigenvalue Monte Carlo Simulations
II   PCA on Academic Behavioural Confidence
III  PCA on Dyslexia Index
IV  Comparing ABC Factor means
4.6 Applying multiple regression analysis
​
Section 5: DISCUSSION
5.1 Context of the enquiry
I    Summary overview
II   Challenges
5.2 Summary of the outcomes
I    Composition of the datapool
II   Prevalence of dyslexia in this current study
III  The relationship between dyslexia-ness and academic confidence
IV  Diagnosing dyslexia: does this impact significantly on academic
 confidence?
​
Section 6: CONCLUDING COMMENTARIES AND REFLECTIONS
6.1 Summarizing the purpose of the research
6.2 Summarizing the research outcomes
6.3 Limitations of the research
I    Scale liimitations
II   Data collection, sampling and datapool limitations; measurement issues
6.4 Directions for future research
6.5 Concluding remarks
​
Section 7: REFERENCES
​
Section 8: APPENDICES
8.1 The Research Questionnaire
8.2 Ethics approval documentation
Contents

List of Figures

Figure 1: 
Process chain indicating components of the cerebellar deficit theory of dyslexia (adapted from Nicholson et al., 2001, p510).
Figure 2:
Competing/contributing factors which may constitute a dyslexic profile (adapted from Fletcher, 2009, p511).
Figure 3:
An adaptation of the Triadic Reciprocal Causation model.
Figure 4:
Conditional relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies (adapted from Bandura, 1997, p22).
Figure 5: Illustrating a contradictory, uni-directional relationship from outcome expectancies to behaviour (adapted from Williams, 2010, p420).
Figure 6:
Illustrating magnitude and strength of self-efficacy.
Figure 7:
Summary of components and factors leading from self-efficacy beliefs to outcome expectancy (summarized from Bandura, 1997a, p23-26).
Figure 8:
Selecting how dyslexic students learned of their dyslexia.
Figure 9:
Profile chart for a participant in the quasi-dyslexic subgroup.
Figure 10:
The Dyslexia-ness Continuum - displaying data from this current study.
Figure 11:
Dyslexia dimensions distributed across BDA components.
Figure 12:
Continuous range input slider for Dx Dimenions #04.
Figure 13:
Option-selector sentence to indicate how students learned of their dyslexia.
Figure 14:
Dx distributions for the non-dyslexia (RG:ND) and the dyslexic groups (RG:DI) from both Dx Scales.
Figure 15:
Normal Q-Q plots for Dyslexia Index.
Figure 16:
Research groups located on the Dyslexia-ness Continuum using the Dx20, and Dx16 Scales.
Figure 17:
Scree plot of raw data and Eigenvalue Monte Carlo Simulations for the ABC24 Scale.
Figure 18:
Scree plot of raw data and Eigenvalue Monte Carlo Simulations for the Dx20 Profiler Scale.
Figure 19:
Scree plot of eigenvalues for components (factors) of PCA on the ABC24 Scale.
Figure 20:
Scree plot of eigenvalues for components (factors) of PCA on the Dx20 Profiler Scale.
Figure 21:
Raw score differences in ABC Factor means as defined by the Dx20 Profiler Scale.
Figure 22:
Raw score differences in ABC Factor means as defined by the Dx16 Profiler Scale.
Figure 23:
Scatterplot of Academic Behavioural Confidence against Dyslexia Index for the complete datapool.
Figure 24 (not shown):
Research Ethics Review Form A.
Figure 25 (not shown):
Ethics Sub-Committee request for research clarification.
Figure 26 (not shown):
Response to request for research clarification.
Figure 27 (not shown):
Middlesex University Ethics Approval Document
Figure 28 (not shown):
Risk Assessment Form FRA1
Figures

List of Tables

Table 1:
Dimensions and components of academic self-concept, academic self-efficacy and Academic Behavioural Confidence.
Table 2:
Dx Profiler dimension statements, dyslexia attributes, and supporting references.
Table 3:
Prevalence of dyslexia dimensions.
Table 4:
Weightings assigned to dyslexia-ness dimension statements.
Table 5:
Example calculation of Dyslexia Index.
Table 6:
Demographic distribution of the datapool by dyslexia status, home domicile, gender and study level.
Table 7:
Demographic distribution of Test, Base and Control subgroups by home domicile, gender and study level. 
Table 8:
Summary of dyslexia self-report statement: 'My dyslexia was "..." to me as a learning "..." .
Table 9:
Comparing ABC mean values of dyslexic students according to how they learned of their dyslexia.
Table 10:
Cronbach's É‘ reliability coefficients for the Dx20 andDx16 Scales.
Table 11:
Dyslexia Index summary according to research group.
Table 12:
Dx parameters for the Test and Control subgroups.
Table 13:
Reliability coefficients for the ABC Scales.
Table 14:
Summary of ABC mean values by research group and subgroup according to ABC and Dx Scales.
Table 15:
ABC Scales' effect sizes (Hedges' g) when the subgroups were defined according to the Dx20 Scale.
Table 16:
ABC Scales' effect sizes (Hedges' g) when the subgroups were defined according to the Dx16 Scale.
Table 17:
Parallel Analysis: Principal components and raw data permutations for the ABC24 Scale.
Table 18:
Parallel Analysis: Principal components and raw data permutations for the ABC17 Scale.
Table 19:
Parallel Analysis: Principal components and raw data permutations for the Dx20 Profiler.
Table 20:
Parallel Analysis: Principal components and raw data permutations for the Dx16 Profiler.
Table 21:
Rotated component matrix for ABC24 and ABC17 Scales (Sander & Sanders) showing factor loadings, and which items were removed as redundant from the ABC24 Scale (x).
Table 22:
Rotated component matrix for the locally derived ABC21-L and ABC17-L Scales showing factor loadings, and which items were removed as redundant from the ABC24 Scale (x).
Table 23:
Total variance explained for the PCA on the ABC24 Scale.
Table 24:
Total variances explained for PCAs on the ABC17, ABC21-L and ABC17-L Scales.
Table 25:
The distribution of ABC dimensions into factors for each version of the ABC Scale.
Table 26:
Total variance explained for components generated by PCA on the Dx20 PRofiler Scale.
Table 27:
Factor loadings for 2-factor and 3-factor solutions of PCA on the Dx20 Profiler (* dimension with revers-coded data)..
Table 28:
Possible 3-factor sub-scale strtucture for the Dx20 Profiler.
Table 29:
Comparison of ABC Factor MEans for all ABC Scales; subgroups established from Dx20 and Dx16 Profiler Scales.
Table 30:
Effect size differences in ABC Factor Means between non-dyslexic (ND) and dyslexic (DI) groups and between Test and Baase, and Test and Control subgroups when defined by Dx20 outputs.
Table 31:
Effect size differences in ABC Factor Means between non-dyslexic (ND) and dyslexic (DI) groups and between Test and Baase, and Test and Control subgroups when defined by Dx16 outputs.
Table 32:
Values of R-squared for simple, linear regressions for all permutations of ABC and Dx Profiler Scales.
Table 33:
Comparisons of mean ABC24 between observed and expected values according to multiple regression models I-IV.
 
Tables

List of Abbreviations

Abbreviation
Explanation
ABC
Academic Behavioural Confidence
ACS
Academic Confidence Scale
ADD
Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
ADSHE
Association of Dyslexia Specialists in Higher Education
BDA
British Dyslexia Association
BRAIN.HE
Best Resources for Achievement and Intervention re Neurodiversity in Higher Education
CDT
Cerbellar Deficity Theory
DAST
Dyslexia Adult Screening Test
DSA
Disabled Students' Allowance
Dx
Dyslexia Index
EMCS
Eigenvalue Monte Carlo Simulation
HE
Higher Education
HESA
Higher Education Statistics Agency
IPA
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
LADS
Lucid Adult Dyslexia Screener
MIS
Meares-Irlen Syndrome
MSc
Master of Science
NHST
Null Hypothesis Significance Test
PCA
Principal Component Analysis
QAA
Quality and Assurance Agency for Higher Education
QRI
Questionnaire Response Identifier
RG:DI
Research Group DI - students with identified dyslexia
RG:DNI
Research Group DNI - students with quasi-dyslexia
RG:ND
Research Group ND - students with no identified dyslexia
SATA
Scholastic Abilities Test for Adults
SCT
Social Cognitive Theory
SLE
Smart Learning Environment
SSD
Speech Sound Disorder
STM
Short Term Memory
TEF
Teaching Excellence Framework
UDL
Universal Design for Learning
VLE
Virtual Learning Environment
ViS
Visual Stress
WFN
World Federation of Neurology
YAA-R
York Adult Assessment - Revised
Abbreviations
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