Date of Award

Spring 6-6-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Kristine Gritter, Ph.D.

Second Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Dave Denton, Ed.D.

Third Advisor/Committee Member

Dr. Peter Renn, Ed.D.

Keywords

peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS), mathematical self-efficacy, agency, special education settings, high-poverty schools, Social Cognitive Theory

Abstract

In many high-poverty schools, students with disabilities continue to face significant barriers and challenges when compared to their typically developing peers. A lack of tangible or positive experiences often leads to low self-efficacy and hindered achievement. This study explored Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) as an instructional approach rooted in student agency. A convergent mixed-methods quasi-experimental design investigated how agentic PALS impacted mathematical self-efficacy and achievement. PALS leveraged neuroscience principles to support agency through skill-aligned peer pairings as dyads that eliminated power differentials. Four structured activities reinforced the model-and-memory sequence, enhancing both conceptual understanding at the neurobiological level and visible learning at the neurophysiological level through repeated interactions. PALS was grounded in Bandura’s (2023) Social Cognitive Theory, which holds that agency drives the development of self-efficacy through mastery experiences, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, and emotional regulation. This study included 44 middle school students with disabilities who received services in a special education setting over a 12-week period at a high-poverty school. Each element of the study was intentionally aligned with the theoretical constructs of agency, self-efficacy, and observational learning to capture both the quantitative growth and the qualitative transformation in the student experience—specifically how it felt to the EveryStudent. Results indicated that PALS positively impacted both self-efficacy and achievement. Findings also suggested that homogeneous student pairs, matched by ability, were uniquely suited to nurture second-order control and the development of agency. PALS dyads fostered interdependence and strengthened both the cognitive and emotional capacities for achievement.

Keywords: peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS), mathematical self-efficacy, agency, special education settings, high-poverty schools, Social Cognitive Theory

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