The study discussed in this article assessed the impact of Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) on the Virginia wine grape industry. An online survey was developed and administered to members of the Virginia Vineyards Association. The results indicate that the resources and recommendations VCE and Virginia Tech have provided have been beneficial…

Meeting the needs of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds is a serious concern that schools are facing. This article describes an evaluation of embedding culturally and linguistically diverse evidence-based practices in a master's program for teacher candidates seeking endorsement in special education. A…

The ability to evaluate and accurately articulate the outcomes associated with leadership development programs is critical to their continued financial and administrative support. With calls for outcome-based accountability, the need for rigorous evaluation is particularly relevant for those programs administered through the Cooperative Extension…

This qualitative study explores perceptions of a dropout recovery program implemented in two high schools in Waterway School District from the perspectives of program facilitators, school administrators, and former student participants. Individual interviews, focus group interviews, and an online questionnaire are the sources of data for the…

Bullying continues to be a major concern in schools today. Many schools have implemented some type of bullying prevention program. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is one of these programs. Evaluation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program is typically done through the administration of the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire to students and…

The tallest hurdle in completing a doctoral degree is the dissertation, which continues to be the primary capstone experience for the degree. Dissertation research is a mystery to many considering an advanced degree and can be intimidating to those who are unfamiliar with the nature of universities and doctoral research. In this report, the author…

Read It Again (RIA) is a curriculum for pre-kindergarten (pre-K) classrooms that targets children's development of language and literacy skills. A cluster randomized trial was conducted in which 104 pre-K classrooms in the Appalachian region of the United States were randomly assigned to one of three study conditions: Control (n = 30), RIA only…

Many professional school counselors regularly serve as site supervisors to school counselors-in-training, despite never receiving formal supervision training. Using a phenomenological approach, the researchers explored school counseling site supervisors' (N = 15) experiences in a clinical faculty school counseling university supervision training…

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education…

Program satisfaction, self-efficacy to change, and willingness to change, are dispositions that influence physical education teacher change. The study purpose was to validate an instrument measuring program satisfaction, self-efficacy to change, and willingness to change relative to teachers' likelihood to change. A 15-item Teacher Change…

Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork), founded in 2009 in the Virginia Tech Music Department's Digital and Interactive Sound & Intermedia Studio, "explores the power of gesture, communal interaction, and the multidimensionality of arts, as well as technology's potential to seamlessly integrate arts and sciences with particular focus on K-12…

Purpose/Objectives: In 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act updated the nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The improved standards impact children who participate in the NSLP, but not the children who are bringing a packed lunch from home. Recent research suggests packed lunches are lower in nutritional quality…

Teachers today operate in highly politicized accountability environments where quick results, typically measured by K-12 test scores, are demanded. Although focusing on student learning outcomes is critical, equally essential is assuring that teacher learning opportunities which can strengthen instruction are available to teachers. A decade ago,…

The purpose of this pretest-posttest control group experimental study was to see the effect of classroom walkthroughs on middle school teacher motivation. The independent variable was; classroom walkthroughs and the four dependent variables were teachers' self-concept of the ability to affect student achievement, teachers' attitude toward the…

Children whose parents are warm and responsive yet also set limits and have reasonable expectations for their children tend to have better outcomes than their peers whose parents show less warmth and responsiveness, have low expectations, or both. Parenting behavior is related to family race and children's sex, age, and cognitive ability. However,…