Literature on educational leadership is lacking representation of the assistant principalship. Many educators who choose to become assistant principals enter school administration with the desire to one day be promoted to the principalship. For many school administrators the assistant principalship is the first administrative position and is…

College students have been shown to be highly stressed and experience depression and anxiety. Over the last two to three decades, mindfulness has emerged as a widely accepted and used therapy for a range of disorders including depression and anxiety. More recently, second order research has targeted the causes or mechanisms of action underlying…

This research examined how four different animated pedagogical agent implementations, which focus on perceptual and inquiry arousal conditions of attention as defined in Keller's ARCS model of motivational design (Keller, 2009), impact English language learners' situational interest, cognitive load, and reading comprehension in online readings…

Attachment security and mother-child relationships serve a critical role in human development. Several studies have demonstrated an association between the salutary effects of security-based attachment strategies and mindfulness. This descriptive research study explores this relationship through semi-structured interviews, the Five Facet…

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive system that allows users to interact with virtual objects and the real world at the same time. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore how AR, as a new visualization tool, that can demonstrate spatial relationships by representing three dimensional objects and animations, facilitates students to…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect 1 in every 88 U.S. children. ASDs have been described as neurological and developmental disorders impacting visual, motor, and visual-motor integration (VMI) abilities that affect academic achievement (CDC, 2010). Forty-five participants (22 ASD and 23 Typically Developing [TD]) 8 to 14 years old completed…

The purpose of this study was to compare three groups: JROTC students, student athletes, and other students, to determine if there were differences in academic achievement. Gaining an understanding of the necessary skills required to become academically successful and make healthy life choices, could provide educators working within an urban…

This study investigates adults' ability to change their phonetic systems in perception and production, specifically upon exposure to a new dialect in adulthood. It further addresses the relative importance of binary biological sex and socially constructed gender in predicting an individual's sociolinguistic variation. Perception and production…

This qualitative study is written from a phenomenological standpoint using Van Manen's (1990 ) hermeneutic lived experiences of the participants. Fourth grade teachers from a large urban school district in the southwestern U.S. completed an online questionnaire and participated in a focus group interview to provide insight into their attitudes and…

The stewardship of schools is central to the renewal and preservation of that which is precious in our nation's schools. This study examined perceptions of future teachers as to the degree to which their teacher preparation program emphasized the idea of stewarding schools. With a theoretical foundation that initial teacher preparation provides…

This study, using the "Superintendent Efficacy Questionnaire" (Devono, Diaz & Callejo Perez, 2008), compared 413 West Virginian K-12 superintendents', principals' and teachers' perceptions of 6 superintendent leadership components: staff development administration, communication of mission, curriculum/instruction expertise,…

Due to their unique profile as childhood bilinguals whose first language (L1) became weaker than their second language (L2), heritage speakers can shed light on three key issues in bilingualism--timing, input, and cross-linguistic interaction. The heritage speakers of focus in this dissertation are Korean second generation immigrants mainly…

School climate, or a student's feelings of connection to his or her school community, has been positively associated with student's academic achievement, school success, self-esteem and the educator-student relationship. An important aspect of students' of color perceptions of school climate is the ability to talk with school staff about personal…

This embedded multiple-case study addressed the lack of qualitative research on the contributions of principal leadership behaviors and organizational routines in Montana's distinguished Title I schools. This study was guided by the research question, "How do principal leadership behaviors and organizational routines contribute to the high…

As a group, children with hearing loss demonstrate delays in language development relative to their peers with normal hearing. Early intervention has a profound impact on language outcomes in children with hearing loss. Data examining the relationship between degree of hearing loss and language outcomes are variable. Two approaches are used in the…