Firefighter wellness has become a concern across the country, in large part because a combination of poor fitness levels, excess weight, and a high-intensity work environment contributes to chronic illness as well as line-of-duty deaths. Workplace wellness programs are effective in career fire service organizations, but nationwide implementation…

This study explored the perceived stress level of international students who faced barriers to employment upon graduation from an American post-secondary institution. The Barriers to Employment Success Inventory (BESI) was used to assess employment barriers and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) assessed the perceived level of stress experienced by…

The progressive growth of geriatric facilities as valuable element of the health care system signified for increased services from health care workers particularly Registered Nurses (RNs). A major health care concern could be perceived due to the inadequate number of RNs providing care to elderly patients. Most studies centered on insufficiency of…

Current literature on school leadership has shifted away from the traditional and hierarchical top-down model of leadership to a form of leadership that is collaborative and shared. Policymakers, researchers and educators are now calling for practicing teachers to assume leadership positions in schools. The goal is for these teacher leaders to…

This study sought to examine factors that contribute to ongoing career identity among secondary choral teachers, identify whether or not a relationship exists between career identity and job satisfaction, and determine what relationship--if any--exists between professed career identity and professional practices of secondary choral teachers. For…

Ongoing professional development is an integral part of a child welfare agency's strategy toward the provision of services to children and families involved with a child welfare intervention. Electronic learning (E-Learning) is popular as a fiscally responsible and flexible way to deliver such trainings. There is a gap in the research addressing…

In this dissertation, I explore, through qualitative means, the perceptions of parents related to discourse (what is said and not said) within formalized and required processes of special education. These processes are federal requirements that parents of children with disabilities or suspected disabilities encounter as their children progress…

It is well established that beginning teachers need support to bridge the gap from college teacher preparation to the classroom setting (Fletcher & Strong, 2009; Wong, 2003). In fact, lack of support in this transition has been identified as a leading factor that causes beginning teachers to leave the profession at high rates early in their…

The demands of high-stakes testing, tenure reform, and teacher accountability have dominated the landscape of education for almost two decades. The expectations placed on public schools require leadership that supports and motivates teachers to perform at extremely high levels. Public schools therefore must fill their institutions with principals…

Innovation has become an important phenomenon in engineering and engineering education. By developing novel, feasible, viable, and valued solutions to complex technical and human problems, engineers support the economic competitiveness of organizations, make a difference in the lives of users and other stakeholders, drive societal and scientific…

The environment in which higher education institutions are situated has been impacted by a number of disruptive forces since the early 1990s, including acceleration in the capability of information technology (Beagle, 2006; Bennett, 2003; Foster, 2014), changing attitudes about learning pedagogy (Barr & Tagg, 1995), and calls for…

I reported on findings from a phenomenological study intended to investigate the leadership experiences of 12 novice, rural public school principals in a Midwestern state. I utilized data from semi-structured interviews to analyze how novice, rural principals engaged in instructional leadership activities in a rural setting. I also focused on how…

The problem is that undergraduates' perception of leadership which may affect their levels of work readiness upon graduation are not clearly understood. Undergraduates' perception of leadership is not being heard, which may present a problem in their work readiness, along with what adequate skills are needed for a successful transition into the…

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…

Graduate nurses are being employed to provide care in high acuity care areas, and this becomes a problem of significance as the literature suggests that graduate nurse's experience a deficit in integrating theoretical concepts in the clinical environment, described as the theory-practice gap; which can result in a risk to patient safety and the…