School climate is a widely researched concept because of the influence that school climate can have on student outcomes such as academic achievement, attendance and discipline (Thapa et al, 2013; Wang & Degol, 2016;), as well as staff member outcomes such as job satisfaction and teacher retention (Cohen et al, 2009; Thapa et al, 2013). A…

This study aims to contribute to the body of work on principal preparation programs by replicating previous studies at University X. It seeks to further add to the literature by addressing previous gaps. Quantitative data were taken from cumulative grade point average (CGPA), the School Leaders Licensure Assessment (SLLA) scores, the Principal…

Historically, opportunities to develop cultural competency in sport and exercise psychology graduate programs have been limited (Lee, 2015). Recently, major sport psychology organizations across the world have started to require cultural competency in their credentialling requirements. While this represents progress, these requirements can be met…

The purpose of this research was to create a Culture of Assessment Instrument (Appendix F) that will allow education program provider (EPP) assessment leaders to measure the assessment culture within their program. General Systems Theory was the theoretical framework as the foundation of this research. Using a modified Delphi panel of assessment…

Within the past ten to fifteen years, there has been a trend among churches to downsize staff and eliminate the role of "Minister of Education." With these changes in staff structure, a need has emerged for assistance in evaluating adult educational programming within the church. For this project, a process was developed called the Adult…

Item response theory (IRT) is currently the dominant methodological paradigm in educational and psychological measurement. IRT models are based on assumptions about the relationship between latent traits and observed responses, so the accuracy of the methodology depends heavily on the reasonableness of these assumptions. This dissertation consists…

Institutions of higher education are expected by accrediting agencies to perform systematic monitoring of student learning and evaluate the effectiveness of programs of study and institutional operations to identify what needs improvement and then enact planned change to improve the institution; however, many struggle to make this connection. This…

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) accredits all public schools in the state through the Kansas Education System of Accreditation (KESA). KESA is designed to evaluate at a system level, meaning school districts, a system of schools, or an independent school not affiliated with a school district. District leaders have been frustrated…

Agreement between stakeholders in a school change initiative can positively impact its success (Branson, 2008; Donnell & Gettinger, 2015); however, agreement has been largely unexplored within the context of a change initiative and its stakeholders. The current study analyzed the agreement between three key stakeholders in a change initiative:…

Education and academic related services have become as important as manufacturing and, in some cases, even more important. Considering the importance of these services as it relates to manufacturing, a problem exists. Products such as education and academic services are far less specific in value when comparing with manufactured goods, even though…

The implementation of Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) has been successful in multiple elementary systems across the United States. Providing three tiers of support for students struggling academically, social-emotionally, and behaviorally in the classroom setting and created success for many students until they reach the secondary level,…

This study explored the uneven development of assessments by elementary physical education teachers that contributed to students' underdeveloped physical education skills. This current research was developed to investigate the need to focus on a teacher's understanding of assessment development using the Maryland State Physical Education Framework…

The problem addressed by this study was low-quality early childhood education and care programs due to low teacher educational qualifications. Poor quality early childhood education and care programs can be harmful to a child's social and emotional development, leading to poor health, economic, and behavioral outcomes. The purpose of this study…

The accountability era has produced school grading systems that purport to evaluate school effectiveness yet utilize hegemonic formulas that label low-scoring schools and neighborhoods, depriving them of incentive monies tied to their school grades. This quantitative study analyzed the publicly available data of 106 elementary schools in one large…

There has been explosive growth in the physician assistant/associate (PA) profession in the last ten years, leading to a meteoric increase in PA training programs. Attaining and maintaining accreditation is required for PA program operations, and thus, successfully leading an accreditation self-assessment is a critical responsibility for PA…