Working as a teacher educator today means working under an ever-present regulatory gaze. Accountability mechanisms, including state program approval processes, have been layered resulting in complexity. External assessments have failed to provide the data needed to support continuous improvement. There have been calls for combining external and…

The purpose of this study was to explore constituent perspectives of the California Community Colleges Historically Black Colleges and Universities Transfer Guarantee Program. The researcher queried representatives from participating community colleges and Historically Black Colleges and Universities regarding their perspectives of the program.…

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the RTI process and its impact on student achievement. Data analysis will be used to identify areas of strength and weakness in the current system and provide insights into how to create a more effective RTI program. The findings from this study will be used to inform future…

In the United States truancy prevention is lacking two key elements to success; research that explains the causes of truancy and empirical evidence for best practices of truancy prevention. Truancy has been a problem in academics since the early 1900's, when truancy became illegal. Since then, truancy rates have continued to see a steady increase,…

As governments and other organizations worldwide increase their investment in research, the demand for skilled research administrators grows. Researchers need knowledgeable administrators to provide guidance and ensure their projects are administratively managed according to required policies and guidelines. Institutions must ensure their audit…

Out-of-school time (OST) initiatives, defined as programs that operate in and out of school settings, serve young people, their families, and the communities around them. These initiatives are often created to close opportunity gaps that can exist for at-risk students and to meet the needs of previously assessed concerns for communities. For the…

Obesity influences many adolescents, and a potential setting that can help with this health concern is schools. Schools can help raise awareness of adolescent obesity and promote healthier eating habits among adolescents. Therefore, researchers must determine if school food programs influence high school adolescents' behavior regarding the…

Developmental math courses have long been considered a barrier for students (Benken et al., 2015), especially for minority and low-income students, who are enrolled in developmental courses disproportionately to their peers (Chen, 2016). Research has shown that various redesign efforts (e.g., multiple measures placement, corequisite support,…

Educational intervention research addresses multiple barriers that under-sourced communities face in education. I test three methods to improve education program design and evaluation to develop programs that have substantial and lasting impacts on student outcomes. In my dissertation, I review current challenges to educational program evaluation…

A qualitative approach was utilized in this study to examine four transition programs' best educational practices in building transition programs for eighth to ninth grade. An analysis of a retrospective study of the four transition programs provided data to support recommendations for best educational practices to build a transition program for…

This dissertation consists of two chapters that examine the impact of educational and positive youth development programs on students' academic and behavioral outcomes. In the first chapter, I evaluate the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a school meal provision allowing schools meeting the eligibility requirements to…

The purpose of this study was to assess and describe the status of program evaluation within the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites. The National Science Foundation's REU program supports thousands of undergraduates annually in hands-on, immersive research experiences under the mentorship of…

The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore current paraprofessional training programs offered to support paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities (SWDs), including both pre-service and in-service training. Specifically, this study evaluated training offered by local school districts within Southern…

Teacher preparation programs are designed to prepare teachers to support students. However, the supports and experiences teachers are exposed to are often described as academic support. This study explored how special education teachers depicted how their teacher preparation programs prepared them to manage elementary student classroom behavior by…

Modeling with mathematics (MP4) is a mathematical practice standard that can be used to engage students in mathematical content standards as well as additional mathematical practice standards. Research has shown the benefits of mathematical modeling (e.g., Aguirre et al., 2019; Cirillo et al., 2016a), but also the challenges teachers can face…