Teachers' Perceptions of their Self-Efficacy and Effects of Principal Leadership Practices on Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Low and High-Performing Elementary Schools in South Carolina (Under the direction of Dr. Vivian Brackett) Across the United States, school districts are challenged with attracting and attaining high quality teachers. Efficacious…

The purpose of the current quantitative correlational study was to investigate the relationship the qualifications of special education teachers and their preferred writing instruction method either formulaic or process writing. The study investigated the relationship between professional development in writing instruction, years of experience,…

Online discussion forums have become popular in recent times. They provide a platform for people from different parts of the world sharing a common interest to come together and topics of mutual interest and seek solutions to their problems. There are hundreds of thousands of internet forums containing tens of millions of discussion threads and…

Math instruction has undergone a tremendous amount of change since the late 1950s. "New math" of the 1960s, the standards movement, back to the basics in the early 90s, and now the common core standards have all had an impact on how mathematics is taught. This study examined the Math Expressions program, a conceptually based program…

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in teacher efficacy for classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement between teachers who trained in a full-time, yearlong, medical-model professional development school (PDS) and their experience as a first year teacher in comparison to teachers who participated…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine if a new Algebra I curriculum resulted in improved student performance on the state Algebra I exam. The treatment group consisted of 383 9th grade Algebra I students who received the college-ready standards-based (CRSB) curricula. The control group consisted of 338 9th…

Synthetic control methods are an innovative matching technique first introduced within the economics and political science literature that have begun to find application in educational research as well. Synthetic controls create an aggregate-level, time-series comparison for a single treated unit of interest for causal inference with observational…

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study is to explore faculty and administrator perspectives of faculty merit pay compensation systems in private, higher education institutions. The study focuses on 10 small, private, four-year institutions which are religiously affiliated. All institutions are located in Nebraska, Iowa, and…

Internet allows great interaction between real and perceived anonymous environment. Adolescents, acting under the assumption of anonymity show different patterns of behavior, which has lead to a new form of violence: cyberbullying. There is a possibility of both positive and negative behavior in virtual space, however, the negative side of the…

In the United States a high school diploma offers a pathway to the growing professional occupations creating the American middle class. The continuous influx of minority families into suburban school districts eventually urbanized districts. As a result, multiple districts struggle in the process of educating a shifted population. Studies have…

This research sought to determine whether a blended information literacy learning and teaching intervention could statistically significantly enhance undergraduates' information discernment compared to standard face-to-face delivery. A mixture of face-to-face and online activities, including online social media learning, was used. Three…

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief client-centred intervention that increases intrinsic motivation for change. Little research has been conducted on MI to promote academic behaviours, but two studies found that one session of MI did improve middle-school students' math grades [Strait, G., Smith, B., McQuillin, S., Terry, J., Swan, S., &…

This study investigated some specific barriers and needs that online students are facing when learning English through WebEx system. It compared students' barriers and needs with their background including gender, computer ownership, and monthly allowance. It also investigated the relationship among computer aptitude, barriers and needs of online…

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the differences in online reading habits between genders and investigate the relationship between socio-economic status and online reading habits. Using a questionnaire, a quantitative approach was administered to 240 Form-Four students from four secondary schools in Penang Island, Malaysia. Findings…

During extended subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses, graduates without chemistry or physics bachelor degrees prepared to enter a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme to become chemistry or physics teachers. Data were gathered from the exit survey returned by Liverpool John Moores University SKE students about to start…