This dissertation employed a critical action research methodology to problematize the University of Idaho's observed failure to successfully integrate nontraditional scholars into its academic culture. This dissertation explores the appropriate role and responsibility of the embedded educational opportunity programs in assisting academic outsiders…

The study detailed the life history of a family of five, Georgia high school graduates, undocumented students using semi-structured interviews. Because the five participants were all of Latino descent and undocumented students, their lived experiences were expected to add to the relatively young research concerning the sensitive, yet powerful,…

As technologies gain an increasingly strong foothold in the classroom, there are more and more surveys seeking to gauge teachers' interests and attitudes towards integrating devices, software, and tools into their practice. We've noticed that while each of the major surveys that have been announced over the past year and a half offer a unique take…

The purpose of this dissertation is to capture and explore the existence of white privilege in K-12 schools through the perspective of minority educators. Further, my hope is to engage educators of all kind to begin conversations about white privilege in the schools; to deconstruct whiteness and its impact on education. This research brings forth…

Quality policing requires selecting and retaining the best and the brightest officers and supporting their advancement into the leadership ranks of police organizations. This study investigates two aspects of police promotional testing: identifying and understanding the barriers to participation in the promotional process and the use of online…

This study examined the communication between sending court and community schools of a County Office of Education's (COE) Alternative Education program and the receiving juvenile detention facility of a county in a Western state and how the communication between the two facilities affected the level of special education services provided to…

This single case study examined how one inner city high school math teacher used e-portfolio assessment in an inclusive classroom setting. Specifically, it describes the teacher's perceptions and use of e-portfolio assessment, and its relationships to curricular content, as well as how the relationships among e-portfolio assessment,…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental, quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of supplemental instruction (SI) as a means to address the existing high attrition and low graduation rates evidenced at a rural southern community college. The research problem addressed the high attrition rates in barrier courses and low graduation…

In the Shattering Expectations series, the reports focus on calling attention to gaps at the high end of achievement and shattering expectations about the achievement of our low-income students and students of color that have existed for far too long. Each report will provide examples of schools that are breaking long entrenched patterns and how…

With virtual public school initiatives in each of the 50 states, there is an impetus to develop and implement online programs for the elementary grades (Cavanaugh, 2004, pp. 262-266; Oliver et al., p. 56). Yet, learner usability characteristics for successful online schooling for the elementary grades are unknown and/or unspecified. The purpose of…

Background: The U.S. health care system has been under immense scrutiny for ever-increasing costs and poor health outcomes for its patients. Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) has emerged as a generally accepted practice by providers, policy makers, and scientists as an approach to identify the most clinical- and cost-effective interventions…

There is a need to connect workplace learning and essential skills to a larger domain of workplace learning in general. To do this, the contexts in which learning takes place, and the cultures of the actors and environments involved, should be taken into consideration. Although research on the direct effects of contexts and cultures on workplace…

Mental disorders are diagnosable conditions characterized by changes in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination of these) that can cause a person to feel stressed out and impair his or her ability to function. These disorders are common in adolescence. This "Adolescent Health Highlight" presents the warning signs of mental disorders;…

In Sen's Capability Approach (CA) well-being can be defined as the freedom of choice to achieve the things in life which one has reason to value most for his or her personal life. Capabilities are in Sen's vocabulary therefore the real freedoms people have or the opportunities available to them. In this paper we examine the impact of capabilities…

Current societal demands have increased the role of schools. The Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSC) seek to link students, families, and communities, using the school as the nexus for much needed services. The FRYSC offer a myriad of interventions aimed at removing non-academic barriers that hinder academic success for students…