The problem of practice addressed in this mixed-methods research study is assessing whether participating in professional development workshops helped community college instructors improve their pedagogical practices, leading to improved student success and achievement rates. In this study, I explore the effects of an intervention I designed to…

Short-cycle higher education programs (SCPs) can play a central role in skill development and higher education expansion, yet their quality varies greatly within and among countries. In this paper we explore the relationship between programs' practices and inputs (quality determinants) and student academic and labor market outcomes. We design and…

This paper examines the effects of the Top Ten Percent policy, which guaranteed students in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class admission to Texas Public Universities. As a result of the policy, the composition of the student body changed, particularly at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). This paper asks, what were the…

One of the most important reforms to the apprenticeship system in recent years has been the transition from apprenticeship frameworks to employer-designed standards. However, the completion rates for these standards are much lower than for frameworks, with large numbers of apprentices withdrawing early from their programmes. It is vital to…

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) use has greatly expanded over the past 10 years. POCUS refers to the use of portable ultrasound at the bedside for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. POCUS offers an advantage to both healthcare providers and patients because it gives accurate and rapid information that can lead to diagnosis or to narrow the…

Many elementary school students require and may benefit from supplemental reading support and interventions that can be provided by afterschool programs. The problem addressed in this study was that it was not known if third grade students benefited from an afterschool reading program in one East Tennessee District. The purpose of this…

This study explored the efficacy of faculty-development programs for new faculty members at a proprietary institution of higher education. The purpose of the study was to determine whether there was an increase in faculty members' self-assessment of topics from the faculty-orientation curriculum as they became more familiar with their new…

Bullying and peer victimization are increasingly recognized as a detriment to the well-being of students. While the past two decades have seen the development of several effective approaches to prevention at the elementary and middle school levels, very little research has documented effective strategies for students in high schools. The current…

Over the years, the expectations of public safety dispatchers have expanded considerably to include responsibilities that go beyond the traditional role of a dispatcher. People often associate the role of a dispatcher as being the first point of contact for someone experiencing an emergency and needing assistance. This study sought to assess the…

Reading skills are important for students' academic success. Phonics specifically is a foundational skill which is necessary for reading fluency and overall reading proficiency. Additional support outside of the classroom can be beneficial for those struggling and at-risk. There are various strategies and interventions that can help student's gain…

Online learning has become a popular alternative medium among adult learners. Nearly 7 million students in the United States reported taking a distance education course at a degree-granting post-secondary institution (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). Despite the growing demand for and importance of online learning in higher…

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the effect of a robotics-based intervention on empathy for students enrolled in secondary English and literature courses. Empathy, as a concept, is an integral component of reading comprehension and student motivation. A decline in reported individual levels of empathy among young adults…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have challenges with communication, changes in routine, and processing social information and communication that can affect their ability to learn and respond successfully to safety threats. When given behavioral skills training (BST), children with and without ASD have demonstrated gains in safety…

District leadership teams perform key roles in building the systems to support schools in the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). However, there is a lack of measures for assessment and progress monitoring specific to district PBIS systems. To address this gap, we evaluated the validity of a measure of…

Mentorship plays a pivotal role in the development of faculty, across areas of academic and professional achievement. Faculty mentor programs exist to support and advance faculty through a variety of models and levels. As an introduction to the special section on faculty mentorship and mentor models, the authors examine the critical importance of…