Conventional wisdom has suggested that increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers through professional development is the primary way to improve schools and student outcomes. Given the massive monetary spending and time devoted to teacher professional development, it is important to understand how this mechanism of change is impacting…

The purpose of the study was to examine perceptions of preparedness among alternatively certified career and technology teachers and their supervisors. The study employed a qualitative phenomenology using semi-structured open-ended interview questions. Eight teacher participants and eight supervisor participants were interviewed from the sample…

The purpose of this capstone project was to develop a curriculum product in the form of professional development training that would prepare college faculty to use Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (MOODLE) course management software in their community college classes. This curriculum project provided faculty members with…

Special education teachers have the unique expectation of being qualified to provide instruction and supports to students with disabilities in the educational setting. This phenomenological study set out to determine the degree of knowledge special education teachers have in regards to 40% of the special needs student population: those students…

This study explores the experience of 13 candidates in a district-embedded new administrator induction program as it relates specifically to coaching. The research establishes the need to recruit and retain new administrators in the field of education, as many quit within the first three years and many others are expected to retire in the near…

The dissertation is composed of two main parts. The first half describes efforts to study amyloid peptides using macrocyclic peptide model systems, and the potential deleterious effects of uronium peptide coupling agents on human health. The second half focuses on my experience in chemistry teaching and the chemical education research I conducted.…

This series of three studies identified an experimental research gap in the field of deafblindness. Study 1, a descriptive study, identified types of articles published, and research designs used, in 37 peer-reviewed special education journals. A total of 4,854 articles published from 2012 through 2017 were examined to determine types of articles…

Designing professional development programs to improve the quality of education require that faculty members actively participate?in reflective processes. In the past, professional development (PD) programs have been applied in numerous Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Many higher educational institutions have created units to support…

The expectations and demands of an instructional leader can be overwhelming for a first-year principal. Understanding the complexity of leadership in today's school system and meeting the needs in educating our minority students while working to meet state and federal guidelines is a challenging feat for any principal. This phenomenological study…

Afterschool programs play a significant role in the lives of minoritized students, offering a safe space for them to develop academically, socially, and emotionally. Program administrators are responsible for the oversight of the organization and must ensure that all staff members receive the necessary professional development to impact the lives…

For decades, professional organizations and leaders in the field of student affairs have called for student affairs professionals to engage in evidence-informed programming (EIP). EIP refers to the use of theory and empirical research to build programs intended to impact specific student learning or development outcomes. The benefits of EIP range…

This study analyzes the different beliefs and effective practices of elementary school principals in Dallas, TX, to foster and develop cultural intelligence (CQ) among the students. Through the administration of a free-response questionnaire and the cultural intelligence survey (CQS), the researcher was able to collect and investigates the diverse…

Interdisciplinary collaborations to help students compose for discipline-specific contexts draw on multiple expertise. Science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) programs particularly rely on their writing colleagues because (1) their academic expertise is often not writing and (2) teaching writing often necessitates a redesigning of…

In the past decade, computer programming has been called the new literacy necessary for everyday life. However, discussion on democratizing coding literacy can too often center the experiences of K-12 learners and undergraduates, leaving adult learners' experiences with coding literacy unexamined. If employers come to value computer programming as…

Planning for principal succession has become necessary for school districts to improve and sustain student academic success. As a result, some school districts prepare for principal succession by building capacity through acquired experiences and increased leadership competency in potential principal candidates using the "grow your own"…