Educational legislation mandates that all students, including those with disabilities, be provided a free and appropriate public education (IDEA, 2004). Students with low-incidence disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders and cognitive disabilities, may have challenging needs that often warrant additional support (i.e. a paraprofessional)…

Learning outcomes within the context of assessing general education competencies have gained increasing attention within higher education. Accrediting bodies have increased standards for the assessment of general education competencies, employers continue to indicate graduates from higher education institutions are not prepared for success in the…

Cities and school districts across the Commonwealth and country are seeking to combine the benefits of both community- and school-based early childhood programs through a "mixed-delivery model." In a mixed-delivery model, school districts shoulder the administrative burden of federal and state grants, subcontract a number of their seats…

This dissertation, using a heuristic self-search inquiry (HSSI), provides a research vehicle for creative personal exploration seeking insight into the process of self-transformation with the intention of ultimately targeting the catalyst for life transformation. The study seeks to answer the research question: How does the use of drawings in an…

A national conversation exists among higher education policymakers and institutions about students being underprepared for college. Some students are placed in developmental education courses, but are not successfully matriculating to college-level courses. Although developmental education courses are designed to promote academic success, they…

Finding meaning in one's work as a counselor has been demonstrated as an important step in the development of altruism, an essential component of counselor effectiveness. Previous studies in counselor education-related research involving program outcomes focus on the core skills of counseling such as knowledge, skill building, self-appraisal and…

USAID's education work focuses on improving the reading skills of children; strengthening youth workforce development and higher education; and expanding access to quality education in crisis and conflict environments. They partner to leverage resources and expertise, strengthen education systems and drive change so that children and youth can…

We study a teacher incentive policy in Washington State that awards a financial bonus to National Board certified teachers in high poverty schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that the bonus policy increased the proportion of certified teachers in bonus-eligible schools by improving hiring, increasing certification rates of…

Counselor education programs have a responsibility to ensure the training of competently trained professionals to meet the growing multicultural needs of our country. Immersion courses have grown in popularity as a method of instruction to influence the awareness, skill and knowledge necessary for multicultural competence. The purpose of this…

For years, a negative view held by many local realtors about the quality of schools in California's Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) remained largely unchallenged, and these negative attitudes effectively discouraged new residents from considering PUSD as a viable option for their children's education. PUSD has stabilized over time from its…

This report is part of a five-report series on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that examines the past-to-current funding levels for all parts of IDEA, analyzes the impact that the lack of full-funding has had on states in meeting their obligations to provide a free and appropriate public education to students with…

This quantitative dissertation examined the differences in special education teacher preparation programs and their association with novice teachers' self-efficacy in the areas of classroom management, student engagement, and instructional strategies while teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities. Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy's…

The Education Technology Industry Network, a division of the Software & Information Industry Association commissioned Empirical Education Inc. to provide guidelines for research given the accelerated development of cloud-based technology and the important policy changes brought about by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The guidelines…

The growing demand for cultural competence that addresses healthcare disparities led to the need for academic nurse administrators and faculty to investigate teaching and learning processes that would enable students to forge relationships across the diverse American population. Additionally, regulatory bodies and nursing leadership have called…

Science education has undergone multiple reforms over the years, yet each reform continues to produce little change in student success. The latest reform of the standards--Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)--look to change that trend by focusing on what students can do, rather than just what they know. Modeling Instruction (MI) is one…