The purpose of this case study was to understand the lived experiences of faculty members as they transitioned into the academic leadership role of chair. The case study design was used to provide an intensive bounded analysis of the real-life transition experiences of new chairs. Seven new chairs provided data through two interviews each and…

This study addressed the question: Is there a relationship between teacher qualifications and school context on reported professional development (PD) outcomes? Data was collected from archived PD for state funded grants awarded in 2006 in the state of Missouri. Seven of the 14 PD programs were selected for this study. A sample of teacher…

Like many professions, teaching is forever evolving. Due to several trends in the teaching force within the past forty years, the demographics of public school teachers have changed. Because many baby-boomers have reached retirement age, there has been an exodus of retiring teachers, which in turn has created a large number of open teaching…

This study explored the experiences of preservice agriculture teachers in content knowledge preparation for pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. The researchers employed a phenomenological approach in which six preservice teachers were interviewed the semester prior to student teaching. The researchers found there was general…

Learner-Centered (LC) teaching focuses on shifting the role of an instructor from a provider of information to a facilitator of learning. Several Missouri community colleges have declared themselves LC institutions through use of the term in their mission statements and/or strategic goals. Although a metric for demonstrating this commitment, in…

In this study, we sought to contribute to research about the high-impact practice of undergraduate research from the understudied faculty perspective. We relied on focus group data from faculty members (N = 41) across five institutions to better understand the supporting and inhibiting factors that contribute to faculty members' engagement in…

Teacher preparation programs in U.S. colleges and universities have been forced to re-evaluate curricular and student teaching requirements due to federal reform initiatives to support accreditation standards. A state-determined assessment must be passed to earn teaching credentials and in the state of Missouri candidates must pass the appropriate…

The purpose of this study was to gather information on experiences of general education teachers concerning inclusion practices for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In this case study third, fourth, and fifth grade general education teachers in a rural Southwest Missouri school district provided the data source to keep a narrowed…

People'?s personal experiences shape their views based on lifelong behaviors and contributions to the society in which they find themselves. Foreign-born African American educators are no exceptions. In this article I share my voice as a foreign-born African American teacher educator.

The requirements for school counselor certification have changed since 2000 in Missouri. Most notably, the requirement of previous teaching experience has been removed. As a result, individuals from backgrounds other than teaching have the opportunity to earn their masters' degrees in school counseling and earn the student services certificate of…

This article presented a rationale for building partnerships into professional doctoral programs in educational leadership and a description of Saint Louis University's use of partnerships in its redesigned Ed.D. program. Although the program has been implemented, it continues to be a work in progress because of the underlying assumption that the…