The primary purpose of this research was to test the capability of the Organizational Change in Cultural Context (OC[superscript 3]) Model (Latta, 2009, 2011) to predict responses to change. According to Latta, predictions of resistance to or facilitation of change can be predicted by utilizing organizational culture and its alignment with the…

Media literacy, the abilities "to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in a variety of forms" (NAMLE), is necessary to help people understand the information presented to them and make informed decisions. However, despite decades of work to include media literacy education in academic learning (Hobbs and Jensen 2009),…

Too few students are entering the workforce with the technological skills required due to several factors, including under-enrollment in the computer-related disciplines by college students. Enrollment in these disciplines has made some progress since the precipitous decline of 2000-2007 and steps have been taken to attract more majors. However,…

The "No Child Left Behind Act" has profoundly impacted public schools throughout our country. All school personnel must work together thoughtfully and diligently to address the mandates set forth by this federal law. As reforms are initiated and instructional programs are restructured, this qualitative multiple-case study examines…

This report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation's (GEF) "Developing Futures" ™ in Education program in Erie Public Schools (EPS). As described in the CPRE proposal and research design, the purpose was to closely analyze district…

There are two major discussions emerging out of higher education. The first is the dual challenge of increasing completion rates and reducing the cost of instruction. The second is about the impact of technology on higher education, a topic brought to the fore in the past year by the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) phenomenon. The Open Learning…

Advancement to postsecondary education for English language learners (ELLs) can be seriously constrained by a lack of academic preparation during high school. Currently, ELLs lag behind their non-ELL peers in their level of access to advanced college-preparatory courses. Through a qualitative case study of ELL education at a large public high…

Given the growth of cyber charter schools in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more research is needed in this new wave of school reform. In fact, little research currently addresses the perceptions that district leaders have in regard to cyber charter schools and that is what this study proposed to address. District leaders interviewed included…

The site of this study is a community college in Southwestern Pennsylvania where a two-fold problem exists: The administration increased class size in online courses with no faculty input, and the current collective bargaining between the union faculty and the college administration does not address online teaching as separate from teaching in the…

This study examined enabling conditions related to implementing and sustaining a high-quality physical education program at three elementary schools in Pennsylvania. Physical education is being reduced or removed from elementary curriculums because of reduced school budgets and a strong focus on academic standards. Furthermore, the lack of…

This study sought to construct rich accounts of the remembrances of Catholic grade school and high school graduates in the USA related to their school experiences and the continuing impacts of these experiences on their lives. Ten former students (comprised of five males and five females) who graduated from Catholic schools in the 1950s, 1960s,…

Internet bulletin-board sessions can be used to collect preliminary, qualitative data. This method allows Extension personnel to gather responses from stakeholders about potential programming, consumer needs and desires, and preference for program delivery method without assembling participants in one location. Several other advantages exist,…

Researchers have noted the limited amount of scholarly explorations of the practice of outsourcing administrative services in higher education. This dissertation seeks to add to the body of literature pertaining to the subject by examining the experiences of three universities that grappled with the decision. Using a qualitative approach and a…

Early childhood education has gained national attention as a tool for increasing outcomes and reducing risks for young children and their families. In an effort to ensure that early childhood programs are of high quality, many states are implementing systems that identify levels of criteria that denote excellence. Pennsylvania has adopted such a…

A mixed methods project was devoted to understanding college students' justification for digital piracy. The project consisted of two studies, a qualitative one and a quantitative one. Qualitative interviews were conducted to identify main themes in students' justification for digital piracy, and then the findings were tested in a quantitative…