With the increasing demand for evidence-based research on teacher effectiveness and improving student achievement, more impact studies are being conducted to examine the effectiveness of professional development (PD) interventions. Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) are often carried out to assess PD interventions that aim to improve both teacher…

This article describes the revision of Vespia, Heckman-Stone, and Delworth's (2002) Supervision Utilization Rating Form (SURF) and validation of the resulting Adapted SURF. The Adapted SURF is designed to provide supervisors with a cleaner measure of supervisee behaviors that contribute to effective supervision.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the extent of success and the challenges faced by community college presidents in creating an entrepreneurial culture. Fourteen American community colleges, identified by Roueche and Jones (2005), were surveyed for this study. These fourteen community colleges are located in Texas, Florida,…

Job stress and burnout negatively impact school counselors and the school communities in which they serve. This study explores variables previously indicated by the literature as potentially contributing to school counselor job stress or burnout. These include size of caseload, location of school (urban, suburban, rural), grade level served…

Background: As conventional cigarette use is declining, electronic cigarette ("e-cigarette") use is rising and is especially high among college students. Few studies examine dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes among this population. This study explores the relationship between dual and exclusive e-cigarette / cigarette use and…

Objective: This study examines the psychometric strength, including cross-ethnic validity, of two subscales of Muris' Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children: Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE) and Social Self-Efficacy (SSE). Methods: A large ethnically diverse sample of 3,358 early and late adolescents completed surveys including the ASE and SSE.…

Since the 1990's, schools across the United States have been held accountable for increased student learning. Increased use of growth-based accountability models and a lack of clarity on what each model measures have resulted in a need for additional research focused on the real-world implications for teacher agency and school accountability. The…

Pre-participation physical exams (PPEs) hold great potential for addressing adolescents' health-risk behaviors. School nurses may be well positioned to assist with PPEs, yet little is known about their involvement. In this mixed methods study conducted in 2015, we collected data from school nurses in Texas (surveys, n = 208; key informant…

Numerous studies have shown that simply being in another culture does not guarantee the development of intercultural competence. Students need guidance to seek out opportunities to engage and to make sense of those experiences. Reflection has become a popular methodology to assist students with this. Unfortunately, students often do not know how…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine the 1-year persistence rates of Hispanic community college students in Texas for the 2007-2008 through the 2013-2014 academic years. Specifically, the relationship of the 1-year persistence rates for Hispanic students as a function of their institutional status (i.e., stayed or…

Texas House Bill 505 expanded dual credit programs to include high school freshmen and sophomores. This study examined the relationship of high school student characteristics and academic success in first attempt dual credit courses. Characteristics refer to year in high school, gender, and high school size. Success is passing scores in English,…

The importance of the research related to the existence of collaborative learning in higher education for Latinos, specifically pre-service teachers, has been substantiated. It has been defined that while teacher retention rates for Latinos are lower than for whites, using teamwork in the classroom might make Latinos teaching more rewarding. Most…

Many attendees of live classical music concerts are experiencing programmed music for the first time and some are unfamiliar with the performance genre itself, particularly if their backgrounds do not include formal music training. Because listeners are less likely to enjoy music they are hearing for the first time, it could be beneficial for…

The U.S. public K-12 student population experienced a significant increase in the number of English language learners (ELLs) since 2010. Public schools responded to this change in demographics by increasing their services for ELLs; however, many were not initially prepared for this change. Within the field of gifted education, there is a concern…

Data-driven decision making is increasingly viewed as essential in a globally competitive society. Initiatives to augment standardized testing with performance-based assessment have increased as educators progressively respond to mandates for authentic measurement of student attainment. To meet this challenge, multidisciplinary rubrics were…