The introduction of Science Education Standards for the K-12 education system of the United States and those of Bhutan is aimed at providing students with equitable access to quality science instruction and to promote a scientifically literate society. These reforms in education systems require teachers who are well prepared to translate the…

With the growing number of online course opportunities in higher education, it is necessary to gain an understanding of the benefits of fostering social presence in those courses for adult learners. Ensuring that adult learners are provided with an online learning community that fosters social presence and promotes students' autonomy, competence,…

The purpose of the qualitative descriptive study is to explore how doctoral graduates describe the costs and benefits of having a mentor, from a social exchange perspective, during their online program in the United States. The social exchange theory was the selected framework to examine the relationship between a mentor and a mentee. Research…

The experiences of international students along the lines of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and nationality are virtually unknown. This study utilizes experience-centered narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of Black gay international students, and how they are racialized and sexualized in American higher education. Using a Queer…

The objective of this research is to ground the reputation construct in theory and to explore the formation of reputation through beliefs about the university and attitude toward the university. Additionally, it will allow for analysis of the consequences of reputation, specifically behavioral intentions, which has received limited attention in…

This dissertation explores the nature, applicability and usefulness of social contract theory, and the resulting compact between higher education and society as a way to understand the growth and development of higher education in the United States. The goal is accomplished with an in-depth look at two different universities in the state of…

The concept that people can have positive changes as a result of dealing with adversity is an ancient concept. In contrast, Posttraumatic Growth is a relatively recent addition to our understanding of people's response to life's struggles. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) is conceptualized as positive changes in a person's life that they attribute to…

The purpose of this methodological study is to explore how well a process called "concept mapping" (Trochim, 1989) can articulate the theory which underlies a social program. Articulation of a program's theory is a key step in completing a sound theory based evaluation (Weiss, 1997a). In this study, concept mapping is used to…

Physical fighting in school is a concern for school administrators, juvenile justice professionals, and students. This quantitative study examined the involvement of physical fights at school among 5,674 adolescents across the United States via a casual comparative design with a correlational subcomponent. Differences were discovered between…

This research focuses on the development and study of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that support religious practices and the use of standpoint theory in ICT evaluation studies. Three phases makeup this work: formative studies to understand how megachurches, their members and leaders use ICT in ways tied to their Protestant…

The purpose of this historical review was to trace the credible leadership construct of trustworthiness, integrity, honesty, and consistency in leadership theory development during the last 100 years in the United States. Theory focus, key U.S. pivotal events, and follower importance influenced the construct's occurrence in leadership theory. …

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of the synergistic leadership theory (SLT) (Irby, Brown, & Duffy, 1999; Irby, Brown, Duffy, & Trautman, 2002) to Chinese and American educational leaders in 50 high-ranking public Chinese universities and 50 high-ranking public U.S. universities. Methods: This study…

The purpose of the present research was to (a) develop a culturally-universal measure of implicit citizenship performance theories and (b) examine cross-cultural differences in the construct. The final measure consisted of four factors--Discourtesy, Interpersonal Harmony, Conscientiousness, and Initiative. Cross-country comparisons using the new…

This study explored the experiences of seven Afghan women pursuing doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines and programs across the United States. The guiding question for this study was: What factors influence Afghan women's journeys to and experiences in doctoral programs? In an attempt to understand Afghan women doctoral students, I…

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to describe how nursing faculty are cared for in the workplace. Participants were interviewed individually or in a focus group to understand their experience. Following data analysis, the following themes were created: the process of being cared for included connecting, openly sharing,…