Education is a powerful tool to improve lives and enhance the prospect of innovation and development of nations. While primary school enrollment has increased considerably over the past few decades in Sub-Saharan Africa, learning and the retention rate have remained low. The first two chapters of this dissertation analyze two dimensions in a bid…

The study examines how urban school principals lead schools that make a difference for children in challenging settings. This research delves deeply into the experiences of three urban public school principals in the School District of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, who used technology as an avenue to improve educational options for their students.…

In light of the current economic downturn, thousands of Iowans are unemployed and this is the ideal time to build the skills of the workforce to compete in the knowledge-based economy so businesses and entrepreneurs can compete in a global economy. A tool for assessing the skills and knowledge of dislocated workers and students as well as…

This dissertation examines issues regarding the educational attainment of the U.S. workforce. Specifically, I investigate the impact of various factors on the growth of postsecondary educational attainment. This includes issues pertaining to improving the skill-level of the workforce at the regional or state level, as well as for the domestic…

Over the past decade, the nation has seen an increase in high school dropout rates as well as an increased need for a more skilled workforce. The Early College movement in North Carolina was a collaboration between public schools and colleges designed to address these needs. The program immersed child learners beginning in the 9th grade in classes…

The research study examines the relationship of international students to changing U.S. political economy. The research attempts to move international students from the periphery to the center of understanding the changing U.S. political economy in the twenty-first century. I argue that international students play an important role in building a…

A literature review revealed a lack of academic research related to cultural dynamics within organizations that influence information technology investments. The goal of this single descriptive case study of a for profit international company was to examine one area of cultural influence on investments. The aim was to gain an understanding of…

Studies suggest that low retention rates in the beginning years of teaching are a significant problem for school culture and threaten student achievement. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of factors that influence new teachers to remain in the profession and to determine whether a new teacher training academy model affected…

The United States experienced a tremendous expansion of higher education after the Second World War. However, this expansion has not led to a substantial reduction to class inequalities at elite universities, where the admissions process is growing even more selective. In his classic studies of French education and society, Pierre Bourdieu…

This dissertation was designed to study the relationship between Social Capital and teacher Job Satisfaction for 11 selected North Carolina Middle Schools. This study uses the learning organizational theory and social capital theory as theoretical constructs for studying the complex relationships between school as a Learning Organization (LO),…

The purpose of this dissertation research was to analyze a nationally representative dataset of first-year beginning students to examine the factors that affect Mexican-origin Latinos undergraduate students' persistence and degree attainment outcomes. Several theoretical perspectives are used in this research in order to address the complex…

Beginning in the 1970s, low-wage manufacturing areas in advanced industrialized countries experienced deindustrialization and worker dislocation as transnational corporations left for sites of lower-cost labor. In response, communities sought to rebuild their economies and pursue new employment opportunities in the restructured labor markets of…

This qualitative study attempted to analyze the educational goals and achievements of successful present and former Native American students at San Juan College (SJC) in Farmington, NM. It considered a systemic approach to educating Native American students by taking into account their suggestions of how to improve the educational framework to…

One result of accelerating globalization is the competition for human capital. On one hand, nations are investing more and more in their educational systems to create their own human resources; on the other hand, these nations are struggling to effectively and efficiently utilize their existing human capital. Additionally, there is a massive wave…

Leadership development continues to be a significant topic of exploration and direct application within many sectors of the academic and professional sectors, but unfortunately, not within the field of psychology. To date, there are no APA sponsored divisions or journals dedicated to this dynamic and increasingly important subject area. The…