The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) has had significant and multilayered consequences for students, teachers, and schools. The purpose of this study was to learn more about the areas of NCLB that teachers support and also the areas of NCLB that teachers see as problematic. The data in this mixed methods study was collected through an…

This research investigated how teacher dispositions along with content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge work together in the action of second grade classrooms through two descriptive case studies. Focus of the observations was on the interactions between two expert second grade teachers and their students during times of reading and writing. A…

The purpose of this research was to identify the factors that students attending a Midwestern community college perceived contributed to their academic success or failure in an Associate Degree nursing program. A review of student academic records revealed that many students with weak academic records were successful while students with strong…

Two theories guide two very different ideas about learning. Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977, 1989) places the greater emphasis on observational learning, or learning by watching a model produce a behavior before doing it oneself. Other researchers purport that experiential learning, or learning by doing, results in stronger learning (Kolb,…

Farmers with disabilities frequently fabricate or modify devices and worksites--referred to collectively as assistive technology (AT) in order to continue performing required tasks on their farms. In some cases these AT have been documented to cause secondary injury. Further, some farmers having disabilities are not able to fully benefit from…

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teachers' and principals' perceptions of working conditions and academic achievement in selected regions in North Carolina public schools. The participants in this study were North Carolina principals and elementary teachers from the north and south central school regions. These educators…

From 1995 to 2005 education doctoral degrees conferred to African American females increased by 92%, however the increase in availability among this population for higher education administrator positions has not kept pace with the growth of African American female higher education doctoral graduates (Ryu, 2008). Such data have spurred inquiry…

Evolution is a central underlying concept to a significant number of discourses in civilized society, but the complexity of understanding basic tenets of this important theory is just now coming to light. Knowledge about evolution is constructed from both formal and "free-choice" opportunities, like television. Nature programs are commonly…

Primary issues concerned with CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) teacher education are twofold: Integration of CALL technology into foreign and second language (L2) teacher education programs and L2 teachers' integration of CALL technology into their classroom. While increased attention has been paid to the former, only a small body of…

This study analyzed the results of two surveys and a series of personal interviews to determine the attitudes of faculty, traditional students, and nontraditional students toward the intergenerational, mixed-age classroom. A survey was conducted of 312 traditional and 136 nontraditional students and 207 full-time faculty members on the campus of a…

Analyzing the effects of the Equine Essentials discipline model by examining measurable differences in teacher holonomy at schools applying the model with varying degrees of intensity was the purpose of this study. The study decomposed the analysis into tests for the presence of each of the five dimensions of holonomy: efficacy, craftsmanship,…

This dissertation is an empirical investigation of educational policies, practices and organizational settings that shape the schooling experiences of Chicago Public School (CPS) students. The first chapter, "Educational Choice and Student Participation: The Case of the Supplemental Educational Services Provision in Chicago Public…

This thesis illustrated what can happen when academic culture disconnects from the cultures surrounding it. It showed that formal school environments are not always the best places to learn. A discussion of the debate between coherence and fragmentation learning theories illustrated academic chasms and a mindset that science education must…

There are several types of teacher induction programs that have been in existence for over the last ten years, such as university and school district in-house programs that have primarily carried the responsibility of developing new teachers. The responsibility of these structures in training and developing these beginning teachers has been…

International community development is a fertile area of research for environmental education scholars and practitioners. Although the community development field is well established, there is relatively little focus on education and learning in community development literature, especially in developing country settings. Particularly,…