Employers of newly minted information technology graduates are concerned that students graduating with information technology degrees offered in online environments are lacking critical noncomputing skills (soft skills). Further, it is unclear whether online environments have the capacity to foster the "soft skills" necessary for…

In the last 3 decades, Costa Rica has evolved its approaches to both education and the economy as a result of globalization and direct foreign investments. The presence of multinational corporations (MNCs) have played a key role in the approaches that the government has made to increase its human capital and meet the needs of MNCs with a…

Transfer of learning from curricular experiences to non-academic settings is a primary goal of any academic institution. In cases where skills, knowledge, and attitudes learned in curricular experiences are used to solve complex problems, transfer is especially difficult to define and measure. This study attempts to better define transfer in…

Direct assessment competency-based education (CBE) is an online, self-directed learning innovation that is disrupting higher education. This study examined the development and early diffusion of direct assessment CBE at a private, nonprofit university. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the presence of organizational factors and the…

Research indicates that students underachieve in college settings, in spite of intellect and other abilities. This research tested the likelihood of self-efficacy for learning, conscientiousness, impulsivity, procrastination and temporal discounting to predict academic achievement in an online competency-based university. Undergraduate students (N…

The task-centered instructional strategy (Merrill, 2009) was designed specifically for the purpose of teaching complex problem-solving skills and emphasizes teaching in the context of a concrete real world task. Nevertheless, unlike other problem-centered instructional methods (e.g., constructivism) the task-centered instructional strategy is a…

As newly graduated associate degree nurses (ADN) and baccalaureate degree nurses (BSN) enter into the workforce, they must be equipped to care for a complex patient population; therefore, the purpose of this study was to address the practice expectations and clinical competency of new nurses as perceived by nurse preceptors and nurse managers.…

This dissertation is comprised of three independently conducted studies, linked by investigation into the development of thinking skills deemed necessary for the 21st Century. While educators and policy makers advocate teaching students creative and critical thinking skills to address an increasingly global and complex world, they simultaneously…

The understanding of the factors impacting MSW students' interests and motivation to learn child welfare competencies, and how they affect learning transfer of the subject is important for the development of a knowledgeable, competent, and committed workforce that serves children and families in the United States. Practitioners need to attain…

Scope and method of study: The study is national in scope, exploratory, and utilized a combination of qualitative and quantitative social science methods. Findings and conclusions: Interdisciplinary environmental (IE) programs in higher education in the United States are both diverse and dynamic in their curriculum designs. Though these…

Since the 1980s, there has been a movement towards using a competency-based approach as a way to measure and evaluate the progress of students and trainees in professional psychology. A core competency that has been defined is individual and cultural diversity, which includes the areas of religious and spiritual diversity. Research has shown that…

This study described the education courses in Master's Degree and Post-master's Certificate in nursing education programs and determined the extent to which the eight core competencies, used to certify nurse educator's, were included. The data regarding the required credit hours, practicum hours, distance accessibility, and preparation for the…

The opportunity to learn for African American and Latino children is extremely limited in a large number of US classrooms. Many societal issues are to blame, but high-stakes testing has exacerbated this problem. The pressure to increase test scores has caused a narrowing of the curriculum, particularly in low-performing schools, most of which are…

Foreign-born residents face significant challenges accessing and receiving quality healthcare in the U.S. These obstacles include a lack of information on how to access care, fear, as well as communication and cultural barriers (Portes, Fernandez-Kelly & Light, 2012). Increasing healthcare providers' knowledge regarding a patient's…

This research study reports the findings of a Delphi study conducted to determine the essential competencies and objectives for a high school Game Art and Design course framework at the national level. The Delphi panel consisted of gaming, industry and educational experts from all over the world who were members of the International Game…