This project sought to revise the Pastoral Theology program at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Cary, North Carolina. Chapter 1 presents the history and ministry context of Shepherds Theological Seminary and the goals of this project. Chapter 2 provides exegesis of three passages of Scripture (1 Tim 3:1-7; 1 Tim 4:6-16; 2 Tim 2:1-6) to show that…

Competency-based education shifts the focus from teacher-led instruction to student-centered learning, where faculty take on the role of facilitator of learning. While a fair amount of literature exists around the administrative decision-making process and student experiences in competency-based education, there is little in the way of research…

As journalism educators wrestle to keep programs up-to-date in an evolving news landscape, there is value in understanding how education in an early form of multimedia journalism--photography--came to be. Little attention has been paid to the intersection of journalism education and photojournalism. This subject furnishes a unique perspective on…

Higher education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faces a number of challenges. There are many calls for STEM education to make significant changes moving forward, including calls for competency-based learning and greater integration of the humanities. These efforts require systemic change. Systemic change has significant…

Fluid "systems of assessment" increase college and career readiness for all students, create a more equitable PK-16 school-to-work transition, and foster collaboration across stakeholders. This study explores how a local comprehensive assessment system (CAS) offers a mechanism for matching high school graduation requirements with…

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…

In an effort to improve its mathematics education, the state of Georgia instituted a performance-based curriculum in the high schools during the 2008 school year. With the implementation of this new curriculum, teachers needed resources and the opportunity to collaborate regularly. The problem this project-based study addressed was how to refine a…

One of the main goals of Environmental Education (EE) is to develop people's environmental stewardship, which includes people's capacity to take environmental action--their action competence (AC). The purposes of my study were to characterize the interactions found in an EE curriculum, science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and…

The literature on competency-based human resource (HR) management provides a strong case for moving from a jobs-based to a competency-based approach to human resources. There is agreement in the literature (Dubois, Rothwell, Stern, & Kemp, 2004; Lucia & Lepsinger, 1999) on the benefits of using competencies throughout HR systems and impact…