This dissertation was an exploratory investigation of four institutions STEM endorsement programs. The investigation was done in three separate qualitative studies that explored each institution's staff and faculty views on developing and implementing their STEM endorsement programs, the views of faculty who developed and taught a STEM methods…

The increasingly pervasive special education teacher shortage has become a crisis in the United States, warranting immediate attention to minimize negative impacts on students with disabilities. More specifically, all efforts to mitigate the shortage by strengthening the special education teacher pipeline should be explored. One population of…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore the experiences of Texas higher education faculty in early childhood educator preparation programs (EPP) with the use of cooperative learning (CL) strategies in a synchronous online learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory of social interdependence and the…

The purpose of this research was to gain, from the academic advisor's perspective, an understanding of what technologies are being used in advising practices, the effectiveness of these technologies, and advisors' perceptions of quality advising set forth by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. A qualitative…

This mixed methods study used self-administered questionnaires ( N=132) and in-depth interviews (n=10) with Pakistani women ages (18-25 years) in Punjab, Pakistan, to determine how the role of schools of thought, reform of educational opportunities, and higher education in particularly affected women's empowerment. Community collaboration and…

While the importance of the development of reflection in science teacher education programs is widely acknowledged, articulations of the frameworks and strategies guiding its development in pre-service teachers are less clear. To facilitate understanding, I developed a heuristic framework to describe and interpret the construct in two dimensions:…

Today's classrooms are increasingly diverse and inclusive of all types of students ranging from English language learners, gifted and talented, at-risk students, to students with an identified disability. This study examined how 2 universities prepared teachers using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their courses. K-12 teachers are…

This executive position paper proposes recommendations for changes to the teacher candidate readiness evaluation policy and practice in the Education Department at Cabrini College. These recommendations are based upon best practices and evolving research on the importance of disposition characteristics for professional educators. A summarization…

The purpose of this study was to learn what teacher educators think is important in forming our future teaching force. This study showed that most teacher educators feel they have quality programs. Teacher educators believed their programs prepare graduates well for their first year of teaching. They felt most programs are of quality in the state…

This qualitative study aims at understanding how current student-teachers enrolled in MATESOL and its related fields programs are being prepared to teach college-level second language writing. Data collected for this study included course syllabi, member check questionnaires, Conference on College Composition and Communication's (CCCC) position…

Preservice teachers do not enter teacher education institutions unfamiliar with the educational process, but rather with thousands of hours of experience in classrooms. As such, they hold beliefs about what it means to teach, which can often form barriers to understanding and implementing more innovative, student-centered, knowledge-construction…

Today, many students in higher education are considered digital natives--savvier and more experienced with technology than students in the past. In teacher preparation programs, teacher education students are commonly expected to demonstrate achievement of program goals and objectives and national teaching standards in a "portfolio." Gaining in…

The stewardship of schools is central to the renewal and preservation of that which is precious in our nation's schools. This study examined perceptions of future teachers as to the degree to which their teacher preparation program emphasized the idea of stewarding schools. With a theoretical foundation that initial teacher preparation provides…

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) has been shown to be an effective tool for screening and progress-monitoring in the general education classroom. However, CBM has been slow to gain a foothold among teachers. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers to the implementation of comprehensive CBM training in pre-service teacher education…

Transfer articulation is an important policy issue in Virginia. With increasing economic strains on federal and state budgets, pressure on key actors in higher education, and critical teacher shortages, an opportunity presented itself to investigate state transfer policy and articulation agreements designed to facilitate student transfer.…