Traditional teacher evaluation systems have little to no impact on changing teacher behavior or improving student achievement. Subsequently, studies and reports show the lack of and need for multidimensional teacher evaluation system. This deficiency and need is especially evident in Michigan due to the state's recent legislative mandate that…

The overall purpose of this study was to investigate physical therapists attitudes and knowledge toward research and evidence-based practice (EBP). The research design was based on a realist theoretical framework. Twenty-five interviews were conducted asking standardized open-end questions which allowed the participants to relate their real world…

Students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) are educated in restrictive placements at higher rates than students in other disability categories due to their challenging behavior and inability to function in the general educational environment (Bullock & Gable, 2006). The increasing utilization of alternative programming to educate…

Using a case study design, with a phenomenological perspective, this research focused on a sample of primary classroom teachers (grades K-3rd grade) in south central Pennsylvania who are currently using and have been using Responsive Classroom® (RC) strategies for an extended period of time. Their perspectives provide insight into their use of…

Across the nation, 48% of schools have failed to meet No Child Left Behind's testing targets (Center of Education Policy, 2011). In 2011, more schools had not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) than in any previous year, according to stateby-state data for the 2011 school year. Out of a total of 980 schools 461, or 47%, did not make AYP in…

A student's economic status can have a significant impact on reading achievement. Students classified as low-socioeconomic-status (low-SES) have been traditionally at risk for reading failure. With the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) schools are required to use strategies and practices that have evidence supporting their effectiveness in…

Previous systematic reviews indicate a lack of reporting of reliability and validity evidence in subsets of the medical education literature. Psychology and general education reviews of factor analysis also indicate gaps between current and best practices; yet, a comprehensive review of exploratory factor analysis in instrument development across…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how early childhood teachers working in Head Start programs made meaning of preschool-age children's physical activity play by exploring their personal childhood and professional experiences with physical activity play. The study was conducted to contribute research-based recommendations for…

The purpose of this study was the program evaluation of a special education day school compared to a set of best practice standards for school programs for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. This evaluation will enable the organization to make decisions about which aspects of the program to continue, strengthen, or discontinue. …

Legal mandates, educational reform, and professional policy changes, have emphasized the need to promote the integration of services for students with communication impairments within the general education curriculum. However, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) continue to report the provision of primarily pull-out services with intervention…

Occupational therapy educators have been encouraged to engage in the scholarship of teaching as a form of best practice in education. Despite professional documents and encouragement by leaders in the field of occupational therapy, there is very little known about occupational therapy educators' perceptions, attitudes, and engagement in the…

Children grow and change more rapidly during the first eight years of life than any other time in their life span. Progression through the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental stages varies for each individual child. Children with atypical development experience a wide spectrum of variability in their development. Over the past…

This case study examined a multi-college community college district in northern California in a primarily rural area, to understand how their practices compared to management best practices designed to improve student success, barriers that may exist in implementing best practices, and how the institution may improve its own practices. The problem…

Due to the declining state of the current economy, a greater demand is being placed on student affairs professionals to provide evidence of the success of their programs, their impact on student learning and development and overall contributions to the undergraduate learning experience. It is a growing imperative that student affairs professionals…

As school districts integrate evidence-based prevention programs into their daily regime, they may struggle with implementing these programs with fidelity. This is a multi-method, multi-source, retrospective explanatory study of the implementation factors associated with program installation and partial implementation of an evidence-based violence…