While professional development is a requirement for all educators, many teachers have a negative opinion of PD. Districts have attempted to use professional learning communities and the presence of instructional coaches as an answer to the concerns of irrelevant professional development. This study examined educators' opinions of an opt-in…

The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and perceptions of teachers and their view of social-emotional programs, specifically Second Step®, and its effect on students from low-income households. Given the current state of specific students who battle language barriers and poverty levels, some children are not taught critical thinking…

The United States, with just 5% of the world's population, imprisons almost 25% of the world's incarcerated people. Furthermore, the vast majority of people released from prison will recidivate. Research has shown that earning a college degree while incarcerated significantly reduces recidivism rates. This study considered the opinions of adults…

Though much research has been done on the efficacy of correctional education on reducing recidivism rates for prison inmates, there is little research on the effect that information about the efficacy of correctional education has on public opinion. This study examined whether providing additional information regarding the efficacy of correctional…

A Nation at Risk, the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, the United States Department of Education, and the Supreme Court have collectively created a venue for Special Education individuals to obtain successful living standards after secondary education experiences. The transition plan has been mandated by IDEA and whose way…

Virtual teams are a burgeoning presence in the corporate environment today. Research shows that virtual teams have begun to surpass conventional teams in meeting the demands of organizations that are increasingly called on to apply and respond to new technologies that support, and in some cases, require a virtual teamwork approach. In order to…

The purpose of this study was to assess teacher perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online courses as a delivery method for professional development. Participants were divided into two groups, educators who have participated in and now teach professional development courses online (instructors) and educators who have participated in the…

This quantitative study examined the perceptions of Alabama community college students and faculty toward Web-enhanced courses and the impact of these courses on the educational experience as defined by Chickering and Gamson's "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education," an empirically based model. Secondarily, the…

Elevating academic achievement and meeting the mandates of NCLB and state standards has continued to be critical challenges to educational leaders and teachers in our nation's schools ("U.S. Department of Education", 2002; "Georgia Department of Education", 2006). Classroom management and behavior problems are serious concern.…

Given the increasing competition in the software industry and the critical consequences of software errors, it has become important for companies to achieve high levels of software quality. While cost reduction and timeliness of projects continue to be important measures, software companies are placing increasing attention on identifying the user…

This dissertation examined perceptions of superintendents, principals and teachers about South Carolina's Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test or the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards testing program. A systemic sample of 729 superintendents, principals, and teachers were selected to participate in the study. A survey was emailed to the…

Schools face the dilemma of transforming both the trend of students dropping out of school and the associated negative socioeconomic outcomes into a positive path of persistence and school completion. Despite ongoing efforts of the federal and state government, as well as those of the local school districts, this problem continues to burden the…

This study sought to validate measures of caretaker readiness to facilitate meaningful participation in the Exceptional Student Education (ESE) educational decision-making process. School districts have encountered great difficulty in achieving the federal standards for meaningful participation in educational decision making due to a lack of…

Researchers have documented that schools can measure teacher effectiveness by student outcomes and that professional development is one pathway to ensure teacher success. However, there is still limited information identifying the learning opportunities for novice teachers that directly influence student performance. The purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how short-term study abroad programs transform college students' perspectives. The study examined attitudes about host country and international outlook, as well as intellectual, social and personal understandings. Short-term programs were defined as programs of less than a semester or a…