Empirical evidence suggests that educational leaders play a critical role in students' learning. Therefore, attracting, retaining, and developing educational leaders have become paramount for educational systems worldwide. Hence, substantial resources and efforts have been invested in creating Leadership Preparation Programs. Research suggests…

In the United States, higher education institutions assess the impact of program- level educational experiences through the process of program-level student learning outcomes assessment. The final step of the assessment cycle is to use assessment interpretations to make changes to educational programming. Nevertheless, few programs can demonstrate…

This dissertation offers a collection of works examining team-based approaches to functional assessment-based interventions (FABIs) in schools, with an emphasis on practice-based professional development. Across chapters, we offer (a) a statement of the problem (Chapter 1), (b) a systematic review examining the extent literature on training…

This study is an examination and evaluation of the outcomes of a series of courses that I helped build to create a graduate certificate. Specifically, I wanted to evaluate whether or not the online iteration of the "Informal Science Institutions Environmental Education Graduate Certificate Program" truly provided the long term…

In recent years, efforts are being made at all levels of education to prescribe instructional actions that would optimize desired instructional outcomes. Component display theory (CDT), a micro level instructional design theory proposed by Merrill (1983), offers guidelines and prescriptions to present components of instruction to teach facts,…

Many colleges and universities have expanded their mission to include adult learners. Programs range from scheduling traditional courses in the evening to designing new programs tailored to meet the needs of working adults. Program designers have relied on theorists such, as Mezirow (1991), Houle (1996), and Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (1998), to…

Despite expansive improvements in both treatments and research, the majority of persons with autism use non-empirically supported interventions. One way to decrease the research-to-practice gap involves increasing the direct applicability of research findings to clinical settings. Effectiveness research achieves this goal by identifying treatments…

This study sought to determine the degree to which a body of successful supervision attributes actually exists in practice. Specifically, this investigation sought to determine: (1) To what extent are the twelve dimensions of supervisory practice from the 1989 ASCD Study currently being practiced among selected instructional leaders in two…