Best practices for school boards include collaborative communication, setting goals focused on student achievement and these characteristics are found in district leadership teams in high achieving school districts. The specific problem is that some school district administrators in leadership do not implement clear communication practices; thus,…

During the 21st century Great Recession, college enrollments increased as displaced workers trained to advance their skills (Baum & Ma, 2012). At the same time, state funding to community colleges declined (Baum & Ma, 2012; Ehrenberg, 2012). Although higher enrollments increased tuition revenues, they were insufficient to cover the gap…

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which teachers of the deaf report using four identified language facilitation strategies: recasting, extension, responsivity, and self-talk/parallel talk. Participants self-selected in response to an advertisement on a state-wide listserv and to the state's residential school internal news.…

Considering the recent increase in Spanish use in the United States, particularly as reflected in the media, beginning Spanish students are entering their classrooms with knowledge of phrases such as "hasta la vista" and "numero uno," regardless of their amount of previous formal Spanish study. The present research focuses on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate African American parents' perception of school leaders as it relates to parent engagement and the African American male student. Specifically, this study addressed African American parents' perceptions of the quality of their child's education and the quality of communication they received from their…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between coaching provided with bug-in-ear technology, the frequency of the early childhood educators' use of targeted communication strategies and children's expressive communication. Four multiple-baseline single-case design experiments were completed to evaluate these relationships.…

Research has shown that parental involvement is an important component of students' academic achievement, yet in rural areas, such involvement may be difficult to attain. The purpose of this collective case study was to investigate the perceptions of parents of young elementary students in a rural school district regarding their role in…

This study examined the effectiveness of a parent training program whose children are diagnosed with autism. The sample consisted of families who are currently participating in a parent training program. The study examined the stress levels of parents utilizing the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress at the beginning of the study and then again…

This study examined the communication between sending court and community schools of a County Office of Education's (COE) Alternative Education program and the receiving juvenile detention facility of a county in a Western state and how the communication between the two facilities affected the level of special education services provided to…

The purpose of this mixed-design study was to examine the impact of three types of professional development activities aimed at improving conversations in four targeted preschool classrooms. A review of the literature was used to identify the professional development approaches and the importance of improving teacher-child conversations as a…

This study examined the factors important to the implementation of West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2450, Distance Learning and the West Virginia Virtual School. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that facilitated and impeded implementation of the policy, as perceived by principals/assistant principals, counselors, and…

U.S. Army doctrine defines leadership around the ability to influence (Department of the U.S. Army, 2006) and accordingly, Army leaders have decided that extending influence is a vital part of any future leadership training requirements (Horey, Fallesen, Morath, Cronin, Cassella, Franks, Jr., & Smith, 2004). The literature reveals, however, a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of high school administrators in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties, Georgia that have successfully narrowed the achievement gap for high school African-American males as to: (a) why the achievement gap continues to occur in other metropolitan high schools in the United States; (b) what successful…

In this case study, the researcher observed the social interactions within a Web 2.0 learning environment to examine the nature of the learner social presence. Social presence is essential to facilitate group cooperation and plays a central role in establishing learners' sense of belonging and social cohesion to the group. Social presence is…