The success of an implementation effort depends on the ability for a system to utilize the innovation effectively; the effective usage of an innovation can be determined by monitoring for program integrity and fidelity, and assessing the degree to which the program implementation matches the intended plan (Fixsen, Blase, Horner, & Sugai 2007). The…

Numerous districts are implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a part of reform efforts to improve student achievement to meet external accountability mandates. Few districts, however, have considered the essential supports and components that teachers working in PLCs require for these teams to result in instructional improvement.…

The renewal of IDEA (2004) produced a number of changes in the identification process for children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs). The requirement that students must present a severe discrepancy between IQ and academic performance has been modified to allow for a more flexible problem-solving approach commonly labeled "Response to…

Online education is popular from a consumer perspective, but there are elements of face-to-face instruction and assessment that are difficult to reproduce online (Bassoppo-Moyo 2006). The difficulty of reproducing valued elements of a face-to-face setting leads to concerns regarding the overall quality of the online learning experience.…

The study investigated whether an upcoming class of health information technology (HIT) can be used to address currently outstanding issues in the quality and cost of healthcare delivery. Expert interviews and a literature review were used to describe the 2009 universe of in- and outpatient healthcare RFID applications and to identify those…

This case study presents data to support the notion that turnaround school policy can improve the efficiency of how traditionally low-performing schools function. The schools that were successful in implementing the UVA Turnaround Program training developed a clear understanding of the expectations for participating in the UVA Turnaround Program…

This quantitative, quasi-experimental study examined the application of a business simulation against training in support of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Defining more effective training strategies is a critical concern for organizational leaders and stakeholders concerned by today's economic challenges. The scope of this…

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…

Approximately half of students at the community college level leave the institution before degree completion. Community college students are more likely than four-year students to be first-generation students, attend school part-time, be less prepared academically, work full-time, have family responsibilities, and have entered college later in…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the extent to which school counselors in Alabama are engaged in accountability practices consistent with the ASCA National Model and other contemporary views of the school counselors' roles and responsibilities. This study includes a sample of 420 professional school counselors. Participants…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe the implementation practices being used by school districts to notify and enroll parents into Supplemental Educational Services under No Child Left Behind. Parents participating in choice programs in the school districts of Savannah, Atlanta and Detroit participated in a survey…

Since the reauthorization of IDEIA in 2004, school leaders across America have labored toward implementing a new process or model called Response to Intervention, in the hopes of lowering the high rates of students identified as Learning Disabled and increasing overall student achievement, by providing skilled interventions to struggling students.…

Although numerous efforts have been made to enact the concept of sustainability in schools around the world, a single, replicable model of sustainability education fails to exist. Without a replicable model to follow or adapt, educators looking to enact the concept of sustainability are left to their own devices for deciding what this orientation…

English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' access and achievement in Algebra I was examined to determine whether ESL students continue to be denied equal opportunity-to-learn (OTL) as a result of unnecessary tracking practices. In this quasi-experiment, a pre-post retrospective comparison group design was used to determine the effects of the…

College and university leaders must remain responsive to their environments by promoting institutional innovation and change. External grant-funders, such as foundations, view themselves as initiators of change. Foundations can provide the necessary tools to jump start innovation within colleges and universities. However, despite the best…