The appropriate selection of standardized tests is integral to establishing an accurate early diagnosis and providing timely treatment to optimize language outcomes in young children. However, clinicians sometimes utilize tests that are not validated for this specific purpose. This applied dissertation was designed to investigate the validity of…

This study investigated the concerns and perceptions associated with COVID-19 and its variants among faculty, students, staff, and administrators at an R2 research university. Participants: n = 189 participants from the university community. A Qualtrics™ survey was used to draw responses from the university community. The results of this study…

Research over the past decade suggests teachers have low instructional self-efficacy/confidence and more concerns about implementing inclusive teaching practices. This quantitative correlational study explored whether reported concerns and demographic variables (gender, age, education, and years of teaching experience) predicts teachers'…

This study used a combination of surveys and drawing-based metrics to evaluate whether integration of art-based activities into EE camp programing could enhance environmental orientations of diverse youth ages 6-12 (n = 285) in Athens, GA, USA. Compared to a control group, art-based EE had a positive effect on children's eco-awareness and…

Job burnout in school psychologists has been recognized as a problem in the field for many years. The contributors to burnout are varied and may include personal as well as professional variables. This research examined the impact the demographic variables of age, years in the field/current job, grade level worked with, type of community worked…

The student population in American public schools has become increasingly diverse; however, the teacher workforce remains primarily White (80%). The purpose of the current paper was to examine the relationship between student-teacher racial composition and perceptions of school climate and the impact of Whiteness on the educational outcomes of…

The University System of Georgia (USG) has a state-wide initiative aimed at increasing the well-being of faculty and staff by incentivizing a decrease in tobacco product usage by employees covered by a USG healthcare plan. This incentive is positive in that aid in stopping tobacco product usage is offered to each member; and negative in that each…

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting…

Background: Universal masking, with additional layered prevention strategies, was an essential tool for limiting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and ensuring a safe return to in-person learning for kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) students and staff. Few studies have examined mask adherence in this setting and none have described types of…

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting…

This study examines state- and county-level data for the 13 Appalachian states from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey (ACS) and from U.S. Census Bureau population estimates on topics including population, age, race and ethnicity, housing occupancy and tenure, education, labor force, employment and unemployment, income and poverty, health…

Previous research has demonstrated a positive and long-running effect of mother-child interaction on numerous areas of child development. Yet, most of what is currently known derives from research on children in Western countries. Employing data from recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) on women (ages 15-49), this study examined…

The purpose of this study was to explore physical educators' perspectives on the barriers to employing technology in physical education instruction. The participants of this study were 253 elementary, middle, and high school physical education teachers who taught in the state of Georgia. The participants completed an online survey that was derived…

Background & Context: As graduate programs in computing expand to online environments, existing research is limited in its ability to inform both practical and theoretical understandings of the factors influencing student success. Objective: We explore student perceptions of their learning environment at the understudied intersection of online…

Teachers' perceptions of their school leaders, mainly principals, indirectly influence student achievement; this study attempted to uncover if there is statistically significant relationship in leadership and student achievement. The extent of this influence is analyzed in this study. This quantitative study examined teachers' perceptions of the…