An examination was conducted to explore the relationship between socially mediated artifacts (SMA), perception of high school experience, and academic performance to examine the impact of social mediation on an individual's academic performance. This investigation was based on a Vygotskian psychology perspective of social mediation. According to…

Previous research identifies numerous effects that a student's motivation has on their educational experience. Studies have shown that the lack of motivation is connected to poorer academic performance and attendance rates and increased behavioral concerns and dropout rates. Therefore, understanding what factors influence students' motivation is…

This doctoral dissertation examines the relationship among the three components of organizational commitment: affective, continuance and normative, job satisfaction, and turnover intent of New Jersey superintendents. Additionally, it examines the interplay between job satisfaction and organizational commitment, exploring whether job satisfaction…

Since at least the 1960s, federal and state policymakers have debated how best to hold public schools accountable for producing graduates who are prepared to fully participate in our democratic society. Since that time, reform efforts have led to Texas' current test-based A-F accountability system. This qualitative case study explored how one…

Numerous publications advocate that anxiety and depression are the key factors affecting academic performance among students, particularly those going through undergraduate studies. Observation through a dialogue with college students demonstrates with clarity the frustration and disappointment of students who report a lack of motivation and focus…

In randomized control trials (RCT), the recent focus has shifted to how an intervention yields positive results on its intended outcome. This aligns with the recent push of implementation science in healthcare (Bauer et al., 2015) but goes beyond this. RCTs have moved to evaluating the theoretical framing of the intervention as well as differing…

The use of student-centered instruction or active learning has been linked to higher rates of student success compared to traditional lecture. However, a mechanistic understanding of why active learning "works" has proven elusive. This dissertation explores active learning in Learning Assistant supported courses and makes the case for…

Early childhood adversity, particularly poverty, can be a source of chronic stress that contributes to emotion dysregulation at the start of formal schooling. Children's reactivity to novel challenges in the classroom is associated with externalizing behavior and subsequent difficulties developing academic and social emotional skills (Blair &…

Professional learning of teachers and instruction have paramount importance if improved student performance is desired. Despite their recognized importance, there is a clear paucity of research on the field of professional development (PD) and instruction. Moreover, the association between professional development and instruction has not been well…

This qualitative study explores the case of an elementary school known for its high levels of collaboration. The participants included two classroom teachers, a literacy interventionist, and a literacy coach. The purpose of this collective case study was to examine the influences of mediation on decision-making and determine how this influenced…

Graduate student socialization is an important part of a university's mission. Research on how writing shapes this process is needed. This study contributes to knowledge of academic literacy practices socializing students in their disciplines through a social practice perspective. Specifically I focus on aspects of the social in this study of…

Despite significant investments made by organizations to implement ERP systems and prior research that explored contributing factors of ERP failure, the ERP implementation success rate continues to remain low in practice. Increased technology usage in the workplace coupled with higher dependency on technology to complete project tasks often leads…

This thesis explores the questions of how a teacher guides students to see concepts, and the role of gesture and gesture viewpoints in mediating the process of guidance. To examine these questions, two sociocultural theoretical frameworks--Radford's cultural-semiotic theory of knowledge objectification (e.g., 2003), and Goldman's Points of Viewing…

Organizations created formal mentoring programs to replicate the benefits of informal mentoring. With regard to measuring mentoring functions, organizations are using informal measures to measure formal mentoring programs. As a result, empirical measurements of the effectiveness of university formal mentoring programs are limited. Researchers…

With the advent of ubiquitous computing, interaction design has broadened its object of inquiry into how smart computational artifacts inconspicuously act in people's everyday lives. Although user-centered design approaches remains useful for exploring how people cope with interactive systems, they cannot explain how this new breed of…