External stakeholders have demanded evidence that college students learn what their institutions and programs say they will learn (Ewell, 2009; Hutchings 2010; Kuh, 2001). As the architects of curriculum and the defenders of academic freedom, faculty are responsible for any initiatives that may affect those pedagogical goals (Kuh, et al., 2015).…

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of practicing art therapists toward evidence-based practices (EBPs). EBPs, which have become an integral part of the managed care mental health system, refer to the use of empirically validated research to make clinical decisions that best meet the needs of each client. We used mixed methods…

This dissertation examined perceptions of elementary district superintendents regarding professional development in the superintendency. The current challenges of the superintendency require superintendents to be more prepared than ever before and to serve as effective leaders of school districts. Specifically, this research identified what…

Current models of spiritual development suggest that adolescents have limited capacity for spirituality and spiritual experiences. Adolescents are seen to have immature moral and ethical judgment and be incapable of deep spiritual experience due to lack of cognitive development. This mixed-methods study explored the existence of spiritual…

This mixed-methods study applied a decision-making theoretical framework to an investigation of teacher grading in a large urban school district in California. A sample of 251 high school teachers of core subjects were surveyed, and 15 teachers participated in four focus group interviews in order provide data on the influences, rationale, and…

This study explored the relationship between math anxiety and perceived self-efficacy for teaching mathematics in preschool teachers. Perceptions of and attributions for the teachers' perceived math anxiety and perceived self-efficacy for teaching mathematics were also explored. The study employed a mixed-method design consisting of both…

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation's health. Lack of…

We proposed and evaluated an instructional framework for increasing students' ability to understand and regulate collaborative interactions called Co-Regulated Collaborative Learning (CRCL). In this instantiation of CRCL, models of collaborative competence were articulated through a set of socio-metacognitive roles. Our population consisted of 28…

This concurrent mixed methods study revealed the impacts of the Title IV, Federal Regulation, State Authorization (SA), on a statewide community college system, with regard to staffing, establishment of local processes, obtainment of authorizations, fiscal resources, and student enrollment. The study takes place within the California community…

This mixed-methods study examined the experiences of undocumented students at a 4-year Hispanic Serving Institution. Barriers identified by these students included a lack of resources and minimal career opportunities after graduation. Faculty and staff perceived this historically underserved population as exhibiting high levels of optimism and…

Purpose: The purpose of this mixed-methods phenomenological study was to describe elementary school general education teachers' perceptions of how their efficacy, as teachers, was affected by their experiences in implementing the PBIS framework. This study also sought to determine a better understanding of the skills necessary to impact all…

Teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning are constructed over a lifetime of experiences in classrooms. This nine-year longitudinal study examines preservice teachers' initial educational beliefs and the changes in those beliefs over their teacher preparation program and into their first six years of teaching. Analysis of questionnaires,…

Using a mixed methods approach, the researcher gathered a set of narrative responses from focus groups that supported the claim of underreporting campus discrimination on a survey. Multiple studies have shown that underrepresented minority students are likely to bond with same-ethnic peers in a racially tense campus climate. This mixed method is a…

In 2013, California became one of the first states to adopt the rigorous Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). However, the current state of science instruction does not support the conceptual shifts of the NGSS, which call for consistent science instruction K-12, increased inquiry, subject integration, as well as science instruction that…

This mixed-methods study couples large-scale analyses of student course-taking with case study data to explore what blocks the gate to enrollment in and successful completion of secondary math courses for students ever classified as English learners (ever ELs). Initial quantitative findings indicate that half of all students across six California…