Widespread concern has been expressed about the persistent low mathematics achievement of students in the US, particularly for students from low-income and minority backgrounds and students with disabilities. Instructional gaming technology, when designed and fictionalized well, has the potential to improve the motivation and mathematics…

This dissertation utilized a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of parent development on rising third graders' summer reading losses as measured by the difference in May and August oral reading fluency scores. Title I parents and students from three schools in a rural North Carolina school district participated in a…

This dissertation was designed to provide a comprehensive data-driven evaluation of a Chinese language Immersion Program (CIP) for the stakeholders. CIP was implemented in 2006 with a goal for students to become proficient in the Chinese language and develop increased cultural awareness while reaching at least the same level of academic…

Students with disabilities are faced with many challenges as they transition from high school to postsecondary education, enter the workforce, and begin independent living. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA) initially addressed these challenges by mandating that transition planning be included as a part of the…

Retaining teachers and accessing professional development have been long-standing struggles for rural school districts, particularly with respect to teachers with special education endorsements. This study examined the effect of asynchronous online professional development in secondary special education and transition for 86 rural special…

The mixed-method explanatory research design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program on middle school students' reading achievement and motivation. A total of 211 sixth to eighth-grade students provided quantitative data by completing an AR Survey. Thirty of the 211 students were randomly selected to…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty with attention, impulsiveness, and safety issues; consequently, special measures must be taken to secure their safety. One such measure is canine intervention, which provides children with highly trained service dogs that can respond to their autism behaviors. Social support theory…

American students are increasingly beginning higher education pursuits at community colleges before transferring to four-year universities. The purpose of this study was to identify differences in persistence rates between those students who participated in a transfer transition program and those who did not. The researcher adopted a mixed-methods…

One of the many concerns of parents, teachers, and school administration is the lack of student discipline and its effect on academic achievement. Many schools have adopted different models of prevention to support positive behaviors and increase academic achievement. For those schools that adopt and implement the School-wide Positive Behavior…

African-American young men who have sex with men and transgender persons are at elevated risk for HIV infection. House and Ball communities, networks of mostly African-American gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who compete in modeling and dance, represent a prime venue for HIV prevention with these difficult-to-reach populations; however,…

This study of advanced readers in Reading First (RF) classrooms was part of a larger evaluation of one state's RF implementation. The study's purposes were to (a) assess the longitudinal growth of advanced primary readers as compared with their non-advanced-reading peers over a 3-year timeframe and (b) determine the degree to which RF classrooms…

This paper focuses on the impact of the organization of teaching approaches on the effectiveness of training for Jordanian EFL teachers. The sample for this study is drawn from all government schools in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The study uses a mixed-method approach whereby findings are triangulated throughout (in interviews, observations,…

Current research indicates that community colleges are facing what has been termed a "leadership crisis" due to the high number of Baby Boomers retiring and those planning to retire in the next several years (McCall, 2006; Bagnato, 2004; Shults, 2001). In 2006, the American Association of Community Colleges recommended community colleges…

For over a decade the nations' schools have been fighting bullying. Bully and violence prevention initiatives have become a priority in schools as a result of the media's focus on bullying and victimization. Schools across the nation have spent an exorbitant amount of money on purported evidenced-based bullying programs and curricula. Research…

This mixed methods research study sought to find if the implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) would reduce incidences of bullying in a suburban Atlanta middle school. Data was collected and compared over a two year period with Year 1 data representing pre-implementation of the OBPP. Discipline records associated with…