The three articles included in this dissertation are connected through theory and practice. Study one identifies the factors influencing Extension agents' participation in supplemental professional development opportunities using Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behavior. Study two was a systematic investigation of Extension personnel's…

State and territory child care and early education (CCEE) leaders typically support a range of professional development (PD) opportunities for CCEE providers. This highlight presents the "Professional Development Matrix for Quality Improvement" created by Douglass, Tout, and Doyle. The matrix provides a framework for organizing and…

Principal support programs focused on advising and professional development can have positive impacts for early career principals and the teachers they lead. The mixed-methods case study aims to report on the impacts of a customized support program on early career principals. The case study gives insights on how a university-designed professional…

Tutors play an important role in effective Mathematics Learning Support, and ensuring good initial training and development is key. Typically, in the UK and Ireland, tutors do not gain any formal recognition for the training they receive. This paper details a four competences model of training for tutors and presents the analysis of feedback from…

This case study measures the impact on elements of schools' professional environment after school leaders participated in eight action learning (AL) sessions over one summer. The guiding research question asks, What, if any, impact on a building level administrator's leadership practices result after their participation in an Action Learning…

This study assesses the extent to which a medium-term international service learning (ISL) project led by a Canadian university in partnership with sub-Saharan African universities achieves five objectives with respect to the interns: increasing local and global community engagement, activating leaders, developing global citizens, personal and…

This qualitative study investigates the development of science teacher leaders during and after professional development. It examines the impactful experiences during a teacher leadership program that allowed them to explore their leadership identity and how this identity manifests in their schools' post-program. The participants are 14 chemistry…

The problem addressed in this study was that online training designers experience barriers when implementing evaluations to assess knowledge transfer after 3-6 months. This qualitative exploratory case study aimed to explore online training designers' experiences and perceptions regarding the barriers faced when working with project stakeholders…

This case presents the design and assessment (at the Interaction level) of a student chronic condition e-learning module. The module is to be used by school nurses as a traditional presentation aid/slideshow to support their on-ground trainings for afterschool staff on how to manage students with chronic health conditions participating in…

This study, a process evaluation, examined the inaugural, year-long leadership development program, Developing Collective Change Agents (DCCA), in a rural district in the southeastern United States. The evaluation described the program's organizational design within the context of a review of related literature for education leadership…

Background: Much has been made of whether the evidence supporting mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is consistent or high-quality enough to merit their wide implementation, and numerous meta-analyses, reviews, and meta-analyses of meta-analyses have been conducted in pursuit of this question (e.g., Bockmann & Yu, 2023; Goldberg et al.,…

Background: The field of collaborative biostatistics plays a critical role in translating scientific discoveries into practical applications by providing sound statistical analysis, ensuring data integrity, and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration in translational science and decision-making in healthcare. The role of a collaborative…

Objective: This study examines the impact of the PC 3-sessions Training Project (PC-project), designed to improve professional competency among social workers in China. Methods: Using a quasi-experimental approach, 170 social workers from social work organizations (SWOs) or community organizations (COs) participated. The experimental group (Group…

This study aimed to examine the effects of several factors (professional role, perceived level of assessment training, and perceived level of assessment competence) on student affairs staff members' views of what constitutes effective assessment and what they value in an assessment culture, measured through seven survey constructs. Adapted from…

Many companies that are striving to expand their development and production are finding it difficult to do so successfully. This is due to the shortage of qualified employees to help sustain their competitive edge in the global market. This dilemma is due to skills gaps; more importantly a mismatch between available jobs and skills. It is…