To compete in the global marketplace, the U.S. economy heavily relies on higher education institutions to educate the college graduates and knowledge workers needed to create the innovative products and services of tomorrow. And yet, where once America led the world in educational attainment, recent data from the Organization for Economic…

Principal leadership is one of the most heavily researched topics in the field of education and is a key to increasing school effectiveness and stimulating school change. One of the most important principal roles that have emerged in the literature is the facilitation of a collaborative culture. Teacher collaboration has been linked to a variety…

This research is motivated by an analysis of reading research data. We are interested in modeling the test outcome of ability to fluently recode letters into sounds of kindergarten children aged between 5 and 7. The data showed excessive zero scores (more than 30% of children) on the test. In this dissertation, we carefully examine the models…

The purpose of my study was to evaluate the relationship between classroom process quality and child language and academic outcomes from the beginning of the pre-kindergarten year to the beginning of the kindergarten year for one cohort of children participating in a state-funded pre-kindergarten program in South Carolina. Data for my study were…

This study was intended to measure construct validity for the Outward Bound Outcomes Instrument (OBOI) and to predict outcome achievement from individual characteristics and course attributes using multilevel modeling. A sample of 2,340 participants was collected by Outward Bound USA between May and September 2009 using the OBOI. Two phases of…

In recent years the number of PhDs in Italy has significantly grown and purposes of PhD courses have expanded from the traditional ones. The analysis of the contribution of PhD title for job placement and employment condition of PhDs is an important tool for evaluating the quality and the effectiveness of PhD courses. For this reason, knowledge of…

Understanding urban teachers' beliefs about African American students has become important because (a) many teachers are reluctant to teach students from other cultures, and (b) most teachers are European American. To construct a psychometrically sound measure of teacher beliefs, the authors investigate the measurement properties of a teacher…

In the current educational climate, school districts and states are being held accountable for the progress of all students. Students who speak another language at home and have limited English proficiency, known as English Language Learners (ELLs), continue to underperform when compared to English proficient peers. The purpose of the study was to…

Mathematics performance in the U.S., relative to other developed countries remains unsatisfactory despite the emphasis on teacher training, rigor in teaching, and provision of physical resources, adjustments in curriculum and utilization of modern technology. Psychological aspects such as motivation and self-efficacy, which are known to have…

This dissertation comprises three papers that propose, discuss, and illustrate models to make improved inferences about research questions regarding student achievement in education. Addressing the types of questions common in educational research today requires three different "extensions" to traditional educational assessment: (1)…

Calls for evidence-based reform of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) suggest the question: Do the current indicators of progress and performance used by TPPs predict effectiveness of their graduates when they become teachers? In this study, the indicators of progress and performance used by one program are examined for their ability to predict…

The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of a brief, feasible, and cost-effective universal screener for kindergarten readiness. The study examined whether teacher ratings of kindergarteners' academic, behavioral, and overall readiness at the beginning of the year were predictive of academic, emotional, and behavioral outcomes at…

This paper investigates the differences in academic achievement trajectories from elementary through middle school among English Learner students in four different instructional programs: English Immersion, Transitional Bilingual, Developmental Bilingual, and Dual Immersion programs. Comparing students with the same parental preferences but who…

This study had two aims: firstly, to determine whether participation in a peer support scheme called Study Buddy Support (SBS) improves pass rates of "at risk" students, and secondly, to examine the advantages of this model over hierarchical models where senior students tutor junior years. Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery students in a…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a ubiquitous problem-based learning system (UPBLS) on students' question-raising performance in field inquiry activities. An experiment was conducted on an elementary school natural science course. A total of 43 sixth and fifth grade elementary students divided into experienced and…