Using narrative data collected through semi-structured phone interviews with eleven "graduate(d) student athletes," this dissertation examines participants' academic trajectories and experiences. Theories regarding role-conflict, attribution, college choice and career maturity undergird analysis. Findings are divided into four chapters:…

While questions exist about the effectiveness of online education, it is a growing part of the pantheon of educational choices available to students in America today. Though online education first gained popularity for advanced learners, increasingly at-risk populations are enrolling in online learning environments. Research in K-12 full-time,…

A Chinese proverb suggests "Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand." How to involve or engage today's learner is at the forefront of much educational research and was the impetus for the study reported herein. This study explored the perceptions of Year 4/5 students from nine separate schools…

Behind CALL teacher education (CTE) there is an unproblematized consensus of transfer, which suggests a positivist and tool-centered view of learning gains that differs from the sociocultural focus of recent teacher education research. Drawing on Beach's (2003) conceptualization of transfer as "consequential transition," this qualitative…

Background/Context: Schools have attempted to address stratification in black and Latino students' access to higher education through extensive reform initiatives, including those focused on social supports. A crucial focus has been missing from these efforts, essential to improving the effectiveness of support mechanisms and understanding why…

This assessment is used in a class titled Ethical Leadership as part of a graduate level principal preparation program. The assessment has been approved by NCATE as meeting all of the stipulated ELCC standards for which it is designed (ELCC 5.1, 5.1. & 5.3). The assignment has two sections. In the first section candidates are asked to…

Despite the recognized need to increase interdisciplinary collaboration, there are few information resources available to provide researchers with an overview of scientific communities--topics under investigation by various groups, and patterns of collaboration among groups. The tools that are available are designed for expert social network…

This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of a 9-week collaborative early childhood drama education program. It focuses on collaborations between a drama specialist and two early childhood classroom teachers at a private school in the Midwestern United States. A full-time drama specialist with educational background and…

The paper will explore the challenges students from selected South East Asian countries (Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia) face while studying English in Australia before entering into Australian University courses. These students must contend not only with different styles of teaching and learning, but also with the challenge of adapting to a new…

Despite the growing body of research on African American students' academic achievement and the role mothers play in their child's academic development, few studies (Carter, 2008; Fordham, 1988) examined the role fathers play in the development of their child's academic achievement. The primary aim of this study was to examine how the father or…

The purpose of this study was to examine students' understanding of argumentation when talk and writing were provided as learning tools, as well as to explore how talk and writing can best support students' construction of scientific knowledge. Most current studies have examined discourse patterns over a short interval of only a few class periods…

There is a lack of alignment between K-12 and higher education about the expectations for student skill and content knowledge. Too often, students leave the K-12 system ill prepared for success in higher education. One approach to increasing alignment has been supported by the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS), which…

This grounded theory study examined the perceived effects of a cohort of seven secondary-level teachers earning a reading endorsement in a single-district sponsored professional development program. The researcher collected data through semi-structured personal interviews with the teachers, their principal, and the director of special services for…

When students are marginalized, excluded, negatively labeled, and do not fit what is considered to be normative, they may experience social injustice because of the ways in which oppression have been institutionalized within the education system. In schools, students face social injustice when they are oppressed based on racism, sexism,…

In an attempt to enhance teacher and student performance in school, a learning management system (LMS) known as Knowledge-Net (K-Net) was introduced in Qatari independent schools. (All public schools in Qatar have transformed to independent schools; the independent schools model is similar to the charter school system in North America.) An LMS is…