Transition planning officially begins between the ages of 14 and 16 for most students with an IEP. However, the process is lifelong. Job Exploration Counseling, or Career counseling/guidance includes a wide variety of activities which help students explore career options and opportunities available. Job exploring options are intended to foster…

Due to a shortage of librarians to teach classes coupled with a growing student body, librarians at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) decided to explore alternative means to deliver instruction. Their charge was to supplement traditional classroom instruction by utilizing ETSU's course management system (Desire2Learn, D2L) to inform students…

Bullying toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youths is a pervasive problem in schools that has negative impacts on LGBTQ students' mental health and educational outcomes. School social workers need to understand the prevalence and dynamics of bullying toward LGBTQ students to respond appropriately to victims and…

This study focused on the problem of college student-athletes retiring from their sports unprepared for life outside of sanctioned athletics. The purpose was to identify if a current student-athlete believes he/she is prepared for a career life after competitive college athletics and who the student-athlete feels should provide guidance into the…

Classroom walkthroughs as a means of providing data for inquiry between principals and teachers and between teachers show promise for improving classroom instruction. Using data collected from classroom walkthroughs and through the development of a community of practice where administrators and teachers utilize dialogue and inquiry around these…

Advising programs serve as a conduit between the university, and the students' educational, personal and career goals. There are many different advising models in post-secondary institutions. The intrusive advising program is based on the assumption that closer communication and stronger personal relationships between advisor and student make…

Jane E. Pollock, coauthor of "Classroom Instruction That Works," expands on the bestseller's feedback strategy in this groundbreaking work. While feedback is not a new concept, what is new is using it the way children use computer apps--to set goals, track their progress, and self-regulate their own learning. With only a slight shift in…

This study focuses on how superintendents who have experienced success, as measured by having a school district achieve and consistently achieve in the face of many challenges today. Several key strategies and leadership frameworks that superintendents use are examined through a review of current research and are validated by reviewing the results…

The purpose of this study is to develop a definition of success by constructing a portrait of successful young adults with emotional disabilities. Nine young adults with emotional disabilities were interviewed individually after graduating from high school. The research questions that guided the study centered on the young adults'…

Technology is changing how we educate our society, communicate with one another, integrate into medical procedures, collect donations for disaster relief efforts, and even how we chose the leader of the "free world" in 2008. However, not all of the changes are positive. One unfortunate reality is that college students can utilize…

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of public school superintendents and school board presidents in the United States relative to the orientation and ongoing training that is believed to be necessary for newly elected or selected and experienced board members. At the national, state, and local levels, public education is…

The purpose of the present study was to quantitatively examine the relationships between employability and hope. Using a sample of 266 Master of Business Administration students at a large Midwestern private university, this study hypothesized that one, there was a relationship between hope and employability and two, of the predictor variables,…

Learner motivational constructs of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and goal orientation in predicting successful student performance in online courses were explored. Thirty-three undergraduate students from the online courses Introduction to Educational Technology and Introduction to Education completed sections of the Motivated Strategies for…

This dissertation explores the website usage of adolescent sexual minorities, examining notions of information seeking and sexual identity development. Sexual information seeking is an important element within human information behavior and is uniquely problematic for young sexual minorities. Utilizing a contemporary gay teen website, this…

Today, in a sector flooded with $3.5 billion in School Improvement Grant funds and the resulting improvement plans, there's great faith that "turnaround" strategies are a promising way to tackle stubborn problems with persistently low-performing schools. Unlike traditional reform efforts, with their emphasis on incremental improvement, turnarounds…