Teacher self-efficacy impacts student achievement, job satisfaction, and teacher retention. Although the benefits of social support have been extensively studied in medicine and psychology, limited research has been completed in education to evaluate the ways in which social support contribute toward teacher self-efficacy. The purpose of this…

Hiring and retaining the highest quality teachers is a top priority for any school district. However, given the current challenges that districts face in today's educational climate and with the recently recovering economy and the looming retirement bubble about to burst, this priority becomes even more imperative. This study focused on gathering…

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective quantitative correlational study was to determine the relationship of student temperament (as measured by the online Jung Typology Test) and learning styles (as measured by the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles) to academic performance of first-semester physics students while enrolled in a Sierra…

A problem in academia exists regarding the length of time it takes doctoral students to finish their program. More doctoral students are enrolled in a doctoral program than ever before, however, graduation rates have not been increasing at the same rate as student enrollment. Of those students who do graduate from their doctoral program,…

Sense of belonging is an important construct that has been understudied in college student development. Prior research suggests that undergraduate students' sense of belonging plays a key role in persistence and degree completion. In this study, I test the assertion that sense of belonging stems from developmental tasks that are typically salient…

Purpose: The purposes of this journal-ready dissertation were threefold. The first purpose was to determine the degree to which 1-year persistence rates differed as a function of the institutional status (i.e., stayed or transferred) of students enrolled at Texas 4-year public universities in the 1999-2000 through the 2013-2014 academic years. The…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of rural students at two selective four-year colleges. Using the framework of cultural, social, and academic capital, I explored aspects of 17 rural college students' experiences that show how they are able to attain success at college in spite of their potentially…

A great deal of attention has been given to the learning loss that can take place under brand new teachers, but there is a growing body of research that shows moving teachers between grade levels, or "grade switching," can actually be harmful to student achievement, too. While grade switching is a common practice for many reasons (about…

The purpose of this study was to describe and examine nurse educator and nursing student experiences and perceptions on attrition, barriers to program completion, relationships with nurse educators and peers, and support mechanisms. Participants in this study were four associate-degree nursing students who exited an associate degree nursing…

The research performed for this study examined the perceptions of beginning teachers who participated in mandatory mentoring programs, to discover whether such programs contributed to teacher retention in urban public settings in Northern New Jersey. Characteristics found to have an influence on beginning teachers' retention rate in the existing…

This correlational study sought to determine the relationship between advisor servant leadership behaviors and first-year students' intent to persist from fall 2016 to spring 2017 and from spring 2017 to fall 2017 with students in a private, four-year, religiously affiliated university in the United States. The research was grounded in Tinto's…

This study analyzed the relationship between the perceived principal's authentic leadership (relational transparency, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and self-awareness) scores and the teachers' affective, normative, and continuance commitment scores when controlling for the principal's gender, and the teachers' age,…

This study utilized a qualitative approach to focus on three essential elements: how superintendents are prepared to serve in their role as school district leaders, how they are recruited, and what support is available to help them succeed and remain in their position. The study explored these essential elements from the perspective of currently…

Community college students face a unique set of challenges when making a vertical transfer to a four-year university. This study utilized a Modified Delphi technique to identify the perceived factors that influence bachelor's degree completion of vertical transfer students. Factors related to the classroom, meaningful relationships with faculty,…

The rapid changes in our society have amplified the need for adult learning opportunities. However, adults often make decisions not to persist in formal learning experiences in a smooth, linear fashion. The decision to pause or terminate formal learning is a complex behavioral decision that includes knowledge, the cognitive process, personal…