Some evaluators employ randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as the gold standard of evidence-based practice (EBP). Critics of RCT designs argue that RCTs do not include the complexity of program participants' experiences or clinical expertise, and couple this with criticisms that it is difficult to transfer RCT findings from the laboratory to…

Credibility of evidence in evaluation is examined through the lens of dialectical pluralism (DP). Principles of procedural justice are a core element of DP and help justify outcomes of its application. A key message is that DP and the associated circle of scientific evidence and knowledge model can aid the evaluation community in producing an…

This study examines manifestations of verbal aggression in an intergroup context between Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese on computer-mediated communication (CMC) discussion boards. We examine the role of perceptions of national identity and face in occasioning instances of aggression in Sino-Taiwanese online interactions. It will be argued that…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether servant leadership can be applied to college management. The research methodology involved questionnaire and co-constructed discussion eliciting the views of teachers on how they interpret leadership in a sixth form college. Three other models of leadership were discussed along with…

Student feedback, test-score growth calculations, and observations of practice appear to pick up different but complementary information that, combined, can provide a balanced and accurate picture of teacher performance, according to research recently released from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A composite measure on teacher effectiveness…

Teachers are critical to student learning in the classroom, and just like students, teachers perform better when they are able to make choices based on what is relevant to them. Action research is a way for teachers to systematically inquire and reflect to make necessary improvements in practice for student learning. This study involved teachers…

Understanding and implementing effective classroom assessments are essential to increasing student achievement (Marzano, 2000). Teachers' assessment literacy is viewed as a key link in the connection between assessment quality and student achievement. According to Marzano, the relationship is seen as important as any other in the teaching and…

Online Writing Instruction (OWI) has become a viable educational alternative in online instruction in the K-12 educational community. To continue to effectively compete in a global society, educators have identified a necessity for instruction that replicates real-world situations and problem-solving tasks which is consistent with constructivism.…

Rurality is a term that can be used to describe rural residency and the cultural characteristics of rural individuals and areas. The counseling profession has increased its attention to culture with the development of the multicultural counseling competencies (Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992) and assessments designed to measure competency…

Coaching is an actionable way for adults to learn. For purposes of this study, learning was conceptualized by UNESCO's five pillars of learning to know, do, live together, be, and learning to transform oneself and society. The practice of coaching was defined as a social enterprise where, through a process of inquiry and reflection, coaches help…

The purpose of this action research study was to design, implement, analyze, and evaluate a series of interventions to reduce student tardiness at the high school level. Another purpose of the study was to determine the underlying values, beliefs, and behaviors associated with student tardiness from a faculty and staff perspective. The study…

This study investigated the effects of a guided collaboration approach during professional learning community meetings (PLC's) on the perceptions of general and special educators as well as the effect on student performance as measured by benchmark evaluation. A mixed methodology approach was used to collect data through surveys, weekly…

Students experience difficulty learning and understanding chemistry at higher levels, often because of cognitive biases stemming from common sense reasoning constraints. These constraints can be divided into two categories: assumptions (beliefs held about the world around us) and heuristics (the reasoning strategies or rules used to build…

This dissertation examines the effects of participation in grassroots organizing on the capacity and commitment of public school parents and community members to engage in future activism. The study used a mixed-methods research design, drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected from individuals involved in seven exemplar…

This sequential explanatory mixed methods study investigated 24 college and university syllabi for content consisting of multicultural education that used the framework for multicultural education devised by James A. Banks (2006). This framework was used to analyze data collected using descriptive statistics for quantitative phase one. The four…