Questions explored in this study were: (a) Is learner centeredness related to teacher role stress and/or career commitment; (b) If so, can learner centeredness explain variance in teachers' role stress and/or career commitment; (c) Is the discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions of teacher practices related to teacher role stress and/or career commitment; and (d) if so, can this discrepancy explain variance in teachers' role stress and/or career commitment? The current need to provide every child with qualified and committed teachers in the face of a growing, national teacher shortage supported the significance of the research. The study was based on open systems theory (Thompson, 1996). An open system consists of inputs, process, and outputs, as well as feedback loops connecting these three components. All systems adjust to changes in their search for equilibrium (Katz & Kahn, 1966; Thompson, 1996). The xiii changes inherent in the shift toward learner centeredness can be expected to disrupt role expectations and lead to role stress for teachers (Connor, 1992; Fullan, 1991). A related construct, career commitment, is critical to sustaining teachers through the stresses of change (Firestone & Pennell, 1993). Middle school teachers (N = 318) in three northeast Florida counties completed four surveys that measured their learner centeredness, role stress, career commitment, and demographic background. In addition, 60% of the sample (N = 192) had one class complete a survey about teacher practices. A total of 4,539 students completed this survey. Findings from Pearson product-moment correlations suggested that teachers who were more learner centered in their beliefs and practices experienced less role stress (role insufficiency, role ambiguity, and role boundary) and higher levels of career commitment (career identity, career resilience, and career planning) than teachers who were less learner centered. With strength~ of relationships ranging from low to moderate, it appears that learner centeredness offers measurable benefits to teachers. In addition, findings from stepwise multiple regression suggested that learner-centeredness was a predictor of role stress and career commitment in teachers. The variance that was explained by learner-centered beliefs and practices ranged from 19% to 25% for role stress (role insufficiency, role ambiguity, and role boundary) and career commitment (career identity, career resilience, and career planning). Thus, teachers may be able to influence some of their own role stress and commitment to the profession through their beliefs and practices. Using Pearson product-moment correlations, a low relationship was found between the discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions of xiv teacher practices and two dimensions of role stress, role ambiguity and role boundary. In addition, discrepancy was related to career commitment: The relationship to career identity was negative but low, while the relationship to career planning was negative but moderate. Finally, results of multiple regression indicated slight predictive value of discrepancy for role stress and career commitment. The variance that was explained by discrepancy ranged from 3% to 11% for role stress (role boundary and role ambiguity) and career commitment (career identity and career planning). An open systems model was developed to show the influence of learner-centered beliefs, practices, and discrepancy on teachers' role stress and career commitment. Tentative suggestions for practice, as well as recommendations for further study, concluded the dissertation. Focus was placed on the need for continued research of the complex issues that impact teachers' resilience.

This qualitative study was conducted to elucidate the current understandings about what is known about the African American pathway from seemingly oppressive beginnings to educational leadership positions. It was an investigation of five African American male leaders from Jacksonville, Florida, and their individual and collective perceptions on what enabled them to educationally succeed despite their humble beginnings. The study explored the similarities, differences, and historical experiences of all five of the African American male leaders purposefully chosen for this research. Two categories or types of themes were identified in this study, common background themes and common outcome themes. Six themes were common background themes and functioned as major influencers and motivators which are discussed at length in the findings. They included: family, neighborhoods, public school, spirituality, racial experiences, and heroes and mentors. The two common outcome themes, career and leadership,resulted from the influences of the other six common background themes. Three patterns emerged: discipline, work ethic, and ethic of caring, and could be seen in all eight of the themes in this study. All the themes and the patterns combined joined to develop the two major constructs identified in the study - racial identity and resistance. Conclusions were drawn from the research findings to identify factors that contributed to the racial identities of these once segregated African Americans, and what enabled and motivated them to achieve academic success. These conclusions focused on the family, neighbors, and schooling experiences of five African American male leaders and highlighted the importance of (a) role models, (b) being goal setters, (c) having high expectations, (d) believing in the importance of education, (e) possessing positive attitudes and high self-esteems, (f) being resistant, (g) being disciplined, (h) having a strong work ethic, and (i) living with a spiritual awareness. All the above attributes and influences were seen in this paper as resistance builders and the very foundation for the African American identities that emerged and became educational leaders in the Duval County school system. PALMM.

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of first-generation college students of color in a predominantly White institution (PWI) who successfully completed the first two years of college. This qualitative research utilized semi-structured interviews to understand the perceptions of first-generation college students of color and how they viewed their secondary and post-secondary experiences. The conceptual framework was supported through the literature by analyzing the intersectionality of historical factors, socioeconomic status, critical race theory, and educational programs. Although these students of color faced the anxieties, confusion, and difficulties that all college students encounter when they transition to college, their challenges are heightened when coupled with other factors such as lower levels of college readiness, living in high crime communities, a lack of financial resources, a lack of family support, and limited knowledge pertaining to postsecondary education (Brown, 2008; Pascarella, et al. 2003; Strayhorn, 2006). Such factors create unique challenges for first-generation students of color, resulting in disparate academic achievement (Strayhorn). Participants in this study were selected using a criterion-based selection process. This study aimed to give voice to 12 students who self-identified as first-generation students of color, were classified as juniors attending the University of North Florida, and who were a part of the Jacksonville Commitment program. The Jacksonville Commitment program was selected for further study because the program provided students with wrap-around services that supported first-generation students’ persistence and social and academic development. Eisner’s (1998) educational criticism was the primary data analysis approach used in this study, supported by Hatch’s (2002) typological and interpretive analysis. Typological analysis divided the overall data set into categories or typologies. The four typologies identified in this study were: family relationships, socioeconomic status, resilience, and college retention and persistence. Interpretive analysis was used to extrapolate meaning and attach significance to the data. Thematics was used it identify recurring messages within the data (Eisner, 1998; Patton, 2002). Data analysis of the present study led to the development of three themes: (a) Students perceived that they persisted in college as a result of being exposed to a rigorous K-12 curriculum; (b) Students perceived that they persisted in college due to their support network; (c) Previous academic experiences contributed to the development of student self-efficacy. Students in this study challenged the deficit model which suggests that students without resources will not achieve. Instead, they were more aligned with the asset model that connects student success with the positive attributes that they possessed. The major implication from this study is that first-generation students of color have a greater chance of academic success if provided focused supports and academic preparation in primary and secondary schools to prepare them for the collegiate culture.

Students taking courses in developmental mathematics do so in one of three modalities - some take the classes face-to-face in a classroom with a professor who is physically present, others take the classes in what is known as a blended or hybrid mode in which the professor uses a combination of classroom and online time to teach the course, and another group takes the classes completely online. Increasingly, a growing number of students are taking these courses in a hybrid mode or completely online, and this phenomenon is causing educators to redesign their programs, offering more courses in these two modalities. However, some program leaders do so without any data about the achievement and course completion rates of students in the different modalities. This research 1) investigated the achievement rates of students taking an eight week developmental mathematics course, taught in three different modalities and 2) investigated the course completion rates of students taking an eight week developmental mathematics course, taught in three different modalities. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the achievement and course completion rates of students enrolled in an eight week developmental mathematics course, Elementary Algebra, based on the delivery modality. The study was conducted at a large multi-campus institution located in the southeast United States as the research site. The theories used to frame the research were the Information Processing Theory and Cognitive Load Theory.

This Q research designed study sought the answer to the research question, “What are the range of collectively help perceptions of leaders in the Christian and Missionary Alliance toward the impact that emotional woundedness has had on their leadership?” In doing so a conceptual framework was constructed from three psychological theories. These theories were Need Reduction Theory (Hull, 1973), Goal Theory (Adler, 1927) and finally a Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957). The 39 participants of this study were clergy leaders of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. The participants perspectives were compared and grouped, and three factors were revealed, along with one bi-polar factor. These factors were described as The Community Leader, The Alienated Leader, The Empathic Leader, And the Redemptive Leader. These factors were discussed and finally study implications and limitations, and recommendations for further research, were suggested.

This Q methodology study focused on those intrinsic attributes that successful African American men who had adverse childhood experiences attributed to their success. Using the purposeful and snowball sampling recruitment process, forty-two successful African American men participated in this research project. Five distinct factors were identified and labeled as, Factor 1: The Godly Working Men, Factor 2: The Competitive Men, Factor 3: The Charismatic Men, Factor 4: The Expectation Driven Men, and Factor 5: The Proud African American Men. The main findings were that respectful African American boys who are taught to understand who they are spiritually, be proud of their racial history, have a sound sense of purpose, and a desire to work hard are tooled to become successful African American men. The findings in this study support the wealth of research regarding strength-based youth development approaches, such as the Positive Youth Development’s 40 Developmental Assets framework. The six top intrinsic attributes that the participants in this research project ranked as most contributing to their success were 1) faith and trust in God, 2) desire to learn and understand how to apply the word of God to their life, 3) being respectful of others, 4) having a sense of purpose and value for life, 5) pride in racial identity and history, and 6) the ability to work hard and do their best. However, the intrinsic attributes relating to spirituality and pride in racial identity and history are not explicitly identified within the internal assets of the Positive Youth Development’s 40 Developmental Assets framework. For this framework to be meaningful for African Americans, the pride in racial identity and history attribute should be added to the positive identity group and a new group should be included to account for the two spirituality attributes. This study provided evidence that African American men from adverse backgrounds have voices and want to share their experiences to help other young people overcome and be successful. It is highly recommended that additional study be conducted on the impacts that extrinsic and intrinsic attribute have to the success of African American men.

Federal and state agencies in the United States have pressured institutions in higher education to increase the number of graduates in STEM disciplines and supply an educated workforce for the increasing shortages in the STEM economy. Undergraduate research experience is one potential mechanism for supporting retention and student success within STEM disciplines. Most evaluations of the impact of undergraduate research to this point have been qualitative research studies. The purpose of this study was to use a quantitative model to examine domain knowledge, domain interest, and career aspirations in undergraduate biology majors and how participation in research experiences may impact each of these aspects. Path analysis was performed with data collected from an online survey that was administered to six upper level biology courses during one semester. Domain interest and career aspirations was the only significant relation in the path model. Research experiences may indirectly impact career aspirations by increasing domain interest, but additional work is needed to examine this relationship. Stakeholders in undergraduate research at institutions may consider the implications of this study as they develop policies to reduce barriers for student participation in research.

This mixed-methods study investigated the effects of case method presentation on the clinical reasoning hypotheses generated, strategies implemented, and errors made by physical therapy students working through a musculoskeletal clinical problem. The study was framed by Marton and Säljö’s levels of processing, McCrudden’s et al. goal-focusing model, Cognitive Load Theory, and the Model of Domain Learning. Verbatim transcriptions for each problem-solving session was created and coded. Cohen’s kappa was κ = .75 indicating substantial inter-rater reliability for the finalized coding schemes. Quantitative analysis included mean and standard deviation calculations followed by Mann Whitney-U comparisons which detected several significant differences between groups regarding clinical reasoning hypotheses generated, reasoning strategies implemented, and errors made during the problem-solving sessions. Moderate-to-large effect sizes, ranging from r2 = .64–.78, indicated that differences in clinical reasoning between groups was mostly attributed to the case presentation method. Additionally, a qualitative profile enriched the data set by identifying differences in type of knowledge regulation each group exhibited and timing of treatment considerations. Specifically, participants in the simulated patient group were found to regulate more psychomotor skill knowledge compared to the written case study group who exhibited more regulation of propositional knowledge. This research project has already impacted the educational experiences physical therapy students receive in their professional education program. Future research should include multi-institutional investigations with a larger number of participants allowing for better representation of physical therapy students across professional education programs before generalizing any findings.

This study explored the impact that principals’ transformational leadership behaviors had on teachers’ self-efficacy in secondary urban alternative schools. The research question that guided this study was: How does perceived transformational leadership behaviors of principals’ impact teachers’ self-efficacy? This question had two sub-questions. The first was: How do teachers perceive their principals’ leadership behaviors? And, the second sub-question was: How does this perceived behavior affect teachers’ self-efficacy? Literature focused on urban schools and alternative schools, since they share a similar population of students. Additional literature discussed the four components of being a transformational leader which are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration, in addition to the components of a teacher’s personal self-efficacy. A total of ten secondary school teachers from two different urban alternative schools were interviewed using the semi-structured interviewing process. The researcher analyzed interview data by using the Constant Comparative Method of Analysis as a guide. Results of the interviews indicated that teachers viewed their principals as having behaviors of a transformational leader. They described the behaviors that resulted in two major categories: Principals as Instructional Leadersand Principals as Team Players. As a result of the principals’ transformational leadership behaviors, teachers’ efficacy was deemed to be high, due to shared examples of going above and beyondthe call of duty, creating a family environment, and being a loving teacher. Additional themes that gleaned from this study were the teachers’ perceptions about the student population, quality of education, understanding the purpose of urban alternative schools, educator preparation, and the challenges and rewards for working in an urban alternative school setting.

This qualitative case study examined the perceived effectiveness of executive leadership team processes at a community hospital in the southeastern U.S. in relation to the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) through an analysis of documents and a repository database (http:www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) relating to service quality, patient satisfaction, and governmental reimbursements; and, structured interviews. Today, the PPACA or “Obamacare” continues to challenge the executive leadership teams at U.S. hospitals to effectively navigate the intricacies of the legislation in order to remain solvent in a volatile healthcare arena. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model was utilized to guide the theoretical framework for this qualitative case study in terms of process improvement. Hill’s (2010) team leadership model was also applied to examine the perceived effectiveness of the executive leadership team processes in terms of analyzing any change in core measures and patient satisfaction scores from the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013 and 2014, respectively. The VBP data reflected consistent core measure scores in the 48th percentile and an increase in patient satisfaction scores from the 20th to 33rd percentile. The results revealed that the executive leadership team processes were perceived by the researcher as effective as evidenced by a strong collaboration among administration, the bord, and medical staff in implementing several strategies via a team oriented approach that impacted Medicare patients during the FFY of 2013-2014. This study offers a starting point in terms of generating more understanding of the importance of executive leadership team processes at a community hospital in relation to the VBP requirements of the PPACA which can be studied on a broader scale in the future.