Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Credentialing has become an established albeit voluntary—and often debated— part of the fundraising profession. Despite this, scholarly attention to the phenomenon of credentialing for fundraising professionals has been woefully lacking. While the literature has discussed what the benefits of credentialing are to fundraisers and the general public, it has failed to research how particular credentials came to be and why they were created at a particular place and time. This study analyzes the origins of the first fundraising credential, the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential, which was first awarded in 1981. While touching briefly on the phenomenon of mass philanthropy that paved the way for the birth of fundraising as a profession in the early twentieth century, the study concentrates on the way in which early practitioner associations such as the American Association of Fundraising Counsel and the National Association of Fund Raising Executives worked to establish fundraising as a legitimate profession. They fended off external threats from government regulation and capitalized on opportunities to give shape to the profession through the development of criteria for determining professional standing, codes and standards of practice and, eventually, the self-regulatory mechanism of voluntary credentialing. The principal results and conclusions of this study are: 1) while the fundraising profession has been witness to major events impacting American philanthropy in the twentieth century, including the reification of philanthropy as an economic “third sector” through the impact of the Tax Reform Act of 1969, the fundraising profession as a whole has been largely disengaged from these events except when they have directly threatened the economic welfare of the profession; and 2) the creation of the CFRE credential was largely spurred by increased calls for self-regulation of fundraising in the late 1970s.

Since its conception in 1987, much money and effort have been expended establishing the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Although 16,038 educators in 45 states and the District of Columbia have obtained National Board Certification, there are over 1,200 teachers in the East Tennessee counties of Cocke and Sevier who are eligible for National Board Certification, but have not obtained this certification. This study sought to identify the barriers that discouraged this population from attempting to gain National Board Certification. The research design was inferential and utilized data from a survey instrument constructed by the researcher. A pilot test of the instrument was conducted, reliability coefficients calculated, and survey items retained, modified, or deleted based on the results. The final survey contained 38 statements (grouped into five subscales) and a demographic section. A total of 700 surveys were sent to eligible educators in the public schools of Cocke and Sevier counties; of those, 459 were returned and 448 responses were usable. Other variables studied were age, gender, teaching assignment, years of teaching experience, education level attained, future plans to attempt, not attempt, or unsure about attempting National Board Certification, informational sources, and overall opinions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In addition, a space was provided for comments. Findings included: The most problematic barriers from greatest to least were personal obstacles, teaching professionalism, teacher morale, evaluation process, and financial considerations. Significant differences regarding the barriers existed in all demographic areas included in the study except for educational levels, and the majority of respondents had a negative overall opinion of National Board Certification. However, the opinion varied with the source of information about the process. Educators who received their information from local administrators and published materials had a more positive opinion than those that received their information from peers. This study indicates that the barriers identified are factors in keeping eligible East Tennessee educators from attempting National Board Certification.

The shortage of teachers necessitates systems of certification that quickly provide teachers for the field, especially in hard to staff schools. Alternative certification programs have attempted to address the need by enlisting non-certified college graduates and offering these individuals shortcuts to certification, special assistance, or opportunities to study that prepare them for eligibility to obtain their teaching credential. (Darling-Hammond, 2000). These types of programs bring consequences with the benefits. This mixed methods study examined the effect of alternative certification programs on teacher self-efficacy. The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen- Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) was administered to interns prior to entering the field and after four months in the field. The results demonstrated a significant drop in teacher self- efficacy from pre- to post-test. In addition, semi-structured interviews identified factors that contributed to the drop in teacher self-efficacy. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.

Current federal reforms require a highly-qualified teacher in every classroom to promote higher levels of student performance. In an attempt to provide a sufficient and sustainable number of highly qualified teachers in the workforce, alternative certification training programs have come alongside traditional college of education training programs. Proponents of alternative certification programs contend the process of on-the-job training will potentially address the problem of teacher shortages. However, opponents see these programs as an inadequate training process with future ramification for both teachers and students. As more and more classroom teachers are choosing alternative certification routes, there is growing uncertainty as to whether or not this is an effective way to train teachers. There is a substantial body of research that indicates a teacher's self efficacy beliefs can be an indicator of his or her performance in the classroom. Evidence demonstrates a relationship between teachers' beliefs about their personal ability to affect students' achievement and the outcomes of both the teachers' and the students' efforts (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2007). By identifying strengths and weaknesses in self-efficacy beliefs, it is possible to provide interventions such as professional development or peer mentoring to increase an individual's sense of efficacy, which could then improve his or her teaching performance, and ultimately improve student achievement. The purpose of this research study was to identify and describe the differences between (1) the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers from traditional college of education programs and from alternative certification programs in order to identify patterns or correlations between type of training and teachers' sense of efficacy, and (2) the self efficacy beliefs of novice, experienced, and expert teachers in order to determine patterns or correlations between years of experience and teachers' sense of efficacy. This research study investigated the self-efficacy beliefs of 125 high school teachers in Brevard County, Florida, with either college of education training or alternative certification training and with either novice, experienced, or expert classroom teaching experience. The first part of the study analyzed teachers' responses to the 24 items on Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy's Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale; the second part analyzed 6 researcher-designed items referring to teacher training programs and personal classroom experience. The three subscales that directed the items on the questionnaire were Efficacy for Student Engagement, Efficacy for Instructional Strategies, and Efficacy for Classroom Management. Factor analyses indicated 21 of the 24 items from the current research study loaded on the same three factors identified on the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale. The 6 items created specifically for this study loaded into two factors identified appropriately as training program and classroom experience. A reliability analysis resulted in a total alpha coefficient of .9271 for the 24 items on the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale for the 125 participants in the current research study which is consistent with an alpha of .94 in previous studies using the same scale. A total alpha coefficient of .6973 was determined for the 6 researcher-designed items. Findings from the t-tests and ANOVAs indicated that there was no relationship between self-efficacy beliefs of college of education trained teachers and alternative certification trained teachers; few relationships between novice, experienced, and expert teachers; and few interaction effects between type of teacher training and number of years of classroom experience. While the results of the study did not reveal statistically significant differences in the teacher groups, the teachers' responses and comments indicated personal classroom experiences created higher levels of self-efficacy than teacher training programs. Contrary to the researcher's expectations and conventional wisdom, both alternative certification teachers and novice teachers perceived themselves to be efficacious in the classroom. One possible explanation for the failure to reach statistically significant differences in the type of training and years of experience variables is that there simply are not distinct differences. Generally teachers with alternative certification training are immersed in programs that provide on-the-job training and support from a mentor, and as experts in their field of study, they exhibit self-assurance in their classroom behaviors. Commonly novices enter teaching with high expectations and they bring innovative practices and a fresh outlook to the classroom. Another possible explanation for the failure to reach statistically significant differences is the over-representation of some groups which could possibly have skewed the results. From the group of 125 participants, 86 teachers had college of education training while only 39 had alternative certification training. There were 79 expert teachers with ten or more years of experience, 35 experienced teachers with four to nine years, and only 11 novice teachers with three or less years. While the results of the research study did not offer statistically significant differences in the groups of teachers, there is much practical significance to be gained for district and school-level personnel in planning professional development opportunities. By identifying the strengths and weaknesses in teachers' self-efficacy beliefs, professional development and peer support can be provided to address the unique needs of each teacher group. Recommendations were made for a synthesis of current practices from both college of education programs and alternative certification programs: a series of half-day internship experiences with relevant content coursework could be combined with on-the-job experience and mentoring support based on current alternative certification programs. This research study lacks generalizability, so further research should include middle school and elementary teachers, and teachers from other counties and states. Because teachers' self-efficacy beliefs are personal and not necessarily reflective of actual practice, an investigation of the relationship between perceived self-efficacy beliefs and observed classroom effectiveness should be investigated.

Background: In recent years several state high school athletic association have investigated methods to ensure the health and safety of high school wrestlers. One method implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association requires the prediction of minimum weight (MW) prior to the competition season. This weight certification program requires the assessment of body composition and hydration status. Results from those assessments place wrestlers in their lowest allowable wrestling weight class. There are a variety of measurement devises that have proven to be effective in measuring body composition. However, several considerations must be taken into account when choosing a devise such as affordability and reliability. Of those devices leg-to-leg bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has been suggested for use with wrestlers. Purpose: To test the validity of bioelectrical impedance as an instrument of body composition and minimum wrestling weight compared to three-site skinfold using the Lohman-Brozek formula and the Bod Pod®; among hydrated high school wrestlers. Methods: Criterion for this study was the Bod Pod®. Subjects included 98 high school wrestlers taking part in the pre-season wrestling weight certification program implemented by the Virginia High School League. Hydration was assessed and a urine specific gravity (USG) ≤ 1.020 was assigned as the level of hydration. Results: In order to investigate the validity of BIA in this study a repeated measure ANOVA with between-subjects factors was used to assess the equality of means between the three measurement devices. Also, in order to investigate hydration affect subjects were divided into two categories (hydrated and dehydrated). Finally, prior to analysis subjects were placed in weight categories based on their assigned wrestling weight class. Results of this study demonstrated that the three measurement devices did not produce similar results and it was concluded that hydration level had no affect on the measurements. Therefore, at this time BIA should not be considered as an alternative method for assessing body composition in high school wrestling weight certification programs. / Ph. D.

There is currently a shortage of African American vocational teachers. If the shortage is to be averted, vocational professionals must find ways to increase the number of African American teachers in vocational education (Arnold & Levesque, 1992; Martinez, 1991; Young, 1989). The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influenced African Americans to become vocational teachers and to identify experiences related to their progress in vocational teacher licensure programs. Factors identified as influencing African Americans to select vocational teaching careers were linked with factors found in the O'Neil, Meeker, and Borger (1978) Sex Role Socialization and Career Decision-Making model. This qualitative study consisted of structured interviews with 12 college students who were preparing to become vocational teachers. Students were interviewed at 6 campuses in 2 southeastern states. Students represented vocational programs in (a) agriculture education, (b) business education, (c) family and consumer sciences education, (d) marketing education, (e) trade and industrial education, and (f) technology education. Six of the students were from predominantly white universities and 6 students were from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The findings of the study revealed that the most significant influences behind respondents choosing vocational teaching careers related to teacher role models, family support, altruism, the intangible benefits of teaching, and love for vocational professions. Most of the factors identified related to factors found in the O'Neil et al. (1978) model. A factor, entitled the Spritual Factor, emerged in addition to those identified in the original O'Neil et al. model. Positive relationships with knowledgeable faculty, supportive peers, active participation in vocational organizations, and confidence in academic preparation, enhanced the progress of students in vocational licensure programs. All universities selected in the study shared similar elements. Students and faculty at HBCUs, however, tended to lean toward a student-centered focus while students and faculty at predominantly white universities tended to lean toward an academically-oriented focus. / Ph. D.

A nation-wide survey of hardwood flooring manufacturers was conducted in the spring of 1998. The objectives of the study were to determine the differences in beliefs towards certification between certified and non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers and to explore the decision to certify and the implications of that decision. Those objectives were chosen because certification is a developing phenomenon of which there are some aspects that remain unknown. The survey consisted of a mail questionnaire that was sent to more than 250 hardwood flooring manufacturers. The questionnaire was used to collect demographic and attitudinal information from the respondents about certification. The second part of the research used the Analytic Hierarchy Process to model the decision process hardwood flooring manufacturers go through when deciding whether or not to certify. Data were collected as part of the mail questionnaire. The final goal of the research, to explore the experiences of certified manufacturers, was met through the use of personal interviews with the manufacturers. The results from the mail survey indicated that certified hardwood flooring manufacturers tended to be smaller than non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers. The total amount of certified hardwood flooring produced in the U.S. in 1997 was estimated to be 435,579 bdft, roughly 0.1% of the total reported amount of hardwood flooring produced. The research also indicated that certified manufacturers felt that there was a need for certification in the U.S. and that it was the environmentally responsible thing to do, while the non-certified manufacturers felt that that was untrue. The most important factor in the non-certified manufacturers' decision whether to certify is the profit potential of the product, while the certified manufacturers based their decision to certify on the marketing advantages, image benefits, and access to new markets that the certified product provides. Overall, certified and non-certified hardwood flooring manufacturers hold widely differing views on certification, and those differing beliefs contribute to the choices each group makes. / Ph. D.

In recent years, there is an increasing use of smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices in our everyday lives. Cyberattacks on consumer IoT devices are also increasing. IoT certification is an active topic of research with many proposed frameworks for IoT cybersecurity certification and also proposing labels that can be used to represent the security and privacy levels of consumer IoT devices. The research problem that this thesis tried to solve was first, to understand why certification for consumer IoT devices was less used than expected, and second, define robust and complete processes for security and certification on consumer IoT devices, that will be used to broadly raise their security level. From a literature review performed, we became aware that the reason why little progress towards consumer IoT cybersecurity certification is not that research and frameworks do not exist, but there are multiple other responsible factors. Such factors are the lack of a universal cybersecurity framework and the fact that the consumers are not involved in the certification process of the frameworks. The framework that was designed in this thesis project tries to address all of the above factors. Design Science Research (DSR) was used as the methodology for developing and evaluating the artifact of this work, which is a framework that describes how to properly apply and certify cybersecurity on consumer IoT devices, building on top of existing cybersecurity procedures, frameworks and tools. During the design of the framework, further literature searches were performed for identifying important steps that need to be carried out. The framework proposed in this project, does not limit itself to the vendor of such devices as the only involved actor, but consumers and cybersecurity regulating authorities are also involved in the process. The evaluation of the framework showed that, if applied, it could adequately improve the cybersecurity of existing consumer IoT products by detecting and solving all of the common vulnerabilities and security weaknesses, as it was demonstrated on one use case selected. The significance of this work is that it is the first step towards a universal cybersecurity certification for consumer IoT devices.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between the MCT scores (reading, math, and language arts) of two groups of students (those taught by a NBCT and those who were not), and if there was a difference, how those differences can be explained based on selected teacher demographic data (endorsement area of certification, sex, age, race, highest degree received, years of experience, and National Board Certification status). Teachers? National Board Certification (NBC) status and age were identified as variables that contribute to the difference in the reading, language arts, and math Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) scores. Students who were taught by National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) are more likely to have higher reading and language arts standardized test scores than students who were taught by non-NBCTs. While researchers have also concluded that teachers? years of experience, endorsement area (s), and highest degree received play a vital role in the differences found in students? achievement, this study did not confirm those findings. The results of this study, however, indicated that teachers whose ages ranged from 41-50 tend to have higher reading, language arts, and math MCT scores. The majority of teachers in this age group were NBCTs.

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