No description available.

<p> Many professionals became childcare directors with little or no experience, training, supervision skills, or knowledge that supported teachers. Without those necessary skills that assisted childcare directors in providing a supportive environment, there was a greater chance for teachers to leave their positions, affecting the quality of care provided. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore perceptions childcare directors had regarding the effectiveness of transformational leadership skills taught in Strengths-Based Coaching^&reg; training as well as identify the challenges they faced integrating the transformational leadership skills within their center. There were three sources of data collected in the study: (1) individual interviews with 12 directors; (2) focus groups with 22 teachers who worked with the 12 directors since 2008; and (3) focus groups of eight Professional Development Specialists that consulted or coached the directors at their centers since 2008. Prior to implementing the study, a pilot study was conducted. Although 33 directors were initially identified, the final population for the pilot study was 27 directors; however, only three directors from Kansas City, Missouri, and one from St. Louis, Missouri agreed to participate. Interview questions were adjusted for clarity after the completion of the pilot study. Answers to the research questions were obtained by triangulating data gathered during interviews and focus groups. Findings showed transformational leadership skills taught in Strengths-Based Coaching^&reg; were effective due to better relationships and communication between staff and directors. Results indicated lack of time to practice and needing additional employees were issues that hindered directors from implementing leadership skills learned in Strengths-Based Coaching^&reg; to its fullest potential. Recommendations for educational practice included: Strengths-Based Coaching^&reg; training be expanded to other directors, offer a refresher course, provide additional resources, such as a coach, newsletter with coaching tips, and quarterly meetings for directors. Recommendations for further research included: gather additional qualitative data to measure support provided by directors, extend the population and conduct a cross-comparison analysis, collect quantitative data at different increments after the training, and conduct a longitudinal study to determine the effectiveness of transformational leadership on the organizational climate within childcare centers.</p>

<p> Students in developmental education face three types of barriers: institutional, situational, and affective. Current interventions focus on addressing institutional barriers; however, continuing low success and retention rates indicate a need for additional measures. Bandura's theory of academic self-efficacy provides a way to address the affective barriers faced by this student population. This study examines the impact of a series of three five-minute student success videos, based on the social modeling aspect of self-efficacy theory and developed using the Dick and Carey instructional design model, on the academic self-efficacy, retention, and success of developmental education students. A quasi-experimental research design was used to examine the effectiveness of the social modeling intervention. </p><p> Results from this study indicate that an intervention designed using academic self-efficacy as an underlying theory and the Dick and Carey model of instructional design as a creation and implementation guide did not have a significant impact on the academic self-efficacy of students enrolled in developmental education courses. Moreover, the intervention did not have an impact on success and retention rates. Additional analysis indicates that academic self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of either student success or retention. Further research regarding the link between academic self-efficacy and student success and retention at the developmental level is necessary. </p>

<p> Even though proprietary colleges and universities continue to gain market share in the higher education landscape, negative perceptions about proprietary institutions remain including reliance on contingent faculty to meet fluctuating student enrollments. Little research about the experiences of contingent faculty teaching in proprietary settings exists, and even less research exists about the unwritten expectations, or psychological contracts, contingent faculty bring with them to the employment relationship with an institution. As heavy use of contingent faculty continues, campus administrators need a more comprehensive understanding of how to best manage the expectations, benefits, challenges, and resources of this type of employment relationship. </p><p> This qualitative inquiry study collected data using open, semi-structured interviews, then analyzed data using phenomenological research methods to better understand what contingent faculty teaching at urban, proprietary institutions experience. This study also used the organizing framework of psychological contracts in order to apply the findings into recommendations for campus administrators working with contingent faculty. </p><p> The results of this study indicate that a contingent faculty member's early experiences with an institution significantly determined the way the psychological contracts with the institution were formed and maintained in later experiences. For most, once the initial relationship was formed, little experienced afterwards changed the relationship with the exception of major changes regarding institutional focus and/ or position within the institution. </p><p> Consistent with the literature, contingent faculty perceiving their overall experiences and relationship with the institution as positive had longer tenure with the institution, identified more with the institution, and exhibited more organizational commitment behaviors. Contingent faculty perceiving their experiences as negative tended to have shorter tenures with their institutions, did not identify with the institution, and exhibited less organizational commitment behaviors. However, even though organizational practices and experiences varied greatly, two types of experiences and perceptions remained consistent. First, participants were surprised and disappointed in student level of preparation for college academic work yet expressed commitment to their students' success as greater than their commitment to institutional expectations. Second, participants expressed overall satisfaction with teaching experiences, and began to identify themselves as teachers, regardless of prior professional affiliation or relationship with the institution.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the transition process as alumni of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship sought to find their place in faith communities after they graduated from university. Interview data revealed the process of finding a faith community was often intricately connected with each person's identity formation process. If the desired qualities were not found in faith communities, a selection process ensued where each graduated determined which unique set of qualities would not be compromised. These qualities were often indicative of each person determining what he or she would stand for in the world. Data reveal they were looking for an identity fit and companionship so they might keep growing. Numerous findings emerged which have educational and sociological implications for future graduates, leaders of faith communities, and other stakeholders who care about their transition process. The researcher was conducted in the Chicago area but was designed so the study might be duplicated in other cities and with other populations of twenty-somethings.</p>

Dr. Ronald Cervero (1985) identified learner motivation, the nature of the change, the social system of the organizational climate, and the educational program as factors affecting the application of learning to professional practice. A repeated measures research design was used to measure stability over time of instruments developed to measure variables in Cervero's model. Participants, N=27) graduate students, completed the instruments, "New Ideas and You" which measures learner's motivation to change, "The Nature of Change" which measures the learner's perception of the proposed change, and "Organizational Climate of the Social System" which measures the learner's perception of the social system's affect on the implementation of change. Staff nurses (N=27) completed the instrument "Continuing Education Offering Evaluation" which measures the learner's perception of the educational offering. Participants then completed the instruments again in three weeks. Procedures for the protection of human subjects were followed. The test-retest reliability coefficients were: "New Ideas and You," r=.72 L)-.01; "The Nature of Change," r.84 p=.01; "Organizational Climate of the Social System," r.83 p=.01; "Continuing Education Offering Evaluation," r.91 p=.01. The significance of this study was the initial establishment of stability over time of instruments developed to measure specific factors that affect the application of newly gained knowledge to nursing practice. Establishing reliability coefficients of instruments to measure the variables in Cervero's model is a step forward in the investigation of the larger question, "Does continuing education change practice?" / School of Nursing

<p> Program completion among adult learners attending adult basic education programs has been found to be an area of struggle. Cognitive ability has always been the primary factor for determining an individual&rsquo;s ability. However, non-cognitive ability has been proposed as a significant factor in academic success. Many attrition models have been developed in an effort to improve program completion and reduce attrition. The research study sample consisted of 68 adult learners attending the Appoquinimink Adult Education Program. The study focused on the effect that a course in emotional intelligence would have on program completion rates among adult learners attending adult basic education programs. The Mayor, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) was used to measure emotional intelligence. The main objective was to examine the effect of a course in emotional intelligence on adult learners&rsquo; non-cognitive ability to obtain program completion. The study used a quantitative Solomon four-group design to investigate the influence of the course on emotional intelligence. The idea that emotional intelligence is teachable and learnable has not been established as fact. However, the findings of the data analysis suggested support of the proposal that emotional intelligence can be taught and learned. In addition, the findings suggested that age, gender, and ethnicity were not predictors for emotional intelligence levels among adult learners attending adult basic education programs. The findings further suggested that adult learners with higher emotional intelligence levels had an increased chance for program completion. Hence, emotional intelligence was revealed to be a strong factor for reducing attrition and increasing program completion. </p>

<p>This qualitative study explores the transition experiences of Post-9/11 Era military veterans from active duty military service to college students for the purpose of adding to the body of knowledge about this student population. The subjects, who voluntarily offered to participate, were 15 community college student/veterans and 10 four-year institution student/veterans. Each interview was transcribed to create a written manuscript and the data was analyzed and coded. The themes which emerged from analysis of the interview transcripts were financial issues, interpersonal issues, academic issues, community issues, isolation, and inconsistency of information received from academic institutions. </p><p> Community college students reported high levels of interaction with faculty and virtually no interaction with other students, including other student/veterans, while the four-year institution students reported low levels of interaction with faculty, high levels of interaction with other student/veterans, and minimal interaction with nonveteran students. The information suggests the need and opportunity for future in-depth studies of the student/veteran transition experience. </p>

The primary purpose of the study was to determine if a parenting program would affect the reading achievement scores of single-parent children. Secondary purposes were to determine if male and female students were affected differently and if middle school students were affected differently than elementary students.Ninety-three students from a rural school district in northern Shelby County, Indiana, were identified to participate in the program. Forty-seven experimental children, were instructed in the parenting program twenty-one weeks, twenty-five minutes, two times a week. Forty-seven control students remained in the classroom.Multivariate analysis of covariance was done to test the null hypotheses. The criterion for rejecting or retaining the null hypothesis was set at the .05 level of probability.Data collected from the pre- and post-test reading scores of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale, the Martinek-Zaichkowsky Self-Conce t Scale for Children, and the Behavioral Characteristics of Single-Parent Children Checklist were analyzed. Findings were:1. There was not a significant difference between experimental and control groups or gender;however, the following differences did exist:a. The experimental group scored higher in reading than the control group, with the exception of the lower grade control females, who scored higher than the experimental lower grade females.b. The females of both groups had higher gain scores than the males.2. There was a significant difference at the .05 level in reading for the variable grade with lower grade students making larger positive gains than the upper grade students.3. There were significant differences in self-concept between the control and experimental groups in the area of anxiety, school status, happiness and athletics.a. The lower grade experimental, upper grade control, and male students (of both groups) were less anxious.b. The lower grade students felt better about school and were happier than the upper grade students.c. The second grade control group felt more confident about ability in athletics than the experimental group.4. The teachers perceived the experimental students as needing less discipline, having higher general achievement and better reading comprehension. Conclusions based on the findings were: 1. The group or the gender did not make a significant difference:a. However, the upper grade experimental group did perform better than the upper grade control group.b. The lower control females performed better than the lower grade experimental females, but the lower grade experimental males out performed the lower grade males in comprehension.2. The lower grade students performed significantly better than the upper grade students in reading vocabulary and comprehension.3. The lower grade experimental students, the upper grade control students and the male students were significantly less anxious.4. The lower grade students felt significantly better about school than the upper grade students.5. Teachers perceptions of experimental students were higher in classroom behavior, general achievement, and reading comprehension.

Dubin's and Cohen's (1970) Empirical Motivational Model of Updating (EMMPU) guided the design of this research, leading to the examination of the relationships among lifelong learning characteristics, job satisfaction, and engagement in professional updating activities for occupational therapists. Occupational therapists completed the Characteristics of Lifelong Learners in the Professions Questionnaire (Livneh, 1986), the Index of Organizational Reactions (Smith, 1976), the Professional Activity Engagement Survey, and participated in qualitative interviews.Statistically, no relationships were found among job satisfaction, characteristics of lifelong learning, and engagement in professional updating activities. The qualitative data suggested that these relationships existed. Characteristics of lifelong learning significantly predicted 7% of the variation in time spent engaged in professional updating activities. There were significant differences found on characteristics of lifelong learning and engagement in professional updating activities among therapists with varying educational 1eve1s.Utilizing grounded theory methodology, a theory of Professional Learning Management emerged from the data, contributing to the understanding of professional updating that was not addressed by the EMMPU model. In the theory of Professional Learning Management, patient treatment interaction triggered the need for updating by occupational therapists. The patient interaction determined the specifics of the necessary learning in regards to the content, timing, context, and methods. Occupational Therapists were reliant upon off-the-job learning in order to provide quality patient care. There was a cyclical feedback loop between off-the-job learning and application of that learning on the job within the patient treatment situation.Unlike the EMMPU model, updating occurred under both positive and negative contexts. The high engagers in professional updating were able to learn in spite of the barriers restricting learning efforts. The barriers to learning were not managed as well by the medium and low engagers in professional updating activities. Regardless of level of updating, occupational therapists utilized a variety of updating methods in accordance with the way in which the learning needs were defined by the patient treatment situation.3 / Department of Educational Leadership