The significance of professional development (PD) is acknowledged in research studies as essential to implementing rigorous state standards. Although the literature recognizes that PD is a crucial component in improving teachers' knowledge and skills, some teachers at a midsized urban public elementary school in the southern United States did not see the benefit of attending PD. The purpose of this study was to explore elementary special education teachers' perceptions of PD around assessment. Guided by a framework based on Chen and McCray's whole teacher approach to teacher PD, this basic qualitative study was designed to understand how these elementary special education teachers viewed the PD activities related to assessment at the local site. In-depth interviews were conducted with elementary special education teachers at LMP Elementary School who had attended PD about assessment. Interview data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Overall, findings revealed concerns regarding the quality of PD, lack of training, lack of evidence-based practice, teachers' intrinsic motivation and commitment, and teachers' autonomy. Findings were used to design a 3-day PD workshop that engaged learning techniques for special education teachers to assess and implement instructional methods to augment students with disabilities' academic achievement. Ultimately, this study has implications for creating positive social change by advocating and providing for special education teachers to be maximally engaged in PD aimed at enhancing outcomes for the students with disabilities they serve.

New Jersey is 1 of 46 states to enroll in President Obama's Race-to-the-Top Initiative. Participating states must adopt national standards, revise teacher evaluation procedures, and administer new state assessments. States are prioritizing quality professional development (PD) to prepare teachers for these rapid shifts. The overall problem studied was how high school teachers perceive the quality of PD in a high school in New Jersey. While substandard PD alone is not enough to lose tenure, it has recently become one of the evaluative measures for teacher performance according to a new tenure law signed in 2012 by Governor Chris Christie. Such added pressures could impact teachers' attitudes toward their professional growth. The study was based on Mezirow and Knowles' theory of adult learning as well as social constructivism. Several questions guided this study, such as how can teachers' perceptions shape the current PD program in the featured high school and if the current shifts in educational reform affect their perception. A case study was used as the research design, and interviews were employed as the main method of gathering qualitative data. Subsequently, 7 educators in various content-specialties were interviewed. Once the interviews were analyzed, transcribed, and coded, 5 significant themes emerged: (a) organized and relevant training, (b) in-class support, (c) continuity and constructive feedback, (d) accountability of transference, and (e) a culture of respectful collaboration and partnership. The implications for social change for this project would be that an effective PD program at the high school might improve the high school teachers' attitudes toward their own professional growth. Improved attitudes might motivate teachers to apply new knowledge, which will increase student performance, faculty morale, and community & family relations.

The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and Race to the Top (2009) legislation have forged new school accountability measures and led to a sharp increase in demand for teacher professional development (TPD). However, data revealed that there is a disconnection between the training that teachers receive and its implementation, limiting its impact on student achievement. This qualitative case study's purpose was to reveal major barriers to TPD implementation and provide suggestions for crafting more impactful TPD. Based on the social constructivist foundation, this study sought to address the factors that increase teachers' receptiveness to more effective teaching techniques. It explored middle school teachers' perceptions of TPD, its connection to student achievement, and factors influencing implementation. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions helped to identify emergent themes. Nine participants were purposefully selected to gather data from perspectives across race, gender, and various teaching experiences. This study took an inductive approach using the constant comparison methodology of data analysis. Participants identified influencing factors regarding TPD, such as the inclusion of a follow-up component for accountability and feedback. Also, the participants insisted that TPD must be seen as non-punitive, relevant, engaging, and non-hypocritical; for example, a lecture cannot teach teachers about the ineffectiveness of teaching via lecture. These findings encourage positive social change by providing insight into crafting more impactful TPD. Ultimately, improved TPD encourages better teaching methodologies, increased teacher morale, and higher student achievement.

Currently, nonemployee students who take General Electric's (GE's) pollution control classes do not demonstrate consistent knowledge gains following training. The purpose of this project was to investigate whether the independent variables of level of education and choice in attending the class made a significant difference in the means of the dependent variables of anxiety and ability to focus. The project was influenced by the theory of andragogy, which explores the motivations and principles specific to the teaching of adults. The research questions for this study probed relationships between level of formal education among participants and their choice in whether to attend or not and potential anxiety towards training and their ability to focus on training. Data were collected from 756 adults who took a voluntary self-designed survey while registering for this class. A quantitative approach that included t tests and ANOVA tests revealed significant differences when comparing the adult behaviors of anxiety and ability to focus with the variables of choice in attendance of training and level of completed formal education. The results were used to inform a train-the-trainer program with the goal of mitigating discrepancies in knowledge transfer. As the impacts of pollution are understood, it is critical that those who are responsible for controlling pollution have the best training. Organizations that issue professional certifications need to be assured that those completing continuing education units deserve the awarded credits. Thus, any improvement to the consistency of knowledge transferred for GE's pollution control classes will support social change by enhancing the ability of students of the class to protect the earth's communities and climate and fulfill education obligations.

The post-9/11 security environment is one that confronts the United States, and specifically the U.S. Army, with complex problems that require development of leaders with improved knowledge, skills, and attributes to meet the challenges of defending the nation. The problem confronting the U.S. Army is that Army leaders lack a learning environment or methodology that enables effective self-development throughout their career. Research suggests that PLNs (PLNs) and a connectivist approach may address that problem, but these have been limited to civilian educational environments. This qualitative case study explored the use of PLNs with a connectivist approach for leader self-development in Army organizations. The case in this study was that of a cohort of 22 officers in a U.S. Army unit. Each officer developed a PLN and then employed a connectivist approach to connect, curate, create, and share knowledge. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed with a focus on themes that could inform future decisions by Army senior leadership on the self-development of leaders, and that could enable decisions that will reduce loss of life and destruction in wartime. The major themes developed in this study account for the approach and challenges to Army self-development, the motivation for and execution of connected learning, and the structuring and desired characteristics of self-development that employs PLNs and connectivism. Recommendations included integrating a semistructured approach to self-development into emerging educational approaches to Army leader development. More prepared Army leaders can respond to crises more effectively, reducing adverse effects, damage, and loss of life

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) exhibit low motivation to participate in educational leisure activities at Clubhouses accredited by Clubhouse International (CI). This correlational study examined the relationship between each of 4 motives, intellectual, social, competence-mastery, and stimulus-avoidance, to engage in leisure activities, and the perception of recovery from SMI. Knowles's theory of andragogy supported the concept of informal self-directed learning, which occurs with leisure activities. Literature indicates that participating in leisure activities such as those offered at Clubhouses aids in the recovery from SMI. Quantitative data were collected from a convenience sample of 75 individuals at 4 CI clubhouses using 2 Likert-scale instruments, the Leisure Motivational Scale (LMS) and the Recovery Assessment Scale - Domains and Stages (RAS-DS). Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significant moderate positive correlations between each of 4 motives, intellectual, social, competence-mastery, and stimulus-avoidance, to engage in leisure activities, and the perception of recovery from SMI. These findings were used to design a professional development program on motivation to teach the staff at a Clubhouse about how to engage members in leisure activities. The study has the potential to inspire positive social change by motivating members to improve their quality of life, learn social and work skills, develop friendships and a support system, reengage with society, and to become employed.

The college open door policy initiated in the 1960s made access to higher education available for more students in the United States. People who were once excluded from enrolling in college now have an opportunity to earn a college degree. Some first-time students, significantly underprepared in writing, have been required to enroll in developmental or remedial writing courses before entering college-level English despite research indicating that taking noncredit courses increases the time for college completion and the cost of college, while also reducing the likelihood of completion. This illustrative case study, guided by the constructivist approach to instruction, was designed to discover college faculty members' perceptions concerning university students' writing and the interventions needed to improve writing skills. The qualitative data were collected through audio-recorded semistructured interviews of 12 college faculty members that were transcribed and coded with Ethnograph software. The findings indicated that college faculty members believed most students lacked basic writing skills and did not take sufficient initiative for their learning. Faculty members also thought students' writing would improve if students assumed responsibility for their learning and used the resources available. This study provides insight into college faculty members' views of students' writing skills and recommendations for how these skills might be improved through collaborative efforts across the university, resulting in positive outcomes for both the students and university by increasing student graduation rates and reducing college debt.

The post-9/11 security environment is one that confronts the United States, and specifically the U.S. Army, with complex problems that require development of leaders with improved knowledge, skills, and attributes to meet the challenges of defending the nation. The problem confronting the U.S. Army is that Army leaders lack a learning environment or methodology that enables effective self-development throughout their career. Research suggests that PLNs (PLNs) and a connectivist approach may address that problem, but these have been limited to civilian educational environments. This qualitative case study explored the use of PLNs with a connectivist approach for leader self-development in Army organizations. The case in this study was that of a cohort of 22 officers in a U.S. Army unit. Each officer developed a PLN and then employed a connectivist approach to connect, curate, create, and share knowledge. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed with a focus on themes that could inform future decisions by Army senior leadership on the self-development of leaders, and that could enable decisions that will reduce loss of life and destruction in wartime. The major themes developed in this study account for the approach and challenges to Army self-development, the motivation for and execution of connected learning, and the structuring and desired characteristics of self-development that employs PLNs and connectivism. Recommendations included integrating a semistructured approach to self-development into emerging educational approaches to Army leader development. More prepared Army leaders can respond to crises more effectively, reducing adverse effects, damage, and loss of life

The nurse practitioner (NP) role transition is difficult and ill-supported before and after graduation. Although preceptorships are essential in supporting a NP's role transition, there is a paucity of data on student and novice NPs' experiences with their role transition and how it is supported through preceptorships. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and describe the meaning of NPs' role transition experiences while in a preceptorship before and after graduation. Schlossberg's transition theory and the cognitive apprenticeship models were used to guide the exploration of concepts of role transition and preceptorship. One face-to-face, 3 Skype, and 12 phone interviews were conducted with NPs who were currently practicing in the NP role (>3 months but <5 years) in those states that require collaborative practice agreement. Transcribed interviews were coded using Van Manen's analysis strategies. Findings suggested that NPs' difficult transition to practice was related to their preceptorship support in NP school and in NP work settings. The data showed ill-supported preceptorships when in NP programs. Lack of preceptorships after the graduation was accompanied by employers' expecting novice NPs to function at an expert level, frequently with minimal guidance. Understanding how NPs transition to practice and how their role transition is supported through preceptorships can be used to inform NP educators and organizations that hire NPs of the changes needed to strengthen NPs' role transition. These findings may promote positive social change by guiding stakeholders to improve the NP role transition, which could, in turn, increase NPs' autonomy, retention, and job satisfaction.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) disproportionately affect African Americans in the South; given that population's high rate of church attendance, churches have been one potential avenue for HIV/AIDS education. Research has shown the importance of HIV/AIDS education in reducing risk behavior and infection, although church-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs for adults have received little scholarly attention, including the impact of such programs on attitudes, behavioral control, and intention to engage in safe sexual practices. Using Ajzens' theory of planned behavior as a foundation, the purpose of this quantitative study was to explore whether there is a statistically significant difference in attitudes, behavior control, and intention to engage in safe practices as a result of participation in a church program. Survey data were collected from a convenience sample of 132 adult participants, 68 of whom participated in a church-based HIV/AIDS prevention program, and a control group of 64 participants from a congregation without a program. Wilcoxon Ranks Tests were used to analyze the data. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in regards to social norms and perceived behavioral control. There was no significant difference in the attitudes between the 2 groups. Implications for positive social change include informing policy makers and practitioners of the importance of church-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs as an innovative tool for adults to establish more effective HIV/AIDS prevention programs that will positively impact other ethnic groups at higher risk of acquiring the infection and disease.