The purpose of this paper is to understand ADHD stimulant abuse among college students. Adderall and other ADHD stimulants are socially acceptable in the college student community. Students believe Adderall is safe, harmless, and beneficial, but the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies Adderall, along with other ADHD stimulants, as Schedule II substances because of their addictive nature. Among the average college student population, Adderall is not perceived as a dangerous Schedule II drug such as cocaine, oxycotin, opium, or morphine. Instead, Adderall is seen as a way to “perk up” and become or stay alert. College students rationalize that using the drug is no different than drinking coffee, using energy drinks, or taking energy tablets. College students are in denial that ADHD stimulants are dangerous and addictive in nature like any other habit-forming narcotic. The goal of this paper is to discuss and understand why college students abuse ADHD stimulants and rationalize their behavior for doing so. Suggestions for educators, researchers, and medical practitioners are also included. The significance of this paper is to convey a better understanding as to why college students abuse ADHD stimulants.

Sustained silent reading (SSR) is a practice involving readers in the process of reading over a designated time period. The basic assumption, in a pedagogical sense, is that practice in reading contributes to reading achievement. Durkin (1983) suggested that the focus of any reading program should be the development of competence in independent silent reading. In the same light, Gambrell (1978) proposed that "cormnonsense notions about the reading process tell us that independent reading skills are enhanced through daily practice in silent reading ... " (p. 328). On the other hand, little empirical research appears to have been undertaken to determine effects of sustained silent reading on either achievement or attitudes toward reading. However, some important studies have now been made. Some of the most relevant will be reviewed below.

children who have adequate reading skills rarely do any reading that is not specifically required in school. Reading for fun, and sometimes even required reading are frequently given a low priority when time for reading competes with sports, television, free play, music and dance lessons, etc. However, recreational reading is of critical importance for reinforcement of what is learning during reading instruction. The book talk is an excellent approach for motivating students to read outside of the classroom and during opportunities for free reading provided at school. Further, development of important oral communication skills can be fostered as well.

Children with parents who demonstrate a highly positive attitude toward reading and who read to their children generally profit from instruction when they begin learning to read and also enjoy considerable success (Durkin, 1966; McCormack, 1977). On the other hand, a review of current research indicates that there is little information available which demonstrates how school-age children as well as adults say they feel about reading. Further, Zirkel and Greene (1976) suggested that "there is a paucity of verbal self-report instruments in the reading attitude assessment area" (p. 107).

abstract: ABSTRACT Over the past decades, there has been growth in student academic success programs in institutions of higher learning. However, with this growth instructors in these programs have not always been prepared to teach courses focused on supporting student academic success. The purpose of this study was to understand the role that mentoring plays in the performance of new faculty in the Success Courses department at Arizona State University. The guiding questions of the study examined the degree to which mentoring affected instructors’ efficacy in implementing the core tenets of the Success Courses Department and the features of the mentoring program that new instructors found useful. I used an action research, mixed method approach with focus groups, interviews, and surveys serving as data collection tools. The participants in the study were new department faculty mentees who taught for the Success Courses department at ASU in the fall of 2018. The quantitative data suggested that the faculty mentoring program helped new instructors improve their understanding of their students and the classroom environment. The qualitative findings indicated that faculty mentoring provided overall support, enhanced preparedness to deliver course content, created opportunities for professional growth and development, and supported positive relationships and collaboration. The faculty mentoring program enhanced the development of relationships between mentors and mentees, which is important for assisting new instructors as they seek to address individual challenges related to their teaching practices. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2019

abstract: This mixed-methods study explored perceptions of new adjuncts on various trainings with regards to satisfying their professional and aspirational needs. Three trainings were offered in fall 2018 quarter as optional professional development: workshop, and two roundtable sessions. These trainings assisted adjuncts with their teaching skills, educational technology and pedagogy. Guidance was provided from experienced adjuncts and staff. Surveys and interviews with adjuncts, along with a focus group with staff were the sources of data for this study. A repeated measures Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) model was utilized. Analysis of data showed that there was a positive and statistical significance of change in perceptions of adjuncts who participated in all trainings towards fulfilling their needs, as compared to those who did not participate in any trainings. Adjuncts perceived an improvement in their professional growth based on Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory and the trainings also fulfilled their higher-level growth needs based on Maslow’s hierarchical needs theory. A large practical significance was also found which measures the practical impact of such trainings at local communities of practice. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

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Problem. The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of each school division in Virginia to determine the status of staff development programs for educational administrators and supervisors.;Design of the Study. The sample population for the study consisted of 134 school divisions in Virginia. The respondents were the superintendents of schools or persons designated as key instructional leaders. A 24-item questionnaire was sent to each school division in the state. The questionnaire was structured so that demographic data, program planning and management data, program scope and sequence data, and program implementation data could be obtained. A response of 91% was received.;Findings. Sixty-five percent of the respondents provide a program of staff development for school officials. Significant data were obtained in the following areas: (a) the delivery system for staff development; (b) level of participation in these programs; (c) colleges and universities involved in local programs; (d) types and topics of programs; (e) expenditures for staff development programs; (f) evaluation of programs and plans for changes.;Observations and Implications. Based on the review of the literature and the findings of the study, the following observations were made: A program of staff development for public school officials might be one method of enabling these officials to design appropriate responses to the challenges of a changing society. A program of staff development might be more holistic if objectives for these programs are based upon the results of a needs assessment reflecting input of school officials, teachers, parents, students, college and university personnel, and a diverse representation of lay public. A two-way system of communication between local school divisions and nearby institutions of higher education might be a means of improving staff development programs for practicing school officials as well as the pre-service training of persons enrolled in programs leading to endorsement in educational administration and supervision. The quality of an educational system might be improved if staff development programs for school officials placed greater emphasis on skills in administrative procedures. Implications for future research were included.

In equating contexts, when common items are internal and scoring is in terms of the number of correct items, for a bivariate distribution of total scores (X) and scores on the common items (V), some pairs of X and V can never be observed; these are called structural zeros (Bishop, Fienberg, & Holland, 2007; Holland & Wang, 1987). The primary purpose of this dissertation was to investigate how different approaches to handling structural zeros give different equating results. The following five approaches to handling structural zeros were compared: (1) no smoothing approach, (2) internal approach, (3) external approach, (4) adjusted external approach, and (5) univariate frequency estimation approach. Furthermore, this dissertation examined how the relationship between equating results and approaches to handling structural zeros changes as the proportion of common items changes. Two types of data were considered: operational data and simulated data. The operational test analyses used five operational data sets that had differences in content areas, proportion of common items, group performance levels, and sample sizes. Three study factors were considered as follows: (1) approaches to handling structural zeros, (2) equating methods, and (3) degrees of smoothing. For the simulated test analyses, four additional study factors were considered: (1) proportion of common items, (2) test length, (3) examinee ability effect size, and (4) sample sizes. There were four main findings from the operational and simulated test analyses: (1) the external approach generally gave the worst results; (2) for relatively small effect sizes, the internal approach generally gave the smallest overall error; (3) for relatively large effect sizes, the adjusted approach generally gave the smallest overall error; and (4) if interest focused on reducing bias, only, the adjusted approach was generally preferable. These results suggest that, under the conditions studies here, when a set of common items is an internal anchor and bivariate smoothing is performed, the internal approach which maintains structural zeros is generally preferable.

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