<p> The problem addressed in this study was the need for evidence-based teaching strategies that prepare nursing students to enter practice at graduation with the competencies to provide safe patient care. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the addition of a patient safety focused human patient simulation (PS-HPS) learning activity during the final senior semester of a nursing program in southeast Michigan changes students&rsquo; perceptions of patient safety competence learning. For the pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study, a convenience sample of 48 undergraduate senior nursing students who engaged in the simulation was compared to 50 senior nursing students from the previous semester that did not receive the intervention. The Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) was administered to both groups of nursing students during the second week of the final semester of a baccalaureate nursing program and again at the end of the semester. For the first research question, the ANCOVA test determined that there was no significant difference in post-test classroom learning scores between the comparison and treatment groups, controlling for pre-test classroom learning H-PEPSS scores, F (1, 95) = .000, p = .983, partial eta squared = .000. For the second research question, the ANCOVA test determined that there was no significant difference in post-test clinical learning H-PEPSS scores between the comparison and treatment groups, controlling for pre-test clinical learning scores, F (1, 95) = .496, p = .483, partial eta squared = .005. Implications for nursing education practice include: (a) simulation learning may not be more effective than traditional classroom learning strategies and (b) educators should continue to explore both classroom and clinical teaching strategies to advance students&rsquo; patient safety competence learning. One recommendation is to replicate the study with other nursing students from different locations. Secondly, the simulation scenario presented in this study could be modified by other instructors to effectively facilitate students&rsquo; patient safety learning. Additionally, a mixed methods research design may yield student responses that better reflects student learning within simulation. The proposed study adds to the nursing educational research about the effectiveness of simulation for students&rsquo; patient safety competence learning.</p>

<p> School officials in a large district adopted a research-based teacher evaluation system, the Framework for Teaching (FFT). Despite a 4-year phase-in of the FFT, teachers&rsquo; evaluation ratings increased while student achievement results decreased. This disparity impacted the school district&rsquo;s growth targets as set by the State Department of Education. If target growths are unmet, school administrators must relinquish school operations to the state. A bounded, qualitative case study was designed to explore administrators&rsquo; and teachers&rsquo; perceptions of the FFT and its influence on school administrators&rsquo; assessment of teachers&rsquo; instructional practices. Social constructivist and andragogy theories formed the study&rsquo;s conceptual framework. A purposeful sample of 6 K-12 district administrators, who reviewed teacher performance, and 12 K-12 district teachers, who were evaluated using the FFT, volunteered to participate in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed using open and axial coding. Key results included concerns with lack of time for conferences during the evaluation process, administrators&rsquo; skills to provide quality feedback to teachers, and their lack of content knowledge to improve teaching and learning in specific content areas. It was recommended that teachers receive evidence- based, constructive, and individualized feedback from the school administrator. Based on the findings, the Feedback Institute was developed to engage school administrators in professional development to learn how to provide substantive feedback using protocols and structures to support teacher growth and to use content specialists to address gaps in administrators&rsquo; content knowledge. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change by restructuring the teacher evaluation process to improve instructional practice, and, thus, enhance school improvement and student learning.</p>

FET Colleges are facing two main challenges in the new educational landscape in South Africa, namely; responding to the desired level of delivery to cater for all South Africans as a postmerged institution and responding to relevant programme demands in a globally competitive environment. This research explores the relationship between service quality and user satisfaction. A model that demonstrates how satisfaction can be seen as both a micro-level response to individual transactions, and a macro-level of service quality is proposed, namely the SERVQUAL model. Using an evidence-based approach, gaps between user expectations and perceptions are explored as well as the gap between expectations and managers perceptions of these. Based on this evidence some observations are made about ways in which Coastal KZN FET Colleges could make more use of the information derived from their own organisation user survey to improve their services. This generic study could easily be carried out at other FET Colleges in South Africa and internationally. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 4, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-223).

Thesis (M.S.)--Marshall University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 49 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (Proquest, viewed on Aug. 25, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-136). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [94]-98). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [94]-98). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-173). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.