The financial markets have been in a state of chaos for a number of years. Some of the chaos was attributed to appraisers bending under unethical pressure exerted by lenders. The purpose of this study was to explore whether mode of instruction affected appraiser morality when participating in a Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course, as measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). The research question examined the difference between the effect on the morality schema of continuing appraisal students taking the 7-hour USPAP CE course online versus students taking the course in a face-to-face environment. The research consisted of administering the DIT-2 before the USPAP course as a baseline, and then again after the USPAP course to determine if there was a difference in moral outlook. Eight online and 11 face-to-face students completed pre and post DIT-2. MANCOVA determined that there was no significant difference in the post instruction DIT-2 scores between face-to-face and online instruction, controlling for pre instruction score. Further study is recommended with larger sample size and multiple online and face-to-face classes. The results of this research resulted in recommendations to create USPAP courses with ethics components (Appraise Your Ethics). Such courses can be online or face-to-face. The conclusions of this study could lead to enhancements in the design and delivery of the USPAP course, resulting in a positive social change of enhanced appraiser morality and a reduction in unethical behaviors.

School reform efforts ultimately affect the students, but what is seldom looked at is how they affect teachers. This phenomenological study examined the experiences of teachers with regards to web-based professional development during a systemic change. The purpose of this qualitative study was to generate an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of 6 teachers in a Southeastern state who had participated in the initial process of implementing organizational changes and the diffusion of the new state educational standards. Rogers's diffusion of innovation theory served as the study's conceptual framework. Research questions focused on the perspectives of teachers regarding the impact of web-based professional development on implementing the new state standards, and the perceived barriers and challenges faced in their attempts to make the implementation of the new state standards successful. Interview data were analyzed using first- and second-level coding to identify external and internal factors related to the research questions and themes that emerged across all interview transcripts. Key findings indicted that teachers perceived that they did not receive adequate professional development or planning time to implement the new standards. This study has implications for social change on an organizational and individual level. On an organizational level, districts can provide K-12 teachers with an implementation process that allows adequate planning time and proper professional development that enhances their pedagogical needs by using a framework more aligned to the diffusion innovation theory. Teachers can then better plan instruction with ample time to acquire, process, and implement new knowledge, allowing them to improve their pedagogical practice.

Increasing technology intervention in rural schools is still a herculean task, especially with the lack of adequate infrastructures and limited resources. The purpose of this quantitative, causal comparative study was to determine the impact of technology interventions on student achievement in rural Nigerian schools. The study explored the differences in student achievement in mathematics and English between technology and nontechnology schools and established a relationship between teachers' level of technology implementation and student achievement. The convenience sample comprised 2,369 examination scores in mathematics and English of Senior Secondary Level 2 (SS2) students and purposive sampling of 34 teachers who participated in an online survey. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the level of technology implementation (LoTi) framework, and Pearson's correlation coefficient test. The results showed significant differences in student achievement between technology and nontechnology schools. However, the LoTi framework results indicated a low level of technology implementation in classroom instruction and no significant relationship between teachers' technology integration and student performance. Thus, the mere presence of technology seems to have more impact on student grades than the ways in which teachers use it. This study is resource material for stakeholders in education to ascertain the technology that worked best, teachers' professional development, and other infrastructures, prior to the deployment of technology interventions. The results could be useful for increasing teachers' technology integration and improving student performance, thereby leading to positive social change.

The benefits of involvement in work-integrated learning programs, also known as cooperative education have been touted since inception in 1899. Unfortunately, little research has been published related to the factors that impact enrollment within these programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that have influenced the historically low enrollment numbers within the cooperative education program at a public community college located in the southeastern United States. Guided by Kolb's experiential learning theory, the conceptual framework provides a direct link between classroom learning and work experience. A qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of 11 cooperative education program alumni. Data were collected via a semistructured interview process using open-ended questions during focus groups. The data collected were transcribed for coding and triangulated for validation by comparing the multiple data results. Through data analysis, 3 fundamental themes emerged: recruitment, communication, and experiences. A 4th theme, website development, was highlighted within the policy development as an essential part of the initial 3 themes. The results may allow administrators to gain insight into how cooperative education enrollment numbers are being influenced by specific variables within the classroom, college, industry, community, program marketing, and program experiences. The implications for social change reach far beyond the study site. Through the determination of factors that impact enrollment numbers within a specific program, other institutions may be provided guidance in how to address the enrollment issues within the institutions' programs.

The changes in educational technology present challenges for K-12 principals leading students and faculty who are more engaged with classroom technology. The role of self-directed learning and how K-12 principals adopt the technology while leading the deployment and implementation of classroom technologies is not known due to a limited amount of empirical research. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between technology adoption and self-directed learning by K-12 principals. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology as the theoretical framework, a quantitative cross-sectional study was designed. The survey instruments, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Personal Responsibility Orientation Self-Directed Learning Scale were used to collect data from K-12 principals in the state of Arkansas. A regression and correlational analysis of the responses from 40 principals revealed a small positive but not statistically significant relationship between self-directed learning and technology adoption. The results also showed strong and moderate statistically significant correlations between the constructs of technology adoption and self-directed learning. The results from this research may provide a framework for pre-service and ongoing professional development of educational technology leadership. This study addresses positive social change by providing insight to administrators and bringing greater awareness to technology adoption. A greater awareness may increase their understanding of classroom technologies and may provide a foundation for better stewardship over public funds and purposeful engagement with students, parents, and the community.

Students at an inner city school have low test results despite making progress. The study examines the problem that technology plans implemented by the Board of Education could not improve student achievement. Educational policy recommends to increasingly sustain teaching by educational technology. Therefore, this research examines the teacher knowledge necessary for technology integration in classes, and the ways this knowledge can be fostered. The theoretical framework of this study integrates 2 prominent theories of instructional science: learning by design (LBD) and technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK). The relationship between LBD, TPACK, and technology integration in the classroom was examined. The assumption was made that LBD and TPACK predict technology integration, and that TPACK mediates the relationship between LBD and technology integration. A correlational study was carried out with a sample of N = 109 in-service, secondary, mathematics teachers from an inner city school. The data were collected using a previously validated questionnaire survey and initially analyzed by multiple regression analysis. However, the measured variables displayed nonlinear relationships, suggesting that, while TPACK partially mediates the LBD-TI relationship as hypothesized, technological knowledge had a saturation effect on TI, and thus high scores of both LBD and TPACK decreased TI. The study shows at a theoretical level how teachers can benefit from LBD experiences resulting in TPACK and how likely they combine technology with teaching. For the practice of teacher leadership, this study will suggest effective forms of professional development, thus improving teaching quality and enabling positive social change.

An alternative high school campus in the State of Georgia introduced a new program to support academic growth and engagement among at-risk students. This program, the APEX program, merges technology with content to provide students with self-paced learning facilitated by teachers with the objective of improving test scores, course completion, and graduation. The purpose of this goals-based evaluation was to examine the relationship between APEX program usage and the academic success measures of EOCT scores, course credit accrual, and graduation; it was grounded in the behavior objectives approach. The study followed a cohort of students who were enrolled in Grade 9 in 2010-2011. Data sources were archival test scores and preexisting APEX data. This APEX data included accrued credit hours, completion rate, and documentation of mastery learning outcomes for the enrolled students in Grades 9-12. Analysis of the quantitative data sets entailed the use of ANOVA, Chi-Square, and t tests. The study findings showed that students using the hybrid APEX instructional model accrued significantly more credit hours, were more likely to graduate, and have higher end of course grades than students using the APEX-only model. These results suggest that a broader use of APEX labs for students identified as at-risk in both alternative and traditional schools provides a flexibility in instructional settings that helps more students succeed. This study suggests the most effective use of resources with the implementation of APEX to reach the largest number of students. This study promotes positive social change by confirming the efficacy of a tool for reaching more students to improve higher district-level graduation rate, course accrual, and end-of-course test scores.

Middle school students misuse social media without understanding the negative influence on their global digital footprint and lives. Research does not provide insight into how students develop digital citizenship skills for positive digital footprints and appropriate social media use. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore students' growth as digital citizens while participating in one digital citizenship project using global collaboration and social media. The conceptual framework included Ribble's theory of digital citizenship and Siemens's theory of connectivism. Research questions asked how students' digital citizenship developed when they were engaged in social media and global collaborative projects. Participants included 7 middle school teachers and 1 project administrator. Structured interviews and Wiki data were analyzed using an iterative open coding technique to identify rich, thick themes and patterns. The findings showed global collaborative projects and social media served as catalysts to motivate students as they took action as digital citizens, overcame barriers to digital citizenship, used social media for learning and collaboration, and adopted less ethnocentric views of the world. Students compared other cultures to their own, considered the welfare of others online, and modified their online behavior in favor of positive global digital footprints. Students used social media responsibly, were academically motivated by an authentic audience, and shared their academic learning with others in their local and extended communities. Reform of middle school curricula to include global collaborative projects and instruction in digital citizenship may bring about positive social change as students learn to be responsible users of social media.

Web 2.0 technologies offer many educational benefits in higher education. Leaders of the U.S. community college examined in this study desired to explore students' familiarity with the educational benefits of Web 2.0 tools before investing in technology upgrades for the college. The purpose of this quantitative survey research was to explore community college student readiness to use Web 2.0 technologies as part of their distance learning experience. The research questions were designed to clarify students' attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using Web 2.0 applications. Data were collected from 253 randomly selected distance-learning students using a survey derived from the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB). The DTPB assesses individuals' likely actions related to using Web 2.0 technologies as a function of behavioral intentions reflected through attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Results of the Spearman rho analyses indicated significant positive relationships related to Web 2.0 applications between attitude and behavioral intentions, subjective norms and behavior, peer influence and subjective norms, and self-efficacy with facilitating conditions and perceived behavioral control. There was no relationship between perceived behavioral control and behavior. Additional findings revealed that students perceived the existence of a beneficial social network within the distance-learning environment. The results of this study facilitated college administrator awareness of students' perceptions of using Web 2.0 tools for learning, and suggest that implementing these tools would be beneficial for the students and college by creating a more inclusive learning environment for online students.

Past studies have indicated that teachers in the United States have limited opportunities to collaborate with peers; this limitation has been found to be particularly problematic for social studies teachers. An increasing number of educators are using the social media application Twitter to collaborate. Little research exists concerning social studies teachers' use of #edchats, a weekly recurring Twitter session. The focus of this qualitative case study was the collaboration that exists among social studies teachers participating in Twitter edchats. The theoretical framework was communities of practice. Transcripts of 10 edchat sessions in 2013 were coded with an a priori strategy, and emergent themes were triangulated with interviews from 7 of the most consistent contributors from the edchats. Emergent themes included close personal connections among participants consistent with communities of practice and a narrow focus on social studies-specific content. Findings were consistent with existing research describing a general lack of formal training on the methodology of incorporating Twitter and a general consensus among active participants that adopting new technologies was relatively easy. Results indicate the potential of #edchats as an asynchronous and synchronous form of collaboration but also illustrate the need for formal training to help educators who feel less comfortable with adopting new technologies. The project resulting from this study, a free professional development program designed to teach educators how to use Twitter, will contribute to social change by sharing the benefits of creating a collaborative environment through Twitter, thus freeing participants from the constraints of physical location and time at no significant cost.