<p> The current mixed method study explored the job satisfaction perceptions and retention plans of 241 secondary science teachers from seven North Texas school districts. For the current study, an email questionnaire was sent to seven districts across 83 secondary campuses, which included 51 middle schools and 32 high schools. The current study intended to find reasons why secondary science teachers continue to teach or decide to leave the profession. The participants&rsquo; perceptions and intentions to continue teaching were gathered through an online survey which gathered data across seven job satisfaction domains. Demographic and retention responses provided additional data on each participant. Through a quantitative analysis of Likert type survey responses and qualitative analysis of open-ended retention responses, the current study explored secondary science teachers&rsquo; perceptions and intentions to stay teaching. The quantitative analysis of survey data found significant differences in almost all of the job satisfaction domains for all teachers. There were also significant differences across some demographic groups as well. Through a qualitative analysis, motivation to teach was the leading predictor for retention. On the other hand, school culture and compensation were the top reasons for teachers planning to leave the classroom. </p><p>

<p> Approximately 80% of students attending community colleges intend to earn a bachelor&rsquo;s degree; however, only 17% attain the goal (Horn &amp; Skomsvold, 2011). The Complete College America (2011) initiative signaled a paradigm shift from access to higher education to public policy defining success as completion, graduation, and transfer. Despite efforts made, community colleges are falling short of reaching their two-year to four-year college completion goals (Monaghan &amp; Atwell, 2015). Attention to transfer students and their role in the college completion agenda has become a focus of recent research. There is, however, minimal understanding of transfer admission pathways such as Joint Admission programs and their relationship to degree completion. </p><p> This non-experimental causal-comparative ex-post facto study investigated the relationship between a Joint Admission Agreement (JAA) program and two-year to four-year degree completion and time to degree completion, and was guided by these research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between JAA student participation and bachelor degree completion? </p><p> 2. Is there a difference in bachelor degree time-to-completion between JAA and non-JAA transfer students? </p><p> 3. To what extent and in what manner is variation in bachelor degree completion rates explained by four-year GPA, total number of transfer credits, degree type, Pell and demographics on JAA and non-JAA? Ex-post facto data of JAA and non-JAA transfers (n = 846) who earned an associate&rsquo;s degree and transferred to a state flagship institution from 2011 to 2015 were collected and analyzed using SPSS software. A t-test analysis indicated participation in JAA (n = 121) showed a positive, significant relationship to four-year degree completion, t = 5.038, p = .001, M = .70 compared with non-JAA M = .47. A t-test analyses showed JAA t = 4.28, p = .001, M = 2.12 had .33 of a year faster rate of time-to-completion over non-JAA, M = 2.45. Results of ANOVA analysis showed demographics has no effect on time-to-degree completion. </p><p> This study filled a gap in the literature in finding a positive relationship between JAA participation and both four-year degree completion and time to completion. The results may suggest consideration of both system and institutional policy initiatives to promote and encourage JAA participation.</p><p>

<p> This study explores the relationship between state and federal funding policies and the ability of minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to support low-income and minority students. The way US public higher education is financed has changed dramatically since the Great Recession. State appropriations to institutions have declined (SHEEO, 2017), tuition increases have dramatically outpaced growth in household income (College Board, 2016a) and state financial aid has drifted from need-based to merit-based (College Board, 2016b). Many wonder how this policy environment is impacting low-income and minority students and the institutions that serve them. MSIs have risen to the forefront of institutions committed to serving these students, and more should be known about how these institutions are affected by the current fiscal policy environment. </p><p> The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between finance policies and the ability of MSIs to serve their students. Case study methodology was used to provide an in-depth analysis of how three campuses in New Mexico respond to state and federal finance policies and shifting revenue streams, and how these responses impact students. The three campuses include one Native American-serving Nontribal Institution that is a community college, and two Hispanic-Serving Institutions&mdash;a community college and a regional comprehensive university. These campuses share similar geographic and student characteristics, but are funded through different finance polices. The findings suggest that: local appropriations play a critical role in the fiscal stability of community colleges in New Mexico; state funding favors well-resourced institutions and students; and institutional leaders perceive federal funding as providing the most support for low-income student success. This study also reveals that finance policies in the state are not aligned to their full potential for increasing degree attainment.</p><p>

<p> Performance funding, the automatic and formulaic association of specific resources to institutional results on designated indicators, grew out of the accountability movement in higher education that originated in the 1950s and 1960s and redefined itself as the &ldquo;new accountability&rdquo; in the 1990s. To date, much of the literature on performance funding has been descriptive, prescriptive, and anecdotal, at best, with very little empirical evidence that performance funding is effective in impacting institutional performance. While recently some researchers reported on multivariate, multi-state analyses, findings continue to be mixed. </p><p> The 1974 Louisiana Constitution empowered the Louisiana Board of Regents to develop a funding formula for higher education with three main formula components, an example of a performance funding 1.0 program, which was finally incorporated into the <i>Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education </i> (Louisiana Board of Regents 2001, 2012). The Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomies for Diplomas Act of 2010 (GRAD Act) as amended in 2011 (Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomies for Diplomas Act, 2011), an example of a performance funding 2.0 program, provided four performance objectives and related specific targeted measures. Finally, Act 462 (Louisiana Legislature, 2014) called for the development of a new comprehensive outcomes-based funding formula that ensures the optimal allocation of state appropriated funds to public postsecondary educational institutions. That formula, approved by the Board of Regents in December 2015, was implemented in the 2017 fiscal year. </p><p> This study describes institutional efforts and changes in policies/initiatives implemented at select four-year, public institutions in Louisiana as a result of the GRAD Act. The study discusses, from a policy perspective, whether or not the GRAD Act as a performance funding policy achieved its stated goal of increasing &ldquo;the overall effectiveness and efficiency of state public institutions by providing that the institutions achieve specific, measureable performance objectives aimed at improving college completion and at meeting the state&rsquo;s current and future workforce and economic development needs&rdquo; (Louisiana Granting Resources and Autonomies for Diplomas Act, 2010, pp. 1&ndash;2). Unintended consequences of the Act are also noted. The study could inform future changes to Louisiana higher education performance funding models.</p><p>

<p> Sexual harassment and sexual violence are complex social issues and a prevalent problem on college and university campuses. College students are an &ldquo;at risk&rdquo; population because of their age, developmental stage, proximity to one another, and their access to social activities influenced by peer pressure, alcohol, and other drugs. In this study, the researcher examined the phenomenon of sexual harassment and sexual violence on college and university campuses in relation to Title IX legislation and guidance through the U. S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights finding letters and the college and university voluntary resolution agreements from 21 cases. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits the discrimination by gender to any educational program or activity. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are considered to be forms of sex discrimination. Applying a pragmatic worldview and interpretive lens, the researcher completed a qualitative document analysis of the case documents, using a framework modeled after Coffey&rsquo;s (2014) work. The researcher completed an inductive coding analysis of the documents to identify patterns related to the nature of sexual harassment and sexual violence, Title IX legislation and OCR guidance, and the complaints, finding of violations, and the resolution strategies outlined in the voluntary agreements. As one of the first qualitative studies of the OCR investigation and resolution documents, the results provide a broad introduction to the existence of sexual harassment and sexual violence in the studied cases, the role of Title IX and its influence and impact on college campuses, and the strategies identified to respond to the identified violations and initiatives put in place to prevent and respond to future occurrences.</p><p>

<p> Policy changes influence various aspects of art education such as K-12 art education curricula, state licensure systems, and contexts of art teacher preparation. Despite strong relationships between art education policy and practical fields, few studies have attempted to understand art education from the perspective of policy analysis. This study explores the connections between art education policy and the field of art education through a focus on art teacher preparation in Indiana. Additional attention was paid to perceptions of the appropriateness of alternative licensure routes in relation to policies of academic and quality standards and the extent to which visual art teachers&rsquo; sense of identity as teachers and artists is affected by appropriation of these standards.</p><p> The theoretical framework of this study is the need to understand policy appropriation of standards (including visual art and art teacher preparation standards) as an on-going process, that is continually influenced and changed by internal (human level) and external (institutional level) factors. The appropriation process is effectively expressed through practices, narratives, and texts of practitioners.</p><p> To understand the status and factors of the art education policy appropriation in art teacher preparation, I collected data as printed or digital documents, and as interviews with faculty members and pre-service art teachers in two traditional visual art teacher preparation programs in Indiana. I analyzed external (institutional level) and internal (human level) factors to adopt and work with state and national standards. While national standards for visual art education (were adopted by many states and presented as voluntary policy, in Indiana the national standards were built into the Indiana&rsquo;s Academic Standards for Visual Art Standards for K-12 students. Visual art teachers were required to complete a traditional teacher preparation program and pass examinations to become licensed to teach art.</p><p> Findings reveal that faculty of higher art teacher education programs in Indiana paid attention to the national and state standards in K-12 visual art and the standards for teacher education when preparing students to become licensed K-12 art educators. External motivations were accreditations system for teacher preparation requested by Indiana Department of Education related to NCATE. Schools and districts could be external motivations that pre-service art teachers adopt the standards in order to succeed in a job market. Internal factors were respects of roles and leaders of art education associations, desires to train/be qualified teachers and attain balanced knowledge between art studio and art education. Alternative routes to licensure were viewed as economically advantageous but not supportive of high-quality education. Policy had little impact on issues of identity. I concluded with recommendations for improvement in art teacher preparation that were needs of supportive policies for pre-service teachers&rsquo; teaching and teaching licensure including traditional and alternative licensures.</p><p>

<p> Educational reform is at the forefront of legislatures and school districts across the United States (Hattie, 2011). To find and employ high school improvement initiatives that lead to improved educational experiences for students, educational leaders must examine in great detail what systems have been successful and then modify the initiatives to fit the characteristics of their particular school districts (Berliner &amp; Glass, 2015). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of initiatives one Midwestern high school implemented beginning in 2012. The initiatives implemented included the Tardy Sweep policy, Response to Intervention (RtI) program, and a Late Work policy. The data collected were archival and reflected the school years from 2010-2011 through 2015-2016. Using descriptive statistics, the findings demonstrated an improved attendance rate, a decline in discipline referrals, and decreased failure rate with the implementation of these initiatives at one Midwestern high school. The findings of this study provide a compelling argument for the implementation of the three initiatives at other high schools.</p><p>

This study investigates the prevailing epistemological and cultural conditions that underlie educational research in Palestine. Using a case study of a major Palestinian University that awards Masters Degrees in Education, the study analyzes the assumptions and the methodology that characterizes current educational research. Using an analysis of approximately one hundred recent Masters Theses, interviews with current faculty members in Education, and an analysis of research articles published by those faculty members, the study reveals that the approach to research is strongly inclined toward positivist/postpositivist, quantitative paradigm. This inclination is supported by the presence of certain societal cultural values that facilitate the acceptance of many tenets found in the positivist/postpositivist epistemologies. Overcoming such inclination in this context or in any similar context will require opening a space for a better representation for alternative epistemologies and approaches to educational research. This study argues that changing such prevailing conditions must start by critically reviewing and challenging the basic epistemological assumptions that underpin the dominant positivist/postpositivist epistemologies. The study concludes with recommendations that all the parties involved in the conduct, representation, and funding of educational research should seek to promote epistemological diversity while remaining sensitive to the cultural values of the society.

This study utilized the Beginning Postsecondary Student (BPS) longitudinal data set (2004-2006) from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), which will follow for six academic years a nationally representative sample of students who began their postsecondary education during the 2004-2005 academic year. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of paid employment during the first year of college on first-generation academic success and first to second year persistence as compared to non first-generation students enrolled at 4-year institutions. First-generation students were observed to have a higher average number of hours worked in a week as well as GPA scores than non first-generation students. An independent samples t-test was performed in order to determine whether there was a significant difference between the groups. Considering the number of hours worked by the student, it was found that there was again a significant difference between the first-generation and non first-generation students, t = 8.57, p < .05. In fact, first-generation students would work almost four more hours on average than non first-generation students would. There was a significant relationship between the number of hours worked per week and the persistence of the student, t(200) = -9.25, p < .01. In fact, the model predicted that those who were still in their persistence track worked 10.82 fewer hours a week than students who are not in their track anymore. This indicated that students who were still on track did not work as many hours a week (not including study hours) as students who did not continue with their track. Based on this information, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the persistence track and the generation of the student, χ2(n = 1490, df = 1) = 23.15, p < .01. This indicated that whether the student was still on track depended on whether the student was a first or non first-generation student. In fact, those students who were first generation students were expected to be still on track more frequently than were observed (expected value was greater than observed value).

School feeding programs enhance the efficiency of the education system by improving enrollment, reducing dropouts and increasing perseverance. They also have the potential to reach the poor, directly making them an effective social safety net. In many low-resource countries, school feeding programs are designed to protect children from the effects of hunger. Unfortunately, the continuity of such programs is threatened by over-reliance on external funding. Given the patterns of withdrawal of external support, countries that rely on donor funds to implement such programs need to develop plans that will move them from external to localized support. It is well documented that programs that involve community members are self-sustaining. Regrettably, even though community members are involved in school feeding programs in Malawi, their participation is restricted to food storage and preparation and doesn't include decision making. Thus the transition plan for Malawi has to deliberately involve community members and influence them to take ownership of the school feeding programs. This dissertation explored the use of Social Marketing, a strategy for influencing behavior change that applies traditional marketing techniques to persuade a target audience to adopt, adapt, maintain or reject a behavior for the benefit of individuals, groups, or society as a whole to plan school food programs in Malawian primary schools. Using focus groups and individual interview techniques, I carried out a qualitative study at a primary school in Malawi where the community has initiated a school feeding program with the aim of understanding the barriers and benefits of supporting such an initiative from the community members' perspective. The results show that the cost of producing food, particularly the use of chemical fertilizer, is the main barrier whilst ensuring that all children regardless of social-economic status have access to a meal at school is the drive behind this initiative. The Social Marketing campaign therefore focuses on promoting the use of eco-san toilets whose output is humanure in this school community so as to minimize the cost of producing food to ensure sustainability of this initiative.