As school districts integrate evidence-based prevention programs into their daily regime, they may struggle with implementing these programs with fidelity. This is a multi-method, multi-source, retrospective explanatory study of the implementation factors associated with program installation and partial implementation of an evidence-based violence prevention program, Second Step, in six elementary schools within a large urban school district. The goals of this study were to provide a better understanding of (a) the factors that support implementation of evidence-based programs in K-12 public schools, (b) the factors that constrain implementation, and (c) how developers and researchers might facilitate the application of research to practice. Schools that identified as implementing Second Step school-wide (Level 1) were matched to schools that identified as implementing in individual classes or grades (Level 2). Matching of paired schools was done through statistical peer grouping using statistical cluster analysis to identify groups of similar schools to help support the internal validity of the study by controlling for external variables that might affect implementation factors associated with program installation and partial implementation differently between the schools (Dunavin, 2005). This present study used a variety of data collection methods, including principal, counselor, and teacher interviews, school staff focus groups, an implementation checklist, and document reviews. Propositions and their indicators were proposed. Data were collected to determine the extent schools were implementing two of the stages identified by Fixsen et al. (2005), program installation and initial implementation. Raters were trained to rate the responses of the interviewees and focus group participants to test whether responses supported the propositions proposed, were against the proposition, or showed no evidence either way. Those scores were averaged and comparisons were made between matching Level 1 schools that identified using the program school-wide, and Level 2 schools that identified as using in individual classrooms and grades. T-tests were completed to examine the interview and focus group ratings and the checklist. There were no significant differences between schools implementing school-wide and those implementing in particular classrooms or grades accept for two proposition indicators. There was evidence that school staff received training on the Second Step curriculum and there was evidence that Second Step was delivered school-wide. However, the t-test results were opposite of what was predicted. Whether a school implemented school-wide or in individual classes or grades, schools were challenged by their competing priorities. Conditions that lead to fidelity in prevention program were often adapted to better meet the everyday life of the schools. School staff understood the importance of fidelity, but no school provided the program as designed. Staff suggests that with programs designed with flexibility and clear recognition of school culture, they might better be able to implement programs as designed.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Educational Psychology Practitioner Scale (EPPS), which was designed to (a) assess the practices, training, and skills of educational psychologists and (b) determine their utility among K-12 schools classroom teachers. Study participants included 161 K-12 teachers across 21 states within the United States. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a 25-item, unidimensional scale. Correlating the EPPS with the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) and the Job Satisfaction Scale (Warner, 1973) provided discriminant validity for the scale. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

If a group of engineering deans were asked whether students at their institutions were successful and why, what information might they immediately or subconsciously use to measure or gauge the engineering students’ success? If only academic performance outcomes like GPA, individual course grades, or graduation rate race to their minds, then their rationale aligns with the majority of researchers. My research seeks to shift the mindset that frames engineering student success mainly within the boundaries of academic performance measures. By measuring students’ perceived autonomy, competence, social integration and relatedness within their programs, and aspirations after graduation, one can more accurately judge whether engineering students are achieving holistic student success. By utilizing surveys and exit interviews for freshmen Summer Bridge Program (SBP) participants, interviewing continuing and past SBP participants, and surveying engineering seniors, this research gathered more in-depth information on students’ experiences. In turn, one can better understand how the structures of engineering summer and undergraduate programs either contribute to or detract from student success and motivation. Results from SBP freshmen indicated that community building, structured studying, real-world experiences, residential life, and mentorship were perceived as valuable components by the students. Also, a perceived difficulty gap, based on students’ prior engineering experience(s), was uncovered. For continuing SBP students, there was an emphasis on Black community, leadership, and discourse when moving from SBP to larger departments. Lastly, within the seniors, we found that students tend to choose engineering careers regardless of their undergraduate experiences. This information can be used in practice for enhancing programmatic planning and design as well as potentially developing novel program components that contribute to students becoming more self-determined, motivated engineers. It is my hope that one day in the near future, engineering education faculty, administrators, and leaders will cultivate and measure success based on a more comprehensive assessment of lived experiences and better recognize how their decisions regarding programmatic structures impact students’ success and motivation.

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