The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2013), No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and the Race to the Top initiative of 2009 has placed a greater emphasis on high stakes testing. A renewed emphasis on math education for all students and their ability to succeed in high school mathematics place new challenges on today’s classroom teachers. Although the belief is that with new standards and best teaching strategies students will improve their test scores, there are multiple factors that can serve as deterrents to the success in mathematics for at-risk high school students (Balfanz, 2009). The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship of at-risk indicators attendance, family composition, socioeconomic status (as measured by free and reduced priced meals), grade retention, special education status, number of discipline referrals, students who are English language learners (ELL), and gender with student performance in high school mathematics. Using archived data from the student management system of a rural county school in Northeast Tennessee, data were gathered for 412 high school freshmen attending the county’s 4 high schools. There were 8 research questions with corresponding null hypotheses. Each research question was analyzed with a series of independent t-tests or Pearson correlation coefficient tests. All data were analyzed at the .05 level of significance. Findings from the data indicated a significant difference in the mean scores on the algebra I end of course (EOC) assessment with 5 at-risk factors. Mean scores for students from two-parent families were higher than students from single-parent families. Mean scores for students not from low socioeconomic status were higher than students from low socioeconomic status. Mean scores for students that had not been retained where higher than students that had been retained. Mean scores for students that did not receive special education services were higher than students that did receive special education services. Mean scores for female students were higher than male students. Findings for the data also indicated negative relationships between the students’ score on the end of course assessment and the number of days absent from school and the number of discipline referrals received.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of novice teachers in 1 school district regarding their professional experiences. Novice teacher was defined as someone with 5 years or fewer in the teaching profession. The study was of an emergent design using phenomenological qualitative methods that included face-to-face interviews, triangulation of information, and analyzation with specific adherence given to understanding the social phenomena of the lived experience from the participants’ perspectives. Specifically, the study addressed possible relationships between novice teachers’ experiences and perceptions of success and self-efficacy that contribute to their choice of continuing in the profession of teaching. Participants in this study ranged from 23-55 years of age, represented male and female gender, encompassed all levels of grade configuration within the school district (elementary, middle, high school), and covered experiences within each of the 5 years of defined novice work. Information was collected through individual one-on-one interviews covering preparatory programs, individual school sites, district induction programs, and the relationships developed within each spiraled experience. This study identified reasons for retention in the population of novice teachers and possible obstacles that might cause a novice teacher to leave the profession during or at the end of the 5 year apprenticeship. Information collected revealed that age, timing of entrance into a teaching career and preparatory programs had an effect on novice efficacy and job success. In addition data suggested that job support, job fulfillment, as well as future career choice were influenced by experiences a novice lived through within a school culture including type of administrative support, peer mentoring, collegial socialization, district expectations, and induction involvement.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between students who entered a Tennessee university for the first time in the fall of 2014 who had earned either Advanced Placement (AP) or dual enrollment credit regarding their college readiness and 1-year college retention. College readiness was defined by students’ American College Testing (ACT) sub scores in English, reading, and mathematics. The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) regulates the minimum sub score for each sub section that a student must obtain to be deemed college ready. College retention was defined by students who enrolled at the university in the fall of 2014 and reenrolled in the fall of 2015 at the same university. The independent variables for this study were AP credits received in AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and dual enrollment credit received in any course. The dependent variables for this study were college readiness as defined by TBR and fall-to-fall retention. A series of chi-square tests of independence were performed to examine the differences in college readiness and fall-to-fall retention between students who had earned AP or dual enrollment credit and those students who had not. The quantitative findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between students who enroll in their first college year with AP English or math credit or dual enrollment credit and first year retention rates when compared to students who do not reenroll with AP English or math credit or dual enrollment credit. There was found to be no difference in students who enrolled with AP English or math credit and students who enrolled with dual enrollment credit regarding their fall-to-fall retention rates. It was also found that AP English credit increased the likelihood that a student would be deemed college ready in both English and reading based on TBR determinations of college readiness. Credit in an AP mathematics course also increased the likelihood that a student would be deemed college ready in math based on TBR determinations of college readiness.

Many four year institutions are reorganizing their processes and structures to develop a more inclusive model related to campus diversity efforts. Minimal information has been reported about two year institutional efforts toward inclusive excellence. Given the predicted demographic shifts of the nation and more specifically, the projected increase in enrollments of racially and ethnically diverse student bodies in community colleges, it is essential for higher education administrators and policymakers to understand the structures needed to support minority student success at community colleges. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine institutional support structures around inclusive excellence. An Institutional Diversity Practice Index (IDPI) was created using eleven key indicators found within the literature related to institutional practices that enhance minority student success. The absence or presence of practices at each school were tallied to create two groups. Groups were then compared to determine whether significant differences existed between retention and graduation rates, as well as differences in selected items on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) related to diversity and support. Due to the sample size limitations of minority student enrollment, the 13 community colleges in this study were classified into one of two groups: Higher Institutional Diversity Practice Index (6 practices or more) and Lower Institutional Diversity Practice Index (5 practices or less). Archival data were used to examine retention rates, graduation rates, and student engagement indictors from the CSSE survey. The sampling frame for the study included all 13 TBR community college students during the academic 2013-2014 academic year. Findings indicated that institutions who were classified in the higher practice group reported higher retention rates of African American and Hispanic students. There were no statistically significant differences between the high and low group with regard to graduation rates or student engagement indicators on the CSSE survey. A larger sample size would be required to determine what combination of institutional practices predict minority student retention and graduation rates. Overall, this study plows new ground and provides information related to the current landscape of institutional structures that support minority student success in Tennessee.

Abstract is available to download.

abstract: Nursing school can be challenging for undergraduate students, largely because they do not know what to expect in terms of the demands of the rigorous academic program. Students who enter the program with unrealistic expectations of the demands, such as underestimated time needed for studying for exams or preparing for clinical and class time, as well as the emotional toll of time away from family and friends are often challenged with being adequately prepared for the day-to-day experience of nursing school. Once students have been in the program a few semesters, they begin to get the flow of the expectation as well as an understanding of how to manage their time. Unfortunately, if their adjustment period is not quick enough, they can academically or voluntarily withdraw due to the pressures of the demanding curriculum. In order to combat this phenomenon and give students a perspective that can assist them in their adjustment period, a Student Navigator Program (SNP) was implemented at a local community college. Data was collected from experimental and control groups using a mixed methods research design - comparing final grade percentage, performance on a standardized exam, and use of support services. The quantitative data suggest there is no statistical significance in participation in the SNP with the exception of a few select cohorts. The qualitative data suggest the SNP program is helpful at the beginning of the first semester of nursing school. Taken together, the data suggest the SNP can be helpful in the beginning of the semester for willing participants to assist with managing the unknown. Data from this study guides nursing programs as they aim to retain current nursing students through the first semester and progress through the program. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

<p>Potassium is an essential nutrient, that has been labeled a shortfall nutrient by recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committees. Increases in potassium intake have been linked to improvements in cardiovascular and other metabolic health outcomes. Blood pressure (BP) has often been cited as the primary criterion for determining potassium requirements. Hypertension (HTN), or high BP, is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease and other circulatory diseases. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for the 31% of deaths worldwide. Findings from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality report (which informed the recently released Dietary Reference Intakes for sodium (Na) and potassium) on potassium intake and chronic disease concluded, with a moderate strength of evidence, that increasing potassium intake decreases BP, particularly among those with HTN. Although, of the 18 randomized controlled trials assessed by the AHRQ, only 4 were dietary interventions, the rest involved potassium supplementation. Observational studies also show a consistent bone benefit with increased potassium rich fruit and vegetable intakes in cohorts spanning adolescents to the elderly. In clinical trials, higher potassium intakes through supplementation have been associated with reduced urinary calcium (Ca) excretion and improvement in Ca balance. Although, similar to BP, intervention trials assessing the impact of dietary potassium on bone are lacking. Controlled feeding studies looking specifically at increases in potassium from food are sparse, leaving a large knowledge gap in the field for a nutrient with an important potential health impact. In general, little is known about whole-body potassium retention, with the few studies conducted lacking consistency and rigor in methods and design. What potassium retention means in terms of adequacy, or how higher or lower retention may influence specific health outcomes is understudied and not well understood. </p> <p>Utilizing a randomized, cross-over, controlled feeding clinical study with complete metabolic balance measures, our research aims to begin filling these gaps, looking specifically at the effects of potassium intake via potato sources and a potassium supplement on BP and vascular outcomes, as well as how the source of potassium may influence potassium, Na and Ca whole-body balance. </p> <p>This dissertation will discuss the physiology of potassium intake, how this may affect potassium, Na, and Ca retention, and in turn what influence this has on vascular and bone related health outcomes. Overall the goal of this research is to address the question: What is the importance of dietary potassium, and how can it benefit cardiovascular and skeletal health?</p>

Rural Iowa towns often lack flood mitigation because of a lack of resources and inability to compete for federal assistance funds. The Federal Emergency Management Agency relies on a benefit-cost analysis which produces benefit-cost ratios (BCRs) for proposed projects to determine which communities receive funding, with an emphasis on the economic BCR, which compares potential future benefits with estimated capital costs. The FEMA requirement for an economic BCR is at least 0.75. The economic BCRs for mitigation projects in rural towns are often lower compared to those in urban centers due lower potential future benefits from lower building count and potential exposure. Here we use a multijurisdictional approach which analyzes flood mitigation at a watershed scale to join upstream agricultural potential future benefits with downstream potential avoided benefits in rural towns. We predicted BCRs of simulated flood retention wetlands using HAZUS-MH to find the potential future benefits a range of estimated capital costs via a percent reduction approach and a targeted peak flow approach to calculating wetland effects on peak flow. The percent reduction approach generated BCRs of over 0.75 in the Mud Creek watershed for estimated capital costs per wetland up to $177,400. However, the simulated flood retention wetlands did not generate BCRs high enough to meet the minimum requirement in the Hinkle Creek watershed by itself. However, a multijurisdictional approach is not limited to each watershed individually. When the simulated flood retention wetland projects in each watershed were combined, the BCRs were high enough to meet the FEMA requirement. The combined BCRs were over 0.75 for estimated capital costs up to $143,300. The targeted peak flow approach included BCRs which account for dry and wet antecedent soil moisture conditions and minimum, maximum and average peak flow change scenarios. The scenarios with dry antecedent soil moisture conditions created BCRs higher than wet antecedent soil moisture conditions. Further, the maximum peak change scenarios generated BCRs higher than average peak change scenarios, which in turn generated higher BCRs than the minimum peak change scenarios. In the Mud Creek watershed, the only scenario to generate BCRs above 0.75 for any part of the range of estimated capital costs was the maximum peak change scenario under dry antecedent soil moisture conditions. However, the maximum and average peak change scenarios under dry antecedent soil moisture conditions and the maximum peak change scenario under wet soil moisture conditions generated BCRs over 0.75 in the Hinkle Creek watershed. When the simulated flood retention wetland projects for both watersheds were combined, only the maximum peak change scenario under dry antecedent soil moisture conditions generated BCRs above 0.75. We found that a multijurisdictional approach is a viable method for rural watersheds to analyze potential flood mitigation projects to help increase their BCRs.

Employee engagement levels are critical to organizations that desire to retain a workforce that innovates, produces positive results, and stays committed to the organization. The purpose of this single case study was to explore employee engagement strategies used by business leaders to retain talent. The conceptual framework that guided this study was Deci's self-determination theory. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with four participants within the insurance industry having three or more years of management experience and having a positive reputation for engaging employees. The participating company is located in central Indiana. Participants answered 10 open-ended questions related to employee engagement and retention of talent. Data were transcribed and coded to identify themes. The modified van Kaam method was used for analysis of the data. Open and honest communication between managers and employees, managers looking beyond words to recognize disengagement and respectful and a caring leadership team at all levels of the company were amongst the prominent themes identified during data analysis. The study findings may contribute to business practices positively by increasing the understanding of the importance of employee engagement strategies in a work setting as well as how engagement levels affect retention. The study findings may contribute to social change by providing leaders ideas on how to provide greater job satisfaction to employees, which could translate into improved professional and personal lives by providing employees a greater feeling of fulfillment and confidence with their job.

The purpose of this study was to determine which factor(s), including job satisfaction, employee-employer relationship, organizational climate, and ethnicity predict retention of mental health professionals employed by African American and Caucasian privately owned mental health agencies. Due to high turnover in the private sector in mental health in central Virginia, many agencies are closing after 5 years of business. The importance of this study was to determine which factor(s) can assist in reducing turnover in the mental health field and to determine which factor(s) assist in maintaining mental health professionals in order for the agency to remain operable. The variables were evaluated through 4 valid and reliable self-report surveys to determine their prediction of employee retention. The study used Vroom's expectancy theory as the theoretical framework, which focuses on the importance of rewards and incentives in the workplace. The study's research questions determined the predictive validity of the variables on employee retention among 46 African-Americans and 15 Caucasian mental health employees. The results from multiple linear regression indicated that job satisfaction was the only significant predictor of employee retention. The implications from this finding suggest that mental health professionals need a sense of job satisfaction from their agency in order to remain at their current agency. From the findings, social change can occur when African American and Caucasian privately owned mental health agencies increase retention and are able to continue to provide continued mental health services.