Nursing workforce competency in informatics is crucial to providing safe patient care, improving quality, and reducing healthcare costs. Assurance of informatics competency in a workforce with increasingly diverse educational preparations, demographics, and informatics skills poses significant challenges. The question addressed was the lack of nursing informatics competency assessment tool relevant to bedside nursing. The purpose of this project was to develop and review a new nursing informatics competency assessment tool designed to address the individual educational needs of newly hired nurses. The tool was designed to measure nurses' competency in computer literacy, informatics literacy, and informatics management skills recommended in the American Nurses Association's Standards and Scope of Practice and Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform. This tool supports practices at the bedside by providing individualized education according to the results of a self-assessment. The project was guided by the Benner's model and the Rosswurm and Larrabee framework. Content validity was established by item analysis, relevancy scale, and validation by the identified experts from the organization's Nursing Informatics Department (n = 4); the Department of Education, Practice, and Research (n =8); the Clinical Outcomes Department (n = 1); and bedside nurses (n = 14). The administration recommended this tool be incorporated into its strategic plan. This project promoted positive social change by developing a tool to assess informatics competencies in newly hired nurses and guide educators in developing future educational strategies. These efforts will assist in creating a workforce that is prepared to deliver healthcare safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively in the increasingly technology-savvy environment of U.S. healthcare in the 21st century.

In a professional learning community (PLC), school personnel participate in focused collaboration to improve adult learning and facilitate student achievement. Implementation of a PLC is often haphazard and not evaluated for effectiveness, resulting in poor implementation. This study, a PLC-specific qualitative formative program evaluation, addressed a lack of documented PLC effectiveness at a local urban elementary school in the southern United States. The purpose of this project was to determine how teachers described the functioning of their PLC. The conceptual framework for the study was Hord and Tobia's 6 characteristics of a PLC. The research questions focused on how teachers described their PLC in terms of: supportive and shared leadership; shared beliefs, values, and vision; intentional collective learning; shared practice; physical or structural conditions; and collegial or relational conditions. The qualitative design consisted of semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers. The findings from the typological data analysis revealed that the research school was not functioning as a true PLC, with lack of collegial-relational conditions being a primary concern. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for school personnel to participate in team building exercises, adopt an educational change model to strengthen their PLC, participate in PLC training, and develop a continuous evaluation cycle for their PLC. The recommendations will help the research school more effectively build trust as they improve their PLC. Implications for positive social change include an improved school culture and delivery system of education, which fosters an educational environment more conducive for improved learning for teachers and students.

The coteaching classroom has grown with the influx of special needs students in general education classrooms. New state and federal laws mandated the need for collaboration when instructing special education students, and middle school teachers in a Northern New Jersey school district are experiencing challenges with the implementation of coteaching in inclusion classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of collaboration challenges that resulted from coteaching in the classroom. The key research question of this study involved general and special education teachers' lived experiences in relation to the inclusion classroom and their attitudes and beliefs that influenced them in the classroom. This study was guided by Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory, which addressed the importance of socialization and the development of relationships among all learners. Purposeful sampling was used to select 7 general education and 7 special education teachers who had coteaching experience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and field notes. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results showed a need for additional professional development focused on the areas of teamwork, trust, and cooperative planning. Based on the findings, a 3-day professional development was created to increase teachers' growth and self-efficacy of the implementation of successful collaboration in the inclusion classroom. This professional development may bring about positive social change by providing coteaching teams with the guidance needed to implement the coteaching framework with fidelity.

All 7 high schools located in a school district in Alabama have experienced a high dropout rate since 2012. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand the perceptions of recent high school dropouts about support systems that could have assisted them in completing the requirements to receive a high school diploma. Research questions centered on recent high school dropouts' views on what supports from home and from teachers they could have received to assist them in completing high school and what things they could have done differently to receive their high school diplomas. Bandura's theories of self-efficacy and social learning served as the conceptual framework for this study. Interview data were collected from 10 participants who were selected via purposive sampling from high schools in the Baldwin County school district's local GED program. Data were analyzed using Hatch's 9 step typology for open coding. All of the participants said that they had dropped out or quit school for a variety of reasons, including a change in program, family responsibilities, loss of interest, or to get a job. They reported feeling that their parents could have done more to keep them from dropping out. Only half of the participants said they had received support from teachers. Most participants reported feeling that they themselves could have done something more to complete high school. The results of this study could lead to positive social change as parents and teachers become more aware of how to support students at risk of dropping out and the impact this can have on their communities.

The issue of limited part-time teacher professional development and its effect on adult learners' success at an adult education center in the northeast United States was addressed in this study. At the research site, almost 50% of the teaching staff are adjuncts. Professional development opportunities have been limited, with only 1 opportunity recorded during the 2014-2015 school year. When teachers are provided appropriate and relevant support for the curriculum and student needs, they realize their own craft growth, with measureable student achievement as a result. Knowles's adult learning theory served as the conceptual framework and provided structure for exploring and understanding nontraditional students. Using a qualitative exploratory case study design, the research questions focused on part-time teachers' perception of professional development on their teaching and instructional practice. Purposeful sampling was used to select 8 adjuncts to participate in semistructured interviews. Data analysis involved an inductive study of coded data retrieved and explored 5 themes: barriers to delivering an excellent teaching plan, teacher knowledge of student needs, administrative concerns, sense of community, and professional development needs. Themes were examined to develop a 3-day adult education training program. Implications for positive social change at the local level include information for educational administrators to design and promote appropriate and relevant professional development opportunities for adjuncts. This advancement of ongoing professional development could improve teaching and learning for adjuncts that may result in their craft improvement, positively impacting their nontraditional students.

The increased enrollment of adult learners in colleges and universities that offer online programs has provoked a need for skilled online adjunct faculty. Administrators at online universities in the Mideastern region of the United States have sought to better understand the relationship between formal evaluations and teaching practices of the online adjunct faculty. Guided by the theory of adult learning, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between formal evaluations of the teaching practices of online adjunct faculty and their professional development. A correlational study was completed to determine the association between online adjunct faculty's perceptions of formal evaluation processes, attitudes about teaching and, decisions to make changes in instructional behavior. This study also addressed the association between formal evaluations and online adjunct faculty's willingness to participate in professional development opportunities. Online adjunct faculty with 1 or more years of online teaching experience at a local university who had experienced a formal evaluation participated in this research. A Spearman correlation analysis indicated a positive association between online adjunct faculty teaching practices and their perceptions of the quality of formal evaluations. A Spearman correlation analysis also indicated a positive association between online adjunct faculty willingness to seek and take advantage of professional development and their perception of the quality of formal evaluations. The project study supports strategies for developing and implementing evaluative processes that measure effective teaching practices and encourage professional development for online adjunct faculty. Formal evaluative processes can affect social change by ensuring the maintenance of quality academic standards at online universities.

As of 2014, an estimated 18.1% or approximately 43.6 million adults, 18 years of age or older in the United States experienced a form of mental illness. Professional counselors subscribe to a wellness or holistic paradigm; however the recovery paradigm, using collaborative strategies and unique treatment planning is the directed approach of mental health services in the United Stated. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand what factors contribute to counselors' knowledge and attitudes of the recovery paradigm. Survey methodology was used to examine whether, among professional counselors, years of experience, gender, professional setting, and licensure status, as measured by a demographic questionnaire, correlate to professional counselors' (a) attitudes and level of knowledge of the recovery paradigm, (b) knowledge and attitudes of the roles and responsibilities in recovery, (c) understanding and attitudes toward the personal journey of the recovery process, (d) knowledge and attitudes of the roles of self-identity and peer support in recovery, and (e) knowledge and attitudes of the expectations regarding recovery as measured by the 4 subscales of the Recovery Knowledge Inventory (RKI). The target population was 225 masters or doctoral level counselors. The results of a multivariate multiple regression were not significant. However, the results of this study align with previous research outcomes indicating a need for counselors continued education and training on the recovery paradigm which could improve their knowledge and attitudes of the recovery paradigm, directly impacting consumers' achievement of recovery goals.

The problem addressed by this project study was low levels of adjunct faculty compliance and satisfaction with the professional development program at a local college. The purpose of the study was to determine if an alternative delivery method would yield higher levels of compliance and satisfaction than would a traditional professional development workshop. The guiding research question was whether an alternative delivery method would yield higher levels of compliance and satisfaction than a traditional professional development workshop. The theoretical base included andragogy, self-directed learning, and connectivism. Using an experimental design, the project examined archival data concerning compliance and satisfaction for 69 adjunct faculty members who had been randomly assigned to an online (experimental group; n = 39) or on-campus (control group; n = 30) professional development workshop. A chi-square analysis showed that compliance levels were significantly higher for participants in the online professional development workshop compared to those who participated in an on-campus workshop. An analysis of variance found that the overall satisfaction level was higher for participants in the online workshop compared to those who participated in the on-campus workshop. The project resulting from the study was a policy recommendation report. Online professional development can positively influence social change by increasing adjunct faculty participation and facilitating the creation and maintenance of networks of health educators. Additionally, direct and indirect costs currently associated with traditional professional development may be reduced through the use of online professional development.

With the growth in healthcare research and rapid changes in technology, nurses' participation in lifelong learning is a critical factor in providing excellent patient care. However, many nurses encounter difficulties engaging in continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The purpose of this case study was to understand pediatric nurses' perceptions of CPD opportunities at a tertiary, freestanding, children's hospital in Southern California. Social cognitive theory was the framework for the study. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a purposeful sample of 39 nurses comprised of day- and night-shift nurses plus nurse managers. The data were coded into categories and themes to explain the findings; the resulting 7 themes illustrated how these nurses perceived CPD. The nurses identified motivators and barriers that influenced their involvement in CPD activities. Most nurses reported that they were able to incorporate new knowledge into their practice and produce excellent patient outcomes but some nurses expressed instances of resistance and practice not supported with evidence-based approaches to care. Although the nurses found the programs adequate, they recommended ideas for improvement, including a need for leadership and management development. A project aimed at providing nurse managers with professional development in leadership was created to improve CPD. The project could improve the nursing profession by helping educators enhance CPD to support nurses in delivering high-quality patient care, thus supporting the healing and well-being of children under their care.

Students in associate degree nursing (ADN) programs in the United States experience high attrition rates in the first year. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between preadmission factors and first-year ADN program completion rates at one college in the south central United States. Constructivist theory provided the framework for the study. Archival data for 228 students from one ADN program were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Results indicated a statistically significant association between prerequisite grade point average (GPA) and first-year program completion. An increase in the number of incoming students ages 25 years and younger was also noted. The professional development project focused on educating nursing faculty to assist students with lower GPAs to be successful. A second component of the project addressed teaching modalities targeted to millennial and Generation Z learners. Findings may be used to increase the number of nurse graduates at the study site, which may improve health care and economic development in the local community.