Childcare programs that provide high quality care can strengthen children's early development. One component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development; however, despite the understanding of these known predictors of child development, Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children. Guided by the constructivist theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey, and Bruner, this objectives-based program evaluation investigated the Pathways to Professional Development program to determine participants' perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program. A researcher-produced survey was created based on the objectives of the program and consisted of open-ended and Likert scale questions. This survey was completed by 35 childcare providers who completed the 3 modules of the Pathways program. Data analysis began by identifying potential categories, comparing and contrasting emerging themes, and looking for emerging patterns in participant responses. Key results indicated that the participants of this program gained knowledge about child development and developmentally appropriate practice. The implications for social change from this research are directly related to the early childcare providers, children, and ultimately the communities of Wyoming. By increasing the knowledge of childcare providers, higher quality care can be provided, leading to positive relationships, stimulating learning experiences, and to a greater likelihood of children reaching their full potential.

High nursing student attrition rates at a community college in a southwestern state were noted as a significant problem by nursing faculty and college administration because of a nursing shortage and subsequent health care issues in the surrounding community. The purpose of this project study was to explore the perceptions of nursing graduates regarding the influences that led to or impeded their success in completion of the associate degree nursing program. Additionally, perspectives of the usefulness of remediation sessions provided for students failing a course were investigated. This qualitative case study, guided by transformative learning theory, included a sample of 10 nursing program graduates of the community college from 2012-2015, 4 male and 6 female, 3 of which had failed at least one course and participated in remediation during their programs of study. Participants were interviewed and data were coded and analyzed for common themes. Themes included perceptions of being over stressed, awareness of the negativity of peers, the need for self-motivation, making needed changes to increase their own success, and using available resources such as the remediation program even though it was perceived by some as punitive. A professional development workshop for nursing faculty was developed as a project based on these findings to increase faculty knowledge of factors that contribute to nursing student success or failure, assist faculty in identifying and implementing supportive resources that contribute to student success, and introduce them to practices to reduce student stress such as teaching life skills and coping methods. Social change may occur from programmatic changes that enhance nursing students' success resulting in more nursing graduates to facilitate quality health care in the local community.

This qualitative case study examined the lack of success by and high attrition rates of adult learners enrolled in online higher education courses at a public research university in the southeastern United States. The conceptual framework integrated Knowles' theory of andragogy with a composited model that combined elements of Tinto's persistence model with Bean and Metzner's student attrition model. The research questions examined factors and characteristics contributing to the unsuccessful completion of online courses for adult learners. The data were collected in 2 separate phases using a purposeful sample comprised of 152 adult learners who volunteered to participate in the study and had enrolled in an online course at the university between the fall 2013 and spring 2015. The findings revealed that factors such as work-related issues, lack of time management, and personal issues contributed to students' unsuccessful completion of online courses. Additionally, the participants' success depended on their strengths and weaknesses with time management skills, motivation and dedication, technological skills, and communication skills in online learning. The findings were used to create a pre-orientation workshop designed to assist adult learners prior to taking their first online course by assessing student readiness levels for online learning and identifying deficiencies in skills required to be successful. Offering a pre-orientation workshop session to first-time online adult learners will increase their likelihood of success and foster a positive effect on social change in this population by improving retention in an online learning environment.

Through history popular education has evolved against the backdrop of social movements engaged in the struggle for social change in a variety of contexts. During the past forty years some of these movements have found expression in a wide range of participatory processes with a particular focus on community empowerment. In 1993, in the village of Renton, Scotland, local people created their own housing association, Cordale Housing Association (CHA) and from its inception declared that it would not build houses “for people to live their poverty in” (CHA Mission statement, 1993). Since then the community has acquired local physical assets and created the Renton Community Development Trust (RCDT) focused on eradicating poverty in the village. Based on data collected in the period 2009 – 2011, I examine the community’s claim to social change in the village over the past twenty years. I also discuss the community’s claim to local peoples’ active participation in the process of social change and whether the Renton community experience can be considered a process of popular education. This research is a contribution to the body of knowledge identified with critical social-educational research. It is also a contribution to the debate about the creation of a new socio-economic and cultural model of society based on the values of equity, solidarity and justice.

This research explores the learning experiences of three mature students studying for a Foundation Degree – a two-year qualification, introduced in England and Wales in 2001, that uniquely spans the academic-vocational nexus within higher education. Data collected through interviews and journal entries were used to construct accounts of each of the students’ learning experiences, forming a longitudinal case study that spanned two years. This material is used in three ways to give insight into learning through a Foundation Degree. Firstly, the accounts stand by themselves as detailed descriptions of what it is like to learn through a Foundation Degree. Secondly, the accounts illustrate ways in which particular learning theories and models are helpful to understanding the students’ learning experiences, and also the areas in which some theories and models fall short. Thirdly, a new conceptual model has been developed which identifies six factors that significantly impact upon the Foundation Degree learner’s experience. Each of these factors has the potential to influence learning positively or negatively, depending on where it lies upon a continuum that polarises learning inhibitors and enablers. This model is used to scrutinise Foundation Degree teaching and learning practice, using the accounts as reference points, and more effective approaches to Foundation Degree delivery have been suggested.

<p> Learning English as a foreign language (EFL), a highly valued skill in the Chilean marketplace, is an arduous and complex personal endeavor requiring high student motivation. Reflecting this challenge is the heightened anxiety among EFL students, whose work has been associated with historically meager results. Blended learning, the fusion of face-to-face and online content delivery and assessment, offers a promising solution to EFL learner reticence. Evidence suggests that an active online teacher presence in a blended EFL course can enhance student engagement. The purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of EFL instructional specialists concerning (a) student involvement and engagement in online portions of blended courses, (b) marginal teacher presence in the online portions of blended courses, and (c) ways to improve student involvement in the online portions of the blended courses. Results of a systematic qualitative analysis, employing constant comparative data analysis of individual interviews with a sample of 10 voluntary EFL instructional specialists, indicated teachers need to take part in design of blended EFL courses to address these issues. The findings, coupled with theoretical frameworks of social-constructivism, transactional distance, diffusion of innovation, and universal design for instruction, served as the background for a proposed teacher training project resulting from this study. The study can contribute to positive social change by inviting EFL teachers to become more involved in blended course design, increasing their sense of ownership, sharing best practices for blended EFL teaching and learning, and creating conditions for more successful upward social mobility opportunities for Chilean university students who have acquired certifiable English language skills.</p>

<p> Much attention has been paid to the current state of graduate business education, specifically the MBA degree, and the seeming disconnect between industry needs and what business schools are preparing MBA graduates for. A comprehensive study on the state of MBA education was completed in 2010 by Datar, Garvin, and Cullen (2010), the goal of which was to document the forces reshaping business education and the institutional responses to them, as well as provide suggestions on a path forward for MBA education. This research picked up where Datar et al. (2010) left off: the purpose of this study was to identify criteria for a new model MBA. The Datar et al. (2010) study defined the unmet needs, but what remained undefined were the (a) skills; (b) capabilities; and (c) techniques that are central to the practice of 21st century management, and the (d) values; (e) attitudes; and (f) beliefs that should be part of a 21st century leader's world-view and professional identity. This study used a qualitative approach to add meaning to the variables defined above; specifically interviews with 14 participants were used to gather perceptions of 21st century leadership and management from MBA stakeholders as part of an in-depth and detailed inquiry. This study also reviewed five Southern California business schools in order to identify best-practices curricula. Based on the data gathered in this study a new model MBA was posited. A discussion of the findings and the implications for MBA education was included in <i> Chapter 5.</i></p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to investigate attitudes toward creativity and leadership characteristics according to the agency context for extension agents in Uruguay. Extension agents come from the three different agency contexts in Uruguay of the University, government, and private institutions. Leadership characteristics are those that combine to describe leadership approaches or styles. Attitudes towards creativity concerns the values one holds about using creativity in work situations. The link between these variables is important due to the diverse challenges that agriculture extension agents face in a small country like Uruguay whose economy depends on agriculture. There are three major conclusions based on the findings of this study. First, factor analysis performed in the scales related with leadership did not cluster as Bass and Avolio (2000) suggested. Rather, results show a different combination of the traits (Motivating demanding, Compliant, and Charismatic controller). The second conclusion is that attitudes and values to promote innovation likely expected to be one of the values of the university group were not shown in the results. One possible explanation could be the philosophy of the university, while the government and private institutions showed an attitude that tends to promote creativity and innovation which in their case is aligned with their jobs goals, which has to do with a model of extension that provides regulation and provision of inputs and also emphasize National production goals and productivity. Third there is a difference between working contexts for agricultural extension agents in Uruguay. The results of the study were able to discriminate between the university context and government and the private contexts which showed a similar behavior. Both the government and the private contexts showed a positive approach to creativity and a compliant leadership behavior.</p>

The aim of this thesis is to study lifelong learning policy development in the Republic of Ireland and its translation into practice in Third Level Institutions. The specific purpose of the study is to map the development of policy and investigate the influences on this development including the changing socio economic and political context within Ireland and its membership of the European Union. The focus of the research is also Learning for Life, the Irish government's major White Paper on adult education and lifelong learning, published in 2000. The research also begins to investigate how Third Level Institutions in Ireland have interpreted Learning for Life and other policy documents in their own policies and practice. I was also interested in investigating the barriers that were perceived to exist by people, in both government and educational institutions, to the successful implementation of lifelong learning policy in Ireland. The thesis also explores the approach that has been taken to lifelong learning in Ireland analysing whether this approach has taken a predominantly human or social capital approach or a mixture of both. Although a number of studies have investigated the impact of lifelong learning policies on national and institutional practice in other countries, very little research has been carried out on Ireland. This thesis makes a valuable contribution by providing a case study based analysis of policy development within a changing economic and social context. It also provides an insight into the approach taken by one individual country and the influences on that approach. Although the study is clearly and deliberately a case study I have included reference to two other European nations who have high adult participation rates in education, Denmark and Sweden, as comparators with the experiences of Ireland.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the process and practice of Second Chance Schooling in Greece during the first decade of the schools' existence. The study focuses on the reasons why the schools were established and traces the trajectory of the development of the policy. It considers the experience of the teachers in the Second Chance Schools, as seen from the perspective of teachers of English. In particular, it considers the professional support and development of these teachers who were charged with breaking new ground in the Greek adult education system. The fieldwork consisted of semi-structured interviews with individuals at different levels in the Greek adult education system: with the politicians who developed the ideas and oversaw the implementation of the policy; with the staff who were Involved with the central administration of the policy; with the scholars and academic staff who made up the advisory team; with the training organizers, the discipline advisors, the regional advisors, and with the head teachers and the teachers of English in one of the regions of Greece (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace). A wider group of regional Second Chance School teachers were also surveyed. All available documentation relating to the national development of Second Chance Schools was scrutinised. The analysis of these data revealed a complex picture that developed and changed as the decade progressed. There is evidence that the Second Chance Schools policy was well received and attracted new students into adult education. As such, it had a positive impact on social and cultural problems such as illiteracy, unemployment, and lack of social cohesion. However problems arose from the manner in which EU policy on lifelong learning was adopted without adaptation to the specificities of the Greek context. The political drive to access EU funding and accept EU definitions of the social and educational needs of the country resulted in insufficient analysis of the impact of the history and cultural context of Greek adult education, regional political upheavals, immigration and the rapidly deteriorating economic situation. At the national level, therefore, I argue that the policy was insufficiently nuanced to be effective in serving the needs of Greek adult education. Furthermore, a unified generic policy for Second Chance Schooling across the whole of Greece was adopted. This in turn failed to recognise the regional variations within Greece, which, I argue, were of considerable significance to the implementation and ultimate success of the initiative. A further problem related to the Greek political process which produced frequent changes in leadership and a system that was highly dependent upon the individual in charge. Lack of infrastructural support for the policy and party political turbulence led to erratic development and changes of direction and emphasis which left teachers confused and ultimately, in many cases, demoralised. At the school level, the policy challenged teachers of English to adopt new teaching methodologies, to take seriously the problems of adult drop-out students and debate how best to help them acquire their self-respect, stay in education and become European citizens. However, despite the fact that the need for teachers to be involved in intensive professional development was acknowledged at all levels of the system, provision of continuing professional development [CPO] was Inadequate. Gaps between the rhetoric and reality of CPO provision were ignored; there was little evidence of rigorous evaluation and provision of relevant expert guidance which might have strengthened the system and maximised the investment that was being made In the schools. The realities of teachers' contractual and professional working conditions were not taken into consideration. The effect of this was that, although the majority of Second Chance School teachers had positive attitudes towards the Second Chance Schools policy at the beginning of the period, their enthusiasm waned over the course of the decade as the inadequacies in the support and training they received came to be understood as more than just initial start-up difficulties. Consequently the gap between an ambitious and initially well-funded national adult education policy and the realities of day to day practice in Second Chance Schools deepened. This study seeks, through careful analysis at the national, regional and individual level, to contribute to an understanding of how this important initiative might have worked better in Greece. In doing so, it offers a case study of the implementation of a European educational initiative in an EU member state and seeks to identify factors that will be significant to the development of policy in other contexts.