Assistants have been working in schools for many years. There are numerous types of assistants at the moment, such as: school caretakers, cleaners, cooks, dinner ladies, classroom assistants (including nursery nurses) and school secretaries. They relieve teaching staff from non-professional or time-consuming tasks, which could be carried out by a responsible adult, rather than a qualified teacher. The ST A initiative introduced a different set of tasks for classroom assistants. These placed a direct emphasis on assistants "contributing to teaching and learning of basic skills" (DfE 1993: par. 33). STAs were trained to work in the classroom supporting children with mathematics and English activities as opposed to carrying out non-teaching tasks such as: photocopying, making booklets or preparing resources for lessons, previously expected of assistants. The ST A scheme was the first initiative to acknowledge explicitly that assistants could contribute to teaching; a professional duty expected of a teacher. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) construed this as a challenge to teachers' professionalism; but the STA initiative has not created a new challenge. The vision that assistants can contribute to teaching has been known for some time. The Plowden Report (CACE 1967) first discussed the prospect of introducing teacher aides almost thirty years ago, but at that time it was not realised. Since then to the present day, assistants have seen their deployment change through the plethora of educational policy and the demands they have placed on teachers in their classrooms. This has led teachers to use the support they receive of assistants in different ways to maintain and raise standards in education. Assistants' roles, in recent years, have vi changed and they are likely to continue to change, as announcements from the government indicate (DfEE 1998). However, a concern regarding the STA scheme is that a minority of STAs' roles went much further than what might be expected. They were used as surrogate teachers with qualified teacher responsibilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty perceptions towards the transitioning process from face-to-face to online instruction. This study investigated the overall perceptions towards the transitioning process, the perceived changes in the teaching methods, technical and instructional design skills needed for the process, the change in preference towards face-to-face or online instruction after the transition, in addition to the challenges faculty members faced during the transition process. It also tested to determine if there were differences in responses based on gender, faculty position, years teaching in higher education institutions, and total number of courses taught whether fully online or blended. The study was exploratory using a survey research design to answer the research questions. The respondents were faculty members who had taught online at University of South Florida (USF) main campus (Tampa) and St. Petersburg campus. They were surveyed using a web-based questionnaire specially designed for the study. There was a total of 121 respondents to the survey. Descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, chi-square tests, t tests, and one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze the data, in addition to other statistics to verify various assumptions. The study found that faculty members were motivated to begin teaching online because of job expectations and by flexibility offered in online environment, but they found the transitioning process to be difficult and impartial. Faculty believed that converting to online instruction depends on the course content, the students, and the instructors. On the other hand, active learning improved in online instruction, and more creative assessments were used to address individual needs for students. A major finding was related to the positive changes in perception towards online teaching as faculty members taught more blended and fully online courses. Faculty members also noted that more opportunities for additional technical and instructional design training are needed, and that it should be a requirement before teaching online. Faculty members indicated that transitioning to online instruction is time consuming and requires a lot of work and effort to develop quality online courses. They implied that university administrators in specific do not seem to be fully aware of the required amount of time and effort needed in such a transitioning process.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a program evaluation of ACME’s worksite weight loss initiative and collect evidence relative to the efficacy of the program. An anonymous online survey was administered to participants of the weight loss initiative. The survey was designed to gather information relative to the research questions, which explored the initiative’s barriers to participation, alignment of initiative with the goals of participants, utilization of initiative resources, overall strengths, weaknesses, and areas of improvement for the weight loss initiative, as well as the respondents’ general profile for the six dimensions of wellness. Reporting of data included descriptive statistics, which contained means, frequencies, and percentages. Some questions required open-ended responses, which were grouped together to identify trends. Of the 35 employees enrolled in the initiative, 32 responded to the online survey. Only a small group of participants from the larger pool of members at the worksite were successfully recruited into the weight loss initiative. Some respondents reported feeling intimidated towards the thought of participating in the initiative, which suggests that the weight loss theme may have been a barrier to participation. The majority of respondents identified weight loss as their primary wellness goal for the New Year, which aligned with the decision by the wellness staff to provide a weight loss initiative at the beginning of the year. The majority of respondents felt that the personal training provided by ACME Wellness was a primary resource in facilitating goal achievement. All of the respondents were satisfied with their experience in the weight loss initiative, and most summarized their experience as challenging, motivating, and fun. Strengths of the weight loss initiative were identified as teamwork, motivational factors, and communication. Weaknesses included organization, participation, and readiness. Areas of improvement were identified as planning, structure, and promotional factors. Respondents scored favorably in the intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of wellness, but not as high in the physical and occupational dimensions. The conclusions of this study suggest that weight loss initiatives can be an effective option for worksites since the design and implementation of such programs assist members in goal achievement.

Businesses and Human Resources professionals face the ongoing challenge of continuously upskilling and developing employees. Changes to processes or procedures, changes in technology, changes in job functions, and updates or changes to compliance laws or regulations are all reasons that employees must attend and complete employer-developed training. This study utilized the updated Multimodal Paired Associates Learning Test, version four (MMPALT-IV) instrument to determine perceptual learning styles and to determine if there exists a measureable difference in Latinos perceptual learning styles. The purpose of this study was to measure the perceptual learning styles of Latino adults from Central and South America utilizing the MMPALT-IV. The study compared Latinos born in either Central or South American to Caucasians born in the United States. The variables that were examined included gender, age, place of birth, and education level. A convenience sample of 40 adults living in the Tampa Bay area was used. Of that population, 20 individuals (10 females, 10 males) born in either Central or South America were participants of the study; each completing the seven subtests for the MMPALT-IV. Additionally, 20 Caucasian individuals (10 females, 10 males) born in the United States participated in the study as a comparison group and completed the same seven subtests for the MMPALT-IV. The results of this study indicate that there were no differences in preferred perceptual modalities based on race/ethnicity and gender, with the exception of the Kinesthetic where Latinos performed significantly higher than Caucasians. The implications for this study are broad ranging and can be applied to the corporate learning environment or any place adults spend time learning new knowledge, skills, or abilities.

Despite the increasing number of individuals taking computer-based tests, little is known about how examinees perceive computer-based testing environments and the extent to which these testing environments are perceived to affect test performance. The purpose of the present study was to assess the testing environment as perceived by individuals taking the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), a high-stakes licensure examination. Perceptions of the testing environments were assessed using an examinee self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire included items that measured individuals’ preference and perception of specific characteristics of the environment, along with demographic information and one open-ended item. Questionnaires were distributed by email to the 210 accredited physical therapy programs at the time, encouraging programs to forward the instrument by email to the most recent class of physical therapy graduates. Two hundred and sixteen respondents completed the study, representing 101 testing centers in 31 states. Data from these 216 examinees were used to answer four research questions. The first research question focused on the examinees’ environmental preferences for the NPTE testing environment and the relation between these preferences and examinees’ background characteristics (e.g., sex, program GPA, age, online experience, online testing experience, comfort level with online testing, and preferred testing time). A clear preference toward one end of the scale was observed for preferring a quiet room and a desktop area that had a great deal of adjustability. Examinees’ preferences and their demographic characteristics were not strongly related with the seven demographic variables accounting for < 7% of the variability in examinees’ environmental preferences. The second research question used the data from multiple examinees nested within the same testing center to examine the within- and between-center variability in examinees’ perceptions of the testing environment and their satisfaction with the environment. Results indicated that the majority of the variance in these variables was within testing centers with average between-center variability equal to .032 for the perception ratings and .078 for the satisfaction ratings. Research questions (RQ) three and four explored whether examinees’ background characteristics (RQ 3) and center characteristics (RQ 4) were significantly related to the 12 environmental perception ratings, 12 satisfaction ratings, and two items representing examinees’ perceptions of the effect of the testing environment on their performance and the likelihood they would choose the same center again. In terms of examinee characteristics, age, online testing experience, and comfort with online testing were the most consistent predictors of the various examinee ratings. The most consistent predictors for the satisfaction ratings were examinees’ online test comfort, online test experience, and age. For center characteristics, the newness of the center and the room density of the center were the most consistent predictors of examinee ratings. For satisfaction ratings, the most consistent predictor was the newness of the center. Center newness was significantly related to the outcome variables related to the size, lighting and sound of the center which may reflect changes in building standards and materials. The results of the study suggest the need for further exploration of the environmental and human factors that may impact individuals taking high stakes examinations in testing centers. Although there may not be an effect on all examinees, there may be subsets of individuals who are more sensitive to the effects of the testing environment on performance. Further exploration of the uniformity of testing environments is also needed to minimize error and maximize potential threats to test security.

This study was an autoethnography authored in the form of layered accounts. It was based on my journey toward a correct diagnosis with the rare, orphan disease known as mastocytosis. The purpose of the study was to utilize my experiences to investigate mastocytosis from the perspective of an individual diagnosed with the disease. Furthermore, I investigated what ways and how much adult education philosophies and principles (e.g., humanistic, behaviorist, and adults’ involvement in learning) may have been salient in my being correctly diagnosed to examine not only the disparities, but also the similarities in the way each physician I encountered approached the diagnostic process. The layered accounts—written in three distinct layers—revealed my perception of my journey toward a correct diagnosis as blind, discouraging, and isolating (layers one). Also noted in layer one are detailed descriptions of my bouts with chorea (extreme, uncontrollable spasms affecting the limbs), which was rarely discussed in the literature. The responses of those around me (layer two) ranged from shock, genuine concern, uncertainty, judgement, dismissal, disbelief, humor, anger, hurt, and positivity. Pertinent literature on mastocytosis was juxtaposed with my experiences divulged in the first layer and highlighted similarities in the approach to the diagnostic process taken by the physicians who treated me and multiple disparities between what the literature states my experience as someone diagnosed with mastocytosis versus my actual experiences (layer three). In addition to identifying the most salient adult education philosophies and principles in my journey to a correct diagnosis, this research identified parallels between the facilitator-learner relationship in adult education and the physician-patient relationship. The results implicate three principles and three philosophies salient to my correct diagnosis, along with one philosophy and one principle which were the most salient. An overarching theme of self-directedness emerged along with a multiple disparities between what the literature states my experience should have been versus what took place as I sought medical care.

The purpose of this study was to explore graduate student perceptions of use and the ease of use of multi-modal tablets to access electronic course materials, and the perceived differences based on students’ gender, age, college of enrollment, and previous experience. This study used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to identify the constructs that may explain a graduate student’s intention to use a multi-modal tablet in graduate course work. This study administered the UTAUT to 224 graduate students from four different colleges at a regional university. The models developed from the UTAUT explained 80% of the variability in Behavioral Intention values and 55% of the reported Use values. The results of the study showed that only Performance Expectancy, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, and Habit showed significance in explaining Behavioral Intention. Performance Expectancy, Hedonic Motivation, and Habit also showed moderately strong to strong correlations with Behavioral Intention. The regression analysis revealed a positive significant relationship with reported Use and Habit and reported Use and Behavioral Intention. Habit and Behavioral Intention both had strong correlations with reported Use. Habit affects the relationship of Performance Expectancy and Behavioral Intention. Habit, Price Value, or Hedonic Motivation did not have a significant affect on the relationship between Behavioral Intention and Effort Expectancy or Behavioral Intention and Social Influence. When trying to explain a graduate student’s intention to use a multi-modal tablet, only Performance Expectancy, Habit, Social Influence, Hedonic Motivation, and Previous Experience appeared to sufficiently explain whether a student intends to adopt the device. Across age groups, intention to use the tablet device does not vary by age in this study. There were no differences in Behavioral Intention among groups by college enrollment. Individuals with more experience using a tablet, as measured in years, have a higher predicted intention to use the tablet in the future than individuals with no previous experience using a tablet. Individuals with 5 or more years using a multi-modal tablet have a higher intention to use the device than those with less than 3 years experience. The results of this study support the concept that Habit is the strongest predictor of Use in the framework.

The aim of this study was to model the process of development for an Online Learning Resource (OLR) by Health Care Professionals (HCPs) to meet lymphoedema-related educational needs, within an asset-based management context. Previous research has shown that HCPs have unmet educational needs in relation to lymphoedema but details on their specific nature or context were lacking. Against this background, the study was conducted in two distinct but complementary phases. In Phase 1, a national survey was conducted of HCPs predominantly in community, oncology and palliative care services, followed by focus group discussions with a sample of respondents. In Phase 2, lymphoedema specialists (LSs) used an action research approach to design and implement an OLR to meet the needs identified in Phase 1. Study findings were analysed using descriptive statistics (Phase 1), and framework, thematic and dialectic analysis to explore their potential to inform future service development and education theory. Unmet educational need was found to be specific to health care setting and professional group. These resulted in HCPs feeling poorly-equipped to diagnose and manage lymphoedema. Of concern, when identified, lymphoedema was sometimes buried for fear of overwhelming stretched services. An OLR was identified as a means of addressing the unmet educational needs. This was successfully developed and implemented with minimal additional resources. The process model created has the potential to inform contemporary leadership theory in asset-based management contexts. This doctoral research makes a timely contribution to leadership theory since the resource constraints underpinning much of the contribution has salience to current public services. The process model created has the potential to inform contemporary leadership theory in asset-based management contexts. Further study of a leadership style which incorporates cognisance of Cognitive Load Theory and Self-Determination Theory is suggested. In addition, the detailed reporting of process and how this facilitated learning for participants contributes to workplace education theory.

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors and pre-transfer navigation experiences of community college students enrolled in Associate of Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), or Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degrees with transfer intent to Florida’s public universities. The population included adult students aged 26 and above enrolled in Florida state/community college AA, AS, or AAS programs. One hundred and seventy-five students from two community colleges participated in this study with a response rate of 10%. The valid data set included 101 respondents, AA (n =17), AS (n =76), AAS (n =4), other (n = 4), and missing degree (n = 1). There were more females (n = 75, 74.3%) than males (n = 26, 25.7%) who participated in this study. The students had a mean age of 34.09 years. Most respondents (total = 89.6%) reported having an intent to transfer to a 4-year public or private university. Data were collected using the STEM Student Success Literacy Survey (SSLS), a 63-item questionnaire launched and administered via Qualtrics. The purpose of the instrument was to measure Community College Students Self-Efficacy, Social Capital, and Transfer Knowledge. The SSLS was adapted to a 66-item questionnaire to include new items regarding transfer experiences, navigation experiences, and intent to transfer. Results indicated that adult students enrolled in non-transfer degree programs had intent to transfer to a four-year college. Significant relationships were found for four predictors (research 4-year college, visit transfer center, highest degree, college chemistry) of 240 variables in combination to predict the discrete outcome of intent to transfer (yes vs. no). Implications included /AS/AAS students had intent even though the degree itself does not indicate intent; therefore, community/state colleges should treat this population with intent and advisors, policy makers, and administrators need to ensure that the correct information is readily available to those intending to transfer to Florida’s public universities.

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes toward adult education among adult learners without a high school diploma or the General Educational Development (GED). In this study, adult learners without a high school diploma or GED completed the Attitudes Toward Adult Education Scale (AACES) and selected respondents volunteered to participate in a face-to-face interview in conjunction with the mixed methods section of the study. For this study, I used a 5-point Likert scale to measure the responses on the 22-item AACES survey. Three hundred and fifty respondents participated in the study. Descriptive statistics and a three-way ANOVA revealed attitudes toward adult education were not very favorable among adults without a high school diploma or GED. Overall, there were no significant differences among adult learners without a high school diploma or GED. However, age was statistically significant, as older adult learners had more favorable attitudes toward adult education than younger adults did. Race/ethnicity and gender showed no significant differences. The qualitative data revealed interviewees valued adult education and thought it was important for them to obtain their GED or high school diploma. Those interviewed believed they needed to obtain their GED or high school diploma in order to acquire meaningful employment. The interviewees did not express any immediate plans to participate in adult education or post-secondary/GED studies upon completion of the GED program. Based on the results, adult learners without a high school diploma or GED recognized the importance of obtaining a high school diploma or GED, but their attitudes toward the perception of participation in adult education were not favorable. The respondents believed participation in adult education is important and necessary to gain employment, but they did not show much enthusiasm for participation in adult education beyond the GED program.