This mixed-methods study investigated the effects of case method presentation on the clinical reasoning hypotheses generated, strategies implemented, and errors made by physical therapy students working through a musculoskeletal clinical problem. The study was framed by Marton and Säljö’s levels of processing, McCrudden’s et al. goal-focusing model, Cognitive Load Theory, and the Model of Domain Learning. Verbatim transcriptions for each problem-solving session was created and coded. Cohen’s kappa was κ = .75 indicating substantial inter-rater reliability for the finalized coding schemes. Quantitative analysis included mean and standard deviation calculations followed by Mann Whitney-U comparisons which detected several significant differences between groups regarding clinical reasoning hypotheses generated, reasoning strategies implemented, and errors made during the problem-solving sessions. Moderate-to-large effect sizes, ranging from r2 = .64–.78, indicated that differences in clinical reasoning between groups was mostly attributed to the case presentation method. Additionally, a qualitative profile enriched the data set by identifying differences in type of knowledge regulation each group exhibited and timing of treatment considerations. Specifically, participants in the simulated patient group were found to regulate more psychomotor skill knowledge compared to the written case study group who exhibited more regulation of propositional knowledge. This research project has already impacted the educational experiences physical therapy students receive in their professional education program. Future research should include multi-institutional investigations with a larger number of participants allowing for better representation of physical therapy students across professional education programs before generalizing any findings.

This study explored the impact that principals’ transformational leadership behaviors had on teachers’ self-efficacy in secondary urban alternative schools. The research question that guided this study was: How does perceived transformational leadership behaviors of principals’ impact teachers’ self-efficacy? This question had two sub-questions. The first was: How do teachers perceive their principals’ leadership behaviors? And, the second sub-question was: How does this perceived behavior affect teachers’ self-efficacy? Literature focused on urban schools and alternative schools, since they share a similar population of students. Additional literature discussed the four components of being a transformational leader which are idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration, in addition to the components of a teacher’s personal self-efficacy. A total of ten secondary school teachers from two different urban alternative schools were interviewed using the semi-structured interviewing process. The researcher analyzed interview data by using the Constant Comparative Method of Analysis as a guide. Results of the interviews indicated that teachers viewed their principals as having behaviors of a transformational leader. They described the behaviors that resulted in two major categories: Principals as Instructional Leadersand Principals as Team Players. As a result of the principals’ transformational leadership behaviors, teachers’ efficacy was deemed to be high, due to shared examples of going above and beyondthe call of duty, creating a family environment, and being a loving teacher. Additional themes that gleaned from this study were the teachers’ perceptions about the student population, quality of education, understanding the purpose of urban alternative schools, educator preparation, and the challenges and rewards for working in an urban alternative school setting.

This qualitative case study examined the perceived effectiveness of executive leadership team processes at a community hospital in the southeastern U.S. in relation to the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) through an analysis of documents and a repository database (http:www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov) relating to service quality, patient satisfaction, and governmental reimbursements; and, structured interviews. Today, the PPACA or “Obamacare” continues to challenge the executive leadership teams at U.S. hospitals to effectively navigate the intricacies of the legislation in order to remain solvent in a volatile healthcare arena. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) model was utilized to guide the theoretical framework for this qualitative case study in terms of process improvement. Hill’s (2010) team leadership model was also applied to examine the perceived effectiveness of the executive leadership team processes in terms of analyzing any change in core measures and patient satisfaction scores from the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013 and 2014, respectively. The VBP data reflected consistent core measure scores in the 48th percentile and an increase in patient satisfaction scores from the 20th to 33rd percentile. The results revealed that the executive leadership team processes were perceived by the researcher as effective as evidenced by a strong collaboration among administration, the bord, and medical staff in implementing several strategies via a team oriented approach that impacted Medicare patients during the FFY of 2013-2014. This study offers a starting point in terms of generating more understanding of the importance of executive leadership team processes at a community hospital in relation to the VBP requirements of the PPACA which can be studied on a broader scale in the future.

This study examined the leadership roles of secondary schools department heads at two government schools in Belize. Seven participants participated in the study and data regarding their perceptions of their leadership roles were collected through open-ended semi-structured interviews. Relevant sections from Belizean education documents were purposefully selected based on their relevance to the study. Documents were used to enrich the interview data. Three data analysis strategies—content analysis (Patton, 2002), inductive analysis (Hatch, 2002), and educational criticism (Eisner, 1998)—were used in the study. Discussion of the analysis was based on the following three themes: (a) build instructional capacity, (b) increase learning opportunities for students, and (c) provide technical and vocational teachers access to professional training and development in technical and vocational education. The themes are perspectives from which to view and understand the leadership roles of secondary school department heads at two government schools in Belize. Three major conclusions resulted from this study. One, secondary school department heads at the two government schools in Belize are school leaders whose multifaceted role includes myriad duties, responsibilities, and obligations. Two, department heads are street-level bureaucrats who implement and enforce policies and regulations through their classroom routines and the decisions they make. Three, policymakers, school management, and department heads need to invest in sustained professional training and development activities that are specifically designed for department heads. Implications for policy and practice include the need to establish minimum professional selection criteria for the role of department heads, expand the capacity of teacher training institutions, and foster a culture that supports and nurtures shared instructional leadership and learning among department heads.

The central focus of the present study was to examine the relationship between student personal factors (i.e., gender, race, academic performance, career awareness, and socio-economic factors) and the perceptions of secondary school students regarding vocational education. In recent years, traditional vocational programs have not done well throughout the nation. Enrollment within vocational education has dropped to approximately 10%, while enrollment in college preparation courses has increased to over 50%. The subjects of this study were secondary school students enrolled in the Duval County Public School system. The research was conducted using a two-part survey instrument containing 24 demographic questions and 76 questions related to vocational education. The survey instrument was subjected to content validity analysis by a panel of experts from various universities. Additionally, a validation panel, consisting of 12 vocational education teacher interns, critiqued the instrument. This study was helpful in illuminating the contradictions in commonly held perceptions of vocational educators, guidance counselors, school administrators and political decision makers towards secondary students and their declining interest in vocational education. Five hypotheses were tested relative to the relationship between student personal factors and perceptions of vocational education. The five hypotheses sampled were statistically significant, and R squared values indicate that an appreciable amount of variation in perceptions can be accounted for by student background. Demographic factors are related to students' perceptions of vocational education, with socio-economic status most appreciable among the several predictors.

For over a century, Catholic Sisters have assumed leadership roles in higher education. They have impacted the lives of future leaders and empowered women to explore options to domesticity. Despite their profound contribution to higher education leadership, their history is missing from textbooks and library shelves. The purpose of this qualitative and phenomenological research study was to examine the lived experiences of Catholic Sisters who have served as college president; to gain an understanding of their perceptions and perspectives as they relate to leadership and leadership efficacy; to identify the role, if any, that gender and religion have played in institutional and societal acceptance of their leadership in higher education; and to present an argument for further research. Eleven participants participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. They responded to 12 research questions and provided feedback and stories representing their experiences as leaders. In order to sharpen the focus of the study, a set of lenses was selected to frame the analysis: feminisms, constructed self, and Catholicism. Participants perceived that gender and religion played key roles in their leadership construct. Religious authority impacted perceived societal acceptance of these participants as leaders, but participants perceived that individual characteristics contributed equally to that acceptance. Participants described the role of stereotypes as they pertained to societal expectations for leadership characteristics of a woman and for a Catholic Sister. Participants defined leadership efficacy in terms of success, which was directly related, in most cases, to the number of lives touched through education and service. These Catholic Sisters open doors for future women leaders through training, high standards, and belief systems. Committed to social justice, most of the participants expressed concerns with the Church‟s failure to change with the times and to promote gender equality. Most of the participants described personal conflict with conscience and the Church, especially in terms of women‟s and gay rights.

This research was designed to investigate the behavioral intention of a sample of teachers to develop curriculum based projects that require students to use technology. This research employed a quantitative study design of an educational version of the Universal Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model. The UTAUT model was expanded to include factors from the Theory of Planned Behavior, and Social Cognitive Theory. The sample was composed of 251 private school teachers in Florida who completed an on-line survey instrument based upon the UTAUT model. The results were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis that identified several factors that contributed to the behavioral intention of the teachers to integrate technology. In the final factor analysis, Social Influences, Effort Expectancy, and Anxiety all proved to be very strong factors. Attitude, Performance Expectancy, and Facilitating Conditions were moderate to strong factors in this final analysis. The relationships between the identified factors were determined through the development of a path model using partial least squares analysis. The constructs having the strongest relationship with Behavioral Intention, and hence, having a stronger effect were Attitude (β=.775, p < .001), Performance Expectancy (β=.698, p < .001), and Effort Expectancy (β=.667, p < .001). The structural model also supported that Behavioral Intention is strongly related to actual Use (β=.561, p < .001). The construct of Facilitating Conditions had a weak and negative relationship with Use (β=.-131, p =.16).The moderating effects of several attributes were also tested. While there were several notable affects only the presence of a curriculum guide proved to have a statistically significant influence. The present study contributes to behavioral intention research by confirmation of the model and providing a new context for the adapted UTAUT (Venkatesh et al., 2003) that was developed for a teacher acceptance and use of technology in an educational setting. Several implications for practice are offered in addition to further directions for research in this area. The approach to technology adoption requires an understanding of how leaders of an organization, as well as individual teachers, approach technology use.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted within the context of the University of North Florida's EXCEL (Excelling in Clinical Education Learning) teacher preparation program to investigate the impact of three types of educational treatment on the attitudes toward diversity of preservice teachers. Data were collected and analyzed based on the pretest/posttest measures of three self-reporting instruments: Cross Cultural-Adaptability Inventory, the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory, and the Bogardus Social Distance Scale. The preservice teachers (N = 208; K-12 regular and special education majors) experienced the following treatments: (1) informal seminar studies of multicultural education issues accompanied by a field experience in a non-culturally diverse public school classroom; (2) informal seminar studies of multicultural education issues accompanied by a field experience in a culturally diverse public school classroom; and (3) no seminar studies of multicultural education issues and no field experience in a public school classroom. The weekly on-campus seminars were conducted by four clinical educators (master teachers from neighboring districts on alternative assignments for two years). In addition, with-in group attitudinal differences toward diversity of preservice teachers enrolled in the fieldbased seminars were examined based on variates of field placement, seminar instructor, gender, age, race, educational major, association with culturally different people, and teaching grade level. Examination of relationships between groups, based on ANOVA and ANCOVA results at the .05 level of confidence, reveals the followings: (1) no significant differences were found in attitudes toward diversity of preservice teachers enrolled in the field-based seminars focusing on issues of diversity, but significant differences were found between the control and experimental groups at both the onset and end of the study (experimental group had higher mean scores), (2) significant differences were found within-groups for the demographic variates of seminar instructor, age, race, association with people of diversity, and grade level, (3) significant (although minimal) differences were found in attitudes toward diversity between preservice teachers enrolled in the seminars focusing on issues of cultural diversity as compared to the control group of students not enrolled in the seminars (experimental groups had higher mean scores), (4) no significant differences were found between the experimental groups to support the assumption that field experiences within Culturally diverse settings have a positive effect on the attitudes of preservice teachers toward diversity, and (5) although positive significant differences were found between the control and experimental groups following the completion of the multicultural seminars, all three groups remained at the social distance preference level "having merely as a speaking acquaintance" in working with the culturally different as measured on the Bogardus and far below the normed population on the Cross Cultural Adaptability Inventory factor Flexibility/Openness (FO).

This retrospective, qualitative case study examined the complexities of leadership in a community college setting under a single, long-term president. Six critical events were identified by 16 key informants as a basis for reflection on their views of the 23-year presidency of Dr. William Seeker at Florida Keys Community College. The researcher found a highly participatory leadership model and a college that functions in a less hierarchical manner than is traditionally encountered in community colleges. The study further revealed that the president of Florida Keys Community College expanded the role of president by giving priority to the construction of a positive and productive learning culture, honoring local resources, both tangible and intangible. The driving force behind the institution throughout this 23 year period was the development of human capital. A philosophy of approaching tough decisions swiftly and deliberately while maintaining a sense of inclusion in the decision making process is a hallmark of this presidency. A better understanding of the role of the president is necessary for present and future leaders of community colleges, for the Boards of Trustees who act as policy makers, and for state legislators. Indeed, anyone who leads a public organization that must be responsive to local community needs and to a local governing board can gain valuable insights from this examination of one community college presidency.

This study examines issues of access to higher education in Florida and South Africa. On November 9, 1999, the Governor of the State of Florida issued Executive Order 99-281 to establish the One Florida Initiative (OFI), which barred the use of race as a factor in university admissions. In South Africa, the government in February 2001 issued its National Plan for Higher Education (SANPHE). This plan outlined a framework to redress past inequities in the higher education system perpetuated by the former government's apartheid ideology. Senior university leaders in Florida and South Africa were required to implement their respective policy. The purpose of the study investigates two research questions: 1. What were the assumptions and political processes that contributed to the establishment of OFI and SANPHE policies? 2. How did the leadership at selected institutions implement OFI and SANPHE policies? Using a qualitative methodology and focused interviews with senior leaders at two universities in Florida and South Africa, this study discusses the challenges and conflicts the leaders faced in implementing their respective policy. The challenges and conflicts included those of university governance, decision-making, leadership style, diversity, affirmative action and policy making. It discusses the unique ways of implementing a policy with which one might not agree and it provides a comparative understanding of challenges faced by university leaders in Florida and South Africa. Five findings were noted from the data analysis. They are: Leaders must have steadfast philosophical beliefs about the need to broaden access for those who have been historically discriminated against; there must be an awareness of the value of affirmative action and diversity to an institution; participatory style of leadership is a characteristic common to all leaders; commitment to team dynamics was a persuasive attribute that the leaders practiced and the exercise of prudent discretion to implement a policy seemed to be an attribute that resonated with all the leaders. The study concluded with a proposition of a model to determine or to predict leadership effectiveness - referred to as the Belief/Action Leadership Style Model and recommendations of areas for further research in Florida and South Africa. This study's results are useful for policy makers and senior leaders at higher education institutions.