Effectively integrating technology into classroom instruction presents teachers with several dilemmas about their understanding of how students learn, their approach to designing learning activities, and their conceptualization of their role as teachers (Windschitl, 2002). Using the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Koehler & Mishra, 2005, 2009; Mishra & Koehler, 2006) as the conceptual model undergirding the research, this study was designed to build evidence towards establishing the validity and reliability of a measurement instrument employed to assess the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge teachers utilize, as well as gain an understanding of how this knowledge is affected by teacher beliefs about technology use in classroom practice. Three contextual factors were also investigated, namely leadership support for technology, teaching self-efficacy, and traditional beliefs about children. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was selected for analyzing data gathered in this research design. The relationships among four latent factors and three latent variables were examined using measurement models to determine a final structural model. Results (N = 75) suggest that the TPACK-deep scale has potential as a measure of teachers’ beliefs about their technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. The findings yielded by the present exploratory study pertain to Design, Exertion, Ethics, and Proficiency—which are considered the four factors of the TPACK-deep scale (Kabakci-Yurdakul et al., 2012). Furthermore, this study’s findings indicate positive predictive relationships between leadership support for technology and teachers’ beliefs about using technology in their classrooms. While positive predictive relationships between teachers’ teaching self-efficacy and their beliefs about technology integration in classroom practice were found, no statistically significant association between teachers’ beliefs about using technology and their traditional beliefs about children could be established for three (Design, Exertion, Ethics) of the four TPACK-deep factors under investigation.

The present study investigated home literacy environments established through reading with children, engaging in literacy activities, and having literacy materials provided, along with families' participation in literacy-related school events. One hundred one kindergarten children and their families from five classrooms in two inner-city urban elementary schools were invited to participate in the "Learning the ABCs" project. A total of 68 families gave consent. Participation in the project included receiving 15 weeks of Home Literacy Bags. The 68 participating children were randomly assigned into two intervention groups using cluster sampling of the five classes. Group One received weekly bags with four activities while Group Two received weekly bags with four activities, a variety of materials, and one book. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the strength of four family involvement variables (reading with children, engaging in literacy activities, having literacy materials provided, and participating in literacy-related events at school) in predicting kindergarten students' gain scores on three literacy assessments (ALRI, TERA-3, and DIBELS). The primary research question was: To what extent can kindergarten students' ALRI, TERA-3, and DIBELS gain scores be explained by participation in family involvement activities? A secondary purpose of the study was to determine which of the family involvement activities was the strongest predictor of kindergarten students' literacy achievement as measured by the literacy assessments. The secondary research question was: Which family involvement activity is the strongest predictor of gains in kindergarten students' letter and sound knowledge and phonological awareness? Literacy assessments were implemented using a pre/post test design. The literacy gain scores served as the dependent variables and the family involvement activities served as the independent variables. Each variable set was included in a regression analysis, which was followed up with an analysis of regression structure coefficients (rs) to determine the individual variable contributions.

Abstract This study was designed to determine the relationship between identified student characteristics and readiness factors and measures of success in selected online courses as defined by final course grades. This study focused on two sets of variables. The first was regarding the relationship of student demographic and educational background factors such as age, gender, academic placement, educational level, enrollment status, grade point average, withdrawal history, and previous online course experience to success in online courses. The second was regarding the relationship of learning readiness factors of personal attributes, learning style, life factors, technical competency, technical knowledge, and reading rate to success in online courses. The study analyzed data regarding students at a state college enrolled in online courses during a single term. Archival data from the readiness assessment SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness Indicator (previously named READI) results as well as demographic, end of course grades, and educational background data from available student records were collected for students registered in the selected sample sections. The SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness Indicator is a web-based, 122-item assessment intended to measure a learner’s readiness for success in an online learning environment. The statistical techniques of correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the relationship between the dependent variable of final course grade and the independent variables of student characteristics and readiness and to determine the predictive nature of the independent variables. The findings of this study indicate that the age, academic placement, and GPA of students taking online courses may have a statistically significant relationship to their final grade and so success in their courses. These findings regarding demographic and educational background variables suggest that a more mature, non-traditional student who has a higher GPA and did not place into remedial mathematics or English may have a stronger opportunity for success in the online environment. The findings regarding the second set of variables indicated that scores for students on the assessment scales of personal attributes, reading, technical knowledge and competency, and life factors also might have a relationship to their final grade in their online course. Although the predictive relationships were not strong, the findings regarding the assessment variables suggest that students who are better equipped and prepared in the readiness factors assessed may have slightly higher grades as well.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the potential power of Facebook to be used by higher education institutions as a key communication tool to provide viewers’ emergent impressions, or frames, of the institution. This study was intended to contribute to the knowledge base of social media and higher education by studying the emergent frames formed from the posts on the official Facebook page of each member university of the Florida State University System.

The success of The Jacksonville Commitment Scholars Program is well documented. These scholars are retained at a much higher rate and the six year graduation rate of the first two cohorts was higher than the general body. They are all students whose families have minimal financial resources and were eligible for the free or reduced lunch program during their high school years. They were subsequently eligible for the Pell Grant upon college entry demonstrating significant financial need. Many of these students were first-generation students. They have been successful but the specifics of how they collectively found such success was unknown. Although the program was a common element among all the students, this collective case study was intended to clarify the extent to which the students attribute their success to their experience in the scholars program, to identify challenges they faced during their college years, and to identify supports that helped them persist to graduation. Five themes emerged from the data. These themes were the scholarship and staff of The Jacksonville Commitment, the campus fit and faculty constructs of the theory of integration, ambition, adult guides, and the concept of anonymity vs. familiarity.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the costs incurred and the benefits realized by institutions participating in the NCATE accreditation process and to formulate a cost-benefit model to guide teacher training institutions who are assessing the value of peerreview by NCATE. The study utilized quantitative methodology with a descriptive research design. The study featured researcher-designed questionnaires: Accreditation Cost-Benefit Analysis Scale for faculty (ACBAS) and the Costs Inventory Analysis (CIA) for administrators and was administered to a purposive sample of faculty and administrators at 54 colleges of education that had participated in the NCATE accreditation process and sitevisit during the period of January 2003-December 2004. The data indicated that faculty and administrators hold distinct perceptions regarding the benefits, costs, and other issues related to NCATE accreditation. Administrators specified the mean cost of NCATE accreditation was approximately $100,000, on average, as indicated by an analysis of the data provided on the CIA. Furthermore, a discriminant analysis of the data confirmed that administrators and those faculty considerably (7-10 hours per week) involved in the accreditation process had a greater appreciation for the benefits and costs of NCATE accreditation than did those faculty and significantly (3-6 hours per week) or only moderately (0-2 hours per week) involved. Finally, the data indicated that there was no difference in the perceptions between faculty and administrators regarding costs, benefits, and other issues related to accreditation when measured on the ACBAS.

Little is known of the way that nurses' roles have evolved within a hospital setting in which efficient and affective interventions include caring for sicker patients. The emergence of the Patient Care Coordinator (PCC) is one role that nursing developed to participate in an interdisciplinary collaborative team approach to caring for sicker patients. This qualitative study examined the exemplary role of eleven PCCs who practice in a regional nonprofit medical center. Research methodologies included interview, non-participant observation, and analysis of historical data. Interview questions were developed from the literature review on collaboration, caring, expertise, communication, and knowing the patient. Cognitive mapping comprised the initial organization of data. Grounded theory (Strauss, 1987), connoisseurship, and educational criticism (Eisner, 1991) comprised the design for further analysis. The results comprised the attributes of caring from a team perspective. This study helps demonstrate how caring for patients with complex acute and chronic health needs involves many attributes that are included in five themes: agility, confidence, leadership, quality, and stewardship. Further development of these themes may affect the ways that educational leaders explore the learning needs of nurses within academic and professional development opportunities.

Florida has the longest history of high stakes testing of any state in the United States, spanning a period of 28 years, seven different testing policy periods, and five tests. In this study, analysis of statistics from the 28 years suggested that declines in graduation rates corresponded to increasingly difficult high stakes testing policy periods, new tests, and periods that did not include high stakes accountability for graduation rates. Overall, graduation rates declined through an erratic 28 years for a net loss of 4.51 %. The achievement gap in graduation rates between white and black students worsened 200% from 1992 to 2003. Analysis of a random sample of 3,000 Florida 9th grade students in 1999 indicated that 42.6% of students graduated within four years with a standard diploma. School achievement variables, including grade point average, retention history, high stakes test scores, and attendance, were found to be the best predictors of individual student graduation. Implications were that to benefit the individual student for graduation, teachers and other educators must work to ensure academic success. Educators should conduct further studies to better understand the relationship between graduation success and high stakes testing polices.

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of the mathematics placement process for incoming freshman at a public university. Effectiveness is defined as the percentage of students who successfully complete the mathematics course they were placed into, Precalculus, College Algebra, or Intensive College Algebra. The specific university in this research study was the University of North Florida (UNF). The placement process at UNF included students’ ACT, SAT, or FCPT scores, their mathematics placement exam scores (MPE), and whether or not students followed the placement recommendation (FPR). Students’ ACT, SAT, or FCPT scores were grouped into a single variable of placement levels (PL). Logistic regression analysis was the multivariate method used to analyze the data. In addition, a psychometric analysis of the data obtained by using the mathematics placement exam was also conducted. The results of the analyses indicated that measures of association were found between students’ MPE scores, PL, and FPR. However, the results did not support that the three variables are strong predictors of students’ success in Precalculus, College Algebra, or Intensive College Algebra. Students’ MPE scores were found to be significant in every logistic regression analyses that was conducted. In contrast, students’ PL was not found to be significant in any of the logistic regression analyses. The results of the psychometric analyses supported the reliability and validity of the data obtained from using the UNF mathematics placement exam as part of the placement process. The findings contribute to the knowledge base of assessing mathematics placement procedures in higher education. The findings suggest that placement procedures should be assessed and modified, as needed, on a regular basis to better meet the needs of the university, its faculty, and its students. This is the responsibility of the university’s administrators, advisors, and faculty.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether attendance, academic achievement, school climate, student stress, and teacher burnout improved in an inner city, predominantly African American high school after the implementation of a 4 x 4 block schedule. Data concerning student academic achievement and absenteeism in 14 classrooms were gathered from the school's Annual Scholastic Reports. Data concerning the instructional practices of eight teachers were gathered through the teacher version of the Instructional Practices Survey and compared to a student version of the Instructional Practices Survey to determine whether student perception of instructional practices coincided with the teachers' perceptions. Classroom climate was examined by administering the Classroom Environment Survey to seven teachers and 130 of their students. Student stress levels were examined from the results of the School Situation Survey returned by 106 students. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to gather data concerning the burnout levels of 13 teachers. This study found that increases in grade point average and decreases in absenteeism were not achieved after three years of block scheduling. Instructional practices of the teachers involved in this study did not change significantly. School climate, student stress levels, and teacher burnout were found to be in the average range.