Game modding has increasingly become a mainstream and "cutting edge" medium to foster a broad range of critical software design and programming practices to learners coming from wide-ranging educational and professional backgrounds. Participatory practices, like game modding, are highly interest-driven and entail intense engagement with…

This study--a philosophical exploration, partly in an autoethnographical account-provides an empirical demonstration that one's personal project has a strong and positive impact on the dissertation process both for endurance to complete the process and for quality of the product. The concept of project is often explained as one's pursuit…

As student accountability models have become the norm in the United States, first in individual states such as North Carolina and then throughout the nation with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the implementation of inclusion as a curriculum delivery model for students with disabilities has been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine how…

This study explored the doctoral student experience through the lens of college student psychosocial development theory. Although psychosocial development has been a mainstay in the research of undergraduate education, doctoral student psychosocial development has received little attention. The primary research objective was to engage, listen to,…

Despite reform efforts, the mathematics achievement of middle school students in America remains below expectations. Research supports the role of motivation in academic achievement and the possible merit of including student perspectives in reform. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to identify, understand, and report seventh grade…

A teacher shortage in the area of special education has led to an increase in the number of alternatively certified special education teachers. Many alternative certification programs focus on content knowledge rather than pedagogical training, allowing many alternatively certified teachers into the classroom with little pedagogical training.…

The Appoquinimink School District renewed its commitment to its stakeholders in 2006 by refocusing district attention toward providing "a world-class education where each of our students gains the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes needed to contribute and flourish in a global society" (ASD Strategic Plan, 2008). As a result…

Since the essential role of counseling supervision for counselor growth and effectiveness was emphasized in several seminal articles in the 1980s (Blocher, 1983; Loganbill, Hardy, & Delworth, 1982), many researchers have investigated the complex factors involved in effective counseling supervision. However, within this large body of work, very…

Information systems are considered to be a critical and strategic part of most organizations today. Because of this it has become increasingly important to ensure that there is an effective information security program in place protecting those information systems. It has been well established by researchers that the success of an information…

There has been a rapid increase in the emergence of minority groups during the past few decades in the United States. Hispanics are the largest minority group that has people who speak English as a second language. The increasing proportion of English Language Learning (ELL) students has made it more difficult to maintain high learning standards.…

Nations throughout the world have increasingly looked at teacher education policy as a vehicle for reform of both the educational system and the society at large, and teacher quality is often positively associated with the quality of the overall educational system. Although such reforms often target pre-service teacher education, little is known…

This study examines the impact that involvement in Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society has on lifelong views of civic engagement and leadership. Mortar Board Senior Honor Society is a collegiate honor society established in 1918 that recognizes students for their outstanding contributions to their college or university community in the…

This study explores the relationship between theological discussion and organizational change within a church-related institution. The qualitative case study examines the dialogue on a campus that received a Lilly Endowment grant through their Program for the Theological Exploration of Vocation to engage its campus community in the theological…

The purpose of the current research was to examine racial, male and athletic identities and their individual and collective impact on the academic performance of African American male Division I student-athletes (AAMSAs). Data was collected using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI), the Male Role Norms Scale (MRNS), and the…

To help teachers improve their efficiency and effectiveness, this dissertation study uses regression analysis to assess two middle Georgia counties' CRCT and Math 1 EOCT data in order to determine the usability of the CRCT to enhance instruction in Math 1. Data were collected from the 2009 and 2010 CRCT administrations and the 2010 and 2011…