School foodservice directors (FSDs) and school business officials (SBOs) in public school districts with enrollments between 2,500 and 25,000 in the USDA Mid-Atlantic geographic region provided responses to a paper-and-pencil survey. The FSDs assessed the level of implementation of a mandated school food safety plan in their districts and…

The purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of teachers as they transition from traditional grading practices to standards-based reporting (SBR). In order to achieve this overall objective, the following research questions framed this qualitative study: (1) What understandings related to practices do middle school teachers have as…

Factors associated with globalization and unprecedented technological advancement have facilitated the opportunity to take education beyond the boundaries of the physical classroom and geographical borders to serve a global context. While this exponential growth has resulted in more convenient access to learning, increased possibilities for…

The purpose of this mixed-method case study was to uncover the common experiences of 69 first and second year mathematics coaches, bound by their participation in the Mathematics Coaching Program (MCP). Evidence supporting MCP implementation and the evolution of instructional practices were also investigated and reported. Interview, document, and…

Native American students are an underrepresented population at the post-secondary level (American Indian College Fund, 2007). Further complicating this issue, most Native American post-secondary students do not complete a degree within the traditionally accepted four-year period, and attend multiple institutions. The purpose of this study was to…

Students not having the positive opportunities of an education, often experience negative effects throughout their lives. Educators need to do more to meet the needs of elementary students at risk, and if this can be accomplished the students will receive a 21st Century education that will help students with a global education, which is necessary…

The purpose of this study was to explore and report on the impact of coaching as an embedded part of professional development has on teacher learning and practice in the context of educating English Language Learners (ELLs). A close examination was made of what teachers, coaches and principals believe to be effective professional development and…

This study looked at the effect of a number of factors such as the choice of analytical method, the handling method for missing data, sample size, and proportion of missing data, in order to evaluate the effect of missing data treatment on accuracy of estimation. In order to accomplish this a methodological approach involving simulated data was…

The Net neutrality debate is an important telecommunications policy issue that closely tied to technological innovation, economic development, and information access. Existing studies on Net neutrality have focused primarily on technological requirements, economic analysis, and regulatory justifications. Since values, technology, and policy are…

This study examined how five principals working in one urban school district made sense of inclusion. I employed a multi-case study guided by the theoretical framework of sensemaking. Weick's sensemaking theory was useful in examining the way principals made sense of inclusion. Each of the seven characteristics of Weick's sensemaking…

In August 2006, in accordance with a recently passed charter school law, a Mid-Atlantic school district opened its first public charter schools. The charter schools' staff had opportunities to exercise autonomy over their instruction and had very little in-service training. This study examined what seven teachers at a newly created charter…

This qualitative case study examined how principals promote educational equity in schools. The study examined the experiences of three principals in a school district that mandated that principals lead for equity. The school system defined equity as the elimination of racial predictability in student achievement. To conduct this examination, the…

With the demographics of American school children rapidly changing and the demographics of school psychologists remaining relatively unchanged, more than ever school psychologists are working within the cross-cultural zone. This means that they are working with students and families who are culturally different from them. It has become vital that…

The purpose of this study was to understand how women of color who are at the senior level of academe continue to advance while navigating and maneuvering through power and politics encountered in the organizational system. Although we know that there are few women of color at the senior level of administration, this qualitative study provided…

This dissertation attempts to unify two reductionist hypotheses: that there is no relational difference between specifiers and complements, and that verbs do not have thematic arguments. I argue that these two hypotheses actually bear on each other and that we get a better theory if we pursue both of them. The thesis is centered around the…