This dissertation examines the college experience of traditional-age community college students. The objectives of this dissertation are threefold. To explain early exits from higher education, the first manuscript integrates Tinto's interactionalist theory and Coleman's theory of social capital to describe the mechanisms through which…

Within public schools throughout the United States, an emphasis has been placed on improving education for all students. In turn, this has resulted in legislators and policymakers placing an emphasis on assessing student learning and holding the education community accountable. In this study, the researcher examined one variable in the…

Technology rich learning environments provide the potential for engaging, relevant, and personalized curricula that prepare students for 21st century careers. However, a lack of strategic planning by educators results in available technology not being used to its fullest potential. Several educational organizations have published guidelines for…

Effectively using strategies to solve complex problems is an important educational goal and is implicated in successful academic performance. However, people often do not spontaneously use the effective strategies unless they are motivated to do so. The present study was designed to test whether educating students about the importance of effort in…

Background: According to Salo (2010), the metadata entered into repositories are "disorganized" and metadata schemes underlying repositories are "arcane". This creates a challenging repository environment in regards to personal information management (PIM) and knowledge organization systems (KOSs). This dissertation research is…

Recent literature on theological education calls for renewal and increased responsiveness to the needs of churches and broader society. A theological school's ability to achieve responsiveness in a changing environment is based on many factors. This study explores the role of governance in assuring responsiveness in various contexts,…

This dissertation considers three research questions. Why do scientists become postdoctoral scholars (postdocs)? What role do postdocs play relative to other categories of labor in research production? What factors are associated with a postdoc being dissatisfied? The literature review in Chapter 2 summarizes findings about which scientists are…

This study examined L2 (German) awareness in intermediate American college learners of German through their judgments of 15 texts that had been authored by either native speakers (NS) or non-native speakers (NNS) or had been created through Web-Based Machine Translation (WBMT). The specific objectives sought to investigate: (a) how learners…

This multi-phased descriptive study gathered information from 205 public universities across the United States with teacher education programs about the involvement of tenured and tenure-track faculty as student teaching supervisors. In addition, this study focused on the involvement of reading faculty and the student teaching experience. Finally,…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the workforce skills perceived to be critical in the Chattanooga region, and to explore how colleges and businesses can partner to effectively develop those skills. Data from a June 2011 survey of workforce stakeholders in the Chattanooga region were analyzed. The 78 survey respondents…

The purpose of this study was to explore uses of arts instruction in regular K-5 elementary school classrooms in a large southeastern school district to determine which arts instruction models were being employed and whether or not any particular model had a greater perceived impact on students and teachers. The mixed-methods study combined…

This study defines and explores pedandragogy as a teaching and learning model using a southern university in the United States of America as a case study. It examines its applicability to a multiplicity of academic disciplines, testing the attitudes of faculty towards the implementation of the learner-centered approach in higher education.…

This year-long, multicase study employs cultural-historical theory to analyze the learning to teach process of nine novice English teachers enrolled in two different teacher preparation programs in the same large city: a university-based program and an Urban Teacher Residency. Broadly, this research investigates how novice English teachers learned…

This study examines a group of four teachers engaged in a professional development focused on understanding students' mathematical thinking. Using activity theory as a theoretical framework it sought to determine what pedagogical tools associated with a reform mathematics curriculum (i.e. Cognitively Guided Instruction) teachers appropriated…

The ability to engage in classroom activities is associated with better academic outcomes (Downer et al., 2007; Ponitz et al., 2009), and characteristics of children can affect how a child is able to engage in classroom activities (McWilliam & Bailey, 1995; Kishida & Kemp, 2006). Yet, support from adults can enhance the engagement of…