Over the last 15 years, the Latino population has expanded at a rapid pace in the United States. This national trend has been mirrored in Indiana. As a result, school districts within the state have developed structures and supports for the growing number of Latino students arriving in their schools. This study highlights some programs developed…

With the increased demands for school accountability from the federal, state, and district levels, many school administrators report limited time available for the critical task of classroom observations. This research examined the relationship between classroom observations using a walk-through procedure and student performance. Building…

Diversity of knowledge and multiple perspectives are characteristic advantages of group leadership as compared to transactional or bureaucratic forms of leadership. When groups are engaged in administrative functions, they are more likely to realize a higher level of performance and more relevant and innovative solutions than may be achieved by a…

Administrator perspectives regarding current and potential increased participation in post-secondary educational opportunities by Michigan high school students were explored in this descriptive quantitative study. Targeted concerns included current institutional levels of involvement, personal knowledge concerning program rules and regulations,…

Students who leave elementary school after fourth grade may not be receiving adequate literacy instruction. Although many recent studies have focused on a drop in test scores for middle school students, a gap exists in the literature with regard to explicit literacy instruction in elementary and non-elementary school settings. To inform educators…

The purpose of this collective case study is to describe and explore a virtual learning community as experienced by women reentering higher education in an online graduate degree program. The grand tour question for this study was: How do reentry women in an online graduate program describe their experience in a virtual learning community? …

Can adults help children to understand the content in preschool educational television by watching shows with them? Research indicates that co-viewing occurs rarely and has mixed benefits for learning. This study investigates the idea that a special kind of adult-child co-viewing, namely "dialogic viewing," in which adults ask open-ended questions…

Adult and Organizational Learning and Policy Development in Environments of Gray The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and provide an understanding of the values that influence state legislators' decision-making as it relates to appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid for public postsecondary education in Idaho. The study…

This phenomenology used 21 in-depth interviews to explore seven African Americans' experiences at the school psychology programs they left. The purpose was to investigate what experiences contributed to participants' decisions to leave programs; if programs used retention strategies and if so, participants' view of the strategies; and what…

Although more African American women are pursuing a college education, how are they coping with their double minority status on predominantly White college campuses? As they become more aware of their identity, how does their interaction change with students and groups of a different ethnic background? The possible relationship between ethnic…

This qualitative study explored African American teachers' perceived levels of support with regard to mentoring, internal supports, external supports, and other contributing variables to determine the extent to which they fostered sustained employment in suburban school districts . The research data included input from 61 African American teacher…

Purpose: This study examined African American teachers' perceptions of their teaching experiences in schools that were once primarily populated with African American students but have experienced shifts in demographics to primarily consisting of Hispanic students. The study focused on three areas. The first area was African American teachers'…

This dissertation examines the diffusion of an innovative information technology system across multiple cultures between 2000 and 2006. Developed and implemented by technical communicators in the technical communication department of a global medical device company, the Advanced Single-Source Authoring and Publication System (ASAPS) brought…

This qualitative study investigated the internal and external protective factors that serve to ameliorate barriers to academic achievement posed by the cultural factors of poverty, minority status, and rural residence for high-ability students, rendering them academically resilient. While there has been ample research on underachievement among…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Alabama School Board Presidents about community engagement in school board decision making. An exploratory research design was used and data were collected by survey. The survey was mailed to 128 school board presidents representing the 128 school districts statewide (as of 2006). Sixty…