Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Education professionals'

Academic Technology (AT) is a fast growing field that deserves attention given its dynamic nature and impact on educational practices. The field has evolved from information technology to concentrate on advancing technology to enhance teaching and learning. Yet, the field appears to be insufficiently mature or defined making it difficult for AT professionals to be categorized and characterized or to fully understand their changing roles. There is uncertainty as to the roles, responsibilities and positions of AT professionals both within and outside of the field.

Research in this area is minimal and highlights the need for strategic action to support the differentiation of instructional tasks and promote the influence of AT professionals (Kowch, 2013; Nworie, 2005). An online survey was conducted of 81 AT professionals to better understand the responsibilities and perceptions of their roles, concerns and influence. Statistical factor analysis identified five most cited responsibilities and compared the differences between what the professionals "do" and what they believed they "should" do. ANOVA was used to calculate gaps in performance based on the "do" and "should" responses.

The study findings concludes that the majority of AT professionals have influence on the AT decision making process at their institution of higher learning, AT decisions appear to be made based on technological rather than pedagogical considerations and AT professionals have an expanded responsibilities and obligations at their institution of higher learning. These findings are consistent with literature that indicates that AT professionals need to be in influential positions on campus and that decisions concerning technology for teaching and learning are not made by AT professionals who are unique in that they have knowledge and experience in both academia and technology (Kowch, 2005).

This study suggests more research is needed especially in the areas of AT in higher education and AT leadership. For example do universities have an AT strategic plan? If so, who is charged with implementation? Further research in these areas will enhance the field of AT and solidify the AT leadership position on campus.

As the push for inclusion continues to grow, professionals are encouraged to collaborate with one another in order to support the students on their caseloads (IDEA, 2004). Despite the need for collaboration, there continue to be barriers that impede the successful use of this service delivery model. This study aimed to investigate the possible barriers to collaboration among educators and specialists in the educational setting. Ways to improve collaborative interactions among educators and specialists on a regular basis was also explored as they relate to the common core state standards.

Three classroom teachers, three special education teachers, and three speech and language pathologists were surveyed in order to further investigate their knowledge and views of collaboration and the common core state standards. All of the professionals surveyed had a positive view of what collaboration could accomplish. As a result, positive trends are anticipated for the future of collaboration.

Many forms of distance clinical supervision (DCS) have been used in the last decade, but a sparse amount of research addressing (DCS) in counselor education exists to date. The author used random and snowball sampling to survey American Counseling Association members, with a analytic sample total of 96 participants. In the sample, 54.2% of participants were licensed counseling professionals and 39.6% were student or post-masters level interns. The average participant age was 43, ranging from 23 to 74 years. Participants had a mean of 8.1 years of experience. A total of 37.5% of participants had used DCS at some point for supervision sessions. Overall, participants have a positive attitude toward DCS, agreeing most that DCS is a valid form of supervision and that they are interested in learning about DCS. Overall, participants are being minimally exposed to DCS (x¯ = 1.61). A moderate, negative relationship (r = -.39, p < .001) exists between individuals whom have used DCS and attitudes toward DCS (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003, p. 52). Also, a weak, negative relationship (r = -.23, p < .05) was found between individuals who have used DCS and their level of exposure to DCS. There is a limited amount of literature related to DCS and counseling professionals are being minimally exposed to distance clinical supervision. Despite limited exposure and literature, professionals are still using DCS to conduct supervision sessions. Therefore, it would seem important to increase research focused on DCS and develop relevant practices in order for DCS to be an effective form of supervision.

Recent research suggests that many U.S. students graduate from college with under-developed critical thinking skills. College graduates with deficits in critical thinking skills who pursue legal education face difficult barriers to academic and professional success which, if not effectively addressed, may impact the affected students, as well as the legal profession and society as a whole. Legal education is likewise facing intense criticism regarding educational practices and graduates? level of preparation for the competent practice of law. The purpose of this study was to construct a comprehensive theory of the development of critical thinking skills in law students. Through a process of grounded analysis, the researcher developed a conceptual model of the development of critical thinking in law students based on interview data collected from 14 academic support professionals at third- and fourth-tier law schools in the U.S. The model, referred to as the Critical Thinking in Law Students (CTLS) Model, considers student learning needs, student learning challenges, and legal education system challenges, and identifies twelve factors to optimize the development of critical thinking in law students. The CTLS Model may help law school governing authorities, law school administrators, law school faculty, law school academic support professionals, and law students better understand how critical thinking develops in law students so that students may achieve their full academic, intellectual, and professional potential.

The U.S. Department of Education statistics report increasing numbers of students with learning disabilities and other non-apparent disabilities enrolling in higher education. This change in student demographic presents new challenges to institutions and disability service professionals to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The purpose of this study was to attain a deeper understanding of the decision-making experiences of the disability service professionals charged with making accommodation decisions with the intent of informing professional development opportunities that will help build the confidence and effectiveness of these high-stakes decision-makers. The research questions were addressed using a mixed methods research design utilizing a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews of disability service professionals in the northeast region of the United States. Major findings from this study included a surprising yet optimistic decrease in importance disability service professionals placed on specific documentation components in order to make accommodation decisions, the significance of building collaborative relationships on their campuses, and the considerable time and resources they devote to educating faculty on alternative methods of assessment to more effectively teach an increasingly diverse student population. The results of this study underscore the importance of disability service professionals on increasingly diverse campuses and the role they play in enhancing accessibility and ultimately contributing to the culture of diversity on their campuses. Professional development opportunities for higher education administrators are discussed, which include shifting the training focus from documentation and accommodation decision-making to understanding learning and teaching styles, as well as developing soft skills related to interdepartmental collaborative problem-solving.

The purpose of this project was to write a grant to implement an educational program for healthcare professionals employed by Kaiser Permanente (e.g., physicians, nurses, and social workers) on older adult sexual health. Topics would include the increased transference of sexually transmitted infections among the older adult population. The professionals would also acquire the tools needed to enhance their comfort levels when engaging in sexual health discussions with older adult patients.

The goals are to increase (1) the professionals' knowledge of sexuality and sexual behaviors among older adults and (2) their comfort levels when discussing sexual health with their older adult patients. A total of 2,100 healthcare professionals would participate during the funding period. The program would be evaluated by means of pre/post-testing of knowledge and comfort levels, as well as a satisfaction survey. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant were not requirements for the successful completion of this project.

In 2004, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) called for academic health centers (AHCs) to adapt and change through collaboration between their many separate groups of healthcare professionals. Research on collaboration in healthcare organizations to date has concentrated on how collaboration impacts patient care and organizational efficiency. Research has not focused on whether collaboration among healthcare professionals, influences learning for individuals or the organization. Socio-cultural learning theory, which takes into account the individual, the organization and the larger system, emphasizes that “collaborative learning” is an important component of the learning process. It also emphasizes that problem solving facilitates the development of insights and solutions. On this basis, the link between collaboration and learning needs to be explored. This research focused on exploring the association between collaboration and learning as perceived by clinician educators and other healthcare professionals with whom they have collaborated in AHCs. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 healthcare professionals who had participated in collaborative activities in the past 18 months, and who had familiarity with relational coordination (RC) as a framework for collaboration. Interview questions elicited interviewee descriptions of positive and challenging collaboration experiences. Data were analyzed using an inductive analysis approach and coded to identify implicit and explicit learning outcomes from those experiences. Findings indicated that all participants had extensive experience of informal collaboration with professional colleagues and learning resulting from their collaboration experiences. Four categories of learning outcomes were identified; process and quality improvement, professional relationships with colleagues, emotional awareness, and growth in technical and adaptive knowledge and skills. The majority of learning outcomes in each of the four categories were implicit, indicating that participants did not recognize the learning that was occurring through their participation in collaborative activities. Learning appears as a currently invisible outcome of collaboration as described by the participants in this study. Further research is needed to determine the potential value of the learning for the individual and the institution.