Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Exploring The Backgrounds, Experiences, Motivations, And Development Of School-Based Wheelchair Sport Coaches, Deborah Shapiro, Scott Douglas, Jp Barfield, Laurie A. Malone

Journal of Coach Development

Coaching in adapted sport is a complex and demanding practice that requires both specialized technical expertise and a deep understanding of disability. This study explored the motivations, backgrounds, and developmental pathways of interscholastic school-based wheelchair sport coaches. We examined how coaches are introduced to wheelchair sport coaching, their initial and ongoing development, and their perspectives on effective coaching and training practices. A total of 17 coaches (10 men, 7 women) with 1 to 17 years of experience in wheelchair sports coaching from 7 interscholastic wheelchair sports teams participated in one 60-minute mini focus group discussion and responded to a set …

Challenges And Innovations In Tennis Coach Development: International Insights From Practitioners Across Continents, Miguel Crespo, Rafael Martinez-Gallego, Christine Nash

Journal of Coach Development

Tennis is a global sport with effective coaches being essential to the continued appeal, therefore the work of the coach developers within the International Tennis Federation (ITF) is crucial. This research examined the work and aspirations of coach developers in tennis using in-depth interviews with 10 ITF coach developers. Subsequently, we developed detailed pen portraits of two ITF coach developers at different levels of experience and engagement in order to highlight any differences in work, objectives or ambition. Findings from coach developers revealed three themes: support from ITF; barriers to learning; making learning less traditional. The pen portraits added further …

Understanding The Coach Learning Environment In Formal, Field-Based Settings: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Jody L. Langdon, Shayla Snow

Journal of Coach Development

Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), the purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to evaluate the psychometric properties of SDT-related measures in a sample of coach learners, and 2) to examine the relationships between need satisfaction and frustration, coach motivation, and engagement in training sessions.. A total of 796 coaches participated in the study, completing surveys measuring basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration, coaching motivation, and engagement. Aside from confirming the validity and reliability of measures for use among coach learners, findings indicate that satisfaction of basic psychological needs positively correlated with intrinsic motivation and engagement, while frustration of these …

Exploring The Roles Of The Coach Developer: A Uscce White Paper, Christine Nash, Melissa Thompson, Sean Dahlin, Andrea Woodburn, Jeremy Elliott

Journal of Coach Development

Organizational white papers serve as a mechanism for strategic communication and to establish thought leadership, build credibility, and drive informed decision-making across stakeholder groups. It is the belief of the USCCE that the official launch of the Journal of Coach Development offers the appropriate outlet and timing to publish this official stance of the organization to explore the multiple roles of the coach developer. As the field continues to evolve, our shared understanding of the roles and responsibilities of those serving to support the growth and development of sport coaches will be essential. Further, as a critical focus of the …

What Is Coach Development? A Uscce White Paper, Melissa Thompson, Christine Nash, Sean Dahlin, Andrea Woodburn, Jeremy Elliott

Journal of Coach Development

Organizational white papers serve as a mechanism for strategic communication and to establish thought leadership, build credibility, and drive informed decision-making across stakeholder groups. It is the belief of the USCCE that the official launch of the Journal of Coach Development offers the appropriate outlet and timing to publish this official stance of the organization defining the term ‘coach development.’ As an emerging term in the field, there is need for clarity around what coach development is and what it looks like in practice. Further, as a critical focus of the Journal of Coach Development, this paper will serve to …

Perceptions And Practices Of Incorporating Student-Centered Menu Items In School Meals, Kristi L. Lewis Phd, Rdn

Institute of Child Nutrition, Applied Research Division

Student-centered menu planning prioritizes learners’ preferences, nutritional needs, cultural relevance, and engagement in the development of school nutrition program offerings. Menus that reflect student preferences and incorporate student input are associated with increased meal participation and consumption. This study examined school nutrition professionals’ perceptions, best practices, and strategies for incorporating students’ voices into school-based menu planning and modification.

Using a participatory research approach, school nutrition professionals, administrators, United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service representatives, and State agency staff participated as expert panelists and survey respondents. A literature review and qualitative expert panel responses informed the development of …

Meeting The Challenges Of Serving Scratch-Prepared Foods In School Nutrition Programs, Keith Rushing Phd, Rd, Ruaa Al Juboori Phd, Mackinsey Shahan Phd, Rdn

Institute of Child Nutrition, Applied Research Division

The increasing prevalence of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) in children’s diets presents a significant public health concern due to associations with obesity, metabolic disorders, poor cardiometabolic health, and reduced academic performance. Scratch cooking in school meal programs has emerged as a promising strategy for improving meal quality by emphasizing preparation from basic, minimally processed ingredients. Although research indicates that scratch-prepared meals can improve nutritional quality and student acceptance, implementation remains challenging due to operational, financial, and workforce barriers.

The purpose of this study was to identify challenges school nutrition professionals face when offering scratch-prepared meals, assess the national prevalence of these …

Do They Matter? What Role Do 5th-12th Grade Teachers' Attitudes Have In The Academic Success Of Black Girls In Classrooms?, Kamita R. Thigpen

Dissertations

There is a recognized need to focus on the intersectionality of race and gender to determine the specific needs of Black girls in education and for them to gain more academic success. This study set out to determine teachers' attitudes towards Black girls in the post-racial era. A combined quantitative and qualitative methodological approach was used to determine if the attitudes of teachers towards Black girls maintain racial barriers that have been found in education.

Engaging Scientific Sense-Making: An Analysis Of Participation Within Informal Science Interaction, Spencer Barbier

Honors Theses

While science learning in formal educational settings has been extensively examined using frameworks such as Bloom’s Taxonomy, its application to informal science educational environments remains underexplored. Informal science education—occurring outside traditional classrooms—presents unique challenges for evaluation due to its unstructured nature and diverse audiences. This action research study aimed to address this gap by developing and testing a framework that categorizes learner responses into high-order and low-order answers, based on Bloom’s six cognitive domains. The study was conducted at the Hattiesburg Zoo, where a docent volunteer presented two separate docent boxes, or mini science lessons, to members of the public. …

Applied Research Division Research At A Glance: 2025, Shellie R. Hubbard Ma

Institute of Child Nutrition, Applied Research Division

The Institute of Child Nutrition Applied Research Division (ICN ARD) conducts applied research to address operational issues affecting child nutrition programs and support continuous program improvement. During the 2024–2025 reporting year, the division completed research focused on workforce development, training needs, culinary competencies, school food trends, and operational challenges in child nutrition settings.

Major projects included studies examining training needs and delivery preferences of child nutrition professionals, challenges affecting Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operations, and the development of a Competencies, Knowledge, and Skills (CKS) resource for chefs working in school nutrition programs. Findings informed the creation of …

Rapid Response Survey #3: Determining The Training Needs Of Child Nutrition Professionals, Keith Rushing Phd, Rd, Ruaa Al-Juboori Phd, Mackinsey Shahan Phd

Institute of Child Nutrition, Applied Research Division

Child nutrition professionals must continually develop knowledge and skills to meet evolving program regulations, nutrition standards, and operational demands. This study examined the training needs and preferred training delivery methods of school nutrition and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) professionals across the United States.

Using a two-phase research design, researchers conducted a literature review, expert panel review, survey development, and national survey administration. A total of 777 child nutrition professionals, including school nutrition directors, managers, staff, and CACFP personnel, participated in the study. Respondents identified high-priority training topics and preferred methods for receiving training, including in-person, live virtual, …

A Critical Link Between Principal's Transformational Leadership And Teachers' Digital Engagement: The Moderating Role Of Technology Infrastructure In Malaysia, Jabeen Mozammel, Aida Hanim A. Hamid

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

This study investigates the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and teachers’ digital engagement in secondary schools across Malaysia, emphasizing the influence of leadership behaviours on adopting digital technologies. Despite significant advancements in digital infrastructure across the region, disparities in effective integration remain. 114 secondary school teachers and principals in Malaysia were surveyed using a quantitative, non-experimental, correlational research design. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted using SPSS, with results showing that transformational leadership behaviours, particularly inspirational motivation (β = .943, p < .001) and individualized consideration (β = .224, p = .027), significantly predicted higher levels of teachers’ digital engagement. However, idealized influence (β = -.053, p = .639) and intellectual stimulation (β = -.102, p = .356) did not have a significant effect. The model explained 97% of the variance in teachers’ digital engagement (R² = .970), highlighting the critical role of leadership in fostering digital adoption. The study concludes that empowering school leaders through leadership development programs can significantly enhance teachers’ engagement with digital technologies. Future research should explore longitudinal designs and include a broader sample across different educational contexts to further validate these findings.

Impact Of Safety Training On Employee's Perceptions Of Organizational Safety Culture, Brooke Reid-Graves

Dissertations

Workplace safety and well-being are vital for all workers, regardless of their profession (Young et al., 2022). Studies show that providing employees with training focused on recognizing hazards and implementing safety practices is essential for reducing occupational risks (Namian et al., 2020; Rose & Rae, 2017). Research underscores the importance of fostering a positive organizational safety culture for risk reduction (Berry et al., 2020; Downey, 2019). Understanding the impact of safety training on shaping an organization’s safety culture is key to promoting safe working environments (Mahjoub, 2013).

This study utilized the perspectives of high school staff regarding safety training and …

K-12 Education And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Candice Beasley

Dissertations

This quantitative study aimed to explore how schoolwide closures during the COVID-19 pandemic affected student academic performance in selected Mississippi school districts and to examine the instructional strategies schools used during these closures. While there has been global research on the pros and cons of different teaching methods during and after the pandemic, specific data for Mississippi is still limited.

The researcher collected publicly available data from the Mississippi Department of Education. Student performance results from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) for the years 2019 to 2021 were analyzed to see if academic performance changed due to the pandemic …

Emailed Prompt Package To Increase Alternative School Educators’ Use Of Behavior Specific Praise, Chelsea Johnson

Dissertations

Alternative school educators are often placed in alternative education settings with minimal training or support to manage disruptive behaviors in the classroom. To combat this, school-based consultation may be provided to assist alternative school educators with classroom management strategies. However, face-to-face consultation may be limited due to the numerous responsibilities placed on school-based consultants. Behavior specific praise (BSP) is a strategy that is recommended, but often provided at low rates. To address these barriers, previous literature has examined the use of emailed prompts to increase treatment integrity, feasibility, and acceptability of a variety of evidence-based interventions. A concurrent multiple baseline …

The Lived Experiences Of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders During Covid-19, Robin Jackson

Dissertations

This study examines the lived experiences of K-12 Instructional Technology Leaders in rural schools and school districts throughout Mississippi. It sought to explore the challenges that were encountered, the strategies they were employed, and the lessons that were learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, as traditional classroom teaching and learning was abruptly transitioned to 100% online or remote teaching and learning. Five participants were recruited. Only one participant holds the actual title of an instructional technology leader of their school district, while the other four assumed the role and responsibilities of an instructional technology leader for their schools or school districts. …

Mentor Teacher And Administrator Attitudes And Beliefs Toward Mentoring Programs In K-12 Education In South Mississippi, Krystle Womack

Dissertations

The teaching profession relies heavily on mentor programs to promote teacher retention, to reduce attrition and to increase the quality of new teachers. Teachers grow professionally through gaining knowledge. Mentor teachers show professional growth through knowledge gained from mentoring programs and serving as mentor teachers.

There is a significant gap in mentoring research in that the mentoring literature is limited in perspective. Research focuses solely on the perspectives of the beginning teacher or the person being mentored, but the perspective of more than one stakeholder is needed to give the full picture of induction and mentoring. This study uses a …

The Examination Of A Teacher Mentorship Intervention On Junior Teachers' Stress And Self-Efficacy, Cagla Cobek

Master's Theses

This study examined a daily Check-In/Check-Out mentorship intervention for junior teachers. Changes in junior teachers’ stress level and their sense of self-efficacy were measured. Researchers collected data from three junior teachers and mentor dyads in a Southeastern school district. A Multiple Baseline Design across three teachers was used in this study to examine the impact of the daily mentorship intervention. The results suggested that daily Check-Ins and Check-Outs with mentor teachers decreased all three junior teachers’ daily stress. The intervention did not impact significantly on junior teachers’ perceived stress and their sense of self-efficacy. Overall, this study supports a promising …

Principals' Knowledge Of Special Education Policy And Procedure And The Special Education Teachers' Intent, Tara Clark

Dissertations

Teacher shortage has been a growing problem. With the increase of teacher shortages, some areas are being impacted more intensely. Special education is one of the areas most impacted by the shortages. Common reasons exist as to why teachers are leaving the field or profession. These reasons may be personal or professional related. Some of the professional reasons for leaving pertain to the school’s administration and the way special education teachers are treated. Principal support is cited as one of the primary indicators of teacher satisfaction. Literature supports the analysis that a principal’s leadership heavily determines a teacher’s job satisfaction. …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Exploring Relationships Among Professional Preparation, Professional Development, And The Implementation Of Sex Education In Mississippi, Joyee Washington

Dissertations

The state of Mississippi has led the nation in high rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents, despite mandating sex education in public schools for over a decade (SIECUS, 2011; SIECUS, 2016; SIECUS, 2017). Although studies conducted among Mississippi sex educators in the K-12 setting have shown that teachers receive very little to no professional development and desire more training, there is little supporting evidence to understand the position of professional development relative to sex education implementation in the state (Kolbo, Werle, Ismail, Arrington, Harbaugh, & Esters, 2015; Arrington, Ismail, Werle, Esters, Frederick, Ellis, & Kolbo, 2018). …

Professional Development And Special Education: A Comparison Of Special Education And General Education Teachers' Experiences, Angela Gill

Dissertations

This quantitative study was completed to compare the professional development experiences of special education teachers and general education teachers. The researcher reviewed literature related to the history of professional development, various professional development organizations, the standards of professional development used in Mississippi, and an overview of special education. Consent was obtained from various school districts in Mississippi. Qualtrics was used as the platform for the questionnaire. Participating school districts were emailed a link to the survey instrument. Data from the completed questionnaire were analyzed for levels of satisfaction for topics and utilization of PD information. Information was gathered concerning participants …

Discipline-Culture And Instructional Practices: An Integrated Leader's Role, Joe L. Griffin

Dissertations

The goal of this study was to identify the extent to which integrated leadership is present in schools, according to secondary teachers. Second, the study sought to measure the discipline-culture of schools. Discipline-culture is defined as the way discipline is administered daily in a school and how it contributes to the instructional practices that teacher’s use. Finally, integrated leadership, coined by Marks and Printy (2003), was examined relative to discipline-culture and instructional practices with this study. Leadership has been studied in multiple countries across various grade levels, but integrated leadership's influence on discipline-culture and instructional practices has not been researched. …

A Study Of The Teaching Beliefs Of Globe Teachers, Laila Ali

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching beliefs of GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) teachers, and to analyze their pedagogical practices. This study contributes to bridging the gap between our understanding of teachers’ beliefs of teaching science with inquiry and practicing science in class with inquiry. A descriptive research approach was used for both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Data was collected from seventy-two trained GLOBE teachers across the U.S. using Qualtrics.com.

Quantitatively, the pedagogical beliefs of GLOBE teachers were measured using the Beliefs about Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire. Differences between …

Knowledge And Practices Of Faculty At Nasm Accredited Institutions In The Southeast Region Regarding Standards-Based Instruction, Jonathan Leon Nelson

Dissertations

In 1993, Congress passed the mandate Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which established standards for K-12 education that outlined the core benchmarks of student achievement for individuals who have mastered the core curricula required to earn a high school diploma (Mark, 1995). Unfortunately, these curricular requirements did not include any criteria for music education, nor did they consider the curricular implications for higher education in providing NSME Standards based training for music educators.

The aim of this study was to determine if and to what extent music education faculty engage in NSME Standards-based instruction within the higher education classroom. Questionnaires …

An Examination Of The Factors That Influence The Transfer Of Learning Among K-12 Educators Participating In Professional Learning Communities, Charcelor C. Mccullum

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the factors that either support or inhibit learning transfer among educators within K-12 professional learning communities (PLCs) as well as to obtain a better understanding of how adult education principles relate to teacher learning and job satisfaction within this environment. Although research regarding professional learning for educators within the K-12 setting is available, much of this research is not focused directly on adult education principles and often fails to examine learning transfer. The present study addresses both areas using a two-phase exploratory sequential mixed methods approach to obtain both qualitative …

A Statistically Significant Determination From Pretest To Posttest In Knowledge Of Electrophoresis Concepts, Parker Megehee Nelson

Dissertations

The statistical significance from pretest to posttest of 109 high students constructing an electrophoresis chamber or not was explored. The students tested were from six intact biology classrooms. Three classes were treatment groups and three were control groups. The three biology teachers each taught a control and treatment group classroom. Except for building the electrophoresis chamber, students in both groups received identical instruction and testing. Pre- and posttest data was examined by means of a content valid test constructed by the researcher and biology teachers. In order to examine the statistical significance from pretest to posttest in knowledge of electrophoresis …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Their Ability To Respond To Active Shooter Incidents, Carole Frances Rider

Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to determine Mississippi high school teachers’ perceptions regarding their preparedness for an active shooter incident. The study included an extensive literature review that included background and policy context, theoretical foundations, pertinent research and professional perspectives and a worldwide timeline of school shootings. The study also included data collection and analysis, results, conclusions, recommendations for policymakers and educational leaders, and recommendations for further research.

The study was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between school planning procedures, participation in practice and drill activity, and administrator preparedness for an active shooter incident and …

Principal Emotional Intelligence And Teacher Perceptions Of School Climate In Middle Schools, Ashley Dawn Meadows Allred

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the correlational relationship of principals’ emotional intelligence on the perceptions that teachers have of a school’s climate. The Organizational Health Inventory for Middle Schools (OHI-M) served as the assessment for teachers’ perceptions of the school climate or the overall health of the organization. Principals’ emotional intelligence competencies were assessed using the Mayer Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test version 2, hereinafter referred to as the MSCEIT V.2.0. Participants of the study included 22 principals of public middle schools in Mississippi. There was an average of 45 teachers employed at each middle school.

A Pearson …

The Effects Of Race And Gender On The Satisfaction Levels Of Entering And Advanced Level Doctoral Students, Tiffany Nicole Labon

Dissertations

Doctoral education is an aspect of higher education that can be both rewarding and challenging for anyone who attempts the journey. Thelin (2004) stated many graduate students obtain the necessary skills that their individual fields of study require in their master’s and doctoral programs of study. Levine (2005), however, has found that the levels of satisfaction between what students expect and what they receive are at odds at many colleges and universities around the country. Thus, the need to assess graduate programs and services regarding satisfaction is warranted.

The purpose of this study was to compare the relationship of overall …

2013, Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival

Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival

Brochure for the 2013 Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival