No abstract

Adult professionals enroll in online graduate programs and rely on social support and on their ability to self-regulate to be successful. The literature on academic self-regulation among emerging adults (traditional college age) is ample, but we do not know how social support interacts with academic self-regulation among adult graduate students at mid-career, particularly among those students who are first generation college goers. This study addressed the following questions: (1) To what degree do parental education level and cohort progression predict academic self-regulation? and (2) What sources of social support – family, friends, loved one (significant other), and classmates – are predictive of academic self-regulation for adult students in an online doctoral program? Findings include evidence that the influence of parental educational level on academic self-regulation persists through midlife. Also, that perceived social support from family, friends, and peers predicts academic self-regulation. We conclude with implications for the design of online programs.

This study identified factors that contributed toward the decision of 57 special educators from one metropolitan region of a southwestern state to initially pursue special education careers in addition to influences that contributed toward their decision to remain on the special education career path. Participants surveyed also provided recommendations that school districts could take to effectively recruit and retain special educators. Although participants surveyed responded positively that school districts took deliberate efforts to effectively recruit special educators, perceptions regarding special educator retention efforts were less favorable. Measures to be taken by school districts to retain special educators, as recommended by those surveyed, included providing more administrative support, increasing financial incentives, and increasing training opportunities to effectively serve students receiving special education services.

The individualized education program (IEP) was the primary component of Part B of the Education forAll Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Through the Individuals with Disabilities Education ImprovementAct (IDEA 2004), the IEP has continued to direct the educational needs, goals and objectives,placement, evaluation criteria, present levels of educational performance, and duration of programmingmodifications for students receiving special education services (Drasgow, Yell, & Robinson, 2001; 20U.S.C. § 1400). The IEP functions as the blueprint for services to be provided for students, as IEPregulations identify meeting dates, parental and student consent and accountability, as well asresponsibilities of educational agencies (Huefner, 2000).

This article will begin with a focus on the importance of providing quality feedback. Faculty providingconstructive and detailed feedback serves as an important component for effective student learningand is beneficial towards student achievement (Debuse, Lawley, & Shibl, 2007; Higgins, Hartley, &Skelton, 2002). According to Wolsey (2008), the desired outcome of feedback is to providecommunication between instructor and student, which promotes learning. Quality feedback is definedas providing students with clear assessment criteria that is not only timely, but encourages furtherlearning (Brown & Glover, 2006).