Research and Action

Cambridge College is committed to preparing dynamic and effective school leaders. A fundamental component of this process – for both faculty and CAGS and doctoral students – is consciously working to translate theory into practice. All CAGS students complete an action research project (ARP) as the capstone to their studies; all doctoral students complete a dissertation and must be able to translate their dissertation work into practical, meaningful, and impactful practice, which Cambridge College has termed the “White Paper.” Such scholarship of engagement and application is a critical aspect of fostering educational reform at the classroom, school, district, and state-level.

Doctoral Dissertations

Natalya Burdman, (2007), TEACHING STAFF NOTATION IN FOURTH-GRADE GENERAL MUSIC: EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A MULTISENSORY APPROACH

Júlio César M. de Carvalho, (2008), THE UNCERTAIN JOURNEY: THE DIASPORIC EFFECTS ON THE IDENTITY, EDUCATION AND ACHIEVEMENT OF CAPE VERDEAN IMMIGRANTS

Michael Conner, (2009), BEYOND "ACTING WHITE": CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PEDAGOGY IN AN AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Idamay Patricia Denny, (2008), MYTH OR REALITY: PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AT THE PRIMARY SCHOOL LEVEL IN BARBADOS

Maureen Gaughan, (2008), FROM RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

Tammy S. Graham, (2007), RACE AND REFERRALS: TEACHER ATTITUDES, CULTURALLY RELEVANT TEACHING, AND THE SPECIAL EDUCATION REFERRALS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES

Brenda B. Grimes, (2007), MULTIDIMENSIONAL CLASSROOMS: DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH BASE FOR HOLISTIC EDUCATION

Sylvia Henry, (2008), DOES MENTORING MATTER? RETHINKING SUPPORT FOR NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN BARBADOS

April Howell, (2008), CULTURAL SELF-EFFICACY AND LEADERSHIP: ADOLESCENT AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE PERSPECTIVES THROUGH DIGITAL DIARIES

Hellen Kiago, (2008), EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF THE ORGANIZATION OF A PEER MEDIATION PROGRAM ON CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND SCHOOL CLIMATE IN AN URBAN HIGH SCHOOL

Vivian Lee, (2008), NONNEGOTIABLE EXPECTATIONS: A PROGRAM EVALUATION OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF EAST TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

John Moschella, (2008), SETTING ACADEMIC FIRES: TOWARDS A BEST PRACTICE GRADUATE CURRICULUM FOR FIRE STUDIES

Lillian Norris-Holmes, (2008), IMPLEMENTING HIGH QUALITY AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS IN A HIGH-POVERTY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Sally Orme, (2009), WHEN SCHOOL REFORM FAILS: THE HIDDEN DYNAMICS OF POWER, CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP

Vickie D. Seigler, (2007), PERCEPTIONS OF PARENTAL READINESS AND INVOLVEMENT ON AT RISK KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS AT A TITLE ONE SCHOOL

Kathy Sikes, (2008), INVESTIGATING TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING PROCESS AT A GEORGIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Sheila Spaulding, (2008), STRATEGIES FOR SUPPORTING PREGNANT AND PARENTING TEENS IN GEORGIA: A CRITICAL THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Sam Whack, Jr., (2008), TO GRADE LEVEL AND BEYOND: A STUDY EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF ONE-ON-ONE INTERVENTION ON THE READING SUCCESS OF FOURTH GRADE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES

Betty Wilson, (2008), CAREER DECISIONS: THE IMPACT OF MENTORING ON NOVICE TEACHERS

Student and Alumni Achievements

Dr. John Moschella (Ed.D. '08), currently an adjunct professor at Anna Maria College, has published several new articles in the fire science field. These include a forthcoming article in the International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management and the Fire Risk Managament Journal. 

Dr. Julio de Carvalho (Ed.D. '08), has published his dissertation through VDM Publishing. It is now available in paperback through Amazon.com.

Dr. Julio C. de Carvalho (Ed.D. ‘08) has been a regular contributor writer (in Portuguese) in Liberal, an online publication of his native country, the Cape-Verdean Islands. He writes about education, politics, poetry, and multidisciplinary issues. He has also been an active writer of “letters to the editor” to his local newspaper in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Dr. Tammy S. Graham (Ed.D. '07), Assistant Professor of Teacher Education at The Citadel, recently took four of her students to the ASCD conference in Orlando, Florida. During the conference the group worked on a project for Habitat for Humanity and attended the ASCD President’s Reception. Dr. Graham recently co-authored an article in the Southeastern Teacher Education Journal and recently presented with her colleagues at a roundtable session at the SITE conference. Additionally, Dr. Graham co-authored a book chapter just accepted for publication and has recently been asked to review a book.

Dr. Maureen Gaughan (Ed.D. '08) has been appointed Executive Director of the Pilgrim Area Collaborative, which was established in 1976 to provide individualized educational services to children with significant learning challenges whose needs for support could not be met within their home school districts or service areas.

As part of his white paper, Dr. Julio de Carvalho (Ed.D. '08), created a bilingual citizenship guide with questions and answers in Portuguese and English to support Portuguese speakers in achieving U.S. citizenship. The visual component of his project is being broadcasted by the Lowell Educational Television (Channel 22), in Lowell, Massachusetts on Fridays at 6:00PM and Sundays at 8:30PM from October 2008 to June 2009.

Dr. April Howell (Ed.D. '09) was selected to present her dissertation research in a round table discussion at the National Youth at Risk conference, hosted by Georgia Southern University, in March of 2009.

Dr. John Moschella (Ed.D. '08), a retired deupty fire chief, was added to the editorial board of the International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management. This is the only peer-refereed journal for the fire services profession.

Dr. Tammy S. Graham,  (Ed.D. '07) presented a subset of her dissertation at the 2008 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting with a presentation entitled “Race and Referrals: Teacher Attitudes, Culturally Relevant Teaching, and the Special Education Referrals of African American Males”

Dr. Brenda B. Grimes (Ed.D. '07) presented a subset of her dissertation at the 2008 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting with a presentation entitled “Filling the ‘Holes’ in Holistic Education: Towards a Comprehensive Research Base for Holistic Education.”

Click here to view faculty achievements.