The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design study was to measure the effects of both types of manipulatives on student mathematical understanding of 1st and 4th grade, Title I students. This data is needed for teachers to make informed decisions regarding their instructional choices. 270 participants…

Recognizing that a successful middle school is one where adult advocates foster and guide students' academic and personal development (Bishop & Harrison, 2021), we explore how COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for one middle school to create novel spaces that supported students' social and emotional well-being. Calling on Bhabha's (1994) and…

In March 2018, metal construction kits were distributed to all elementary schools in Rhineland-Palatinate as part of the project called "Technikkiste" [translation from German: technology box] to promote STEM education. At the end of the year 2018, three more expansion sets followed. So far, no requests have been made to schools, even…

Multilingual learners (MLs) often struggle with science conceptual learning partly due to the abstractness of the concepts and the complexity of scientific texts. This study presents a case of a Virtual Reality (VR) enhanced science learning unit to support middle-school students' science conceptual learning. Using a transformative mixed methods…

Health care professional's qualifications earned in one country may not be recognised in another country and will require validation. The aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of immigrant healthcare professionals seeking the recognition of their education credentials in Finland. Altogether 11 professionals applying to a programme to…

The purpose of this dissertation research is to examine the interrelationships between transformational leadership, organizational learning, and the five dimensions of organizational innovativeness within Head Start programs. A survey containing 29 questions adapted from validated and reliable scales was administered using a sample of 64.…

Young children draw from verbal and nonverbal input to make meaning from texts, a skill that is foundational for later reading comprehension and academic achievement. However, prior studies have focused solely on teachers' verbal input during prekindergarten read-alouds. We examine four Black, female prekindergarten teachers' multimodal enactments…

High-impact practices (HIPs), such as undergraduate research, first-year seminars, and learning communities, have been shown to generally advance college student success. However, there are often disparities in access, participation, and outcomes between white and racially/ethnically minoritized students. While scholars have critiqued HIPs and…

This qualitative action research study was conducted within a multi-state Title I, K-12 public charter school organization with the purpose of identifying challenges and potential solutions for expansion of The Network into states beyond the state of origin and to determine the impact of a leadership development course on leaders within The…

Background: Public administration scholars have thoroughly documented a major issue in accessing a variety of public programs -- the administrative burden embedded in the application process (Barnes & Henly, 2018; Herd & Moynihan, 2018; Moynihan, Herd, & Harvey, 2015; Nisar, 2018). Herd and Moynihan (2018) classify these administrative…

This dissertation investigates the factors contributing to low student engagement in a Title I school located in Southeast Texas. Recognizing the critical importance of student engagement for academic success, the study employs a qualitative phenomenological approach to explore teachers' perceptions of the underlying causes of disengagement within…

Title 1 middle schools have always faced unique challenges. Students belonging to families with low socio-economic status and financial stress have to overcome various barriers before they are academically successful and ready for college, career, and life. The COVID-19 pandemic forced students to engage in education outside of traditional school…

Teachers across the United States struggle with meeting students' needs in their classrooms amidst the growing diversity of children in their classrooms and the amplification of standardized testing. Time and again, teaching with the heart and action of inclusivity is placed on the back burner as teachers feel the pressure for students to perform…

Media resources are a central component of families' learning ecologies in the U.S. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the information ecosystem was flooded with content about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and personal protection measures. However, much of the coverage came through channels for adult audiences, and the 'infodemic' added to the…

Research Findings: The ability to manage emotions is thought to be important for regulating stress at a physiological level, yet no prior published studies have examined young children's emotion understanding or knowledge in relation to the stress hormone cortisol. The present study investigated the statistical relation between emotion knowledge…