Teaching has long since been understood as a moral and ethical endeavor (e.g., hooks, 1994; Hansen, 2021). It is also widely understood that to be a "good" teacher, teachers must "learn." Teaching requires exquisite responsiveness to students, relationships, content, and the social and political world (e.g., Ball & Cohen,…

Public schools, and education in general, were founded on the principles of preparing young people to participate in civic life as active and informed citizens. Yet, civic competency scores are consistently low and demonstrate that students are not prepared for the civic engagement required of them when they leave school. The purpose of this…

This study investigated teachers' and parents' perspectives on the impact of Catholic education on non-Catholic Chinese immigrant students. The research attempted to answer three questions: How did teachers and parents perceive the impact of Catholic education on non-Catholic Chinese immigrant students' academic achievement? How did teachers and…

The purpose of this research is to better understand how perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU) predict how frequently science teachers use digital learning tools in the physical classroom. The research was based on the widely used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), originally developed by Davis (1989). The research is…

Currently, the state of Ohio has a separate licensure classification specific to middle-level education, but this was not always the case. Prior to 1998, core teachers were prepared by universities to focus on elementary (K-8) or secondary (7-12). Teachers who obtained their license after the reform are broken into three groups: Early Childhood…

The purpose of this study was to explore character education related to the perceptions and sense of efficacy of selected central Mississippi private and public elementary and middle school teachers. This research questioned 140 elementary (1st through 4th grades) and middle school (5th through 8th grades) teachers using the Character Education…

During the 2020 pandemic, global governments imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Among the restrictions were K-12 school closures, which caused an abrupt change from in-person to virtual learning. These circumstances damaged students' mental health even after constraints were lifted. The problem was the socio-emotional learning (SEL) deficiency…

The flipped classroom model has been proven to impact students' learning positively, but many educators are reluctant to implement the flipped learning model in their classrooms. There are few studies addressing educators' choice to implement the flipped classroom model at the middle school level. This qualitative study aimed to explore teachers'…

In the current world of education, teacher job satisfaction is declining and teacher stress is increasing. Simultaneously, technology is making its way into the classroom at a rapid rate. This study examined whether there was a relationship between teacher motivation to incorporate educational technology and teacher job satisfaction. It also…

Value-added metrics or models (VAMs) are an important component of the teacher evaluation process that evaluators use to determine the value teachers add to their students' academic achievement. VAMs are used to arrive at a score that is derived from the number of the teachers' students who pass and/or fail a standardized assessment. While prior…

Since the development of the public school system, schools have been tasked with producing upstanding citizens and productive members of society (Smith, 2013). Although the focus of adolescent character development has been incorporated into the U.S. public school system, parents, guardians, and caregivers are often excluded from the…

The purpose of this dissertation was to scrutinize the complexities involved in the formulation and implementation of relevant policies. The design of each study mirrored key elements in the legislative life cycle specifically as it pertained to civics education policymaking, including problem identification, policy creation, and policy diffusion.…

The purpose of this study is to investigate teacher perceptions of Value-Added Models specifically as they relate to students with disabilities. Value-Added Models are designed to reward teachers for student growth while taking into account factors such as socioeconomic status and disabilities (Weigert, 2012). The study also examines the alignment…

In this qualitative ethnographic research study, I focused on a first-year assistant principal's leadership experiences in an urban PK-8 school environment and the coaching, mentoring, support, and training needed to develop an effective building administrator who will be retained in the assistant principal position. The guiding research questions…

Teachers desire to work in a growing, positive, and supportive school community where they build healthy, strong professional relationships. Retaining qualified teachers is crucial to ensure quality education. While extensive research has been conducted on school climate in general, minimal research attention has been directed toward the impact of…