Research indicates that teacher performance is a critical focus for school districts, administrators, and teachers. Pre-service teacher preparation, teacher retention, job satisfaction, mentoring, continuous feedback, and onboarding support for new teachers are all factors that influence teacher performance (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond,…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to assess if and to what extent differences exist in traditionally and alternatively certified STEM teachers' perceived teacher collaboration and teacher self-efficacy, among teachers in Texas. The sample consisted of 202 participants (Alternative n = 202; Traditional n = 89). Results from…

This dissertation investigated the relationship between mindset and self-efficacy among special education teachers in Region 2 of Texas. While approximately 500,000 students are provided special education services in Texas public schools, special education students perform significantly lower on state assessments in reading and math than their…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are at an academic disadvantage with the rest of general education because they are linguistically challenged, especially in reading. Educators are recommended to use best practices to provide a good quality education to ELLs through the use of instructional tools. One instructional tool that is recommended to use…

The researcher conducted a quasi-experimental quantitative study to determine whether there was a significant difference in reading achievement between students who looped and students who did not loop. Looping is when a group of students stay with the same teacher and classmates for two or more consecutive years. The students in this study were…

In the United States English learners have performed at lower academic levels than their non-English learner peers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020) demonstrating the need for a system that supports the academic growth of English learners in the general education classrooms. At a local level, the researcher has observed the limited…

The developing synergy of legislation and research throughout recent history points to the current momentum behind college and career readiness for every student. Researchers have found that embedding academic content into career education improves student learning. Integrated learning can vary in approach and style and can be adjusted to fit into…

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, this study examined the difference in the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness [STAAR's] academic achievement (Math, Science, Reading and Writing) scores of secondary students by instructional status (Single teaching and Co-teaching). Second, this study investigated the predictability of…

With the 2015 passage of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), the oversight of language policy in U.S. schools shifted from federal to state governance. Although the education of students officially designated as English learners (ELs) has historically been grounded in federal law, we argue that ELs' educational experiences are also…

Current models of spiritual development suggest that adolescents have limited capacity for spirituality and spiritual experiences. Adolescents are seen to have immature moral and ethical judgment and be incapable of deep spiritual experience due to lack of cognitive development. This mixed-methods study explored the existence of spiritual…

The engage2learn approach to educator support provides an in-person and virtual coaching system that builds capacity and engagement in public schools. Engage2learn hired LXD Research to conduct an independent evaluation and analysis of NWEA Math and Reading data collected during the 2021-2022 school year. The goal was to measure how engage2learn…

This study investigated the dimensionality of bilingual phonological awareness (PA) in English and Spanish by replicating a kindergarten model in Grade 1, and presents alternatives to modeling clustered data. English and Spanish tasks were analyzed from previously collected samples totaling 1,586 first grade Spanish-speaking English learners. Four…

Previous research demonstrates that collective efficacy positively predicts students' academic achievement (e.g., Bandura, 1993; Goddard et al., 2000). However, unaddressed by the current literature is whether collective efficacy also works to reduce inequity by closing achievement gaps. To learn about the operation of collective efficacy, we…

Research Findings: A social validity measure was used to examine 56 bilingual preschool teachers' perceptions and acceptability of an interactive shared book reading vocabulary intervention implemented in English with Spanish-speaking preschool children (N = 334) in a dual language program model. Social validity outcomes indicated that bilingual…

This article provides a description and discussion of an exploratory research study that examined the effects of using geospatial technology (GST) on high school students' spatial skills and spatial-relations content knowledge. It presents results that support the use of GST to teach spatially dependent content. It also provides indication of an…