The purpose of this quantitative method, causal-comparative study was to explore the impact of gender, socioeconomic status, school climate, and parental involvement on reading ability and intrinsic motivation. This study focused on a group of 113 9th grade students from a rural Tennessee high school. Data were collected and analyzed to determine…

This three-manuscript dissertation in practice used improvement science as the methodological approach of disciplined inquiry into a problem of practice--the discrepancy of male and female participation in engineering design-based (EDB) courses and clubs in Starr School District. Manuscript 1 centered around diagnosing the problem and delved into…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental posttest only nonequivalent comparison-group study was to examine the influence of teacher read aloud using narrative fiction on early adolescent empathy. Participants (n = 151) were seventh-grade students in one suburban Pennsylvania public school district. Experimental participants (n = 82) were exposed to…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015 have significantly emphasized student academic outcomes in recent years. As a result, school districts are seeking strategies to increase student achievement and incorporate required standards and goals. Reducing scheduled physical activity time that students in…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine if gender and participation in a STEM curriculum have separate and/or interacting statistically significant effects on academic achievement of 8th grade middle school students attending Arizona Title I middle schools. The theoretical foundation was cognitive learning theory, which…

The debate between cooperative group learning and individual instruction has long been a focal point in educational discourse. This research study explored these two instructional methodologies' comparative efficacy and benefits in fostering learning outcomes and skill development. This research study was conducted using fifth-grade classes from…

School systems across the nation have used some form of instructional feedback, such as traditional and standards-based grading systems, to document students' academic performance. The urgency of developing an alternative grading system emerged because grades determined by teachers using the traditional grading system were unreliable. This study…

The purpose of this study was to determine how various security measures affect performance in two South Carolina middle schools, one high-performing, and one low-performing. This research study determined educators' attitudes toward safety in one high-performing and low-performing school in the low country area of South Carolina. There were five…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ninth-grade students' mathematics achievement in a rural school district located in South Carolina. Students enrolled in ninth grade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2018- 2019 school year) Algebra I EOC scores were compared to the students enrolled in ninth grade for…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in test scores on the Grade Five Reading State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness involving male and female students identified as having the characteristics of dyslexia who received early dyslexia intervention and those who received late dyslexia intervention,…

Mississippi middle schools frequently fail to improve the intellectual capacity of students who struggle in mathematics. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative non-experimental research design was to investigate the impact of math academic interventions on rural Mississippi middle school mathematics students in grades six through…

This study explored teacher and student perspectives on mandated school uniforms. Debate exists over the appropriateness of uniforms, with some stakeholders suggesting positive outcomes while others bemoan limits on student expression. This study sought to fill a gap in research specific to middle school uniform use by exploring teachers' and…

This dissertation includes three individual articles that explore the relationship between witnessing bullying and defending behavior among students who are bystanders of bullying. Chapter One provides the rationale and purpose of this dissertation and an overview of the three articles that comprise it. Chapter Two employed a cross-sectional…

Building a culturally responsive school allows for teachers to expand their teaching practices to individualize instruction based on students' culture and background. Teachers must do this even more so now as many students have suffered severe learning loss due to school closures during the pandemic. Culturally Responsive Teaching allow teachers…

Students may fall behind in their academic grade-level standards. Some students may be able to adjust to follow along with grade-level content; however, what happens when a student falls two or more grade levels behind? Those students are tested and based upon the results of the assessments, they may be assigned to Response to Intervention to…