Alternative schools often receive a bad connotation when it pertains to student success academically and behaviorally. The implementation of restorative practices can aid in the restoration and building of relationships between students and teachers, which can lead to an increase in student success academically and behaviorally. The purpose of…

Project-based (PBL) learning has been found to improve student achievement, engagement, and interpersonal and intrapersonal skills; however, it is not widely implemented in K-12 schools in the United States. Prior research has established several barriers and challenges to implementing PBL in K-12 schools including challenges related to teacher…

The era of educational accountability and high-stakes testing has often caused schools to react by frequently changing reading curriculum, with the quest of increased student achievement and attainment of rigorous standards. While curriculum changes may appear to be well planned and purposeful toward the goal of school improvement, changes that…

At the start of the 21st century, STEM education was a new priority in many schools as the focus shifted from separate disciplines to integrative STEM education. Unfortunately, there was limited research to offer guidance to practitioners (Brown, 2012; Honey, Pearson & Schweingruber, 2014). This qualitative, multiple case study explored the…

This qualitative multiple-case study focused on administrators who are educational leaders at four separate schools in a school district located in a rural area of the State of Pennsylvania. The problem addressed was a lack of formal education and training in the field of special education among public school administrators. Administrators often…

Educational reforms have created a climate of accountability and high academic pressure that has resulted in a pushing down of the curriculum into early childhood education. Once a prominent pedagogical feature, play is disappearing from kindergarten. The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrator, teacher, and parent…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how utilizing the Core Knowledge Sequence and aligned curricular resources influenced teachers' perceived self-efficacy for a sample of Arizona elementary charter school teachers. The sample for this study was a convenience sample of 15 elementary teachers, who were currently…

As young children increasingly use the Internet, the children need to learn and apply cybersecurity fundamentals to protect personal data. Teaching young students the basics of strong passwords and data protection in a K-12 classroom setting is an obvious starting point. The literature shows an absence of approved cybersecurity curriculums for use…

Self-service design tools are flooding K-12 environments and altering the way instruction can be designed and delivered. As a result, schools are utilizing existing academics to both design and teach their own curriculum. These academics, called "designers-by-assignment", tend to have limited training in instructional systems design and…

The national imperative to increase the presence of women and people of color in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) coupled with the growing presence of Latinos in the United States has led to the dramatic rise of programs and initiatives aimed at improving access to and equity in STEM careers and education for Latino youth.…

Many researchers cite living more sustainably as humans' most pressing long- term challenge. Living sustainably can be defined as meeting one's needs without interfering with future generations ability to meet their needs. Engaging students with the social causes and effects of sustainability issues may help to address and create…

Chinese has intimidated heritage language learners as it is believed to be notoriously difficult (Liu, 2008). Traditional Chinese education, which focuses on linguistic skills and is mainly acquired by recitation and memorization, tends to drive students from maintaining and regaining their inherited language and culture (Curdt-Christiansen,…

The increased focus on the implementation of scientifically research-based instruction as an outcome of No Child Left Behind ("Understanding NCLB," 2007) has resulted in the widespread use of scripted reading curricula (Dewitz, Leahy, Jones, and Sullivan, 2010), which typically represents Eurocentric and middle class forms of discourse,…

A critical step in addressing a call for schools to use curricula such as problem-based learning (PBL) is developing an understanding of how school leaders can support its implementation. The purpose of this study was to examine ways school leaders at a comprehensive, public high school provided supports to teachers as they implemented this…

Designing professional development that effectively supports teachers in learning new and often challenging practices remains a dilemma for teacher educators. Within the context of current reform efforts in science education, such as the "Next Generation Science Standards," teacher educators are faced with managing the dilemma of how to…