This dissertation examines the relationship between teacher retention and student perceptions of school climate in an urban school district, both in individual school years and across multiple school years. This secondary analysis uses a school-level measure of teacher retention from New York City (NYC) public schools and measures of school…

Academically dishonest behavior, or cheating, has been a continued problem in post-secondary institutions. Research has been varied in terms of understanding the root causes of academically dishonest behaviors and has offered ways in which to mitigate the behaviors by educating students and holding them accountable to institutional expectations.…

This study analyzes the reasons for stop out behavior in a first-year composition class. The study was intended to be mixed methods, but the quantitative data, which was to be collected via survey, yielded too low of an n-value to allow for statistical analysis; therefore, case study research, analyzed through a social context framework, was…

The current study sought to determine if any meaningful relationship existed between perceived mental, emotional/behavioral, and academic resilience and overall resilience in adolescent American students. The current quantitative study was conducting using convenience sampling though a national school counselors' website. Respondents were asked to…

Given the rapid growth of K-12 online learning, research is needed in the effective identification of at-risk students so that administrators and teachers can develop appropriate supports and interventions. The purpose of this research was to determine if student success in an online course could be predicted for English Learners (EL) using…

Teacher retention is a foundational issue and schools have historically struggled to retain teachers. Previous research indicates that teachers leave the profession at high rates before year five of teaching expertise. Lack of teacher retention contributes to instability and lack of trust in school districts. This secondary data study explores…

Some of the worst long-term outcomes of children are associated with the presence of both externalizing behavior and low academic achievement. Additionally, trajectories of externalizing problem behavior have shown that when children enter kindergarten with problem behavior, it tends to persist and is often associated with low academic…

Prescription Drug Misuse (PDM) among college students is a concerning public health issue in the United States. Little research has examined misuse behaviors as they occur in college students' daily lives, limiting our understanding of the context of misuse and real-time misuse predictors. The goal of my dissertation was to better understand PDM…

It's well-known that motivation is essential for learning and how well students do in school. Research also suggests that a student's motivation is likely connected to their behavior in the classroom. This study was particularly interested in understanding how different types of student motivation (e.g., wanting to learn vs. wanting to look good)…

Teacher burnout is a critical public health problem. In 2022, 90% of teachers reported burnout as a serious issue. Teacher burnout contributes to poor educational outcomes for students and poor health and work outcomes for teachers. Previous literature on teacher burnout has underrepresented certain populations, such as public middle school…

While student retention has always been the focus of the asynchronous online classroom improvements, the aspect of Technology Readiness of the instructor has not been explored. The integration of technology into the online instructors' classroom pedagogy fits into the mainstream online education model of Community of Inquiry (CoI), by which…

Attrition is a major cause of the teacher shortage, threatening the educational future of America's youth. Teachers' decisions to leave are based on motivation/demotivation, school climate, and students' attitudes and behaviors; however, the relationships among these factors require further study. The purpose of this quantitative, predictive…

Higher education administrators are tasked with supporting and retaining students with increasing needs. These needs often include emotional and mental health issues but can worsen to include suicidality and violence toward others. Traditional campus approaches for supporting students and intervening for violence, such as counseling and campus…

Early childhood traumatic experiences place children at-risk for social, emotional, and behavioral impairments that contribute to poor educational outcomes. There is an increasing awareness that children with early traumatic exposure may need supplemental supports for academic success. These supports may be presented in the form of…

Evidence-based early interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been shown to improve child outcomes and quality of life (Lord et al., 2018; Reichow et al., 2018; Smith & Iadarola, 2015). However, response to intervention is variable across both children and implementation contexts. Understanding factors that influence this…