Although literacy coaching is used as a professional development mechanism in many schools to facilitate teachers' learning, few studies have looked carefully at the discourse used by literacy coaches who have successfully increased the professional capacity of teachers with whom they work. This qualitative multiple case study is grounded in the…

The transition from 8th to 9th grade, from middle school to high school, is considered one of the most challenging experiences in an adolescent's life. Ninth-grade transition programs, often referred to as freshman academies, have been developed and implemented over the last decade to address the needs of 9th grade students. The purpose of this…

Little research about Deaf Mentors is available, but available studies suggest that they benefit families with a Deaf Child. These mentors can support professionals who work directly with the child and their family. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of having a Deaf Mentor involved in early intervention with Deaf children and…

Self-regulation is a significant predictor of student academic performance, over those traditional measures of intelligence and socioeconomic status. The failure to develop these skills may produce students who are at a four-times greater risk of behavioral issues, school dropout, and poor academic performance. This multiple qualitative case study…

The current study examined how components of reflective practice interplay with children's music-making and sharing processes. This study employed a qualitative approach with 11 children who played classroom instruments and researcher-designed computer programs ("Build MyTune I" and "Build MyTune II") while attending music…

In a rural Alabama school district, 38.46% of the students failed the reading portion of the high school graduation examination. While the teachers in the school district were trained to differentiate instruction according to ability and gender, the impact of gender-differentiated reading instruction was unknown. The purpose of this case study was…

Professional development is a recognized approach to improving the quality of instruction in schools. The goal of professional development is to increase teachers' knowledge and improve their practices, which lead to enhanced student learning. The problem with providing staff development is the high cost incurred by presenters' fees, and…

National Board Certification is an esteemed certification and professional learning and reflective opportunity for teachers. Cognitive coaching is also a method of support many teachers receive over the course of their National Board Certification journey. The certification process involves reflective practices and opportunities for teachers to…

The purpose of this study was to test the relationship between the type of school-to-home communication (regularly sent, structured emails versus ad hoc emails), the originator of these emails (teacher or student), and Parental Involvement (PI) as measured according to the frequency of email contact and distribution of student and parent emails…

An increasingly popular way of supporting teachers is with instructional coaching, which involves the teacher working alongside an instructional coach in the classroom and participating weekly in professional development. Due to a challenge issued to educators from government leaders, schools and districts are considering the coaching model as an…

This qualitative examination of two distinct administrative internship experiences takes advantage of a sample of candidates who have had the rare opportunity to participate in two different internship programs. The eight candidates who participated in the California Leadership Lab and the Educational Leadership Program's Field Experience course…

Bullying behavior has reached pandemic proportions and is a growing concern in primary school. Most intervention programs in primary school are focused on bullying prevention or principally on the behavior of the bully. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a school-based bullying intervention program is an effective method for reducing…

As the number of youth at risk for educational failure has increased, so has the debate over the appropriate nature of career and technical education (CTE) programs for such youth. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about the manner in which CTE programs within vocational schools affected secondary students at risk for…

This research study was designed to investigate the impact of constructivist-centered professional development in vocabulary instruction for 14 upper-grade elementary school teachers. The researcher facilitated 10 training sessions held in small groups, during grade level meetings at an urban public school, to develop individual and collective…

This qualitative, insider account of student civic development in a university service-learning course has two primary goals. One is to propose frameworks for describing the process of civic development of service-learning students that are situated in theories of civic identity, cognitive development, and cognitive dissonance. The other is to…