Building on the research of National Board Certification and its effect on teacher quality, student achievement, and professional development, this dissertation seeks to explore the factors that influence teachers when it is time to renew their National Board Certification. Using a qualitative methodology, this study seeks to describe the process…

Retention of quality high school assistant principals is a problem in a suburban Georgia school district, where 35% of administrators left their schools in a 3-year period. Researchers indicated that high turnover rates in school leadership influence student achievement and school climate. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore…

In an urban Georgia school district, teacher satisfaction surveys revealed that technology-based professional development was not equipping teachers with the skills or support needed to implement technology into their teaching practices. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to explore teachers' experiences and perceptions of…

In a Georgia middle school, general and special education teachers expressed concerns about the challenges of working collaboratively in the inclusive classroom. Effective teacher collaboration is pivotal to ensure academic success of all students. The purpose of this qualitative bounded instrumental case study was to explore middle school…

Teachers were once held to a professional dress code. This code has become lax, resulting in teachers dressing in more casual attire. A local middle school in rural Georgia was experiencing complaints about teachers' unprofessional attire from other teachers, administrators, and parents. Teachers play an integral role in modeling cultural and…

This case study examined student preference for delivery mode of online courses in two graduate degree programs in Library and Information Science. Within-group and between-groups comparisons indicated a distinct preference across the institutions. Findings from focus groups conducted with two cohorts of students enrolled in a federally funded…

Inclusion teachers at the elementary level face challenges in differentiating instruction for all students. Despite inclusion teachers' willingness to use differentiated instruction (DI), many teachers struggle implementing DI because of teachers' understanding of DI, insufficient time for planning, and insufficient training and resources. The…

Despite a rural Georgia school district's effort to increase the academic performance of all students, the achievement gap persists between general education and special education students. The purpose of the study was to explore what factors hindered coteachers from consistently applying differentiated instruction in elementary inclusion…

Since the implementation of NCLB initiatives, rural K-12 teachers in Middle Georgia have been working to gain highly qualified status in their area of certification. These educators have faced struggles that are characteristic of rural schools to include: limited resources, isolated geographic locations, and lack of funds. The In-field Gifted…

As college and workplace success becomes increasingly dependent on reading, parents and educators have become more interested in how to engage students in reading. Teachers at a rural Georgia high school have reported that students are reluctant to engage in academic reading. Guided by previous research on the factors that promote or discourage…

The author uses Bourdieu's concepts of field, capital, and habitus to analyze how students, parents, teachers, and administrators are responding to Georgia's test-based grade retention policy in reading at one Georgia elementary school. In this multiple case study, the author interviewed, observed, and collected documents regarding ten fifth…