This study examined a differentiated, bottom-up approach to school improvement planning through exploration of the qualities that make up a highly effective school department team as it related to their ability to create and meet a student-centered, data driven high achievement goal. While there are a multitude of factors that affect the ability…

Research on school improvement has accumulated an extensive list of factors that facilitate turnarounds at underperforming schools. Given that context or resource constraints may limit the possibilities of putting all of these factors in place, an important question is what is necessary and sufficient to turn a school around. We use qualitative…

Enhancing student learning, a primary purpose of assessment, can be fostered through integrating modified program theory and implementation fidelity processes into curricular, instructional, and assessment practices. Another assessment priority, reporting student learning outcome results for accreditation which may include inadequate evidence…

The use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) to assist college students in their studies has become a trend. However, there is no academic consensus on whether Gen-AI can enhance the academic achievement of college students. Using a meta-analytic approach, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Gen-AI in improving the…

In this qualitative study, the researcher investigated and described the specific leadership practices employed by elementary principals in Texas to initiate school improvement in campuses designated as needing targeted support, additional targeted support, or comprehensive support and improvement by the Texas Education Agency (2023a). The…

In this systematic review, we examine research from 2009 to 2022 to identify and classify the unintended effects of turnaround in the United States. We develop a conceptual framework classifying three types of side effects--spillover effects, systemic side effects, and internal side effects--and differentiate these side effects from unintended…

The study sought to establish the contribution of infrastructural availability to school growth and sustainable improvement of academic performance in selected secondary schools in Tororo District. The study employed a qualitative approach, and data were collected from school administrators, the management team and teachers using open-ended…

In this paper, we investigate how professional cultures and situated, material and external contexts relate to dynamic low- and underperforming schools in Scandinavia, particularly how the leadership is constructed through the leader, the followers and the situation. The first school studied was a low-performing school in Norway called…

Educational systems are to prepare students for future success in our ever-changing world. Administrators must realize that before a student is willing to learn, crucial needs must be met, especially in low-socioeconomic areas such as the Rio Grande Valley. Some basic needs consist of food and shelter, which are vital for survival. Other needs…

School-choice policies are expected to generate healthy competition between schools, leading to improvements in school quality and better outcomes for students. However, the empirical literature testing this assumption yields mixed findings. This systematic review and meta-analysis tests this theory by synthesizing the empirical literature on the…

This qualitative study explored the development, implementation, and measurement of a district-wide equity initiative in a suburban Chicago school district. The study used a qualitative research design and the researcher as the primary instrument for data collection. The research questions used in the study were designed to document the…

The U.S. public educational system is antiquated yet designed for the achievement results we see today. All students deserve educators willing to look within, ask difficult questions, have courageous conversations, be vulnerable, and address why schools are continually underperforming. There are researchers and educators determined to do just that…

School improvement research has insufficiently considered the importance of intervening in schools with declining academic performance. Fields such as engineering and medicine have prioritized predicting decline to save structures or patients before they are in peril. Unfortunately, in education, school improvement policies and interventions are…

This literature review offers compelling evidence for the significant role music and song can play in cultivating student engagement in elementary school science lessons. With students disengaging from science education, there is concern about the lack of necessary scientific literacy skills required in today's world. To explore whether music and…

This dissertation aims to find a correlation between collective teacher efficacy (CTE) and student achievement. Through a quantitative study, the researcher collected data from teachers in high- performing, low socioeconomic elementary schools, specifically those identified as Title I Distinguished Schools in a state in the southeastern region of…