Principal leadership is an important factor impacting student performance which has a major effect on student achievement. Consequently, during the 21st century, there has been a paradigm shift in principals exiting the public school system, which has resulted in the high level of principal turnover being a major challenge that public school…

This research study was conducted to illuminate teacher attitudes toward professional development in a large urban school district and to discern if differences existed in teachers' perceptions of professional development are dependent upon employment in a high-achieving school or low-achieving school. This study also sought to determine whether…

This dissertation examined the differences in school board activities between high-achieving and low-achieving districts across urban, suburban, and rural settings in Pennsylvania. The focus was on understanding the disparities in official behaviors contributing to academic outcomes. This study addressed a critical gap in educational governance…

School leaders find it extremely hard to lead effectively without a model designed specifically to provide effective leadership in the best interest of students. This study examines the unanswered question as to how to lead successful turnaround efforts in challenging schools today. A critical analysis of studies found the absence of an effective…

Urban middle school students in the United States have shown a declining interest in science and poorer science learning outcomes compared to the past. Museum learning experiences can potentially improve these students' interest and learning in science through interactive, personalized exhibits. This qualitative action research study asked the…

Learners' underperformance in primary schools in informal settlements is a concern worldwide. Families living in urban informal settlements of Windhoek, Namibia face overwhelming social and economic challenges, which affect children's academic performance. A qualitative inquiry was informed by Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory with reference to…

The problem explored in this study was that the state education agency recommended school board members of low-performing school districts participate in a governance training called student outcomes governance to address student achievement, yet no data suggested the training changed school board members' understanding of how to create policies…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational systems worldwide have faced unprecedented challenges, particularly concerning the support of students based on traditional face-to-face instruction. This study focused on the concerns surrounding 2nd grade students at LEA and DRA, two urban elementary schools, who have faced multiple layers of…

Teacher turnover is a problem in all types of schools at all levels and is especially troubling in low-performing, high minority, urban schools. School principals have the challenge of building relationships with teachers in order to improve teacher retention while also balancing the many tasks and responsibilities they have throughout the day.…

This qualitative research study addressed how struggling fourth-grade Afro-American males in a southern urban school system developed reading comprehension and whether their reading comprehension was linked to academic achievement. The purpose of the study was to gain insight regarding the comprehension development and academic achievement of…

This dissertation presents a comprehensive program evaluation of the dual enrollment program in a large urban school district in California. Dual enrollment has grown in popularity and is being utilized by many school districts across the country to provide access to college coursework and increase matriculation rates. This study aims to assess…

The project-based learning (PBL) paradigm is one of the most valuable student-centered approaches. In the PBL framework, novices actively participate directly in teaching and learning processes and interact with erudition areas. The setting for this qualitative study is an inner-city Title One school located in Columbia, South Carolina. The eleven…

The purpose of this Action Research study was to examine and improve the instructional practices and social-emotional learning for multilingual learners in third-grade, urban public school classrooms. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of six interviews with third-grade classroom and special education teachers, three classroom…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples of what leadership behaviors and strategies look like in high-poverty urban schools in Chicago that are successful at improving student outcomes. The authors compared the strategies used by principals who were rated by their teachers on annual surveys as being strong instructional…

The ongoing phenomenon of African American males' poor academic performance has been evidenced in research data, indicating this subgroup of students tends to have one of the largest academic deficits, behavioral issues, and high school dropout rates which often leads to the school-to-prison pipeline process (Craven et al., 2020). The researcher…