This study aimed to investigate middle school social studies teachers' perceptions of professional development and its relation to the teacher's knowledge of the subject, teaching methods, and improving student outcomes. The primary questions addressed in this study focused on middle school social studies teachers perceptions of current…

After years evaluating teacher professional learning programs, researchers Andrew J. Wayne, Jordan Rickles, Mengli Song, Seth Brown, and Michael S. Garet describe a study that changed their perspective. The study's takeaways about the design of teacher professional learning are important for everyone who seeks to create systems to support teaching…

While mathematics achievement continues to decline across the United States, minimal research has been conducted on the use of CT skills to increase proficiency. This explanatory, nonexperimental quantitative study focused on the self-assessment of teachers' content knowledge in computational thinking skills and the relationship to students'…

The influence of a positive relationship with the teacher on students' academic achievement is well established in the literature. However, little is known about how teachers' sentiments regarding students' physical appearance may influence this relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible relationships between teacher…

School environments impact student performance, teacher motivation, and teacher retention. As such, exploring the role of principals in shaping a school environment can be useful for understanding the reasons for poor outcomes of persistently low-performing schools, low teacher motivation, and high teacher attrition. Additionally, through this…

Finding successful ways to motivate middle school students who suffer from amotivation is one of the biggest challenges educators face today. When students lack the internal drive to do their best in school, the responsibility falls on those who care enough to find ways to light the necessary fire for academic success. This study aimed to explore…

Insufficient sleep and sleepiness are common in adolescence and can negatively impact school performance. The current study examined sleep duration and sleepiness in academic performance and cognitive processes in early adolescence. Middle school students (N = 288; M[subscript age] = 12.01; 54% female; 48% Black, 37% White, 10% Hispanic) wore…

Since the 1960s, business leaders and educators used the idea of "goal setting theory" as a guide to success. Teachers who implemented goal setting strategies contributed to student success and achievement. During my study, I found little existing literature focused on academic goal setting implementation for students in Tennessee rural…

This study used a cluster randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of two approaches to increasing middle school students' science learning when using an inquiry-based science curriculum. Eighty-nine schools, with 253 teachers and 20,591 students, were randomly assigned into one of three conditions: (a) a treatment condition in…

Close home-school communication benefits children, their families, the teacher, and the school community. Throughout the school year, teachers interact with families in a variety of ways, in person and electronically. In this study, the researcher investigated how twenty-two middle and high school urban teachers initiated and maintained…

The purpose of the transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the role of adaptive learning programs in closing the learning gaps in mathematics for secondary students in Georgia following the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory guiding this study was that of Bandura's theory on self-efficacy, as it highlights how an individual's experience…

Most American children from age three to eighteen spend around 165 days per calendar year and eight hours daily in a school building. During this time, they unknowingly build relationships with peers, teachers, custodians, counselors, and anyone else occupying these buildings with them. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of positive…

Decreased academic achievement of middle school students is occurring due to educators' inability or reluctance to differentiate instruction and the barriers that impede or prevent its use. The purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies for implementing differentiated instruction in the classroom and overcoming…

Leaders in education must focus on improving teacher attrition because teacher turnover contributes to lower student academic achievements by disrupting the learning environment for both students and teachers (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2017). This study took place in a North Florida School district where school and district leaders are…

The relationship between school administrators, teachers, and students can help impact the degree to which students thrive both academically and social-emotionally in their learning environments. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore administrators' and teachers' perceptions and attitudes on the effects of…