School principals are facing an increase in demand and challenges from district, state, and federal agencies for improvements both behaviorally and academically. Each year, more school principals exit their positions for other professions. The concentrated poverty school districts have been hit the hardest by this exodus. The purpose of this basic…

Research suggests discrepancies between principals of color and White principals in their motivations and reflections on racism and how it shapes their philosophies, practice, and persistence in leading schools in historically underserved urban communities. Several scholars have discussed the pivotal role of early racial identity experiences in…

In an ever-diversifying country, the landscape of the American classroom is shifting, requiring educational leaders and teachers to possess curriculum knowledge, cultural intelligence, and self-efficacy to understand students' cultural differences. This study aims to offer specific insights into four schools in the suburban Midwest working to…

Black males are disproportionately placed in special education throughout the United States. Yet, the degree to which such disparities are warranted has been subject to debate. Prior research suggests that special education is used too often in high-poverty schools partly due to limited resources available to support struggling students (Skiba et…

One of the most discussed topics in the education space is the achievement gap. More specifically, research has looked at the achievement gap between African American students and White students, which despite gains, has continued to widen (US Department of Education, 2019). Even though there is widely-cited research on the achievement gap, it…

Problem: In Colombia, higher education plays a relevant role in developing human capital and equity, giving everyone the opportunity to access higher education. In particular, the government has been supporting public and private universities to open campuses in rural areas where guerrillas, the mafia, and paramilitary groups were fighting the…

The Matthew Effect is an educational theory that children who begin their academic careers with lower reading scores do not catch up to their peers, instead falling farther and farther behind as their schooling progresses. This study includes a hierarchical multiple-regression analysis of within-year benchmark data for the presence of Matthew…

Teacher retention in high-poverty middle schools is a topic of concern. Teachers make the decision to leave the profession for a variety of reasons. Induction programs are put in place to for support with the goal of helping new teachers remain in the profession. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify critical components of…

This qualitative study is an auto-criticism, an approach that allows researchers to study themselves. This emergent methodology is derived from educational criticism and connoisseurship, which fits under the broader category of arts-based research. School discipline is a programmatic component of any secondary school's educational framework and…

For many years schools located within concentrated areas of poverty in an urban school county in south Florida have experienced alarmingly high teacher turnover rates and alarmingly low academic performance scores. In 2015, in a lauded expose printed by the "Tampa Bay Times," five schools, all of which would go on to become part of the…

Teacher self-efficacy has been shown to impact student's achievement. This study examined teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as it related to their ability to implement culturally responsive teaching and reading instructional practices as part of Response to Intervention Tier 1 practices in a high-poverty school district. The belief scores of 99…

Each year, rural school districts and economically depressed areas struggle to attract and keep certified teachers. Resources, finance, and lack of local attractions are what cause teachers to leave rural areas. These difficulties have made some of the best instructors unsatisfied with their school district, which has led them to look for a school…

In an era of accountability, educational leaders seek and implement reform efforts to help promote school improvement and student achievement on a regular basis (Marzano et al., 2014). When considering school improvement, a possible strategy to increase student achievement could be the relationship between the school leadership style and the…

With increased pressure for schools to demonstrate college and career readiness, it is crucial to explore the roles and activities of school counselors, the preservice training they receive, and how those college and career readiness concepts are integrated into their roles. The research questions were (1) What are the current roles and activities…

High poverty and low student performance have been connected for many years, and it has been established that poor children are more likely to have ineffective classroom teachers. Research confirms that economically disadvantaged students frequently have teachers who do not have standard teaching certificates. The problem addressed in this…