Educational intervention research addresses multiple barriers that under-sourced communities face in education. I test three methods to improve education program design and evaluation to develop programs that have substantial and lasting impacts on student outcomes. In my dissertation, I review current challenges to educational program evaluation…

Responding to an identified need for more research around the effectiveness or consequences of school safety plans (Croft et al., 2019) and the finding that parents and children often felt unsafe on school campuses (Jones, 2018), the central purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of school district stakeholders regarding one…

This qualitative study examines an intervention program assisting students in passing the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) at ELITE High School in Houston, Texas. The Texas Education Agency has provided a blueprint for the target populations of the early college high school and the TSI is the gatekeeper for students' success in post-secondary…

School programs are evolving, and school district offerings provide more to students and families than simply academic instruction. This study asked parents to rate the importance and performance of various school programs that support student success and provide aspirational programming that guide student futures. Over one thousand parents were…

This dissertation project highlights the rising rates of and effects of child anxiety. This was done through a literature review of relevant topics. Child anxiety treatment is explored and best practices highlighted. By using a top-to-bottom approach to the literature, a program/resource was developed that is intended for use by school…

Graduation rates, employment sustainability, and lack of ability to live independently are often outcomes for students with emotional disorders. For these students the connection to incarceration, unemployment, and homelessness to mental illness is high and with the current societal challenges, the numbers of students with emotional disorders are…

This research study was to obtain, through the application of a qualitative narrative design of open-ended questions, the perceptions of school administrators regarding the effectiveness of the 2015 modified legislated implementation of House Bill 2398 and Texas Truancy Prevention Measures programs (TTPM). The TTPM policies and procedures are…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine secondary preservice teachers' sense of self-efficacy in ELL student instruction. The researcher administered an adapted version of the Teacher Sense of Self-Efficacy (TSES) survey created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy in 2001, to a sample population of preservice teachers. The survey…

Adult learners' retention, persistence, and completion remain a significant challenge for many higher education institutions. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the factors and improve persistence for part-time older adult learners of color enrolled in a credit-bearing certificate program within a small college in a large…

This project is a three-part Dissertation in Practice (DiP) that provides a comparison of academic student policies at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). For the purpose of this study, the term "student academic policies" relates to rules and procedures for grievances, student dismissals, sanctions, and suspensions. At…

Based on the research by Reid in 1997, the needs of the County Extension Agents in the agriculture/natural resources/forestry, family consumer sciences, and youth programs were addressed. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) has since expanded their educational efforts into fourteen program-specific areas. Along with expanding the…

Science teacher leaders are classroom teachers who take on leadership responsibilities within their schools, districts, and broader science communities. They have a significant impact beyond the science classroom by promoting instructional leadership, implementing science-related reforms, enhancing teacher professionalism, maximizing teacher…

Many households in America struggled to find healthy nutritious food options for their family within their local community. Families went hungry and needed access to food. The USDA reported in 2017 that nearly 41 million Americans faced hunger including 13 million children. This study identified solutions used by city and educational leaders in an…

City Colleges of Chicago undergo policy changes. In 2010, a reform sought to install accountability and transition City Colleges of Chicago into compliance with government funding requests through Reinvention. Reinvention, in the public view, was hailed as a necessity for a system that could not sustain on its own. It used a shock-system…

Through an arts-based autoethnography, I explored the influences and experiences that informed my approach to leading Black youth empowerment programming. Although there is a significant amount of scholarship on Black youth empowerment programming and its importance to Black children, there is limited literature on how one becomes a Black youth…