Educator retention is a concern plaguing the nation. Schools struggle yearly to fill positions for classroom educators as teachers leave the profession. This phenomenological study examined a rural Central Texas school district and its educators' perceptions of retention issues. Multiple classroom educators were interviewed at a Title 1 rural…

This research explored principals' perceived leadership content knowledge around literacy by examining the relationship between principals' perceptions of their own literacy knowledge and the actions that they took to support teachers' literacy instruction. A sampling group included seven elementary principals and 25 elementary teachers from Title…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions of student, teacher, and parent stakeholders of a successful rural Title I alternative school. There were 35 total participants in this study, and they contributed by completing an electronic questionnaire that asked them open-ended questions regarding their perceptions concerning the alternative…

The topic of this study was teachers' perspectives on online instructional challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic within a rural Title I school. The problem addressed in this study was that teachers were not ready to fully transition to online learning, especially teachers in rural Title I schools. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was…

The goal of this quasi-experimental study was to assess the effects of Dual-Coding Theory on domain-specific vocabulary and comprehension in a 5th grade social studies classroom. The pretest/posttest design research was conducted in a rural elementary school (N = 49). Twenty-three students participated in an intervention of dual-coding based…

In the US, the presence of a lifetime diagnosis of either depression or anxiety rose from 5.4% in 2003 to 8.4% in 2012 in children aged 6-17 years (Bitsko et al., 2018) and by 2016, 16.5% had at least one mental health disorder including depression or anxiety (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). Children and adolescents exposed to adverse childhood…

The purpose of this paper is to examine principals' instructional actions in rural, high-poverty schools and the perceived impact on student achievement. For this qualitative case study, research questions were: What principals' instructional leadership practices are being demonstrated in rural, high-poverty schools based on the literature and…

This promising practice describes the summer programming transformation at a rural, Title I school. After eliminating barriers to education and remediation overtones, the school now provides free transportation, meals, and books for all participants and engages them in research-based, enrichment-focused literacy learning. The program's first year…

Academic achievement and absenteeism are two areas that schools are held accountable. Helping families and communities understand the correlation between achievement and attendance is an essential part of improving attendance. The purpose of this research study was to compare student attendance and academic achievement on the CASE Benchmark exams…

This study was informed by the body of literature on pupil knowledge and its potential contributions to developing healthy and active lifestyles, along with the focus of various current national physical education standards on cognitive outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of conceptual-based intervention programmes in two rural…

Rural school districts are unique educational settings requiring efficient use of resources. Barriers to high-quality educational practices in rural settings include the distance from professional development expertise and limited funding. To address these potential obstacles for implementing School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and…

This action research study focused on a problem of practice observed in a Title 1 middle school in rural South Carolina, where seventh-grade students show low academic achievement levels in social studies, evidenced by low scores on teacher-made tests, district benchmarks, and the state standardized test. To address this problem of practice,…

There is well-documented research and data that echo the concern for the future of United States' ability to globally compete in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) innovation and to fulfill the shortage in talent that exists within this field of study. This concern compels us to seek more impactful and long-term solutions to…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of The Leader in Me (TLIM) program and philosophy on a highly diverse, rural elementary school in North Carolina. TLIM is a program for school-wide transformation that seeks to teach all students 21st century leadership and life skills. TLIM is based on "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 offers several opportunities to support rural education by providing states and local districts more flexibility while preserving the critical role of the federal government. ESSA maintains Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which represents a dedicated stream of exible federal formula funding…