Early childhood education is a sector often mis-represented in the media and public domain, depicting a sector beleaguered by low salaries, lack of professional recognition and inadequate working conditions. Missing from this depiction is the fullness of the everyday teaching and learning experiences of early childhood educators, and subsequent…

Since March of 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the world changed, and countries closed their schools and moved instruction and student learning to remote and online formats. These changes created challenges ranging from a lack of internet access, the need to learn new technologies, and increased…

"Improving Teacher Morale and Motivation" discusses a key issue for school leaders: motivating teachers to improve learning for students. Immense and unprecedented changes in education--primarily with the pandemic and "great resignation"--have affected all areas of teaching and learning, including teacher morale and motivation.…

Teacher educators and teacher education scholars can play a critical role in challenging how society views the work of teachers and their role in society. To improve the morale of current teachers and attract teachers who see their work as intellectual and driven by educational justice, teachers' work and the structures that support them need to…

This dissertation explores the lived experience of nature-based educators in Duluth, Minnesota. Portraiture served as the methodological framework for learning about how teachers in Duluth got into teaching and why they remain on the job. Teacher turnover and attrition is a national problem exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, teachers who…

Over fifty years of research investigating teacher burnout has resulted in a well-accepted model of burnout that involves three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of accomplishment. Recently, a new cause of teacher attrition has been proposed called "demoralization," on the argument that demoralization is a distinct…

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost all aspects of society including the United States School Systems. As we get further out from the onset of the pandemic and restrictions ease, we are beginning to see that there will be some lasting and irreversible implications in schools across the country. This research implies that teachers were…

The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to discover teachers' and administrators' perceptions on faculty trust and how faculty trust influenced teachers' job satisfaction and school morale in rural, East Tennessee elementary schools. The sample size of this study included 25 teachers and six administrators from two rural school…

In this book, leading educator Anthony Muhammad compiles prominent voices in the field, sharing their tried-and-true strategies for building a healthy school culture, beginning with teachers and their collaborative partnerships with one another, parents, and the community at large. With innovative frameworks, personal anecdotes, case studies, and…

The 21st century has been characterized by digital innovation that has reached every sector of functioning society, including education. In many instances this innovation has led to breakthroughs of great scientific discovery, yet on the contrary, this limitless innovation presents evolving aspirations particularly among policy makers and industry…

The purpose of the study was to identify how effective communication on behalf of the building principal enhances school culture, management, instructional practices, and collaboration. Ten teachers from ten different school districts within Trumbull County, Ohio participated in semi-structured interviews and provided at least one school-based…

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine the relationship between leadership styles, conflict caused by dysfunctions in administrative leadership teams, teacher morale, and student performance on the reading and math sections of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). A total of 58 elementary school…

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on university faculty, unduly those from underrepresented groups, causing many faculty to disengage. Writing communities represent a promising tool to (re-)engage faculty and build an inclusive climate. As part of U See I Write, a faculty development initiative at the University of California, Irvine, we…

Student enrollment patterns have been studied during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many families seeking alternatives to traditional public schools. Less is known about teacher experiences in these alternatives. We explored predictors of teacher job satisfaction, burnout, and morale. Of particular interest was whether these presented differently…

This edited book seeks to address the impoverished culture of emotional discourse in the teaching profession and teacher education. Teachers across the world live out emotional experiences in their professional lives (in the classroom, in the staffroom, online) yet the language available for talking about these experiences is fragmented and often…