Public schools are the cornerstone of this nation's communities, democracy, and economy. The challenges and deep inequities facing schools today are largely the result of decades of disinvestment, compounded by a global pandemic. All of this has led to a breaking point for the system of public education. In 2023, lawmakers and stakeholders are…

The pipeline of college students seeking teaching positions is shrinking. The teacher shortage makes finding and retaining new teachers even more challenging. The cost of replacing existing teachers who leave is tremendous, and new teachers leave the profession at an alarming rate. This dissertation explored the lived experiences of new teachers…

Students with disabilities are 200% more likely to be restrained by school personnel compared to nondisabled peers (Katsiyannis et al., 2020). The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Nonviolent Crisis Intervention (NVCI) in de-escalating the risk behavior of children with disabilities from exceptional children (EC) teacher…

Providing students access to effective teachers is a challenge that school districts all over the nation face. Students from high poverty environments and rural settings have less access than their counterparts to effective teachers at disproportionate rates. This disproportionality may present as an insurmountable barrier for some youth in…

One of the most persistent barriers within the education system preventing students of color from accessing and persisting in higher education is the deficit lens that the education system uses to judge college-worthy students. To combat this deficit lens, strengths-based programming has shown promise in validating the strengths and students bring…

Many institutions of higher education offer research opportunities for undergraduates, but community college students often do not get to benefit from this high-impact educational practice. There are several reasons for this problem, including that community college faculty and students have limited time availability for research and the mission…

To broaden participation in robotics education, a free, after-school robotics program has been designed and developed at a public university. As part of a longitudinal study, this paper reports the first iteration of the program, offered to 12 students from Grades 3 through 7 in spring 2022. Three preservice teachers were trained as…

"When a group of people come together to share a vision for an organization, each person brings a unique visualization of an amazing running institution and each shares a responsibility for the establishment to run effectively" Senge (2006). This dissertation in practice (DiP) was aimed at addressing a performance gap of low engagement…

This study responds to a national conversation about the role that Career Technical Education (CTE) might play in meeting workforce demand for soft skills. It is challenging for CTE programs to offer soft skills for several reasons. Both educators and employers tend to associate CTE with hard skills, or technical skills and therefore the programs…

Many departments seek to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion using data-informed methods; however, not much is known about how closely department leadership aligns their review practices with appropriate theory. This dissertation seeks to explore four areas: 1) how are equity, diversity, and inclusion are being conceptualized (implied…

The Advanced Placement Teacher Investment Program in Indiana (AP-TIP IN) program trains teachers to prepare students for college with rigorous math, science, and English coursework using the College Board Advanced Placement Program®. The program's goals are to increase enrollment in math, science, and English Advanced Placement® courses, and…

Background: Implementation quality is a significant factor in determining whether a program has its intended impact (Durlak and DuPre, 2008; List et al., 2021). Therefore, when studying a program's efficacy, researchers must ensure that the program is implemented as intended to estimate its impact. To evaluate whether a program is being…

This article starts with an outline of how the core concepts of attachment, child development, neuroscience and the impact of trauma have influenced the educational landscape in Scotland. An account is provided of how key Scottish education policies promote nurturing relationships as beneficial for children and young people's wellbeing and healthy…

Outcomes assessment in an academic family science program led to the accidental discovery of grade inflation that was causing impaction problems in upper-division major courses. The current analysis evaluates the effectiveness of a policy intervention designed to improve academic rigor in previously grade-inflated classes. The new policy required…

BoSTEM, implemented by United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley and Boston Afterschool and Beyond, is a network of STEM-focused after school programs in the Boston area that provide high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities to Boston middle school students. Through an innovative citywide coalition of…