NExT LEVEL is a National Professional Development grant funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition, U.S. Department of Education. The grant partnered with three school districts and provided introductory training in working with English Learners (ELs) for select mainstream classroom teachers and teacher candidates; continued coursework…

Given the expanding racial, socio-economic, and cultural divide between student and teacher populations in U.S. public schools, pre-service and early-career teachers need to develop the cultural competence necessary to navigate an increasingly diverse population of students. To do so, pre-service and early-career teachers must cultivate an…

Social studies instruction is vital to connecting students to the world and learning 21st-century skills needed for college and careers. Teachers' knowledge and skills are essential for effective technology integration in instruction. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the perspectives of teachers in an urban…

Amidst the vast amount of research that measures, evaluates, and suggests best practices for social and emotional learning (SEL), less attention has been given to the underlying cultural values, emotional investments, and relational patterns that shape and uphold SEL at a "root level." The purpose of this dissertation was to create a…

For this study, I used a quantitative design to examine Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers' perceptions of coaching within the State of Tennessee during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. The purpose of the study was to describe whether coaching sessions in the state of Tennessee altered CTE teachers' instructional practices, CTE…

This study aimed to examine what happens when school staff engages in diversity training to reduce their implicit bias. Specifically, the prejudice habit-breaking intervention was utilized to increase participants' awareness of bias, change their attitudes about bias, and change discriminatory behavior. Participants were taught two strategies:…

While proficient reading development is a major cornerstone of schooling, it has become a problematic endeavor for America's public education system. Due to the growing diversity in K-12 student populations, school leaders are challenged with the task of developing and implementing curricula that meet the varied instructional and cultural needs of…

What factors, as perceived by adjunct faculty in an academic department at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) institution, had the greatest impact on adjunct faculty and their decision to continue to serve in the part-time role? In this study, I explore the effects of not receiving professional development and mentorship can cause…

Although previous research in agricultural education has described the needs of SBAE teachers in regard to teaching students with special needs, the reported findings have been overwhelmingly quantitative in nature and have over-relied on females' perspectives. As such, the purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences and professional…

The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers can employ listening practices to gain a heightened understanding of not only what their students understand and how they are thinking about mathematics, but also as a way for teachers to build their own conceptual understanding of mathematics by reflecting on the different approaches their…

This three-article dissertation examined the perceptions of school-based agricultural education teachers in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama on self-efficacy and professional development activities since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first article was an examination of teacher self-efficacy in delivering instruction in three classroom…

This study examined the effect of Vygotskian-based professional development on the CLASS Instructional Support Teacher Self-Assessment scores of preschool teachers in a rural setting. Specifically, it examined the efficacy of preschool teachers in their ability to provide instructional support to their students prior to participating in…

This dissertation addresses the experiences of general education teachers working with majority populations of students with special education needs. While past research focused on special education teachers, general education teachers, or students with special education needs, little research exists on general education teachers working with…

Many teachers struggle to engage English Learner students in the classroom as they feel students may be disconnected both academically and socially. In addition, many teachers have minimal intercultural experiences and limited training that could help them connect with these students. This qualitative study seeks to explore the use of video…

As organizations seek to provide meaningful professional learning opportunities, research has emerged to support the development of learning cultures that move beyond isolated learning experiences. An essential component of professional learning is reflective practice which occur at both the individual (Schon, 1983) and collective (Day, 1993)…