This document reports the findings of a project completed as part of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership program at Saint Louis University. In this team project, three doctoral candidates explored the planning process of school leaders in developing professional learning opportunities for teachers at the secondary level. The…

Limited professional training regarding elementary social studies content and pedagogy contributes to the reduction of elementary social studies instruction. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore how the experiences of elementary educators during the 2018 Alabama Bicentennial Summer Institutes held in Mobile,…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the influence that a professional development (PD) program in the United States grounded on a sociocultural theory had on teachers' professional activities as teachers back in their home country. The study shared teacher perceptions of how and why the professional development…

The K-12 mathematics experiences of today's elementary teachers often were one dimensional, or traditional, in nature. Many elementary teachers recall negative, isolating mathematics experiences from their earliest memories of math, and these experiences have shaped their sense of efficacious behaviors for mathematics and teaching mathematics.…

The much-criticized Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) is not aligned with current Common Core literacy standards, is expensive, has a low pass rate on the first try of 66%, and keeps People of Color from joining the profession (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2019). The test maybe replaced with coursework. Critics…

To provide quality education to all students, including ELLs, teachers need professional development designed and enacted according to best practice. However, a common problem for professional development is that teachers' practices often do not change. Implemented through the partnership collaboration with university, education, and public school…

This Educational Leadership Portfolio (ELP) addresses efforts and activities aimed at implementing standards-based grading (SBG) at the Islamic Academy of Delaware (IAD). In the year 2018-2019, the school began efforts to transition to standards-based learning (SBL) through changes of curricula, delivering SBL professional development, introducing…

With the heightened focus on STEM education in school districts, there is a need to examine the professional learning provided to teachers who implement STEM curriculum, especially low-cost, sustainable professional development experiences. This study used an embedded mixed-method design to examine the connection between Guskey's model of teacher…

Facing the rapidly changing 21st-century education, educational organizations strive for innovative ideas to continuously motivate their teachers to enhance student performance. iLead is a district's pioneering attempt to incorporate transformational leadership's essential elements, the four I's, "Inspirational Motivation,"…

Middle school teachers at a rural site in a western state have faced problems in implementing Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA), as well as in resolving achievement gaps in ELA between regular education students, special education (SPED) students, English language learners (ELL), and at-risk students. The purpose…

In a mideastern US school district, culturally and linguistically diverse elementary students were not meeting proficiency on the state reading assessments. Elementary teachers in the district were expected to use culturally relevant teaching (CRT) strategies during literacy instruction to help engage and motivate culturally and linguistically…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if there were statistically significant differences between 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade reading teachers in the Northeast Unites States, defined as participants and nonparticipants in the LETRS® professional development, in terms of teachers' self-efficacy in student…

Research aims: Educational research showed that a crucial role in determining student achievement and school effectiveness is played by teachers. At the same time, teachers differ widely in their impact on student performances and previous studies has not been able to identify the sources of this variation. As a consequence, "teacher…

Science actions represent specific initiatives and demarches that involve investigation, experimentation, and even research, for raising the interest of the young generation in science, through particular approaches of STEM education. Important topics are promoted to students in various approaches, addressing nowadays problems, answering…

Rural regions struggle to retain early intervention (EI), special education (SE), and early childhood education (ECE) supports for children with developmental delay and/or disability, yet there is little guidance to prepare pre-service students for rural practice. This exploratory scoping review of rural EI/SE/ECE practice in the United States and…