Teacher retention in high-poverty middle schools is a topic of concern. Teachers make the decision to leave the profession for a variety of reasons. Induction programs are put in place to for support with the goal of helping new teachers remain in the profession. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to identify critical components of…

Annual goals are an essential component of Individual Educational Programs (IEP), which are developed for students with disabilities, and which are informed by data. However, the methods and practices that special educators use to make sense of data to inform the annual IEP goals represent a gap in research literature. This qualitative study was…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) promote a new vision of K-12 science education that emphasizes the importance of integrating engineering practices into science education. Recent engineering studies have highlighted design approaches that focus on designers' empathy, such as human-centered design (Hess & Fila,…

The use of restorative practices to address college student behavior is a growing trend, but one about which few studies exist. While literature suggests how implementation of restorative practices can happen in the K-12 education setting, little is known about how student conduct practitioners should go about modifying their practices, policies,…

Guided by Knoster's (1991) Model for Managing Complex Change, this qualitative study explored implementing mental health focused MTSS and addressing mental health support within schools. This study focused on the experiences and perspectives of five principals and six school counselors implementing mental health MTSS within a rural Central…

Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) can equip preservice teachers (PSTs) with skills to implement evidence-based interventions in reading with fidelity by engaging PSTs in carefully designed clinical experience opportunities. Providing PSTs with extensive feedback through coaching is one method to strengthen support for PSTs' implementation of…

State governments are regularly reexamining the statewide board governance arrangements over public higher education, enacting governance reforms that change the structure or authority granted to boards by state legislatures. While previous research has studied governance reforms, there is a lack of recent studies on such reforms and what…

To ensure each county board of education provides a thorough and efficient education for its students, the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) annually reviews county scorecards and efficiency profiles provided by the Office of Support & Accountability. County status is reviewed and determined based on multiple measures of student…

The intention of this dissertation in practice is to provide structure to a peer-to-peer mentoring program to improve the academic success of students, while building students' engagement and social emotional skills through connections and relationships within the school district. This study is situated in a rural school community with an…

Despite efforts of faculty in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) programs focused on social justice/Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to provide equitable educational experiences for their students, studies on these programs have shown that students of color continue to face racialized experiences in the classroom (Harris & Linder,…

This qualitative narrative study explored the teacher induction experiences of new teachers, who have only taught between one to five years, in a complex area in the Hawai'i Department of Education (HIDOE). Past research has shown that teacher induction programs can play an important role in retaining and supporting new teachers in staying in the…

This research was a descriptive study in which the researcher explored the beginning phases of Ethnic Studies implementation in a Kindergarten through Eighth grade (K-8) school district in Northern California. Using a social justice lens, and through a review of Ethnic Studies, Collective Efficacy, Critical Consciousness, and School Culture…

This qualitative study explores the lived experiences of at-risk college students who become honors students. There is much quantitative research on the factors that influence or predict the path of at-risk students becoming honors students. What is less well established in literature is what personal transformation occurs in the lives of students…

States across the U.S. have been passing legislation aimed at identifying and supporting students who may have dyslexia. In Arizona, this legislation requires school districts to screen students for indicators of dyslexia, have one teacher in every K-3 school trained in dyslexia, and provide evidence-based reading instruction. However, it is…

Over the last 10 years, institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in the southeastern United States have endured natural disasters that have caused flooding, water, and wind damage and resulted in student evacuations, class disruptions, and building damage. IHLs are further challenged with resuming campus operations despite the emotional impact…