Educational reform and the development of performance measure policies have remained a continuous debate throughout the past several decades. These accountability policies and increased performance standards can have a significant effect on teacher practice and student outcomes. Policy initiatives have now shifted the definition of teacher quality…

The aim of the study was to test the effect of teachers' professional development upon students' mathematics academic achievement levels with the help of lesson study. In this manner, the study aimed at increasing students' mathematics learning levels via lesson study. Action research was used as research method in the study. The sample of the…

Research was reviewed that focussed on the reading comprehension abilities of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Although single-case experimental design (SCD) is an accepted and widely used way in which to evaluate an evidence-based practice, very few studies met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for evidence-based SCD…

Fostering students' spatial thinking skills holds great promise for improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Recent efforts have focused on the development of classroom interventions to build students' spatial skills, yet these interventions will be implemented by teachers, and their beliefs and perceptions…

It is essential for educators to be able to navigate educational standards and incorporate social- emotional learning (SEL) frameworks which align with teaching practices that support students' education. Teachers may possess knowledge of SEL components, but there is currently a lack of standards, especially at the upper grade levels, in…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore if teachers' five social-emotional competencies (SECs) and years of experience predict their perceived ability to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) teaching practices in the classroom. The five SECs include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an important driver of student well-being, academic achievement, and future success. Despite decades of work on motivation theory and frameworks to promote student motivation and achievement outcomes, connections between motivation and recent frameworks and measures of SEL could be stronger. The purpose of…

Technology professional development for teachers typically relies on formal training or courses, but the forced, sudden transition to technology-based instruction in the spring of 2020 meant many instructors had to engage in self-directed professional development in a high-stakes, sink or swim environment. This qualitative narrative oral history…

The effects of childhood trauma are evident in urban classrooms today and adversely affect student achievement. The evidence of exposure to trauma is disruptive behavior, often resulting in a suspension from school. The school social worker or counselor is often viewed as the person responsible for implementing strategies that change student…

Oral communication anxiety (OCA) is a challenge for many college students studying a foreign language. This phenomenon has yielded many studies explaining OCA exists, relating it to personality traits and concluding educators play a large role in either reducing or aggravating such anxieties. However, research is lacking in the role…

This basic phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of teachers that despite the challenges and adverse effects of poverty over historically underserved students' educational opportunities, have been able to enhance students' success. The interrelationships of poverty with race, class, ethnicity, and linguistic differences are…

This dissertation in practice created a new form of educator development called the Virtual Educator Network (VEN) and examined its impact on educators' attitudes towards inclusion, feelings of support, and incorporation of new strategies to solve problems of practice they find important. The VEN is a form of professional development that pulls…

The integration of technology in early childhood classrooms can be advantageous when used in meaningful ways. Early childhood teachers are utilizing technology in instruction; however, they are not always doing so effectively. There is a gap in practice regarding the factors that affect the choices of technology activities that early childhood…

As a result of various academic, behavioral, and social-emotional challenges that adolescents may experience during high school, an alarming rate of students are not acquiring their high school credentials. To address this concern, researchers have suggested dropout prevention efforts should focus on using a comprehensive, preventative, tiered…

This research study emerged from a desire to understand how classroom teachers construct their professional identity after earning a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) graduate degree. There has been research about professional identity development among beginning TESOL teachers who only teach English Learners (ELs) and about…