There has been an increasing number of students being referred to mental health services due to behavioral problems they exhibit at school. Behavioral and social concerns impede academic success for the individual child as well as their classroom peers. Many factors can contribute to challenging behaviors in early childhood students within rural…

Scholars theorize that the nature of school gun violence varies across school settings. Yet, there is a lack of statistical research testing this idea. This study investigates contextual factors associated with six forms of school gun incidents (N = 1,238) over a 40-year period (1980-2019) in the United States. To conduct the analyses, school,…

This study examined a school's improvement efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in a rural, high-poverty elementary school. Through improvement science, it analyzed the effects of attendance interventions on attendance improvement. It is well known that students who do not regularly attend school will also struggle with adequate progress and…

This study aimed to investigate the impact of implementing Open Educational Resources (OER) course materials on student engagement and achievement in a 10th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom at a high-poverty, rural school district. Research suggests that the implementation of OER materials in a K-12 setting can positively impact student…

The degree to which international immersion programs affect participants can be influenced by and attributed to their experiences in the host country or community. Embedded critical experiences allow participants to immerse themselves within the breadth and depth of humanity, thus fostering connections and relationships. Further, critical…

Millions of teachers have exited the teaching profession as of 2020 and over 50% are likely to leave the profession during the next five years. High emotional stress is most often cited as the primary reason for the loss of teachers. There is also an increasing number of students entering school who having experienced various forms of trauma, such…

International teachers in the US primarily fall into two categories: those on J-1 or J-2 visas under the Exchange Visitor Program and those holding employment visas, such as H-1B, EB-2, or EB-3. J-1 and J-2 visas are aimed at cultural and educational exchange. Those who receive them are authorized under the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961 to teach for…

The purpose of this descriptive correlational quantitative study was to examine contributing factors of students and teachers affecting teacher self-efficacy and students' reading achievement in rural Oklahoma elementary schools in grades first through fifth. The contributing factors of students being analyzed included (a) poverty and (b) race or…

To ensure all students, including historically marginalized students, reached their highest capacity, there was a focus on equity in education at the state and national levels. Minimal research existed where researchers explored principals' educational equity mindset, and I found a gap in the literature concerning the use of principals'…

Alternatively certified teachers constitute a growing portion of public school educators in the U.S. This is a trend that is expected to continue, due to the declining enrollment in traditional teacher preparation programs across recent years. As such, this report examines the profiles of alternatively certified teachers working in South Carolina…

Each year, SC TEACHER publishes different workforce profiles, sharing details and demographics around South Carolina educators for a better understanding of our public school workforce. Among these publications, this report is the first to examine the state's school "administrator" workforce. The analysis in this report uses statewide…

Summer programming is one of the main ways school districts have sought to help students recover academically from COVID-19 pandemic-related setbacks. Authors use a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of kindergarten through grade 12 public school districts to investigate the prevalence and structure of districts' programming…

SC TEACHER's research mission includes publishing yearly reports that detail the South Carolina educator workforce, sharing insights with educators themselves, policymakers, community members, and other stakeholders. This report is an annual review of the state's public school teacher workforce. Analysis in this study uses statewide data from…

This capstone project addresses the crucial task of equipping students from rural and poverty-stricken school districts for success beyond high school. While conventional markers of academic achievement often center around standardized testing, this study takes a wider perspective, emphasizing comprehensive approaches to education. By conducting a…