The problem addressed in this study is that, in a rural Title I public school in the Northeastern United States, administrators have struggled to implement leadership strategies to support the reduction of student discipline issues in the classroom. The purpose of the study was to investigate how administrators implement leadership strategies that…

Today's elementary teacher candidates (TCs) are entering a world of public education decimated by decades of neoliberal education reforms (Kumashiro, 2010; Lipman, 2012) exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Giroux, 2021) and the current white-supremacist, heteropatriarchal backlash (Pendharkar, 2022). For justice-oriented TCs, finding agency in…

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…

Equity in education and the role of the principal are critical reasons for this study. Equity-centered leadership challenges other leadership practices in its' focus on affecting change concerning equitability, access, diversity, and society. However, there is a gap in research in understanding the lived experiences as an equity-centered leader.…

There are high rates of disciplinary issues present in urban elementary schools in the United States, and school administrators need more effective strategies for improvement. Researchers have found that exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions are often overused, have questionable efficacy, and disproportionately affect…

Elementary teachers in California were tasked to use cognitively guided instruction (CGI) strategies in mathematics classrooms, but it was uncertain if they had the self-efficacy, confidence, resources, and support to do so consistently. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate K-5 teachers' perceptions about their…

Elementary school principals in a suburban, Mid-Atlantic public school system may face challenges when balancing their workload. This problem is significant as an elementary school principal's workload could contribute to ineffective leadership. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how these principals balance their workload…

The purpose of this study was to examine in detail the experiences of school counselors with treating anger issues in school-age children from foster care homes. In particular, the study determined the counselors' experiences using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat anger and whether the interventions were effective. The aim was to shape…

Educators, parents, and researchers uphold that intentional social emotional learning (SEL) can positively benefit student well-being, especially when the learning is integrated into all educational content areas. The problem under study was that though research has highlighted the connection between SEL and visual art education, how teachers…

The problem that was investigated in this study was that despite existing implementation of reading instruction strategies, some students in fourth grade demonstrate reading difficulties prompting the need for additional approaches to reading instruction. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to investigate the difference…

Punitive disciplinary approaches have been used for decades in primary grades with little improvement in behavior and negative impacts on classroom climate. This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of administrators and educators implementing restorative practice (RP) with fidelity in the primary grades of urban public elementary…

The purpose of this study was to explore how elementary school teachers think about equity in relation to their goals in their computer science instruction, and to explore the strategies they articulated to make their practice more equitable. States are mandating computer science standards and instruction and requiring schools to teach the content…

The underachievement of culturally and linguistically diverse students has been spotlighted repeatedly over generations. That spotlight notwithstanding, the problem of underachievement has worsened in recent years as the population of diverse racial and ethnic groups has increased in US schools. This study aimed to address the achievement gap…

Disproportionate office referrals through teachers in Grades 3-5 based on their students' race are documented. At a Title I elementary school in the northeastern part of Virginia, non-White students are referred to the office for behavior issues 5% more times than their White peers. Guided by Bell's critical race theory, the purpose of this study…

As instructional leaders, principals must apply leadership to ensure achievement of all students. There is a gap in practice involving challenges principals face while supporting the ELA achievement of their inclusive special education students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand instructional leadership challenges elementary…