School leaders play an important role in creating a caring and supportive environment in which teachers can be successful. In this dissertation in practice (DiP), the scholar-practitioner examined an active learning environment that demonstrated how school leadership took strategic measures for improving student participation in a national…

Rural India is witnessing a surge in the number of low-cost, poor-friendly private schools that seemingly offer quality alternatives to government schools. Untangling stakeholders' viewpoints, this research explains how outcome and performance-focused learning, broadly known as neoliberal performativity in education, is enacted in these…

The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for some students. Many school districts are implementing practices to ease the transition to high school. The current study examined one school district's practices and procedures for the development and implementation of a ninth-grade center. In this study, I examined the…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to evaluate the impact of Morrison High School's ninth grade transition program, the Freshman Academy, on student outcomes. Based on the outcomes, decisions will be made to determine if the Freshman Academy is meeting students' needs or if the program elements need to be revisited to improve student…

The high dropout rate of the United States Virgin Islands school district's ninth-grade students is a major educational problem and the catalyst for a myriad of social problems. Ninth grade academies and extended school day intervention programs have benefited only the academically prepared students. This qualitative case study examined educators'…

The administration of a high school made the decision to transition to a "school of the 21st century". This transition includes one-to-one mobile computing devices for all faculty and students, ubiquitous Internet access, and the use of open educational resources (OER) to replace textbooks. At the time of this phase in this longitudinal…

This study is an evaluative analysis of 13 Music Education programs in Colombia that provide training for secondary school music teachers for 6th to 11th grade in the Colombian education system. The study utilized an analysis matrix from the International Research Project ALFA II-0448-A, which developed a similar study with Latin American and…

Principal preparation around the development of reflective practices has traditionally focused on the individual reflective practices of principals. Recently, reflective discourse between principals and students has facilitated principals' understanding of student perspectives regarding school policies and processes. We explore the use of digital…

There is a dearth of published information about the Literacy and Numeracy National Assessment (LANNA). This study was designed to explore the relationships among LANNA test scores at Year 7 and, in addition, to examine the predictive capacity of these scores in relation to Year 10 School Certificate English and Mathematics results. As a way of…

Middle-to-high school transition activities improve retention and graduation rates, reduce academic challenges, and support student social development. The purpose of this study was to investigate ninth-grade algebra I and literature/composition end-of-course test performance, attendance, and discipline in relationship to transition strategies…

Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) has systematically made reading the center of instruction in the district's 10 high schools. Data-supported improvements have taken place in reading achievement in a short time through a two-pronged approach grounded in professional development. Through collaboration with the Florida Center for Reading…

This study describes the bullying behaviors reported by 136 grade 9 students in two high schools in the same Southern city. Nearly 75% of students reported observing some type of bullying at their school. Bullied students were most apt to tell their mother or a friend about their experience, but rarely told a teacher or an administrator. Findings…

The purpose of this study was to describe the transition implementation experienced by rural elementary school district students entering the ninth grade at an independent school district, and to describe the ties to the school that exist among these same ninth grade students. This qualitative research involved interviewing 11 ninth grade…

This twelfth edition of "The Condition of K-12 Public Education in Maine" is designed to provide Maine citizens, legislators, and educators a yearly report on the state of Maine public schools and education. This new edition updates educational information which appeared in earlier editions, and also provides information on several new…