A popular alternative disciplinary framework from zero-tolerance school policies is restorative justice, which refers to a set of ideologies and practices that emphasize healing relationships in lieu of community exclusion. This work investigates the differences between ideological support for restorative approaches compared to program…

Racial disproportionality in school discipline is an enduring systemic problem whose patterns change from one context to another. In order to develop systemic solutions that are responsive to local contexts, school stakeholders' collective, agentic actions toward systemic changes are essential. Utilizing a participatory systemic design process led…

Later school start times have emerged as a potential policy to improve the sleep and educational outcomes of teenagers. This study uses a quasi-experimental comparative interrupted time series approach to examine a 90-min delay in start times in an urban district in North Carolina. Results show that the later start time resulted in more sleep for…

Studies have been conducted for decades on the impact that restorative practices can have on student discipline systems in an educational context, along with the challenges of implementation (Dhaliwal et al, 2023; Marsh, 2017; Blood, 2005; Wearmouth et al, 2007; Drewery, 2016; Jones, 2021, Guckenburg et al, 2015). However, these studies have not…

Student absenteeism is a persistent concern in K-12 education. Not only are the negative academic and social consequences of excessive absenteeism well documented, but states, districts, and schools are increasingly being held accountable for student attendance. As research indicates that disruptions in students' learning contexts may exacerbate…

Embracing students' cultural assets is critical in facilitating self-growth and development at the secondary level, especially among minoritized students interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine/health (STEM-M) careers. Using sociocultural and community cultural wealth (CCW) lenses, longitudinal data among 23…

This dissertation investigated the academic performance of immigrant high school students in urban settings, focusing specifically on mathematics. Drawing on Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Zea and colleagues' acculturation framework, the study explored the complex interplay between sources of self-efficacy, acculturation dimensions, and other…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between principal leadership styles and teacher burnout. The study included a review of data collected using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5X) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-ES) from a purposeful sample of teachers from one large urban Title I high school in a…

The research problem for this study was that school administrators in an East Coast urban public school district in the United States inconsistently implemented leadership strategies to reduce the chronic absences of African American male high school students. Chronic absenteeism rates had led to decreased graduation rates and higher drug use and…

Turnaround schools represent a strategy for swiftly revitalizing underperforming educational institutions. This study examined how teachers perceived the role of teacher leadership within one urban turnaround high school. The study addressed the following research questions: 1. How do teachers within an urban turnaround high school conceptualize…

Adolescent school connectedness generally protects from risk behaviors such as tobacco use; however, its relationship to e-cigarette use is unclear. This study examines the relationship between adolescent school connectedness and e-cigarette susceptibility in a diverse longitudinal sample. This secondary analysis of a school-based intervention…

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals found that 45% of principals report that pandemic working conditions are accelerating their plans to leave the profession (2021). The current principal attrition crisis has only been exacerbated by the chaos and uncertainty of the global health pandemic. These…

This paper uses critical race theory to analyze several case studies focused on the experiences of two restorative justice coordinators (RJCs), both Black women and how they understood and responded to perceived racial injustices in urban schools with white leadership. These schools were attempting to address unequal disciplinary practices toward…

With the recent increase in the number of available options for families to consider when selecting a school, diverse publicly funded public schools are now competing for both students and funding. This study intended to contribute to the available research on the changes at inner-city schools during increased school choice options. The purpose of…

Students in large cities across the United States can better understand agriculture through their involvement in School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE). Since the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917, Agricultural Education has been a pathway that encourages students to continue schooling and connect with future careers. We conducted a…