The goal of this qualitative case study was to investigate the influence of culturally responsive teaching on the academic engagement of Black third and fourth grade students. For many years, schools have been faced with evidence that shows classrooms and schools are failing to meet the academic needs of students of color, particularly Black…

The disengagement that leads to school dropout may start as early as middle school, but may be interrupted by motivational interventions. One approach is to promote the relevance of content through explanations and demonstrations of the value of this content to students' futures. CareerStart is an intervention that provides teachers prepackaged…

The practices of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) are known to be widespread and effective in both K-12 and higher education settings. There is still little research on how it can provide a community of engagement for middle school learners. This paper reports how engaging middle school learners in PjBL tasks influences the students' perceptions and…

Although gender gaps associated with K-12 science achievement have narrowed significantly, gaps in science engagement and efficacy in childhood likely explain why women remain underrepresented in science careers. Early intervention programs may address root causes of gender gaps in science careers. Outdoor science education (OSE) is one…

This study explored K-4 teachers and school district curriculum leadership's understanding of and inclination to implement culturally relevant pedagogy as a framework for teaching reading, especially for African American students. This qualitative study sought the potential basis that teachers and educational leaders retain from their experiences…

This study examined how overall quality and within-day consistency in fifth graders' teacher-student interactions related to feelings about, engagement, and academic performance in school. Participants were 956 children in a national study. Students who experienced higher quality interactions reported more positive feelings about school, were more…

The WCPSS Student Survey is administered each year to measure students' perceptions about their learning experiences. Over 24,000 students in grades 5, 8, and 9 responded to the 51-item survey in the spring of 2018. Results by grade were very similar to 2017 survey results. The majority of students had positive perceptions of their schools and…

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Student Survey is administered each year to measure students' perceptions about their learning experiences. Over 28,000 students in grades 5, 8, and 9 responded to the 50-item survey in the spring of 2017. Results by grade were very similar to 2016 survey results. The majority of students had positive…

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, this study examined the cross-lagged relations between behavioral engagement and reading achievement in elementary school and whether these cross-lagged relations differed between low-socioeconomic status (SES) and mid-…

Research on the overall effectiveness of single-sex education remains inconclusive; however, some research does indicate that benefits other than academic achievement may be possible with a single-sex format. Advocates argue that when single-sex environments are structured by not only separating boys and girls but also by leveraging…

Gifted underachievement represents a frustrating loss of potential for society. Although attempts have been made to develop interventions to reverse gifted underachievement, the theoretical underpinnings of these interventions have yet to be empirically validated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the…

This research study explored the current state of teacher morale in fourth and fifth grade classrooms in three low socio-economic schools in North Carolina. Additional research questions address correlational relationships among the variables of teacher morale, student engagement, and student achievement growth as measured by the NC Teacher…

One goal of the US Department of Education-funded Project Insights was to see if the use of Problem-based Learning (PBL) would encourage students to reveal previously unseen academic potential. Two PBL units were taught to 271 sixth grade students in 13 classrooms. Afterwards, teachers identified students who demonstrated previously unseen…

This research study explored the current state of teacher morale in fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms in three low socioeconomic schools. Additional research questions addressed correlational relationships among the variables of teacher morale, student engagement, and student achievement growth as measured by the North Carolina Teacher Working…

The problem examined in this study: Does the majority of teachers use rigorous teaching and testing practices? The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the classroom techniques of six effective teachers who use rigorous teaching and testing practices. The hypothesis for this study is that the examination of the…