This quantitative study investigated the impact of leadership behaviors and additional factors on teacher morale across seven schools from three Arkansas school districts. The study utilized the "Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)" and "Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (PTO)" as measurement tools to explore various leadership…

Academic libraries are often called upon to support their institutions by demonstrating value to their community and their state. Outreach to K-12 schools is a common tactic of college and university libraries, but traditional methods can be expensive or time-consuming. This case study describes a joint outreach endeavor by six academic libraries…

Foster children often struggle socially, emotionally, and academically in the school setting leading to school failure. By establishing a positive classroom environment, teachers can provide for the needs of the foster child while encouraging academic achievement. This study seeks to determine teacher best practices for meeting the needs of foster…

In many cases, teachers shy away from including much writing because of the many hours it requires to read and provide substantial feedback on such papers. Yet writing is widely understood as critically important to learning (Applebee & Langer, 2013; Mayher, 1983; Zinsser, 1989). This article describes a program from the Northwest Arkansas…

Using a unique dataset, this dissertation analyzes the relationship between observable teacher characteristics and teacher effectiveness. Effectiveness is measured as a teacher's ability to improve student achievement on a standardized test. This analysis focuses on teachers of math and science at the elementary and middle school levels, as well…

The eMINTS professional development programs are designed to help teachers learn how to integrate technology into their teaching, using instructional strategies that promote inquiry-based learning and encourage collaboration and community building among students and teachers. The eMINTS programs considered in this evaluation include: (1) eMINTS…

In December 2000, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) was awarded a five-year research and development (R&D) contract to develop and refine a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in low-performing districts and schools. At the onset of the project, 20 districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New…