While it is well understood that teachers are leaving the profession, what is less discussed is the why behind teachers choosing to leave. In 2023, 44% of teachers surveyed said they were likely or very likely to leave their job within the next two years. By 2025, unfilled teaching positions are expected to approach 200,000 (Mielke, 2023). This…

The purpose of this study was to examine how to restore a child's social-emotional well being. As an administrator in a middle school, I have the opportunity to see the natural state that our children are in on a daily basis. I have observed over time, more specifically since COVID-19, that children are struggling to balance their emotions, their…

This mixed-methods, action research study investigated the relationship between an emotion regulation intervention and the self-rated emotional wellness of middle school students. Research regarding emotion regulation, the process of interrupting and redirecting the emotion generation process, has blossomed over the past few decades, with findings…

School bullying is a significant health concern for youth worldwide. The struggle to combat bullying in schools is an ongoing issue. There is no universally accepted definition for bullying, though there is widespread agreement. The voice and understanding of those that experience bullying the most has not been considered in defining and…

In March 2020, 90% of schools shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many schools responded by quickly moving classes online into a period of what has been called emergency remote learning (ERL). The problem addressed in this research study is the lack of engagement among middle-school students due to the home environment during emergency remote…

This study examined quiet quitting and the predictive nature of hope related to job engagement of educators. Research was conducted in a school district in the northeast United States. This quantitative study examined the correlation between job engagement and hope, to what extent hope predicted job engagement in education, and whether educator…

Educators have been leaving the field of education at a high rate each year with no signs of slowing down. Tennessee, as well as many other states across the country, have started the school year with unfilled positions due to so many vacancies. Previous researchers found educators left due to an overwhelming workload paired with an escalation in…

This study is positioned to contribute to our growing understanding of how COVID-19 has impacted our students and the individuals tasked with promoting their mental health and wellness. The overarching aim was to understand the lived experiences of middle school professional school counselors (PSCs) in addressing student mental health, during the…

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions and emotions of teachers during the global pandemic, specifically looking at the "how" and the "what" teachers experienced during the pandemic, focusing on the emotions deriving from the participants' lived experiences with technology. The…

The current study added to the growing literature on school-based dialectical behavior therapy (SB-DBT) by examining the implementation of a SB-DBT intervention with high school students. It was hypothesized that students' perceived emotion regulation and adaptive coping would improve whereas reports of dysfunctional coping would decrease from…

As school leaders continue to look for solutions to ongoing negative student behaviors, many schools have implemented the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework. The Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework supports educators and students using positive strategies for behavior, academic, social, emotional, and…

The purpose of this study was to understand how teachers leveraged the components of Project Based Learning (PBL) in a hybrid, remote, or in-person classroom environment to promote cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. A narrative inquiry was conducted examining three teachers' implementation of PBL with students in Grades 4, 5, and 8…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how certified 9th-12th grade public school teachers who have one year of teaching and implementing Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) in the classroom describe their perception of PBIS and the influence of teacher perception on the implementation of PBIS with…

The demographics of the U.S. are changing. By 2050, projections suggest that non-Hispanic Whites will no longer make up the majority of the population, and students of color should outnumber White students in schools by 2025. It is thus timely and necessary to examine youth's ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development--the meaning individuals…

This dissertation research focuses on assessing student behavior, academic emotions, and knowledge within a middle school online learning environment, and analyzing potential effects on students' interests and choices related to decisions about going to college. Using students' longitudinal data ranging from their middle school, to high school, to…