Creativity has become an essential curriculum competence, playing a pivotal role in the successful response to the ever-changing demands of contemporary society. Yet, its complex, dynamic, and multifaceted nature seem conflicted with the predominant quantitative and easy-to-replicate curricular goals, resulting in potential incongruence between…

This study explores teacher perception of teacher leadership and the influence of teachers on school culture. The study addresses a gap in scholarship regarding the perception of teachers (not administrators) on these issues. The research questions that guided this dissertation structured its analysis by limiting the data to information that…

This paper asks whether universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) raises parents' earnings and how much these earnings effects matter for evaluating the economic returns to UPK programs. Using a randomized lottery design, we estimate the effects of enrolling in a full-day UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut on parents' labor market outcomes as well as…

With any new initiative, stakeholder insights provide critical information that can aid in the execution of the project. Gathering stakeholder perceptions of a new initiative is particularly critical in schools where teachers' varied beliefs may influence outcomes. Recognizing and acknowledging beliefs may make the difference in adoption of new…

Implementing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in an urban school is beneficial to students, parents, administrators, schools, districts, and policymakers. Previous studies have emphasized that teachers and other staff members need proper professional development to promote social and emotional learning. They interact with students in situations…

The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

"Elementary and Middle School Mathematics" illustrates how children in PreK to 8th grade learn math, and then shows the most effective methods of teaching math using problem-based activities. Examples of real student work and common challenges help you visualize developmentally appropriate mathematics instruction and assessment that…

In this qualitative ethnographic research study, I focused on a first-year assistant principal's leadership experiences in an urban PK-8 school environment and the coaching, mentoring, support, and training needed to develop an effective building administrator who will be retained in the assistant principal position. The guiding research questions…

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated, "'Faith' is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase." (Waterford, 2020). This type of blind faith has been a vocal proponent in the triumphs of minorities since the beginning of time (Liviatan, 2011). It is this same faith that William James speaks of when he says,…

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of providing information to families as they choose schools. Likely applicants to prekindergarten, kindergarten, and ninth grade were assigned to one of three groups. A "growth" group received lists (via U.S. mail, email, and text message) of the highest performing schools…

The Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) program enriched Head Start classrooms with teacher-delivered curriculum components designed to enhance child social-emotional learning and language-literacy skills. Parents received information about the program via backpack express, including weekly handouts about program topics and three DVDs…

Education is seen as a resource at a global level but is currently considered to be in crisis in many parts of the world. This constitutes a significant drawback in terms of humanity's prosperity and well-being since education is the key not only to an educated workforce but also to humane, collaborative, and caring societies. Even within this dim…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the perception of the principal and teachers regarding what transformational leadership practices meet the needs of EBs in a DLI PK-8th grade campus in South Texas. The research site was selected for having 40% emergent bilingual students. The campus principal has been implementing a…

The researchers used a qualitative design with a descriptive phenomenological approach to examine the experiences of 10 principals in creating and sustaining a positive school climate during COVID-19. The researchers conducted interviews over Zoom from October to December in 2021. The principals have worked in two American states, one Midwestern…

The pandemic forced divisions to develop new approaches to educating students. Division officials had to consider the needs of their students and their resources at home, as well as the capacity of their workforce and existing infrastructure to provide instruction outside of the school building. We collected and coded over a thousand documents…