This study aims to develop an instrument that has not been developed before: a career awareness instrument aimed at students, especially students at the junior high school level. The development of this instrument is to obtain data on the condition of student career awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research uses a type of design and…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine middle school leaders' perceptions of school climate following school closures from COVID-19. The literature review suggested that school leadership is vital in establishing and maintaining a positive school climate. Interviews examined middle school leaders' perceptions of school…

This case study explores the challenges faced by incoming principals who encounter unexpected situations along with the impacts on multiple stakeholders of leadership transition on a middle school campus. Leadership shifts are felt throughout organizations in diverse ways and may even have a personal impact on individuals in a school community.…

Between 40 and 50% of teachers will leave the profession within their first five years of teaching (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Factors such as teacher preparation, high stakes testing, mentoring support, student outcomes, monetary incentives, and administration play roles in this problem. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed traditional…

Reading habit is one if emulated judiciously is bound to reap rich benefits in the future. From being the most effective way in utilizing leisure time to the development of better cognitive ability, reading has an inevitable role. In this study an attempt has been made to enumerate the prevalence of reading habits among the school (6-12) and the…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected adolescent mental health due to school closures, isolation, family loss/hardships, and reduced health care access. Methods: We compared adolescent mental health in Rhode Island before versus during the pandemic, separately among middle and high schoolers. This serial cross-sectional study used…

The newly released enrollment data from the National Center on Education Statistics for the 2022-23 school year point to moderate enrollment gains for traditional public schools. The recent enrollment gains though are smaller than the cumulative enrollment losses since 2019-20 and are not uniform. This paper takes stock of enrollment losses today…

Leading school communities during the pandemic impacted elementary and middle school principals and brought about reflection of their leadership practices. School principals were forced to reassess leadership priorities like those set forth by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) in 2015. This study looks at information…

Kindergarten through 12th grade school administrators and educators are tasked with the challenge of ensuring every student is consistently attending school. Balfanz and Byrnes (2012) and Henderson et al. (2014) stated that either students cannot attend school because of multiple factors, students will not attend, or students do not attend because…

Positive student behavior is necessary, not only for a positive school culture, but for learning to take place, as students cannot learn in an environment where they do not feel safe, physically and/or emotionally, just as teachers cannot teach to the best of their ability. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of…

Grounded in the literature on peer social capital, this study examines middle school students' perspectives on COVID-19-related changes in their peer interactions and friendships. Qualitative analyses of 146 students' survey responses showed that a majority experienced changes in their peer interactions and friendships. These students reported:…

The purpose of this qualitative, intrinsic case study was to gain an understanding of how middle school teachers' professional learning and development experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced their existing professional capital. Even though middle school teachers led much of their professional learning and development during the…

The world of K-12 public education was one area of society that was directly impacted by the introduction of COVID-19 and emergency remote teaching. Teachers and districts alike responded in the way that they determined was best for their students, and the response of teachers at Little Middle School was no different. This narrative inquiry seeks…

Ongoing discourse in education emphasizes the need for schools to adapt to 21st-century teaching methods to adequately prepare students for the future society and workforce. The problem is that schools battle constraints of priorities and limited resources, and the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has only further unearthed and magnified…

Lily Rosene began her teaching career in 2020 when COVID-19 derailed her career plans and anearby school was desperate for teachers. She entered her first 9th-grade English classroom without a clear understanding of her students or the curriculum. However, she knew reading was important to any English classroom, so she decided to make silent…