Teachers are responsible for providing opportunities to use learning strategies in the classroom. The students' engagement shows an observable reflection of the educator's teaching practice. This qualitative case study highlights teachers' perceptions of student engagement in the urban elementary classroom. The research questions asked about…

The accountability era has produced school grading systems that purport to evaluate school effectiveness yet utilize hegemonic formulas that label low-scoring schools and neighborhoods, depriving them of incentive monies tied to their school grades. This quantitative study analyzed the publicly available data of 106 elementary schools in one large…

The purpose of the Dissertation in Practice was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of middle school teachers and administrators that were implementing a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. The setting for this case study was an urban, Title I middle school located in Florida. Interviews were conducted…

For many years schools located within concentrated areas of poverty in an urban school county in south Florida have experienced alarmingly high teacher turnover rates and alarmingly low academic performance scores. In 2015, in a lauded expose printed by the "Tampa Bay Times," five schools, all of which would go on to become part of the…

Teacher turnover is a problem in all types of schools at all levels and is especially troubling in low-performing, high minority, urban schools. School principals have the challenge of building relationships with teachers in order to improve teacher retention while also balancing the many tasks and responsibilities they have throughout the day.…

Elementary schools should be adept at assisting students in meeting their mental health need, such as, providing a non-violence approach to conflict resolution; strengthening the students' relationships with their family members and friends; taking responsibility for their education and future; creating a stronger positive image; handling tough…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the impact of teacher transition on established secondary school music programs. Through semi-structured interviews, I explored outcomes of teacher transition through the lens of the Social Identity Theory. The sample consisted of: (1) a large Southeastern Florida suburban music program where…

Minority underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) perpetuates the income inequality that minorities experience and leads to a lack of diversity in STEM. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the effect of student demographics, STEM, science technology, engineering, art, and…

This study examined the effect of clinical supervision on job satisfaction and burnout among school psychologists in large urban school districts in Florida. The theory of work adjustment, Maslach and Jackson's three-dimensional model of burnout, and Atkinson and Woods's triadic model of supervision were the theoretical foundations and/or…

Because the meaning of literacy is changing, teachers lack understanding of how to teach older students the skills they need to read and be proficient in an ever-changing digital world. Moreover, only 34% of U.S. 8th graders read at the proficient level, according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress. Therefore, the purpose of…

Urban schools across the country have been identified as having far lower rates of students that are prepared to graduate into STEM college programs and/or begin STEM careers. Issues with urban high school's drop-out rate and below average performance on STEM courses, in concurrence with the increasing demand for STEM occupations across the United…

The issue of low community college retention and completion rates has become an important concern in recent years. The lack of persistence among college students has led to a variety of institutional initiatives including first-year experience courses, intrusive advising, and other innovative approaches. Among these approaches, First-Year…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between transformational principal leadership style, a safe school climate, and school safety (specifically, the number of reported fights and reported bullying incidents) in Broward County, Florida's middle schools. This study also investigated if a relationship…

The purpose of this study was to investigate secondary school staff's beliefs, practices, and skills concerning Response to Intervention (RtI), now known as multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS). The majority of research in RtI/MTSS has focused on the elementary level; however, little research has addressed its implementation at the secondary…

The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold. First, using a qualitative, single case study design, I explored the roles and responsibilities of a middle school reading coach to understand how the coach distributed her time to support content area teachers in improving literacy instruction within their content areas. In addition to…