Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and immediately thereafter, digital instruction became commonplace within the modern classroom. The Georgia Department of Education mandates that teachers utilize technology as a best-practice, and uses that expectation as a component of teacher evaluations throughout the year. Despite the urging to integrate…

A sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted to determine special education teachers' (SETs) pandemic experiences in the U.S. state of Georgia. We distributed a survey, held focus groups, and analyzed both data for complementarity. We found that SETs experienced challenges, benefits, and concerns when they returned to their…

This work highlights the experience of eight education students from a public university in the American Southeast in their trip to Stewart Immigration Detention Center. A pre-interview and two post-interviews were conducted to understand students' perceptions toward the topic, what they learned from their experience, and how the experience…

While much of the literature on Black women teachers documents their legacy of addressing anti-black racism in traditional public-school settings, there is room for more dialogue about the labor of Black women teachers who teach in non-traditional school settings. This study draws on endarkened storywork, a methodological approach derived from the…

The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demands of the already challenging teaching profession. This study sought to investigate if correlations existed among the perceptions of teachers' regarding job satisfaction, principal leadership behaviors and school climate using pre- and post-surveys. Survey data was collected from a target…

Research has shown that there is a national problem involving teaching shortages and retention, specifically with novice teachers who have taught for 5 years or less. The problem is that teacher attrition is rising across the United States, which impacts the outcomes of students within affected school districts. The purpose of this basic…

While research on the marginalization of Latinx teachers has increased, a paucity of research has documented the powerful ways that Latinx teachers resist, challenge, and transform. Informed by the conceptual tools of conformist and transformative resistance, this life history study chronicles the experiences of a Latina in-service science teacher…

The purpose of the transcendental phenomenological study was to discover the role of adaptive learning programs in closing the learning gaps in mathematics for secondary students in Georgia following the COVID-19 pandemic. The theory guiding this study was that of Bandura's theory on self-efficacy, as it highlights how an individual's experience…

The racial disparities in school discipline and lack of teacher diversity represent two pressing issues facing educational equity. While traditional measures of teacher quality center on experience and credentials, little extant literature situates teacher diversity as an aspect of teacher quality. To fill this gap, we explore how both teacher…

Society's perception, recruitment, and retention of alternative certified teachers entering the education system is a critical issue in Career and Technical Education (CTE) (Heilig, 2007). Although public education is an important factor in our society and the nation's future, fewer college and university students are majoring in education…

This research sought to understand the experiences and perceptions of special education inclusion teachers (SEITs) from an urban county in Central Georgia. The qualitative narrative analysis proposed here aims to give school districts insight into why SEITs leave the field. This study followed a basic qualitative design. Participants were pulled…

This dissertation seeks to illuminate additive significance of the entanglements within a Dual Language Immersion Spanish Science classroom where arts-based pedagogies are employed. Using a theoretical framework that combines Jane Bennett's Vibrant Materialism (2010) and notion of Enchantment (2002) and Gloria Anzaldua's concept of Nepantla…

Over time, education has become increasingly more legalistic and litigious. The danger of litigation is an imminent threat for agricultural educators due to the potential financial and professional ramifications. In many cases, agricultural educators may be at higher risk for a lawsuit than teachers of other subjects due to the increased liability…

This case study examined the pedagogical and organizational practices of successful middle school band directors teaching at a high-poverty school in Georgia through the lens of Self-determination theory. Inequity within American school systems is evident from the positive correlation between socioeconomic status (SES) and student academic…

Research suggests participating in youth hands-on cooking programs, like those offered by Extension and 4-H, can improve nutrition behaviors and reduce the risk for obesity. We surveyed Georgia Extension professionals (n = 127) to explore factors (e.g., employee characteristics, resources, county demographics) related to offering youth hands-on…