Federal and state legislations continue to mandate high-stakes testing for American students. Consequences of high-stakes testing include but are not limited to, low teacher efficacy, narrow teaching strategies, lack of student motivation, and the feeling of insecurity in classrooms by the students. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper…

The number of low-performing schools has drastically increased since COVID-19. During the 2018-2019 school year, there were 488 low-performing schools (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2024). The number increased to 736 schools during the 2023- 2024 school year, a 50.8% increase (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,…

Teachers today feel pressure to maximize student engagement and learning. With an increased focus on student scores on end of grade test measures and their association with school performance grades, educators are forced to consider how to yield results. Limiting the disruptions and distractions throughout the school day shifts the focus to…

Physical education teacher education (PETE) programs require authentic, quality field experiences for their preservice teachers. Faculty often seek alternative experiences to public-school placements due to limited space, class size, location, and overwhelmed local schools. One opportunity in the surrounding community of many universities is the…

This mixed-methods study explores the relationship between early elementary students' domain-specific vocabulary knowledge and their ability to comprehend grade-level reading passages on unfamiliar science topics. Specifically, this study used (a) structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the extent to which students' networks of…

Multilingual learners (MLs) represent a substantial, growing segment of the PreK--12 population, including in rural areas. Several forces contribute to the increase of ML students in rural schools (e.g., immigrant labor, refugee crises). As we undergo a major cultural shift from a society that was (misguidedly) viewed as monolingual to one that is…

Research has been conducted on instructional leadership and the importance of instructional leadership, yet minimal research has been conducted on instructional leadership training models and principal perceptions on the impact of instructional leadership training on low performing schools. The problem addressed in this study was the current…

Background: Communities consist of interconnected sub-systems, such as schools, healthcare organizations, and businesses, each fulfilling specific functions that contribute to the overall well-being of the community. Effective community responses to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require collaboration across these sectors. However,…

High teacher turnover rates and less students entering into the teacher preparation programs has increased the need to better prepare and retain beginning teachers. The purpose of this mixed methods inquiry is to focus on the effect of Culturally Responsive Teaching professional development on beginning teacher self-efficacy relative to African…

Lacking a union and having a lower salary rating than most of the nation's states, North Carolina has had an increased number of teacher vacancies over the past decade. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of retention of qualified K-6 teachers across the state of North Carolina. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry study…

Many previous studies have measured elementary-aged students' connection to nature (CTN), but few have explicitly considered how the use of different terminology (e.g. 'nature' "versus" 'the outdoors') can influence those connections. We utilized a quasi-experimental design to test for differences in affective and self-reported…

A host of recent literature suggests benefits to Black children of being matched to same-race teachers. We extend this literature to explore whether being matched to a Black teacher is related to Black students' likelihood of being identified for two types of discretionary educational services in the following academic year: gifted education and…

Black girls' unique needs are often ignored in the educational system and left out of the literature, causing their voices to be unheard (Harrison, 2017). Their negative experiences in school can lead to frequent absences, gaps in education, and missed opportunities to pursue higher education. This increases the likelihood of Black girls dropping…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the impact of administrative support on staff mental health. Research questions were created for this research study and were investigated throughout its design and implementation. This research study involved participation from three district-approved schools: one elementary, one middle, and…

Based on 1,364 children across Grades 1, 3, and 5, the present study explored the mutualism of (externalizing and internalizing) behavioral problems and language, and whether social skills explained such mutualism. The random intercept cross-lagged panel models were conducted to control for between-person level variance and to explore mutualism of…