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…

Agricultural and environmental literacy are essential public goods, but associated education efforts struggle to reach broad audiences. Understanding learner backgrounds and lived experiences can help address this challenge. We assessed the relative importance of demographics, parent views of agriculture, interactions with farmers and parents, and…

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated school buildings to close in March of 2020 across the United States. From that time forward, many students remained in virtual learning environments, unable to step onto campus. The remote environments were isolating and struggled to support the academic or social and emotional needs of many students. The…

Statement of Purpose and Method of Study: This descriptive research aimed to explore third-grade reading laws in nine southeastern states. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 participants from the states included in this study and integrated both quantitative archival reading assessment data and qualitative interview data…

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,…

Background: There is substantial descriptive and correlational evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated achievement gaps, as historically underserved students have fallen farther behind in reading. Furthermore, contextual factors like concentrated poverty have systematically amplified the negative effects of the pandemic. Recent data…

Purpose: This article examines the relationship between educational and residential segregation in three school districts with differing approaches to student assignment. Racial and income segregation within school districts is often only examined at the school level, even as school patterns are often related to residential and attendance zone…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine coping strategies for teachers in elementary schools who taught during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers experienced mental, physical, and spiritual challenges throughout the pandemic, and this study shared how teachers coped. Through this study, 48 teachers serving in three different elementary…

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…

This study explored K-4 teachers and school district curriculum leadership's understanding of and inclination to implement culturally relevant pedagogy as a framework for teaching reading, especially for African American students. This qualitative study sought the potential basis that teachers and educational leaders retain from their experiences…

Background: Over 15% of kindergarten and first grade students in U.S. public schools are English learners (ELs) (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2021). Many classroom teachers, however, have not had specialized training in providing instruction for ELs. The BELLA (Bridging English Language Learning and Academics) professional…