College readiness has been a primary focus of U.S. secondary education for over 40 years. Despite the continued focus on college readiness at the national, state, and local levels, researchers have claimed that educational reforms have resulted in little gains in students' college readiness, warranting continued emphasis and research. To advance…

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is a pedagogy that promotes social justice by improving the educational experiences of students of color. This study aims to explore factors that influence teachers' agency to implement CRT. Semistructured interviews were conducted with sixteen teachers who had adopted CRT practices in the South-Central…

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…

This study focused on middle school and high school teachers in an independent school to explore their experiences and perceptions of overparenting in the classroom. The problem addressed by this study was the lack of understanding concerning middle and high school teachers' experiences and perceptions of overparenting in an independent school.…

Research has found a positive correlation between the English proficiency, teaching self-efficacy and professional development (PD) of English-as-a-Foreign-Language teachers who are L2 speakers of English. Yet, there is scant research on these variables for teachers of other languages teaching in English-speaking countries. This mixed-methods…

Teachers (n=14) at four high schools in North Carolina were interviewed about their perspectives of evaluation policy at two time points during the 2016-2017 school year. This study specifically examined statements teachers made about feedback from observations using de-identified interview transcripts. Teachers discussed feedback from formal…

This qualitative instrumental case study was designed to examine secondary teachers' perspectives of North Carolina's school-based mental health policy, known as SHLT003, which mandates all educators be trained in identifying, referring, and supporting, students showing signs of mental health issues, drug use, suicidal ideation, and sex…

Educator sexual misconduct continues to present a problem in U.S. K-12 schools. As mandatory reporters, K-12 educators must report any suspicion of educator sexual misconduct, but despite state and federal laws regarding reporting, educator sexual misconduct often goes unreported. The purpose of this exploratory phenomenological study was to learn…

Secondary course assignment substantially determines a teacher's day-to-day work life, incentivizing them to realize their personal desires, which prior work shows tend to be working with more advanced students. Teachers have varying abilities to enact these desires, potentially due to their political capital, which is largely influenced by…

This study explores social studies teachers' self-reported instruction about teaching the 2020 election in U.S. secondary schools. We analyzed survey responses from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers from 12 states (3 left-leaning, 3 right-leaning, 6 battleground) collected in the weeks after the election, examining self-reported pedagogies,…

Schools across the nation faced a teacher shortage, and North Carolina was no exception. North Carolina leaders used alternatively licensed teachers to fill vacancies. The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to compare beginning alternatively licensed teachers' perceptions to principals' perceptions of the needed and implemented…

Implemented by Pfeiffer University, REPERTOIRE: Recruiting Educators, Preparing Educators, and Retaining Teachers to Optimize Interest in Rural Education was a collaborative partnership with Montgomery and Stanly County Schools in rural North Carolina. Pfeiffer University and the Division of Education and Division of Arts and Sciences provided…

A teacher shortage continues to plague the SBAE profession. While this shortage has been quantified and explored from the perspective of individual teachers, little research has taken a systemic approach to the problem of the SBAE teacher shortage. We posit the teacher shortage problem as inextricably linked to a convoluted job description and…

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) is a schoolwide initiative implemented in many schools to address discipline concerns and promote a positive school climate. This phenomenological study examined the school climate perceptions of 12 staff members from three secondary schools in two North Carolina school districts that implemented…

Using survey research methodology, the study investigates assessment and grading practices of secondary school teachers. A total of 248 teachers in the Piedmont and coastal regions of North Carolina completed a web-based survey examining academic and nonacademic factors that impacted the final grades of their students and assessment types used in…