Unfilled teaching positions are rising in South Carolina, increasing year over year. To combat this problem of practice, I conducted an improvement science study to understand factors that impact teacher satisfaction levels aimed to raise teacher retention rates. The study aimed to allow teachers to identify areas that school administrators can…

I examined the relationship between career readiness and academic success among a sample of approximately 500 11th grade students from selected rural school districts in South Carolina. There is limited research regarding the relationship between career readiness and academic success. I used R2W assessments to measure career readiness and the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ninth-grade students' mathematics achievement in a rural school district located in South Carolina. Students enrolled in ninth grade prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2018- 2019 school year) Algebra I EOC scores were compared to the students enrolled in ninth grade for…

This study served two primary purposes: (a) to explore students' perceptions regarding the utilization of technology in their classroom-based instruction, and (b) to provide an overview of the current use of technology in classrooms that encompasses all high school students. The significance of the study was to contribute to the body of research…

High school principals can change the status quo of the current iniquitous disparities in the education system between South Carolina's rural high schools and their more populated and affluent suburban schools. Using a non-standard structure and the resources in their control, these school leaders can find solutions so schools can offer rural…

Many students in rural schools have negative school safety perceptions. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to investigate the school safety perceptions of students in rural elementary, middle, and high schools in a public school district in South Carolina. The school safety perceptions of students in grades three…

The purpose of this concurrent mixed methods action research study was to investigate the impact of new technology-enhanced Dual Enrollment (DE) math courses on students' perception of college courses, the influence the technology-enhanced DE had on students' intention of going to college, and the students' perception of the technology-enhanced DE…

Objective: We wanted to identify factors associated with pre-nursing student retention and success at a small, rural two-year institution in South Carolina. Method: Transcript analysis generated a dataset for pre-nursing students (N = 125). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze high school and university data. Results:…

In this study, we examine teachers' perceptions concerning the relative importance of different administrative supports for teacher retention across school levels (i.e., middle and high schools), retention status (i.e., low or high), and locale (i.e., rural and urban). Results from our Best--Worst Scaling analyses, with a sample of 178 South…

This study examined whether there was a significant difference between the End-of-Course Examination scores (EOC) across multiple academic disciplines between students who participated in sports and those who did not participate in athletics at all in three rural high schools in South Carolina. The theoretical foundation for this study was based…

The purpose of this qualitative, embedded single case study was to identify successful implementation and instructional strategies for one-to-one technologies, beyond the iPad, for teachers at a large, rural, midlands, South Carolina high school. The specific focus of this study was the perception of teachers integrating emerging one-to-one…

Historically, students who are identified with a learning disability have struggled with the acquisition of new material. Co-teaching is a model of instruction in which a certified special education teacher works alongside a content teacher to deliver instruction within an inclusion classroom. This research project used a qualitative methodology…

Alternatively certified teachers constitute a growing portion of public school educators in the U.S. This is a trend that is expected to continue, due to the declining enrollment in traditional teacher preparation programs across recent years. As such, this report examines the profiles of alternatively certified teachers working in South Carolina…

SC TEACHER's research mission includes publishing yearly reports that detail the South Carolina educator workforce, sharing insights with educators themselves, policymakers, community members, and other stakeholders. This report is an annual review of the state's public school teacher workforce. Analysis in this study uses statewide data from…

Blended learning is the instructional practice that involves both face-to-face and online learning in classroom instruction. The problem at a small rural school district in the South Carolina is, despite strong evidence of the benefits and use of blended learning, many classroom teachers at the high school level still fail to consistently…