The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to discover teachers' and administrators' perceptions on faculty trust and how faculty trust influenced teachers' job satisfaction and school morale in rural, East Tennessee elementary schools. The sample size of this study included 25 teachers and six administrators from two rural school…

The problem addressed in this study was that teachers feel ill-equipped to handle students who have been impacted by trauma. The purpose of this study was to examine the teachers' experiences in implementing a trauma informed schools (TIS) approach to classroom management in rural Tennessee. The theoretical framework used is Bronfenbrenner's…

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between teacher morale in relation to job satisfaction in a K-12 rural school district in West Tennessee using a quantitative correlational design. Data collection of 90 certified teachers included teacher survey results from the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire and the Basic Needs Satisfaction at Work…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine how four rural school districts in East Tennessee worked to implement the third-grade retention law within their understanding and interpretation of the law to the benefit of the students and overall communities they serve. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire format conducted with a…

Research was limited when it came to the perceptions of rural district and school leaders regarding the recruitment and retention of teachers of color. Beginning in 2021 2022, Tennessee's Educator Diversity Policy, 5.700 outlined requirements for local education agencies to submit goals, plans, and strategies to promote the recruitment and…

In the 1970s, educational policies excluded children with disabilities from general education classrooms. Children with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder, were educated in separate environments from their non-disabled peers with minimum attention to the curriculum. The number of students with autism spectrum disorder increased over…

This mixed-methods study examined the implementation of trauma-informed practices at a small, rural, public elementary school in Middle Tennessee. The researchers sought to determine the impact of trauma-informed training on student absences and behavior by examining pre-implementation and post-implementation attendance and office discipline…

This mixed-methods study examined the implementation of trauma-informed practices at a small, rural, public elementary school in Middle Tennessee. The researchers sought to determine the impact of trauma-informed training on student absences and behavior by examining pre-implementation and post-implementation attendance and office discipline…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to address the problem concerning the lack of research on how rural elementary school teachers describe their understanding and practice of ORF instruction in their classrooms, in the Southern part of the United States. John Dewey's conception of habits and reflective thinking was utilized to…

Research consistently shows that among young children, poor social skills and problem behaviors can lead to poor relationships with teachers and peers (Boivin et al., 1995), higher risk of academic failure (Buhs et al., 2006), and higher school dropout (Gilliam, 2005). Moreover, prekindergarten (PreK) and kindergarten (K) teachers report feeling…

Since the 1950s, curriculum theorists noticed the need for frameworks to guide teachers in planning for instruction. This led researchers and educators to examine the influence of systematic guidelines for instructional planning focused on in-person learning. In 2020, school systems across the United States began offering virtual learning options…

Background: Teachers describe their colleagues as one of their most valuable resources (Drury & Baer, 2011; Johnston & Tsai, 2018). Teachers often report seeking out colleagues who teach the same grade or subject to get advice or to plan instruction together (Frank, 2009; Spillane et al., 2015). Given that research shows that professional…

The psychometric integrity of a curriculum-based measure to screen for academic giftedness (Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Reading [MIR:R]) was evaluated by examining its ceiling, item gradient, and predictive capacity using 460 fourth grade students. Eighty fourth graders (17.39%) scored one standard deviation above the MIR:R mean. Ten…

This longitudinal case study explored one rural elementary art teacher's praxis for two years after she participated in professional development sessions on place-based education (PBE). These sessions focused specifically on PBE within the discipline of art for K-12 art educators in a geographically-large southeastern school district. Through…

Academic achievement and absenteeism are two areas that schools are held accountable. Helping families and communities understand the correlation between achievement and attendance is an essential part of improving attendance. The purpose of this research study was to compare student attendance and academic achievement on the CASE Benchmark exams…