Public schools in America are experiencing a massive decline in student enrollment, resulting in school consolidations and closures across the nation. (Dee, 2023). This decline has many implications, particularly in rural areas, such as Northeast Tennessee. These implications and the public pressure to maintain high graduation rates and academic…

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to examine veteran high school teachers' perspectives concerning dishonesty in the classroom, teachers and administrative management, and the role of moral leaders in an environment where dishonest behavior occurs. These three objectives aided this investigator in forming and guiding the research questions.…

Rural Appalachia encompasses a region of the United States represented by unique cultural strengths and systemic challenges. To meet their students' career and college needs, school counselors working in rural Appalachia must understand the cultural nuances of the region. Consensual qualitative research (CQR) methodology revealed five domains and…

The researchers' mixed-method study provided an analysis of exam exemption policies. The researchers determined what impact exam exemptions have on high school students' attendance (days absent) and academic achievement (grade average) and analyzed perceptions surrounding exam exemptions as motivators. The researchers determined the difference…

The era of accountability and a rise in standardized testing during recent years have emerged from policy reform initiatives designed to increase student performance. While the goal was to increase learning standards, it has not yielded the dramatic improvements expected. This study explored if there was a statistically significant difference in…

Nearly one quarter of all youth with disabilities attend rural schools. Supporting the successful postschool transitions of these youth can be a complex and challenging endeavor. In this study, we used "community conversation" events as a methodology for identifying the practices and partnerships needed to improve transition outcomes for…

Research was limited when it came to identifying the perceptions of high school teachers regarding virtual schooling, chronic absenteeism, and class participation especially in rural areas. With the rise in wide-scale implementation of virtual school options as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, educational leaders and policy makers implemented…

Since the early 1900s, educational leaders and policymakers looked to consolidation as a way for rural schools and school systems to overcome financial challenges and improve the educational experiences for students. Stakeholders were met with conflicting claims about the effects of school and system consolidation. Proponents of consolidation…

After the COVID-19 pandemic came to the United States in March 2020, teachers and educational leaders looked to virtual learning as a way for students to overcome learning challenges and improve educational experiences for students. Stakeholders were met with conflicting claims about virtual learning. Proponents of virtual learning claimed virtual…

This non-experimental, quantitative study was completed to determine if Tennessee high school students who take an online, asynchronous course better their digital literacy through the environment of online learning. The study focused on the pretest and posttest scores of Niswonger Online students during the spring and summer semesters of 2021. It…

Recommendations for teaching the nature of science (NOS) are grounded in a deficit view of students and/or the public--wherein people accept pseudoscientific claims, particularly about evolution, because they do not adequately understand what counts as being "scientific." Under the deficit view, correct views of science are defined by…

With more rigorous standards and testing at the forefront of educational reform across the nation, the rural school district in this study developed a strategic compensation plan with bonus pay based on student test scores as a teacher success incentive. A causal-comparative study was conducted to examine the effect of teacher merit pay levels on…

We explore the impacts of a Consortium of rural high schools and colleges in Tennessee engaged in partnership activities to improve high school students' college and career readiness. These 29 Consortium schools received support from the federal Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) to scale up local promising practices, including distance and online…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of integrating theatre-arts strategies and traditional strategies in high school English classrooms. The sample consisted of one eleventh grade English class of twenty-one students. Data were collected from students' cumulative grades. The study was conducted throughout an eighteen-week term,…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether Modeling Instruction, compared to traditional lecturing, is an effective instructional method to promote academic achievement in selected high school physics classes at a rural middle Tennessee high school. This study used an "ex post facto," quasi-experimental research methodology. The…