Perceived self-efficacy is an important aspect that educational leaders must possess to be successful in the public-school setting. Constant changes in legislation require principals to have high levels of self-efficacy to perform their duties as administrators. Principal preparedness programs have failed to completely prepare candidates to be…

Black women are among the diverse members of society seeking to gain access to leadership roles in education, specifically, to serve as principals in Texas. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black women who have become principals in Texas. The qualitative research method with…

Many special education teachers experience low self-efficacy when it comes to supporting the problematic behavior of their students. Low self-efficacy not only results in emotional exhaustion, burnout, and decreased retention, but also directly impacts the success of students in the classroom. The problem this qualitative descriptive study sought…

COVID-19, social distasting, and synchronous versus asynchronous learning have continued to widen gaps in students' knowledge. Teachers have largely been responsible for closing those gaps with little to no additional resources, except for what new state mandates have in place such as House Bill 4545 in Texas. Previous research has shown that new…

The purpose of this study was to examine if a relationship existed between the self-efficacy and grit of selected principals; the differences in self-efficacy and grit among the principals who did and did not participate in a principal development program; and the differences in self-efficacy, grit, and persistence in the job role of the selected…

Minimal research has been conducted regarding success factors of high school students in rural districts. Through archival data retrieval, student interviews, and observations, this mixed methods study sought to identify success factors of juniors and seniors enrolled at one rural public school in South Texas. The impact of support systems, the…

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has profoundly impacted and transformed how schools operate, teach, and learn. Those without access to new technologies are cut off from the huge dividends that ICT provides, commonly referred to as the digital divide. The digital divide is a complex and layered phenomenon, which extends…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to restory the lived experiences of educators teaching students identified as dyslexic in their public-school classrooms. This study was qualitative, using a narrative inquiry research design to understand the third and fourth grade teacher's thoughts and understanding of students identified dyslexic as…

This study investigated the relationship between principal self-efficacy and campus accountability rating and whether there were any differences in self-efficacy and outcome expectancy based on campus rating. 29 public school principals in Texas elected to participate in the study which included demographic questions, a question related to outcome…

School principals are tasked with a daunting number of responsibilities, all of which must culminate in increased student achievement. The complexity of these responsibilities have left school leaders overwhelmed, resulting in diminished confidence and potentially substandard job performance. This study addressed the problem that many school…

The purpose of this dissertation-in-practice was to examine the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of K-5 elementary school teachers in a suburban Central Texas school on their use of blended learning in the classroom. Before conducting the study, previous research on blended learning was reviewed in the areas of student achievement, student…

The incorporation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools has been shown to improve academic and psychological health of students. Research has been limited regarding implementation of SEL programs in rural communities, where student needs are heightened. The current study examined factors that could impact teachers' intentions to be…

Many educator preparation programs have formal and informal mentoring for pre-service teachers. However, few educator preparation programs continue the mentoring of mathematics teachers after graduation. This qualitative research examines the impact of a mentoring network for pre-service mathematics teachers embedded in the educator preparation…

This empirical study compared the organizational identification and professional identity of teachers in charter and regular public schools. The purpose of study was three-fold; the first was to investigate whether charter school teachers differ from their regular public school peers in the study variables (i.e. self-efficacy, perceived…

Guided by self-determination theory, this study investigated the extent to which factors of teachers' school-work environments predict their self-efficacy and intrinsic value for teaching. Participants were 217 mathematics teachers working in Texas public schools. Results indicated that principals' autonomy support positively predicted teachers'…