To develop as writers, students require regular practice writing and examples of quality texts that can serve as guides for their own writing. Reading like a writer (RLW) is a specific way of reading that can benefit student writers. The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study was to examine the writing decisions of 19 eighth grade…

The purpose of this intrinsic qualitative case study was to understand the meaning-making experiences and experienced-based decision making that occur among middle school girls while playing the tabletop role playing game Dungeons & Dragons through the online videoconferencing platform zoom. table-top games have been played in some form for…

Dramatic fluctuations in employment trends pose a problem for young adolescents embarking on the career decision-making process. Paired with inadequate career-guidance resources, this creates a serious societal problem. This study empirically examined relationships among eighth-grade students' perceptions of relatedness, autonomy, and competence…

This phenomenological study examined how eighth grade students in a privileged suburban community and school district understood their civic identities and saw their roles and responsibilities as citizens. Through analyzing artifacts the student participants generated in their eighth grade civics social studies class and conducting semi-structured…

The purpose of this study was to develop and explore the factor structure of the Student Engagement in Social-Emotional Learning Skills (SE-SELS) survey, a newly designed assessment that assesses students' knowledge and use of five social-emotional learning skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and…

The typical middle school in the United States is designed for superficial learning rather than deeper learning, compliance rather than engagement. This study sought to understand and develop problem-based learning (PBL), student choice, and community partnerships to increase deeper learning. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of…

In the 2017-18 school year, 18% of New York students opted out of a mandated state assessment test. On Long Island, that number was closer to 50% of students opting out of one or more tests. The implications of this phenomenon are far-reaching, but unknown. This study seeks to better understand both who opts out and the potential impact of opt out…

The researcher explored the impact of a student voice initiative (SVI), the Student Ambassador Council (SAC), on the social-emotional competencies (SECs) of middle school, 5th-8th grades students. Drawing upon the principles of youth empowerment, more specifically Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR), and social-emotional learning (SEL), the…

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study sought to understand the influences of teaching experience on perceptions of autonomy and competence on 7th through 12th grade English language arts teachers' text selection decisions through a survey and interviews. The findings of this explanatory sequential design survey study could affirm…

The math intervention program, Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), at a Public Middle School (pseudonym) in the Northeast United States, was implemented for eighth grade middle school math students, but researchers have not measured its effectiveness. Grounded in the cultural relevance pedagogy, the purpose of this quantitative…

In a hypercompetitive academic culture propelled by acceptance into the nation's prestigious colleges and universities, there has been a growing number of secondary students who are fixated on pursuing advanced coursework. This phenomenon of students beginning a sequence of advanced mathematics courses at the middle school level so they can take…

This study focused on a seven-week social emotional intervention for the eighth grade student at Olive Middle School. This study used the action research method that identifies problem and then collects and analyzes the data. The social emotional learning intervention was integrated into the English curriculum and of the 117 students who invited…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how special education teachers describe selecting and applying differentiated instructional strategies for students with mild, moderate, to severe disabilities in self-contained classrooms within a school district in Arizona. Jean Piaget's social constructivism theory and Carol Ann…

An increasing number of parents are opting-out their children from high-stakes. Accountability systems in education have used students' test scores to measure student learning, teacher effectiveness, and school district performance. Students who are opted-out of high-stakes tests are not being evaluated by the state tests, making their level of…

Students classified as English learners (EL) are a protected class of students with core legal rights. There are clear opportunities to strengthen education policies and practices to improve opportunities and outcomes for EL-classified students. This dissertation is comprised of three studies examining key issues in EL education with the goal of…