Purpose: Three major purposes were present in this journal-ready dissertation. The first purpose was to determine the monies spent for Guidance Counseling Services, Social Work Services, and Instructional Leadership per pupil in real dollars and as a percent of the total monies at Texas elementary, middle, and high schools. The second purpose was…

The purpose of this study was to explore how district funding for 4 years of PSAT administrations for all students in Grades 8-11 impacted Hispanic students at a North Texas school district. Using college admissions data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), the researcher examined overall district-wide college admissions percentages for…

Lowel Mason highlights the importance of integrating music learning into the curriculum alongside other fundamental skills such as reading, promoting his belief in the transformative power of music education and its impact on child development. Mason stated, "Children must be taught music as they are taught to read" (Pemberton, 1992).…

International assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) have exhibited United States students specifically in the fourth and eighth grades, are not performing well when compared to their international peers. Educational stakeholders including…

With the emphasis on high standards and fiscal accountability, there is a heightened need to inform the research linking student achievement to the allocation of resources. This mixed methods inquiry sought to study how schools utilized Title 1 and Title 1 stimulus funding from 2009-2011 to determine if correlations existed between areas of…

The development of quality educational programs, designed to meet the needs of all students, is a pivotal responsibility of educators and yet a considerable challenge due to the diverse needs in each school. Many consider the Response to Intervention (RtI) model to be one initiative with the greatest potential to improve education for all students…

A quantitative nonexperimental survey study was developed to investigate Northeast Tennessee K-8 educators' perceptions of STEM education. This study was an examination of current perceptions of STEM education. Perceived need, current implementation practices, access to STEM resources, definition of STEM, and the current condition of STEM in…

The current financial state of our nation, in combination with the pressure to meet state accountability testing and a global call for better prepared twenty first century learners, has produced a situation where all levels of government have to make difficult decisions regarding expenditures. In order to ensure that education receives appropriate…

This case study dissertation examines the implementation of digital technology in a mid-sized public school district in southern Minnesota. The methodology involved unstructured interviews and close observation of several teachers, administrators and related staff in the junior-senior high building. These observations were presented in informative…

The purpose of this research study is to compare student achievement changes between matched QEIA and non-QEIA schools in an effort to infer effects of the most significant feature of QEIA funding, class size reduction. The study addressed the critical question--are there demonstrated, significant differences in student achievement gains between…

This quantitative study explores the 2010 recommendation of the Educational Funding Advisory Board to consider the Evidence-Based Adequacy model of school funding in Illinois. This school funding model identifies and costs research based practices necessary in a prototypical school and sets funding levels based upon those practices. This study…

This study presents an analysis of the anti-bullying policies of 24 South Carolina middle schools that were involved in the "Abbeville" lawsuit. These schools sued the state of South Carolina alleging that the school finding system was inadequate. The schools are plagued with numerous problems including being among the lowest performing…

The decision in the 1989 landmark Kentucky case, "Rose v. Council for Better Education," initiated many reforms to ensure that children have access to an adequate education, including funding new construction and renovations for school facilities. The purpose of this instrumental, qualitative case study is to describe how the additional…

My dissertation consists of three chapters that focus on the economics of education. In particular I look at public school financing, gender discrimination in advising, and the effectiveness of out-of-school-time programs for disadvantaged schools. The first chapter analyzes the effect of an extremely large funding shock on Wyoming public schools…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollment and expenditure differed as a function of the accountability ratings of Texas public high schools. The extent to which CTE enrollment and expenditure influences accountability ratings is not clear. Accordingly, in this study, CTE…