The purpose of this qualitative case study on implementing the Innovative High School Models Grant was to examine administrators' and teachers' experiences integrating college and career readiness programming into Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways. Forward-thinking leadership and strategic partnerships were key to the initiative's…

Georgia established the Dual Enrollment Accelerated Career Diploma (ACD) program in 2015 to address its skilled trades workforce shortage (Dual Enrollment Act, 2015: Williams, 2015). ACD allows high school students to earn their diplomas by replacing several of their graduation-required credits with technical college credentials earned through…

The purpose of this narrative study was to explore professional development experiences intended to support the development and implementation of innovative teaching and learning strategies in the traditional K-12 educational setting, from the perspective and lived experience of educators. The sample of this study was four white, female educators…

This dissertation investigates the intersection of economics of innovation and human capital development to understand how to empower individuals and marginalized communities to be directed to innovation and STEM disciplines. The research focuses on three main chapters: Chapter 1 examines the effectiveness of an education program in teaching and…

The purpose of the current study was to investigate if high schools in an innovative school model in the United States adhere to the mission of the model over time or if they drift away from their mission. The innovative school model asks its school to make commitments to design aspects that help determine the power structures in the school, the…

Public school campus administrators shape and build the campus learning environment through the policies and structures that they develop. Clarity through campus expectations and alignment to a common set of standards allows faculty and staff opportunities to align efforts - trainings, modeling opportunities, support networks - and exposure to…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational systems, leading to significant learning loss and credit deficiencies among high school students, particularly in California's comprehensive high schools. This research addressed these challenges by exploring innovative strategies through a social-ecological model and ecological systems theory to improve…

The study investigated how schoolteachers and administrators perceive innovative and engaging teaching practices in Southeastern U.S. high schools. Perceptual data was collected from high school teachers to determine whether they believe their professional development adequately prepares them to use innovative and engaging instructional practices…

Public school districts play a pivotal role in the well-being of rural communities. To help mitigate the impact of labor market trends, societal shifts, and the skilled labor shortage, rural schools are in the initial stages of expanding innovative career pathways. As such, career and technical education (CTE) administrators serve their rural…

Teachers and administrators should work together to develop research-based, sensible strategies that model around Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) and social-emotional learning (SEL), common methods for disruptive innovation, to satisfy college and/or career goals. Throughout the literature review, two components were…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) exists for those students who want to enter the world of work sooner rather than later; who wish to learn from teachers who are experts in their field, whether in class settings and internships and/or apprenticeships. CTE practitioners in suburban settings, whether they are teachers or administrators, have not…

This descriptive, qualitative case study investigated how three high school teachers in non-STEM subject areas developed integrated STEM (iSTEM) pedagogies for conventional classroom lessons in a high-technology makerspace. The school in focus adopted a STEM teaching policy that required all teachers to implement iSTEM teaching in the school's…

This qualitative, improvement science, autoethnographic case study aims to examine a unique perspective on rural research through the lens of place-conscious leadership. With an identified problem of inequity in advanced-level course offerings, which resulted in lost student opportunities and student attrition to neighboring schools, the…

Students today require skills and dispositions different from those of the past. Despite ongoing efforts to initiate change in schools through reform efforts, little has changed within educational institutions. Current reform efforts do, however, create conditions for principals to lead disruptive innovation within their schools. Research is…

The study investigated users' perspectives on My Path to Learning (MPTL), an interactive cloud technology, as a tool for differentiating instruction in phonology and spelling for K-8 students. The study aimed to enhance the digital platform by incorporating and acting upon user feedback. The researcher collected qualitative data to examine the…