Service-learning is defined and applied in myriad ways across the world. While the roots of this pedagogy lie in the well-intentioned acts of addressing unmet social needs and, in general, helping people, this has not always been the outcome of the interactions. In many cases, engaging in service-learning has led to harmful reproductions of…

Today's elementary teacher candidates (TCs) are entering a world of public education decimated by decades of neoliberal education reforms (Kumashiro, 2010; Lipman, 2012) exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (Giroux, 2021) and the current white-supremacist, heteropatriarchal backlash (Pendharkar, 2022). For justice-oriented TCs, finding agency in…

This mixed-methods descriptive case study examined how a public research university's elementary education teacher preparation program develops social and emotional competence (SEC) in preservice teachers. Using Engestrom's Expansive Learning Theory framework, the study analyzed the tools and mediating artifacts within the program's learning…

School leadership has progressed from a principal-led position to a dual-leader position with assistant principals. Assistant principals have stepped into instructional leadership roles and have been identified as overseeing special education (Best, 2016; Gaston, 2005; Walton, 2008). Despite studies determining that assistant principals are…

This dissertation showcases collective sensemaking in action. The study was situated in a larger North Carolina project, in which educators took a systems approach to update the state's instructional guidance infrastructure during content standards reform. Specifically, I investigated how K-5 educators from multiple stakeholder groups--teachers,…

This transcendental phenomenological study, grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1997), investigates K-4 specialized literacy professionals' (SLPs) experiences and perceptions of implementing Response to Intervention (RTI) within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. Data collected from interviews and self-reported journal…

A limited body of research exists that considers reading teachers' perceptions and attitudes about a dialogic approach to teaching (Dunn, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate elementary reading teachers' perceptions and attitudes about a dialogic approach to teaching. Sociocultural Theory was the framework that…

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become an increasingly important factor in education globally. The social structure in developing countries such as Ghana has created a need for government to work with NGOs in the educational system to reach out to children and provide quality basic, primary education, especially in rural communities.…

School accountability is necessary to measure school and student success. School accountability status, parent-teacher communication, and parent involvement since the online gradebook implementation have been factors in education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and evaluate patterns among teachers using the online…

Engaging parents and families in their children's lives is pivotal to youth's success in school and life. When families are engaged, youth obtain higher grades, attend school more frequently, perform better on high-stakes testing, display improved behavior and are more likely to graduate from school (Emerson et al., 2012; Goodall & Montgomery,…

In this study, based on responses to a modified version of Harrelson's School Improvement Survey, the researcher examined the differences, if any, in the perceived support available to PK-8 teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, paraprofessionals, and support staff in a new PK-8 turnaround school in a southern state during the second…

Research has indicated educational leaders have had to redefine how leadership is practiced in schools. Because of the increase of accountability measures and responsibilities of the K-12 administrator, there has been a shift in leadership from the "lone" leader to leadership including principals, teachers, and other school leaders. The…

Schools must help all students achieve. Leaders who understand the elements of culture and their impact on an organization can be very effective. In 2015, as part of a strategy to cultivate healthy school cultures, the State of Michigan deployed a new self-reporting school culture inventory as part of each school's annual reporting. In this…

In the United States American Indian, Hispanic, and African-American students are at-risk subgroups in public schools due to issues of inequity, which include the quality of teachers and the preparation of future teachers. Professional Development Schools offer a framework for the success of all students. The purpose of this qualitative case study…

Are graduates of teacher preparation programs adequately prepared with the skills and knowledge to teach in the 21st century classroom? This study consisted of a quantitative content analysis to investigate the presence of 21st century knowledge and skills within a stratified random sample of teacher preparation programs in the United States as…