The purposes of this study were twofold: determine how teacher perceptions change over time in their ability to create a desired effect on student learning and examine the differences between principal and teacher perceptions of teacher efficacy. Principals and teachers at 150 public schools, broken down as 50 from elementary schools with a grade…

As of 2001 with the mandates issued under No Child Left Behind, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) revised its standards to ensure that all students receive a quality mathematics education (NCTM, 2008). The 2009 report from U.S. Department of Education revealed that there is an increase in the number of minority students…

Teachers are entering the classroom through a variety of certification routes and programs responsible for training prospective teachers in the areas of curriculum, assessment, theory, pedagogy, and classroom management. Once certification is received, these teachers enter the classroom and face many issues, including discipline in the classroom…

This case study investigates the equity practice of secondary mathematics teachers in an urban secondary school specifically structured to support students becoming critical citizens; able to analyze the world; and empowered to act, individually and collectively, for the good of their communities and the larger society. The study is framed by two…

Although technology is common in our society, it has not universally become an expected practice in our schools. The problem that was addressed by the qualitative, case study design is that teachers and administrators do not share an understanding of educational technology leadership. School leaders that do not understand the needs of classroom…

With a growing demand for an enhanced K-12 education for strengthening students' conceptual learning, interest, and career awareness in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, teacher professional development projects have been viewed as an efficient approach. However, a variety of external and teacher factors may prevent such projects…

There is a persistent and growing shortage in the supply of "highly qualified" future science and mathematics teachers in the nation's classrooms. As a consequence, as many as 53% science and 23% math students take classes from teachers who are teaching out-of-field. Currently, there are many established programs that provide incentives…

This critical case study addressed how the achievement gap reflects the culture gap between teachers and historically underrepresented students. This study allows educators to consider how attitudes on culture and diversity impact student achievement. It makes visible existing teacher and student relationships in a rural school system through the…

As educational leaders struggle to meet state and federal mandates, many students graduate from high school without the skills necessary to meet the demands of a college education. Guided by the tenets of constructivism, this qualitative case study explored college students' perceptions of their college preparedness through math, science, and…

Many secondary schools in Utah have adopted the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) pre-engineering program. Little research has been conducted in Utah to show how successful these programs are or what factors are perceived to contribute to that success. This research is about defining PLTW program success and identifying factors perceived to improve…

Within the framework of social cognitive theory, the influence of self-efficacy beliefs and metacognitive prompting on genetics problem solving ability among high school students in Kenya was examined through a mixed methods research design. A quasi-experimental study, supplemented by focus group interviews, was conducted to investigate both the…

The research centered on secondary mathematics teachers' beliefs, attitudes, knowledge base, and practices in meeting the academic and language needs of English language learners. Using socio-cultural theory and social practice theory to frame the study, the research design employed a mixed methods approach incorporating self-reported surveys,…

Throughout the history of education, it has been noted that teachers are influential people in lives of children (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Daisey, 2010; Gambrell, 1996; Ruddell, 1995). Children spend one-third (or more) of the day with teachers; and as they enter into adolescence, children come in contact with more and more teachers during…

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of integrating new literacies practices into high school curriculum content classrooms. This study examined data collected through observations and semi-structured interviews conducted with four high school content curriculum teachers. Analysis of the data resulted in essential findings emerging…

The nature of teaching expertise for form-focused instruction (FFI) in secondary schools has received little research attention. FFI research that has been carried out so far has devoted time in exploring the classification of one form of FFI, or the effectiveness of one form of FFI over another. Given that exploring teaching expertise for FFI in…