The researcher explored empowerment, sustainability, and leadership pertaining to Texas' District of Innovation designations. House Bill 1842, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015, allowed qualifying districts to exempt certain sections of the Texas Education Code. The aim of these exemptions was to decentralize governance in order to…

For this study, I explored how Washington State University's Composition Program might further equip faculty to address the relationships of language, knowledge, and power--specifically as connected to whiteness, normativity, and colonization--within a composition class. Much scholarship within rhetoric and composition addresses these…

This action research study evaluated and sought to improve teacher professional development (PD) strategies designed to instill culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogies in classrooms at an elementary school. The study assessed participants' practical application and perceptions of the applicability of English learner instruction…

Building positive relationships with students and employing relevant pedagogy informed by Community Cultural Wealth will undoubtedly contribute to a more engaged community of learners that are vested in their community and academics. Aronson and Laughter (2015) amongst many others, studied and analyzed over 200 studies on the topic of culturally…

The purpose of this action research study was to link together theory and educational leaders' practice to give form to and improve their ability to make ethically sound decisions. The questions that guided the study included: 1. How can I, as a superintendent, lead the principals I work with to use all four ethical paradigms in their own decision…

Principals work within a complex context where multiple stakeholders make many competing demands of them. Chief among these demands includes district initiatives, which serve to create leadership expectations but often do not contain clear methods or practices for implementation. Additionally, demands of the local community and interests of…

The internationalization of higher education has resulted in a growing number of Western expatriate higher education administrators working as expatriates worldwide. The accelerated development of higher education in several countries on the Arabian Peninsula has included the global mobilization of student affairs and services administrators from…

The institution of schooling can be an anxiety provoking space for some students (Reda, 2009; White, 2011). One in every five children has mental health illnesses, and anxiety disorders are the most frequent condition (Merikangas, Nakamura, & Kessler, 2009). Teachers are in the unique position of being able to observe students' variations in…

This dissertation focuses on the development and implementation of an action research study that seeks to determine the impact of integrating literacy strategies in the biology classroom on standardized test scores. The teacher-researcher identified the problem of practice in her classroom after four years of observation of ninth-grade biology…

The purpose of this study was to construct knowledge about the intersections between a teacher educator's discourses and pre-service teacher identity performances in a university classroom. The researcher used Mills' (2011) action research design to examine the ways she intersected with the identity performances of 24 pre-service teachers in a…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a culturally relevant and responsive intervention (i.e., the Hip Hop Learning Community) could develop a foster youth's cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005). The Hip Hop Learning Community intervention was developed using a Hip Hop Empowerment Model, combining Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Model…

More students with High Functioning Autism (HFA) are in inclusive settings than ever before, however, the physical combination of students with HFA and their typical peers alone is insufficient to address the social needs of students with HFA. Students with HFA in inclusive settings require evidence-based practices (EBPs) for social skills to be…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the social and cultural instructional process on independent reading. In addition, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the administrator-teacher relationship on educational practices in a lab site classroom. Using an action research design, data was collected through…

Most bilingual programs are built around a clear separation between the two languages used throughout the school day. However, in bilingual research centers (BRCs), a key component of the Gomez and Gomez Dual Language Enrichment model, students can choose which language to use. This is what sparked my interest, because I wanted to understand more…

This action research study, informed by qualitative critical bricolage methods explored immigrant-origin adult learners' lived experiences around education. It examined a California community college's practices and campus climate that hinder adult immigrant learners' equitable access to and success in postsecondary education. In an attempt to…