Play is an important dimension of learning for all students. When students are allowed to play, amazing things happen. Students start to tell stories, explore new concepts, and learn in authentic ways. Some of these experiences are constructed with peers, while others are created individually. Discoveries are made by connecting one student's ideas…

This qualitative case study focused on one public school district that has successfully sustained innovative educational initiatives over several years. The purpose of the study was to explore the factors that contribute to sustaining innovative initiatives in a public school district through the perspectives and experiences of administrators,…

School principals are uniquely positioned to bring innovative programs to K-12 schools. Therapy dog programs are one such program that has received much attention from educational communities nationwide. The problem is that while several studies can be found proposing the benefits of therapy dog programs in school settings, there needs to be more…

Rapidly changing student expectations are driving a need for increasingly innovative technology systems in higher education. This quantitative research study evaluated the problem of understanding ways to effectively drive adoption of innovative technology within higher education. Emotional intelligence was researched and analyzed as a possible…

The COVID-19 pandemic that took the world by storm in 2020 had a large-scale effect not only on the world, but also on the field of education. Most educational systems were not equipped to address the needs of the students, families, faculty, staff, and community as they related to education. This study explores the administrative response to the…

A disproportionate number of European American male students are enrolled in cyberscience undergraduate degree programs, despite attempts to attract diverse student populations in the field. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to gain a better understanding on how cyberscience academic experts perceive the challenges related to the…

The reasons for success and well-being, and therefore of inequality, are numerous. A large number of systemic factors influence who succeeds or fails, who is healthy or sick. These factors, many of which are hard to understand or measure, interact in important and surprising ways. In contrast, humans tend to choose simple explanations of the…

Our nation's 16,800 school districts spend billions of dollars a year on professional development. The best professional development is a critical need. Many educators enter teaching underprepared, especially in our communities of concentrated poverty. However, in reality, professional development often reflects our most anachronistic practices,…

This qualitative Case Study sought to evaluate the perceptions of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's professional service delivery from the New Accelerated Promotions Program perspective. Institutional Theory, Transformational Leadership Theory, and Social Learning Theory were used as the primary lens for this study. JCF institutional documents on…

Christian colleges and universities are a small but important subset of higher education institutions. Financial pressures at these private four-year institutions continue to drive institutional leaders towards innovation and new sources of revenue in an attempt to achieve financial security. This study applies resource dependence theory as a lens…

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…

The research for this dissertation is presented in manuscript format with an introduction, an in-depth outline of three manuscripts related to this study, and a conclusion that follows. As design-based research serving as the foundation to this work, the first manuscript used networked inquiry to uncover what teachers need in order to transform…

Through a basic qualitative research design, I sought to explore interpersonal leadership and its main functions. The individual opinions of 18 directors of leadership were solicited to explore how leaders are developing the next generation of leaders, their practices used to accomplish this, and how they facilitated development. I further sought…

Despite calls from national initiatives for increased STEM learning in the K-12 classroom, addressing STEM in teacher preparation programs has received minimal attention (Brown, 2012). As a result, most courses remained siloed within specific content areas, with little integration (Bergman & Morphew, 2015). This has led to many elementary…

This applied dissertation was designed to provide concise information and research to delineate the role of the virtual school principal (VSP). The research available was outdated, scarce, or inadequate. The role of VSPs and the challenges that are faced were unclear. This researcher has found very little evidence to establish whether virtual…