The problem addressed by the study was African American and Hispanic students' literacy scores remain the lowest of all ethnicities at high schools in a district, despite the implementation of numerous initiatives and curricular platforms. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate how high school teachers perceive their…

This causal-comparative study analyzed third grade reading scores from the National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) K-2011, by one of five school types, and four U.S. geographical regions. Forty-one of 50 states were represented. The problem studied is the unexplained elementary reading performance…

As gentrifying dual language (DL) schools in the United States increasingly attract students with linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic privilege, a key consideration is whether these schools are intentionally supporting the specific needs and assets of emergent bilingual (EB) students from Latinx families. This dissertation of practice examined…

This quantitative study aimed to examine the relationships between third grade reading instructional strategies in high-performing Title-One schools compared to low-performing Title-One schools in four school districts in South Carolina. The study was framed through the lens of Marzano's Theoretical Framework which outlined specific instructional…

This study sought to find if the implementation of the strategy of goal setting and reflective portfolios would improve reading comprehension among long-term English learners (LTELs), which in turn would impact their FastBridge aReading scores. LTELs have difficulty reclassifying, resulting in negative outcomes regarding graduation rates and…

This theoretical study examines the use of visual images as a bridge to and from printed literary texts for secondary-level and higher-education students. Elementary educators and literacy experts have long embraced the visual as a means through which pre-readers begin to "read" stories and for supporting young readers' comprehending…

According to the study, teachers' beliefs significantly shape the instructional practices they choose to employ in the classroom. The study's overarching goal was to ascertain whether children's emergent literacy development (ages 3 and 4) is positively influenced by their early childhood teachers' social-emotional instruction, reading pedagogy,…

With the developmental education (DE) reform movement at postsecondary still apace, this qualitative study seeks to understand the policy impacts of Florida Senate Bill 1720, major legislation mandating developmental education reform in the state of Florida. The body of literature thus far has focused on quantitative analyses of secondary data…

Students with Learning disabilities and at risk for reading difficulties often face challenges in reading fluency and comprehension that impact negatively on academic success. Repeated reading (RR) is an intervention designed to increase reading fluency and comprehension skills among students at risk and diagnosed with disabilities. The purpose of…

Numerous urban elementary schools have utilized reading intervention programs that provide remedial instruction to improve students' reading achievement levels. However, the success of these programs is contingent on the fidelity of implementation. Educators have long grappled with the best ways to support struggling readers, as they present with…

Instructional coaching has been implemented in schools to improve student achievement; however, literature shows a lack of evidence of the efficacy of improving student reading achievement. The problem addressed in this study was that school districts have implemented instructional coaching to improve student reading achievement, but the…

Early childhood language experiences influence how a child's mind and brain process language and acquire literacy. For children growing up bilingual, their two languages interact in their minds, and these cross-linguistic influences can lead to unique neurocognitive mechanisms for language and reading compared to monolinguals. In this…

Teaching children to read has been one of the primary functions of education systems throughout history; however, not all children are adequately prepared for reading success. Students with disabilities, particularly those identified with Specific Learning Disabilities, demonstrate lower rates of reading proficiency than their nondisabled peers.…

This three-part dissertation explores the complexity of collaboratively designing and implementing translanguaging reading pedagogies for students classified as English learners in a second-grade English-medium classroom. With the increasing linguistic heterogeneity in the United States, public schools have a pressing need to develop culturally…

Third grade reading teachers at the local setting are not consistently using formative benchmark data to improve student reading performance, creating a gap in practice. This gap in practice may be due to teachers' lack of capacity to use the data to make changes to their instructional practices. The purpose of this qualitative study was to…