The purpose of this study was to review policies that affect English Learners in Texas public schools. Specifically, the relationship between ESL certification and teacher preparedness to teach English Learners was addressed. In this journal-ready dissertation, the first article contains a review of national and state policies that were designed…

Cognitive variables have been the primary indicator of academic and professional success used to process degree applications in many admissions departments. Cognitive variables are numerically based markers such as grade point average and test scores. Although cognitive variables are essential in determining qualified candidates in graduate…

"If well-trained, competent, caring teachers were present in every classroom, we would witness a staggering increase in student achievement, motivation, and character improvement along with a marked decrease in discipline problems" (Breaux & Wong, 2003, p.22). If school districts do not take the initiative to design and implement…

Pre-service teacher preparedness is a measurement of a teacher candidate's ability to become an effective teacher (Clark, Byrnes, & Sudweeks, 2015). A growing number of Educator Preparation Providers' (EPPs') accrediting agencies are insisting that to improve pre-service teacher preparedness, EPPs must increase the rigor of their admission…

At the university level, peer instruction has been widely implemented as a means to offer additional resources through mentorship and academic support for courses with high enrollments and/or high levels of attrition. Peer instructors are students themselves who have typically demonstrated a proficiency in the course for which they serve. In the…

This study investigated the interplay of digital capacity building (skills) and infrastructure (Internet access) in shaping teaching and learning practices in a rural community. Educators in rural areas, especially in developing nations, face difficulties in accessing digital resources and Internet connectivity, which hinder the integration of…

Within teacher education programs, the preparation of general and special educators has often been separated due to differences in the skills each is expected to master (Pugach, Blanton, & Boveda, 2014). With the mandate of inclusion in the IDEA (20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5)(A)), as well as the increasing implementation of inclusive practices in…

For the past three decades, Inclusive Education (IE) has emerged as a crucial educational agenda all over the world. In this study, IE is the practice of including students with disabilities in the general (music) education classroom, where they are educated together with their typically developing peers. Although IE efforts began in Ghana in…

Teacher attrition has been around since the beginning of American education. Teacher attrition is problematic to the success of students' academic achievement. One perceived way to reduce teacher attrition is through better training during the pre-service phase. The purpose of this study was to explore university-based teacher education programs…

Teacher shortages exist across the nation, with greater shortages in middle school and secondary education (Center for Public Education, 2016). The purpose of this study was to determine the factors and barriers presented to teacher education candidates affecting the selection of their teacher education degrees in a rural community college…

The purpose of this research is to explore preservice teachers' attitudes and beliefs towards mathematics, mental and written computations, and mental computation anxiety, to investigate their use of different mental computation strategies using different approaches (i.e., Direct Teaching (DT) and Open-Approach (OA)) among the three different…

A critical issue in the preparation of special education teachers working with students with significant disabilities is the lack of commonality in what preparation programs should include in their academic plans of study. As such, some special education teachers enter the workforce unprepared for the expectations of their role responsibilities.…

Recently, the United States Department of Education and the main accreditation body of teacher education in the US have called for new teachers to be prepared to effectively use technology upon graduation. To accomplish this, the literature emphasizes targeting their beliefs about technology's value and their abilities to use it. Until now,…

Teacher preparation program agendas include culturally responsive teaching (CRT) due to the student diversity in modern elementary classrooms. Overwhelmingly, White, middle-class English-speaking women who may not completely understand their students' cultural backgrounds are teachers in those culturally diverse classrooms. In schools where…

Inclusion in the schools has been mandated since the passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 (EAHCA ; Public Law 94-142). Within the field of music education, historical events like the Tanglewood Symposium of 1967, the Goals and Objectives (GO) Project of 1969, and the Housewright Symposium of 1999 aimed to achieve the…