The purpose of this research study is to comprehend the perception and practices of New Jersey public school educators serving students in kindergarten through 12th-grade settings, regarding factors impacting placement in the least restrictive environment for special education students. This study explored how educators rate the implementation of…

The need for quality science education has long been established, but despite reform after reform, it remains a current concern. What we know as good teaching is not happening, perhaps because there is an increase in science teachers using alternative certification programs to enter the field. This lack of formal training causes teachers to have a…

This dissertation tells the story of how an experiment in university-based teacher learning blossomed into a rigorous and deeply meaningful learning experience for teachers and a teacher-centered partnership between a university-based institute and a group of justice-oriented K-12 teachers. This ethnographic study followed a group of California…

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore how a program of full-time religious secondary teachers and administrators adjacent to secondary school's experience, understand, and engage in distributive leadership practices for improving educational outcomes in the Western US. The conceptual framework that guided this study is a…

When crisis strikes in a society, continuing education is imperative. The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools around the world to suddenly switch to emergency remote teaching, but many school districts and educators were unprepared for this transition. This qualitative, single instrument case study was guided by the following research questions: 1)…

The population of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to grow. However, ELs demonstrate lower academic achievement when compared to non-EL students. The problem addressed in this study is that many teachers do not feel prepared to utilize strategies and supports to improve Long Term English Learner's (LTELs') low literacy skills.…

Teacher shortage in the United States (U.S.) is persistent and severe and manifests more acutely in low-income school districts and mathematics and science subject areas. Strategies to recruit locally trained teachers from within the U.S. have failed to satisfy the increasing demand, and recruitment drives have extended beyond national borders to…

Novice teachers must gain significant knowledge and skills on the job (Baumgarter et al., 2018), but the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic created an environment for education's newest teachers that no one could have predicted (Dvir & Schatz-Oppenheimer, 2020; Kaden, 2020; Mecham et al., 2021). A review of the literature identified a…

Co-teaching is the instructional practice in which general education teachers and special education teachers work together to provide instruction to students with and without disabilities in the general education classroom. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers that co-teachers in Grades K-12 face in implementing effective…

Teacher shortage and teacher attrition has been one of the most sustaining educational issues for policymakers and educational leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of current organizational constraints and principals' authentic leadership on teachers' psychological well-being. Carol Ryff's (1989) Psychological Well-Being…

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape of American education. Many public schools were closed in 2020-2021, necessitating online education and implementation of social distancing guidelines. However, implementation was not uniform among school districts, creating ambiguity. Using the organization of disaster response theory as a framework,…

Students with chronic health conditions are living longer lives, thanks to medical advances. This group of students spend more time in classrooms, and teachers have become tasked with meeting the needs of this growing population. Teachers require supports on best practices for educating students with chronic health conditions who are in their…

Research has shown that teachers and students have difficulties in connecting climate change evidence with climate change claims. Such difficulties may come from the lack of knowledge about how scientific models and modeling work in climate science. Climate change as a complex system with a large time and land scale requires sophisticated…

The adoption of technology in educational settings remains a multifaceted challenge. This dissertation explores teachers' beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes regarding the impact of technology on students. There were two research questions related to the research problem. Research question one stated: To what extent do the factors of technology…

AI-enabled educational tools have great potential for enhancing learning and teaching, yet there is a notable lack of study on AI-focused professional development for K-12 teachers. This phenomenological study employed the TPACK framework to examine teachers' incorporation of AI and engagement in professional development activities. The use of a…