This quantitative study examined the relationship between servant leadership and emotional intelligence, the impact of the relationship on burnout and the intent to quit in early childhood through 12th-grade education professionals, and the employment classification of EC-12 education professional as a differentiating factor for emotional…

High school graduates should be able to read to complete everyday tasks. Without this ability, their quality of life could decline from the lack, a negative mindset, or both. Therefore, educational stakeholders aiding students with reading struggles must find the most effective solutions for these students. Students achieving below-average on…

The purpose of this quantitative research was to explore how secondary career and technical education (CTE) teachers' retention is affected by self-efficacy as it relates to the type of licensure they possess: traditional Professional Education License (PEL) or industry experience Educator License with Stipulations (ELS-CTE). In order to achieve…

Following the racial unrest of 2020, anti-racist rhetoric from K-12 schools and university teacher education institutes magnified. Despite claiming alliance with anti-racism, it became unclear whether the actions of teacher education, both in-service and pre-service, matched their rhetoric. To determine how, if at all, teacher education informs…

This dissertation investigates the concept of social justice within the context of chemistry teaching. Social justice science teaching has demonstrated positive impacts on students' engagement, self-efficacy, and affiliation with science across a range of ages and learning contexts, yet the often-flexible definition of the concept can make it…

Teachers encountered difficulties implementing 90% of Target Language (TL) use and tried various strategies to promote it. This qualitative case study investigated secondary foreign language teachers' perceptions and experiences of following the district's recommendation to use 90% and above of TL in their classrooms in a school district in the…

Teaching has never been an easy profession, but the swift transition from in-person to digital instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic made it significantly more difficult. Between a global pandemic and a nation's racial reckoning, teachers were forced to juggle work, family, and student responsibilities. While there were suggested tips on how to…

The problem this study addressed was educators of students with severe and profound disabilities face barriers to teaching a functional curriculum due to the lack of training and targeted curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative single exploratory case study was to examine the benefits and barriers faced by teachers of students with severe and…

The COVID-19 pandemic required schools to be more flexible in relation to their selection of an instructional modality, adopting virtual or hybrid schedules for instruction if face-to-face instruction was not possible (Rogers & Ishimoto, 2020). This change led to educators conducting classrooms virtually and interacting with students and…

This study addresses a gap in language learning regarding the relationship of teacher well-being with different aspects of instruction, namely, teaching practices and student learning (Turner & Thielking, 2019). Specifically, the study explores the link between second language (L2) teachers' well-being levels, the L2 teachers' instructional…

Fanfiction is a valid form of literacy expression often overlooked in academic settings. This study used a mixed-methods approach to understand the facets of fanfiction reading and writing in adults. Survey data was first collected to understand who are the adults choosing to read and write fanfiction. Based on survey results, individual cases…

Secondary teachers use digital resources for teaching, yet little is known about how they find, evaluate, organize, and share these resources. This basic qualitative study was conducted to fill the gap and examine the experiences and practices of secondary educators in curating digital resources. Findings on how teachers manage digital…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the tensions between what secondary teachers think and believe about assessment and the corresponding actions they take in their classrooms. Of particular interest was the development of Teacher Assessment Identity (TAI) and the impact of experience on TAI. Survey data and semi-structured…

Teacher professional development (PD) is often an underutilized resource for reform in K-12 schools, and ineffective models often limit the organizational improvements that can be made. In this Action Research report, teachers' experiences with PD at the research site were analyzed using qualitative methods to determine what components of learning…

Mattering is the feeling that one's actions are significant, and that one would be missed if one were gone (Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981). So far, little research has addressed the teacher's sense of mattering in the K-12 setting. This study examined the possible foundational elements or building blocks of mattering for K-12 teachers by using…