Though researchers have demonstrated that adaptive practice software is an effective tool to use with primary grade students, they have not fully established the impact blended eLearning tools have on upper elementary students in a suburban school setting. The problem facing one southeastern state district was that their schools had selected…

Mindfulness has woven through American education for decades as an enduring concept aimed at reforming teachers, students, and classrooms. Signified as a "quiet revolution" in media and education policy today, our youth have been rebranded and schools remarketed as "A Nation at Hope," with promises of mindfulness and…

The dissertation sought to provide insight to the unique experiences of foster care alumni in graduate education pursuits. For many, higher education serves to increase opportunities in the workforce and higher lifetime earnings; as the level of degree attainment is higher, the availability of benefits often increases. Frequently, these…

This study, an in-depth qualitative case study (Stake, 1995), framed with the theoretical tenets of situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) focused on fourth-grade students' experiences in literacy instruction that emphasized agency as a reform tool in response to narrowed, standardized reform efforts that left students disengaged (Au, 2007;…

The first paper in this multifocal policy analysis (Young, 1999) is a traditional, quantitative policy study that tested a comprehensive framework that links teacher perceptions of leadership, autonomy, and accountability to principal, school, and teacher characteristics. The study examined the relationship between principals' instructional…

In the 1995 legislation establishing charter schools in the state of Louisiana, the Louisiana Legislature indicated their intention "that the best interests of at-risk pupils be the overriding consideration in implementing the provisions of this Chapter" (Charter School Demonstration Programs, 1997). Furthermore, the legislation required…

Pre-college access programs operating in high schools commonly focus on assisting underserved and historically excluded populations of students in preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in postsecondary education. Through two analyses, this study examines the efficacy of two types of access programs in facilitating postsecondary enrollment and…

Despite more historically underrepresented students pursuing STEM degrees, their likelihood of remaining in STEM fields has been stalled compared with their White peers. It has been argued that developing inclusive programming and environment can significantly impact the retention and persistence of underrepresented undergraduate STEM students in…

Educational reform and the development of performance measure policies have remained a continuous debate throughout the past several decades. These accountability policies and increased performance standards can have a significant effect on teacher practice and student outcomes. Policy initiatives have now shifted the definition of teacher quality…

This study sought to gain insight into teacher perceptions of their ability to improve a high poverty urban school. The school selected for this study came from a purposive sampling of urban schools that had exited from improvement required status and had then demonstrated gains in student academic performance in subsequent years. Four teachers…

This study sought to evaluate the school-based counseling services that were provided to 95 students as part of the Children First counseling program. The primary evaluation question focused on the effectiveness of the program in positively impacting traditionally underserved populations in the following domains: increasing social skills,…

The problem of practice (PoP) in this dissertation in practice (DiP) focuses on the lack of motivation and engagement exhibited by career technical education (CTE) students within the traditional high school chemistry classroom as a response to textbook and teacher-centered pedagogy. This qualitative action research study utilizes a game-based…

This qualitative multiple case study explored the experiences and perspectives of instructional coaches that support teachers with the literacy instruction of students from historically marginalized populations through the lens of the following three theoretical frameworks: the partnership approach, critical literacy, and culturally relevant…

Adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma impact learning outcomes of children nationwide. The prevalence of students having experienced one to two ACEs in the last year is approximately 50% nationally. This number of ACE experiences and/or exposures as well as their related sequelae is intensified in impoverished communities. Currently,…

China has witnessed unprecedented higher education expansion since the 1990s. The gross higher education enrollment rate--the percentage of student population of all ages enrolled in the higher education institutions relative to the total 18-22 population--has increased from 9.8% in 1998 to more than 40% in 2016. As the overall postsecondary…