Social and Emotional Competence (SEC) is comprised of five main components: self awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Within the context of K-12 education, SEC is typically explored through the lens of student achievement or student progress. This area of research is noteworthy as…

This study used a quantitative survey in the form of an online self-administered questionnaire to explore and describe the views of school leaders on chronic absenteeism in New Jersey public schools. The first of its kind, this statewide survey was designed for the purpose of understanding how school leaders perceive the importance of equity in…

This qualitative study examined the impact of high school instructional technology on college students' academic strategies. It examined the historical and modern advancements of technology in education, uncovering significant milestones in technology integration within classrooms in the United States. Using a narrative inquiry approach grounded…

In cyber charter schools, middle-school students face many barriers to developing STEM identity. My theory of improvement was to address sense of belonging in a large virtual classroom to develop STEM identity in my students. By utilizing diverse STEM role models that reflected my students' racial or ethnic identities and an inquiry-based approach…

The number of English language learners (ELLs) has increased. The problem is ELLs in a middle Tennessee Charter School network meet challenges in achieving English proficiency, thus limiting academic and social prospects. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine if there was a relationship between leader-led…

During the past few decades, Charter schools have been utilized as laboratories for educational innovation. Each year, more and more Charter schools open across the United States. These schools are governed the same way traditional public schools are, but there is research that suggests that inequalities exist in the representation and performance…

African American students are under-enrolled in gifted and honors programs due to external and internal factors, which are explained in this Executive Leadership Portfolio (ELP). To address this problem, I have studied the APEX program, a predominantly African American honors program based at East Side Charter School in Wilmington, Delaware, and…

The purpose of this study was to gather feedback from Black female students who are navigating their way through the secondary STEM pathway. The study, modeled on the "Social Cognitive Career Theory" (Lent and Brown, 2006, 2008; Lent et al. 1994, 2000) was used to explore factors that influenced the interest and persistence of Black…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how charter schoolteachers describe their experiences with the job demands and resources influencing their intent to leave the charter school sector in northeastern United States. The theoretical foundations for this study include the job demands and resources theory and the concept…

This dissertation measured the impact of the integration of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and historical inquiry on 10 and 11 year old 5th grade charter school students. By using Q methodology, a mixed methodology research tool, this study examined three hypotheses. These include the outcomes of holistic learning, the effect of…

Public charter school boards and their superintendents have a responsibility to plan for the future, including for the next school superintendent. Superintendents serve as the Chief Executive Officer responsible for overseeing academic, financial, and operational performance of the school system. The job of school superintendent is very complex…

There is a perception that charter schools enroll a disproportionately lower number of students with disabilities than traditional public school districts (TPS). Coupled with this perception are antidotal stories of students with disabilities being turned away by charter schools during the enrollment process. This study sought to determine what…

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the academic growth in mathematics and reading for elementary Spanish-speaking English language learners, in relation to teacher certification and training in teaching English as a second language (ESL). The study was conducted in a Midwestern urban public elementary charter school. A…

This basic interpretive study was designed to understand the leadership coaching experiences of 15 public charter school principals across the United States and to explore the leadership practices that they described that they attempted because of leadership coaching. The findings from this study reveal that trust is an important condition when…

The goal in this qualitative phenomenological study was to discover the experiences of middle school teachers as they pertain to culturally responsive pedagogy, student engagement, and student growth. Participants who taught culturally diverse students in Grades 6-8 were recruited from public charter middle schools in an urban district in the…