The problem addressed in this study was that, while research shows that mentoring relationships are beneficial to novice teachers, it is unclear as to the influence of mentor training on the perceptions of success of novice teachers. As districts and schools in the state of Arizona continue to work towards excellence in collaboration with their…

In an era of educational transformation, teacher leaders play a pivotal role in facilitating systemic change within schools. This dissertation presents a single-case action research study investigating the support structures provided by a Team Lead Communities of Practice (TL CoP) to nurture teacher leaders. The primary aim of this research is to…

Teachers are struggling to transfer newly acquired knowledge and skills from professional learning experiences into their classrooms. This study aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of how professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance elementary teachers' instructional practices based on interviews with teachers in a rural school district.…

The purpose of this Action Research study was to investigate and examine how expatriate educators can make western curriculum more relevant and contextual for Chinese students to increase student engagement and learning outcomes through professional learning communities (PLCs) at a Chinese international school. The study examined experiences of…

This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of one principal and 10 teachers from a school district in the Rio Grande Valley regarding how leadership is distributed in their schools through the lens of distributed leadership. This study contributes to the small body of literature regarding teacher leadership to foster dialogue and…

Inequities exist in the foundations of our society, which includes education. These inequities specifically affect marginalized students in their ability to access and have opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) at the elementary level. This action research project sought to investigate and strengthen the interest in…

Because of the increase of the rigor of state standards and of accountability, the Lincoln County School District sought to become a part of the state Teacher Leader Network during the 2016-2017 school year as a way to provide teachers best practices for improving the culture and climate of their schools, participating in collaborative…

Change is an inevitable factor that schools will face. School leaders need tools and strategies to help their teams know how to navigate the school culture issues that can arise when changes occur. This study examined teacher leader and administrative perceptions of how the PLC framework is implemented within schools and across a district to…

The purpose of this qualitative methods research is to study the development of teacher leaders in the implementation of grade-level and/or departmentalized professional learning communities across eight parochial schools. When working with teacher leaders in the leading of grade-level or departmentalized professional learning teams, there are…

Design thinking is a process for solving complex problems through creative actions. There are three primary ways design thinking is being used in education today: (a) as a teaching tool, (b) as a strategy for teachers to redesign their students' learning experiences, and (c) as a tool for school leaders to design school change (Gallagher &…

Recent national reports (e.g., Carnegie Corporation 2009; National Research Council 2012a) call for increased attention to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education to better prepare students for the demands of a scientific, technical, creative and critical thinking workforce (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014;…

Student affairs practitioners' work often includes expectations for leadership education and development of college students, aligning with the role of leadership educator. However, there exists no formal preparation process or curriculum for master's students in higher education/student affairs graduate preparatory programs to access learning…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of professional learning communities by comparing practices and strategies of content and grade level teams in middle schools. Utilizing data from student assessment, comparison of teams in this middle school was conducted to determine practices and conversations that have an impact on…

The research aimed to provide a complete understanding of characteristics, facilitators, and challenges in implementing professional learning communities in multi-age schools. This study utilized a mixed-methods multiple case study design. Participants in this study were teachers from two private K-8 multi-age schools. The characteristics of…

This action research case study explored the ways participation in a teacher leader learning community contributed to the identity development of teacher leaders at the Canajoharie Central School District. The goal of the study was to identify how a teacher leader learning community supported the identity of teacher leaders in their work. This…