In the United States, there exists a significant disparity between the racial demographics of teachers and students, with a majority of educators being white. This mismatch underscores the critical shortage of teachers of color (TOC). While race does not determine teacher quality, a teacher's race, ethnicity, and language do shape the experiences…

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) encourages speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to implement evidence-based practice (EBP) in clinical decision-making processes. Through the utilization of EBP, SLPs increase their ability to make informed decisions and recommendations for treatment. Despite ASHA's position that EBP is…

This doctoral research study examined the lived experiences of eight highly-effective teachers in New Jersey who have voluntarily chosen to remain working in their challenging school contexts, defined as schools scoring 60 or fewer points on the 2017-2018 NJ School Report Card summative rating. Data from semi-structured interviews was analyzed…

Science teacher shortages are reaching critical capacity across the United States and New Jersey. Emerging teacher identity research highlights the impacts that subject matter plays in the development and retention of today's teachers. Strong personal and professional connections to the content area of science directly impact a person's decision…

This dissertation examines the impact of the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act on teacher tenure revocation in New Jersey. Employing a qualitative content analysis approach, the study analyzes 270 arbitration decisions from 2012 to 2023 to identify the specific legislative provisions that most…

My essay aims to develop my authorial map-account of Martin Duberman's various educational paradigms manifest in his experimental seminars at Princeton University, Hunter College, and Lehman College CUNY, 1966-1971 (and beyond) that I abstracted from his claims about his innovative educational teaching. I tried to develop a terrain of educational…

The purpose of this comparative quantitative study was to test adherence to the accountability theory by comparing perceptions of South Carolina public school principals without procedural due process rights as administrators with public school principals in New Jersey that have procedural due process rights through tenure regarding the tools used…

Between the decades of 1970 through 1999, there were major shifts in higher education in New Jersey. Utilizing a grounded theory approach this dissertation created a database of legislation, hearings transcripts, and education reports. Searching this database for commonly used terminology, this dissertation was seeking a pattern in language use…

Catholic schools across the country serve a valuable role in their communities as a source of academic strength, faith formation, and as a support system for families. The decline of Catholic school enrollment continues to be a source of challenge for families seeking a Catholic education for their children as well as for the Catholic school…

Social emotional learning (SEL) has had a rich history in educating the whole child, yet schools still do not have (SEL) as part of their curriculum. Today's educators have a renewed perspective on what common sense always suggested: when schools attend systematically to students' social and emotional skills, the academic achievement of children…

Preschoolers receive inadequate science instruction despite preschool science benefits and adopting early learning science standards in New Jersey. This qualitative exploratory case study explored 17 preschool teachers of 4-year-old students' perceptions of using the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards for science and how they…

College choice is one of the most significant decisions a family will make. Families with high socioeconomic status often hire independent educational consultants (IEC) to assist their family in college search activities. A review of the literature indicated a gap in the literature regarding IECs' understanding of the factors which influence their…

In the U.S., state guidance to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was politicized. We used state-level political affiliation to explore whether access to curricular resources differed pre-pandemic or during pandemic remote teaching and teachers' reported control over curricular resources during pandemic teaching. We found that…

STIs in youth in New Jersey is a growing concern. According to New Jersey' Public Health Data Resource (2020), the total number of STIs in youth from age 15-24 totals 19,698. The current STIs-related sex education programs vary widely in New Jersey in terms of scope, the accuracy of content, emphasis, and effectiveness (Thrive New Jersey…

Education has changed over the past 20 years to accommodate students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive classrooms. The problem addressed by this study was that elementary school teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle to know which evidence-based practices (EBPs) to utilize to effectively educate…