There have been many innovations targeting literacy teaching and learning in small countries such as Jamaica, but changes to literacy teaching practices are rarely sustained beyond the life of the initial projects. The purpose of this study was to understand teachers' rationale for changes to literacy teaching practices that were and were not…

Blended learning is an instructional model in which instruction is delivered using a combination of traditional teaching methods and online learning materials such as digital textbooks, virtual textbooks, and teacher-made videos. The problem was that elementary teachers in local schools were not implementing blended learning as intended by the…

Principals' transitions have often given rise to problems, challenges, and upset for teachers and principals alike. Studies on principal succession and educational change question the effectiveness of regular, rapid, and predictable transitions of principals, a strategy used at the district level, especially during turbulent times. This revolving…

Schools across the county are transitioning from balanced literacy to researched based reading instruction. This shift impacts not only instructional practices in reading, but the fundamental understanding of reading development. Teachers are on the frontline of this huge endeavor. This research examined five first grade teachers' self-efficacy…

This study investigated teachers' perceptions of the implementation of personalized learning. By understanding this specific case, suggestions on successfully implementing personalized learning in an elementary school in the Midwest became clear. The elementary school studied is one of the first schools in Kansas to join the KansasCan School…

Background: Education seems to be in a state of constant change, though change initiatives rarely make it to the classroom in the manner and scope intended. Despite positive intentions and an enormous allocation of resources--money and time--the classroom has historically been buffered from the change context. A concrete manifestation of this…

A confluence of circumstances in educational policy and teacher preparation have placed a low priority on elementary science teacher preparation. Historically, a lack of elementary science teachers' subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge has negatively impacted science teaching self-efficacy, which is linked to many teacher and student…

As schools shift towards online and hybrid educational models, they increasingly rely on existing and emerging technologies to facilitate their operations. The COVID-19 pandemic required elementary schools to shift to online and virtual instruction. Current literature frequently has examined these issues from a technical perspective and at the…

Novice Teacher Experiences of Online Reading Instruction During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Deyanira Candales, 2023: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: novice teachers, reading, online instruction, elementary school, virtual learning, distance learning,…

This doctoral dissertation explores how site principals can best support their teachers in implementing trauma-informed practices at the universal level of support. Trauma affects an astounding number of school-aged children, indicating the need for increased support within the classroom environment utilized throughout the school day and…

The current educational settings for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Saudi Arabia consist of special institutions for students with intellectual disabilities and special classrooms within public schools. The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia is interested in full inclusion for students with ASD because of the social,…

There is a gap in educational research regarding teachers' narratives of teaching in diverse classrooms, especially in East Africa. It is essential to investigate teachers' beliefs and perspectives because these are strong indicators of their planning, instructional decisions, and classroom practices and can also frame their perception of…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the stories and lived experiences of K-12 online teachers who have transitioned from the brick-and-mortar setting to online teaching. These stories of teachers' experiences of transition from in-person to online teaching are of interest as they highlight the importance of K-12 teacher…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to further the understanding on how access to trauma-informed professional learning changed research-based practices in classroom and school-wide settings in K-12 schools. The guiding question for this quantitative study was: How has trauma-informed professional learning influenced changes in…

Schools are remarkably resilient institutions, with the core of instruction and the dynamics between teachers, students, and school leaders remaining largely unchanged despite a churn of reforms efforts. To move away from "tinkering" around the edges of the system, reach deeper into classrooms, and mitigate the effects of policy churn,…