Public education depends on the collaboration of adults to promote the success of the students who are served. Principal-teacher relationships are a necessary part of the overall learning environment established for students to grow and thrive. In an urban educational setting these relationships can be tested, especially in the transitional grades…

Leadership, trust, and collaboration are timeless constructs that have existed since the dawn of man. It is not surprising that these constructs permeate organizations and can have both advantageous and deleterious implications for organizational outcomes. One such organization where these constructs are arguably even more pertinent is in schools.…

This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of induction programs from the perspectives of new teachers in urban and suburban school districts. The research uses a phenomenological qualitative research design. The theoretical frameworks for this research are the Motivation Theory and Self-Efficacy Theory. There are eight participants, four…

This dissertation examines the relationship between teacher retention and student perceptions of school climate in an urban school district, both in individual school years and across multiple school years. This secondary analysis uses a school-level measure of teacher retention from New York City (NYC) public schools and measures of school…

School learning environments play important roles in students' lives. But when do these relationships form? Previous research on middle school students has identified a strong association between student socio-demographics, school characteristics, and achievement. Yet, few studies have investigated the origins of these associations. This study…

The purpose of this study is to assess the mental health consequences of teaching trauma-exposed students in alternative settings. As school district administrators may provide general or common mental health services for teachers, special attention needs to be given and additional programs and supports provided for teachers who teach…

School climate is theoretically important for the academic achievement of students in urban schools because safety and support at school may compensate for negative structural forces experienced elsewhere. There is strong evidence for an association between school climate and student achievement, but little suggests the association's…

Social-emotional competencies (SECs) stand to benefit children in a myriad of ways. However, school-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are often ineffective in low-income, urban school districts, calling into question whether they adequately address student needs. The present study investigated whether and how one source of stress more…

K-12 schools in Ohio are partially evaluated on their ability to successfully graduate students with their four-year cohort. Educators have been tasked with improving graduation rates. This study examined one urban high school to understand and provide insights to increase its graduation rate. This school recently received a poor score from the…

Transitions to a new principal are common, especially within urban public schools, and potentially highly disruptive to a school's culture and operations. We use longitudinal data from New York City to investigate if the effect of principal transitions differs by whether the incoming principal was hired externally or promoted from within the…

A number of kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) administrators face challenges promoting culturally responsive learning environments. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore K-12 administrators' perceptions of the challenges faced in using leadership practices and strategies that promote culturally responsive learning…

This study examined students' perceptions of their science learning environment and how it relates to their metacognition and self-efficacy. An exploratory study (N=186 South Korean secondary science students from a large-city urban school) used two instruments: Outcomes-Based Education Learning Environment Questionnaire [OBLEQ]; Self-Efficacy and…

Leadership has evolved over the years, and organizations have witnessed the rise of servant leadership as a key approach in creating a foundation for proper engagement of followers and building a paradigm to solve problems. While the role of school leadership in essential to creating positive school cultures and climates, a systematic approach to…

As part of a larger project focused on the intersection of educational and health trajectories over the life course, we use in-depth interviews with 28 adults who experienced multiple non-promotional school changes during the course of their K-12 schooling in three U.S. urban centers to advance understanding of frequent student mobility. Prior…

The study examined the impact of school building conditions on school climate, student attendance, and teacher job satisfaction in an urban school district in northern New Jersey. The following research questions were analyzed using a t-test and regression analysis: (a) To what extent do school building conditions affect the school climate in an…