COVID-19, social distasting, and synchronous versus asynchronous learning have continued to widen gaps in students' knowledge. Teachers have largely been responsible for closing those gaps with little to no additional resources, except for what new state mandates have in place such as House Bill 4545 in Texas. Previous research has shown that new…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) cemented a standardized testing assessment culture in the United States but research has highlighted the inequities (Au, 2020; Dixon, 1978; Grodsky et al., 2008; Khan, 2020; Moses & Nanna, 2007), unreliability (Hunt et al., 2010; Pizmony-Levy & Green Saraisky, 2016) and negative impacts (Berryhill et al., 2009;…

The importance of teacher collaboration and professional growth are highlighted by their inclusion in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In ESSA, it is recommended that teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate and participate in learning communities. The purpose of this action research study was to address the problem of…

There have been countless efforts to improve academic achievement in public schools across the United States, especially in urban school districts. Few efforts, however, use rigorous analytic modeling tools to anticipate and prevent the potential side effects of change. This chapter proposes the application of system dynamics on educational reform…

Research suggests shared leadership as a leadership style that produces positive outcomes. Specifically, the use of shared leadership in the school setting can lead to positive outcomes. However, there is minimal research that examines, and links shared leadership to positive outcomes in a Title I school setting. This research study examined the…

This phenomenological qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of a group of U.S. public schools, kindergarten through fifth grade, teachers certified in general education with experience teaching inclusion--a federally mandated practice requiring schools to educate students both with and without disabilities in the same…

The professional perceptions of instructional personnel at a public prekindergarten program were examined in this mixed methods study. The staff was provided with an anonymous Google form survey. This study investigates the social-emotional outcomes of students in an inclusive prekindergarten program. The outcome of the survey responses showed…

Purpose: Professional development (PD) is an essential component of continuing learning for in-service teachers. This paper discusses a school-based example of using the best practice of coaching in early childhood education supported by a professional development school partnership. We explain how a teacher identified need led to a collaborative,…

This study looked at teacher and administrator perceptions of the high-stakes policy environment on the influence of teaching gifted and talented students through the lens of systems theory. The national accountability standard of NCLB created a previously unmatched standard of accountability for student performance through high-stakes testing.…

Emerging trends and advancements in technology allow educators to develop dynamic learning environments to support their students' academic and behavioral needs. The study documented the lived experience of special educators using assistive technology (AT) to support behavioral challenges in students with disabilities and the environmental factors…

Online and distance education strategies offer a path for closing opportunity gaps for students with disabilities because of digital technologies' flexibility and capacity for differentiation, but fully online schooling does always guarantee an inclusive education. The COVID-19-induced shift to remote learning highlighted the need for more insight…

Teacher attrition continues to be a major issue in public education today. Keeping schools staffed with quality teachers is a struggle across the United States. Hard to staff, low-income schools see the highest attrition rates among public schools. This phenomenological qualitative study explored teachers' experiences with the Teacher Incentive…

In this study, we seek to illuminate teachers' constructions of US teacher evaluation policies through close analysis of the way teachers in one district describe these policies. We conducted a thematic discursive analysis of 60 teachers' speeches, recorded during local school board meetings in a Tennessee school district. Using discursive…

The accountability movement in education since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has produced value-added evaluation policies in the United States that have resulted in discord and undesirable responses among many teachers. Despite investigations into the validity of value-added evaluation policies and descriptive reports of teachers' responses…

The purpose of this study is to identify different types of school leadership as perceived by teachers and to test the extent that these types predict teacher retention. School leadership varies by perception, context, and may influence a teacher's decision to leave their current school or the profession. Four statistically different types of…