This program evaluation study used an objectives-oriented evaluation to determine the impact of professional development on effective communication to enhance leadership skills of school and district leaders in a southwestern Florida school district. Professional development is offered by the district to teachers, school leaders, district leaders,…

This qualitative case study explored K-8 principals' perception of the contribution of job-embedded professional learning on skills and efficacy in instructional leadership, guided by Experiential Learning and Self-Efficacy Theory. The study addressed two research questions: the first explored how principals perceived the contribution of…

Most educators believe that social and emotional learning (SEL) skills are a fundamental part of good teaching and learning. Long before the pandemic, surveys showed that teachers believed these skills were essential for students to learn at school, and research confirmed that they are linked with measures of academic success. Educators need…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are interpersonal, self-regulatory, and task-related behaviors that are important for adaptation to and successful performance across all domains of life, including education and workplace settings (Casillas et al., 2015). Family engagement affects the development of these important skills (Brooks & Lambert,…

The problem of practice under review was that novice teachers struggle with classroom management because they do not have the skills to intentionally build positive relationships with students; and therefore, a significant need for professional development exists. The purpose of this action research study was two-fold. Firstly, this study aimed to…

In 2008 a community-academic partnership was formed between the School District of Philadelphia and our university-based team, Philadelphia Autism Instructional Methods Support. Through this partnership, we conducted a large-scale randomized trial of autism interventions in public schools, which indicated concerns related to implementation…

Teachers' assessment practices greatly influence student learning. However, the level of assessment literacy among teachers is inadequate relative to classroom assessment standards and expectations. Assessment literacy includes interpreting results of various assessments, creating assessments that are aligned to learning targets, using assessment…

The aim of this study was to explore how the Coding as Another Language using ScratchJr (CAL-ScratchJr) curriculum, developed by Boston College's DevTech Research Group utilizing the ScratchJr app, impacted second grade students' computational thinking, coding skills, and reading comprehension. To accomplish this, the research team randomly…

There has been a significant rise in mental health needs in adolescents, and the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disturbed everyday life, causing an increase in anxiety and social isolation amongst adolescents throughout the world (CDC, 2017; Yale Child Study Center, 2020). Effective Tier 1 social-emotional universal interventions to foster…

Low-performing school districts in the southern region of the United States struggle to retain qualified teachers, leading to the hiring of inexperienced educators, resulting in lower student test scores. The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to investigate ways low performing public school districts can retain qualified and…

Authentic leadership has been a long sought goal of many leaders over the course of time. It is not without pause that we recognize the basis of whence it springs and how best to move it forward when it presents. In this qualitative research study, the notion of authenticity and hope in leadership were explored through life-stories shared in…

The role of the superintendency is continually evolving because of changes related to society, technology, and education reform. Continuous role changes necessitate ongoing superintendent professional development (Hackmann & McCarthy, 2011; Myer & Feistritzer, 2003). The exploratory case study investigates how superintendents used skills…

Two superintendents who are infusing social-emotional learning throughout their districts (in Minneapolis and Atlanta) discuss strategies they've found that help their efforts. They note support they receive through participating in the Collaborating Districts Initiative, a multidistrict effort launched by the Collaborative for Academic, Social,…

Many district and school leaders have leveraged instructional leadership or social justice leadership to advance student achievement for minoritized students. While research has examined these approaches separately, we identify a potential gap at the nexus between instructional and social justice leadership. In particular, we find a need for…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs can play an important role in fostering the development of literacy skills among children and youth. To investigate the variety of literacy skill-building strategies OST programs use, researchers from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) examined the practices of 31 programs in Massachusetts. This…