School leaders often view teacher resistance to change as willful defiance, but there is much more to understand if change agents are willing to peel back the layers of the resistance and dig deeper into the reasons why teachers may struggle to accept new innovations. This action research project is grounded in the notion that an intentional focus…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore how educators describe the impact of SEL instruction provided by the guidance counselor. Additionally, this study also sought to explore how educators perceive the supporting role they play in the delivery of SEL instruction alongside the guidance counselor. The overarching two…

To ensure all students, including historically marginalized students, reached their highest capacity, there was a focus on equity in education at the state and national levels. Minimal research existed where researchers explored principals' educational equity mindset, and I found a gap in the literature concerning the use of principals'…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) and teachers' perceptions of collaborative service delivery in a school setting. Method: We created a survey for SLPs and teachers that included demographic questions and questions about the use of collaborative service delivery models, identification of…

Successful outcomes for youth with disabilities require collaboration within and beyond the school system. Collaboration ideally includes a range of professionals across school systems, service systems, and communities coming together as part of a "transition network" to support the transition process. Using a quantitative survey of 509…

NIET [National Institute for Excellence in Teaching] continually evaluates the impact of TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement on raising student achievement, improving instruction and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. In addition to national results in student achievement…

This article examines whiteness at the intersection of immigration and early childhood education as it was made visible during interviews with 50 preschool teachers in five US cities as part of the Children Crossing Borders (CCB) study. Findings show whiteness acting not only as a construct of privilege but also as an idea that manifests itself in…

Researchers at NIET [National Institute for Excellence in Teaching] and elsewhere have studied the effectiveness of TAP™: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement in raising student achievement, improving the quality of instruction, and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. This…

This research study examined questionnaires that included responses from 4,886 teachers employed by 90 schools in the state of Tennessee. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of teachers from an existing state-administered on-line questionnaire concerning the professional development activities they had participated in during…

From 2004-2007, the University of Memphis carried out the NSF-funded Tri-P-LETS (Three P Learning Environment for Teachers and Students) project to improve local high-school computer science curricula. The project reached a total of 58 classrooms in eleven high schools emphasizing problem solving skills, programming concepts as opposed to syntax,…

This paper discusses research, (its process and results), on an inner city school. It highlights the methods of data collection used in the research and discusses the findings. Methods of data collection include observation, interview and documentary information. Results indicate that the school in question is making modest strides, in terms of…

This paper presents the findings of a study of the effectiveness of collaboration between the Rural Education Research and Service Consortium at Tennessee Technological University and rural schools in its service area. The study uses the instrumentation and research design of the Good Schools Project (GSP) initiated by Kappa Delta Pi in 1984.…

In a survey of 100 elementary school teachers in rural Tennessee, teachers felt that reducing distractions, positive reinforcement, and frequent monitoring were the most effective techniques for teaching students with attention deficit disorders (ADD). Teachers suggested that many students with ADD were not being identified and indicated needs for…

Basic needs of children and youth which cannot be provided by small rural schools could be realized by combining the resources and pupils of a number of local districts. Four types of organization are presented as possibilities for providing cooperative educational services: (1) autonomous districts with line functions; (2) semi-autonomous…

Appalachia Educational Laboratory's Rural Excel program collaborated with the Tennessee Center of Excellence for Science and Mathematics Education and with faculty at 21 local education agencies in rural Tennessee to evaluate implementation of the Tennessee Mathematics Activities Manuals for grades 5-8. The manuals each contain 54-67 activities…