The purpose of this study was to analyze teacher perceptions of school culture on a campus with an embedded and established school-within-a-school (SWS) educational model. An initial demographic survey, site walkthrough observations, and interviews with teachers from the SWS and general education (GE) model were conducted to gain insight on the…

Background: Upon completion of their undergraduate educator preparation program (EPP), early childhood special educators obtain roles within inclusive school settings. As part of these roles, they will participate in collaborative interactions with other educators, related service providers, paraprofessionals, and their students' family members.…

Issues of the multi-faceted, complex problem of teacher attrition in the U.S. have long been studied by researchers working to stem the tide of teachers leaving the field: dimensions of class size, salaries, working conditions, and accountability measures are most often interrogated in relation to this issue. However, this study takes up the…

Co-teaching has developed as a successful instructional strategy to support various learning requirements and differentiation, especially as more students with disabilities are integrated into general education classrooms. To establish efficacious co-teaching partnerships, it is important to surmount some interpersonal barriers and apply…

The initial question was innocent enough, at least on the surface: How do scholars and practitioners define child centered, developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive education in places distant from my home in the US? I was originally inspired to ask this question by my graduate students--aspiring and practicing Waldorf teachers--who were…

The ultimate goal of an education system is to ensure students receive a quality education that prepares them for real-world experiences and opportunities beyond their K-12 education. However, it is the responsibility of the building-level leaders or principals to ensure teachers are receiving the proper professional development that can be used…

In American schools, teachers seldom have time to see each other teach resulting in missed opportunities to learn and grow from one another. Participants engaged in peer observation and feedback in order to determine the effectiveness of this professional development structure on practitioner growth, teacher efficacy, and overall teacher…

Teacher collaboration is a topic that, although often studied, understanding teachers' collaborative practices continues to be complex. The study site is no exception. Recent data suggests that while collaboration among teachers is often depicted as "natural" and "easy," fostering rich and authentic collaboration can be…

Effective collaboration and the development of collective efficacy are understood to have considerable influence on students' learning, with research showing that the presence of collective efficacy among educators is the strategy with the most potential to positively affect student achievement. Yet this strategy is rarely found implemented in…

The purpose of this basic narrative qualitative study was to explore how teacher teams in Blue Ribbon elementary schools, teacher teams in performing elementary schools, teams in businesses on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America list, and business teams not on the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America list…

The high attrition rates of teachers early in their career is a well-documented problem that school districts around the United States have been grappling with for decades with limited success (Carver-Thomas & Darling-Hammond, 2019; Ingersoll, 2003). The COVID-19 pandemic increased the attrition of experienced teachers, with 55% of teachers…

This multiple case study dissertation aimed to examine one of the domains of pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of content and students, between different types of elementary coaches and between coach and their respective collaborating teachers. It also investigated the impact a coaches' background experiences have on the dynamic between…

This research delves into the critical and often underexplored nexus of race and elementary reading instruction and assessment, with a focus on teacher discourse. While the significance of addressing racial equity in education is widely acknowledged, the ways elementary teachers engage in discussions about race within the context of reading…

The intended outcome of this qualitative study was to provide valuable information that could improve pre-service teacher education programs and inclusion professional development programs, as well as help guide school-based administrators on how to better support co-teaching at the secondary level. In order to accomplish the outcome, the purpose…

The intent of this mixed-methods case study was to examine the practices, processes, and associated factors of a school-based team mandated by the district for the purpose of supporting freshmen students during their first year of high school. The study utilized the Theory of Change theoretical framework with the logic model as a reference for…