This case study focuses on the preferred instructional approaches of integrative STEM education as students encounter authentic problems in their community, analyze data, and share their evidenced-based explanations and solutions with external audiences. As the case unfolds, school leaders encounter tensions among family and community members, and…

Special education teachers are few in Georgia public schools, and the numbers are decreasing each year. Policy makers and administrators are busy making policies to assist special education teachers. Therefore, this research included the special education teachers' voice in advising policymakers and administrators about the challenges they…

Despite interventions to decrease teacher turnover, there remains a 16-24% teacher turnover rate at one Southeastern School District (SSD) in the United States. There is a gap in practice related to the successes and challenges of retaining teachers in the local setting. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the teacher…

This dissertation investigates the efficacy of LitFit, an innovative reading workshop program, in enhancing the reading skills and habits of male high school students in a rural setting. The study addresses the critical issue of lower reading proficiency among male students, a demographic that has historically received limited attention in English…

This study's purpose was to obtain a current picture of special education in rural districts to understand what can be done to attract special education teachers and what can be done to keep them in rural regions. A survey adapted from Berry (2012) was administered via Qualtrics to special education teachers in rural Midwest US. Sixty percent of…

This article discusses the socioeconomic and institutional complexities of school choice in rural Odisha, India, from a multi-stakeholder perspective. It argues that parents prefer to send their children to private schools as they find government schools are of low quality in rural India. Discussions with stakeholders in school education reveal…

English language (EL) students' English language proficiency (ELP) scores directly impact a school district's College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) score, measuring whether Georgia meets accountability requirements. English language proficiency for English language learners (ELLs) is measured by the ACCESS for ELLs assessment. The…

Despite their sizable presence on U.S. college campuses, few institutions have comprehensive programs to support student-mothers' success. However, research suggests that access to even one supportive or encouraging institutional agent can make a difference in a student's college trajectory. Based on interviews with 57 student-mothers at 2- and…

We used a single case concurrent multiple probe across participants design to evaluate the effects of a multi-component intervention package on the number of correct sentences used when writing about a story for three rural elementary students with intellectual or developmental disabilities and extensive support needs. The package was comprised of…

Do education choice programs take money from public school districts, leaving fewer resources for students who remain? The issue at the heart of this question is one of the most powerful arguments offered by skeptics and opponents of such programs. A district's total budget might expand or contract as its student population expands or contracts.…

The purpose of the study was to explore the implementation of a four-day school week policy in a rural district. The research questions driving the study were: (a) How does the transition to a four-day school week affect the well-being of the school district teachers, students, and parents, and (b) how does the four-day school week affect teacher…

Although teacher social-emotional competence (SEC) has been recognized as a crucial indicator of teacher professional development as well as an effective predictor of their psychological well-being, little is known about how teachers' SEC contributes to job burnout. The objectives of the present research were to explore the impact of SEC on job…

A considerable gap exists between rural and urban children in their mental health outcomes that has continued to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the critical role of school counselors in addressing this gap, we tested the effectiveness of a 10-week, expressive arts-based resiliency program, Resilient Warriors, with 46 rural elementary…

Peer tutoring methods were implemented in a 2nd grade classroom using an alternating treatments design with a baseline. In the baseline phase, 18 participants spelled words they had not yet learned. During the treatment phase, teacher-led spelling instruction was alternated each week with peer tutoring for spelling. Peer tutoring for spelling was…

In a small rural school district in the southeast, two high schools have both seen a decline in their enrollment, so the two high schools are merging into one facility until a new school is built. Naturally students have concerns about the proposed organization, with students at one school already having concerns about the current lunch schedule,…