There are evident shortages with increased demands for qualified special education teachers (SETs) nationwide (Peyton et al., 2021). Although efforts have been made to reduce SET attrition and increase retention, it is still unknown what job factors influence SETs' intent to stay, transfer, migrate, pursue administrative positions, pursue…

Annual goals are an essential component of Individual Educational Programs (IEP), which are developed for students with disabilities, and which are informed by data. However, the methods and practices that special educators use to make sense of data to inform the annual IEP goals represent a gap in research literature. This qualitative study was…

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of middle school math teachers, as captured by survey ratings, of the frequency and quality of professional development programs. The study further examined the relationship of these perceptions to the degree to which professional development increased self-efficacy and social connections.…

Despite modest increases in high school graduation rates for all students, disparities still exist for some groups, such as students of color and students from low-income families who face systemic challenges in accessing high-quality public schools. Third-party "school support" organizations like the Urban Assembly have long focused on…

This study explored the perceptions of educators and staff about the ways dialogue and self-reflection promoted thinking about being equitable and becoming more culturally responsive in their work. Education leaders and practitioners have desired to develop and support more culturally responsive educators and staff. In my role as Chief Diversity…

School personnel across the United States are developing additional teacher leadership roles to improve professional learning and retain effective teachers. More information is needed concerning how middle school principals are guiding the development of teacher leaders in their schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore…

Nationally, teachers are leaving at heightened levels, and school culture has been identified as one possible root cause. Research has identified environments that are conducive to a positive school culture and ways to positively impact teacher retention. Furthermore, research highlights national initiatives that have been created to retain…

The purpose of the Dissertation in Practice was to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of middle school teachers and administrators that were implementing a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. The setting for this case study was an urban, Title I middle school located in Florida. Interviews were conducted…

In major public health crises, online education can play an important role in guaranteeing the continuity of education. However, whether online education can promote educational equity has been questioned widely. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed severe challenges students face in online teaching. Based on Bourdieu's theory of cultural…

Failure to implement Tier 1 behavioral intervention strategies in the classroom leads to inappropriate special education and disciplinary referrals for Black students resulting in a loss of instructional opportunities. This project took place in an urban K-8 school with a culturally and linguistically diverse student population. In consultation…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the implementation of the NAF career academy model among the four NAF academies at North Baton Rouge Preparatory and investigate whether there is a significant difference among each academy's student performance outcomes. This study utilized master schedules, implementation plans, and academic…

Educational accountability is dominated by a focus on test scores to assess academic achievement. An emerging trend toward "next-generation" accountability includes a broader conception of student learning and multiple metrics. A policy design approach is used to analyze this trend. Four design elements--goals, actors, metrics, and…

Black students were not allowed to enroll in Missouri public schools until 1866. During the fugitive school era (prior to 1863), keeping Black children and youth safe from white terrorists committed not only to disrupting nascent learning but burying Black bodies became priority one for clandestine school leaders (Williamson 2005). Later, when…

The article reports on the efforts to establish a secondary school, set up within the free school legislation, to be comprehensive, serving the diverse population of the city in which it is located. This was achieved through a policy which admitted students from four 'nodes' across the city and gave priority to children with special educational…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children--Fifth edition (WISC-V). As such, this is the first study that will examine the factor structure of the WISC-V in a non-standardization sample of Black children. Utilizing confirmatory and exploratory factor analytic techniques in AMOS our…