Standardized testing has elementary schools transitioning into departmentalization, where a teacher is assigned to teach a particular subject matter. Elementary education programs tend to provide a holistic approach to education that includes training in all subject matters and learner psychology. The national trend of teacher shortages as…

This study examined the relationship between psychological empowerment and three demographic variables of secondary educators in an urban public school in the State of Michigan. Psychological empowerment is traced historically from a concept in the business industry that focuses on customer service to a set of processes and sub-dimensions that…

Growth in per pupil education spending in the United States was mostly flat until 1918, after which it increased by almost 100 percent in a brief six-year period. This is the fastest documented increase in per pupil education spending in U.S. history. Using newly digitized biennial data on 386 of the largest urban school systems in the United…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to further the understanding on how access to trauma-informed professional learning changed research-based practices in classroom and school-wide settings in K-12 schools. The guiding question for this quantitative study was: How has trauma-informed professional learning influenced changes in…

There are high rates of disciplinary issues present in urban elementary schools in the United States, and school administrators need more effective strategies for improvement. Researchers have found that exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions are often overused, have questionable efficacy, and disproportionately affect…

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…

The purpose of this research was to examine the ways in which the principal and literacy coach collectively developed and maintained relational trust in order to establish school literacy reform efforts. Drawing from a larger set of data, we employed qualitative methods to explore interviews and surveys from the principals and literacy coaches at…

The majority of children aged three to five in the U.S. attend childcare or preschool, where they may consume up to two-thirds of their daily calories and nutrition. Teachers at preschools serving low-income families are responsible for guiding children in their food choices. Feeding style, or caregivers' overall emotional tone and approach at…

Research suggests that parents and principals perceive school shootings as one of the leading threats to school safety and among the most likely hazardous events that would affect safety at school. However, exposure to nonfatal victimization, such as fighting, threats, theft, vandalism, bullying, hate crimes, and gang activity, has become far more…

This study examined whether there are significant differences between effective, average, and ineffective urban schools with regard to (a) students' classroom behavior and (b) students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment. Students from four effective, average, and ineffective urban elementary schools that served predominantly…

Education is a construct in American culture that is ever changing. School leadership is a primary function of public education. School leaders in 21st century schools have been tasked with many new functions that differ from their predecessors. With the advent of these new functions, it is necessary to ensure that competent well-versed educators…

This dissertation study explores the lived experiences of Black women leaders of public school districts across the United States. Black women superintendents comprise roughly 2% of urban superintendencies in the United States, so understanding their journeys to and experiences in the position is critical to understanding ways that these systems…