Although many children will experience a significant loss during their school-aged years, professional development and training around grief is extremely limited among teachers and school staff. In fact, according to Alvis et al. (2022), the field is lacking significantly in longitudinal studies that specifically focus on childhood grief. These…

While it is well understood that teachers are leaving the profession, what is less discussed is the why behind teachers choosing to leave. In 2023, 44% of teachers surveyed said they were likely or very likely to leave their job within the next two years. By 2025, unfilled teaching positions are expected to approach 200,000 (Mielke, 2023). This…

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, there was no precedence set or documented protocol to govern the transition from face-to-face to online teaching. The purpose of this study was to explore middle school administrators' perspectives on their challenges and opportunities when assisting teachers as they transitioned from face-to-face to online…

Understanding what contributes to teacher well-being and self-efficacy holds promise in addressing burnout and attrition affecting school systems. Four late-career rural middle school teachers were interviewed using narrative inquiry to give their perceptions about what contributed to their self-efficacy. Semi-structured interview questions based…

The severe teacher shortage in Alabama's rural districts negatively impacts student outcome and educational quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges and coping strategies related to recruiting and retaining teachers in rural Alabama schools. The study's theoretical frameworks are Ryan and Deci's intrinsic motivation and…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how middle school teachers in the Southwestern United States described the role of coping strategies in their decision to remain in the teaching profession, specifically focusing on emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies. Lazarus and Folkman's theory of stress and coping and…

This exploratory qualitative study was focused on the impact of state and federal mandates on the role of middle school principals, specifically what increased responsibilities and major areas of stress middle school principals are experiencing; how any enhanced stress impacts these middle school principals, both professionally and personally; and…

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand how Black middle school students interpret the relationship with their mathematics teachers. This study is situated within research exploring the nuances of the Black-White achievement gap. National assessment data provide that more than 80% of eighth-grade Black students enter high school working…

The current study added to the growing literature on school-based dialectical behavior therapy (SB-DBT) by examining the implementation of a SB-DBT intervention with high school students. It was hypothesized that students' perceived emotion regulation and adaptive coping would improve whereas reports of dysfunctional coping would decrease from…

Math anxiety levels directly and negatively impact student performance in the math classroom. Educators must work to implement instructional strategies that effectively reduce math anxiety and improve student math performance. This study evaluated mastery learning interventions as an effective tool for reducing math anxiety among middle school…

Black, Latinx, and other minoritized students have long been overrepresented in the high-incidence, subjective, disability classifications including Learning Disability, Speech and Language Impairment, Emotional Disturbance, and Intellectual Impairment. Special education places these students on trajectories that deny them access to quality…

While research reports that teacher turnover is still pervasive in schools and school districts across the United States, research is still needed regarding the ever-growing incidence of continuous teacher turnover. The problem addressed in this study is the rising level of teacher turnover in first through eighth grade during the first five years…

The study was a latent profile analysis of teacher classroom management styles. The data used were derived from a randomized control trial that examined the efficacy of the CHAMPS behavior management program on middle school teachers. There were 187 teachers in this study recruited from Midwestern schools. A latent profile analysis was conducted…

A widely-studied topic across behavioral science and education fields, trauma and mental health are often focused on the needs of students rather than staff. This research addresses the reality of institutional systemic trauma (IST) experienced by middle school teachers in a public-school setting. Expanding on current definitions of trauma, IST is…

Secondary school administrators are prone to experience stressors that stem from role conflict, accountability standards, student and parental relationships, staff development, and managerial issues. Through the research foundations of McGrath (Stress Cycle), Gmelch (Administrator Stress Cycle), Allison (Coping Preference Scale) and Maslach's…