The purpose of this mixed model study was to examine middle school teachers and counselors' perceptions and beliefs about the benefits of social and emotional learning in middle school. It also looked at how middle school teachers and counselors perceived their level of competence when it comes to social emotional learning practices. Efforts to…

This study examined the variations between providing secondary-school teachers with collaborative professional development (PD) and traditional PD. Although the U.S. local and federal governments spend billions of dollars on teacher PDs each year, there is still a debate on the effectiveness of those trainings. Research suggests that the most…

K-12 students with disabilities in the United States are increasingly enrolling in online schools and educational programs. Therefore, K-12 online public and charter school special education (SpecEd) teachers must be prepared to develop and implement individualized educational plans (IEPs) that meet the procedural and substantive requirements of…

The study explores the integration of technology in teaching mathematics, providing current secondary mathematics teachers with effective practices and guiding future mathematics teachers toward a technology-pedagogical approach. In this study, I focused on effective teaching practices with technology in teaching mathematics to current secondary…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how K-8 teachers in Nevada describe computational concepts, practices, and perspectives preparation in making them ready to teach computer science. Brennan and Resnick's computational thinking served as the theoretical framework for this study. Four research questions guided this…

With adolescent mental health problems on the rise, secondary school teachers are in a prime position to support students. This study sought to fill a scholarly research gap and inform future mental health literacy (MHL) training needs for teachers and to identify implications for their professional practice. Specifically, this study sought to…

This mixed methods study was conducted to investigate the impact the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and coaching style of an instructional coach has on middle grades teacher instructional practices. The results of this study can be used to inform school leaders, administrators, and instructional coaches on methods for improving instructional…

This study is an exploration of who teachers of languages other than English in the United States are becoming as professionals in this historically marginalized discipline. Despite advances to support language teachers within the profession, there is a dearth of research investigating whether and how in-service language teachers sustain…

The literature on entrepreneurship education in Indonesian vocational high schools is sparse and inadequately evaluated. Future research should aim to enhance students' entrepreneurial competencies and intentions by integrating practical environments and experiential learning into the curriculum. However, transitioning to these methods presents…

The ways teachers understand mathematics that is useful for teaching, known as mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), has been a center of attention for the research and policy communities. A teacher's MKT has been shown to be a significant factor in predicting student outcomes and positively related to the quality of mathematics instructional…

Despite the promise of equal education opportunities for all students in the nation, the achievement/opportunity gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their non-ELLs peers persists. Time, effort, and resources of all kids have been invested in educational reforms to improve these students' outcomes without success (Darling-Hammond,…

For my dissertation requirement, I conducted two research projects, collaborating with my dissertation advisor on both projects. In my first project, I employed a phenomenology methodology to investigate how teachers' professional needs, practices, and motivations align with the goals of the professional learning community to enhance teacher…

Research on how to best meet the academic needs and potential of gifted students with disabilities, known as twice-exceptional or 2e, has grown over the past 30 years. While recognition of 2e learners is slowly extending to educational policy, there are few school program options designed to accommodate 2e students and even fewer studies on the…

In schools today, many elementary school teachers have inadequate training and understanding of foundational mathematics. This lack of mathematical understanding could impact the lessons and activities in their classrooms. This study aims to showcase journeys of teachers' mathematical journeys, their experiences as students, as pre-service…

This qualitative study explores K-12 classroom teachers' perceptions and experiences in meeting the needs of language learners, specifically English language learners (ELLs) and dual-language learners (DLLs). Addressing two main research questions, it investigated how teachers' preservice learning and development prepared them for instructing…