This qualitative study focused on the perceived effectiveness of a formal mentoring program in developing instructional leadership skills for K-12 novice principals with 5 or fewer years of experience. The 13 participants for this study were derived from 200 public schools in the Southwest Tennessee area. The participants consented to participate…

Reading fluency has been a tenacious problem in our schools. Studies have addressed the national decline in reading fluency in elementary schools. Tennessee's data outlines a similar pattern of findings. Approximately one third of Tennessee students complete third grade without becoming fluent readers (Tennessee Department of Education, 2023). New…

The purpose of this study was to investigate East Tennessee State University alumni's perceptions of the effectiveness of internship experiences as students learned the PSEL and TILS standards and the role of mentor support as they prepared for principalship. The participants obtained their administrative license and worked currently with an…

Understanding and addressing the literacy needs of middle school students is critical in ensuring their academic success. This quantitative study examines the literacy growth among middle school students participating in Tier II Response to Intervention and Instruction (RTI[superscript 2]) programs over the 2023-2024 academic year. It investigates…

For the purposes of this study, criteria for non-traditional students were: adults ages 25 and older, race/ethnicity, gender, entry date or transfer to a community college in Middle Tennessee during fall 2015 through summer 2021, and Pell/Grant eligibility. The problem is that non-traditional students have lower completions than traditional…

The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which teachers received the education or training that prepared them to teach social studies content knowledge, social studies critical thinking skills, and their overall preparation to become highly qualified teachers. The participants in the study were active social studies teachers in Tennessee…

A significant number of educators depart from the profession within their initial 5 years, particularly in urban and rural schools with a notable prevalence of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This circumstance often presents school districts with the challenge of either hiring underqualified personnel or leaving instructional…

Many elementary school students require and may benefit from supplemental reading support and interventions that can be provided by afterschool programs. The problem addressed in this study was that it was not known if third grade students benefited from an afterschool reading program in one East Tennessee District. The purpose of this…

The United States is seeing a widespread teacher shortage. Enrollments in TPPs have declined over the past decades, attrition rates are high, and the COVID-19 pandemic just exacerbated the issue. National and state governments, colleges and universities, and school districts have been looking to strengthen the teacher pipeline by establishing…

The United States is seeing a widespread teacher shortage. Enrollments in TPPs have declined over the past decades, attrition rates are high, and the COVID-19 pandemic just exacerbated the issue. National and state governments, colleges and universities, and school districts have been looking to strengthen the teacher pipeline by establishing…

New teachers felt unprepared as they entered their first year of teaching and were leaving the teaching field at a high rate every school year. Tennessee, like many other states, had a critical shortage of secondary mathematics teachers. Secondary mathematics has been considered a high-needs subject area. New teacher induction programs were…

This study employed a mixed-methods explanatory sequential design to provide a richer understanding of the relationship between peer mentoring and the academic success of students in STEM gatekeeper courses. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors contributing to the students' retention and persistence in a STEM program at an HBCU by…

The purpose of this study was to explore the difference participating in career and technical (CTE) dual enrollment courses made on the college and career readiness of recent high school graduates. The research also explored if CTE dual enrollment participation changed high school students' perceptions about education. Participants in this…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were achievement and behavior differences between three groups of students: (1) African American males from single-parent homes who had a mentor, (2) African American males from single-parent homes who did not have a mentor, and (3) African American males from a two-parent home that includes…

Increasing numbers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are being placed in the general classroom requiring educators to know how to use evidence-based strategies and interventions to address challenges related to their social skills and behaviors. The purpose of this case study was to understand rural school educators' perspectives…