The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how teachers in schools with a highly effective school climate describe leadership styles and qualities of the schools' leadership. The primary research question guiding this study is: How do teachers in schools with a highly effective school climate describe leadership styles and…

Teachers and students constitute the primary relationship dyad in the school--the most common and routine interactions influencing the learning process. It is straightforward to observe the connection between teacher well-being and student well-being and learning; when teachers are well, they can more effectively address students' needs. When…

This dissertation applies cognitive load theory to teacher working conditions in New York City. To connect small-scale cognitive processes with perennial organization-level effects, the theoretical components of this paper develop a novel framework. Load reduction leadership (LRL) illuminates how day-to-day school operations impact staff members'…

Introduction: This dissertation focuses on how informal educators learn through conversations during meetings, planning sessions, and other discussions with colleagues. These on-the-job learning experiences remain relatively understudied, and this dissertation aims to illuminate the dynamics of informal educator relationship-building within…

Teacher job satisfaction is important to retaining high-performing teachers. This study aims to investigate the effects of certain factors, such as age, gender, and years of experience, on overall job satisfaction. This study involved over 400 teachers from a West Tennessee school district, where the Job Satisfaction Survey was distributed. The…

This study presents an action research investigation into the lived experience of race-related stress among Black K-12 educators. The study was motivated by the recognition that Black educators working in White settings are suffering from race-related stress. A qualitative phenomenological case study design was employed to investigate the…

Widespread recognition of trauma's harmful impacts and the related consequences for children, families, and society has resulted in Federal, State, and local initiatives over the last decade to resolve trauma-related issues through the promotion of Trauma-Informed Care. Research of successful implementations of Trauma-Informed Care are a few. This…

This research looked at how higher education leaders identified and managed their emotions in times of institutional change. Interviews were conducted with higher education leaders who were above the level of director and were not chancellors or presidents. The researcher sought to (1) discover the emotions of higher education leaders in times of…

This dissertation, my scholarly professional narrative (SPN), is a self-reflection of mentoring experiences as a Latina millennial in academia and professional settings. These experiences are told through the art of storytelling using "testimonio," which promotes critical awareness of cultural intersectionality and intercultural…

Rising levels of burnout among medical providers have been noted with the phenomenon being identified in the academic setting for these emerging professionals (Dyrbye et al., 2008; West et al., 2018). Recognizing the link between excessive stress, burnout, and low well-being is crucial. (Dyrbye et al., 2010; Loehr & Schwartz, 2001). As…

This mixed methods study analyzed the effect organizational health has on high school assistant principal burnout. The Organizational Health framework for secondary schools consists of seven dimensions: Institutional Integrity, Initiating Structure, Consideration, Principal Influence, Resource Support, Morale, and Academic Emphasis (Hoy &…

Women of Color faculty remain underrepresented across all fields of postsecondary science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM). Although extant literature describes the collective institutional-level experiences of Women of Color faculty, an effort to understand the departmental-level experiences and contextually how the…

Sadly, teacher job satisfaction has been recently depicted as a "portrait of broad teacher discontent" (Phi Delta Kappa, 2019, p. k3), negatively impacting teachers' well-being and retention. This study employed a mixed-methodological approach, composed of: (1) an exploratory factor analysis of participant responses to the Teacher Job…

Instructional leaders are vital to the success of a school given the impact their leadership behaviors can have on teacher retention. This quantitative study investigated the connection between teachers' perceptions of instructional leaders and teacher retention. Furthermore, this study explored which factors had the most significant impact on…

When the teachers miss school, students miss out on new content, a structured environment, and more. Several studies have examined the relationship between teacher absenteeism and pupil achievement and found a strong connection. In fact, there appears to be a one-to-one relationship: a 10-day increase in teacher absence results in at least a…