The U.S. public educational system is antiquated yet designed for the achievement results we see today. All students deserve educators willing to look within, ask difficult questions, have courageous conversations, be vulnerable, and address why schools are continually underperforming. There are researchers and educators determined to do just that…

One of the greatest challenges for schools is to identify effective and ineffective teachers in a classroom. Teacher evaluation is an expensive process in both time and resources. It is important that evaluations provide data to improve teaching and learning. Therefore, each evaluation needs to communicate opportunities for growth. This…

Public schools follow school improvement guidelines to improve outcomes for students. This study utilized a quantitative method with a correlational design to discern any relationship between the NCStar School Improvement Program Indicators and student proficiency scores. The population for the study was 636 public high schools implementing the…

This study aimed to investigate the impact of LETRS professional development on reading proficiency. I used ANOVA tests to analyze third- through fifth-grade EOG assessment scores for changes in proficiency from 2021-2023. The results indicated a statistically significant change in the means for all grades. Third-grade results reflected the most…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experience of administrators in developing school improvement plans. The outcome being sought was an informed framework to build the capacity of administrators to strategically plan for school improvement. The central research question for this study was the following: How do…

This research study evaluated the effects of the Comprehensive Supports and Improvement (CSI) program on the performance of fifty-six participating schools after one year of school improvement technical assistance. Specifically, it investigated whether the geographic locations of schools, the percentage of inexperienced teachers, and school…

Many countries around the world are implementing changes to their systems of teacher education in an effort to improve the way teachers teach and how much children learn in school. This dissertation uses the case of Ghana to examine how a suite of ambitious reforms--including the upgrading of teacher education to university education, a new…

Up to 78% of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students experience poor academic achievement as defined by course grades of D, F and W in college. Students entering these fields are often not prepared (Chen & Soldner, 2013) and struggle to succeed in gateway STEM courses, with one-third of them possibly failing (Freeman…

Superintendents spend most of their time on administrative tasks and have a significant role in improving instructional outcomes. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the how superintendents envision their role in improving student achievement, as well as the actions they take to enact that role. Semi-structured interviews with 14…

As large expenditures are made every year to support the professional learning of teachers, it is critical to know if these endeavors are effective. Mathematics coaching has become an avenue that is believed to be an effective form of professional development in supporting mathematics teachers in their own improvement of teaching mathematics.…

Despite the implementation of reform policies and accountability measures on the federal, state, and local levels, the problem of struggling schools and students has lingered in the United States public education system. New York State has recently revised how struggling schools are identified and how they are held accountable for improving…

This research study has been designed to be an evergreen project to help higher education institutions define their external partnerships. The action research model has been used to create and test a model of external engagement, which was later redefined as the Reaney Model of External Engagement with the intent for continuous improvement.…

Although there are many professions that can easily lead to burnout, educators sit high on the list. Burnout for educators can be caused by a variety of factors such as classroom behaviors/management, feelings of being under-appreciated, and parents just to name a few. Past studies have been conducted to determine if self-efficacy also plays a…

This study investigated how and to what extent colleges and universities are integrating self-efficacy components within their Quality Enhancement Plans. Higher education institutions that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), the regional accrediting body for 11 southern states, are…

A critical component of school systems that contributes to impactful student outcomes is teacher retention and the support structures designed to improve teacher retention. There has been substantial research into teacher attrition and retention rates in the K-12 public-school sector (Brill & McCartney, 2008; Ingersoll, 2012; Ingersoll &…