Partnerships between researchers and educators have become a common mode of working to support processes of school improvement. However, research on the processes and outcomes of long-term partnerships remains marginal. This paper increases our knowledge about the processes and experiences involved when researcher-interventionists introduce…

Students bring their life histories, including traumatic experiences, to their learning and education. Potentially up to 75% of the student body of occupational therapy programs may have experienced a traumatic event, which often leads to occupational disruption and challenges in academic performance. Thus, it is critical for occupational therapy…

Research demonstrates that school connectedness protects students from risky behaviors and improves healthy development and academic achievement. Despite its importance, there has been little focus on how to promote school connectedness through school-based interventions. One problem with this area of practical application is that school…

This dissertation in practice investigated and addressed the issue of low faculty engagement with instructional design support (IDS) office support services at a regional comprehensive university in the United States. The Performance Improvement/Human Performance Technology (PI/HPT) model used in this study is a practitioner-based performance…

Coaching is an increasingly used professional development approach involving ongoing, individualized teacher-coach exchanges hypothesized to drive immediate changes in teachers' practices with students. Examining this hypothesis, the present study quantifies marginal changes after individual coaching cycles in a set of commonly considered,…

A case study was implemented in one rural district as it transitioned to a trauma-informed environment. A theoretical framework based on the literature framed the data collection around the seven themes of awareness, positive culture, intentional instruction, restorative practice, self-care, mental health support services, and professional…

This study utilized six focus groups to explore 49 early childhood teachers' perspectives and reported use of Pyramid Model practices to support young children's social emotional competence in the Republic of Georgia. Constant comparison analysis was used to analyze participants' responses. Early childhood educators described implementing some…

This dissertation consists of two chapters on topics in economics of education. In the first chapter, I develop and estimate an equilibrium model of endogenous instruction and student effort in order to empirically investigate the relationship between instructional choices, classroom composition, and student achievement in elementary school. The…

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the essential elements of Response to Intervention programs among 150 high performing Title I schools with high rates of poverty as measured by free/reduced lunch participation rates. Response to Intervention (RTI) is a nationally-known instructional model used to assist students who are struggling to…

The purpose of the study was to determine the efficacy of a specific instructional change by engaging teachers in reflecting on the change process using the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as an instrument of measurement. Data were collected and analyzed using Stages of Concern questionnaires and Levels of Use surveys as well as interviews to…

Schools implement Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) as a way of meeting students' needs in classrooms. PBIS focuses on tiered instruction. Tiered instruction is a teaching strategy in which the educator implements incremental changes that increase supports based on students' needs--academic or behavioral. Yet, tiered instruction…

There is limited robust evidence of the effectiveness of professional development (PD) on teacher retention. This study tested The Academy for Teachers' PD program, a content-focused intensive workshop with complementary events. This program is designed to impact teacher retention, support integration of material into the classroom and teacher…

Coaching is becoming widely recognized as a tool to help early childhood educators enhance teaching and build professional skills. Although effective, the use of an external coach can be cost and time prohibitive. This study examined the effectiveness of internal peer coaches as compared to external coaches in implementation fidelity of an…

This work offers a conceptual synthesis of several contemporary educational service delivery models that implicitly embed compassionate educational practices into supporting the learning and growth of diverse student populations. This manuscript discusses how such paradigms, such as culturally responsive positive behavior intervention and supports…

Research has shown educators' implicit biases to be a key factor in creating and perpetuating disparities in students' experiences of schooling, learning, and longer-term outcomes, including job opportunities, wealth, and health. Current school reform and transformation efforts are aimed at addressing institutionalized racism in school policies,…