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…

Artificial intelligence was an emergent and powerful new force in education. The public release of ChatGPT 3.0 in 2022 transformed learning for many students. This phenomenological qualitative study sought to record and analyze student's perspectives on the influence of artificial intelligence on their learning routines. This study collected data…

Employment and training services offered through Extension are part of and continue a long tradition of policy-focused employment and job training. This paper chronicles the successes of UT Extension's work as a third-party partner in the delivery of workforce development programming geared toward individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition…

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…

Administrative burden, or the frictions individuals experience in accessing public programs, has implications for whether and which eligible individuals receive aid. While prior research documents barriers to accessing federal financial aid, less is known about the extent to which state aid programs impose administrative burden, how administrative…

High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

Obtaining a college degree is positively correlated with gains in socioeconomic mobility. However, college is expensive. Given the importance of college in increasing social mobility, lawmakers have proposed eliminating student debt. Joe Biden, for example, has incorporated eliminating student debt into his presidential campaign promise. While…

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?"Urban STEM Collaboratory" is a five-year project sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that addresses challenges to student success in STEM disciplines through a multi-institutional collaboration via?the?University of Memphis (UofM), University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), and Indiana University-Purdue University…

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…