For states to succeed in their efforts to improve reading instruction, they must ensure teachers are prepared to implement and sustain scientifically based reading instruction. The states most successful in leveraging policy to improve reading outcomes for students have taken a cohesive and comprehensive approach focused on improving teachers'…

The use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) to assist college students in their studies has become a trend. However, there is no academic consensus on whether Gen-AI can enhance the academic achievement of college students. Using a meta-analytic approach, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Gen-AI in improving the…

Numerous scholars have investigated the determinants of university innovation efficiency. However, the internal governance aspects of universities and their interactions with the external environment are frequently neglected. Therefore, this study, grounded in the framework of embeddedness theory, employed the Stochastic Frontier Analysis method…

A little less than half of the students of higher Ed institutions in the US graduate in four years, and only around 60% finish in six years. Retention rates are also less than ideal. Colleges have been experimenting with a variety of programs and policies to address this issue, especially less selective institutions whose rates are significantly…

Continuous improvement is the process of making incremental changes to systems or processes to improve outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a study to learn how continuous improvement might serve as a vehicle for further conceptualizing profound learning theory at the individual learner level. The research began with a…

In this qualitative study, the researcher investigated and described the specific leadership practices employed by elementary principals in Texas to initiate school improvement in campuses designated as needing targeted support, additional targeted support, or comprehensive support and improvement by the Texas Education Agency (2023a). The…

The role of principal supervisors has changed significantly, moving away from a focus on compliance and towards a greater emphasis on nurturing principals' instructional leadership skills. As a result of this evolution, there is now an increased presence of supervisors in schools, but there are no clear guidelines for their activities. This study…

Recently, integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has gained sustained attention in K-12 settings, and engineering design-based pedagogy has become a key issue. Compared with rich research in higher education, relatively few studies are performed on engineering education in K-12 schools. In this study, we…

Professional learning may be the most significant when the teacher feels fundamentally challenged and questioned about their practices, beliefs, or identities. In this paper, the elements that cause such fundamental challenges and questions -- disruptions -- are called 'disruptive hooks'. In the process of addressing such disruptive hooks,…

This Dissertation in Practice applied an improvement science approach to address an actionable problem of practice in higher education: lack of assessment of student satisfaction with academic advising. The study took place in a school within a public university in the Southeastern United States. A pre-intervention assessment of the current state…

School quality is the most important aspect and a major issue in the education system. This research aims to explore the influence of teamwork and curriculum effectiveness on improving school quality. The method employed is based on a quantitative design with a survey approach. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 146 respondents. School…

Promoting equity and improvement science have seen increased attention over the last several years as educators seek to expand the experiences, opportunities, and outcomes for marginalized students. This book shows school and district leaders how to create the conditions needed to use improvement science--with its robust collection of tools,…

In the wake of the global pandemic, K12 schools are experiencing significant challenges with educator retention, ambiguous policy mandates, increased accountability, and inadequate teacher and principal pipelines. At the same time, philanthropic investments have increased the growth and influence of educational intermediary organizations as change…

One key mechanism through which evaluation facilitates teachers' growth is principals' feedback during teacher evaluation. In this study, we examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of feedback quality and improvement in their instructional practices. We used student report--a meaningful but rarely used measure--to measure the…

This article argues that the last three decades of school improvement policies have progressively limited the places and arguments created for arts education in public schools. The result has been a steady marginalization of the arts in the work of school improvement, an exacerbation of opportunity gaps related to access to arts education, and a…