Student activists have been an historic driver of higher education social justice reform. While this form of leadership is central to improving equity outcomes in higher education, scholars and practitioners often view organizational change as a top-down process centering senior administrators, staff, and faculty. Empowering student activists as…

This dissertation is motivated by the urgent uncertainty of teacher education pedagogy. The work is urgent because students and schools need teachers to be proficient, equitable, and self-sufficient from the moment they take the helm of the classroom, and it is uncertain because teacher education research has struggled to definitively articulate…

The purpose of this mixed method study was to investigate practice-based evidence by comparing secondary level general and special education teachers' perceptions of co-teaching experiences. Three research questions were answered to determine the perceptions of effective co-teaching methods in secondary inclusive classrooms: (1) Using the…

This study examined the professional learning engagement of Texas public school teachers in the ESC-20 region while teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research questions focused on participants' perceptions of emergency remote teaching (ERT), engagement in professional learning, transformations as adult learners, and professional learning to…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine how teachers' beliefs affect their use of formative assessment practices. I studied the teachers' values of formative assessments, as well as how they used formative assessments in the classroom. Additionally, I examined how the teachers used the formative assessment results to not only modify their…

Secondary school administrators play a vital role as instructional leaders, specifically those that are aimed at improving students' learning of science content (Hill & Grossman, 2013). Unfortunately, administrators rarely have a background in science (Halverson et al., 2011). Little is known about an administrator's knowledge of science…

Equitable instructional practices have a positive impact on the academic achievement of students living in high poverty. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers' perceptions of their abilities to implement equitable instructional practices in high-poverty schools. Gorski's equity literacy framework was the approach used…

This study examines federal law IDEIA and its four purposes. This research aims to understand better this federal law's purpose and what it is supposed to do. The researcher examined her own experiences with special education and other families' experiences across the United States. Within these personal stories are both negative and positive…

This study was conducted to compare the impact of technology-centered instructional methods on student performance in literacy to the impact of non-digital instructional practices. Additionally, this research was designed to identify specific program implementation measures used during the implementation of the prevailing instructional method and…

One of the core tensions in open educational practice in current mathematics and physical science coursework is the use of online homework systems. Many such tools are from commercial providers and have profit to that provider as a motive. Open resources are pursued by those who, for reasons of cost or of pedagogy, seek to resist the tools of…

Children in foster care face multiple barriers compared to their nonfoster peers, especially as it pertains to their educational success. The problem was school administrators, such as principals and assistant principals, face greater challenges in meeting the educational needs of foster children in addition to balancing the extraneous issues…

A problematic imbalance of academic discrepancies continues to exist within our schools today, leading to school failure for many of our students. Teachers must be prepared to provide effective instructional methods that increase the reading outcomes for all students. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the perceptions of…

One of the great failures, so far, of the United States experiment with democracy is the failure to ensure that every child receives an equitable educational experience. This study was conducted to contribute both to scholarship and to educational practices aimed at correcting years of disenfranchising Black and Brown children through oppressive…

Preservice teachers (PSTs) in teacher education programs frequently experience a disconnect between coursework and fieldwork, often referred to as the theory-practice gap. This study considered the mediated field experience (MFE) as a pedagogy that may help to bridge this divide in mathematics education by encouraging the creation of a hybrid…

This mixed-methods study explored how multi-sensory activities such as the use of the action sensory room affected the instructional practices of special education teachers in elementary settings. The researcher revealed the special education teachers' perceptions regarding changes to student outcomes as a result of sensory integration.…