This is an exploratory study to examine the perceptions of special education instructional coaches on their role in retaining alternative licensure special education teachers. As public education is an area experiencing hard to fill open positions for special education teachers, many districts are hiring special education teachers on alternative…

A gap in achievement among Black men who pursue post-secondary education remains (Wood & Palmer, 2015). Many Black men start their college education at community colleges, but little is known about their experiences at Historically Black Community Colleges (HBCCs). The purpose of this dissertation of practice was to gain insights into the…

Social-emotional development is impacted in children exposed to chronic trauma (Neitzel, 2020). Children who do not learn how to express healthy reactions to their thoughts and feelings grow up to be adults with long-term health concerns (Loomis, 2018; Miller, 2019; Bartlett & Smith, 2019). The problem addressed through this study was that…

This research focuses on leadership decisions by high school administrators in Maine in response to school closures and subsequent reopening plans due the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to learn the degree to which adaptive leadership was used as a leadership approach in response to a unique, complex and dynamic set of…

This mixed methods approach study examined the experiences and perceptions of educators--both certified and non-certified--in one Connecticut elementary school, which serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire developed by the researcher to respond to a Likert Scale, as well as open…

The problem addressed by this qualitative case study is the lack of effective training for paraprofessionals to deliver systematic prompting to students with moderate-to-severe disabilities in the community setting. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of paraprofessionals, families, and community-based…

School-based mental health promotion (SMHP) has the potential to prevent and address student mental health problems. Teachers are often critically involved in delivery of SMHP innovations, and successful implementation of SMHP interventions requires building adequate teacher capacity for innovation delivery. Thus, understanding how to build this…

US schools have seen limited success in meliorating inequitable outcomes for students of color amid the expanding gap between student and educator racial demographics, yet there is a dearth of research on suburban schools and effective white educators of children of color. While districts and institutions of higher education work to diversify the…

Attrition of African American teachers which outpaces the effectiveness of existing retention strategies used by principals is a documented issue in U.S. public schools. The problem addressed through this study was that K-8 principals in one midwestern school district were challenged to implement strategies to retain African American teachers.…

This study was prompted by the continuous rise in expectations for students with disabilities to have access to the general education curriculum within the general education classroom. This study was a program evaluation on the Marilyn Friend co-teaching models that utilized Stufflebeam's (1960) Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) program…

With the growing number of non-native English speakers, improving communication through direct vocabulary instruction (DVI) is important. The problem investigated in this study was that English as a second language (ESL) teachers were not using the strategy DVI, in the ESL classroom. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore ESL…

The purpose of this study was to provide an examination of the relationships between general education teachers, special education teachers, and paraprofessionals and the influences of these relationships on students with disabilities. This study was conducted through the process of semistructured interviews with general education teachers,…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how a principal's English Language Learner (ELL) educational experience and professional development impacts the collective efficacy of a school staff with a high ELL population. Research questions included the role of principals' ELL preparation, their history of professional…

The Barr Foundation's Engage New England (ENE) initiative was an effort to catalyze high school innovation by developing exemplary schools that support the success of students who are off track to graduate. Grounded in the tenets of positive youth development, the ENE initiative provided grants and technical assistance to support new or redesigned…

Impairments in empathic responding are related to decreased social interactions and fewer friendships for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Teaching adolescents to respond empathetically during conversation may promote the development of healthy social relationships. The current study examined the effectiveness of an affective…