<p> The purpose of this study was to identify the obstacles faced and strategies used to overcome those obstacles by undergraduate teacher education majors who began their coursework at a community college and completed an Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) degree in teacher education. In this study, the questions asked of the participants touched on the experiences of two groups of seven individuals each, all of whom earned AAT degrees in teacher education. The AAT was initially developed to provide a seamless transfer from the community college to the 4-year college. An oversight council continues to oversee the implementation and efficacy of this degree. 1. One group of prospective teachers, who began their studies at a community college, earned their AAT degrees, and transferred to and graduated from a 4-year teacher education program, became certified, employed teachers. 2. The second group began their studies at a community college, earned their AAT degrees, and then discontinued the journey at some point after graduation from the community college. </p><p> Using the narrative inquiry approach of qualitative research, participants were interviewed, the interviews were transcribed, and the participants validated those transcripts. Analysis of the interviews revealed two major themes in the obstacles faced by participants (college conditions and struggles in their personal lives) and two themes in the strategies used to overcome those obstacles (seeking and accessing a support network and mining the grit within themselves). </p><p> A binary logistic regression was utilized to evaluate the effect of the obstacles (college conditions and struggles in their personal lives) on the participant&rsquo;s outcome (the participant became a certified, employed teacher or not becoming an employed, certified teacher). Results indicated that the greater the number of obstacles a student experienced, the lower the likelihood that student became a certified teacher. That effect was statistically significant for personal obstacles faced. However, the effects regarding the strategies utilized to overcome the obstacles were not significant. </p><p> Recommendations include addressing college instructors&rsquo; problematic interaction with students and the continuing difficulty with the transfer experience that the AAT was to address at its inception.</p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose.</b> The purpose of this study was to explore teacher leadership practice in an effort to understand how the behaviors of teacher leaders, and interactions among them, contribute to teacher and collective efficacy for the purposes of increasing student achievement and closing student achievement gaps. </p><p> <b>Methodology.</b> A grounded theory approach to qualitative research was used to establish a theoretical foundation among the constructs of teacher leadership, efficacy beliefs, and student achievement. Data were primarily collected through an examination of the perspectives of 33 formal and informal teacher leaders in a county in Northern California. </p><p> <b>Findings.</b> A theoretical framework called teacher leadership for efficacy and equity is proposed, which outlines direct and indirect pathways for teacher leadership to improve student achievement. Teachers who improve student achievement and close student achievement gaps through teacher and collective efficacy (a) focus on equity and improvements to teaching and learning; (b) take ownership over the learning of all students and speak positively about them; (c) build relationships with students and show they care; (d) take initiative, are positive, and go above and beyond; (e) collaborate, use data to inform practice, and share ideas and strategies; (f) learn, mentor, coach, and watch each other teach; (g) are flexible, adaptable, customize instruction, and try new things; and (h) experience and celebrate success and share success with others. These practices are guided and supported by shared leadership, collaboration, and school culture. </p><p> <b>Conclusions.</b> Existing teacher leadership research supports elements of Facets A, D, E, F, and G of teacher leadership practice. New findings include teacher leaders&rsquo; maintaining an explicit focus on equity (A), taking ownership over the learning of all students and speaking positively about them (B), building relationships with students and showing care (C), and experiencing and sharing success (H). New findings are supported by research in other areas. </p><p> <b>Recommendations.</b> Teacher leaders who impact student achievement should be considered teachers as well as leaders. Stronger attention should be paid to informal teacher leadership, teacher leadership practice, and fostering equity through teacher leadership. Recommendations include operationalizing this framework in quantitative studies, putting it into practice, and replicating the study in other contexts.</p><p>

<p> This mixed-methods study sought to explore the impact the role a mathematics curriculum coach has on teacher efficacy and instructional practice. </p><p> School systems across the country are being asked to do more with less money. At the same time, districts are faced with mathematics standards that require a new approach to instruction. In response to these issues, school districts are choosing to implement the role of a mathematics curriculum coach. As a result, the question is raised, &ldquo;are the funds utilized for math coaches being used effectively?&rdquo; This mixed-methods study compared two schools of similar makeup. School A employs a math curriculum coach, while School B employs a general curriculum coach. Through the use of a survey (MTEBI), curriculum coach journaling, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews, this study sought to answer three research questions: (a) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher instructional practices in the area of math; (b) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher perceptions of their instructional practice; and (c) What is the impact of the use of a math curriculum coach on teacher sense of self-efficacy? The survey was administered to all teachers at both schools with an overall response rate of 63.6%. The focus groups and interviews were a small random sample of teachers at each school who provided an in-depth view of their perceptions regarding the impact of the coaches on their instructional practice and self-efficacy as related to mathematics. The teachers had high levels of self-efficacy when teaching math and high outcome expectancy. These measures did not change over the period of the study. This study found that the math curriculum coach did have an impact on teacher instructional practices.</p><p>

<p>Visual art teachers, from beginning to veteran, often report experiencing feelings of professional isolation and a desire for content-specific support and collaborative professional learning experiences. Mentoring and Induction Programs (IPs) offered by schools and districts continue to fall short of meeting the needs of beginning visual art teachers in particular. There are a large number of visual art teachers in the state of California, especially in Los Angeles County, yet there are no visual art specific support networks for beginning visual art teachers to help them navigate their first years teaching. Collaborative learning groups, such as communities of practice (CoP), may offer visual art teachers opportunities to learn together and support one another in shared learning, yet none have been formally documented in Los Angeles County as a means of supporting novice art educators. The Exploratorium in San Francisco, CA has established a community of practice called the Teacher Induction Program (TIP) to support beginning science teachers with content-specific pedagogy during their first two years of teaching. Using the TIP as a framework, a visual art professional growth support community was outlined for this study based on the needs and concerns of visual art teachers reported throughout the literature. Beginning visual art teachers in Los Angeles County were interviewed to help the researcher better understand their existing and desired supports, as well as their individual needs and concerns as new teachers. The visual art CoP was proposed to them to elicit feedback about its anticipated values (immediate, potential, applied) based on their lived experiences as first or second year PK-12 public school visual art teachers in Los Angeles County.

<p> The compounding experiences of colonial miseducation of youth of color, neoliberal policies and logics in urban communities, colonial logics that render the role of spirituality in social movements as invisible, and adultism in legal and social institutions constrain the transformative possibilities of youth agency in social movements. This study explored (a) how educators working in youth movements can build a decolonizing paradigm and practice for transformative organizing and (b) new paradigmatic interventions and theoretical directions that can help inform a transformative youth organizing approach. The research was conducted through a decolonizing interpretive research methodology (Darder, 2015a) and utilized the interrelated lenses of critical pedagogy and decolonizing pedagogy, in order to gain a historicity of scholarly discussions about the logics of coloniality, social movement theories, and youth-organizing frameworks across various texts. By utilizing the decolonizing interpretive methodology and decolonizing and critical pedagogy theoretical frameworks, this study found that a decolonizing social movement framework for transformative youth organizing calls for (a) creating counterhegemonic havens that create solidarity spaces between youth and adults; (b) building authentic revolution through communion between youth and adults, community-building, and communion with indigenous peoples and the Earth; (c) cultivating a sense of love that sustains community bonds to facilitate healing; (d) promoting healing through engaging in dialectics and dialogue; and (e) creating opportunities for agency and creation to implement the praxis of transformative youth organizing. The findings support the need for adults seeking to authentically be in solidarity with youth to engage in transformative justice practices that help communities collectively heal from colonial violence and engage in a counterhegemonic praxis of creating new transformative and liberatory possibilities in communities. </p><p>

<p> Although a great deal of research exists regarding various components of the Writing-Based Practice along with best practice of writing instruction, the research that does exist only examines how writing instruction impacts writing. This research study, however, examined whether there is a potential connection between a writing immersion program, the WBP, and growth in both social and emotional awareness. Specifically, the purpose of this Mixed Methods Triangulation Design-Convergence Model (Denzin, 1970; Creswell, Plano Clark, et al., 2003) was to investigate the potential relationship that may exist between the Writing-Based Practice and social and emotional awareness in adolescents.</p><p> The study consisted of the following method of data collection for two-hundred and forty-one eighth-grade students: questionnaires and six case studies which involved interviews, observations, and collecting artifacts. This study was conducted at a suburban middle school in southeastern Pennsylvania. All the parents of the eighth-graders were asked to sign a consent form to allow their child to participate. I surveyed only those students whose parents gave permission. Case study participants were selected based on PSSA 2014/2015 results. Data analysis employed the SPSS software to help analyze the quantitative portion of the study while coding. All qualitative data analysis was conducted by the researcher using conventional and summative content analysis. I trained a second coder for each child in the case studies reliability.</p><p> Results indicated there was sufficient evidence indicating statistically significant positive change for group interaction, risk-taking, and self-perception when exposed to the WBP over the course of the school year. Additionally, there was sufficient evidence to conclude positive change on both creative and analytical writing style when exposed to the WBP over the course of the school year.</p><p> For students to be successful in college and career, social and emotional skills are essential. This research fills a gap in the literature because there is nothing that addresses this problem. If, in fact, the WBP infrastructure does promote social and emotional growth, while also improving writing skills, it is relevant because not only will the students be better prepared for college, career and beyond, they will also grow through self-reflection.</p><p>

<p> This correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between teacher perceptions of technology use and observed classroom technology integration level using the <i>Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey</i> (TUPS) and the <i>Technology Integration Matrix- Observation</i> (TIM-O) instruments, developed by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology (FCIT) at USF. Anonymized data were obtained from FCIT that included 51 teachers from a Florida school district who completed the TUPS and were observed using the TIM-O. Linear regression was used to determine the overall relationship between perceptions and technology integration, as well as the overall predictive value of teacher perceptions on technology integration level. Both were found to be statistically significant; a low-moderate relationship existed between the TUPS and the TIM-O, and the TUPS was found to be a predictor of the TIM-O level. In addition, multiple regression was used to determine the relationship between each of the seven areas of the TUPS and the TIM-O level, as well as the predictive ability of each of the TUPS domains on the TIM-O level. Although none of the domains had a statistically significant relationship or predictive value, several subgroups had significant findings in the domains of confidence and comfort, and skills and usefulness. This study supports previous research in teacher perceptions and beliefs and furthers the research by including predictive relationships. Administrators, professional developers, and support staff can use these findings to target teacher professional learning opportunities in technology integration.</p><p>

<p> Teaching in an urban school that serves communities with a high concentration of poverty seems to involve the development of specific, contextually relevant teaching skills. For years, the particular challenges of teaching in under-served schools in the United States have contributed to the attrition of talented, experienced teachers, leaving many urban schools scrambling to find qualified teachers. For this and other reasons, urban charter school leaders frequently hire young, inexperienced teachers. Urban charter school leaders often seek to provide intense support to these teachers in an effort to increase the likelihood of retaining them and providing the students in their classrooms with a high-quality education. This study is grounded in a conceptual framework including three major strands of work: teacher professional development opportunities, professional development for first-year teachers, and teaching in urban environments. This practitioner research study involved collecting contextualized data about professional development opportunities from eighteen first-year teachers at two different points during their first year of teaching. The data from these interviews was used to ascertain how participants reported their experiences of professional development opportunities as influencing their teaching practice. This study&rsquo;s findings demonstrate that participants focused largely on how strategies that were immediately implementable influenced their teaching practice, especially those related to classroom management. Teachers also reported that their experiences of professional development were supported by the growth stance that exists regarding professional development at Explore Schools. In conclusion, this study offers rich data regarding how first-year teachers report professional development opportunities as influencing their practice and offers evidence to support the idea that first-year teachers in urban charter schools may benefit from opportunities that focus on information that can be immediately implemented. </p>

<p> Literature on teacher evaluation describes a flawed system that evokes wide-ranging attempts to &ldquo;get it right&rdquo;. This qualitative study is another effort that seeks to understand its legal and traditional constructs. The goal of this research is to identify growth-producing practices that will transform teacher evaluation into an organic and sustainable process that promotes professional growth. </p><p> Through the interview study design, 26 administrators and teachers shared their perceptions on growth-producing teacher evaluation practices in individualized 60-minute in-depth interviews. The findings revealed that administrators&rsquo; over adherence to rules and legal structures limits the process into mere compliance which challenges the growth-model. Teachers&rsquo; perceptions centered on feedback as a key element in improving practice, and on the effectiveness of the evaluation tool and the evaluator as pivotal elements in teachers&rsquo; professional growth. The overarching theme targeted a collaborative culture that would thrive in a Constructivist Professional Community (CPC), a conceptual framework that was envisioned at the initial stage of the study, and later confirmed to be a feasible teacher evaluation model based on the study&rsquo;s findings. Linda Lambert&rsquo;s Constructivist leadership theory and Wenger&rsquo;s theory on Communities of Practice guided the formulation of the CPC Model. </p><p> This study proposes a transformational culture that conforms with constructivist practices.</p><p>

This life history research utilizes life story, a form of personal narrative, with a veteran teacher leader to understand what fosters and sustains teacher leaders. This research contributes to the literature by focusing on how the life story of one veteran educator, Dr. Nettie Webb, can inform possibilities rather than focusing on how personal narratives impede possibilities of change in the early years of teaching. I have selected Dr. Webb as an exemplar or instrumental case for her personal achievements as an African American woman located in the context of one Eastern United States community with cultural, institutional and historical commitments to valuing every citizen's contributions. The centrality of teaching across her career makes Dr. Webb uniquely positioned to inform the possibilities of teacher leadership in our current educational culture. Constructivist grounded theory strategies were used to analyze extensive in-depth conversational interviews, a subsequent dialogic interview on personal agency and a collection of career-spanning documents. Categories such as risk and feedback are explicated as implications for how we can foster and support the next generation of teacher leaders through the concept of personal agency. Praxis, the legacy of care and the culture of fear are discussed in the context of personal networks, professional learning communities and the historical norms of caution. Trustworthiness was established by multiple methods, including extensive member checking. The life story of an exemplary veteran teacher leader like Dr. Webb, a person committed to advocating for children in the context of the last five decades of social and educational reform, risks being lost. By capturing Dr. Nettie Webb's life work in print, it not only becomes an accessible memory of this woman and her work but a placeholder of possibility and a window to our educational and social history.