<p> The correlational study focused on the relationship between academic achievement and mattering theory of African American undergraduate men attending private historically black colleges or universities. The 45 question <i> Mattering Scales Questionnaire for College Students</i> (Kettle, 2001) instrument was administered to (N = 75) undergraduate African American men attending a private historically black college in the southeastern United States. The results indicated a positive relationship between interactions with the administration and academic achievement. The findings also suggested undergraduate African American men attending historically black college or universities expressed unfavorable or neutral perceptions of mattering toward historically black colleges or universities.</p><p>

<p> Over the past fifty years, cheating among high school students increased substantially and affected the morale of students (Simha, Armstrong, &amp; Albert, 2012). According to a nationally representative survey of 36,000 U.S. adolescents, some 60% of high school students confessed to cheating on a test during the previous school year, and that the behavior among these students had spiked over the past 50 years (Murdock, Beauchamp, &amp; Hinton, 2008). Armenian high school students agree that cheating is morally wrong; however, their actions do not reflect this belief (Bowers, 1964; McCabe &amp; Trevino, 1996; Semerci, 2006). The study aims to address gaps in the literature by using Kohlberg&rsquo;s (1958) theory of moral development (as cited in Hannah, Lester, &amp; Lester, 2005) to examine how academic dishonesty, such as cheating, is associated with the moral development level of Armenian private high school students in Southern California, and the extent to which, if at all, this relationship is moderated by the degree of students&rsquo; performance orientation. No prior research is known to have been done with this specific cultural group in a high school setting.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate if and to what extent Northeast PA middle school principals&rsquo; use of a Transformational Leadership (TL) style related to their teachers&rsquo; perceptions of self-efficacy. TL includes four specific leadership behaviors: intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, inspirational motivation, and individual consideration. The sample included 217 middle-grade teachers (4^th&ndash;8^th) from six middle schools in four school districts. Instruments included: the Multi-Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) on Transformational Leadership (TL) behaviors, and Bandura&rsquo;s Teacher Self-Efficacy Scales (TSES). Transformational leadership and teacher self-efficacy were the theories used to undergird the study. Results indicated that principals&rsquo; TL style did have a statistically significant relationship with teacher self-efficacy in regard to total score (<i>r_s</i> = .331, p &lt; .001), and a statistically significant relationship with each of the four components of transformational leadership: intellectual stimulation (<i>r_s</i> = .301, p &lt; .001); idealized influence (<i>r_s</i> = .273, p &lt; .001); inspirational motivation (<i> r_s</i> = .289, p &lt; .001); and individual consideration (<i>r_s</i> = .243, p &lt; .001). Results revealed that teacher perceptions of their principals&rsquo; TL were related to higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. These results offer new insight and add to the existing body of knowledge on how principals can build higher performing schools by transforming teacher self-efficacy through attitudes of empowerment, growth, and improvement. The results of this study have implications for school leaders of all levels, educational researchers, and teachers in regard to facilitating teacher self-efficacy development by engaging in transformational leadership behaviors.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the percentage of suspensions and expulsions between African American males and the combination of males of other ethnicities based upon school district settings of city and county in K-12 public school divisions in Region II of Virginia. The researcher analyzed archival data from approximately 65,000 males in Grades 2&ndash;10 enrolled in Virginia&rsquo;s public schools in Region II. To analyze quantitative data, descriptive statistics, such as the mean and standard deviation scores, were used as well as frequency distributions and measures of central tendency. Two two-way analyses of variance were conducted to understand if there was an interaction between the two independent variables (student ethnicity and school district setting) and the dependent variables (number of suspensions and number of expulsions). The study results indicated that there were no recorded expulsions in the data file, as the values were all 0. There were suspensions, however, and the results indicated that there was a statistically significantly greater proportion of suspensions among African American males than the combination of males of other ethnicities. Additionally, there was insufficient evidence to determine if a difference exists between city and county schools in the percentage of suspensions, nor was there a significant ethnicity&ndash;division-type interaction. The findings from this study may have important implications for educators and local and state policymakers who may be considering ways to improve discipline practices in public schools.</p><p>

<p> This exploratory mixed method convergent parallel study examined Connecticut Educational leadership preparation programs for the existence of mental health content to learn the extent to which pre-service school leaders are prepared for addressing student mental health. Interviews were conducted with school mental health experts and Connecticut school principals to learn what leadership competencies they believe are needed for pre-service school leaders to address the mental health conditions of students. Responses yielded 11 suggested leadership competency content categories which served as the basis of two researcher-developed surveys completed by Connecticut program course professors and pre-service school leader students rating the extent to which mental health content was included in course work and field experience. Program course syllabi were examined for mental health content. Findings from the three data sources suggest there is a dearth of mental health content in curricula, and insufficient attention to clinical internship experiences. Connecticut Educational leadership preparation programs could do better in preparing pre-service school leaders for addressing the mental health needs of students.</p><p>

<p> The problem that undergirds this study is the communication and understanding gap that exists between parents of Long Term English Language Learners (LTELL) and educational institutions. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover what Latino parents of LTELLs understood about their children&rsquo;s language development as well as their academic standing. Using focus groups and interviews, the study examined how five parents of LTELL students communicated with their children&rsquo;s schools and what understanding they held about the educational programs and policies in the district. The study included gathering parents&rsquo; ideas for how to improve the current system of communication between parents of LTELLs and the schools. </p><p> By exploring parents perceptions, through counter-story telling, of what was communicated to them about their children&rsquo;s linguistic progress and academic placement, they made sense of current practices and determined future expectations between them and the school. Additionally, the study helped parents understand the academic trajectory and linguistic development of their children and the impact they can create by having their voices heard. </p><p> The analysis revealed four overarching themes. First, parents moved to the U.S. because they <i>desired for a better future</i> for their children. Second, the notion of <i>education versus la educaci&oacute;n </i> was explored, where parents expressed cultural and linguistic teaching expectations at home and at school. Third was the theme of <i>self-blame, </i> where parents tended to blame themselves, rather than the system, for their children&rsquo;s lack of language proficiency. Finally, parents highlighted <i>communication,</i> which they described as the core cultural and linguistic barrier at home and school. </p><p> Although the parents of LTELLs may unintentionally experience being uniformed and overlooked, they are highly concerned about their children&rsquo;s English language proficiency and academic placement. Their collective voices expressed the hope for a good education leading to a successful future.</p>