What qualities, skills, and knowledge produce quality teachers? Many stake-holders in education argue that teacher quality should be measured by student achievement. This qualitative study shows that good teachers are multi-dimensional; their effectiveness cannot be represented by students’ test scores alone. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of quality in teaching by examining the lived experiences of 10 winners or finalists of the Teacher of the Year (ToY) Award. Phenomenology describes individuals’ daily experiences of phenomena, examines how these experiences are structured, and focuses analysis on the perspectives of the persons having the experience (Moustakas, 1994). This inquiry asked two questions: (a) How is teaching experienced by recognized as outstanding Teachers of the Year? and (b) How do ToYs feelings and perceptions about being good teachers provide insight, if any, about concepts such as pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions? Ten participants formed the purposive sample; the major data collection tool was semi-structured interviews (Patton, 1990; Seidman, 2006). Sixty to 90-minute interviews were conducted with each participant. Data also included the participants’ ToY application essays. Data analysis included a three-phase process: description, reduction, interpretation. Findings revealed that the ToYs are dedicated, hard-working individuals. They exhibit behaviors, such as working beyond the school day, engaging in lifelong learning, and assisting colleagues to improve their practice. Working as teachers is their life’s compass, guiding and wrapping them into meaningful and purposeful lives. Pedagogical tact, teacher selfhood, and professional dispositions were shown to be relevant, offering important insights into good teaching. Results indicate that for these ToYs, good teaching is experienced by getting through to students using effective and moral means; they are emotionally open, have a sense of the sacred, and they operate from a sense of intentionality. The essence of the ToYs teaching experience was their being properly engaged in their craft, embodying logical, psychological, and moral realms. Findings challenge current teacher effectiveness process-product orthodoxy which makes a causal connection between effective teaching and student test scores, and which assumes that effective teaching arises solely from and because of the actions of the teacher.

The challenge of transitioning into high school is associated with social anxiety, decreased grades, increased absences, and overall motivation to learn. Based on anecdotal evidence from 9th grade teachers in the Ohio School District, teachers had poor rapport with some of their students, and 9th graders were being retained more often than were students in any other grade. Grounded in Noddings's care theory, the purpose of this mixed methods sequential case study was to explore perceptions of rapport between 9th graders and their teachers. Guiding research questions were used to discover student and teacher perceptions about their relationship as it relates to care, respect, and communication. Archived data from Gallop Poll surveys given to 9th grade students at 3 schools (n = 163) demonstrated student perceptions of their relationships with teachers. Additionally, 15 teachers were randomly selected for a focus group interview about rapport with students. The interview transcripts were coded for emergent themes related to the guiding questions. The analysis of the Gallup Poll data included calculation of the mean, standard deviation, median, item score range, mode, and raw-data frequencies/percent for responses to answer the respective research questions. Responses on the survey showed that students perceived a moderate level of bonding with teachers, while the interview data showed that there were issues related to communication with students, administrative support of teachers, and sincerity of teacher care for students. The project outcome is a professional development about communication amongst teacher and students, teachers and teachers, and teachers and administration to improve rapport and reduce the prevalence and impact of adverse events such as dropout and other forms of disengagement.

Students' classroom engagement is a strong predictor of positive educational outcomes including academic achievement, GPA, and standardized test scores. Most existing research has focused on the role of quality parenting and teaching in the development of student engagement. However, some research has shown small, yet significant effects of influences from students' peer groups on the development of their engagement. The goal of this study was to explore whether some children are more susceptible to the effects of their peer groups, and to examine a series of possible factors that might amplify the influence of a target students peer group on the development of that students' own engagement over the course of an academic year. In a re-analysis of an existing data set (Kindermann, 2007), peer group profiles of student engagement were examined as predictors of changes in individual engagement from fall to spring. It was expected that peer groups' levels of engagement would vary in their predictive power for changes in students' own engagement over the school year, depending upon individual levels of peer relatedness, the number of peers with whom the student affiliates with, student perceptions of parental involvement, as well as person-to-group differences in engagement. Gender differences were expected to be non-significant. As expected, results from two sets of analysis indicate no significant gender differences in susceptibility to peer influence. Furthermore, results suggest that susceptibility to peer influence on school engagement may depend upon the number of peers with whom a student affiliates with, parental involvement, as well as person-to-group differences in engagement. However, contrary to expectations, results suggest that a student's susceptibility to peer influence may not depend upon self-reported peer relatedness. Details of the analyses, results, strengths, limitations, and implications for future research are discussed.

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The return to in-person schooling post-COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased pressure on educators to ensure academic success for students. This study examines the school climate of 40 elementary and middle schools in California's Central Valley and its impact on academic performance and attendance, comparing pre-pandemic (2018-2019) with post-pandemic (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) data. Additionally, the study explores the influence of positive student-teacher relationships on academic outcomes and chronic absenteeism. Utilizing the PLUS School Climate Survey, this research sought to identify significant differences in survey scores pre- and post-pandemic, as well as examining the predictive power of student-teacher connectedness on academic performance and chronic absenteeism. This research found statistically significant differences among 6th-8th grade students regarding perceptions of school connectedness throughout the years. There was a significant increase from the 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 school years followed by a significant decrease from 2021-2022 to the 2022-2023 school year. The 2019-2020 and 2022-2023 school year data on school connectedness was not significant. Results also indicate there was a significant positive relationship between students and teachers and their academic performance. In the 2022-2012 school year, when the students had a positive view of their relationship with teachers and staff at school, the student’s ELA and math scores increased. This analysis also examined the relationship between the student’s relationship with teachers and their chronic absenteeism. There were not statistically significant results. These findings aim to provide insights for educational stakeholders to implement targeted interventions to improve school climate and enhance student success amidst post-pandemic challenges.

Low graduation rates are a significant issue for colleges. The majority of higher education institutions in the United States offer learning communities (LCs), which have been found to be effective for improving course success and persisting to the next semester. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of LCs with different types of populations and different types of LCs. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify the most effective types of LCs. Research questions addressed the effects of different types of LCs on different student success outcomes for community colleges. The study was based on Tinto's interactionist model of student departure and Astin's model of student involvement. Studies examining the relationship between student success and participation in college LCs provided the data for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was used to generate the average effect size for 39 studies and 50 individual effect sizes. The results showed that LCs are most effective with community college students when they include additional support strategies, counseling is available to students, one of the linked courses is an academic skills course, at least one of the linked course is developmental, and the focus is on increasing course success or student engagement. The implications for positive social change suggest that LC programs implement two linked courses, include an academic skills course, focus on developmental courses, and provide access to a counselor and additional student support strategies. In addition, LC programs are most effective when the goals of the program are student engagement and course success.

Parents and teachers have differing perspectives of parental involvement which presents a barrier to the development of effective parental involvement. This mixed-method, sequential, exploratory study of parents and teachers in rural school districts sought to identify, compare, and analyze these divergent parental involvement perspectives. A sample of 122 parents and 21 certified teachers from 3 rural elementary schools were first surveyed using parallel questions from Epstein's School and family partnerships parent (or teacher) questionnaire (SFP). Independent-sample t-tests of SFP scales confirmed parental involvement perspectives of parents and teachers differed significantly. Survey data was analyzed descriptively and identified 5 specific topics of differences: parents' ability to help with reading and math, their need for teacher ideas, checking homework, volunteering, teacher and parent communication, and sharing learning expectations. Next, 5 focus groups of parents, teachers, and parents and teachers together probed these topics. Digital recordings of focus group data were transcribed, segmented, and coded for repeated words and phrases. Themes were then inductively developed. Results specified parents want clear, timely communication, while teachers want parents' support and to assist with children's homework. Results further indicated improved communication would assist in building stronger parent teacher relationships. Focus groups provided a venue for communication and building relationships inspiring transformation. The implications of social change are that parental involvement programs that address the perspectives of both parents and teachers improve understanding and promote a sense of social justice where both parents and teachers share positions of power in the education of children.

With two-thirds of new leaders being women, it has become increasingly more clear that the face of our educational organizations is changing both symbolically and substantively. The demands placed on public education have also grown exponentially. If society demands that schools become better, then it is necessary to investigate the approaches that school leaders utilize in making decisions. The purpose of this research was to explore the different approaches that educational leaders implement during their decision-making processes. The present study asked 20 school leaders within Miami Dade County Public Schools to report and explain their personal approaches to leadership to determine if these individuals utilize the reporting categories of masculine, feminine, or multidimensional decision making. Following a four-round modified electronic Delphi technique, involving an open-ended questionnaire, a situation specific decision making survey, and two subsequent rounds of reflection, it was determined that the majority of school leaders use a multidimensional approach in making decisions; however, these individuals did not adhere strictly to any one of the specific reporting categories discussed. The study showed that the incorporation of several approaches contributed to the decision-making processes of educational leaders. Although contrary to relevant literature in the field, participants’ leadership approaches were not stringently tied to whether they happened to be male or female. The results of the current study suggest that research in sex-role orientations and gender studies, especially in the fields of organizational and educational leadership, may be evolving. The complex nature surrounding leadership in schools may imply that the infusion of a diverse or multidimensional approach to decision making is a necessary part of steering an organization towards a path that meets contemporary education demands. The environment particular to each school determines the leadership approach that is appropriate. Environmental variables may include the school’s history, the demographics of students and personnel, and details involving the type of organizational culture that has been fostered. Practical implications of the current study include exploring appropriate leadership and the role that multidimensional leadership approaches have in fulfilling the needs of specific schools. These leadership styles not only incorporate masculine and feminine leadership approaches, but also integrate approaches that can be considered androgynous and multidimensional.

Advocates of middle grades reform in the United States argue that curriculum and instruction, as well as leadership, organization, and community relationships, should be informed by knowledge of the developmental characteristics of 10 to 15 year-olds within physical, social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and moral domains. Noticeably absent from their conception of human development are spiritual developmental characteristics of young adolescents. This interdisciplinary research was a critical constructivist (Kincheloe, 2008) inquiry of the following question: What is the educational relevance of spiritual development in middle grades education? To study this question, critical historiographical research methods (Villaverde, Kincheloe, & Helyar, 2006) were used to interrogate the academic discourses of three fields related to the research question: (a) the middle grades concept; (b) spirituality as a developmental domain; and (c) holistic education. Foundational texts from these fields served as sources of data. I present the result of the data analyses as narratives on the paradigms that influenced the (hi)stories of these three academic fields. These narratives were analyzed for common epistemological and ontological perspectives. Amongst the paradigms of the three fields, three meta-paradigms are shared: Ecological Epistemology, Holistic Ontology, and Positivist Ontology. In addition, a discursive interrelationship within each field, a dynamic of paradox, was found between the three meta-paradigms. These results offer encouragement for the relevance of spiritual development as part of the middle grades concept, as they suggest that integration of knowledge of adolescent spiritual development is theoretically supported by commitments to caring relationships in schools and constructivist learning theory. The results also suggest a paradigm revolution (Kuhn, 1996) that might allow for a new discourse of possibility (Giroux, 1981) for spirituality in education. This dissertation research could serve as a basis for further research that focuses on how to integrate knowledge of adolescent spiritual development in public schools in the United States.

Abstract The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions of loss and grief experiences within religious rites and rituals vis-à-vis the context of counseling. Literature indicated the need for a better understanding of grief and loss experiences from bereaved individuals’ perspectives and the context within which loss and grief experiences occur (Dillenburger & Keenan, 2005; Stroebe, Hansson, Schut, & Stroebe, 2008). Participants for this study included 10 purposefully selected Catholic members from two Catholic Church parishes in Nigeria, Africa. All participants had experienced loss and grief, had participated in Catholic burial and funeral rites and rituals, and were 21 years or older. The main research question was: How do bereaved individuals perceive their grief experiences within the context of Catholic burial and funeral rites and rituals? Data collected to answer the research questions consisted of observations, semi-structured interviews, and documents. A cross-analysis approach was used that identified 63 themes, which were collapsed into 11 major themes. depicted in three areas; bereaved participants’ grief experiences, bereaved participants’ experiences of rites and rituals, and implications for counseling. The findings of this study indicated that loss of a relationship was a dominant preoccupation in grief and grieving process. Additional themes reflected by bereaved individuals’ grief and grieving experiences were; time and nature of death, religious rites and rituals, family and community support, family frictions, financial stressors, positive memories, belief system, finding meaning, ongoing traumatization, and counseling. Overall, the conclusion from this study was that three areas conceptualize loss and grief experiences: bereaved participants’ grief experiences, bereaved participants’ experiences of rites and rituals, and implications for counseling.