Local middle schools have begun implementing a no-zero policy, which compels teachers to assign grades no lower than 50% even if a student did not turn in assignments for grading. In the study setting, high school teachers are struggling to motivate students who have attended a middle school with a no-zero policy in place. High school students who have attended a middle school with a no-zero policy show signs of learned helplessness. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in core course grades between high school students who attended a middle school with a no-zero policy (NZPMS) and high school students who attended a middle school without this policy that would compel the assignment of F grades if earned by the student (FPMS). The theoretical framework is Seligman's theory of learned helplessness. The sample included 1,396 students in a high school who attended either of the two middle schools. Comparisons between mean high school mathematics, science, and English grades were compared using a one-tailed t-test. Effect sizes were measured using Cohen's d. The findings indicated statistically significant small to medium differences in students' core course grades. Students who had attended the NZPMS earned lower high school core course grades in mathematics, science, and English than students who had attended FPMS. Professional development activities were created to train teachers and administrators at the NZPMS about the negative effects of awarding students with passing grades without expanding any or only minimal effort. Positive social change could occur for students' academic careers and professional lives if the no-zero policy is rescinded.

Identifying at-risk students and precursors to high school dropout has been an ongoing concern for schools and communities. Dropouts are at a high risk for a lifetime of challenges such as low income, unemployment, lack of healthcare, and incarceration. Motivation and self-esteem have been shown to be influential on a student's decision to drop out of high school. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the connection between self-esteem, motivation, and on track for high school graduation and identify areas of need in order to improve academic and social success for students. The research was based on social learning theory, attribution theory, and self-determination theory, which provided a foundation to understand the role of motivation and self-esteem. The research questions addressed self-esteem, motivation, and other demographic variables as predictors of being on track for high school graduation. A secondary data analysis was used to evaluate anonymous student responses to the Academic Motivation Scale and Student Self-Esteem Scale as well as demographic information for 165 students in 12th grade to determine possible predictors of being on track for high school graduation. A significant correlation was indicated between self-esteem and motivation, and self-esteem was shown to be a significant predictor of being on track for graduation using a multiple regression analysis. A logistic binary regression was used to examine additional possible predictors and grade point average was shown to be a significant predictor of being on track for graduation. This research helped identify academic barriers and influences on graduation rates, and can be used for identification of at-risk students and improving high school graduation rates.

The population of English language learners (ELLs) is on the rise in the United States, but they are lagging behind English speaking students in several subject areas--including biology. Scholarly literature lacks information on how biology teachers use scaffolding strategies to support ELL students with inquiry skills during online simulations. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore how biology teachers support ELLs in learning biology, using biology simulations to promote inquiry learning. The conceptual framework for this study included the constructivist perspective regarding the zone of proximal development, Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol, and technology use in science instruction. The purposive sample for this study was 4 biology teachers from 2 high schools in large school districts in the southeastern region of the United States who taught ELL students using inquiry-based online simulations. The data sources were face to face interviews with teachers, scaffolding documents, and lesson plans. Data were coded and analyzed for common themes across within and across cases. Results indicated that although biology teachers believed that ELL students benefited from inquiry simulations because of the already incorporated visuals and their ability to interact and manipulate the program, they sometimes lacked technology experiences and struggled with English and literacy that may reduce the benefits of the simulation experiences. The results of this study have the potential to contribute to social change by providing insights that may increase the understanding of how biology teachers can support ELL students when using technology in the form of simulations to promote inquiry learning.

District administrators face concerns over students dropping out of school without a high school diploma. District personnel in a Mississippi urban school district identified specific curricular, instructional, and co-curricular factors that prompted students to leave school. The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of principals, teachers, and counselors regarding factors that influenced students' disengagement and dropping out of school. Battin-Pearson's theory of academic mediation, which attributes poor academic performance and student-centered learning to students dropping out, framed this study. The research questions focused on how district personnel identified and monitored at-risk students and provided interventions to prevent them from disengaging and dropping out. A purposeful sample of 2 principals, 5 teachers, and 2 counselors, who had knowledge of dropout prevention strategies, volunteered and participated in semistructured interviews and classroom observations. Data were analyzed inductively using segment and thematic coding. Results indicated a multi-tiered system of support was used to identify and monitor at-risk students. Participants expressed a need to build cohesive and collaborative learning communities and relationships, provide student guidance and support, engage more with students, and provide targeted professional development (PD) for educators. Based on these findings, a 3-day PD was developed to address student engagement and dropout prevention. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change by providing educators with learner-centered strategies through a collaborative, flexible blended-learning PD aimed at identifying and assisting at-risk students, resulting in an increase in graduation rates and reduce in dropouts.

Teacher clarity supports both cognitive and affective learning for all learners. The scholarly literature lacks research related to teacher clarity in nonlecture learning environments. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover teacher clarity strategies that effectively promote student learning, particularly in nonlecture learning environments. The conceptual framework involved cognitive load theory and constructivism. The research questions explored how highly effective teachers experience clarity to promote student learning in nonlecture learning environments and what innovative strategies highly effective teachers practice to ensure clarity in nonlecture learning environments. For this in-depth qualitative interview study, data were collected through virtual synchronous focus groups and interviews with 10 State Teachers of the Year and State Teacher of the Year finalists and analyzed using manual and digital coding of emergent themes. Key nonlecture teacher clarity strategies discovered emphasized the importance of interaction, facilitation, and responsiveness through the establishment of safe and inclusive learning environments, active monitoring of student work and understanding, individualized application of strategic ambiguity, and utilization of technology tools. Further research is recommended in strategic ambiguity, interaction through facilitation, safe and inclusive environments, and teacher clarity through technology tools. By contributing to the body of knowledge of educational practices that improve student learning, my study has the potential to empower individual teachers to benefit all learners, and to support organizations in delivering equitable instruction in diverse secondary school settings.

An F-1 academic visa is required for foreign students studying at academic institutions in the United States. While requirements for acquiring the F-1 visa are a matter of federal policy, some of the principles regulating orientations, host families, and home-stays do not align with best practices found at the university level, which include quality student orientations and thorough trainings with a vetting process for host families and home-stays. This lack of regulation may place visiting students at risk in terms of personal safety and wellbeing and have negative impacts for program credibility and lost revenue. Using Stone's regime theory as the foundation, the purpose of this multiple case study of orientations and home-stay experiences of F-1 visa students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, was to explore from the perspective of program participants, ways to increase safety and quality assurance of these programs. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with six former student participants. These data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. A key theme of this study is that participants perceived that additional training to host families including vetting and monitoring processes and student orientations in acculturation and communication would enhance the experiences of F-1 visa holders. The implications for positive social change include recommendations to schools and study abroad organizations to implement policy changes regarding the requirements for students and host families, sponsors, and home-stay monitoring and orientation components for students and host families to promote more effective and safer home-stays for F-1 high school students.

The local high school and school district have failed to achieve adequate yearly progress in reading due to the poor performance of 9th-grade and special education students on the annual state reading assessment. There may be numerous factors leading to the low scores, but researchers have suggested that students whose parents are engaged in their education have more academic success than students whose parents have minimal participation. An explanatory survey design was used in this quantitative study to identify the involvement activities of parents of 9th-grade students and determine if there was a relationship between their involvement and their child's reading achievement. The theoretical framework was Epstein's theory on parental involvement. Archival data from the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness-end of course English I/reading test of 65 9th-grade students were coded for anonymity and matched with their parents' total scores on the Parent Choice of Involvement Activities survey. Data analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis yielded no significant relationship between parent involvement and students' reading scores. Descriptive analysis identified that parents were more involved with educational activities in the home, rather than participating at school. Therefore, a school-based parent development program was designed. Additional research is needed to explore other reasons for the poor reading outcome of the 9th-grade and special education students. Providing parents with strategies that empower them to become fully involved in the secondary education of their children can bring about positive social change by building strong relationships between the school, family, and community to support the academic achievement of high school students.

Students at a private high school in New Jersey exhibited low academic self-confidence as compared to other indicators on the ACT Engage exam. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of academic self-confidence, academic performance, and learning within a sample of students. This research explored students' and teachers' perceptions of self-confidence and their impact on academic performance. The research was guided by Weiner's attribution and Bandura's self-efficacy theories. The research questions focused on 3 areas: students' and teachers' perceptions of academic self-confidence as factors impacting students' academic performance; and the perceived relationship between academic self-confidence, academic performance, and learning. Data were collected from a sample of 10 sophomore students and 10 teachers of sophomore students through 2 separate focus groups using a semistructured focus group guide. Using Clarke and Braun's framework for thematic analysis, the data were analyzed. Results revealed 2 student themes: (a) developing confidence and (b) set for success, and 3 themes from the teacher focus group: (a) student academic performance, (b) creating a positive space, and (c) student confidence. Professional development was designed for local application, including strategies to enhance students' academic self-confidence to lead to enhanced academic performance. Implications for social change includes increased student success as they transition to college.

The dissertation, with a collected papers approach, focused on evaluating the implementation of MI curriculum in high school Biology I classes in south Florida. The dissertation included the development and validation of the Biology Identity and Persistence Survey (BIPS), the connection of instructors’ teaching practices with students’ biology identities, evolution identities, and career aspirations, and the connection of instructors’ teaching practice with students’ conceptual understanding in evolution. In the first part of the dissertation study, the BIPS was validated through expert review and student cognitive interviews for its face and content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis addressed the construct validity of the final version of the BIPS, after removing four problematic items. The Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability analysis indicated that the BIPS was a reliable instrument in terms of its internal reliability and stability. In the second part of the dissertation study, the comparison between the MI and non-MI classes indicated that there was no detectable significant difference between the MI classes and non-MI classes in students’ development of biology identities and evolution identities, and shifts in career aspirations. Using the analysis of the MI and non-MI instructors’ teaching practices, it was suggested that the use of intentional lack of inquiry closure, seeding, small-group collaboration, whole-class discussion, and Socratic questioning might contribute to students’ biology/evolution identity development. In the third part of the dissertation study, the Evolution Concept Inventory was demonstrated as an invalid and unreliable research instrument. Qualitative analysis of instructors’ teaching practices suggested that interactions between MI instructional materials and MI pedagogical techniques, including student-centered teaching, small-group collaboration, student-student interaction, whole-class discussion, and Socratic questioning, might contribute to students’ gain of conceptual understanding in evolution. On the basis of the research findings, this dissertation provided suggestions for high school biology MI instructors and high school biology MI workshops.

This study examines the 1916 Report on Social Studies in order to determine how it has been interpreted and regarded over time. The underlying question involved is "Which interpretation, or interpretations, most embodies the intent, goals, and purpose of the 1916 Committee"? Key members of the 1916 committee have been identified for extended research and analysis. One additional individual frequently quoted throughout the Report, John Dewey, has been included in this research on the 1916 committee. The design, format, and content of the 1916 Report on Social Studies was closely examined. This study dissected the three individual reports by time, intent, topic, and authority. The wide variety of interpretations offered by the scholars identified for this study was examined within an organizational framework utilized to discuss and analyze the broad spectrum of interpretations that exist. This examination of the report encompassed the existing theories, the meaning and intent of the 1916 committee, as well as the social and political aspects and impacts of the era. The overarching intent of this study was to make sense of the various scholarly interpretations and offer insights as to whether or not a consensus of opinion among scholars existed. This study explored if, in fact, there was one dominant interpretation, or whether or not different interpretations were possible for the 1916 Report on Social Studies. That is, was there an opportunity for this study to employ a new lens through which to view the 1916 Report on Social Studies?