Teachers who are not adequately prepared to teach struggling students often seek employment elsewhere rather than be ineffective with those students. When teachers leave the classroom, this has a vast impact on student learning. For the past 9 years, a high school in the southeast United States for students at risk of not graduating has had an average annual teacher turnover rate of 31.25%, nearly twice the national rate of 15.9%. The purpose of this study was to learn the kinds of training and knowledge teachers believed would help them to succeed in teaching students struggling to graduate. Constructivist theory served as a framework for this qualitative case study design that sought to answer what are the needs of teachers of at risk learners, and learn the kind of support they needed. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 9 core teachers during the 2014-2015 school year and document analysis of professional development yielded data that were analyzed for emergent themes. A key theme was a perceived lack of adequate support from both the school and the district. Participants wanted help from psychologists and mental health counselors, professional development (PD) to develop content-specific strategies and alternative pedagogical strategies, and time for collaboration with colleagues. Based on study findings, 3 days of PD training were developed that will allow time for teachers and administration to work together. Results also provide research-based data that may be applicable to other schools and school districts serving a similar population. Supporting teachers of students at risk of not graduating should improve teachers' job satisfaction and retention, and improve student achievement, resulting in positive social change for society.

Changes in schools can cause teachers to experience an intensification of work as they strive to meet expectations of students, parents, and administrations. This study includes an examination of factors that may lead to work intensification (WI) for teachers. The study also includes an examination of how years of experience and teacher perceptions of administrative support may moderate the relationship between teachers' impressions of WI and their job satisfaction. Based on equity theory, data were collected using a Likert-type scale survey distributed to 9 public high schools in southern California. A test for correlation was performed followed by a hierarchal ordinal logistic regression analysis to test for significant relationships and strength of those relationships. Findings revealed at a .95 confidence level a significant relationship between factors of WI and teacher impressions of WI in the areas of the addition of more students to the classroom, fear of losing job, changes in curriculum, decreased pay, the addition of students with special needs in to the classroom, and changes in technology use in the classroom. Findings also revealed that the addition of furlough days, fear of losing job, decreased pay, and an increase of students with special needs in the classroom were significantly related to decreased job satisfaction. Findings revealed that perceptions of administrative support moderate the relationship between teacher impressions of WI and job satisfaction. This study allows for better understanding of how years of experience and administrative support may moderate the relationship between factors of WI and teacher job satisfaction so policy-makers may make better-informed choices that support student education.

Despite the increase in bullying behavior that has occurred among high school students, there is a lack of age appropriate intervention programs available to assist secondary administrators and staff with this problem. The purpose of this case study in 1 high school in a suburb of a major Mid-Atlantic city in the United States was to determine the perceptions held by secondary administrators and staff of an adapted antibullying program, originally created for use in elementary schools, in reducing the incidences of bullying behavior and feelings of strain. This study was also designed to explore how administrators and staff perceived if the bullying prevention program fostered prosocial behavior, and the extent to which the program reduced peer aggression, peer harassment, and strain. The conceptual framework was general strain theory described by Durkheim and Merton. The design for this case study included interviews with 5 teachers and 3 administrators who had been involved in implementation of the antibullying program. Open coding was used to organize and analyze the data for the emergence of significant concepts and patterns. Codes were formulated into four associated meanings or themes; relationships, student responsibility, positive culture, and trusting and supportive environment. The results indicated that school personnel were able to modify an existing bullying prevention program that has changed the culture of the school and the mindset of its student body while helping the students to alleviate strain and issues of aggression and harassment. The current research may affect social change by encouraging other secondary schools to assess their bullying prevention programs to determine if the material being used is age appropriate for secondary students and if the programs are indeed alleviating bullying behavior and strain in their students.

International students in the United States enroll in private and public high schools with a goal to graduate and attend an American university. This goal is often difficult to achieve because these students are not acquiring the academic English necessary to be successful in a post-secondary setting. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate what language-learning strategies (LLS) a group of East Asian international students at a private American high school had self-regulated and what strategies their content area teachers had taught them to use to become proficient in academic English. The conceptual framework was Oxford's findings on LLS and self-regulation, which is a self-motivated method of learning that English language learners (ELL) use to become proficient in English through control of the learning environment. The research questions explored which LLS the East Asian international students had used themselves and what LLS the teachers used to help the students attain English proficiency. Data were collected from interviews with 8 East Asian international students who were 12th graders during 2016-2017, 18 years old, and scored 18+ on the English section of the ACT. There were also interviews with 6 core content area teachers. Data analysis involved coding and development of common themes. Findings revealed that East Asian international students self-regulated LLS, and content area teachers did not purposefully plan or use LLS instruction to increase English proficiency among the students. A policy paper project based on the findings included recommendations for professional development, global education, and renewal of the international program. This study promotes positive social change by developing teacher and students' understanding of how to help all ELLs succeed at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

Lack of college readiness, which affects persistence in college, is a problem for many students at a high school in New Jersey. Only 1 in 5 students in this school persist from first to second year in New Jersey public colleges and universities, and as many as 50% do not graduate in 4 years. This problem is important to study because low persistence may engender personal failure, familial debt, social stigma, and wasted public funds. Guided by Bandura's social learning theory, this qualitative case study addressed the lack of college readiness by exploring what high school students know about going to college. Eight high school seniors who were interested in attending a 4-year college were purposefully selected to be interviewed about their knowledge of college-readiness skills and where they obtained information about the college experience. The data were analyzed with open coding to determine common themes. Participants reported that (a) personal responsibility was a key to being college-ready; (b) they experienced stress associated with the unknown; and (c) they wanted better knowledge about time-management skills, organization, and where to obtain pertinent information. A project was designed that gives high school seniors access to this information as well as virtual practice to make the transition to college less stressful. A greater level of college readiness may contribute to social change because more students may graduate. Successful college graduates may have a better opportunity to attain suitable employment and to contribute to the community.

In order to achieve academic success, students must be able to comprehend written material in content-area textbooks. However, a large number of high school students struggle to comprehend science content. Research findings have demonstrated that students make measurable gains in comprehending content-area textbooks when provided quality reading comprehension instruction. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how high school science teachers perceived their responsibility to provide content-related comprehension instruction and 10 high school science teachers were interviewed for this study. Data analysis consisted of open, axial, and selective coding. The findings revealed that 8 out of the 10 participants believed that it is their responsibility to provide reading comprehension. However, the findings also revealed that the participants provided varying levels of reading comprehension instruction as an integral part of their science instruction. The potential for positive social change could be achieved by teachers and administrators. Teachers may use the findings to reflect upon their own personal feelings and beliefs about providing explicit reading comprehension. In addition to teachers' commitment to reading comprehension instruction, administrators could deliberate about professional development opportunities that might improve necessary skills, eventually leading to better comprehension skills for students and success in their education.

Researchers have emphasized the importance of parental involvement in ensuring the educational success of children. Despite the recognized value, some stakeholders continue to struggle to leverage and sustain this partnership, which may encumber students' success. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the factors influencing parental involvement in Jamaican high schools. This qualitative case study sought to unearth the motivational factors influencing parental involvement within a climate of educational accountability in Jamaican high schools. Grounded in Epstein's school-family-community partnership model, this study unearthed some of the differences and similarities of parental involvement within high schools that were described as high and under performing schools and what informed those differences. Sixteen participants from 4 high schools were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. The data were analyzed thematically and interpreted against Epstein's theory. The findings of this study indicated that all stakeholders in a child's education had mutual interests and influences and an expressed desired to increase their involvement. The motivational factors driving their involvement varied from policies, beliefs, benefits, and personal challenges; parental involvement also differed in quality and quantity across schools and requires creativity in design for greater involvement, accountability, and impact. The strategic utility of these findings can assist in the creation of the home support engagements needed to remove the constraints impeding students and wider school success, thereby guiding students into successful directions, which is the epitome of social change.

The reliance on alternative teacher certification to address teacher quality and quantity is an educational issue worthy of study because non-traditionally prepared teachers fill the nation's classrooms. This qualitative case study explored the experiences of secondary education teachers with no preservice training who earned a professional educator certificate in Alabama through the alternative baccalaureate-level program. The central research questions of this study related to the professional needs of alternatively certified teachers and how educational leaders supported those professional needs. The conceptual framework of this project study included the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education's differentiated induction model based on technical pedagogy and collegial support to address teacher quality and attrition. The qualitative data were gathered through a series of interviews with 6 alternatively certified secondary education teachers using specific protocols. Transcribed data were coded for a priori themes aligned to the research questions, and coded data were analyzed for trends and patterns. The results indicated that the participants perceived support from administrators and teacher leaders as important to their professional development and effectiveness. As a result of this study, a professional development training program was developed for the study site to assist educational leaders in providing an induction program. Implications for positive social change include for school and district administrators to have a better understanding of the challenges that alternatively certified teachers face; they may also appreciate the importance of providing administrator support to improve teacher effectiveness, retention, and ultimately student achievement.

Students are not adequately prepared to contribute to the workforce or engage in global citizenship in the 21st century. Research indicates proper education of students cannot be accomplished without teachers' acceptance of technology in the classroom, engagement in effective professional development, and ability to transform their curricula. Although there is an abundance of research supporting the use of technology in the classroom, little research has examined how to incorporate the technology into student-centered learning. The research questions in this study examined teachers' use and acceptance of technology in the classroom and how teachers incorporate technology to meet the 21st century learning skills requirements. This qualitative case study used Bandura's social cognitive theory and the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Framework. The purposeful sample included 6 participants teaching in Grades 9-12. Data were gathered using a selection survey, interviews, and course documents. The data analysis included the organization of participant responses and development of 6 primary themes. The results indicated that a high level of technology self-efficacy drove these teachers' integration of technology into student-centered activities that built 21st century learning skills. The results also showed a lack of effective professional development provided to teachers that focused on incorporating technology into the curriculum. These findings are significant for educators to understand how to meet the learning needs of their students. Implications for positive change include providing educators with knowledge and understanding of the importance to design professional development opportunities for teachers that not only teach how to use the technologies available to them but to also teach how to effectively incorporate that technology into the learning process.

Minority students are lagging behind their non-minority peers in academic achievement. Compounding this problem is the lack of research on minority students' perceptions on their connections to school, their feelings of autonomy, and their relationship with their parents. These variables are important considerations in this problem, as Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory suggests a strong relationship between student performance in school and students' perceptions of their intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. To address that gap, this cross-sectional, quantitative research study examined the relationship between minority high school students' perceived self-efficacy, locus of control, and parents' educational involvement on their self-reported academic achievement at a suburban charter high school. Differences in these variables by grade level and gender were also assessed. A convenience sample of 158 male and female students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades completed the Self-in-School instrument, Levenson Multidimensional Locus of Control Inventory, Importance of Parent Involvement Scale, and a demographic survey that included self-reported academic achievement. Regression analyses and multivariate analysis of variance revealed that school self-efficacy and students' perception of parental involvement of minority students were statistically significant predictors of self-reported academic achievement. No statistically significant differences were found on the 3 scales by grade, but statistically significant differences were obtained between male and female minority students' perception of parental involvement on their academic achievement. These findings may contribute to social change by helping mental health professionals and educators understand the importance of psychosocial variables in charter students' academic performance.