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While schools are academic institutions to prepare our country's youth for their future, developing a child's character and civic responsibilities is necessary and is often deleted from the explicit curriculum set forth in most school districts throughout the country. This study investigated the perception of character education of teachers in a Central Florida school district, as it related to teacher importance, teacher efficacy, and teacher practice of character education. This study investigated the responses of 497 classroom teachers surveyed within one Central Florida school district. The questionnaire used in this study was designed to illuminate teacher perceptions of character education, by examining a teacher's level of importance, efficacy, and practice of character education in their classrooms and schools. The three areas of importance, efficacy, and practice were examined to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference among Central Florida educators based upon demographic variables of a) grades level taught, b) years of experience, c) highest degree attained, d) gender, and e) National Board Certification. The results of this survey, in combination with existing research findings, proved to be beneficial in revealing the ideals and explicit actions that need to be prevalent in public schools today to insure a balance between academics and the development of civic behaviors and positive character values. This study was a step in a effort to depict the voices of all teachers as stakeholders in one Central Florida School district.

This research study was conducted to determine if there were significant differences or relationships between teachers' perceptions of knowledge of Internet dangers to students and factors such as demographics, self-reported comfort levels with Internet use, and with knowledge of policies and laws regarding Internet safety. Three hundred seventy-two teachers from three central Florida school districts were surveyed using an adapted survey developed by authors Patchin and Hinduja (2006) and Willard (2006, 2009). The world of the Internet is constantly changing, and students will encounter harassment and dangers while pursuing their interests on line. Recent research on the types of Internet dangers involving youth (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009; Juvonen & Gross, 2008, Leichtling, 2008; Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005; Li, 2007; Willard, 2009), and evidence supporting limited adult knowledge of Internet dangers to youth (Finkelhor, Mitchell & Wolak, 2000; Hinduja & Patchin, 2009; Patchin & Hinduja, 2006; Willard, 2006,2009) provided the conceptual framework for this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed to investigate each research question. These statistics included one-way ANOVA, Scheffe post-hoc analysis, chi-square tests of independence, independent T-tests, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. These findings demonstrated that the null hypotheses were rejected for each research question. Significant differences were found between teachers' knowledge of Internet dangers and age, years of experience, level of school taught, and personal comfort with the Internet. Other significant relationships were found between personal Internet comfort and knowledge of laws and policies, specifically the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act, and between male teachers and knowledge of victim behaviors. Gender was the only demographic variable found to be not significantly related to a teachers' knowledge of Internet dangers to students. The implications of these results validate the importance of more teacher training to increase knowledge of Internet dangers, policies and programs, as well as increase teachers' ability to identify victims and provide them with assistance. As technology expands, Internet dangers for children online expand and are a growing concern for parents, teachers, and administrators. Since technology will continue to grow, adults play a major role in educating children concerning the dangers of being online. However, adults struggle to play catch-up to the young digital natives, and are not really present to intervene when needed. We cannot cross the digital divide and help our students if we are not seeking out the information ourselves (Willard, 2009).

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The syllabus for English in Swedish upper secondary education states that teachers should help students become confident in expressing themselves through writing. Writing ability is an indication of knowing how to communicate and show knowledge effectively. An important part of the teaching profession is to help develop students’ abilities, which emphasizes teachers’ formative assessment practices. Research states the importance of formative assessment for writing development; however, previous studies showed several issues with teachers’ assessment practices. There was a discrepancy between teachers’ perceptions of formative assessment and their practices where teachers were positive toward using formative assessment, but their practices became summative. Furthermore, time constraints and a lack of institutional support caused problems with implementing formative assessment practices. Additionally, there was a lack of research on teachers’ formative assessment practices of writing and a lack of research conducted in a Swedish upper secondary EFL context. Therefore, this study investigated the topic of upper secondary English teachers’ formative writing assessment practices and their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of formative assessment for writing assignments and the associated challenges for implementation and level of institutional support. The study used a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with three upper secondary English teachers in Sweden. The results showed that the practice could become summative even though teachers had a formative mindset. Furthermore, all teachers were positive about using formative assessment to develop students’ writing abilities. However, they expressed a partially shared belief that formative assessment was time-consuming, that there was a lack of time and institutional support to implement it, and that students were grade-focused. The findings imply that there is a risk that students do not develop the required communication skills stated in the syllabus.

With a focus on leadership, this study examines the leadership characteristics of principals in schools that are recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools by the United States Department of Education. This mixed methodology study utilizes the causal comparative method to compare what teachers consider to be effective leadership characteristics of principals in National Blue Ribbon Schools to those of principals in matched sets of selected Non-Blue Ribbon Schools in Pennsylvania. The Audit of Principal Effectiveness is used to collect quantitative data and a survey protocol is used to identify confounding factors and extraneous variables. The research revealed significant findings in nearly all areas of the Audit of Principal Effectiveness. Principals in the selected matched-set schools were ranked higher than principals in National Blue Ribbon Schools. Additional analysis using a multiple regression showed that teachers perceive their principal as effective if the principal has good relations with them, employs and evaluates staff effectively, has high expectations, and does not exceedingly involve the community in the life of the school. / Educational Administration

Research conclusions concerning predictors of academic success have been, at best, less than convincing. In fact, these conclusions are more conflicting or mixed when emotional constructs are used. As a result, modern curriculum developers as well as classroom instructors seem to deemphasize, if not ignore, the role of the affective domain in student learning. This is rather surprising considering that psychology continues to play such an important role in education. For decades, researchers have disagreed about the role played by three primary emotional concepts: self-esteem, parental involvement and student perception as predictors of students' academic success. This study attempts to determine which of these constructs, singly or in combination, can predict students' academic success and if the inclusion of any from among a selected group of demographic variables - socio-economic status, gender, ethnicity and student grade level- can alleviate or at least mitigate the discrepancies of prior research conclusions. A survey using a five point Likert scale was developed to collect data from 164 students in grades 3-7 in a select Philadelphia Charter School. The data were analyzed using Varimax Factor Rotation, Pearson Product-Moment Correlations and Multiple Regression to find answers to four research questions. The results of the analyses using only the emotional constructs were not significant; however, when the demographic constructs were included, specifically the students' grade levels, significant results were found. This study does not settle the controversy over whether or not the emotional constructs are authentic predictors of students' academic success. Nevertheless, the study does give insight into the significance of including the demographic factor of student grade level as a predictor of student academic success. Consequently, the results of this study suggest that any research using emotional constructs to predict the academic success of primary school students should include the various grade levels of the students. / Educational Psychology

In recent years, leaders in school divisions across the nation have begun to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula and programs explicitly within the academic day (DePaoli et al., 2017; Graczyk et al., 2013; Oberle et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of their role, as well as the role of school leadership, in the implementation and sustainability of an SEL curriculum. To conduct the study, all elementary teachers in one school division, approximately 220 teachers, were invited to participate by completing a survey regarding their beliefs and perceptions of implementation. Respondents supplied data for the study by providing demographic information, responding to four open-ended questions, and answering 42 questions by indicating their perception on a 5-point scale. The survey received a 27% response rate. The collected data were analyzed using statistics of responses to generate response category means, compile the response rate of data for each question, and code emerging themes to inform findings. Findings indicated the teachers felt it was the responsibility of all stakeholders to teach and model SEL for students. Most respondents, 85%, highly agreed with the belief that SEL practices promoted academic success by selecting almost always or always on the scaled response. Findings also indicated the teachers felt their building leadership did nothing to support SEL implementation, and further stipulated that more time and training were necessary to implement SEL successfully. The findings led to three implications for school leadership. First, teachers should partner with all other staff members and adults in the learning community to model and deliver SEL instruction. Second, data analysis revealed school leadership should identify one SEL curriculum for the school to ensure consistency in training, monitoring, and implementation. Finally, school leaders should dedicate time in the school day for explicit SEL instruction. / Doctor of Education / In recent years, leaders in school divisions across the nation have begun to implement social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula and programs explicitly within the academic day (DePaoli et al., 2017; Graczyk et al., 2013; Oberle et al., 2019). The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of their role, as well as the role of school leadership, in the implementation and sustainability of an SEL curriculum. To conduct the study, all elementary teachers in one school division, approximately 220 teachers, were invited to participate by completing a survey regarding their beliefs and perceptions of implementation. Respondents supplied data for the study by providing demographic information, responding to four open-ended questions, and answering 42 questions by indicating their perception on a 5-point scale. The survey received a 27% response rate. The collected data were analyzed using statistics of responses to generate response category means, compile the response rate of data for each question, and code emerging themes to inform findings. Findings indicated the teachers felt it was the responsibility of all stakeholders to teach and model SEL for students. Most respondents, 85%, highly agreed with the belief that SEL practices promoted academic success by selecting almost always or always on the scaled response. Findings also indicated the teachers felt their building leadership did nothing to support SEL implementation, and further stipulated that more time and training were necessary to implement SEL successfully. The findings led to three implications for school leadership. First, teachers should partner with all other staff members and adults in the learning community to model and deliver SEL instruction. Second, data analysis revealed school leadership should identify one SEL curriculum for the school to ensure consistency in training, monitoring, and implementation. Finally, school leaders should dedicate time in the school day for explicit SEL instruction.

African American males have performed near the bottom of the educational hierarchy in America for centuries. Though some improvements have been noted in the last several decades, educational statistics illustrate the achievement gap still persists between African American and White students (Hanushek, 2016). Disaggregated data show disparities in academic performance, high school drop-out rates, and college completion rates. African American males as early as kindergarten are also facing harsher discipline in schools and Black boys are often excluded from gifted and advanced placement courses and other educational opportunities (Howard, 2010). Yet, this population is over-referred and overrepresented in special education, particularly in eligibility categories like emotional disturbance and intellectual disability. Researchers state White, monolingual females make up the majority of the teacher workforce across the country. Theorists also posited the teacher is the single most important factor in school success and their beliefs about students have a tremendous impact on efficacy and outcomes (Noguera, 2012). These assertions are significant. If teachers have had very little exposure to students of other racial or ethnic backgrounds or have a negative attitude toward students of color based on the master narrative, it will inevitably show up in their discourse, pedagogical practice, and student outcomes.

The Common Core State Standards were written and implemented to prepare all students for college or career readiness including students with disabilities. Students with learning disabilities often have significant difficulties and face challenges when the instruction is framed within The Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of special educators on teaching students with learning disabilities using The Common Core State Standards. The two conceptual frameworks used in this study were the Universal Design for Learning and The Zone of Proximal Development. The research questions focused on teachers' perception regarding students with learning disabilities being instructed with Common Core instructions, how teachers perceive providing Common Core instructions to students with learning disabilities is preparing them for college and career readiness, and also, what teachers perceived to be the missing components for providing specialized instructions using Common Core to students with learning disabilities. In this qualitative case study participants were selected using recommendations of school district administrators. Data was collected using face-to-face interviews. Data collection also include observations and samples of students work. Additional data to establish trustworthiness of the study was obtained through observations and analysis of artifacts collected during the study. The intended outcome of the study was to bring about change in the instructional strategies adopted when using Common core State standards in teaching students with disabilities and that to ultimately pave a way for social change.