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Over the course of American schooling scholars note that democratic education and citizenship have not been abandoned, but perhaps marginalized or pushed aside, as test scores and achievement have become the most desired outcomes. Democratic education must move out of the margins and into high priority. The current political climate of increased division and divisiveness could not illustrate this need any more. Another well-documented challenge within the American educational system, particularly in high need areas is the need for highly qualified teachers. Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) programs have offered a possible solution to this growing problem in recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified teachers in urban settings. UTRs are designed to alleviate one of the longstanding education challenges of both, quality and quantity of educators within some of the most underserved schools. While the rise in teacher residency programs, particularly in urban settings, and the marginalization of democratic education may seem unconnected, an effort to illuminate their potential relationships guides this study. Qualitative case study methodology (including analysis of program documents, interviews with teachers, and interviews with staff) was undertaken to understand the inclusion of democratic habits in one UTR, as well as the resulting enactment of democratic education by the UTR residents and alumni in one UTR, Mid-Atlantic Teacher Residency (MATR). Findings reveal the use of democratic habits by the residents and in the MATR program was mixed. Democratic habits of associated living, collaboration, student voice, critical inquiry, and student-centered learning were the most prevalent through the MATR program components of coursework, mentorship, and the cohort during the residency year. As teachers, the resident alumni exhibited democratic habits through their professional relationships and attitudes towards student-centered instruction, particularly through the use of activities. A few of the alumni exhibited aspects of democratic education through their discussion of social justice and their commitment to citizenship development. Overall, however, limited evidence of a commitment to democratic education was present in the data, which may be in part due to the program’s relatively low emphasis on democratic education. Other barriers that emerged in the data included: classroom management struggles, administrative support and policies, a lack of promoting democratic education through the program, a disconnect from the residents’ coursework to their classroom practices, and being new teachers. While it does not appear that MATR or other UTRs are currently foregrounding democratic education or democratic principles, I close by discussing why UTRs should emphasize democratic education and offering suggestions for how they might do so.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover the perceptions of caregivers and teachers regarding parental involvement at alternative schools in Eastern North Carolina. The lack of parental involvement at some schools is a systemic issue that involves continued efforts by school staff to include caregivers in promoting student success. The difficulties of engaging parents of alternative students result in little interaction between caregivers and educators. It is essential to understand how caregivers and educators perceive parental involvement and assess the quality of parental participation in an alternative educational setting. A qualitative research method was chosen to comprehensively examine teachers' and caregivers' experiences and perceptions related to parental involvement in alternative school students' education. The researcher utilized criterion-based sampling for participant selection. To participate, caregiver participants must have been a caregiver of an alternative school student. Teacher participants needed to be fully licensed and the teacher of record for a class of alternative school students. Six teachers and six caregivers who met the criterion established for participation consented to be interviewed through Zoom. The findings include themes four key themes: school dynamics valued by caregivers, teacher concerns about the lack of resources and support to involve caregivers, caregiver scheduling conflicts, and caregiver-teacher relationships. Through these findings, caregivers revealed that school culture, student services, academics, and scheduling were all factors that facilitated their involvement. Teachers indicated that their personal experiences with parental participation, the lack of resources, and the quality of relationships they had with caregivers determined their engagement level with caregivers.

The achievement gap stands as one of the top priorities framing educational policy through the past half-century. The middle school level amplifies this gap especially in urban areas. The role of principal leadership in closing the achievement gap is key. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the leadership styles of principals assigned to Title I middle schools, staff longevity, school climate, and overall school achievement. The researcher applied a non-experimental, ex-post facto research design to investigate the research hypotheses. Utilizing the Google Survey Platform, 290 staff members across 30 middle schools within a large urban school district in southeast Florida, completed a survey which included questions related to longevity, and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ Form 5x). Results of the school district’s School Climate Survey, Staff Form, were employed to gauge school climate. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed several significant positive associations between transformational leadership and numerous of the academic areas explored (e.g., reading learning gains of the lowest quartile, math proficiency, and social studies proficiency). In contrast to what was predicted, transactional leadership, also positively predicted some of the academic achievement factors evaluated (e.g., math proficiency, and math learning gains). Staff longevity negatively predicted school grade. Staff climate positively predicted math proficiency, and math learning gains. On the other hand, staff climate negatively predicted school grade, the three factors related to reading achievement (e.g., proficiency, learning gains, and learning gains of the lowest quartile), and social studies proficiency. New research questions arose as a result of the investigation. Further research is recommended that examines the leadership variables explored within a larger sample, and in other geographical areas with similar demographics. As well, additional research is suggested involving staff longevity and school climate alongside a measure of collective instructional efficacy where urban schools are concerned.

Teacher evaluation has the ability to greatly support increased student achievement. However, existing literature on the topic finds evaluations are not meeting the intended purpose. Since principals are responsible for the implementation of the process at their school site, their perceptions of current processes is of value if evaluations are to be of value. Therefore, this study investigated K-12 principals' perceptions of teacher evaluation practices in an urban northern California school district. Data were collected through the administration of a survey. Of the 79 surveys distributed to school principals, 52 were completed and returned. Upon receiving the surveys, frequencies, percentages, means, and dependent sample t-tests were employed to analyze the data. The inductive analysis approach was used to code open-ended responses. The results illustrate that principals find formative and summative evaluation approaches are more effective for non-tenured teachers. However, they find the evaluation process is more supportive of tenured teachers when only formative approaches are applied. Principals find the process time intensive and lacking a clear purpose. Additional barriers ranged from teacher unions, to a lack of district support and inconsistency of implementation among principals. Principals seek reform in teacher evaluations where all parties find the process meaningful despite tenure status. Furthermore, principals seek a more comprehensive process that includes both formative and summative approaches. It is recommended that further research be conducted on the impact of time, school structures that support principals as coaches and evaluators, and how credentialing programs and districts provide training to principals in evaluation processes and barriers.

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The purpose of this study was to determine what difference, if any, exists between the implementation and use of Thinking Maps® and students' academic achievement in Reading and Mathematics as measured over time by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT). Thinking Maps® is a registered trademark of Thinking Maps, Inc. The data were examined after three years of Thinking Maps® implementation and instruction. The design of this study was quantitative, with a nonrandomized control group, pretest-posttest design (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002) that examined the effects on student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in one middle school that implemented Thinking Maps® throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years as compared to student Reading and Mathematics FCAT scores in a second middle school that did not implement the Thinking Maps® program throughout all grade levels and core subjects for three years. MANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to examine student FCAT scores. This study focused on one major question: Do students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those that have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®? Results of this study indicated that students who have been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps® do not have higher academic achievement as measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) than those who have not been instructed in the use of Thinking Maps®. The researcher concluded that other methods of evaluating the implementation of Thinking Maps® and student achievement should be explored.

This research study addresses the problem of unmet facilities needs in the California Community College (CCC) system with a case study analysis of two major campus construction projects within the City College of San Francisco system (CCSF). Specifically, this study is intended to provide insight into the difficulties facing CCC administrators regarding unmet facilities needs within their campuses, and the overall processes and challenges involved in constructing the 21 st century CCC campus. Interviews with the campus deans of the CCSF Chinatown/North Beach and Mission District Campuses revealed that challenges for construction and modernization projects in the San Francisco City College system derive more from external stakeholder concerns than internal governance systems. In particular, the study focused on a satellite campus dean's role in the shared governance system for CCSF construction projects and how they effectively work in conjunction with CCSF leadership to garner community support, while mediating external opposition for projects. Findings from the study concurred in part with current literature regarding construction delays related to external stakeholder opposition and the role college administrators must play in ameliorating environmental, historical preservation, and corporate interest concerns for projects. Specifically, campus deans in the San Francisco City College system found that the practices of conducting information hearing sessions and forming internal/external/community advisory committees facilitated productive forums for hearing the concerns of key campus personnel and community stakeholders. Additionally, these practices allowed for more efficient project execution and the promotion of improved community relations within the neighboring communities for the campus projects in this study.

Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is intended to increase student academic achievement through strategies such as improving teacher quality and increasing the number of "highly qualified teachers" (HQTs) in the classroom. This Federal policy relies on educational research that demonstrates a connection between student achievement and teacher quality. Although NCLB considers each route that teachers may take to meet HQT requirements as equivalent, research demonstrates that some routes may foster higher student achievement than others; those teachers, who met HQT requirements through these routes, are referred to in this study as "research-based HQTs" (RB-HQTs). The quantitative phase of this mixed methodology explores how northern California secondary mathematics teachers in suburban, urban, and rural schools meet "highly qualified teacher" requirements. The subsequent qualitative phase explores the challenges and promising practices in retention and recruitment of RB-HQTs used by those mathematics departments identified as having a "common" or "distinguished" profile of each respective suburban, urban, or rural sub-sample. This study identifies and reports eight strategies used by mathematics departments that have demonstrated success in retention and recruitment of RB-HQTs. The eight identified strategies, when implemented individually or collectively, may increase the proportion of RB-HQTs and improve student academic achievement in each mathematics department across northern California secondary schools, be it suburban, urban, or rural.

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