<p> With an increased focus on global competition, many educators and policymakers relied on international assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to evaluate the ability of their education system to prepare students for the global economy. Students in the United States continued to demonstrate disappointing results on the PISA, which led to an outcry by American educators and policymakers and a call for reform. To lessen the achievement gap between the United States and other countries, experts suggested the importance of identifying the characteristics of high performing countries and adapting effective policies to fit the needs of the United States. </p><p> The current study sought to provide a research-based foundation for school reform in the United States by initially seeking relationships between research-based factors of school working conditions and learning environments (initial teacher education and professional development; teacher appraisal and feedback; school climate; school leadership; and teachers&rsquo; instructional beliefs and pedagogical practices) from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and student achievement. Then, where relationships occurred, the researcher ascertained the extent of differences within those factors between the United States and the top five, middle five, and lowest five performing countries that participated in both the 2012 PISA and 2013 TALIS. </p><p> The analysis of the data revealed several relationships among factors of school working conditions and learning environments and student achievement. The results also indicated several differences within these factors between the United States and the selected countries. Based on these results the researcher offered several recommendations to educators and policymakers in the United States, such as providing teachers with the time and skill to offer each other meaningful feedback, completing further research on the efficacy of utilizing student performance data in evaluation frameworks, allowing teachers more meaningful opportunities to reflect and collaborate in order to foster common beliefs about teaching and learning, and providing additional training to teachers in the United States on the appropriate and effective use of assessment strategies.</p>

<p> In this study, a high school teacher&rsquo;s applied various pedagogical, critical thinking, and reading strategies within a high school classroom. As students prepare to become productive members of a democratic society in the 21st century, some students need focused literacy instruction to meet the increasing literacy demands; students who lag behind in critical thinking have a disadvantage. This teacher&rsquo;s action research study with struggling high school readers investigated whether implementing the pedagogical Gradual Release of Responsibility model (GRR) while engaging students with intertextual texts (juxtaposing two or more texts) within a reading community increased their critical thinking skills.</p><p> The participants included 35 ninth and tenth grade struggling readers in reading classes. The researcher used Reading Plus (2014) online silent reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary assessment; Fountas and Pinnell (2014) oral reading and silent reading comprehension assessment; the Weltzer-Ward, Baltes and Lynn&rsquo;s (2008) Critical Thinking Assessment Framework (TAF); high school students&rsquo; self-reflections with teacher-made prompts; and the researcher&rsquo;s action research journal to determine and monitor high school students&rsquo; reading and critical thinking progress. Teacher-made rubric tools measured critical thinking with 10 high school student blogs in response to high school teacher-made prompts reflecting the state&rsquo;s spring standardized assessment. Within the reading class structure, the researcher created a university partnership that consisted of one education class containing students from various disciplines who communicated and offered insights and feedback throughout the high school students&rsquo; 10 blogs. The researcher offered strategies and designed the high school reading course to encourage student choice and autonomy and made teaching modifications based on students&rsquo; behavioral needs, academic progress, and struggles.</p><p> Data analysis revealed 35 ninth and tenth grade students increased their critical thinking skills over the 2014-2015 school year; however, time constraint challenges and multiple reading program components negated drawing a clear picture of which aspect held the highest value. The researcher&rsquo;s journal noted that parent communication, student conferences, flexible due dates, individualized instructional scaffolding, and the online reading program contributed to students&rsquo; critical thinking. The journal revealed a consistent teacher expectation for students to engage in the critical thinking progress.</p>

<p> Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore new principals&rsquo; and assistant principals&rsquo; lived experiences and perceptions of California teacher tenure law and challenges they faced when determining if a probationary teacher was ready for tenure. </p><p> Methodology. Phenomenology was the chosen methodology for this study. Semi-structured, in-depth, open-ended interviews were conducted face-to face with participants in a private setting of their choice to obtain new administrators&rsquo; perspectives on teacher tenure. Eleven new principals and assistant principals who served in the capacity of administrator for two years or less and who already went through the evaluation process experience were interviewed representing three southern California school districts. </p><p> Findings. The study identified four major themes and thirteen overarching themes as perceived by new principals and assistant principals: job protection, non-arbitrary dismissal, comfort to try new things, difficult to terminate, teacher complacency, brief decision window to determine tenure, lack of diversity in the evaluation process, feedback and coaching, increased years to grant tenure, collaboration, informal classroom walkthroughs, student growth, and professional growth. </p><p> Conclusions. The results of the study led to recommendations for improving the tenure system. The study revealed the need for a probationary period longer than two years before granting tenure. Administrators need training and support to assist with due process, difficult dismissal policies, and teacher evaluations to provide teachers meaningful feedback and purposeful coaching. Create diversity in evaluations by including: peer and administrator input; how teachers collaborate and work with peers, parents, students, and administrators; and student growth/learning. </p><p> Recommendations. A comprehensive tenure evaluation system should be built based on the conclusions of this study. Future researchers should widen the investigation by replicating the study to include support staff; completing a longitudinal study by looking at state requirements for training teacher evaluators across the nation; conducting studies on computer applications to assist in teacher evaluations; and examining the different dismissal processes/policies in each state to determine where difficulty lies in the removal of ineffective teachers.</p>

<p> Recent educational reform efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Race to the Top Initiative (RTT) have exhibited a proclivity to use centralized, top-down reform tactics to improve student achievement. The requirement of states to revise their previous teacher evaluation systems, in order to procure funding from the Race to the Top Initiative, represents a signature example of such tactics. Emerging research suggests that these policies may also unintentionally reduce teachers&rsquo; autonomy, deteriorate professional interactions, decrease teachers&rsquo; sense of worth and subsequently weaken teacher morale. Additional research indicates that early career teachers tend to respond to educational change differently than that of late career teachers. This study examined the impact of the Annual Professional Performance Review (3012-c) upon teacher morale, while exploring whether this policy may be perceived differently between early and late career teachers. A web-based survey was used to collect data from 235 public school teachers across the Hudson Valley Region in New York State. The study measured respondents&rsquo; teacher morale, autonomy, professional interactions, sense of worth, and positive perception of APPR. Findings from the study&rsquo;s quantitative analysis indicated that a majority of the study&rsquo;s participants (66.8%) reported disagreement with both the Positive Perception of APPR and the statement &ldquo;the morale in this school is high.&rdquo; However, teacher experience did not mediate this relationship. Despite this disagreement, teacher resilience surfaced as an additional finding from this study. For example, respondents indicated agreement with the statements &ldquo;Teachers take pride in this school&rdquo; (83%) and &ldquo;Teachers go about their work with enthusiasm&rdquo; (68%). Additionally, respondents indicated agreement with the statements, &ldquo;I receive support from my colleagues&rdquo; (91%) and &ldquo;Teachers in this school can rely on their colleagues for support and assistance when needed&rdquo; (90%).Additional findings were also drawn from the study&rsquo;s open-ended response and follow-up interviews. For example, some educators noted that the evaluation process prior to APPR (3012-c) lacked accountability and characterized the transition between these two systems as both hasty and overwhelming. In regards to APPR (3012-c), educators indicated a general lack of recognition for factors outside of their control, while adding that much of the time spent on collecting teaching evidence has taken away their ability to develop creative lessons. Other findings signified teachers&rsquo; appreciation for receiving regular feedback from their administrators. Several respondents observed that teacher accountability may play a role in developing their professional skills, while other educators discussed the relationships that they maintain with colleagues despite the pressures of APPR. During the course of this study, NYSED and Education Commissioner Elia initiated a transition period for APPR. This change effectively placed a hold on consequences for teacher and principal evaluations related to grades 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math student assessments and growth scores on Regents exams until the start of the 2019-2020 school year. New York State&rsquo;s decision to initiate a transition period presents the opportunity to reconsider a teacher evaluation system that can leverage teacher pride, enthusiasm, and relationships with colleagues to promote instructional innovations.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to identify the learning styles of international college students and instructional styles of their teachers in specific content areas to determine if relationships existed between the two. In addition, this study examined whether relationships existed between academic achievement, learning style, and teaching style, as well as between demographic factors, learning style, and teaching style. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>

<p> Nursing leaders continue to voice concerns over new nurse graduates&rsquo; performance problems. Gaps in new nurse graduate practice and performance problems have been identified primarily using nursing theoretical models. The key objective of this research was to examine new nurse performance through the lens of a human performance model. Using Gilbert&rsquo;s (1978) updated Behavior Engineering Model (Chevalier, 2003), this study examined the performance of acute pediatric new nurse graduates with 3-15 months of experience in an urban Northeast United States hospital. The New Graduate Nurse Performance Survey (The Nurse Executive Center, 2007) and the updated PRObing BEhavior (Chevalier &amp; Hersey, 2005) questionnaire were used to assess how new nurse graduates rated their performance, work environment, and individual behavior, as well as to identify the environmental and individual factors that support and inhibit their performance. Using a mixed method design, quantitative and qualitative data were collected by means of a web-based survey. Findings revealed new nurse graduates were satisfied with their clinical performance and clinical skills and rated their work environment and individual behavior as satisfactory. Communication, receiving adequate resources, a supportive work setting, and organizational incentives supported new nurse graduates&rsquo; work environment. Inadequate feedback, in addition to challenges with preceptors and patient care technicians, inhibited new nurse graduates&rsquo; performance. Clinical training programs were found to support new nurse graduates&rsquo; performance, whereas difficulties with managing job-related stress, lack of self-care, and strained working relationships with support staff, inhibited their performance. Implications from this study are that nursing leaders and nursing educators should assess the unique needs of their new nurse graduates. This would allow healthcare organizations to design and implement tailored strategies and programs to support their novice nurses&rsquo; specialized needs. In addition, nursing leaders can tackle barriers to their new nurse graduates&rsquo; nursing practice and role transition. Further studies could explore the hardships new nurse graduates experienced with support staff during their transition by looking at the dynamics, interactions, and working relationships between novice nurses and support staff. Future studies using Gilbert&rsquo;s BEM (1978), Chevalier&rsquo;s updated BEM (2003), Gilbert&rsquo;s PROBE model (1982, as cited in Hersey and Chevalier, 2005), and Hersey and Chevalier&rsquo;s updated PROBE Model (2005), or other human performance models could be used in the nursing field to investigate different aspects of new nurse graduates&rsquo; performance, role, and workflow. Another area for future consideration is examining pediatric nurses at other stand-alone pediatric acute care hospitals and non-specialty acute care hospitals among general clinical nurses to determine what work factors present challenges for them within the work environment. </p>

<p> Many research studies exist regarding high school master schedules. However, not one study could identify which schedule was &ldquo;best&rdquo; for high schools to implement. The researcher reviewed a variety of schedule types&mdash;traditional, drop 1, trimester, 4x4 block, A/B block, and modified block. The researcher also investigated interventions at the high school level. She also researched change and innovation. Lastly, she researched teacher collaboration. This study investigated changes a high-achieving high school made. The focus was on a master schedule change, interventions scheduled during the school day, and teacher collaboration scheduled during the school day. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a schedule change, interventions, and imbedded teacher collaboration created a cultural shift in a high-achieving school, making it a school that successfully supported all learners. This mixed-methods action research study surveyed students and teachers twice throughout the school year. Also, the researcher analyzed secondary data&mdash;tardies, absences, grades, behavior, and Reading Plus data. In this school, approximately 10-15% of students were struggling in various areas but particularly with reading as demonstrated by grades and Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) scores. It was important to explore the cultural shift that occurred because of this change. While some students expressed dissatisfaction with the new schedule, data supported that the change resulted in improved grades and a decrease in behavioral referrals. Making a significant change to the master schedule created an opportunity for teachers to review and revise their lesson delivery. While this was ultimately a benefit, it created increased stress, especially for those who were veteran teachers and accustomed to the previous schedule; however, in reviewing and analyzing the data, it was evident that feedback was overall positive and that the school&rsquo;s culture started to shift to become even more positive.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to elicit the perceptions of high school principals regarding state education standards and whether or not increasing education standards has a positive impact on student achievement. Missouri adopted a new set of standards which placed academic focus on fewer topics per subject and required teachers to create lessons that increased critical thinking within the classroom (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MODESE], 2013b). To identify how the new standards might affect student achievement, four research questions were asked as part of this study. As a result of these questions, findings showed perceptions of the Missouri Learning Standards were more favorable than those associated with Common Core. It was believed among participants of this study that school districts have to develop professional development programs which provide information relevant to instruction and are organized around district goals. Data collected exposed student achievement is more likely to increase if new standards cause school districts to focus on specific goals and if teachers fully understand how to teach the new standards. By failing to adequately prepare teachers, school districts will struggle to properly prepare students for life after high school. Through a renewed focus on teacher comprehension of education standards, school districts can increase student achievement deficiencies and increase the number of students who graduate college- and career-ready.</p>

<p> All students should leave high school equipped with the academic and technical skills necessary to pursue higher education and/or a career. In a changing world, this now means that workforce readiness now demands the same high level of knowledge and skills needed for those who plan to pursue a post-secondary education. While Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a critical role in accomplishing this goal, it is not always included in the college and career ready conversation. The purpose of this study was to determine what educational outcomes influence student placement in college, career, or both at 12 and 24 months after graduation and what can be learned by examining patterns of those outcomes that will advance current knowledge relative to placement in college or career.</p><p> The research study used ex post facto data in a quantitative non-experimental correlational research design to retrospectively examine placement at 12 and 24 months after high school graduation to determine which educational variables (independent variables) most significantly influenced placement (dependent) in college and career or both. The sample included 6,145 graduates from a Maryland school system. Data analysis included Chi-Square with Cramer&rsquo;s V and Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID).</p><p> The key finding indicated that participation in Advanced Placement (AP) college level courses while in high school, was the most significant predictor of placement at 12 and 24 months after graduation indicating that continued exposure to college level courses throughout a student&rsquo;s high school experience can overcome performance on standardized tests intended to determine college and career readiness. The study also confirmed that a significant number of students who selected traditional career pathways also pursued college. This speaks to the importance of preparation for both college and career no matter what industry the student intends to pursue.</p>

<p> Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of people for sex or labor through &ldquo;force, fraud, or coercion.&rdquo; My research consists of an evaluation of three prevention and awareness-raising human trafficking presentations on a Southern California university campus for students&rsquo; retention and use of information. Using surveys, interviews, and participant-observation, I found that following the presentations, students had a more prescribed definition and identification of human trafficking. Additionally, students are likely to identify the most visible warning signs of human trafficking. Their understanding of human trafficking may have some correlation with choice of major (i.e., science-oriented majors are less likely to understand human trafficking in depth than are students with majors in business and the humanities). I recommend providing &ldquo;tangible takeaways&rdquo; to aid with recall of resources. Working more with students, especially those with science-related majors, to identify less visible warning signs of human trafficking is also recommended. </p>