The practice of family engagement enables families and school staff to share responsibility for child development in a partnership characterized by mutual respect for the influential role each plays in a child’s academic life. Unsatisfactory outcomes of family engagement practices with families of preschoolers warranted the implementation of a family engagement intervention program central to this action research study. The Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles framework guided family-school collaborative efforts to increase family efficacy for engaging preschoolers in developmentally appropriate learning activities at home. Engagement activities were provided in the form of virtual workshops and collaboration on social media. Mixed methods were used to examine the degree of participation in the family engagement intervention program and any changes in behaviors and perceptions of self-efficacy for engaging preschoolers. Data analysis of the record of participation revealed higher participation in engagement activities than in previous years. Manual coding of focus group transcripts and statistical analysis of self-reported rating scale responses revealed participants perceived mixed levels of self-efficacy for engaging in the academic lives of preschoolers. Participants ascribed a higher degree of influence on child achievement to the efforts of the school and a lesser degree of influence to family experiences. The study has implications for continued efforts to engage families and develop relationships essential for building self-efficacy to potentially shift family beliefs to a level of confidence for performing in parental roles supportive of child success. An investment of time and commitment is required to produce desired outcomes.

Staffing shortages in public schools have reached a crisis level. Although pervasive, this crisis has disproportionally impacted the field of special education. Due to the dual roles of special education teachers, specifically serving as teacher and case manager, and other factors, such as addressing the needs of a highly diverse student population, these teachers are more susceptible to attrition. Alternate pathways to licensure have provided an opportunity to address special education staffing needs; however, these opportunities come with risks, specifically when strategic support is not provided, resulting in the most at-risk teacher and student populations being paired together. Limited research has been conducted about (a) how local school divisions are poised to support alternatively licensed staff and (b) the ultimate impact of alternate licensure and subsequent teacher preparation on student achievement. This study found alternatively licensed teachers’ different backgrounds and experiences, when compared to traditionally licensed teachers, required school divisions to be prepared to systematically implement professional development addressing their unique needs. Conducted in an urban school division in Virginia, this study highlighted the outcomes of a district-based professional development series for provisionally licensed special education teachers. Results suggest intentionally designed professional development opportunities following a generalized professional framework positively impact teacher participation, teacher learning, and student achievement for provisionally licensed special education teachers.

The purpose of the study was to gain deeper understanding of the PBIS process in high schools and high school principal perceptions of leadership qualities that enable, and challenge, school-wide change to facilitate PBIS successfully. The study provided an opportunity for high school principals to give a voice to PBIS leadership through sharing their personal experiences leading high schools through the PBIS process. A gap exists in the research regarding experience leading PBIS in high schools; it is important to provide high school principals the opportunity to share their experiences with PBIS while leading in a culture of change. Data were collected from high school principals, who completed a survey and participated in a focus group interview or individual interviews. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while a focus group and one-on-one interviews were coded and analyzed to answer three research questions: How do principals describe the process of initiating, implementing, and institutionalizing PBIS regarding data analysis, staff buy-in and staff engagement, and school culture, and how principals perceive the components of effective leadership to be essential to, and exist in, their practice in the successful implementation of PBIS. I found high school principals value: targeted division support for the PBIS process; collective buy-in and engagement cultivated through empowering teachers, building relationships, fostering a sense of community, and embedding PBIS in daily life; an environment where risk-taking is encouraged; transparency in data sharing and analysis with PBIS, especially in creating plans for support and recognition; and carefully planning the initiative.

The purpose of this study was to quantify individual Professional Learning Communities' (PLCs) consistency with the indicators of PLCs. In addition, the level of trust in the groups was also measured. The correlation between these two sets of data was then, explored to determine the degree to which trust plays a role in PLCs.;The study was conducted in three elementary schools in a suburban school district, called Glennville for the purposes of this study, located in the northeastern United States. Teachers were administered an on-line survey consisting of questions from the Professional Learning Communities Assessment -- Revised (PLCA-R) and from the Faculty Trust Survey.;Within the context studied, the questions from the PLCA-R coalesced around different factors than indicated by the creators of the instrument. In addition, correlations of varying strengths were found between Trust and teachers' perceptions of PLCs . The strongest correlations were observed between faculty trust in clients and teacher perceptions of PLCs.;Further study is warranted to determine if the factor structure of the PLC model is stable in other contexts. Increasing the scope of the study could also add to claims that analysis of trust may be a method to connect PLC usage with student achievement.

Student engagement is an indicator of student achievement. For students living in poverty it is difficult to engage in a school that is not relatable to their own cultural norms and values. This phenomenological study sought to understand the lived experiences of these students and their teachers related to student engagement. The purpose of this study was to provide insights and perspectives of students’ and teachers’ personal experiences within a mathematics classroom. The key research questions targeted understanding student perceptions of their own level of engagement—behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively; teacher perceptions of their students’ levels of engagement; instructional factors that the students and teachers perceived as influential to student engagement; and determining whether students’ perceptions of their engagement related to assessments of learning and growth in math class. The study relied on interviews, classroom observations, and assessments of learning and growth. There was considerable overlap between teacher and student reports of influential instructional factors. Student perceptions of their own engagement did not conclusively correlate to growth, and neither students nor teachers had a shared definition of each component of engagement. In fact, a major finding was that participants had very different perception about what student engagement looks like in a classroom. Teacher perceptions of student engagement were highest for cognitive engagement and lowest for behavioral engagement, and assessment of learning and growth scores did not consistently align with teachers’ perceptions of student engagement. To effect change appropriately, it is critical to connect with the stakeholders most affected; in this case, a tremendous amount can be gleaned from their lived experiences to influence future policy.

Abstract This program evaluation is concerned with the value of online learning for academic student achievement as perceived by teachers and students. Online learning programs are becoming commonplace within traditional educational settings. These types of programs resolve a variety of educational issues related to equal access of curricula, funding, and quality. The current issue lies with educational institutions’ ability to implement these types of programs using research-based methods and strategies that enhance academic student achievement. This study initiates the research by identifying the perceptions of the stakeholder participants in the Edgenuity online learning program regarding graduation rates and other comparisons between Edgenuity graduates and non-Edgenuity graduates. The study captured these perceptions using student surveys, teacher interviews, and reports from the Edgenuity program and the district’s student information system. A pragmatic approach was used with mixed methods afforded by the use of the CIPP model from the Use Branch developed by Stufflebeam and Coryn. The data analysis process included the use of the Qualtrics survey program to administer and analyze the results from student surveys and coding to analyze the teacher interview responses. The study revealed that stakeholders perceived the Edgenuity program as satisfactory with suggested adjustments regarding the processes, practices, and procedures in an effort to make relevant and necessary changes for the future of the online program.

Effective reading instruction is paramount to the success of students in school and well into adulthood. Students that read below grade in third grade are more likely to drop out of high school and earn less income as adults. Teacher effectiveness is critical in helping to close these ongoing gaps with regards to reading. Teacher quality is very important to student achievement and as a result, teacher evaluation processes have become essential in determining and retaining quality teachers. Additionally, teachers’ and administrator’s perceptions of evaluations, particularly, perceptions of administrative feedback given and the impact it has on changing instructional practices, is important because teachers have a direct impact on student achievement and are one of the single most important factors in student performance. This study utilized a pragmatic paradigm for program evaluation as the theoretical framework to identify K-5 teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of the impact of administrators’ feedback on teacher instructional practices in reading in a rural school district in Virginia. Focus groups and semistructured interviews were used to collect data from teachers and administrators regarding their perceptions of feedback and the impact on instructional practices in reading. Transcript and thematic analysis were used to analyze the data collected through the focus group and interviews that were conducted in this case study.

The culture of a school community is critical to every aspect of its existence, including academic expectations, degree of inclusiveness, safety, and overall well-being of students and staff. While culture can be an abstract, elusive concept, it makes itself known upon entering the school. School culture can exist on multiple levels, exerting a cohesive impact on relationships and interactions and opportunities. Adding to its complexity, a school culture can be perceived differently by individuals, depending on their unique experiences. Further, a school culture is inevitable and difficult to change; a culture will form and once formed, is resistant to even the best intentions to alter it. These factors make attention to an emerging culture of importance to new schools. The purpose of this action research was to examine the impact of the explicit focus on culture through the creation of a Community of Practice (CoP). Additionally, a CoP can support collaboration between department members. Interview results and activities originating from CoP planning reveal that teachers are concerned with student inclusion and want to contribute to a welcoming, accepting school. It is important for school leaders to facilitate and support these opportunities. Further, action research can help create a focused renewal of culture. Major elements of a developing school culture to emerge from this study were multiple opportunities for informal communication, encouragement of individual as well collective investment in inclusive activities, creation of and encouragement of a creative, entrepreneurial impact on the school and its activities. Recommendations are that schools wanting to contribute to a positive, inclusive culture would do well to make purposeful, explicit efforts toward this endeavor.

Abstract High teacher turnover in urban schools, such as at the school in which this study was conducted, has persistently negatively impacted school reform efforts aimed at closing the achievement gap (Donaldson & Johnson, 2011; Ronfeldt, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013). Since effective teachers have the greatest direct impact upon improving student achievement, high teacher turnover rates in low-performing schools that serve large populations of minority and low-income students help perpetuate the low performance of those schools (Ingersoll, 2002; Ronfeldt et al., 2013; Stronge, 2010; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997). Furthermore, research indicates that teachers tend to stay in schools where a positive, supportive, collaborative school culture exists and where teachers play a role in decision making (Ado, 2013; Boyd et al., 2011; Ingersoll, 2002; Johnson, 2011). The purpose of this mixed methods action research study was to identify and explore a potential systemic intervention that would improve teachers’ perceptions of administrator support in order to eventually improve teacher retention in an urban middle school. By comparative analysis using a t-test of the pre- and post-survey results from the administration of the Principal Support Survey (DiPaola, 2012) that included the addition of three open-ended questions relating to teachers’ experiences with and wishes for administrative support, the study results indicated that after four months, implementation of a weekly observation and coaching protocol yielded a statistically significant increase in teachers’ perceptions of appraisal support. Recommendations included providing ongoing, individualized coaching support to teachers and to those coaching teachers, in addition to revising external accountability measures to ensure time for coaching and to reduce teacher stress.

Expert jazz improvisers follow a developmental trajectory that is useful to understanding creative ability. Because this domain uses creativity as a fundamental part of its performance, its development naturally includes techniques for developing one’s creativity. This study explored the development of expert and eminent jazz improvisers' creative abilities and delineated critical experiences, skills, dispositions, and activities associated with developing elite talent in this domain. I conducted interviews with expert jazz improvisers to gain retrospective accounts of their talent development process in addition to exploring autobiographical and biographical accounts of developmental activities of selected eminent jazz improvisers. I employed grounded theory techniques to generate and analyze these data and ultimately create a framework for identifying and developing creative talent as a jazz improviser.