Teachers are burning out at an elevated rate following the COVID-19 pandemic and little research has been conducted to understand what is contributing to their burnout. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand what factors in the post-shutdown pandemic environment are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers (teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience), and why some of these teachers subsequently decided to leave the profession. The central research question was, what factors are contributing to burnout in veteran teachers in the post-shutdown pandemic environment? The theoretical framework used in this study was the Job-Demands Resources theory. This study was conducted from a pragmatic worldview and borrowed elements of phenomenology, specifically the Reflective Lifeworld Approach. Participants were veteran teachers who quit teaching in the years following the pandemic, and they completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory Educators Survey (MBI-ES) before participating in a semi-structured interview. The results showed the factors that contributed to burnout in these teachers were lack of coherence, lack of student accountability, unsustainable workloads, and erosion of professionalism. The number of job demands on teachers increased and the number of resources either stayed the same or decreased, causing excess strain. The pandemic exacerbated underlying issues already present within the profession, and teachers no longer feel that society treats them as professionals. This study was an exploration of burnout in this current era and calls for administrators and policymakers to make changes to the field to reduce burnout and increase teacher retention.

Closing achievement gaps for students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds is a decades-long issue in public education, particularly for reading instruction (International Reading Association [IRA], 2010; National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013). Across the United States, initiatives to further integrate technology-based instruction to achieve differentiation are constantly emerging. Selecting which programs to use and how to best implement the technology to produce the highest academic gains remain significant issues. Research has shown that technology-based programs can produce the same positive or negative effects as teacher-led instruction (Ross, Morrison, & Lowther, 2010). Finding and implementing high-quality literacy technology is particularly important for students attending Title I schools. Students from low-income backgrounds may start their schooling at a disadvantage in terms of vocabulary and oral communication skills (Reardon, 2013; Timmons, 2008) which research has linked to higher unemployment rates (Timmons, 2008). The purpose of this qualitative program evaluation was to analyze teacher perceptions regarding the impact of implementation activities for a technology-based literacy program in four Title I schools in a Virginia school district. Nine teachers representing kindergarten, first and second grades were interviewed regarding their level of preparedness, classroom integration, obstacles and facilitators in relation to program implementation. Teachers reported high levels of preparedness in placing students on the program, but low levels of support in ongoing implementation and training. Recommendations included providing all teachers with initial and continual professional development, allowing stakeholders to visit model classrooms, providing necessary equipment, devoting time for program-specific data talks and individual teacher planning, and garnering more planning input from the program consultants.

Teachers play a critical role when it comes to impacting student achievement. As a result, quality of teachers is an issue that is being addressed through continuing professional development. Even with this emphasis, current professional development is perceived by teachers as being ineffective and lacking in relevance to student and teacher needs. However, research-based professional development practices do exist, and this study sought to explore which of these features teachers perceive to be effective within the learning experiences of lesson study, book study, and peer observations. Additionally, self-efficacy can affect teacher impact on student achievement. Four sources of efficacy contribute to feelings of confidence and can be embedded within professional development activities. Two research questions were asked in this study: Do teachers perceive lesson study, peer observations, and book study as effective forms of professional development? What are teacher perceptions of their own self-efficacy following an academic year of professional development? This qualitative study used interviews, focus group meetings, teacher journals, and field notes to answer the questions after teachers engaged in an action research cycle that included a professional development activity of their choosing. Results revealed that teachers find value in learning that includes ongoing time to learn, meaningful collaboration with peers, and teacher choice. Teachers also benefit from the self-efficacy sources of mastery experience and emotional arousal. Recommendations of this study include protecting time for teacher learning and linking it to teacher evaluation and providing teachers with opportunism to experience sources of efficacy within their learning activities.

The social and emotional health support framework provided to the teachers and students by an elementary school principal is essential in providing a valid framework for researching and utilizing mental health resources within the school setting. The leadership role of a principal can validate or invalidate the use of mental health resources for their students and teachers. This framework can provide social and emotional support to children experiencing emotional support needs. In all elementary schools, a coordinated effort between teachers, administrators, and community stakeholders associated with assistance programs can enhance the quality of life for the students as well as provide recommended support to the teachers when referring an elementary school student for a social and emotional health assessment. As such, it is important that a broader social and emotional field of research is conducted so that Catholic elementary school teachers feel supported in their attempts to assist students who are struggling with low levels of self-worth or feelings of anxiety, self-harm, suicide, or depression. This study is designed to answer two questions that are foundational to the effort to improve social and emotional resources for students at the Catholic elementary school level. The first question is: what is the role of the Catholic elementary school principal in utilizing district-provided and outside social and emotional resources for their students? The second question is: what is the role of the Catholic elementary school principal when two different counties do not offer the same social and emotional health resources for Catholic school students? / Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of a relationship between second-order change leadership behaviors of high school administrators and changes in student achievement from the school year 2016 to 2017 on the Florida Standards Assessment English Language Arts/Reading component and the Algebra 1 End of Course examination in two large urban school districts. This study further sought to determine the leadership behaviors that high school administrators felt had the most impact on student achievement. As a mixed-method research study (N = 69), quantitative and qualitative data were collected for analyses. Quantitative data were collected via the Principal Actions Survey (PAS) developed by La Cava (2009). A Pearson r correlation was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between individual principal scores on the PAS and changes in student achievement from school years 2016 and 2017. Qualitative data were collected via telephone interviews through the use of the Second-Order Change Principal Interview Protocol (Taylor, 2007). A thematic analysis was utilized to determine themes among administrator responses, specific to the seven leadership responsibilities determined by Marzano, Waters, & McNulty (2005). Themes were determined by frequency of occurrences among interviewees. The quantitative analysis determined that there was no statistically significant relationship among the mean scores of principals on the PAS and changes in student achievement. Qualitative analysis revealed themes specific to administrator change implementation. Themes included: creating a culture of change, data-driven professional learning communities, professional learning, development, and administrator leadership.

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes associated with sustained school-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) programs in the State of Florida and the impact the length of time of implementation of these programs had on those outcomes. The link between discipline outcomes, as measured by the number of office discipline referrals (ODRs) written over the course of a school year per 100 students and sustained implementation of PBIS systems with documented fidelity, as well as the connection between discipline outcomes for subgroups of students and sustained PBIS programs were examined for schools in the initial implementation phase (one to three years of implementation) compared to schools in the sustaining phase of implementation (four or more years of implementation). As more schools move to implement school-wide PBIS programs, little research is available to educational leaders focusing on sustainability of school-wide PBIS programs (Coffey & Horner, 2012, McIntosh, Kim, Mercer, Strickland-Cohen, & Horner, 2015). This study aimed to address this lack of research by analyzing the link between sustained school-wide PBIS programs and discipline outcomes. Schools in the State of Florida (987 schools - 654 elementary, 210 middle, and 123 high schools), representing 842,430 students were analyzed in a series of five research questions. The discipline outcomes, as measured by the rate of office discipline referrals per 100 students, from schools in the initial phase of implementation were compared to those of schools with sustained implementation of their school-wide PBIS programs. Research questions focused on whole school data as well as specific subgroups to determine if there was a difference in discipline outcomes. Overall, the analysis of this data found limited significant differences when examining the impact length of implementation has on discipline outcomes. While not statistically significant, several educationally important trends emerged that can help inform educational leaders as they make decisions about the allocation of time and resources for the future of school-wide PBIS programs in their schools and districts.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain insight into the personal experiences of undergraduate students with learning disabilities and what they identify as impediments to their degree attainment. This study was guided by a conceptual framework connecting the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity, Critical Disability Theory, institutional policy/practices, and barriers to the persistence of students towards degree attainment. This qualitative study utilized ten in-depth interviews with undergraduate students who identify as having learning disabilities. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Moustakas's (1994) model of analysis. Through this analysis, an understanding was gained of how the participants make meaning of their individual identities while navigating the institutional processes to become registered to receive accommodations. In addition to answering the research questions, this study uncovers the emergent themes of Otherness, Rejection-Sensitivity Dysphoria, the impact of social media, and social connections. The findings of this study are not generalizable, but they do provide insight for educators and policy makers who create policies and practices to support students with disabilities in their progression towards degree attainment.

The purpose of the current empirical study was to investigate the relationship between a United States governor's education agenda, the growth of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the state promise programs on allocations for higher education within the 50 states for the Fiscal Year 2018. Guided by Tandberg's (2010a, 2010b) fiscal policy framework, this quantitative inquiry seeks to investigate the association between a governor's education agenda, statewide promise programs, and Medicaid's share of state general fund expenditures on the states' higher education allocation per US $1,000 of personal income using an analysis of covariance fixed-term model and hierarchical multiple regression model. The present inquiry added the innovation of a governor's agenda, Medicaid allocations under the ACA, and state promise programs to Tandberg's (2010a, 2010b) fiscal policy framework. The findings in this study demonstrated an insignificant relationship between Medicaid appropriations under the ACA, state promise programs, and a governor's education agenda on state support for postsecondary education.

This phenomenological study investigated the transition process of student government leaders in a university setting. The study consisted of interviewing a total of 17 participants from Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches, as well as the Election Commission. This study focused on finding the types of transitions student leaders experience while serving in student government, the meaning obtained from such transitions, and the impact succession planning and university personnel had on those transitions. Themes that emerged from the study included stress, conflict, advocacy, resiliency, and boundaries. Recommendations and future applications of the research findings were made to help guide higher education practices.

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