<p> The purpose of this study was to understand the life history of a female teacher by examining her beliefs about leaving a teaching legacy and by analyzing the narratives of four educational leaders as they reflect on the generative behaviors of this teacher. The research questions guiding this study were: (a) What elements of this teacher's life history contributed to creating a legacy of educational leaders? (b) What are the perspectives of the educational leaders impacted by this teacher as they relate to crafting an educational legacy? (c) How do the life stories of the teacher and educational leaders intersect to reveal narrative resonance - the ability of stories to interact in such a way that they influence other stories? </p><p> A review of relevant literature examined legacy creation or generativity. In addition, this study critiqued scholarship that extends narrative research approaches, specifically, fictional research texts. Since fictional research products can be catalysts for reflection and discussion, the final chapter of this study is presented as a fictionalized research-narrative that emerged from analysis of the data. </p><p> The data in this study included interview texts, participant artwork, reflections from the participant's journal, excerpts from the researcher's journal, and poetry written both by the participant and the researcher. The data were analyzed by using open and focused coding, employing the constant comparison process, and through artifact analysis. The data analysis of this qualitative study resulted in specific findings. First, the main participant demonstrated generative traits contributing to a legacy of educational leaders. Her compassion for all students, her passion for teaching/learning, her content knowledge, and her flexibility in the classroom all manifested themselves in the lives of the educational leaders participating in this study. Additionally, the narratives from the participant demonstrated narrative resonance, Stories, it seems, have their own legacies.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding of third grade math teachers' beliefs and practices regarding homework, to explain how teachers' beliefs and practices regarding homework aligned to the framework of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy Cognitive Domain, and to determine the administrative influences on homework practices. The data were collected during October and November 2013. Six third grade math teachers (primary unit of analysis) and four principals (secondary unit of analysis) were interviewed from Dell School District. Each participant (teacher and principal) was interviewed for approximately one hour. A second meeting was set at a later time with the teachers. This second meeting was arranged in order to ask additional questions based on the interviewees' responses from the initial interview and also to collect homework samples. The follow-up meetings varied between 10 to 15 minutes. The interview transcripts were then transcribed. The data were analyzed to determine the themes: teachers' beliefs and practices of homework, alignment of homework items to the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, and administrative influences on homework.</p><p> Three major themes emerged regarding teachers' beliefs about homework&mdash;extra repetition of practice, connection between home and school, and building responsibility. Four major themes related to teachers' homework practices were found&mdash; quantity of homework, type of homework, source of homework, and differentiation of homework. Overall, the majority of homework items, across all cognitive domain levels, were aligned to a low category (<i>remembering</i>, 68%); however, there were some variations among the distributions of homework. In comparing what teachers espoused about homework practices and what was actually assigned, the majority were aligned. Four major themes emerged from the principals' comments&mdash;school-wide expectations for homework, complaints about homework, principals' beliefs and value about homework, and cognitive domain of homework. The four major findings of the study included: homework was used primarily for low-level practice, more so than high-level thinking; teachers' homework practices were not part of the principals' leadership agenda, because principals took a &ldquo;hands-off approach&rdquo; to homework; teachers assigned low-level homework with little attention to Bloom's Taxonomy cognitive domain, because this allowed students to be successful and responsible for completing their homework and; homework was a lost art, because principals did not utilize the opportunity to talk with teachers about using homework more effectively to promote students' learning; therefore, teachers continued implementing their same homework practices from the past.</p>

<p> Experiential learning theory, student driven learning methods, and brain research related to learning and memory support the use of experientially based learning activities in a traditional classroom. It is the author&rsquo;s opinion, however, that teachers rarely make use of such activities, termed Learning Games in this paper, as a means to help students learn, retain, and recall material presented in the classroom. Reasons include a lack of training and a perceived limit of time for the inclusion of experientially based teaching techniques. Others argue that experiential learning resembles unguided learning and places undue demands on student working memory that can hinder effective learning. This paper presents support for the use of Learning Games, activities developed by the author based on research and the value of &lsquo;fun&rsquo;, &lsquo;play&rsquo;, and &lsquo;games&rsquo;, to enhance the learning process. Significance of the study is to increase the acceptance of experiential learning in a traditional classroom, to dispel preconceived notions, and to expand on a teacher&rsquo;s diversity of teaching techniques to offer more opportunities for student learning. A mixed methods research design is used to evaluate student preference to experiential learning pedagogy to that of traditional classroom instruction. The results showed no significant difference in student preference between experiential and traditional pedagogy. Possible reasons include factors related to the school&rsquo;s culture and traditions, student demographics, teacher inexperience, and classroom environment. Heuristic inquiry reveals the researcher&rsquo;s teaching philosophy and methods incongruent to the research setting.</p>

<p> In this era of educational accountability, educators, parents, and patrons are interested in finding the most efficient and effective route toward increasing student achievement. Research has shown a highly effective teacher in the classroom as the central component on this path to improved student learning. As school districts restructure their hiring practices to ask teachers to join the principal in selecting the best teacher candidate to hire, new questions arise as to their role on the hiring team. This qualitative research study used an online survey to gather 146 elementary teachers&rsquo; perspectives from both a large and small school district in the Pacific Northwest. The study also included four consecutive focus groups, one group consisting of three elementary teachers from the small school district and three groups consisting of a total of 10 elementary teachers from the larger school district, to dig deeper into the practice of distributed leadership as it pertains to the hiring process. This study is based on the theoretical framework of distributed leadership and an extensive study of distributed leadership as a practice of educational reform. It contributes to literature regarding teachers&rsquo; perspectives pertaining to their experience and role in the hiring process using a distributed leadership practice in selection of a high quality teacher. The results of this study extend previous findings regarding the degree in which teachers and administrators are involved in the hiring process, and the findings of former studies indicating the relationship between school-based hiring and an effective teacher selection. The outcomes of this study explore teachers&rsquo; views as to their role on a hiring team. Additionally, findings offer principals and district hiring personnel insight into elementary teachers&rsquo; experiences as a part of the hiring team and explore teachers&rsquo; perceptions regarding the practice of distributed leadership in hiring a quality teacher. </p>

<p> Beginning teacher attrition is a problem that exacerbates the inequity of opportunities for all students, especially for those in schools that are already challenged by poverty. This study makes use of the <i>Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Survey</i> (covering the period between 2008 and 2012) and U.S. Census data to identify which teachers leave and to explain why. Beyond that, it also offers a look into the characteristics of those teachers who stay at the same school for five years. The empirical investigation is embedded in a conceptual framework that draws from motivation and identity theories and brings in insights about the importance of geography and of neighborhood effects from works on poverty and education.</p><p> The study utilizes a dataset with survey responses from approximately 1,800 full-time teachers from a sample designed to represent the overall population of beginning teachers in the United States. By combining individual-level longitudinal data with information about communities, it makes an important contribution to the study of new teacher placement, attrition, and retention. The evidence is presented using a variety of descriptive and inferential statistics, and the analysis includes factor analysis and logistic regression models. </p><p> The results show that indicators of leaving the profession before the fifth year become apparent early on, as factors measured at the end of year one have significant effects on early career outcomes. Most prominently, higher degrees of burnout reported by teachers, which includes factors such as decreased enthusiasm and increased fatigue, are associated with increased risks for leaving the profession without the prospect to return to it and with transferring to a different school district. Several other factors on the individual and school-level emerge as relevant to career outcomes. Teachers who have Highly Qualified Teacher credentials and report a supportive school climate are at less risk to leave the profession. On the other hand, teachers with alternative certification and master&rsquo;s degrees are more likely to move to a different school or districts in the first five years.</p><p> In terms of socio-geographic factors that help explain teacher retention and attrition, the only significant variable in the regression models used in the analysis is the percentage of White residents at the Census tract of the Year 1 school. When everything else is held constant, decreasing this percentage from 100 to 0 increases the predicted probability of leaving the profession by approximately 20%. Considering that a vast majority of beginning teachers both in the sample and in the overall population are White, this findings fits in with theories about &ldquo;the pull of home&rdquo; and cultural habitus. The magnitude and significance of this finding suggest that it warrants further exploration, as racial composition of the communities is likely a measurement proxy for complex processes of inequality.</p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the perception of teacher self-efficacy of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers in a suburban school district with a graduation rate of 99%. A school district with a graduation rate of 99% is worthy of further study to see if there is a statistical difference in the self-efficacy of its professional staff who are traditionally and alternatively certified. Through a study on licensure and worker quality comparing alternative routes to traditional teacher routes, alternatively certified teachers have stronger pre-service qualifications than do traditionally prepared teachers with the least restrictive alternative pathway attracting the most qualified teachers (Sass, 2014). Teacher quality and effectiveness have been studied to determine their relationship to and impact on student achievement. The researcher surveyed 82 teachers who were certified through traditional teacher preparation programs and through alternative preparation programs. The results of the this study did not show a significant difference in the teacher self-efficacy of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers nor did it show a statistical difference in the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) score of those with three or more years of experience and who had previous work experience with children and adolescents. The researcher used two surveys to gather data&mdash;a demographic survey created by Thompson (2003) and the TSES, a Likert-type scale, created by Schwarzer, Schmidtz, and Daytner in 1999. The TSES identifies jobs skills and groups in four major areas: (a) job accomplishment, (b) skill development on the job, (c) social interaction with students, parents, and colleagues, and (d) coping with job stress (Schwarzer, 1998; Schwarzer et al., 1999).</p><p> Keywords: self-efficacy, traditionally certified, alternatively certified. </p>

<p> Human capital, financial support, and other resources are often provided to schools by private organizations such as corporations, community organizations, universities, and governments. There is a wealth of research on the benefits of public school-external partnerships (Barnett, Hall, Berg, &amp; Macarena, 2010; Gardner, 2011; Norman, 2009, Semke &amp; Sheridan, 2012), however, there is little information on the sustainability of public school&rsquo;s external partnerships. Beabout (2010) argued that external relationships can be difficult for school leaders to establish and maintain. Since partnerships are essential to offset school shortage and provide opportunities for students, it is crucial to expand our understanding of how schools maintain their external partnerships. </p><p> This qualitative study involving interviews of 23 partnership organizers examined how schools maintained their long-term partnerships. This study explored institutional theory as a theoretical framework to examine how schools and organizations function as institutions. Powell and DiMaggio (1991) and Selznick (1957) stated that as an organization is &ldquo;institutionalized&rdquo; it tends to take on a special character and to achieve a distinctive competence, in other words, a trained or built-in incapacity. The study drew on Bolman and Deal&rsquo;s (2003) four frames for how people view the world: structural, human resource, political, and symbolic.</p><p> Partnership organizers described effective communication as an important factor in maintaining partnerships. Key factors in effective communication were establishing points of contact for both the school and the partner, understanding each other&rsquo;s roles, and having clear expectations. Partnership organizers shared that collaboration that moves the partnerships forward were key. That kind of collaboration involved understanding and respecting the school culture and procedures as well as building buy-in for the school and the organization stakeholders and it offered real world experiences to students. Participants cited a commitment to working through barriers with a focus on commitment, flexibility, and dedication as key factor.</p><p> Based on the partnership organizers experiences, this study offers a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to maintaining public school-external partnerships, with implications for existing and future school partnerships. This study also offers implications for policy on school partnerships.</p>

<p> Independent schools across the nation recognize the need to create inclusive communities for their students of color. Independent schools must embrace diversity and create communities in which students from all different cultures feel that they belong. The presence of diversity in the independent school environment is critical to the success of students of color. Many non-cognitive obstacles inhibit the success of students of color who attend predominantly white schools including institutional racism, oppositional identity, and internalized oppression (Fordham &amp; Ogbu, 1986; Tatum, 2003). One of the many approaches that independent schools use to address inclusivity is the creation of affinity groups. The purpose of this study is to discover best practices of affinity groups in independent schools and how they are used to create a sense of belonging and inclusion for students of color. This qualitative study employs the Dynamic Narrative Approach to conduct interviews with diversity practitioners at independent schools that are members of the National Association of Independent Schools. Diversity practitioners were asked semi-structured interview questions through a password-protected wiki. A review of the literature and the findings from this study produced a list of best practices of affinity groups in independent schools, including possible downsides and how to overcome them. The findings of this study may be beneficial to independent school leaders and diversity practitioners who have not yet begun affinity group work at their schools. This study adds to the dearth of literature surrounding using affinity groups in independent schools to support students of color.</p>

<p> Despite rapid expansion of charter schools since the first enabling legislation was passed in 1991 there remains little understanding of the relationship between charter school law components and their relation to the percent charter school enrollment. This study focuses on the twenty charter school law components identified by the National Alliance of Public Carter Schools as being necessary for a strong charter school law and their correlation to charter school enrollment. Results suggest that, of the twenty components, Multiple Authorizers and Equitable Access to Capital Funding are most strongly correlated with an increase in the percentage of charter school enrollment. An additional five components, Equitable Operational Funding, Access to Retirement Systems, Adequate Authorizer Funding, Automatic Exemptions from State and District Rules and Regulations and Multi-school Charter Contracts Allowed, had a moderate correlation to the percentage of charter school enrollment. Additionally, one component, Authorizer and Program Accountability, shows a negative correlation to the percent of charter school enrollment. These findings suggest that if policymakers desire to increase the percentage of charter school enrollment they should carefully consider inclusion of these components in state law.</p>

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of teachers who effectively promoted student creativity and maintained high levels of work engagement. Creativity is considered a skill crucial for future success but is often misunderstood. High-stakes accountability in modern education has increased focus on test scores, reduced emphasis on creativity development at the school level, and negatively affected teacher work engagement. </p><p> In-depth interviews and written responses were used to generate an understanding of how teachers who foster student creativity and maintain high levels of work engagement experience modern education. Fifteen participants from 14 schools in three school districts across northern Georgia shared their experiences. </p><p> Findings indicated that teachers can foster student creativity in the current high-stakes accountability environment when they focus on establishing meaningful relationships with students and colleagues, exhibit adaptability in the classroom, and maintain confidence in their educational identity. The participants in the study also were driven toward self-improvement, found intrinsic value in their approach to curriculum and instruction, were supported by administration, focused on social and emotional aspects of education, provided students with ownership in the learning process, made learning relevant, and established structure and safety for students within a flexible approach to learning. Future implications for practice include placing an increased focus on creativity development in schools because this focus has the potential to increase student learning in addition to boosting creativity.</p><p>