Over 60 years of conflicting messaging about the usefulness and impact of grammar on writing has guided instructional practice in K-12 classrooms across the country. In Florida, like many other states, reading scores have continued to decline despite multiple efforts to identify the root causes of learning deficiencies. Even though research…

For more than a century, the state of Florida has been home to a rich, diverse cultural tradition and history stemming from its pan-ethnic Latine population. While large metropolitan areas such as Miami and Orlando are home to sizable Latine communities, the idyllic and traditionally West-Central region of the state currently experiences a…

College students in the United States today are failing to be academically engaged, and there is a critical need to analyze why this is occurring. The research conducted in this study was used to examine student engagement as a means to promote learning in higher education. Student engagement can lead to knowledge development and foster academic…

Traditionally, models of instructional leadership espouse data-informed decision making in response to student assessment outcomes as one of the core school leader behaviors. In recent years, rising expectations from accountability policies and related assessment practices have myriad implications for school districts, specifically in the areas of…

Improving mathematical student performance in K-12 education has been a focus in the U.S. Students in the U.S. score lower on standardized math assessments than students in other countries. Preparing students for a successful future in a global society requires schools to integrate effective digital technologies in math classroom curricula.…

As the ideas behind traditional learning change the content delivery methods used by teachers should adapt as well. Teachers are being asked to find ways of introducing and relating the material to students in the web world that many digital natives live in outside of the classroom walls. To prevent the misuse of Internet inside of the classroom…

School reform and turnaround efforts have been in the public eye since the signing of the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1965. Research has been focused on the School Improvement Grant, as well as the essential components that improve performance of schools. This qualitative case examines one…

Least restrictive environment (LRE) is defined as teaching children with disabilities alongside non-disabled children; these children have not been identified as students with disabilities. An inclusion setting is the integration of students with disabilities in the general education setting to provide the least restrictive environment. Inclusion…

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), the process of developing and utilizing interpersonal skills for everyday life, has become a primary vehicle for structuring students' social and emotional health in the United States and across the world. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of understanding SEL practices, is increasingly at the…

This applied dissertation was designed to provide concise information and research to delineate the role of the virtual school principal (VSP). The research available was outdated, scarce, or inadequate. The role of VSPs and the challenges that are faced were unclear. This researcher has found very little evidence to establish whether virtual…

Equity in education matters for all. Many innovative policies and practices have been established to disrupt the devastating history of inequities enshrined in every stage of education. Yet, ever-changing social, economic, and environmental circumstances bring another layer of tensions and complexities to these educational efforts, often…

The demand for virtual education is rapidly increasing due to the proliferation of legislation demanding class size limitations, funding cuts, and school choice across the United States. Virtual education leaders are discovering new ways to enhance and develop teachers to become more efficient and increase quality of learning online. Learning…

This study focused on assessing the levels of job satisfaction among peer evaluators in a large, metropolitan public K-12 school district in Florida. Peer evaluators were defined as former classroom teachers with five or more years of teaching experience who observe and evaluate teachers with two or more years of teaching experience. Seventy-eight…

The 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), No Child Left Behind, brought the use of student assessment data to the fore. This mandate-based and sanction-laden legislation ushered in a new era of accountability rooted in the collection, analysis, and use of student assessment data for educational improvements. As…

The overall aim of this quantitative non-experimental study was to investigate the degree to which content-focused professional development, active based-learning professional development and teacher self-efficacy predict student performance in reading, within persistently low-performing schools. The need to investigate professional development in…