This dissertation is a mixed methods study of race, language, and writing using the racial equity gaps in student success data as a starting point for the conversation that calls the fields of Rhetoric and Compositions, Literacy Studies, and Higher Education to act more intentionally towards creating equitable spaces in our writing classrooms.…

Demographics of the United States' school system continue to change and diversify. Meeting the needs of diverse learners is critical to the success of all children. Building and sustaining equitable learning environments has proven to be a challenging task for school leaders. Barriers that hinder equity continue to plague schools and are rooted in…

On Friday, March 13, 2020, at 12:25 PM, on the eve of midterm break, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty and staff at a Midwest Florida Community College were notified by email that the college would extend midterm break and terminate all non-essential operations for an additional week; however, most college operations and course…

In this qualitative study, adult students placed in an eight-week, closed-cohort GED preparation program were introduced to blended learning while attending in-person instruction five days a week during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants had the opportunity to receive their curriculum in a blended format, which provided some convenience for the…

This paper describes a qualitative case study designed to examine the challenges to effective science instruction faced by elementary teachers and examine the influence those challenges have on teachers' science teaching practices. Data were gathered through a questionnaire administered to over 240 teachers in a northern Florida school district…

Despite the promise of equal education opportunities for all students in the nation, the achievement/opportunity gap between English language learners (ELLs) and their non-ELLs peers persists. Time, effort, and resources of all kids have been invested in educational reforms to improve these students' outcomes without success (Darling-Hammond,…

So that students are equipped with the skills needed to compete a in a global economy, schools are being given resources intended to increase equity, opportunity, and to close the digital divide. Digital equitability exists when all students have access to both advanced technologies and the learning opportunities the technologies provide (Solomon,…

Formative assessment has been identified as an effective pedagogical practice in the field of education, where teachers and students engage daily in an interactive process to gather evidence of the students' proficiency of a specific learning goal. The evidence collected by the teacher and a student during the formative assessment process allows…

Educators across the U.S. participate in professional development (PD) to improve their teaching competencies. Numerous legislatures have mandated PD to develop highly qualified teachers; however, literature on PD has shown that teachers feel PD does not meet their needs. With consideration for the diverse needs of teachers, in this study I sought…

As the numbers of multilingual learners with disabilities increase in classrooms across the country and the achievement gap between multilingual learners with disabilities and their typical peers continues to widen, more research is needed to learn more about how teachers and administrators can support multilingual learners with disabilities. This…

Novice reading teachers often struggle to provide high-quality reading instruction. The reasons for their difficulties include "transition shock," challenging school contexts, lack of proper preparation, and poor support. One way to improve the quality of novice teachers' reading instruction is through improving their access to high…

This study was conducted with 11th- and 12th-grade high school students in western Florida. These students were not meeting the required achievement level in English language arts needed for graduation. This qualitative study investigated the barriers that hinder high school students' achievement in English language arts as a graduation…

As the Latino population increases nationally, educators must develop the work ethic among their Latino students to meet the requirements for student achievement. This case study examined if teachers' perceptions of the Latino population affected the academic motivation of their Latino students at a low-income, primarily Latino high school in…

Black male teachers (BMEs) make up less than two percent of the entire educator workforce in the U.S. (Clark, 2020; DeRuy, 2016; Eng, 2020; Oakley et al., 2009), and in Florida, Black male elementary teachers (BMETs) comprise about 1.5% of all educators (FLDOE, 2022). Stephens et al. (2019) shared that all children benefit from experiences with…

A small percent of high school students are performing above satisfactory on end-of-course assessments, especially in Algebra 1 and Geometry. This is indicative that mathematics instruction may need to improve. One innovation in mathematics instruction is the incorporation of storying as an instructional strategy, as there is considerable research…