The purpose of this study was to explore the behaviors and characteristics of school leadership, specifically principals' behaviors, that lead to increased student achievement. This study examined (a) what type of information is available to principals, (b) how they use the information, and (c) what factors determine a positive or negative impact…

This research study was conducted to examine the effects of the academic achievement of elementary level general education students in the inclusion classroom setting versus the general education students in the non-inclusion classroom in a large suburban school district in Tennessee as measured by third, fourth, and fifth grade mathematics and…

The profession of school counseling is rapidly changing from one often characterized by indirect local administrative accountability to one characterized by accountability for student outcomes. School counseling leadership has led a movement for role transformation (ASCA, 2003; 2005; Education Trust, 2007) that has initiated significant changes in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate if and how teacher's years of experience and perceptions toward co-teaching impacted the success or failure of the students with disabilities in the co-teaching environment. Another purpose was to determine if teacher experience had any significant impact on teacher perceptions about co-teaching and…

The authors compared the characteristics of early elementary age students educated in either rural or suburban schools who were identified as showing soft signs of emotional or behavioral disorders according to systematic screening procedures. The authors followed 134 kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students identified by these…

Although practitioners have been asked to make fundamental shifts in their beliefs about reaching all students, the structures of high schools to support that work have not changed appreciably. Teachers teach in isolation, departmental silos lack curricular and instructional coherence across core subject areas, and few teachers share students in…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

Between 1985 and 1989, the Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) Project studied the effect of class size on student achievement in Tennessee schools. The study examined: (1) small classes of 15 students per teacher; (2) regular classes of 24 students per teacher; and (3) regular classes with a teacher's aide. The sample included students from…