This quantitative cross-sectional research study investigated differences in the perceived attitudes of students in different grade levels toward themselves and toward school. Data from 774 surveys of students in third through eighth grade were examined. The study took place within two public school districts in the suburbs of Chicago. The…

Intrinsic motivation is a crucial factor for students' learning and academic achievement and the initial drive for capturing students' interest in learning and engagement in a particular subject. There is a relationship between motivation and learning in traditional schools (Brophy, 2010; Schunk et al., 2014); however, despite the fact that…

Substantial research has clearly established the relationship between school attendance and indicators of student achievement over time in large, urban cities using longitudinal studies. However, there is an insufficient amount of literature that focuses on an immediate relationship in smaller, suburban areas with differing demographics. This…

Successful social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have established methods with teacher and peer support that improve prosocial behavior. Research has shown intervention programs that incorporate these skills reduce antisocial behaviors, but implementation in schools may vary and therefore affect outcomes. The purpose of this…

Nature experiences have been shown to have a number of positive impacts on adults and children (Louv, 2012, Williams, 2017). These benefits include an improvement in the ability to direct one's attention, a reduction in the symptoms of stress, and an increase in creative play. Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989), Stress…

Co-teaching is an instructional strategy for pairing special education and general education teachers to provide specially designed instruction to students with disabilities in general education settings. Instructional coaching is a professional development model that can provide co-teachers with additional strategies to effectively educate…

Homework is a well-established tradition ingrained in today's educational system. Although it is a widely used practice in many elementary school classrooms, the research suggests that homework does not increase student achievement. For many students and their families, homework is a significant struggle. This research study aims to examine the…

Inter-district racial and socioeconomic segregation continue to affect students' educational opportunities. Housing mobility programs provide a way for low-income families to access lower-poverty and higher-performing schools in nearby districts. However, changing schools is also disruptive for students. Through interviews with 67 low-income Black…

Elementary school students face developmental challenges resulting in decreased social and emotional learning and academic success. These challenges include outbursts in class, physical confrontations, or low motivation that will cause students to lose focus and fail academically. This research explored teachers' perceptions about the efficacy of…

This ex post facto, quasi-experimental quantitative study investigated the impact of the implementation of student voice conferences on reading assessment scores and equitable differentiated instructional tasks designed for a productive struggle during teacher lesson planning. Six teachers and 132 students from one suburban elementary school…

Students with Emotional Impairment (EI) continue to experience poor short- and long-term outcomes within U.S. public schools. Despite raised academic and functional skill standards set federally in the Endrew F. vs Douglas Supreme Court case (2017), students with EI are not yet receiving their Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This…

The researcher incorporated an evidence-based Student Success Skills program, to see the impact it made on attendance and achievement rates for a 5th grade classroom, in a suburban elementary school in the Atlanta, GA area. The results show that the Student Success Skills program made no impact on the students when examining absences and…

The purpose of this longitudinal, mixed methods quasi-experimental study was to investigate the impact of balanced literacy coaching on teacher efficacy, practices, beliefs, and student achievement. The participants were third- through sixth-grade teachers from five elementary schools within the same south suburban Chicago public school district.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Capturing Kids' Hearts professional development process as it relates to student-teacher relationships. This study sought to determine teachers' perceptions regarding student-teacher relationships. The study was to ascertain the effect of the Capturing Kids' Hearts professional development…

The study aims to explore the level of suburban 5th grade students' mathematics self-efficacy, math anxiety, and academic achievement, to discover the possible interconnections between these parameters. The measures used to evaluate each included the Math Anxiety Rating Scale, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, and the North Carolina End of Grade…