This educational biography is a study of Alexander Campbell's (1788-1866) educational activities and educational thinking. These activities included the following: his creation of Buffalo Seminary; advocacy for common schools at the Virginia State Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830; participation in the Western Literary Institute and College of Professional Teachers of Cincinnati, Ohio (an organization for educators); speeches on education and common schools; founding Bethany College in present-day Bethany, West Virginia; and his discussion of educational issues in his journal, the Millennial Harbinger. The study explores how Campbell's unique early-life affected his future educational life. His early-life included intensive study under his highly educated father, home-training in Christian piety, and studying for a time at the University of Glasgow. The study focuses especially upon Campbell's involvement in the College of Teachers, his founding of Bethany College, and his major educational ideas. Some of Campbell's major educational emphases include: the need for public education; human knowledge as a national resource; moral education; lifelong learning; female education; student interest; a broad and holistic conception of education; a focus on early childhood education; utilitarian education; and the power of education. This study concludes that the overarching theme of education as power pervades Campbell's educational thinking.

Zero-tolerance discipline policies have been in use in U.S. schools for almost 25 years. Since their enactment in the 1990s, researchers have found that zero tolerance disciplinary policies and practices can cause students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the perceptions of middle-school male students of color regarding the discipline process on a campus that supplemented zero-tolerance discipline with restorative practices (RPs). Additional intents of this study were to discover the challenges students encountered when they returned from a disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) and determine whether RPs helped or hindered their transition to the home campus. Six middle-school male students of color who were placed at the district's DAEP and returned to their home campus participated in the study. The conceptual framework was based on Braithwaite's concept of stigmatized shame following an exclusion and Nathanson's human reactions to shame. The study yielded seven major themes: (a) student perceptions of exclusion, (b) behaviors related to exclusion from school, (c) human reactions to shame—attacking others, (d) human reactions to shame—avoidance, (e) the need for reintegration and acceptance, (f) traumatic events, and (g) dissonance in the discipline process.

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry is to explore critical visual literacy in a first grade classroom at a private school. This case study design focuses on students learning how to take a critical stance by focusing on the visual images, children's picture books, and visual arts masterpieces. The research question guiding this study is: How does a visual literacy approach using inferential and critical questioning support first graders' development of critical literacy? Four social issue topics were discussed which were exploring difference, bullying, poverty and global issues. The students engaged in conversations on each topic that were prompted by a specific set of questions to invite a critical stance. This study encouraged multimodality as it opened up a space to make thought visible in ways that go beyond printed words. The students were able to demonstrate their thinking and understanding by sharing their voice on the various topics through writing, art, music or acting. The inclusion of art was a valuable tool for building a deep understanding of self and others. Findings from this study support the development of social empathy in students and can be linked to morality theory and moral education. The study points to the significance …

Living and working abroad is one of the best ways to grow and learn about who you are and who you can become. The purpose of the project is to develop and articulate a radical reflexive praxis within the paradigm of the lived experiences of a Black female expatriate Christian mathematics educator. Grounded in the epistemological tradition of Black feminist thought, this study defines the intersectionality of my identity as a Black woman mathematics educator and explores ways it informs my interaction with students, parents and colleagues and inspires the quality of my instruction delivered in and out of the classroom setting. Through the qualitative practice of autoethnography, the use of personal narratives and field notes tell the story because storytelling adds context and allows the reader to both comprehend and participate in the experience. These narratives of re-reflection are used to explain how each of these identities were parlayed from a place of knowing and being known. Teaching is largely a white female Christian dominated profession and the tendency of the profession to propagate the traditional white male leader prototype confirms the need for more research for and by Black women educators. The rate of Black women yielding a …

The purpose of this sequential mixed-methods study was to explore the feelings, thoughts, critical incidents, and coping mechanisms of female high school principals and their experiences with the impostor phenomenon. A hierarchical multiple regression revealed that none of the demographic factors such as number of years as a head high school principal, age, percentage of female high school principals in the district, race/ethnicity, marital status, mentorship status, and community type, were statistically significant predictors of the varying levels of the impostor phenomenon. Eighteen female principals who represented an array of backgrounds and impostor phenomenon experiences were subsequently interviewed. The interviews were evaluated using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Seven themes, including several subthemes, emerged from the data. The themes were (1) childhood socialization, including the subthemes of gender roles, familial support, and early experiences of exclusion; (2) transitional uncertainty, including hiring self-doubt, school politics, and pressure to turn around a school; (3) the principalship, including relational leadership, constant pressure, and loneliness of the position; (4) critical incidents of the impostor phenomenon, including the subthemes of lack of experience, external criticism, and self-doubt; (5) gender issues, including a male dominated position, emotional capacity, and physical appearance, (6) coping strategies for the impostor phenomenon, …

The rapid expansion of computers and digital technology requires citizens to be digitally literate. Teachers must prepare students for a digital world despite the lack of consensus on a definition or its components. This multiple case study explored the digital literacy instruction and interactive decision making of teachers with varied levels of expertise. Each participant completed a survey and the General Decision Making Style Questionnaire prior to a series of interviews and classroom observations. Findings from a qualitative analysis of the data suggest variations in the use of digital literacy components during instruction and that skills are related to one another. Findings also indicate similarities and differences in interactive decision making and teaching expertise behaviors related to instruction. Based on these findings, recommendations to better promote digital literacy are directed toward teachers, administrators, teacher preparation institutions, and future researchers. Current events emphasize the need for increased efforts in turning the key of digital literacy for students.

Research has shown that LGBTQI youth are four to six times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Many schools across the nation have focused their efforts on creating safer climates for diverse populations, including LGBTQI youth and staff. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school leaders practice culturally proficient school leadership in order to build and foster positive relationships with students and staff who are members of the LGBTQI community. The overarching research question was: To what extent do school leaders identify and practice culturally proficient leadership in relation to LGBTQI students and staff? A sequential mixed-methods explanatory research design was utilized to examine the perceptions of secondary school leaders and staff in one mid-sized urban school district regarding culturally proficient school leadership. For the quantitative portion of the study, a School Climate Questionnaire and a School-Wide Cultural Competence Observation Checklist was employed. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative responses. For the qualitative portion of the study, data pertaining to the experiences and perceptions of secondary school leaders, obtained through focus group interviews, were examined. A two-part data analysis process, including both deductive and inductive coding, was used. Evidence from …

Across the United States, African American males face barriers to securing a quality education. Barriers such as educational gatekeeping, and low identification, have caused African American males' enrollment in advanced placement courses to be at a rate lower than all other ethnicity and gender populations. A qualitative approach to research was used to explore how and in what ways district and school leaders created or hindered equitable advanced academic program opportunities for African American males. Through the lens of critical social theory, individual face-to-face interviews with district/campus educators and a focus group interview with African American male students, the lived experiences of participants within the advanced placement program were brought to the fore. Three questions guided the study: 1) How do district and school policies and practices create equitable advanced academic program opportunities for African American males; 2) How and in what ways do district and school leaders create or hinder equitable advanced academic program opportunities for African American males; and 3) What conditions have supported or hindered African American males in their ability to enroll and succeed in advanced academic courses. Findings revealed four themes to creating equity for African American males within the advanced placement program which included, …

A suburban district in the southwestern region of the United States created a choice-based program in which students have the opportunity to address their social, emotional, and academic needs through a mid-day period where they have the ability to attend tutorials or engage in a variety of club and social activities. Each day, students choose the activity that best serves their needs, be those academic, social, or emotional. In order to determine students' attitudes, opinions, and uses of the program in an effort to improve its effectiveness for student success, this qualitative study was planned to respond to the research questions: (1) how do students spend the emPower period? and (2) what are students' thoughts, attitudes, and opinions with regards to emPower? The research began by examining student responses to a previous principal survey asking their opinions on the program. Following the analysis of the survey, focus group sessions of five students from each high school grade were held to discuss student perceptions, choices, and uses of the program. The discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic data analysis resulted in themes of stress, social life, environment, regulations, choice and tutorials. Findings included a continuum of maturity evident with students' choices …