School of Education

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https://hdl.handle.net/10474/1823

The School of Education is designed to provide an excellent education and exemplify the high quality of service that tomorrow’s educators and community leaders will need to help their communities.

In these collections, researchers, students, and the curious can learn from the school's research and intellectual output.

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Adapted Physical Education: Perspectives of Physical Education Teachers in New Hampshire
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2023-02-06) Thompson, Aaron; Littlefield, Charles P.; Moriarty, Michael; Reidel, Jon
The purpose of this study was to learn about the obstacles and barriers of teaching Adapted Physical Education (APE) from the viewpoints of Physical Education (PE) teachers in rural New Hampshire public schools grades K-12. Two research issues drove this project: What challenges and barriers do Adapted Physical Education (APE) teachers experience when including students with disabilities in general physical education? and What are the experiences of rural New Hampshire Public Schools’ Adapted Physical Education (APE) teachers to implement and adapt their classes for students with special needs? The study included interviews, observations, and the collection of artifacts and documents of Physical Education (PE) teachers in New Hampshire to investigate these concerns. Adapted Physical Education (APE) teachers encounter barriers and issues with inadequate equipment, class size, administrative support, physical space, funding, and a lack of professional development, according to the literature on Physical Education (PE). However, in New Hampshire, a limited amount of study has been done on Adapted Physical Education (APE), especially in rural public-school districts. Data was collected through triangulation using observations, document collection, and semi-structured interviews with Physical Education (PE) teachers in New Hampshire. Nearly all the Physical Education (PE) teachers in this study stated that they have adequate and sufficient administrative support; however, many of the PE teachers faced their biggest barriers and challenges when trying to work with students that have Social Emotional Learning (SEL) disabilities and behavioral issues. The research found that paraprofessional support is lacking, and, in some cases, it is completely non-existent in the PE classroom. Furthermore, several of the participants in this study cited “time” as a barrier, since they reportedly have limited opportunities to meet with students that have disabilities daily. Typically, only one class meeting per week. One participant in this study stated that the entire sixth grade class/students do not receive Physical Education (PE) for the entire school year. Moreover, the study also showed that elementary and middle school students have limited opportunities and fewer options to take Physical Education (PE) classes compared to high school students. In addition, none of the participants in this study have earned their CAPE license and certification. Therefore, recommendations emerged that Physical Education (PE) teachers receive additional training and think about becoming a Certified Adapted Physical Educator (CAPE). The findings are examined, as well as the future of Adapted Physical Education in New Hampshire.
An analysis of business professors' and their students' perceptions of excellence in teaching at a business school: empirical evidence from New England
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2017) Anim, Stephen Kwasi; Ford, Margaret; Fenton, Marilyn; Paddack, Megan
This qualitative study used evidence gleaned from business professors and their students and compared it with the Measure of Effective Teaching model (MET, 2013). The research is based on a qualitative research design with the aim of collecting data from multiple sources such as interviews, focus group, document analysis and observation to develop a profile based on the Measure of Effective Teaching model (MET, 2013) to promote excellence in teaching and learning among business professors and their students in a business school at a New England University. The study also has the potential to enhance effective teaching practices in a business school and can lead to future development of a model that will be a useful guide to professors, students, researchers and practitioners. (Author abstract)
Beginning teachers: the connection between expectations and job satisfaction
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) DeRosa, Laura; Procek, Cara; Rogers, Audrey; Lindley-Soucy, Kim
This qualitative, multiple case study aimed to better understand beginning teachers’ expectations of the profession, and the role that expectations play in overall job satisfaction. The need for the study is rooted in the reality that schools are faced with the problem of high rates of beginning teacher turnover that impacts school budgets and student achievement. In order to better understand the factors that lead to teacher turnover, the study focused on job satisfaction and used Oliver’s Expectation Confirmation Theory (1977/1980) as a framework to guide the study. The study included five teachers in New England with one to three years of teaching experience and explored their expectations of teaching, how their expectations matched up to the reality of teaching, and the impact that expectations played in their job satisfaction. Data was collected through the use of a survey, focus group, interviews, document review, and member checking. Findings indicate that teachers prioritize their expectations and that those expectations do influence job satisfaction. Additional findings indicate that beginning teachers expect to: enter the profession prepared to fulfill the requirement of the position, have the ability to make a difference, and be provided with support from their colleagues. The researcher recommends that institutions that prepare teachers and administrators rethink their curriculum and that schools provide more support for beginning teachers. (Author abstract)
Case Study: An Approach to Assess the Impact of the Student Success Program that Target Students in Poverty at a New England School
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2023-02-22) LaRoche, Kendra; Littlefield, Phil; Costa, Lois; Moriarty, Michael
Defining success is difficult due to the abstract nature of the term and the multiple, competing ideas of what success looks like. Therefore, assessing the impact of a program designed to increase student success in an independent, rural high school is murky. The purpose of this dissertation in practice is to understand what students determine as their own factors in their success. This positive deviance approach gives voices to students in the definition of success and allows the resulting suggestions to be implemented at the local level. This scholar-practitioner dissertation in practice uses a positive deviant lens to examine why some students from poverty perform well at a New England high school, with the goal of generalizing the successful findings to better serve future students living in poverty. Participant selection also used a positive deviant approach. Data analysis and interpretation was conducted from interviews, document review, and a teacher survey. The findings of this study indicate five traits of success in the participant: organization, perseverance, resiliency, empathy, and connections. Additionally, the findings indicate further research could be done in the areas of the role of special educators in the lives of students, the concept of Goals, Habits, Growth as a framework of success, and the relationship between helping others and personal success.
Choosing Gender or Race: Portraits of Female, White Ally Higher Education Administrators Committed to Making Socially Just Spaces for BIPOC Women in their Institutions
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2023-02-22) Parr, Christine; Murray-Chandler, Lynn; Generett, Gretchen; Nivison, Kenneth
Racism in the U.S. is systemic and has relied on centuries of deliberate practice to create a White male hegemonic (White supremacist) power structure. Being systemic, racism is reproduced in all of our defining institutions, including higher education. In addition, White women have consistently contributed to the reproduction of racism by choosing race and enduring sexism in all areas of society, including higher education. However, there are women in academe who choose to deliberately be antiracist and actively seek to create socially just spaces for women of color in their institutions. Filling a gap in the literature related to female White ally higher education administrators, this study inquires into the experiences of five female higher education administrators identified through Community Nomination (Foster, 1991; Ladson-Billings, 1989) as White allies by Black women. Through extensive interviewing and via Portraiture methodology (Lawrence-Lightfoot & Davis, 1997) these women revealed the “goodness” of their work as they talked about themselves as 1) aspiring allies, 2) women in higher education, and 3) human beings in this world. Themes that emerged from the creation of the portraits mirror the extant literature on allyship, including 1) allyship is a continuous journey, 2) effective allyship requires humility and curiosity, and 3) being a White ally should be a moral obligation for anyone with White privilege. Filtered through the theoretical framework of Patricia Hill Collins’s Black Feminist Epistemology (2002), this study harnesses the power of storytelling and honors the thinking and scholarship of women of color. Keywords: racism, sexism, female White ally, higher education, Portraiture, Black Feminist Epistemology, Community Nomination.
Communities of practice: the shared experiences of higher education faculty
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) Desruisseaux, Lisa R.; Patusky, Lorraine; Sheehan, Elizabeth; Murray-Chandler, Lynn
This phenomenological study aims to give a voice to higher education faculty as they continue answering to demands of accreditation accountability while continuing to take on the challenge of serving their increasingly diverse student populations. This study investigated faculty experiences in communities of practice (CoPs) as one way to provide faculty with an opportunity to engage each other in conversations and share different perspectives and understandings in relation to their own professional backgrounds and pedagogical practice (Wenger, 1997). The study asks the question: How do faculty members participating in a community of practice describe perceived change(s) in professional practice? A phenomenological research approach was used to capture the essence of the “what” and “how” of the shared experiences in CoP participation (Creswell, 2013). Nine faculty members from an institute of higher education were interviewed and transcripts were analyzed to identify significant statements relevant to their CoP participation. The significant statements were then reduced to twenty-nine meaning clusters and then grouped into four themes. An analysis of findings indicated that faculty participants shared a deep sense of belonging that linked to the relationships formed within their CoP. Faculty participants revealed that their perceived sense of belonging and relationships reinforced their efforts to learn more about themselves as learners and professional educators. Additional data showed that diverse perspectives based on professional backgrounds and experiences provided rich contexts for conversations and helped faculty participants to build university-wide connections. (Author abstract)
Cultural integration in action : two faculty members' perspectives
(Rivier College, 2011-04) Rogers, Audrey; Riabov, Lyra
Decision making process and declining enrollments in northern New England
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2017) St. Cyr, Robert M.; Fenton, Marilyn; Rogers, Audrey; Richardson, Irving
This research was conducted as a qualitative comparative case study of two Northern New England school districts that were in the process of responding to declining enrollments. The purpose of the study was to explore decision-making through the lens of declining enrollments. An award winning rural school in an affluent town with high performing students and high tax rates was compared to a focus school in a rural economically depressed area with comparable tax rates. The NWREL Framework (1975) was used as a theoretical lens for examining the decision making process. This framework includes the following components: (1) participatory decision-making, (2) choice, (3) process, and (4) comprehensiveness. Results indicated that a decision making process was followed to address declining enrollments in one of the districts, while the other district’s response was reactive. Both schools reported negative impacts of program reductions on school staff and climate; however, participants agreed that at the time of the interviews, the impact on the community and students was not noticeable. Results indicated that declining enrollment became a problem in both school districts when student enrollment dropped to a level that required budgetary responses in the form of reducing positions, programs and the high-end tax base. This study, though small in scale, will be useful for larger studies that might explore the phenomenon of declining enrollments. (Author abstract)
Delivering and evaluating on-line degree programs in culinary arts/management: perceptions of educators and industry practitioners
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2017) Ryll, Stefan; Rogers, Audrey; Pandit, Ravi; Frost, Peter
This quantitative research examines the perceptions of culinary arts/management educators and culinary industry practitioners on the future of online culinary arts education. Specifically pertaining to the recommended procedures by educators and chefs to judge and critique the quality of food products in terms sensory modalities, and what the key quality indicators for online culinary arts programs may be. While much of the current literature concerning perceptions of online culinary arts education relates to students and faculty, little focus is on the design of effective online culinary arts curricula. Therefore, this study informs culinary arts educators who seek to understand how to teach practical culinary arts skills effectively and appropriately through online media. An electronic survey was sent via email to 1,250 members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and the International Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (ICHRIE). Undeliverable emails resulted in 1,204 potential participants. Participation was 18.8% (n = 226). This study found significant differences between the two groups on the importance ratings of three of the professional courses and four of the general educational courses. Significant differences between the two groups were also found on the measures of importance on the factors of quality for an online culinary arts program. The results also demonstrated that there are no significant differences between culinary arts/management educators and industry practitioners on the recommended procedures to judge and critique the quality of the food products in terms of sensory modalities. The findings of this study suggest that online culinary arts programs develop a curriculum that meets the essential demands for future culinarians. The design of such a program should incorporate more hands-on rather than theoretical content. Furthermore, curriculum should be designed to take into account gaps in knowledge of culinary arts students. (Author abstract)
Educator evaluation and the impact on teaching effectiveness
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) Carreiro, Diane M.; Paddack, Megan; Baker, Wendy; Richardson, Irving
Educator evaluation is described in the literature as those systems in place used to supervise educator excellence as well as to maximize and foster teacher capacity. There have been many changes within the last five years in the Massachusetts educator evaluation model, now called the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation. Once considered a process that was “done to” teachers, it has become a mutual process between the educator and his or her evaluator. School districts are requiring higher levels of accountability, making this process a potentially high stakes one, sometimes causing angst and anxiety for teachers. Evaluation ratings are also now sent to the state, however, it is unclear at this time how Massachusetts will be using this data. Using Hallinger, Heck and Murphy’s (2013) Theory of Action Underlying Teacher Evaluation framework, along with the Massachusetts Five Step Model System for Educator Evaluation, and an extensive literature review to define the teacher qualities for effectiveness as it relates to self-efficacy, professional relationships and teacher practices, teacher evaluation was studied. This qualitative study explores how the Massachusetts teacher evaluation process supports changes within teacher effectiveness related to teacher work relationships, teacher self-efficacy and teacher practices. Five teacher participants and two principal participants within two different schools and school districts were interviewed extensively, using the Seidman (2013) Three-Interview Series. Through interviews, teacher observation and document analysis, the educator evaluation model was studied to determine if the Massachusetts teacher evaluation process builds teacher effectiveness. The Hallinger, Heck and Murphy (2013) framework cited three outcomes of teacher evaluation: filtering out poor performers, feedback and support and a results-orientated school culture. Two other noteworthy outcomes were determined within this study: self-reflection and stress and anxiety. The three research questions specifically probing to determine if the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation leads to or supports constructive change in an educator’s work relationships, self-efficacy or teaching practices were answered through the constructs of the theoretical framework, comparing it to the outcomes from the Hallinger, Heck and Murphy (2013) framework, weaving it into the Massachusetts Five Step Model System for Educator Evaluation and then synthesizing it with the literature review framework defining the different elements of teacher effectiveness. (Author abstract)
Elementary School Choice Through the Pandemic: Lessons Learned from Families’ Perspectives on Well-Being in School
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2023-04-06) Miner, Sarah; Moriarty, Michael; Weltsek, Bernadette; Branco, Mark
As the pandemic drove a focus on education, many families had to choose alternative education models for their child. Families suddenly had a pressing need to evaluate the best schooling situation for their child (Gouëdard & Pont, 2020, Eggleston & Fields, 2021, Hynes, 2020, Hill et al., 2020, Hall-Mills, 2020). In education there are pendulum swings of focus and often an evaluation about how children are educated and why the particular methods are being used (Weisberg, 2014 and Hess, 2022). This study focused on how families made their decisions in regard to the education of their children, and well-being as an aspect of that decision as well as how they experienced their school choice and what impact do they see on their child’s well-being. Through looking at the experiences of families who made the choice for alternative education models, this study examined the family’s desires in education, what pieces of school philosophy they feel impact their child’s well-being needs, and what aspects of well- being they feel should belong in the school’s climate.
Employers' perception of non-clinical graduate degrees in the health professions
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) Altman, Donald S.; Kanyongo, Gibbs; Palmieri, Sherrie; Tanguay, Daniel
This quantitative research studied the perceptions of individuals who screen employment applications in local health departments regarding non-clinical graduate health care degrees based on their perceptions of credibility of method of instructional delivery (classroom, online) and the type of college/university (nonprofit, for-profit). As more institutions award degrees earned online, it is important to understand marketplace acceptance of online degrees. It is paramount we understand how employers view degrees earned online compared to traditionally-earned degrees, as well as understand perceptions of nonprofit and for-profit colleges. If certain degrees are not perceived as credible, then students and institutions of higher education need to better understand marketplace perceptions to make good educational and financial decisions. An email was sent to 1,935 members of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Undeliverable emails resulted in 1,804 possible participants. Participation was 12.1% (n=218). The results found a significant difference in local health administrator perceptions of four non-clinical graduate health care degree options. Specifically, non-clinical graduate health care degrees from nonprofit colleges with classroom instruction were viewed most favorably, as was expected. Non-clinical graduate health care degrees earned from for-profit colleges with online instruction were viewed least favorably. The two degree options, online from nonprofit and classroom instruction from for-profit colleges, were viewed equally by the participants. This study established a new line of inquiry regarding the acceptance by employers of non-clinical graduate health care degrees earned online or in the classroom, and from nonprofit or for-profit colleges. (Author abstract)
Exploring Self-Awareness of Self-Advocacy Skills Among Senior High School Students with Mild to Moderate Learning Disabilities
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2023-01-23) Rodriguez, Lynn Rose; Tapley, Colleen; Littlefield, Charles; Cole, Amy
Students with disabilities do not take advantage of the resources available to them while in post-secondary institutions or places of employment because of a lack of self-advocacy skills (Mason et al., 2004). This inability to speak up for oneself results in a student’s inability to access the accommodations that they need in their postsecondary places of education or the workplace. Where does that start? Or where can that inability end? Students with mild to moderate disabilities have an IEP in school that allows their team to work on areas of strength and growth. As such, goals can be created in the area of transition that can explicitly teach students about the importance of self-awareness in self-advocacy as a psychoeducational goal, so students can ultimately embrace their neurodiversity. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of high school seniors with mild to moderate learning disabilities and the experiences that may have encouraged awareness and development of self-advocacy skills. This study is framed around the following research question: What are the lived experiences of high school senior students with mild to moderate learning disabilities as it relates to the development of self-awareness of their disabilities and the development of self-advocacy skills? The study was designed to investigate the complexity of this phenomenon through “exploring and understanding” (Creswell, 2009, p. 4) the meaning that students assign to their lived experiences in high school by exploring their interpretations of self-advocacy in high school and their perceptions of having the skills to advocate for themselves in a post-secondary or employment setting.
Exploring teacher disposition toward diverse learners within public elementary schools
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) Pedro, Ronald; Ford, Margaret; McQuillan, Mark; Tracy, Lyonel
While research on pre-service teachers’ disposition is a critical part of the process of developing new teachers, the research on practicing teacher is just as important. More importantly, the dispositions of practicing teachers who work with diverse groups of students are worthy of exploration and understanding. Current research on the dispositions of practicing teachers, those educators who are deep into the process of teaching children and preparing them for the future, is lacking. This study explores the phenomenon of teacher dispositions toward diverse learners within three public elementary schools. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how the construct of teacher disposition, from several participants’ views, is defined, practiced, and assessed within the school community. It is hoped that the knowledge gained from this study will add to the research on disposition, specifically about how educators (teachers and administrators) define disposition, how teachers practice disposition, and how principals support and assess their teachers’ dispositions and relationships with diverse learners. (Author abstract)
Exploring the role of peace education in schools in post-conflict Somalia
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2017) Aden, Saeed A.; Ford, Margaret; Kanyongo, Gibbs; Kew, Darren
This qualitative study investigates the role of peace education in schools in post-conflict Somalia. This research study followed a design with data collected from multiple sources on education in post-conflict Somalia as related to peace education. In order to reveal the emic perspective of Somali educators regarding the phenomenon under investigation, the researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with three Ministry of Education officials, three principals and three teachers guided by Patton’s interview protocol. In addition to that, the researcher composed field notes, and conducted non-participant observation. The analysis of the data yielded 34 core concepts and 3 analytic categories. The personal quotes highlight the experiences of the research participants. Three core themes arose from the interviews after transcribing and coding: Curriculum, Radicalization, and Capacity Building. The structured interviews revealed the emic perspective of the Somali educators on peace education and to what extent peace is promoted in schools in post-conflict Somalia. The findings provide a platform for future research on the topic of peace education in both Somali schools and schools in post-conflict societies. One of the limitations of this study is the setting, as it was conducted only in schools in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. The researcher could not travel to the other regions of Somalia due to the continuing civil war in Somalia. This limits the study’s validity and generalizability to other groups, populations, and other post conflict societies. (Author abstract)
Facing Attrition: The Lived Experiences of Emerging Adult Teachers in Public Education
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2022) Dolan, Amanda; Ayers, Richard
This multiple case study was conducted for the purpose of exploring the developmental readiness of emerging adult teachers in relation to teacher attrition. Introduction to the notion of development in relation to teacher readiness was explored specifically in response to the rate of attrition among emerging adult teachers and the overall decline in student achievement and the perpetuations of America’s achievement and opportunity gaps. Consideration of readiness in respect to cognitive and psychological development were explored using the tenets of Jeffrey Arnett’s theory of Emerging Adulthood with a total of six study participants. Specifically, this study examined the impact of life decisions in relation to identity formation occurring between the ages of 18 and 29. With emerging adults being precariously and metaphorically affixed in a position of having one foot in adulthood and the other in adolescence, this study sought to reveal relevant factors that attributed to both the professional and personal identity of emerging adult teachers who had left the teaching profession. With the focus of this study providing a perspective for attrition- from a developmental perspective, it is hoped that the knowledge gained from this study will add to the further research and dialogue on attrition, and lead to further studies in the future focusing specifically in the area of developmental psychology.
Factors in engineering educational persistence: the correlation between identity and self-efficacy
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2016) McKenzie, Susan M.; Patusky, Lorraine; Paddack, Megan; Kanyongo, Gibbs
Engineering educators seek to further understand why there is a shortage of engineers in the work force and a decline in student interest (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). Understanding how one would define their identity as an engineer is of a critical nature. This study investigates the motivation for studying engineering, as well as the role of persistence in an engineering curriculum and engineering self-efficacy. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method design, this study examines the correlation between variables in two areas: student academic self-confidence and student engineering identity as well as a correlation between engineering student self-efficacy and student educational persistence. The key factors and experiences that relate to engineering student identity development and enhanced educational persistence are explored. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the identity development of engineering students and their educational persistence in STEM programs. This study explores the following two primary findings relating to engineering identity in the context of emerging adulthood and social cognitive career theory. (1) A list of key factors and experiences that relate to engineering student identity and educational persistence. (2) An initial framework of social cognitive career theory in the context of emerging adulthood. The following are the primary research questions for the current study: (1) Is there a correlation between student academic self-confidence and their identity as an engineer? (2) Is there a correlation between engineering student self-efficacy and their educational persistence? (3) What are the key factors and experiences that relate to engineering student identity development and enhanced persistence? The goal of this study was to look at the relationship between the identity development of engineering students and their educational persistence to continue in STEM programs. Initial studies that describe the development of the identity of engineers, parallel engineering development to existing human learning developmental stages (Learner, 1976). As we gain greater understanding of the multiple factors that influence the development of identity in post-secondary engineering students, we can begin to make connections to the pedagogical issues inherent in STEM education and the educational leadership required in support of student needs. After complete data analysis, findings show that the following exists: 1) A correlation between academic self-confidence and identity as an engineer 2) A correlation between student self-efficacy and educational persistence Qualitative analysis reveals key factors and experiences that relate to engineering student identity development and enhanced persistence. (Author abstract)
Gender Equity Prioritization by and Gender Attitudes of Professors in Teacher Preparation Programs
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019) Murchison, Amanda; Rogers, Audrey
In response to the research findings that teacher gender biases negatively impact students, this quantitative research study gathered data on how professors in teacher preparation programs and professors in those programs in New England are prioritizing gender equity among other social justice issues, and what those professors’ gender attitudes are. One hundred eighty-one professors currently teaching in preparation programs in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont responded to the electronically distributed survey. The results from the surveyed participants indicate that institutional and personal priority of gender equity among other social justice issues is low. However, these surveyed participants had highly positive gender attitude scores. The lack of gender equity prioritization among other social justice issues by surveyed participants suggests that these positive gender attitude scores are not being passed on to teacher candidates, however more research is needed on this point. Though the results failed to meet required assumptions for statistical analyses, the data gathered in this nascent study provide a plethora of opportunities for future research. Keywords: Gender equity, gender attitudes, prioritization, social justice issues, professors, teacher preparation programs, heteronormativity
High school experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming young adults: A reflective photovoice study
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019) Weltsek, Bernadette M.; Ford, Margaret; Ayers, Richard; Murray-Chandler, Lynn
Increasing numbers of high school students are identifying openly as transgender and gender nonconforming even as they navigate violence, discrimination, and harassment from peers and others. Many of the scholarly work on trans issues in education have positioned transgender and gender nonconforming students within the larger grouping of LGBTQ individuals. The purposes of this study are to (a) to clarify and document the needs and reflective experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming youth; (b) to determine the extent to which school policies at the federal, state, and local levels are meeting those needs; and (c) to utilize input from participants in support of school, community, and policy changes. I utilized the qualitative research methodology of photovoice and aspects of phenomenology, allowing participants to tell their high school stories through photography and personal reflection. By highlighting the lived experiences and related issues facing our transgender and gender non-conforming youth, my purpose was to highlight the need for a change in policies related to transgender students in our schools. (Author abstract)
The implications of the opioid epidemic on select elementary schools in crisis regions of the Northeast: A multiple case study investigation
(Southern New Hampshire University, 2019-03) Welby, Kathryn; Ayers, Richard; Moehle, Matthew; Olwell, Russell
In response to the growing opioid epidemic, this multiple case study investigation explored multiple schools in opioid crisis regions of the Northeast. Select elementary schools in Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire partook in the study. There was a total of 76 participants ranging from district administrators, teachers, counselors, mental health providers, and consultants. Children exposed to parental drug-addictive behaviors or born addicted to opioids may have cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioral needs all teachers will be responsible for accommodating. Additionally, students in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms are experiencing adverse childhood experiences in their environments and community because of opioid exposure. Consequently, the adverse experiences are impacting the schools. In addition to the schools added responsibility to meet students’ basic unmet needs, student attendance is poor, student and parents’ inappropriate behaviors are increasing, and academic achievement is impacted. Teachers are experiencing vicarious trauma and stress. Evidence collected from this study suggests that there is a lack of organizational systems, preparation, consistency, and proactive plans to support the schools, administrators, teachers, and students impacted by the epidemic in the select elementary schools in crisis regions of the Northeast. (Author abstract)

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