2024 Doctoral Capstone Projects

This mixed-methods study of action research examines the teacher attrition rates in one district aligned to national measures and theories. The purpose of this study is to determine the satisfaction of teachers in their current positions, the reasons that cause them to remain or leave a district and how certain factors including the pandemic, finances and burn-out impact their perception of staying. The main questions that guide this research include what are the factors that have led to faculty leaving the district in the past three years? How do teachers view the way the district supports its staff? And what factors do teachers perceive would be helpful in retaining faculty members? Data collection consisted of surveys and interviews to current and former teachers of the district of study. These surveys and interviews provided insight to the rationale and factors leading to higher than historical average teacher attrition rates. This collection and analysis of quantitative data woven together with qualitative interviews provided a depth of understanding that can guide a district’s future steps in lowering attrition rates. The research concludes that while consideration of leaving a district is ultimately burn-out in the profession, most teachers only choose to leave based on location and family which are outside of the district’s control. However, to alleviate consideration and potential attrition of teachers due to burn-out in the profession, recommendations are included to guide district improvement in teacher support.

School buses are responsible for transporting millions of children to and from school each year. The drivers of these buses have accepted a huge responsibility and must ensure the safety of all students on the bus; however, this is not always an easy task, especially when students exhibit negative or unsafe behaviors on the bus and create distractions for the driver. To address this concern, the researcher developed a mixed-methods action research project that would utilize the perceptions of school transportation personnel, elementary school parents, and school transportation administrators on student bus behaviors to create professional development opportunities for school transportation personnel. The goal of these trainings was to provide additional support and knowledge for school transportation personnel and decrease negative behaviors on their buses and vans, which would then decrease the number of bus misconduct referrals submitted to the elementary school. Qualitative data was collected in the form of survey responses and analyzed to guide the two days of professional development trainings for school transportation personnel. Quantitative data, in the form of bus misconduct referrals, was then collected from the 2022 – 2023 school year and compared to the number referrals from the 2023 – 2024 school year. When compared, the researcher found that the desired affect was achieved and there was a decrease in bus misconduct referrals from one year to the next.