With an increasingly diverse student body, the retention of Teachers of Color continues to be an area of high interest within education research. In the context of in-service experiences, existing literature identified relationships as a key sustaining factor for teachers and source of social capital, although many Teachers of Color look outside the school to find these relationships (Achinstein et al., 2010; Dingus, 2008; Flores, 2011; Kohli, 2019; Pour-Khorshid, 2018; Ritchie, 2012). Social capital scholars have posited that resource exchange occurs within these relationships or social networks (Lin, 2001). For teachers, these networks and the capital held within can impact job satisfaction, teacher learning and reform, and educational leaders can play a pivotal role in fostering network formation (Bridwell-Mitchell & Cooc, 2016; Daly et al, 2010; Daly et al., 2011; Liou & Daly, 2014; Moolenaar et al., 2012; Penuel et al, 2009; Pil & Leana, 2009). Yet, for all the stated benefits of relationships in the teaching profession, very little research exists examining the social networks of Teachers of Color specifically, who must work in a racialized K-12 education system. This mixed methods study aimed to critically examine the social networks of secondary Teachers of Color at their school site. By drawing upon critical race and social capital theories, the study used critical social network analysis to mix semi structured interviews and social network methods and explore how these teachers form, maintain, and make meaning of their school networks. Findings revealed that participants engaged with the concept of network formation as a journey, were sensitive to the school culture and the value the school placed on emotional connection, and additionally noted the role of key mentors and individual actors within their networks. Implications are provided for schools and districts serving to increase teacher support at their schools.

In the past few decades teacher identity has received increased attention in the research literature. Teacher identity is the foundation on which teachers build their practice and how they interact in the classroom. Moreover, it is a potential avenue to an increased sense of agency, professionalism, and resilience. Despite the growing breadth of literature there are gaps in the literature, specifically that identity formation is an inherently relational process; yet little scholarship has explored this idea using a framework that privileges relationships. Moreover, few scholars have used identity theory to explore teacher identity. In this dissertation I explored the how novice teachers develop their teacher identity from credential to classroom using social network theory and identity theory. Some salient findings across the chapters were that participants set social boundaries between themselves and others to define their teacher identity; participants’ teacher identity both shaped and was shaped by their social networks; social justice teacher identity was strongly influenced by the teacher education program, but seemed to be less salient once participants entered the classroom; participants’ acknowledged feeling their teacher identity constrained by being a novice teacher, but they were optimistic about becoming the teacher they wanted to become; and lastly, sense of belonging and value consonance played a role in teacher identity formation for participants.

The role of the leader in any organization is critical, but there has never been a more pivotal time than now as 21st century leaders prepare students for the future. The intersection of school culture and change leadership has been studied extensively in the change reform model, however, a small but growing body of research is now focused on cultures of innovation in schools and districts. This dissertation presents research on the vital role of the central office which has been previously understudied. This dissertation synthesizes the literature surrounding cultures of innovation as well as the role of the central office leaders. This qualitative case study presents findings underscoring and explaining the role of culture and climate in an innovative district as well as the supporting and constraining conditions and their effects. Study findings confirmed the central office is strongly poised to support cultures of innovation by 1) supporting a flatter more networked central office, 2) creating and enacting a shared vision of innovation including systems for organizational learning and efficacy and 3) most importantly, establishing a climate of trust. The findings revealed specific leadership skills for supporting the culture and climate which include building trusting relationships, enacting the vision and mission of innovation and building the capacity of other leaders. Implications for central office leaders are discussed.

Preparing more students for success in college, career, and civic life is of critical importance, particularly for traditionally underserved students. Improvement science represents promising ideas and practices for how to achieve greater outcomes for students, particularly at scale. In this dissertation, two projects were undertaken related to college, career, and civic readiness, one to reduce chronic absenteeism and the other to increase Cal Grant award rates. Using improvement science methodology, chronic absenteeism was reduced by up to 85% across three schools and Cal Grant award rates increased from 35% to 46% across five high schools. These projects were written up according to guidelines for reporting on improvement projects taken from healthcare.

Immigrants and their descendants are vital to the fabric of the U.S. and Switzerland. Schools’ importance in fostering immigrant-origin students’ learning while considering their rich cultures, languages, and knowledge is well established. Therefore, this mixed-methods, cross-national, multiple-case dissertation study explores U.S. and Swiss students’ perspectives on their experiences and opportunities in school, social capital, the development of their vocational aspirations, and how the former shapes the latter two. Centering student voice, I draw on social network data and interview data with 22 immigrant-origin middle school students (interviewed 3-4 times each, resulting in 41 hours of interview data), 13 teachers (10.5 hours), and two principals (1.5 hours). Surveys were conducted with 259 students. Findings are presented in three articles focused on (a) immigrant-origin middle school students’ personal support networks and the mobilization of peer social capital, (b) the changes in peer interactions and friendships during the Covid-19 pandemic, and (c) the role of networks and contexts of reception on vocational aspirations. Paper 1 suggests that peers constituted more than half of participants’ personal support networks, whereas schools were critical contexts for adolescents to interact with peers and build friendships. Networks in the U.S. were more dynamic than networks in Switzerland. Shared social background, perceived integrity, and trustworthiness cultivated friendships, whereas those perceptions were shaped by the school contexts. Findings from Paper 2 describes U.S. students’ experienced changes in their peer interactions and friendships. Paper 3 shows how social networks and contexts of reception, including institutional, economic, political, and sociocultural factors, shaped vocational aspirations. However, the degree of different factors’ importance differed across the U.S. and Swiss contexts. The dissertation concludes by discussing implications for practice, policy, and research.

The teacher-student relationship is a vital component to the social, emotional, and academic growth of students. Nationwide the one constant in teachers’ classrooms are the observations by administrators. Administrators play a supporting role for students and teachers in our modern educational system.

The present case study examined four middle schools in a school district in Southern California. Four principals, four assistant principals, six teachers, and one superintendent of human resources were interviewed. Classroom observations with administrators were also conducted. Previous terms used to describe negative teacher affect have been teacher bullying, student maltreatment, and student victimization. Teacher affect was chosen to delineate the behaviors rather than the intentionality.

The findings suggest administrators look to the students and their interaction with the teacher to help recognize positive or negative affect. Although no formal training takes place, much informal collaboration among administrators happens behind the scenes to decide on how best to support a teacher demonstrating negative affect. All participants agreed the best way for administration to encourage positive affect was by modeling it themselves with staff and students. Creating a positive school environment for staff and students was important and most participants noted the belief of positivity coming from the top, at a district level, and flowing down into the classrooms. The suggestions for the educational community are concepts that can be implemented simply and economically to support a positive learning environment.

The emergence of the remains of Indigenous youth at residential schools in Canada and the United States has rekindled discourse on the tumultuous and violent history that Indigenous people have with colonial schooling. In California, Indigenous Peoples experienced three separate waves of colonialism by Spain, Mexico, and the U.S., each bringing forth distinctive colonial schooling practices via governments, churches, and settlers. Presently, research on colonial schooling in the U.S. continues to be dominated by narratives of student and administrators’ experiences at federally-run Indian boarding schools across the nation. Furthermore, discourse on Indian education in California fails to view religious doctrine and vocational training introduced to Indigenous peoples at the Spanish missions and Mexican ranchos as colonial schooling. Centering Indigenous narratives, this phenomenological study examined the experiences of Southern California Indians with Indigenous education and colonial schooling from pre-invasion through the Spanish mission, Mexican rancho, and American Mission Indian boarding school eras. Through the application of the theoretical frameworks of settler colonialism and Indigenous survivance, this phenomenological study will utilize archival ethnography and oral histories to examine the legacy of colonial schooling and how Southern California Indians have resisted and refused assimilation into settler colonial society. Study teachings describe the actions that settlers enacted against California Indians and the ways that Native Peoples utilized Ancestral teachings to refuse and reject assimilation. An emerging teaching in this study found that unconditional love—from Creator and the Ancestors—was a driving force in California Indian resistance and refusal of colonial norms, and the embracement of Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing.