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This study investigated the relationship between mindset and self-efficacy among special education teachers in Region 2 of Texas. While approximately 500,000 students are provided special education services in Texas public schools, special education students perform significantly lower on state assessments in reading and math than their non-disabled peers. Between 70-85% of special education students in the 3rd and 8th grades in Texas perform below their non-disabled peers on state assessments. Special education teachers must persevere to meet the demands of the special education population. The literature revealed a positive correlation between teachers' mindset, self-efficacy, and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of the relationship between growth mindset and overall self-efficacy, selfefficacy in student engagement, self-efficacy in instructional strategies, and self-efficacy in classroom management among special education teachers in Texas Region 2. The concept of mindset framed this study. Mindset is a coalescence of two theories, social cognition theory and self-efficacy theory. An analysis of the relationship between special education teacher mindset and self-efficacy was conducted. The bivariate Spearman Rho was used to analyze data. The results of this study revealed that there is no statistically significant correlation between mindset and overall self-efficacy, self-efficacy in student engagement, self-efficacy in instructional strategies, and self-efficacy in classroom management among special education teachers in Texas Region 2. However, this study also indicated that positive interventions, mindset changes, and teacher self-efficacy correlate with improvements in student learning because the statistical analysis results show these variables all move in the same direction. These results can assist districts, principals, regional education service centers, and other staff responsible for ensuring successful learning outcomes for special education students.

Creating and sustaining an organizational culture that contributes to high academic achievement is frequently a problem in schools. This basic qualitative study explored measures implemented in thriving campus cultures and effective leadership on those campuses by interviewing principals and teachers in Blue Ribbon Schools. The study focused on principals' and leaders' perceptions of three different campuses in South Texas. The study selected schools that have been awarded Blue Ribbon campus designation in 2019 to explore factors that contributed to these campuses' success. The study drew perceptions from three principals and four teachers from two different districts in the Rio Grande Valley.

A national focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has increased public awareness and acknowledgement of challenges faced by members of Under-represented inority (URM) groups pursuing academic careers. This case study of a multi-institutional partnership explores the development, implementation, and evolution of a replicable model to transition a cohort of STEM URM dissertators into the professoriate. The model structured cohort engagement around an Individual Development Plan (IDP), cohort participant engagement with multiple mentors, monthly scholarly learning community meetings, research and teaching immersion experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and international institutions, and support and training around transferable skills necessary for job preparation and success, such as grant development, job search, portfolio preparation, inter-view skills, and online course development. Program evaluation results emphasized the evolution of collaborative practice among stakeholders in promoting the success of the model and among cohort participants as these participants transitioned into academic careers. Discussion of best practices to design and fine-tune the model included engagement of cohort participants in refining the implementation of the model activities, offering personalized services to the cohort members, and engaging research and practitioner communities using multiple dissemination strategies. The results of this work include publicly available virtual resources curated as part of the dissemination plan that can be explored for implementation at other institutions and use by individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]