school administration research topics

Research Topics & Ideas: Education

170+ Research Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

If you’re just starting out exploring education-related topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of research topics and ideas , including examples from actual dissertations and theses..

PS – This is just the start…

We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.

If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .

Overview: Education Research Topics

• How to find a research topic (video)
• List of 50+ education-related research topics/ideas
• List of 120+ level-specific research topics 
• Examples of actual dissertation topics in education
• Tips to fast-track your topic ideation (video)
• Free Webinar : Topic Ideation 101
• Where to get extra help

Education-Related Research Topics & Ideas

Below you’ll find a list of education-related research topics and idea kickstarters. These are fairly broad and flexible to various contexts, so keep in mind that you will need to refine them a little. Nevertheless, they should inspire some ideas for your project.

• The impact of school funding on student achievement
• The effects of social and emotional learning on student well-being
• The effects of parental involvement on student behaviour
• The impact of teacher training on student learning
• The impact of classroom design on student learning
• The impact of poverty on education
• The use of student data to inform instruction
• The role of parental involvement in education
• The effects of mindfulness practices in the classroom
• The use of technology in the classroom
• The role of critical thinking in education
• The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom
• The use of differentiated instruction in the classroom
• The use of gamification in education
• The effects of teacher burnout on student learning
• The impact of school leadership on student achievement
• The effects of teacher diversity on student outcomes
• The role of teacher collaboration in improving student outcomes
• The implementation of blended and online learning
• The effects of teacher accountability on student achievement
• The effects of standardized testing on student learning
• The effects of classroom management on student behaviour
• The effects of school culture on student achievement
• The use of student-centred learning in the classroom
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on student outcomes
• The achievement gap in minority and low-income students
• The use of culturally responsive teaching in the classroom
• The impact of teacher professional development on student learning
• The use of project-based learning in the classroom
• The effects of teacher expectations on student achievement
• The use of adaptive learning technology in the classroom
• The impact of teacher turnover on student learning
• The effects of teacher recruitment and retention on student learning
• The impact of early childhood education on later academic success
• The impact of parental involvement on student engagement
• The use of positive reinforcement in education
• The impact of school climate on student engagement
• The role of STEM education in preparing students for the workforce
• The effects of school choice on student achievement
• The use of technology in the form of online tutoring

Level-Specific Research Topics

Looking for research topics for a specific level of education? We’ve got you covered. Below you can find research topic ideas for primary, secondary and tertiary-level education contexts. Click the relevant level to view the respective list.

Research Topics: Pick An Education Level

Primary education.

• Investigating the effects of peer tutoring on academic achievement in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of mindfulness practices in primary school classrooms
• Examining the effects of different teaching strategies on primary school students’ problem-solving skills
• The use of storytelling as a teaching strategy in primary school literacy instruction
• The role of cultural diversity in promoting tolerance and understanding in primary schools
• The impact of character education programs on moral development in primary school students
• Investigating the use of technology in enhancing primary school mathematics education
• The impact of inclusive curriculum on promoting equity and diversity in primary schools
• The impact of outdoor education programs on environmental awareness in primary school students
• The influence of school climate on student motivation and engagement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of early literacy interventions on reading comprehension in primary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student achievement in primary schools
• Exploring the benefits of inclusive education for students with special needs in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of teacher-student feedback on academic motivation in primary schools
• The role of technology in developing digital literacy skills in primary school students
• Effective strategies for fostering a growth mindset in primary school students
• Investigating the role of parental support in reducing academic stress in primary school children
• The role of arts education in fostering creativity and self-expression in primary school students
• Examining the effects of early childhood education programs on primary school readiness
• Examining the effects of homework on primary school students’ academic performance
• The role of formative assessment in improving learning outcomes in primary school classrooms
• The impact of teacher-student relationships on academic outcomes in primary school
• Investigating the effects of classroom environment on student behavior and learning outcomes in primary schools
• Investigating the role of creativity and imagination in primary school curriculum
• The impact of nutrition and healthy eating programs on academic performance in primary schools
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on primary school students’ well-being and academic performance
• The role of parental involvement in academic achievement of primary school children
• Examining the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior in primary school
• The role of school leadership in creating a positive school climate Exploring the benefits of bilingual education in primary schools
• The effectiveness of project-based learning in developing critical thinking skills in primary school students
• The role of inquiry-based learning in fostering curiosity and critical thinking in primary school students
• The effects of class size on student engagement and achievement in primary schools
• Investigating the effects of recess and physical activity breaks on attention and learning in primary school
• Exploring the benefits of outdoor play in developing gross motor skills in primary school children
• The effects of educational field trips on knowledge retention in primary school students
• Examining the effects of inclusive classroom practices on students’ attitudes towards diversity in primary schools
• The impact of parental involvement in homework on primary school students’ academic achievement
• Investigating the effectiveness of different assessment methods in primary school classrooms
• The influence of physical activity and exercise on cognitive development in primary school children
• Exploring the benefits of cooperative learning in promoting social skills in primary school students

Secondary Education

• Investigating the effects of school discipline policies on student behavior and academic success in secondary education
• The role of social media in enhancing communication and collaboration among secondary school students
• The impact of school leadership on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of technology integration on teaching and learning in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of interdisciplinary instruction in promoting critical thinking skills in secondary schools
• The impact of arts education on creativity and self-expression in secondary school students
• The effectiveness of flipped classrooms in promoting student learning in secondary education
• The role of career guidance programs in preparing secondary school students for future employment
• Investigating the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student autonomy and academic success in secondary schools
• The impact of socio-economic factors on educational attainment in secondary education
• Investigating the impact of project-based learning on student engagement and academic achievement in secondary schools
• Investigating the effects of multicultural education on cultural understanding and tolerance in secondary schools
• The influence of standardized testing on teaching practices and student learning in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of classroom management strategies on student behavior and academic engagement in secondary education
• The influence of teacher professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of extracurricular activities in promoting holistic development and well-roundedness in secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models on student engagement and achievement in secondary education
• The role of physical education in promoting physical health and well-being among secondary school students
• Investigating the effects of gender on academic achievement and career aspirations in secondary education
• Exploring the benefits of multicultural literature in promoting cultural awareness and empathy among secondary school students
• The impact of school counseling services on student mental health and well-being in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of vocational education and training in preparing secondary school students for the workforce
• The role of digital literacy in preparing secondary school students for the digital age
• The influence of parental involvement on academic success and well-being of secondary school students
• The impact of social-emotional learning programs on secondary school students’ well-being and academic success
• The role of character education in fostering ethical and responsible behavior in secondary school students
• Examining the effects of digital citizenship education on responsible and ethical technology use among secondary school students
• The impact of parental involvement in school decision-making processes on student outcomes in secondary schools
• The role of educational technology in promoting personalized learning experiences in secondary schools
• The impact of inclusive education on the social and academic outcomes of students with disabilities in secondary schools
• The influence of parental support on academic motivation and achievement in secondary education
• The role of school climate in promoting positive behavior and well-being among secondary school students
• Examining the effects of peer mentoring programs on academic achievement and social-emotional development in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of teacher-student relationships on student motivation and achievement in secondary schools
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning programs in promoting civic engagement among secondary school students
• The impact of educational policies on educational equity and access in secondary education
• Examining the effects of homework on academic achievement and student well-being in secondary education
• Investigating the effects of different assessment methods on student performance in secondary schools
• Examining the effects of single-sex education on academic performance and gender stereotypes in secondary schools
• The role of mentoring programs in supporting the transition from secondary to post-secondary education

Tertiary Education

• The role of student support services in promoting academic success and well-being in higher education
• The impact of internationalization initiatives on students’ intercultural competence and global perspectives in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of active learning classrooms and learning spaces on student engagement and learning outcomes in tertiary education
• Exploring the benefits of service-learning experiences in fostering civic engagement and social responsibility in higher education
• The influence of learning communities and collaborative learning environments on student academic and social integration in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of undergraduate research experiences in fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills
• Investigating the effects of academic advising and mentoring on student retention and degree completion in higher education
• The role of student engagement and involvement in co-curricular activities on holistic student development in higher education
• The impact of multicultural education on fostering cultural competence and diversity appreciation in higher education
• The role of internships and work-integrated learning experiences in enhancing students’ employability and career outcomes
• Examining the effects of assessment and feedback practices on student learning and academic achievement in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty professional development on instructional practices and student outcomes in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty-student relationships on student success and well-being in tertiary education
• The impact of college transition programs on students’ academic and social adjustment to higher education
• The impact of online learning platforms on student learning outcomes in higher education
• The impact of financial aid and scholarships on access and persistence in higher education
• The influence of student leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities on personal development and campus engagement
• Exploring the benefits of competency-based education in developing job-specific skills in tertiary students
• Examining the effects of flipped classroom models on student learning and retention in higher education
• Exploring the benefits of online collaboration and virtual team projects in developing teamwork skills in tertiary students
• Investigating the effects of diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus climate and student experiences in tertiary education
• The influence of study abroad programs on intercultural competence and global perspectives of college students
• Investigating the effects of peer mentoring and tutoring programs on student retention and academic performance in tertiary education
• Investigating the effectiveness of active learning strategies in promoting student engagement and achievement in tertiary education
• Investigating the effects of blended learning models and hybrid courses on student learning and satisfaction in higher education
• The role of digital literacy and information literacy skills in supporting student success in the digital age
• Investigating the effects of experiential learning opportunities on career readiness and employability of college students
• The impact of e-portfolios on student reflection, self-assessment, and showcasing of learning in higher education
• The role of technology in enhancing collaborative learning experiences in tertiary classrooms
• The impact of research opportunities on undergraduate student engagement and pursuit of advanced degrees
• Examining the effects of competency-based assessment on measuring student learning and achievement in tertiary education
• Examining the effects of interdisciplinary programs and courses on critical thinking and problem-solving skills in college students
• The role of inclusive education and accessibility in promoting equitable learning experiences for diverse student populations
• The role of career counseling and guidance in supporting students’ career decision-making in tertiary education
• The influence of faculty diversity and representation on student success and inclusive learning environments in higher education

Education-Related Dissertations & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a research topic in education, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses in the education space to see how this all comes together in practice.

Below, we’ve included a selection of education-related research projects to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• From Rural to Urban: Education Conditions of Migrant Children in China (Wang, 2019)
• Energy Renovation While Learning English: A Guidebook for Elementary ESL Teachers (Yang, 2019)
• A Reanalyses of Intercorrelational Matrices of Visual and Verbal Learners’ Abilities, Cognitive Styles, and Learning Preferences (Fox, 2020)
• A study of the elementary math program utilized by a mid-Missouri school district (Barabas, 2020)
• Instructor formative assessment practices in virtual learning environments : a posthumanist sociomaterial perspective (Burcks, 2019)
• Higher education students services: a qualitative study of two mid-size universities’ direct exchange programs (Kinde, 2020)
• Exploring editorial leadership : a qualitative study of scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri secondary schools (Lewis, 2020)
• Selling the virtual university: a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning (Ludwig, 2020)
• Advocacy and accountability in school counselling: assessing the use of data as related to professional self-efficacy (Matthews, 2020)
• The use of an application screening assessment as a predictor of teaching retention at a midwestern, K-12, public school district (Scarbrough, 2020)
• Core values driving sustained elite performance cultures (Beiner, 2020)
• Educative features of upper elementary Eureka math curriculum (Dwiggins, 2020)
• How female principals nurture adult learning opportunities in successful high schools with challenging student demographics (Woodward, 2020)
• The disproportionality of Black Males in Special Education: A Case Study Analysis of Educator Perceptions in a Southeastern Urban High School (McCrae, 2021)

As you can see, these research topics are a lot more focused than the generic topic ideas we presented earlier. So, in order for you to develop a high-quality research topic, you’ll need to get specific and laser-focused on a specific context with specific variables of interest.  In the video below, we explore some other important things you’ll need to consider when crafting your research topic.

Get 1-On-1 Help

If you’re still unsure about how to find a quality research topic within education, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic.

You Might Also Like:

53 Comments

This is an helpful tool 🙏

Special education

Really appreciated by this . It is the best platform for research related items

Research title related to students

Good idea I’m going to teach my colleagues

You can find our list of nursing-related research topic ideas here: https://gradcoach.com/research-topics-nursing/

Write on action research topic, using guidance and counseling to address unwanted teenage pregnancy in school

Thanks a lot

I learned a lot from this site, thank you so much!

Thank you for the information.. I would like to request a topic based on school major in social studies

parental involvement and students academic performance

Science education topics?

How about School management and supervision pls.?

Hi i am an Deputy Principal in a primary school. My wish is to srudy foe Master’s degree in Education.Please advice me on which topic can be relevant for me. Thanks.

Every topic proposed above on primary education is a starting point for me. I appreciate immensely the team that has sat down to make a detail of these selected topics just for beginners like us. Be blessed.

Kindly help me with the research questions on the topic” Effects of workplace conflict on the employees’ job performance”. The effects can be applicable in every institution,enterprise or organisation.

Greetings, I am a student majoring in Sociology and minoring in Public Administration. I’m considering any recommended research topic in the field of Sociology.

I’m a student pursuing Mphil in Basic education and I’m considering any recommended research proposal topic in my field of study

Kindly help me with a research topic in educational psychology. Ph.D level. Thank you.

Project-based learning is a teaching/learning type,if well applied in a classroom setting will yield serious positive impact. What can a teacher do to implement this in a disadvantaged zone like “North West Region of Cameroon ( hinterland) where war has brought about prolonged and untold sufferings on the indegins?

I wish to get help on topics of research on educational administration

I wish to get help on topics of research on educational administration PhD level

I am also looking for such type of title

I am a student of undergraduate, doing research on how to use guidance and counseling to address unwanted teenage pregnancy in school

the topics are very good regarding research & education .

Can i request your suggestion topic for my Thesis about Teachers as an OFW. thanx you

Would like to request for suggestions on a topic in Economics of education,PhD level

Would like to request for suggestions on a topic in Economics of education

Hi 👋 I request that you help me with a written research proposal about education the format

l would like to request suggestions on a topic in managing teaching and learning, PhD level (educational leadership and management)

request suggestions on a topic in managing teaching and learning, PhD level (educational leadership and management)

I would to inquire on research topics on Educational psychology, Masters degree

I am PhD student, I am searching my Research topic, It should be innovative,my area of interest is online education,use of technology in education

request suggestion on topic in masters in medical education .

Look at British Library as they keep a copy of all PhDs in the UK Core.ac.uk to access Open University and 6 other university e-archives, pdf downloads mostly available, all free.

May I also ask for a topic based on mathematics education for college teaching, please?

Please I am a masters student of the department of Teacher Education, Faculty of Education Please I am in need of proposed project topics to help with my final year thesis

Am a PhD student in Educational Foundations would like a sociological topic. Thank

please i need a proposed thesis project regardging computer science

Greetings and Regards I am a doctoral student in the field of philosophy of education. I am looking for a new topic for my thesis. Because of my work in the elementary school, I am looking for a topic that is from the field of elementary education and is related to the philosophy of education.

Masters student in the field of curriculum, any ideas of a research topic on low achiever students

In the field of curriculum any ideas of a research topic on deconalization in contextualization of digital teaching and learning through in higher education

Amazing guidelines

I am a graduate with two masters. 1) Master of arts in religious studies and 2) Master in education in foundations of education. I intend to do a Ph.D. on my second master’s, however, I need to bring both masters together through my Ph.D. research. can I do something like, ” The contribution of Philosophy of education for a quality religion education in Kenya”? kindly, assist and be free to suggest a similar topic that will bring together the two masters. thanks in advance

Hi, I am an Early childhood trainer as well as a researcher, I need more support on this topic: The impact of early childhood education on later academic success.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

TopSCHOLAR®

Home > CEBS > ED_LEADER > ED_LEADER_THESES

Educational Administration, Leadership, and Research Theses

Theses and specialist projects from 2023 2023.

The Role of Leaders in Implementing Effective Leadership Strategies Towards the Educational Barriers of US-based Refugee Students: A Qualitative Case Study of Congolese Refugee Students , Faustin Busane

Using Improvement Science to Address Early Elementary Teacher Efficacy and Competency When Addressing Trauma-Induced Behavior , Laura Hayes

Internationalization of Higher Education: Leadership Roles and Challenges Senior International Officers Face in Their Efforts to Internationalize Regional Comprehensive Universities in the United States , Ibrahima Yaro

Theses and Specialist projects from 2022 2022

Anxiety Patterns in Gifted Adolescents from Parents' Perspectives , Felicia Moreschi

The Impact of Teacher Perception of Gifted Individuals on the Instruction of Gifted Students , Justin Moreschi

Theses and Specialist projects from 2010 2010

Characteristics of Local Dual Credit Programs That Promote Sustained Enrollment and High School Achievement , Karl William Olive

Theses and Specialist projects from 2009 2009

How Do Teachers Learn New Skills for Reading Instruction and Transfer Their Learning into the Classroom? , Patricia Ann Sharp

Theses and Specialist projects from 2008 2008

Principals and Teacher Leaders Co-Constructing Theories in Practice: Empowerment and Accountability Exchanged Through School Leadership , Janet Hurt

Theses and Specialist projects from 2007 2007

The Long-Term Effects of a Preschool Program , Kerry Holloman

Theses and Specialist projects from 2005 2005

The Residual Effect of Novice Primary Teachers on Reading Achievement Scores , Connie Mayo

Principal and Teacher Flow of Influence in High-Achieving, High Poverty Schools , Lisa Murley

Reading Achievement: The Impact of America's Choice in Kentucky's Schools , Brent VanMeter

Theses and Specialist projects from 1999 1999

A Comparison of the Transition of Special Needs Students to Regular Education Students , Anita Burnette

Theses and Specialist projects from 1998 1998

Assessment of the Academic Needs of Students Enrolled by the Bowling Green Community College & the Development of a Learning Assistance Model Which Will Maximize Their Probability of Success , Elizabeth Riggs

Theses and Specialist projects from 1996 1996

Assessing Variables Related to Participant Knowledge Retention at General Project Management Training for New Trio Personnel , Charlene Manco

Assessing the Persistence to Graduation of Students Joining Fraternities at Western Kentucky University , Charles Pride

Theses and Specialist projects from 1994 1994

A Comparison of the Tests of Adult Basic Education and the Health Occupations Basic Entrance Test in Predicting Academic Success in Practical Nursing Programs , Sally Crenshaw

Assessing the Efficacy of the Training Opportunities Program for Undiscovered Potential (TOP UP) Dropout Prevention Program at Western Kentucky University for At-Risk High School Students , Kaye Foust

Theses and Specialist projects from 1993 1993

Attendance at a University Residential Summer Camp & Students’ Subsequent Enrollment at that University , Mae Guinn

Theses and Specialist projects from 1992 1992

A Study of an Academic Enrichment Program at Western Kentucky University , Huda Melky

Effect of a Summer Camp on the Self-Concept & Wilderness Anxiety of Fifth & Sixth Grade Campers , Mazen Melky

The Relationship Between Meaning in Life & the Occurrence of Drug Abuse: An Epidemiological Retrospective Study , Thomas Nicholson

Teacher Influence in Site-Based Decision Making: A Descriptive Study , Keith Restine

Theses and Specialist projects from 1991 1991

An Analysis of Kentucky’s Principals: Perceptions and Preparedness to Assume the Role of School Based Management , Byron D. Jeffries

Theses and Specialist projects from 1990 1990

Public Relations: Its Importance in the Public School System , Lawrence Crittenden Hunter

A Comparison of the Frequencies of Selected Teaching Behaviors of Trained and Untrained Teachers , Raymonde Antonia Frances Joseph

Stress Indicators of Kentucky Elementary Principals , Helen Kirby

Site-Based Management, Knowledge Base of Kentucky Superintendents , Alan Reed

An Analysis of Attitudes of Administrators Towards Higher-Level Thinking Skills , Janet Zipprich

Theses and Specialist projects from 1989 1989

Peer Coaching & Change Implementation , Jolene Black

Premenstrual Syndrome-Related Personality & Cognitive Processing Alterations as Indicated by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , Linda Scariot

An Analysis of Selected Demographic Variables Concerning Kentucky School Supervisors , Margaret Sims

An Analysis of Administrative Computer Use by Secondary Principals in Kentucky , Darrell Witten

Using Collegial Leadership in a Design to Improve Instruction: The Curriculum & Instructional Leader Program , Cora Wood

Theses and Specialist projects from 1988 1988

Special Ideas , Marlene Ashby

Management Guide for Early Childhood Programs , Cathy S. Jording

A Survey of Factors Affecting Enrollment in Mathematics Teacher Education Programs , Rebecca Miller

Theses and Specialist projects from 1987 1987

Comparative Instructor Attitudes Toward College Level English and Mathematics Experiences for Gifted High School Students , Bruce Vickers

A Study of the Educational Needs of Business & Industrial Employees & a Proposed Industrial Education Degree , Palisa Williams

Theses and Specialist projects from 1985 1985

Factors Affecting Successful Use of Amplification in the Elderly Population , Joseph Etienne

The Effects of Various Kinds of Background Music on the I.Q. Scores of Ninth-Grade Students , L.C. Bud Johnston

Impact of the Educational & Life Planning Course on Undecided Students: An Evaluation Model , Diana Shores

Theses and Specialist projects from 1983 1983

An Evaluation of the Guidance & Counseling Program of the Bishop David Memorial High School , Richard Staples

Theses and Specialist projects from 1982 1982

The Development & Study of a Competency-Based Vocational Education Drafting Program , Kenneth Mussnug

Theses and Specialist projects from 1981 1981

A Model for Use in Planning an In-Service Training Program at Naval Air Technical Training Center, Lakehurst, New Jersey , Martha Gantt

The Effect of Summer Recess on the Reading Achievement of Title I Students at L.C. Curry School, Bowling Green, Kentucky , Virginia Scheider

A Survey to Assess the Awareness of the Bowling Green Community in Regard to the International Student Community at Western Kentucky University , Susan Tesseneer

A Study of the Holding Power and Follow-Up of North Bullitt High School Students (Classes of 1978, 1979 and 1980) , Robert Wagoner

Theses and Specialist projects from 1980 1980

A Study of Grade Retention & Social Promotion in the McLean County, Kentucky School District , John Settle Jr.

A Descriptive Study of the Problems Reported by Selected Students on Academic Probation at Western Kentucky University , James Somers Jr.

A Comparison of the Admission Criteria of Kentucky's Junior Colleges , Janet Walters

A Study of Factors Related to Low General Technical Scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery as Identified by Members of the Second Squadron, Seventeenth Cavalry, Fort Campbell, Kentucky , David Yates

Theses and Specialist projects from 1979 1979

A Comparison of Traditional Grass-Twist Backstops to One of Corrugated Cardboard Design Use on Indoor Ranges , Charles T. Crume Jr.

The Relationship of Sex-role Classifications, Measured Vocational Interests and Expressed Vocational Interests of Selected College Women , SallyAnn McLeod Koenig

A Comparison of Role Performance & Role Expectation of Supervisors in Selected Public School Districts in Kentucky , Mae Mefford

Alienation and the Associate Degree Student within the College of Business and Public Affairs of Western Kentucky University , Leonard Schira

Theses and Specialist projects from 1978 1978

The Perceived Role of the University Residence Hall Director , Jan Akers

A Survey of the Work-Study Programs in the State Universities of Kentucky , Glen Knight

A Comparative Study of the Expenditures of the Robertson County, Tennessee, Pupil Transportation System , James Talley Sr.

Theses and Specialist projects from 1977 1977

ocial Factors & Perceived Problems as Predictions of Success in Basic Combat Training , James Georgoulakis

Theses and Specialist projects from 1975 1975

A Descriptive Study of Ninth Grade Reading Programs in Schools of the Second Education District of Kentucky , Eloyse Jean Groves

Theses and Specialist projects from 1974 1974

A Position Paper of Environmental Education for Nelson County , Geneva B. Hunt

Advanced Search

• Notify me via email or RSS
• Colleges, Departments, Units
• Faculty/Staff SelectedWorks
• Disciplines
• WKU Journals/Peer-Reviewed Series
• Conferences and Events

Author Corner

• Author Submissions
• TopSCHOLAR copyright form
• Log into SelectedWorks
• WKU Libraries
• WKU Homepage
• WKU Libraries OA Hall of Fame
• Kentucky Research Commons
• Digital Commons Repositories
• Educational Administration, Leadership, and Research Website

Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement

Privacy Copyright

Journal of School Administration Research and Development

Subject Area and Category

• Strategy and Management
• Development

California State University Press

Publication type

24708496, 2470850X

Information

How to publish in this journal

[email protected]

The set of journals have been ranked according to their SJR and divided into four equal groups, four quartiles. Q1 (green) comprises the quarter of the journals with the highest values, Q2 (yellow) the second highest values, Q3 (orange) the third highest values and Q4 (red) the lowest values.

The SJR is a size-independent prestige indicator that ranks journals by their 'average prestige per article'. It is based on the idea that 'all citations are not created equal'. SJR is a measure of scientific influence of journals that accounts for both the number of citations received by a journal and the importance or prestige of the journals where such citations come from It measures the scientific influence of the average article in a journal, it expresses how central to the global scientific discussion an average article of the journal is.

Evolution of the number of published documents. All types of documents are considered, including citable and non citable documents.

This indicator counts the number of citations received by documents from a journal and divides them by the total number of documents published in that journal. The chart shows the evolution of the average number of times documents published in a journal in the past two, three and four years have been cited in the current year. The two years line is equivalent to journal impact factor ™ (Thomson Reuters) metric.

Evolution of the total number of citations and journal's self-citations received by a journal's published documents during the three previous years. Journal Self-citation is defined as the number of citation from a journal citing article to articles published by the same journal.

Evolution of the number of total citation per document and external citation per document (i.e. journal self-citations removed) received by a journal's published documents during the three previous years. External citations are calculated by subtracting the number of self-citations from the total number of citations received by the journal’s documents.

International Collaboration accounts for the articles that have been produced by researchers from several countries. The chart shows the ratio of a journal's documents signed by researchers from more than one country; that is including more than one country address.

Not every article in a journal is considered primary research and therefore "citable", this chart shows the ratio of a journal's articles including substantial research (research articles, conference papers and reviews) in three year windows vs. those documents other than research articles, reviews and conference papers.

Ratio of a journal's items, grouped in three years windows, that have been cited at least once vs. those not cited during the following year.

Leave a comment

Name * Required

Email (will not be published) * Required

* Required Cancel

The users of Scimago Journal & Country Rank have the possibility to dialogue through comments linked to a specific journal. The purpose is to have a forum in which general doubts about the processes of publication in the journal, experiences and other issues derived from the publication of papers are resolved. For topics on particular articles, maintain the dialogue through the usual channels with your editor.

Follow us on @ScimagoJR Scimago Lab , Copyright 2007-2022. Data Source: Scopus®

Cookie settings

Cookie Policy

Legal Notice

Privacy Policy

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

A study of the roles of school administrators in increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools.

• Department of Educational Administration and Supervision, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus

The structure and expectations of societies are constantly changing, developing, and advancing as time demands. Accordingly, the vision, mission, purpose, and objectives of educational institutions are changing and are shaped according to the expectations of the society. School Directors, teachers, and families, briefly the community, should know that schools are institutions that best fulfill children’s learning, and make them feel happy and safe. A cheerful and peaceful school environment always brings academic success. Children who have a quality school life are aware of the responsibility for their behaviors as well as the social responsibilities for their environment. Thus, students who are closely interested in social responsibility projects are not just academically developed; at the same time, their social, emotional, and mental development increases, and their social cohesion and awareness develop. This research aims to examine ways to improve the quality of social life in schools through social responsibility projects to be started as well as opinions by School Directors. In this study, the qualitative method and case study design were used. The study group of this research consisted of 15 teachers working in primary schools affiliated with the Department of Primary Education of the Ministry of National Education. The participants were interviewed through live connections. The findings revealed that students are very willing to take part in social responsibility projects, and significant improvements have been made in their academic achievement; they attended more willingly, and there have been noticeable changes in the quality of the school.

Introduction

Education is a multifaceted process consisting of wide, complex, and diverse teaching and learning levels. Therefore, in addition to the courses processed in the classroom, the behavioral changes that are desired to be created in the student can be achieved in different and various ways. Since education is a whole, it is very important to develop effective and emotional behaviors such as helping, sharing, cooperating, and the students’ academic development. For this reason, the school administrators should be well aware of their educational leadership and offer forward activities. In addition to academic achievements, the development of students’ developmental behavior is reflected in the quality of school life. Special emphasis should be placed on the quality of school life by administrators and teachers. Yılmaz (2005) emphasized it is crucial to examine the quality of school life, students’ interests and expectations, their reactions toward their teachers, and their commitments. The behaviors and characteristics that society expects to see in individuals, especially in primary school students, will only be adopted through good management and healthy organization. To have all the academic, social, physical, mental, and developmental characteristics necessary for the development and success of students, the main task in planning and conducting research in this field falls to the school administrator. Thus, in addition to academic knowledge, well-planned and managed social activity studies are also important in contributing to students in all areas ( Kir, 2013 ).

Social activities, which have an important place among the tasks of educational institutions, are shaped by the desire and perseverance to work within the teacher, which arouses students’ interest and desire. The responsibility taken by the student and the happiness in fulfilling this responsibility shows how important social activities are in his/her life ( Yılmaz, 2007 ).

Giving students a say in the functioning of the school also leads to more efficient social activities. The quality and importance of the communication that the school administrator provides with students and the opportunities that the school provides for the student affect the students’ commitment to the school ( Yüksel, 2012 ).

Suh and Traiger (1999) stated that the importance and necessity of both parental and social responsibility arose when children were given personal responsibility education in schools and that the school curriculum should support moral decisions and parents’ value education ( Gündüz, 2018 ).

Extracurricular activity studies have an important place in the student’s life. With such extra-course activities, there are good developments in the behavior of students, there are forward increases in school performance, there are noticeable decreases in school absences, socialization is ensured in all directions, and they are effective in becoming adult’s worthy of their family and society. Therefore, school administrators should be planners, routers, and guides and make teachers realize, encourage, and support how important such activities are in education ( Filiz and Nayir, 2015 ).

It is important for students to experience and develop citizenship qualifications, which include various skills and qualities such as voluntary behavior, empowerment, civic activity, and critical thinking, which indicate community benefit, cooperation, and non-reward, both in the classroom settings and in communities where this environment is expanded ( Coşkun, 2020 ).

With this research, an answer was sought to the question “What are the opinions of school administrators about increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools?”

The results of this research are as follows: In primary educational institutions, it is thought that “what extra-curricular activities are, how the students’ desire to participate in these activities is, what are the positive and negative behaviors that extra-curricular activities bring to students, will contribute to the area where the future of the students will be bright and will be satisfactory for families and school.” To achieve this goal, answers to the following interview questions were sought.

1. As a primary school administrator, what do you think about the “quality of school life?”

2. What duties are assigned to the school administrators in terms of increasing the quality of school life?

3. What projects can be carried out and what are their roles in social responsibility issues?

4. What do you think should be done to increase social responsibility projects in primary schools?

5. Does the increase of social responsibility projects in primary schools have an impact on the quality of school life?

Literature review

As mentioned above, there are a large number of researches relating to social responsibility projects. Nevertheless, few of these researches have been concentrated on social responsibility project in schools. For schools which is our interest, Tuzcu and Savaşkan (2020) stated that social responsibility projects not only supply social outcome but at the same time provide individual and organizational achievements. Cetindamar and Hopkins (2008) underline that the integration of social responsibility into education is a daunting—and rewarding—task of assisting students in understanding diverse values and gaining action skills. Pozo et al. (2016) in their research titled “ Teaching personal and social responsibility model-based programmers in physical education. A systematic review ” pointed out that when students are offered the right strategies and skills, they will be more responsible in their daily lives, both in and out of the school context. Selvi and Şentürk (2016) aimed to explain the “ Social responsibility approach in civil society organizations. ” The study stressed that social responsibility is not just related to a single industry. It is a notion that affects all classes of society. Social responsibility projects are planned to raise awareness of environmental and social issues in our children, who are the future of our country, to find solutions to problems, and to help children develop themselves and carry out social responsibility projects ( Uğurlu and Arslan, 2015 ).

Toma (2006) reported that “quality” has a close relationship with social responsibility and is a widely applied concept, targeting both products and services and the environment, and life in general. Busher et al. (2015) stated that the essential task for schools is to guide students to achieve the planned goals. Thus, an effective and successful school can be defined as students having achieved the goals planned for them. Seçer and Sari (2006) claimed that social responsibility activities play an essential role in students’ life. Thus, if the school guides the students to join these activities, the students will be happier and more willing to go to school.

In light of the above research, it indicates once again that social responsibility projects are essential in human life. Moreover, they increase the quality of school life.

Methodology

In this section, the topics of research pattern, study group, data collection process, data collection tool, and data analysis are discussed. The qualitative research method was administered to determine the views of school administrators on “the roles of school administrators in increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools.” One of the qualitative research patterns, “the case study,” was used to collect data for the study ( Yin, 2011 ). The case study approach is particularly useful to employ when there is a need to obtain an in-depth appreciation of an issue, event, or phenomenon of interest, in its natural real-life context ( Crowe et al., 2011 ). In addition, the semi-structured interview technique from qualitative research methods was used in the study.

Data collection procedures

After obtaining the necessary permits from the Ministry of Education of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, face-to-face interviews and connections were conducted with the participants between 25 October and 5 November 2020. They were briefed on all the rules well in advance and were assured about the purpose of the study and confidentiality. Each of the interviews lasted about 35 min. The participants were asked five open-ended questions, and their responses were noted down on interview forms.

The questions presented to the participants in the interview form were written in clear, simple, understandable, and proper Turkish. The Interview Form is called “Views about the Roles of School Administrators in Improving the Quality of School Life through Social Responsibility Projects in Primary Schools.” The form consists of two parts. The first part includes demographic (personal) information about school administrators, while the second part contains interview questions that will reveal the purpose of the research. Pilot applications were also carried out with several school administrators to control these questions.

Data analysis

The data obtained were first conceptualized and organized logically. Then, themes were created to analyze the data using the content analysis method ( Downe-Wamboldt, 1992 ). Based on exploring themes and codes, the researchers have created their groups and themes and they also resolved the data and encoded it. The participants were codified as A1, A15 etc. (A referring to Administrator). The encodings were separated and placed under the themes. Finally, frequency and percentage tables for encodings were created.

The participants were 15 primary school administrators in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ministry of National Education in the 2020–2021 academic year.

The researchers’ role in this study serves as an intermediary between the participants and the data that was being collected. Also, the researchers’ role is to analyze the information in detail and construe the hypothesis. The focus group that was interviewed in this study are primary schools’ administrators in North Cyprus. In this research paper, the data were collected from 25 participants who are well experienced and responsible in their present job.

Limitations of the study

This research is limited to public and private primary schools in six different districts of the TRNC between the 2019 and 2020 academic year, and the working group is limited to 25 primary school administrators. Finally, for document analysis, the pictures are obtained before COVID-19.

As can be observed in Table 1 , the 15 primary school administrators are considered to be young, between the ages of 35 and 45.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants.

The findings of the study were revealed based on the answers to the five interview questions asked to the participants. Six themes were found in the study, and the findings of these themes were tabled in frequency and percentage as presented below.

When Table 2 is examined, it can be seen that the views by the school administrators about the “quality of school life” are classified under 109 codes and 11 themes. Fifteen of the views expressed school life as “a place where teachers, students, and all the staff are happy,” 14 as “good level of education and training,” 13 as “teachers are successful and qualified,” 11 as “a safe structure and school environment in all directions and an institution where socialization takes place,” 10 as “social activities are at the forefront,” 9 as “have a disciplined school environment,” 7 as “a technologically advanced structure,” 6 as “a clean and orderly environment,” and 5 as “good relations with the Ministry of Education.”

Table 2. Administrators’ views about the “quality of school life.”

I believe that school administrators should not be in the latest place in their relationship with the Ministry of Education when linking the “quality of school life” more to the fact that the school is seen as a happy nest that education and training are good and that school teachers are successful and qualified. Because the Ministries of Education have a very important place in the quality of the schools. Some of the administrators’ views are as follows:

“According to me, a qualified school represents a home where teachers, students and all the staff are happy. It also shows a structure in which students socialize” (A1)

“In my opinion, it creates an environment where all developmental characteristics of students are improved. It also expresses a clean and orderly environment, a disciplined structure.” (A6)

“It is explained that education and training are at a good level, teachers are successful, qualified, and well aware of the studies carried out.” (A10)

“A qualified school reminds me of a quality school structure. The headmaster dedicated himself to education and training all his staff to succeed in all aspects. In addition, it emphasizes social activities for student development” (A10).

As in Table 3 , the administrators’ views about the subject question are classified under 87 codes and eight themes. Fourteen views emphasized good communication with the students, teachers, and the other staff, 13 expressed the task as paying attention to extracurricular activities, 12 stressed the importance of enjoyable educational activities, according to students’ expectations and learning levels and “provide a learning environment, 10 advocated taking students’ opinions into account in some applications,” eight said the diversity of course tools needed to be increased, and seven suggested more physical equipment.

Table 3. Duties of school administrators in improving the quality of school life.

In my opinion, this ranking should also include the importance of “the close communication and relationships of school administrators with families.” Some of the their views are as follows:

“For me, in order to create a qualified school, important tasks are assigned by the school administrators in the first place. At all times, the teacher, student, and all the other staff should involve in taking steps and raising ideas.” (A2)

“In my opinion, the architect of a qualified school is the school administrator. He should pay attention to extracurricular activities with plans and programs that he will prepare, to make the learning environment enjoyable.” (A7)

“In my opinion, the most important task in increasing the quality of school life falls in the school administrator. Educational activities should be made enjoyable to respond to student expectations and learning levels, providing students with a learning environment to do and learn.” (A11)

“School Directors should pay attention to the social and personal development of the students as well as their academic development, and in some applications, their opinions should be taken into account to make them feel confident. In addition, provide a course diversity and create an appropriate working environment” (A15)

As Table 4 reveals, the roles of school administrators are classified under 134 codes and 12 themes. 15 participants advocated awareness of responsibility, 15 emphasized that education is not only academic information, 14 pointed to the importance of planning, schedule, and coordination, 13 said administrators should be models for the staff and students, 12 suggested referring to the views of all stakeholders, 11 stressed encouragement and rewards for teachers and students, 10 stated that social responsibility should be a way of life, nine said schools should get support from family associations and parents as well as from the local government, eight pointed out that schools should get support from the environment, institutions, and organizations, and seven advocated the need for financial and moral support from the Ministry of National Education.

Table 4. Role of school administrators in social responsibility projects.

It should not be overlooked that financial support is also needed in the full fulfillment of social responsibility projects. In this study, school administrators considered the need for financial support in the latest plan. There should be sponsors who will provide financial support directly for the project. Some of the administrator views are as follows:

“F or me, all the staff and particularly the students should be made aware of responsibilities at an early age and should know that education is not only academic knowledge” (A3)

“A school director should implement plans and programs in social responsibility projects, work in coordination, and be a role model for all school staff and especially students” (A5).

“My opinion is that ideas and recommendations from stakeholders should be considered, encouraged and to increase students’ success in social responsibility projects.” (A8).

“We, the school administrators, should firstly assume social responsibility awareness a principle so as to be able to raise awareness among all the involved. We should also point out that education does not only consist of academic knowledge. All the requirements for student development need to be met. Schools should get support from family associations, parents, local governments, the environment and organizations.” (A13).

As in Table 5 , the subject question is classified under 101 codes and nine themes. Fifteen participants are in favor of “charity and solidarity events,” 15 for “health activities,” 14 for “environmental awareness activities,” 12 for “sporting events,” 11 for “educational activities,” 10 for “cultural and artistic activities,” nine for “activities to love and protect animals,” eight for “craft activities,” and seven for “natural disaster prevention activities.” In this respect, he demonstrated with the first three themes that the TRNC is a Nation that is sensitive to its people and cares about the value judgments of its society. Some of the administrator views are as follows:

Table 5. Social responsibility projects that can be done in primary schools.

“According to me, cooperation and solidarity activities, activities in the field of health are the social responsibility projects that we face the most frequently” (A1).

“If a school adminstrator knows the demographic status of his school and its surroundings well, he will be successful in implementing social responsibility projects. At this point, the importance of environmental awareness and organization of activities should be well understood” (A4).

“For me, social responsibility projects should include sports events, educational, cultural and artistic1 activities.” (A9).

“Generally, Social responsibility projects such as clothing, books, various tools, hospitals, nurseries, wellness training, nursing homes, first aid training, and hygiene training are carried out for families in need.” (A2).

Discussion and conclusion

The participants of this study consist of 15 school administrators working in primary schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the 2020–2021 academic year. In the study, the opinions of the school administrators were taken to examine their roles in school administration and improving the quality of school life through social responsibility projects. Interviews were conducted through live connections.

The study revealed that social responsibility projects have an important place in improving the quality of school life, in which the administrators have the most important tasks in this regard. They maintain the functioning of the school in good communication with students, teachers, and all staff. In addition, educational activities are made enjoyable according to the expectations and learning levels of the students and increase the need for extra-class activities. The importance of learning doing is strongly emphasized. Similarly, in research conducted by Wigmore-Álvarez and Ruiz-Lozano (2012) and Cristina et al. (2017) , it was pointed out that how quality management can be a foundation for developing social responsibility. In addition, this finding of the current study is also supported by the research of Sitnikov and Bocean (2015) .

For organizations to embrace ethically and socially responsible thinking, the provision needs to be “proactive,” with fundamental ethics programs taught by committed schools ( Cornelius et al., 2007 ). Apaydın and Ercan (2010) mention on how social responsibility projects are also important for schools and in their study primary school administrators had more positive ideas about human rights, environmental problems, and business ethic than secondary school administrators did. Kelley et al. (2008) have similar findings to our study that school’s engagement in the process of practicing social responsibility and clarifying its meaning and application has made apparent the natural linkage between social responsibility and professionalism.

The participant school administrators stated that the best way to succeed in social responsibility projects is to align these activities with educational programs, carry out planned and programmed work with the teams to be created, and raise awareness by adding all stakeholders to contribute starting at an early stage. Increasing social responsibility projects in primary schools have had positive effects on the quality of school life. George et al. (2018) also indicated that to improve students’ performance, educational institutions need to build a powerful strategy to boost educational services. In addition to increasing students’ academic success, there have also been positive effects on their continuity in school.

A school whose quality of life increases always has an exemplary position ( Durmaz, 2008 ). A planned, programmed, systematic, and coordinated order is formed in the structure and functioning of the school. A school environment that works in unity and togetherness is formed. Schools are not just a place that is separate from society and is taught in it; they are environments in which community life is experienced in a real and effective way ( Dewey, 2010 ).

Special attention should be given to the quality of school life by administrators and teachers. It is very important to examine the quality of school life due to the relationship between both the qualifications of school life and their academic achievements. Students’ communication with their teachers and their commitment to their duties at the school are of crucial importance in school life ( Yılmaz, 2005 ). With school quality of life, we can see students’ sense of acceptance and ownership of school, love and respect for their friends and teachers, socialization, and academic success ( Erden and Erdem, 2013 ).

According to Argon and Demirer (2015) , school administrators should determine the vision and mission of the school to increase student’s awareness of social responsibility while revealing the quality of school life; they should share the mission and vision with all stakeholders. In social responsibility projects, students and parents, as well as school administrators and teachers, should effectively maintain their contributions and support in their relations with the school environment.

To be effective, especially school administrators and teachers have important tasks. It should be noted that these planned and programmed projects motivate students against their school and lessons and lead them to success, as well as increase the quality of school life. According to Kucinska-Landwojtowicz et al. (2020) , applying a process approach to the management of educational activities is possible.

Recommendations

This study aimed to find out the system to develop the quality of social life in schools through social responsibility projects. It was found that students are excited to take part in social responsibility projects. Thus, significant improvements have been made in their academic achievement.

It can be suggested that, in a school, if there is a weakness in the quality of school life, it should be investigated considering any economic, social, or political reasons. Moreover, in-service training can be provided assuming that administrators and teachers may not be conscious enough. In the same way, conferences can be organized to raise awareness of stakeholders outside the school.

It can be further stated that, as this study was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic, present studies will possibly be more effective to see what activities were carried out during the pandemic. Furthermore, social responsibility projects should be planned and implemented in the field of education where all stakeholders can act together. Besides these, the region and environmental conditions of the school should be taken into account in determining social responsibility projects.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethical Committee Board of Near East University. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

Both authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Apaydın, Ç., and Ercan, B. (2010). A structural equation model analysis of Turkish school managers’ views on social responsibility. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2, 5590–5598. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.912

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Argon, T., and Demirer, S. (2015). Okul yöneticilerinin bilgi yönetimi ve insan kaynaklarini yönetimi yeterlikleri. Bolu Abant Ýzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 15, 221–264.

Google Scholar

Busher, H., Gündüz, M., Cakmak, M., and Lawson, T. (2015). Student teachers’ views of practicums (teacher training placements) in Turkish and English contexts: A comparative study. Compare J. Comp. Int. Educ. 45, 445–466. doi: 10.1080/03057925.2014.930659

Cetindamar, D., and Hopkins, T. (2008). Enhancing students’ responsibility towards society through civic involvement projects. Innov. Educ. Teach. Int. 45, 401–410. doi: 10.1080/14703290802377273

Cornelius, N., Wallace, J., and Tassabehji, R. (2007). An analysis of corporate social responsibility, corporate identity and ethics teaching in business schools. J. Bus. Ethics 76, 117–135. doi: 10.1007/s10551-006-9271-6

Coşkun, D. (2020). Evaluation of social participation skills development process in middle school social studies course and school practices . Doctoral Thesis. Denizli: Pamukkale University Institute of Educational Sciences.

Cristina, S. A., Elena, C., and Mihaela, C. (2017). Quality and social responsibility. Ann. Econ. Sci. Ser. 17, 320–323.

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., and Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 11:100. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dewey, J. (2010). The need for a philosophy of education (1934). Schools 7, 244–245. doi: 10.1086/656072

Downe-Wamboldt, B. (1992). Content analysis: Method, applications, and issues. Health Care Women Int. 13, 313–321.

Durmaz, A. (2008). Quality of school life in high schools (The case of Kırklareli Province). (Master’s Degree). Edirne: Trakya University.

Erden, A., and Erdem, M. (2013). School life quality at primary schools: Case of van province. J. Educ. 28, 151–1

Filiz, A. K. A. R., and Nayir, F. (2015). Egitim kurumlarindaki sosyal kulüplerin etkililiginin incelenmesi: Uygulamada degisim ihtiyaci. Pegem Egitim Ögretim Dergisi 5, 167–186.

George, B. C., Victoria, P. D., and Monica, L. (2018). Quality in education-approaches and frameworks. Econ. Sci. Ser. 18, 199–204.

PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

Gündüz, M. (2018). Evaluation of prospects about contribution of student projectsin life science course to “sense of responsibility”. Electron. J. Soc. Sci. 17, 1374–1385.

Kelley, M. A., Connor, A., Kun, K. E., and Salmon, M. E. (2008). Social responsibility: Conceptualization and embodiment in a school of nursing. Int. J. Nurs. Educ. Sch. 5:28. doi: 10.2202/1548-923X.1607

Kir, E. (2013). Ilkögretim ve ortaögretim okullarinda sosyal etkinlik ve yönetimi. Gaziantep Univ. J. Soc. Sci. 12, 527–544.

Kucinska-Landwojtowicz, A., Czabak-Górska, I. D., Lorenc, M., and Klemens, B. (2020). Process approach in managing the quality of education. Eur. Res. Stud. J. 23, 1149–1159. doi: 10.35808/ersj/1930

Pozo, P., Grao-Gruces, A., and Pe’rez Orda’s, R. (2016). Teaching personal and social responsibility model-based programmers in physical education. A systematic review. Sage J. 24, 56–75. doi: 10.1177/1356336X16664749

Seçer, Z., and Sari, H. (2006). Okul oncesi eğitim kurumuna devam eden etmeyen cocukların ahlaki ve sosyal kural bilgilerinin ceşitli değişkenler açısından karşılaştırmalı olarak analizi. Milli Eğitim 35, 126–142.

Selvi, and Şentürk (2016). Social responsibility approach in civil society organizations , Vol. 18. Osmangazi: Gaziantep University, 139–160. doi: 10.4026/2148-9874.2016.0312.X

Sitnikov, C., and Bocean, C. (2015). The relationship between models of quality management and csr. Ann. Econ. Ser. 1, 177–182.

Suh, B. K., and Traiger, J. (1999). Teaching values through elementary social studies and literature curricula. Education 119, 723–723.

Toma, S. G. (2006). From quality to the corporate social responsibility. Econ. Amphitheater J. 20, 1–6.

Tuzcu, and Savaşkan (2020). What kind of contributions can the social responsibility projects carried out in business schools provide for the future managers? J. Soc. Sci. 11, 154–168. doi: 10.33537/sobild.2020.11.2.13

Uğurlu, C. T., and Arslan, C. (2015). Examination of teachers’ organizational identity and school trust levels in terms of some variables. Prim. Online 14, 72–85.

Wigmore-Álvarez, A., and Ruiz-Lozano, M. (2012). University social responsibility (USR) in the global context: An overview of literature. Bus. Prof. Ethics J. 31, 475–498. doi: 10.5840/bpej2012313/424

Yılmaz, K. (2005). The thoughts of the study in primary schools about the quality of school life. Denizli: Pamukkale University Institute of Educational Sciences.

Yılmaz, K. (2007). The opinions of the 6th, 7th and 8th grade primary school students concerning quality of school life , Vol. 15. Kütahya: Dumlupınar University Institute of Educational Sciences.

Yin, R. K. (2011). Applications of case study research. California, CA: Sage.

Yüksel, Ö (2012). Ilkögretim okulu 6, 7, 8. Sinif ögrencilerinin okula bagliliginda yöneticinin sosyal sorumlulukla ilgili etkisi. Ph.D. thesis. Diyarbakir: Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü.

Keywords : primary education, school administrator, social responsibility, social responsibility projects, quality of school life

Citation: Doygunel A and Koprulu F (2022) A study of the roles of school administrators in increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools. Front. Psychol. 13:969638. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.969638

Received: 15 June 2022; Accepted: 30 August 2022; Published: 27 September 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Doygunel and Koprulu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Fatma Koprulu, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities. ®

• Digital Commons Network ™
• / Education

Educational Administration and Supervision Commons ™

Popular Articles

Based on downloads in June 2023

The Effects Of School Uniforms On Student Behavior And Perceptions In An Urban Middle School , Jacqueline M. McCarty Old Dominion University

The Effects Of School Uniforms On Student Behavior And Perceptions In An Urban Middle School , Jacqueline M. Mccarty

Theses and dissertations in urban services - urban education.

Public opinion polls have consistently highlighted the prevalence of violence in America's schools. Specifically, school personnel have witnessed increased assault and theft related to the wearing of expensive clothing. Concomitantly, administrators have noted decreased attendance rates triggered by clothing issues. Given the gravity of these problems, school officials nationwide have enacted uniform policies in hopes of improving school safety and student behavior. However, current research establishing the effectiveness of these policies is largely anecdotal. The few studies utilizing empirical measures mainly highlight short-term outcomes and often fail to address student perceptions regarding clothing-related problems.

By contrast, this study investigated the …

Go to article

A Quantitative Study Of Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communties Context, Process, And Content , Daniel R. Johnson Seton Hall University

A Quantitative Study Of Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Learning Communities' Context, Process, And Content , Daniel R. Johnson

Seton hall university dissertations and theses (etds).

A Qualitative Study Of The Impact Of Experiences Of Students With Parents As Their Principal, Teacher, Or Coach , Lori Lynn Brownlee-Brewton Gardner-Webb University

A Qualitative Study Of The Impact Of Experiences Of Students With Parents As Their Principal, Teacher, Or Coach , Lori Lynn Brownlee-Brewton

Doctor of education dissertations.

Many people assume that educators’ children have an easy life in school, since many people at the school level and in the community traditionally hold educators in high esteem. Rarely does anyone explore the added pressure put on this selected class of students to perform for teachers, classmates, and the parent-educator, especially when all are in the same school. Perceptions of belonging have been determined to have important effects on adolescent development, influencing both social and academic outcomes (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Walton & Cohen, 2007). Educators’ children are often uncomfortable with everyone knowing who their parent is. Students whose …

The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Student Achievement At The High School Level , Steven Wesley Craft University of Southern Mississippi

The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On Student Achievement At The High School Level , Steven Wesley Craft

Dissertations.

The pressure applied on public schools to increase test scores and student achievement are reaching the highest levels ever seen in the United States. School systems are trying to find ways to increase student achievement while dealing with severe budget cuts. Many school systems are exploring the possibility of decreasing or suspending funding for extracurricular activities. This study explored the relationship between student achievement and participation in extracurricular activities. The study focused on the impact that participation in extracurricular activities had grade point average, absentee rate, SAT scores, and success on the Georgia High School Graduation Test. In order to …

The Impact Of Students' Academic And Social Relationships On College Student Persistence , Lindsay K. Wayt University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The Impact Of Students' Academic And Social Relationships On College Student Persistence , Lindsay K. Wayt

Department of educational administration: dissertations, theses, and student research.

The purpose of this research study was to determine the connection between students’ relationships and their choice to persist at a post-secondary institution. Although other literature has centered around why students chose to leave an institution or the importance of student involvement and engagement, this study focused on who is most influential in encouraging students to work toward their degree attainment. The study includes results of the influence of peers, family, college faculty, and college student affairs staff on student persistence decisions. This research sought to make a contribution to the literature on retention and attrition issues at colleges and …

Perceptions Of High School Students Of The Impact Of A School Uniform Policy , Stacy L. Gregory University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Perceptions Of High School Students Of The Impact Of A School Uniform Policy , Stacy L. Gregory

Graduate theses and dissertations.

High schools are tirelessly pondering ideas of enhancing the learning environment by increasing academic engagement and safety. This phenomenology study was designed to report and analyze the perceptions of selected students about their academic engagement and safety while attending one high school. Data for this study were obtained through interviews that were conducted on two levels: focus group and individual interviews. The results indicate that uniforms by themselves have little to do with a student's academic engagement. Students believe that their teachers play a big part in the way that they participate in educational tasks. They also believe that engaging …

Slaves, Coloni, And Status Confusion In The Late Roman Empire , Hannah Basta Georgia State University

Slaves, Coloni, And Status Confusion In The Late Roman Empire , Hannah Basta

Journal of the national collegiate honors council online archive.

From the dawn of the Roman Empire, slavery played a major and essential role in Roman society. While slavery never completely disappeared from ancient Roman society, its position in the Roman economy shifted at the beginning of the period called Late Antiquity (14 CE–500 CE). At this time, the slave system of the Roman world adjusted to a new category of labor. Overall, the numbers of slaves declined, an event that historian Ramsey MacMullen, drawing from legal debates and legislation of the period, attributes to the accumulation of debt and poverty among Roman citizens in the third century CE. One …

Coming Together: The Pros And Cons Of School Consolidation , David Alan Dolph University of Dayton

Coming Together: The Pros And Cons Of School Consolidation , David Alan Dolph

Educational leadership faculty publications.

The viability and acceptability of consolidation— combining two or more school buildings or districts into a single entity—have ebbed and flowed over the years. In the early 1900s, the main targets of school consolidation were the rural schools. The education leaders and policy makers of the time believed that a centralized model in which all schools looked alike would prove to be the best approach for educating youth to be productive citizens (Kay, Hargood, and Russell 1982).

In addition to providing an expanded curriculum, they believed, consolidated schools could be operated more efficiently and economically—an idea that has continued to …

Understanding Holistic Development And Wellness: Experiences And Perspectives Of Filipino Student Leaders , Leandro Loyola De La Salle University

Understanding Holistic Development And Wellness: Experiences And Perspectives Of Filipino Student Leaders , Leandro Loyola

Journal of research initiatives.

This study focuses on how student leaders coming from different Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) understand Holistic Development and Wellness based on their experiences and perspectives. Literature underscores the clear role of HEIs in ensuring the holistic development and wellness of the students, whose responsibility includes creating programs and policies that promote the development of students in different aspects. This responsibility is being shared with the members of the community like the administrators, teachers, and even with the students. Student leaders, especially the active student ones, are believed to play an active role in leading the implementation of programs and …

Inclusive Education In India , Kumar Sanjeev Ph.D., Khagendra Kumar Ph.D. Wright State University

Inclusive Education In India , Kumar Sanjeev Ph.D., Khagendra Kumar Ph.D.

Electronic journal for inclusive education.

India is one of the few countries world over where the education of children with special needs doesn’t fall within the purview of human resource development ministry. It is generally the burden of the omnibus ministry of social justice and empowerment, the prime focus of which is rehabilitation, not education. In fact, till today it does not have education as part of its agenda and the issue of education of children with disabilities remains imperceptible, hidden from the public domain, a private problem for families and NGOs to deal with. It’s time that governmental agencies as well as mainstream institutions …

All Articles in Educational Administration and Supervision

44,889 full-text articles. Page 1 of 1057 .

The Cultural Dimension Of Structural School Reforms: The Case Of Schedule Changes , Maylen Sullivan 2024 University of San Diego

The Cultural Dimension Of Structural School Reforms: The Case Of Schedule Changes , Maylen Sullivan

The four-by-four (4x4) schedule—a type of high school block schedule—presents promising prospects for improving teaching and learning. Using a qualitative, single case study methodology, I investigated a school transitioning from a traditional six-period schedule to a 4x4 schedule during its 2nd and 3rd year of implementation. The study aimed to understand the factors that influenced the transition, the stakeholders’ responses to the decision, and the factors that influenced their responses. Some of the main considerations that motivated the decision included the desire to provide more opportunities within the school day for students to meet A/G college eligibility requirements, allow students …

Politics, Policies, And Procedures: The Iron Triangle Of Implementing Education Reform , Clint Reardon Jr 2024 Murray State University

Politics, Policies, And Procedures: The Iron Triangle Of Implementing Education Reform , Clint Reardon Jr

Honors college theses.

Education is often seen as a living thing, something that should grow and change with time. However, for far too many people who experience education from both within the school structure and for those who experience education from outside the school structure it can often seem like the educational system is stagnate, dying, and in some cases dead. One shared reason for this perception is perceived barriers in education that stifle creativity and allow educational systems to grow, adapt, and change to meet the needs of the students they serve. This study set out to identify what those barriers are …

A Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of The Experience Of A College Merger On Employee Engagement, Satisfaction, And Burnout In Faculty, Staff, And Administrators At Minnesota North College , Molly Elise Franz 2024 Minnesota State University Moorhead

A Phenomenological Study On The Impact Of The Experience Of A College Merger On Employee Engagement, Satisfaction, And Burnout In Faculty, Staff, And Administrators At Minnesota North College , Molly Elise Franz

Dissertations, theses, and projects.

Higher education institutions were becoming more competitive due to meeting the needs of changing demographics of prospective students, increasing costs of tuition, fees, and operations, meeting workforce demands, providing access to high quality technology tools, and more. A merger process impacted employee engagement, satisfaction and burnout. It was important for administrators in higher education to create and maintain a supportive and inclusive culture for employees, especially during each stage of the merger process. It was also important to clearly communicate the purpose of the merger, and to provide employees an opportunity to engage with the planning and implementation stages of …

Teacher Retention In Independent Schools , Charles Maddox Jr. 2024 Southeastern University - Lakeland

Teacher Retention In Independent Schools , Charles Maddox Jr.

Doctor of education (ed.d).

Teachers in public and independent schools have left the field of education at a staggering rate. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand what factors kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers describe as influencing their decisions to remain in independent day schools in Florida. For the purpose of this study, independent education is defined as private schools. Five participants were interviewed for the study. The two themes developed in the study were differences from public schools and school leadership. The subthemes for differences from public schools were flexibility, teacher autonomy, and freedom from government control while subthemes for school …

Improving Educational Delivery And Content In Juvenile Detention Centers , Yomna Elmousalami 2024 Old Dominion University

Improving Educational Delivery And Content In Juvenile Detention Centers , Yomna Elmousalami

Undergraduate research symposium.

Students in juvenile detention centers have the greatest need to receive improvements in educational delivery and content; however, they are one of the “truly disadvantaged” populations in terms of receiving those improvements. This work presents a qualitative data analysis based on a focus group meeting with stakeholders at a local Juvenile Detention Center. The current educational system in juvenile detention centers is based on paper worksheets, single-room style teaching methods, outdated technology, and a shortage of textbooks and teachers. In addition, detained students typically have behavioral challenges that are deemed "undesired" in society. As a result, many students miss classes …

Filling Potholes In Pell’S Road To Reentry Success , James Monogan 2024 University of Louisville

Filling Potholes In Pell’S Road To Reentry Success , James Monogan

Journal of student financial aid.

Pell eligibility for incarcerated people is a great rehabilitative opportunity, but several challenges remain. This article recaps five of the issues identified by the original research articles in this special issue. It also considers how solutions proposed in these studies may be beneficial across a variety of these issues and gathers recommendations together by which actor could implement them. Problems and solutions are corroborated by the author’s personal experience with incarceration.

Filling Critical Gaps For College In Prison Programs: Strategies From Two Community Based Organizations , Sara Alpert, Rachel Zolensky, Shon Holman-Wheatley 2024 Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison

Filling Critical Gaps For College In Prison Programs: Strategies From Two Community Based Organizations , Sara Alpert, Rachel Zolensky, Shon Holman-Wheatley

When the federal government banned incarcerated students from accessing Pell Grants in the mid-1990s, a new model for supporting Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs emerged– utilizing Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) as third-party facilitators to fill the gaps left behind in the absence of federal financial aid. With the long-awaited reinstatement of Pell for incarcerated learners that went into effect in 2023, it is essential to consider the critical role that CBOs have played in supporting college programming in the absence of Pell and how they can continue to be leveraged to ensure quality and access for Prison Education Programs (PEPs) …

Minding The Gap: Building Equitable, Accessible, And Sustainable Prison Education Programs In Pennsylvania , Isaiah Zukowski, Rodger C. Benefiel Jr., Liana K. Cole 2024 Pennsylvania State University

Minding The Gap: Building Equitable, Accessible, And Sustainable Prison Education Programs In Pennsylvania , Isaiah Zukowski, Rodger C. Benefiel Jr., Liana K. Cole

The reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals marks a pivotal moment in the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programming in the United States. However, despite this promising development, financial barriers persist, hindering the growth and sustainability of HEP initiatives. This qualitative study delves into the challenges faced by faculty, staff, and administrators within Pennsylvania's colleges and universities as they establish and operate HEP programs amidst an evolving funding environment. Drawing on interviews with nine HEP administrators across the state, we explore obstacles they confront, ranging from the Pell grant funding gap to logistical hurdles such as …

The Unrealized Promise Of College-In-Prison: Financial Hurdles To Reenrollment And Completion In The Era Of Pell Reinstatement , Julia Bowling, Pavithra Nagarajan, Kristen Parsons, Neal Palmer 2024 CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance

The Unrealized Promise Of College-In-Prison: Financial Hurdles To Reenrollment And Completion In The Era Of Pell Reinstatement , Julia Bowling, Pavithra Nagarajan, Kristen Parsons, Neal Palmer

College-in-prison programs are positioned to expand substantially under the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for people in prison. While this change will enable more students who have been systemically excluded from higher education to attend college, degree completion is rare during incarceration and post-release. Student perspectives can shed light on both the value of college-in-prison and the financial barriers to realizing its value. This study analyzes data from 12 focus groups with 105 total college-in-prison student participants, 114 student survey responses, and 45 stakeholder interviews. The data were collected between 2018-2022 during a process evaluation of the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative, …

“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison , Erin L. Castro, Cydney Caradonna, Mary R. Gould 2024 University of Utah

“I Don’T Even Know What That Is”: Deprivation, Censorship, And Responsibility In Administering The Pell Grant In Prison , Erin L. Castro, Cydney Caradonna, Mary R. Gould

The violence of incarceration creates greater responsibility for higher education administrators in supporting students who are in prison. Using focus group data with incarcerated students and formerly incarcerated alumni who participated in or are actively participating in Second Chance Pell, we explore their perceptions and understandings of the Pell Grant and eligibility for the Pell Grant, including lifetime eligibility used limits. Through a lens of Witnessing, we argue that deprivation and censorship of information negatively influence students’ access to accurate and timely information about federal student aid and their ability to fully participate in the process. Accordingly, college and university …

Examining Social Capital And Its Role In Special Education Leadership , April K. Rist 2024 University of Massachusetts Amherst

Examining Social Capital And Its Role In Special Education Leadership , April K. Rist

Doctoral dissertations.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to analyze the relationships that existed between the special education leaders and other members of a district leadership team in order to measure their access to social capital. Quantitative data were collected using surveys of one school district’s leadership team and social network analysis (SNA) was used to visually analyze the connections between members of the team. Qualitative data were subsequently collected via semi-structured interviews of each of the 19 members of the leadership team. What types of ties do the special education administrators have to fellow administrators within district leadership teams? What …

Exploring Perceptions Of Lived Experiences Of Nursing Program Students With Grant Funding Investment In A Community College , Brian Richard Michel 2024 Liberty University

Exploring Perceptions Of Lived Experiences Of Nursing Program Students With Grant Funding Investment In A Community College , Brian Richard Michel

Doctoral dissertations and projects.

The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutical phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nursing program students with grant funding investment in a nursing, allied, and physical health program at a rural community college in Western New York. This rural institution is a member institution of the State University of New York system. The research was guided by the underlying central research question, “What are the perceptions of lived learning experiences made possible through grant funding investment of nursing program students at a rural community college?” Three different data collection methods were used in interviews, a focus group, and …

Teacher Candidate Supervision For Social Justice: Orientations, Practices, And Challenges , Andrew E. Hood 2024 University of California, Davis

Teacher Candidate Supervision For Social Justice: Orientations, Practices, And Challenges , Andrew E. Hood

Journal of educational supervision.

The need for teachers who are thoughtful and attentive to issues of social justice is more apparent now than ever before. Teacher education can and should be tasked with preparing teachers to serve a student population that is becoming more diverse over time. As teacher educators who function within both the university coursework and student teaching fieldwork spaces, teacher candidate supervisors are well-positioned to support candidates to make sense of and incorporate social justice-centered practices in their teaching. Building on the findings of Jacobs (2006), a comprehensive literature review of journal articles published in the last 20+ years revealed that …

Effect Of Mastery Learning Strategy On Students' Learning Outcomes In Senior Secondary School Biology In Lagos State , Kassim O. Ajayi Prof, Fausat A. Adenaike Prof, Modupe O. Salomi Dr, Kehinde S. Momodu Mrs 2024 University of The Gambia

Effect Of Mastery Learning Strategy On Students' Learning Outcomes In Senior Secondary School Biology In Lagos State , Kassim O. Ajayi Prof, Fausat A. Adenaike Prof, Modupe O. Salomi Dr, Kehinde S. Momodu Mrs

Essays in education.

The study is a pre-test, post-test control group randomized quasi–experimental research design. The population comprised all SSII Biology Students in Lagos Education District II, with two intact classes of 60 students from two selected public secondary schools. Four instruments were used namely; Mastery Learning Strategy Instructional Aid, Conventional Teaching Strategy Instructional Aid, Biology Achievement Test (r = 0.77) and Biology Attitude Scale (r = 0.82). Six null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Findings showed significant main effect of treatment on achievement (F (1, 59) = 2399.983, P (.000) (1, 59) = 1.677, P (.201) > .05) and no …

Higher Education Careers Beyond The Professoriate , Karen Cardozo, Katherine Kearns, Shannan Palma 2024 Leap Here Consulting

Higher Education Careers Beyond The Professoriate , Karen Cardozo, Katherine Kearns, Shannan Palma

Navigating careers in higher education series.

Higher Education Careers Beyond the Professoriate is one of the first collections to explore PhD career versatility within higher education. The twenty-three contributors represent diverse disciplines, institution types, professional roles, and intersectional identities. Each thoughtful and personal essay explores firsthand what it means to remain in higher education, yet not in the traditional role of a professor. Topics include establishing new career paradigms, well-being and work-life balance, blended roles and identities, and professional work around advocacy and inclusion. Unifying the essays is the idea that career diversity is intertwined with other diversity discourse, yielding a broad-based but critical examination of …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session ,March 14, 2024 , WMU Board of Trustees 2024 Western Michigan University

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session ,March 14, 2024 , Wmu Board Of Trustees

Wmu board of trustees meetings.

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes

Remarks by the Chair Pro-Tem

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Capital Intern Program Presentation: Cultivating a Leader: WMU Student's Journey in the

Capital Intern Program

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

• Liquor License – Multiple Events
• Curriculum Proposals
• Personnel Report
• Annuity and Life Income Funds Performance Report
• Operating Cash Investment Performance Report

General Public Comments

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support And Psychological Well-Being: Perspectives Of Turkish Faculty Members , Ünal Deniz, Cihan Kocabaş 2024 The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK)

Understanding The Relationship Between Perceived Organizational Support And Psychological Well-Being: Perspectives Of Turkish Faculty Members , Ünal Deniz, Cihan Kocabaş

Higher learning research communications.

Objective: The purpose of our quantitative correlational study is to investigate the relationship between the perceived organizational support of faculty members and their psychological well-being.

Methods: Our study included 450 faculty members from state universities in Istanbul who were selected using a simple random sampling method. We used descriptive statistics, t -test, ANOVA, and linear multiple regression analyses.

Results: We found that faculty perceptions of organizational support and psychological well-being vary according to academic title and tenure and are not different by gender. Perceived organizational support significantly predicted psychological well-being while controlling for gender, academic title, and tenure.

Conclusions: Ensuring …

Prison Walls To College Halls- How To Win With The Most Challenging Students , Flpyd D. Lyles 2024 South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice

Prison Walls To College Halls- How To Win With The Most Challenging Students , Flpyd D. Lyles

National youth advocacy and resilience conference.

Prison Wall to College Halls- How to WIN with your most challenging students is about teaching educators about how to work with at-risk, and challenging students. I believe all students need a champion. Are you a champion for every kid in your building? I will teach you the winning formula and how to be successful with the most challenging, difficult students. You must be W illing to I nvest your time and N ever give up.

"Success Is The Only Option" , Sherene A. Carpenter PhD 2024 Birmingham City Schools

"Success Is The Only Option" , Sherene A. Carpenter Phd

"Success Is the Only Option". Reflective, Engaging, Imperative. Often times teachers place grades on report cards without analyzing or reflecting. Interesting conversations take place when teachers are presented with a chart displaying the number of As and Bs compared to the number Ds and Fs. What does a snapshot of your classroom, school, or district reveal about both student and teacher academic success? This presentation allows participants to identify resolutions to barriers, as well as receive tools that enhance student/teacher engagement - as Academic Success Is the Only Option.

The Degree Of Moral Leadership Practice Among Public Secondary School Principals In The Capital Amman From The Supervisors Point Of View , نائلة المهداوي 2024 مشرف تربوي/وزاره التربيه والتعليم

The Degree Of Moral Leadership Practice Among Public Secondary School Principals In The Capital Amman From The Supervisors Point Of View , نائلة المهداوي

Jerash for research and studies journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات.

The study aimed to identify the degree of moral leadership practice among public secondary school principals in the capital, Amman, from the point of view of educational supervisors. For the academic year (2022-2023 AD), the results of the study showed that the degree of moral leadership practice among principals of public secondary schools in the capital, Amman, from the point of view of educational supervisors, was high. It also showed that there were statistically significant differences in the estimates of the study sample of the degree of moral leadership practice among secondary school principals in the capital, Amman, according to …

Popular Institutions

Featured Publications

Popular authors.

• Higher Education Administration (28423)  
• Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration (3875)  
• Adult and Continuing Education Administration (2708)  
• Other Educational Administration and Supervision (1008)  
• Special Education Administration (784)  
• Urban Education (672)  
• Community College Education Administration (635)  

Education : Administration and Educational Leadership

• Encyclopedias
• Databases/Articles
• Administration and Educational Leadership
• Government Sites
• Bilingual Education
• Psychological & Educational Services
• Documentation/Citation
• APA Style This link opens in a new window
• Access Issues

Graduate School of Education Doctoral Procedures

• Graduate School of Education Doctoral Handbook, Checklist, Forms, and Additional Resources

Get Articles & Studies

For clinical literature, see Databases/Articles at the top of the guide to find these articles.

To find studies, paste this string of terms into an additional search bar in the database you are using:

• study OR research OR methodology OR subjects OR data OR results OR findings OR discussion OR conclusion

Search Terms

Suggested subject terms:

--School principals - professional relationships

--School principals - In-service training

--Motivation in education

--Leadership

--School management and organization

--Education - Aims & objectives

--Organizational change

--School administrators

--Success-Psychological aspects

--School management teams

--School principals

--Mentoring in education

--School personnel management

--Education--United States--Evaluation

Books & E-books

More Books & E-books

Selected Individual Journals

-- American Educator

-- American School Board Journal

-- Education and the Law

-- Educational Action Research

-- Educational Administration Quarterly

-- Educational Administration: Theory & Practice

-- Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

--Educational Forum (Print)

-- Educational Insights

-- Educational Leadership

-- Educational Management, Administration & Leadership

-- Educational Research   (Print from 1960)

-- Educational Research Quarterly

-- Leadership

-- Leadership Excellence

-- Phi Delta Kappan

-- The School Administrator

Research tip:  

• Look for References at the end of articles, book chapters, or books to expand your research.

Reference & Instruction Department

Reference & Instruction Department Fordham University Libraries Walsh Library   ♦  Rose Hill Campus  ♦  718-817-3586    Quinn Library   ♦  Lincoln Center Campus  ♦  212-636-6050    Fordham Westchester Library   ♦  Fordham Westchester Campus  ♦  914-367-3061  [email protected]   ♦   text 71-TXTX-1284  ♦  Ask a Librarian (Chat)

• << Previous: Databases/Articles
• Next: Government Sites >>
• Last Updated: Mar 21, 2024 1:35 PM
• URL: https://fordham.libguides.com/Education

• Browse Works

Educational Administration and Supervision

Research papers/topics in educational administration and supervision, the effect of headteachers’ instructional supervision skills on performance of teachers in public primary schools of makindye division, kampala.

Abstract This study determined the effect of head teachers’ instructional supervision skills on the performance of teachers in public primary schools in Makindye division, Kampala. The research answered the following questions: what is the effect of the levels of head teachers’ instructional supervision skills on the performance of teachers in public primary schools in Makindye division? to what extent have the teachers fulfilled their pedagogical responsibilities in public primary schoo...

Motivation and Teacher Absenteeism in Selected Public and Private Secondary Schools in Kyenjojo District Uganda

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher motivation and teacher absenteeism in selected public and private secondary schools. In gathering information, the research study employed both primary and secondary sources. The study was guided by the following objectives; To determine the demographic characteristics of teachers as to age, gender, education qualifications and teaching experience. To determine the level of teacher’s motivation in selected se...

The Effect of Headteachers Instructional Supervision Skills on Performance of Teachers in Public Primary Schools of Makindye Division, Kampala

Abstract  This study determined the effect of head teachers' instructional supervision skills on the performance of teachers in public primary schools in Makindye division, Kampala. The research answered the following questions: what is the effect of the levels of head teachers' instructional supervision skills on the performance of teachers in public primary schools in Makindye division? to what extent have the teachers fulfilled their pedagogical responsibilities in public primary schools ...

Implementation of Information Technology Policy and Students’ Computer Competency in Selected Government Secondary Schools in Gaya Zone-Kano State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The study investigated the level of Implementation of Information Technology Policy and Students’ Computer Competency in selected Government secondary schools in Gaya Zone-Kano State, Nigeria. The study was guided by the three objectives: to determine the level of Implementation of IT Policy, to assess students’ computer competency and to establish the relationship between the implementation of IT Policy and Students’ Computer Competency. This study adopted mixed approaches, co...

Status of Inclusive Education at Kigali Institute of Education.

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to assess the status of inclusive education at Kigali Institute of Education. It was guided by the following research questions: What is the profile of the respondents? What are the resources available in inclusive education? What are the obstacles to students with disabilities in inclusive education? And what is the level of satisfaction of the students with disabilities in inclusive education? A cross-sectional research design was used in this study apply...

Resources Availability and Utilization in Selected Primary Schools in Nairobi East District, Kenya

ABSTRACT The study delved on the relationship between resource availability and utilization in selected public primary schools in Nairobi East District. Using a retrospective I ex-post facto descriptive survey design, data was collected from 187 teaching staffs from the primary school under study. The approximation of the study sample was determined through purposive and simple random sampling. The respondents were chosen based on the criteria that they were teaching staff, they were either ...

Rewards and Teachers’ Performance Among Secondary School of Baringo District, Kenya

ABSTRACT The study was set to establish the effects of rewards on the performance of teachers in Baringo district secondary schools. The study was prompted by the declining performance in KCSE of most secondary schools in the district (67%) particularly in the last three years (2007-2009). The study examined the types of rewards given to teachers by schools in Baringo district, teachers’ perception on the effect of school rewards on their motivational levels and the effects of rewards on pe...

Career Plateauing And Its Relationship With Turnover Intentions And Pursuit Of Postgraduate Studies Among Teachers In Nyandarua And Murang’a Counties, Kenya

Teachers in Kenya exhibit signs of career plateauing, and are registering for postgraduate courses in large numbers. This study investigated whether teachers‟ pursuit of post-graduate studies is a result of career plateauing, and whether this is associated with intentions to quit the teaching profession. The purpose of the study was to determine  whether career plateauing relates with turnover intentions and teachers‟ decisions to pursue post-graduate studies. The objectives of the stud...

Role Of Students’ Councils In Enhancing Discipline In Public Secondary Schools In Likoni Sub-County Mombasa County Kenya

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess the role of students‟ councils in enhancing discipline in public secondary schools in Likoni Sub-county in Mombasa County. The study was guided by the following objectives: to establish the criteria of selection of students leaders in enhancing the implementation of discipline, to determine the effectiveness of students‟ council in enhancing discipline; to examine the challenges experienced by students‟ councils in public secondary schoo...

Influence Of Headteachers' Leadership Styles On Students' KCSE Performance In Public Secondary Schools: Maragua District, Kenya

ABSTRACT The kind of leadership exhibited by a leader will greatly determine the level of performance of an organization. No institution can grow beyond the capacity of the human rci0t1rces. From the school perspective, Headteacher plays a key role in achievement of educational goals and objectives. The quality of the school largely depends on the leadership of the headteacher. Performance is determined by other parameters that are most closely interwoven but it is within the role of the Hea...

Influence Of Selected Factors On Pupils' Access To Primary Education In Masbmba Division, Kisii County, Kenya.

One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of education is to ensure that by the year 2015, children everywhere that is boys and girls alike, will be able to complete their primary education. However, with an estimated net primary school enrollment rate (NER) of 92.5%, completion rate of 79.5% and drop-out rate of 3.5%, Kenya has not yet achieved full access to Universal Primary Education (UPE) for school going-age children. This study sought to establish the influence of pupils' pare...

INTEGRATING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL ADMINSTRATION IN KIBWEZI SUB – COUNTY, MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess integrating ICT in public secondary school administration in Kibwezi Sub County of Makueni County. The study was guided by the following objectives: to assess the state of ICT infrastructure in public secondary school administration in Kibwezi sub county, to determine the level of ICT integration in Public secondary school administration in Kibwezi Sub county, to assess the influence of ICT infrastructure on ICT Integration in secondary schools...

Factors Influencing Teachers’ Involvement In Cocurricular Activities In Public Secondary Schools In Matungulu Sub-County, Machakos County, Kenya.

ABSTRACT Education should ensure the development of an all-around person. Co-curricular activities are a very important and essential part of education. It prepares learners to be holistic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors influencing teachers‟ involvement in co-curricular activities in public secondary school in Matungulu sub-county, Machakos County, Kenya. The study focused on the following objectives: to investigate the influence of motivation, workload, level of ...

Key Factors Influencing Teacher Absenteeism In Public Secondary Schools In Nzaui Sub County Makueni County

ABSTRACT Teacher absenteeism is a major problem facing many educational institutions in Kenya today. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) on teachers committing offences of chronic absenteeism and duty desertion evidences this by among others the increasing disciplinary cases. Data from various school Principals, Head teachers and Education Officers has implicated teachers for coming to school late, leaving early from school, teachers being in school and not attending to their lessons and te...

Determinants Of Implementation Of Re-Admission Policy Of Girls’ After Teenage Pregnancy In Public Secondary Schools In Kitui County, Kenya

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of the implementation of re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Kitui County, Kenya. The objectives for the study were; to analyze the influence of home based determinants, school based determinants and the influence of principals’ characteristics on implementation of re-admission policy of girls after teenage pregnancy. The study was based on the critical theory by the Frankf...

Projects, thesis, seminars, research papers, termpapers topics in Eduactional Administration &amp; supervision. Educational administration &amp; supervision projects, thesis, seminars and termpapers topic and materials

Popular Papers/Topics

The impact of effective planning on teaching and learning process, task areas of educational management, the concepts of education planning and supervision, the role of the teacher in classroom management (a study of rimi college, kaduna), the role of test and assignment in enhancing students’ performance in selected secondary schools in the federal capital territory, (fct) abuja., the impact of guidance and counselling services in some selected secondary schools in doka area, the use of audio-visual technology in school libraries and student’s academic performance: a case study of international early learning center/dorothy, teachers’ strategies for changing undesirable classroom behaviour in secondary school in enugu north local government area of enugu state., impact of resource adequacy and utilization on students' academic performance, instructional problems associated with the poor performance in school certificate english language by students in enugu north local government area, an assessment of leadership strategies on organizational performance (a case study of jamb, kaduna annex), the standard of primary education and its effect on educational development, assessment of almajiri system of education - it’s implication for child, family and national development in zaria local government area of kaduna state, averting the obstacles to national development through education, factors responsible for poor nursery/primary education in nigeria.

Privacy Policy | Refund Policy | Terms | Copyright | © 2024, Afribary Limited. All rights reserved.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 113 great research paper topics.

General Education

One of the hardest parts of writing a research paper can be just finding a good topic to write about. Fortunately we've done the hard work for you and have compiled a list of 113 interesting research paper topics. They've been organized into ten categories and cover a wide range of subjects so you can easily find the best topic for you.

In addition to the list of good research topics, we've included advice on what makes a good research paper topic and how you can use your topic to start writing a great paper.

What Makes a Good Research Paper Topic?

Not all research paper topics are created equal, and you want to make sure you choose a great topic before you start writing. Below are the three most important factors to consider to make sure you choose the best research paper topics.

#1: It's Something You're Interested In

A paper is always easier to write if you're interested in the topic, and you'll be more motivated to do in-depth research and write a paper that really covers the entire subject. Even if a certain research paper topic is getting a lot of buzz right now or other people seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic unless you genuinely have some sort of interest in it as well.

#2: There's Enough Information to Write a Paper

Even if you come up with the absolute best research paper topic and you're so excited to write about it, you won't be able to produce a good paper if there isn't enough research about the topic. This can happen for very specific or specialized topics, as well as topics that are too new to have enough research done on them at the moment. Easy research paper topics will always be topics with enough information to write a full-length paper.

Trying to write a research paper on a topic that doesn't have much research on it is incredibly hard, so before you decide on a topic, do a bit of preliminary searching and make sure you'll have all the information you need to write your paper.

#3: It Fits Your Teacher's Guidelines

Don't get so carried away looking at lists of research paper topics that you forget any requirements or restrictions your teacher may have put on research topic ideas. If you're writing a research paper on a health-related topic, deciding to write about the impact of rap on the music scene probably won't be allowed, but there may be some sort of leeway. For example, if you're really interested in current events but your teacher wants you to write a research paper on a history topic, you may be able to choose a topic that fits both categories, like exploring the relationship between the US and North Korea. No matter what, always get your research paper topic approved by your teacher first before you begin writing.

113 Good Research Paper Topics

Below are 113 good research topics to help you get you started on your paper. We've organized them into ten categories to make it easier to find the type of research paper topics you're looking for.

Arts/Culture

• Discuss the main differences in art from the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance .
• Analyze the impact a famous artist had on the world.
• How is sexism portrayed in different types of media (music, film, video games, etc.)? Has the amount/type of sexism changed over the years?
• How has the music of slaves brought over from Africa shaped modern American music?
• How has rap music evolved in the past decade?
• How has the portrayal of minorities in the media changed?

Current Events

• What have been the impacts of China's one child policy?
• How have the goals of feminists changed over the decades?
• How has the Trump presidency changed international relations?
• Analyze the history of the relationship between the United States and North Korea.
• What factors contributed to the current decline in the rate of unemployment?
• What have been the impacts of states which have increased their minimum wage?
• How do US immigration laws compare to immigration laws of other countries?
• How have the US's immigration laws changed in the past few years/decades?
• How has the Black Lives Matter movement affected discussions and view about racism in the US?
• What impact has the Affordable Care Act had on healthcare in the US?
• What factors contributed to the UK deciding to leave the EU (Brexit)?
• What factors contributed to China becoming an economic power?
• Discuss the history of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies  (some of which tokenize the S&P 500 Index on the blockchain) .
• Do students in schools that eliminate grades do better in college and their careers?
• Do students from wealthier backgrounds score higher on standardized tests?
• Do students who receive free meals at school get higher grades compared to when they weren't receiving a free meal?
• Do students who attend charter schools score higher on standardized tests than students in public schools?
• Do students learn better in same-sex classrooms?
• How does giving each student access to an iPad or laptop affect their studies?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Montessori Method ?
• Do children who attend preschool do better in school later on?
• What was the impact of the No Child Left Behind act?
• How does the US education system compare to education systems in other countries?
• What impact does mandatory physical education classes have on students' health?
• Which methods are most effective at reducing bullying in schools?
• Do homeschoolers who attend college do as well as students who attended traditional schools?
• Does offering tenure increase or decrease quality of teaching?
• How does college debt affect future life choices of students?
• Should graduate students be able to form unions?

• What are different ways to lower gun-related deaths in the US?
• How and why have divorce rates changed over time?
• Is affirmative action still necessary in education and/or the workplace?
• Should physician-assisted suicide be legal?
• How has stem cell research impacted the medical field?
• How can human trafficking be reduced in the United States/world?
• Should people be able to donate organs in exchange for money?
• Which types of juvenile punishment have proven most effective at preventing future crimes?
• Has the increase in US airport security made passengers safer?
• Analyze the immigration policies of certain countries and how they are similar and different from one another.
• Several states have legalized recreational marijuana. What positive and negative impacts have they experienced as a result?
• Do tariffs increase the number of domestic jobs?
• Which prison reforms have proven most effective?
• Should governments be able to censor certain information on the internet?
• Which methods/programs have been most effective at reducing teen pregnancy?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of the Keto diet?
• How effective are different exercise regimes for losing weight and maintaining weight loss?
• How do the healthcare plans of various countries differ from each other?
• What are the most effective ways to treat depression ?
• What are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods?
• Which methods are most effective for improving memory?
• What can be done to lower healthcare costs in the US?
• What factors contributed to the current opioid crisis?
• Analyze the history and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic .
• Are low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets more effective for weight loss?
• How much exercise should the average adult be getting each week?
• Which methods are most effective to get parents to vaccinate their children?
• What are the pros and cons of clean needle programs?
• How does stress affect the body?
• Discuss the history of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
• What were the causes and effects of the Salem Witch Trials?
• Who was responsible for the Iran-Contra situation?
• How has New Orleans and the government's response to natural disasters changed since Hurricane Katrina?
• What events led to the fall of the Roman Empire?
• What were the impacts of British rule in India ?
• Was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary?
• What were the successes and failures of the women's suffrage movement in the United States?
• What were the causes of the Civil War?
• How did Abraham Lincoln's assassination impact the country and reconstruction after the Civil War?
• Which factors contributed to the colonies winning the American Revolution?
• What caused Hitler's rise to power?
• Discuss how a specific invention impacted history.
• What led to Cleopatra's fall as ruler of Egypt?
• How has Japan changed and evolved over the centuries?
• What were the causes of the Rwandan genocide ?

• Why did Martin Luther decide to split with the Catholic Church?
• Analyze the history and impact of a well-known cult (Jonestown, Manson family, etc.)
• How did the sexual abuse scandal impact how people view the Catholic Church?
• How has the Catholic church's power changed over the past decades/centuries?
• What are the causes behind the rise in atheism/ agnosticism in the United States?
• What were the influences in Siddhartha's life resulted in him becoming the Buddha?
• How has media portrayal of Islam/Muslims changed since September 11th?

Science/Environment

• How has the earth's climate changed in the past few decades?
• How has the use and elimination of DDT affected bird populations in the US?
• Analyze how the number and severity of natural disasters have increased in the past few decades.
• Analyze deforestation rates in a certain area or globally over a period of time.
• How have past oil spills changed regulations and cleanup methods?
• How has the Flint water crisis changed water regulation safety?
• What are the pros and cons of fracking?
• What impact has the Paris Climate Agreement had so far?
• What have NASA's biggest successes and failures been?
• How can we improve access to clean water around the world?
• Does ecotourism actually have a positive impact on the environment?
• Should the US rely on nuclear energy more?
• What can be done to save amphibian species currently at risk of extinction?
• What impact has climate change had on coral reefs?
• How are black holes created?
• Are teens who spend more time on social media more likely to suffer anxiety and/or depression?
• How will the loss of net neutrality affect internet users?
• Analyze the history and progress of self-driving vehicles.
• How has the use of drones changed surveillance and warfare methods?
• Has social media made people more or less connected?
• What progress has currently been made with artificial intelligence ?
• Do smartphones increase or decrease workplace productivity?
• What are the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom?
• How is Google search affecting our intelligence?
• When is the best age for a child to begin owning a smartphone?
• Has frequent texting reduced teen literacy rates?

How to Write a Great Research Paper

Even great research paper topics won't give you a great research paper if you don't hone your topic before and during the writing process. Follow these three tips to turn good research paper topics into great papers.

#1: Figure Out Your Thesis Early

Before you start writing a single word of your paper, you first need to know what your thesis will be. Your thesis is a statement that explains what you intend to prove/show in your paper. Every sentence in your research paper will relate back to your thesis, so you don't want to start writing without it!

As some examples, if you're writing a research paper on if students learn better in same-sex classrooms, your thesis might be "Research has shown that elementary-age students in same-sex classrooms score higher on standardized tests and report feeling more comfortable in the classroom."

If you're writing a paper on the causes of the Civil War, your thesis might be "While the dispute between the North and South over slavery is the most well-known cause of the Civil War, other key causes include differences in the economies of the North and South, states' rights, and territorial expansion."

#2: Back Every Statement Up With Research

Remember, this is a research paper you're writing, so you'll need to use lots of research to make your points. Every statement you give must be backed up with research, properly cited the way your teacher requested. You're allowed to include opinions of your own, but they must also be supported by the research you give.

#3: Do Your Research Before You Begin Writing

You don't want to start writing your research paper and then learn that there isn't enough research to back up the points you're making, or, even worse, that the research contradicts the points you're trying to make!

Get most of your research on your good research topics done before you begin writing. Then use the research you've collected to create a rough outline of what your paper will cover and the key points you're going to make. This will help keep your paper clear and organized, and it'll ensure you have enough research to produce a strong paper.

What's Next?

Are you also learning about dynamic equilibrium in your science class? We break this sometimes tricky concept down so it's easy to understand in our complete guide to dynamic equilibrium .

Thinking about becoming a nurse practitioner? Nurse practitioners have one of the fastest growing careers in the country, and we have all the information you need to know about what to expect from nurse practitioner school .

Want to know the fastest and easiest ways to convert between Fahrenheit and Celsius? We've got you covered! Check out our guide to the best ways to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit (or vice versa).

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Christine graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Environmental Biology and Geography and received her Master's from Duke University. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. She has taught English and biology in several countries.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

• Write my thesis
• Thesis writers
• Buy thesis papers
• Bachelor thesis
• Master's thesis
• Thesis editing services
• Thesis proofreading services
• Buy a thesis online
• Write my dissertation
• Dissertation proposal help
• Pay for dissertation
• Custom dissertation
• Dissertation help online
• Buy dissertation online
• Cheap dissertation
• Dissertation editing services
• Write my research paper
• Buy research paper online
• Pay for research paper
• Research paper help
• Order research paper
• Custom research paper
• Cheap research paper
• Research papers for sale
• Thesis subjects
• How It Works

110+ Exceptional Education Research Topics Ideas

Topics for education research usually comprise school research topics, research problems in education, qualitative research topics in education, and concept paper topics about education to mention a few.

If you’re looking for research titles about education,  you’re reading the right post! This article contains 110 of the best education research topics that will come in handy when you need to choose one for your research. From sample research topics in education, to research titles examples for high school students about education – we have it all.

Educational Research Topics

Research title examples for college students, quantitative research titles about education, topics related to education for thesis, research titles about school issues, ph.d. research titles in education, elementary education research topics, research title examples about online class, research titles about modular learning, examples of research questions in education, special education research titles.

The best research titles about education must be done through the detailed process of exploring previous works and improving personal knowledge.

Here are some good research topics in education to consider.

What Are Good Research Topics Related to Education?

• The role of Covid-19 in reinvigorating online learning
• The growth of cognitive abilities through leisure experiences
• The merits of group study in education
• Merits and demerits of traditional learning methods
• The impact of homework on traditional and modern education
• Student underdevelopment as a result of larger class volumes
• Advantages of digital textbooks in learning
• The struggle of older generations in computer education
• The standards of learning  in the various academic levels
• Bullying and its effects on educational and mental health
• Exceptional education tutors: Is the need for higher pay justifiable?

The following examples of research titles about education for college students are ideal for a project that will take a long duration to complete. Here are some education topics for research that you can consider for your degree.

• Modern classroom difficulties of students and teachers
• Strategies to reform the learning difficulties within schools
• The rising cost of tuition and its burden on middle-class parents
• The concept of creativity among public schools and how it can be harnessed
• Major difficulties experienced in academic staff training
• Evaluating the learning cultures of college students
• Use of scientific development techniques in student learning
• Research of skill development in high school and college students
• Modern grading methods in underdeveloped institutions
• Dissertations and the difficulties surrounding their completion
• Integration of new gender categories in personalized learning

These research topics about education require a direct quantitative analysis and study of major ideas and arguments. They often contain general statistics and figures to back up regular research. Some of such research topics in education include:

• The relationship between poor education and increased academic fees
• Creating a social link between homeschool and traditional schoolgoers
• The relationship between teacher satisfaction and student performance
• The divide between public and private school performance
• The merits of parental involvement in students’ cognitive growth.
• A study on child welfare and its impact on educational development
• The relationship between academic performance and economic growth
• Urbanization in rural areas and its contribution to institutional growth
• The relationship between students and professors in dissertation writing
• The link between debt accumulation and student loans
• Boarding schools and regular schools: The role these two school types play in cognitive development

Educational-related topics used for a thesis normally require a wide aspect of study and enough educational materials.  Here are some education research topics you can use for write my thesis .

• The difficulties of bilingual education in private universities
• Homework and its impact on learning processes in college education
• Dissertation topic selection: Key aspects and research obligations
• Social media research topics and their educational functions
• A detailed educational review of student learning via virtual reality techniques
• Ethnicities in universities and their participation in group activities
• The modern approach to self-studying for college students
• Developing time management skills in modern education
• Guidelines for teacher development in advanced educational institutions
• The need for religious education in boarding schools
• A measure of cognitive development using digital learning methods

A research title about school issues focuses on activities surrounding the school environment and its effects on students, teachers, parents, and education in general. Below are some sample research titles in education, relating to school issues.

• Learning English in bilingual schools
• A study of teachers’ role as parent figures on school grounds
• Addressing the increased use of illegal substances and their effects in schools
• The benefits of after-class activities for foreign students
• Assessing student and teacher relationships
• A study of the best methods to implement safety rules in school
• Major obstacles in meeting school schedules using boarding students as a case study
• The need for counseling in public and private schools: Which is greater?
• Academic volunteering in understaffed public schools
• Modern techniques for curbing school violence among college students
• The advantages and disadvantages of teacher unions in schools

As you create your proposed list of research topics in education, consider scientific journals for referencing purposes. Here are some Ph.D. research titles for education.

• The modern methods of academic research writing
• The role of colleges in advanced mental care
• The merits and demerits of Ph.D. studies in Europe and Africa
• Interpersonal relationships between students and professors in advanced institutions
• A review of community colleges: merits and demerits
• Assessing racism in academic ethnic minorities
• The psychological changes of students in higher education
• The questionable standards of student loan provisions
• The merits of personalized teaching techniques in colleges
• The wage gap between private and public university teachers
• Teacher responsibilities in private universities versus public universities

The research topics in elementary education in 2023 are very different from the elementary education research topics from five or ten years ago. This creates interesting grounds for different research titles for elementary education.

Here are some elementary education title research ideas.

• Assessing quick computer literacy among elementary school pupils.
• The role of video games in childhood brain development
• Male vs female role models in early education periods
• The advantages of digital textbooks in elementary schools
• The impact of modern curriculums on elementary education
• Lack of proper school grooming is a cause of violence.
• Should elementary school children be taught about LGBTQ?
• A review of the need for sexual education in elementary schools
• The effects of emotional dependence in early childhood learners.
• The need for constant technology supervision of elementary school students
• Advantages of computer-guided education in elementary schools

Here are some research title examples for students taking online classes.

• The academic difficulties experienced by online students.
• A study of decreased attention in online classes
• The upsides and downsides of online education
• The rising fees of online and traditional education in universities
• A detailed study on the necessity of college internships
• The need to provide college scholarships based on environmental achievements
• How online education terminates university fraternities and sororities.
• The role of academic supervisors in career selection
• Why interactive assignments improved learning capabilities during the pandemic
• Merits of education in online learning environments
• Why online lessons are the least effective for some college students

The modular learning approach focuses primarily on learning outcomes. Here are some examples of research titles about modular learning.

• Modular learning and the role of teachers in its execution
• Teaching techniques of religious institutions
• Potential risks of accelerated learning
• Modular learning on students’ future performances
• The general overview of modular learning amongst students
• The modern Advantages and disadvantages of inclusive classes
• Observing student developments in modular learning
• Music therapy for fostering modular learning techniques
• The creation of a personalized curriculum for students.
• Applications of modular learning both in home-schooling?
• The benefits of modular learning towards creating a more holistic educational system

These research title examples about education answer important questions and they can also be argumentative essay topics .

Here are some titles of research about education questions.

• What impacts do learning approaches provide for students?
• How can schools manage their increasing gender differences?
• What fosters the provision of learning needs?
• What are the best educational recruitment methods?
• How can cognitive development improve education?
• How can you assess the moral growth of institutions?
• What are the primary causes of educational differences in geographical locations?
• How can institutions address increasing mental health needs?
• Why is early intervention essential in students with mental health setbacks?
• What are the characteristics of mental health deterioration among students?
• What techniques are acceptable in regulating the violence of students in institutions

Some of the research title examples about education include:

• How do schools create more personalized learning methods?
• Evaluating mental health setbacks during education
• The impact of modern technology on special education
• The cognitive improvements via specialized learning in dyslexic children
• The psychological link between dyslexia and bullying in high school
• Impact of social isolation in special education classes
• The difficulties in providing specialized learning environments
• A study of orphan students with disabilities and their aptitudes for learning
• How special classes improve the self-esteem of disabled students.
• How to use modern teaching techniques in unique learning environments.
• A study of the application of digital games to autistic learning

Final words about education research topics

We have provided some reliable examples of a research topic about education you can use for write my thesis . You can use these research titles in education to cultivate your ideas, create inspiration, or for online research. Remember always to select a topic that you’re naturally passionate about and do diligent research, and reach out to our professional writing services if you need any help.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Research Roundup: How the Pandemic Changed Management

• Mark C. Bolino,
• Jacob M. Whitney,
• Sarah E. Henry

Lessons from 69 articles published in top management and applied psychology journals.

Researchers recently reviewed 69 articles focused on the management implications of the Covid-19 pandemic that were published between March 2020 and July 2023 in top journals in management and applied psychology. The review highlights the numerous ways in which employees, teams, leaders, organizations, and societies were impacted and offers lessons for managing through future pandemics or other events of mass disruption.

The recent pandemic disrupted life as we know it, including for employees and organizations around the world. To understand such changes, we recently reviewed 69 articles focused on the management implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. These papers were published between March 2020 and July 2023 in top journals in management and applied psychology.

• Mark C. Bolino is the David L. Boren Professor and the Michael F. Price Chair in International Business at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business. His research focuses on understanding how an organization can inspire its employees to go the extra mile without compromising their personal well-being.
• JW Jacob M. Whitney is a doctoral candidate in management at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business and an incoming assistant professor at Kennesaw State University. His research interests include leadership, teams, and organizational citizenship behavior.
• SH Sarah E. Henry is a doctoral candidate in management at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business and an incoming assistant professor at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include organizational citizenship behaviors, workplace interpersonal dynamics, and international management.

Partner Center

Is it the school, or the students?

Study shows perceptions of 'good' schools are heavily dependent on the preparation of the students entering them.

Are schools that feature strong test scores highly effective, or do they mostly enroll students who are already well-prepared for success? A study co-authored by MIT scholars concludes that widely disseminated school quality ratings reflect the preparation and family background of their students as much or more than a school's contribution to learning gains.

Indeed, the study finds that many schools that receive relatively low ratings perform better than these ratings would imply. Conventional ratings, the research makes clear, are highly correlated with race. Specifically, many published school ratings are highly positively correlated with the share of the student body that is white.

"A school's average outcomes reflect, to some extent, the demographic mix of the population it serves," says MIT economist Josh Angrist, a Nobel Prize winner who has long analyzed education outcomes. Angrist is co-author of a newly published paper detailing the study's results.

The study, which examines the Denver and New York City school districts, has the potential to significantly improve the way school quality is measured. Instead of raw aggregate measures like test scores, the study uses changes in test scores and a statistical adjustment for racial composition to compute more accurate measures of the causal effects that attending a particular school has on students' learning gains. This methodologically sophisticated research builds on the fact that Denver and New York City both assign students to schools in ways that allow the researchers to mimic the conditions of a randomized trial.

In documenting a strong correlation between currently used rating systems and race, the study finds that white and Asian students tend to attend higher-rated schools, while Black and Hispanic students tend to be clustered at lower-rated schools.

"Simple measures of school quality, which are based on the average statistics for the school, are invariably highly correlated with race, and those measures tend to be a misleading guide of what you can expect by sending your child to that school," Angrist says.

The paper, "Race and the Mismeasure of School Quality," appears in the latest issue of the American Economic Review: Insights . The authors are Angrist, the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT; Peter Hull, a professor of economics at Brown University; Parag Pathak, the Class of 1922 Professor of Economics at MIT; and Christopher Walters PhD '13, an associate professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Angrist and Pathak are both professors in the MIT Department of Economics and co-founders of MIT's Blueprint Labs, a research group that often examines school performance.

The study uses data provided by the Denver and New York City public school districts, where 6th-graders apply for seats at certain middle schools, and the districts use a school-assignment system. In these districts, students can opt for any school in the district, but some schools are oversubscribed. In these circumstances, the district uses a random lottery number to determine who gets a seat where.

By virtue of the lottery inside the seat-assignment algorithm, otherwise-similar sets of students randomly attend an array of different schools. This facilitates comparisons that reveal causal effects of school attendance on learning gains, as in a randomized clinical trial of the sort used in medical research. Using math and English test scores, the researchers evaluated student progress in Denver from the 2012-2013 through the 2018-2019 school years, and in New York City from the 2016-2017 through 2018-2019 school years.

Those school-assignment systems, it happens, are mechanisms some of the researchers have helped construct, allowing them to better grasp and measure the effects of school assignment.

"An unexpected dividend of our work designing Denver and New York City's centralized choice systems is that we see how students are rationed from [distributed among] schools," says Pathak. "This leads to a research design that can isolate cause and effect."

Ultimately, the study shows that much of the school-to-school variation in raw aggregate test scores stems from the types of students at any given school. This is a case of what researchers call "selection bias." In this case, selection bias arises from the fact that more-advantaged families tend to prefer the same sets of schools.

"The fundamental problem here is selection bias," Angrist says. "In the case of schools, selection bias is very consequential and a big part of American life. A lot of decision-makers, whether they're families or policymakers, are being misled by a kind of naïve interpretation of the data."

Indeed, Pathak notes, the preponderance of more simplistic school ratings today (found on many popular websites) not only creates a deceptive picture of how much value schools add for students, but has a self-reinforcing effect -- since well-prepared and better-off families bid up housing costs near highly-rated schools.As the scholars write in the paper, "Biased rating schemes direct households to low-minority rather than high-quality schools, while penalizing schools that improve achievement for disadvantaged groups."

The research team hopes their study will lead districts to examine and improve the way they measure and report on school quality. To that end, Blueprint Labs is working with the New York City Department of Education to pilot a new ratings system later this year. They also plan additional work examining the way families respond to different sorts of information about school quality.

Given that the researchers are proposing to improve ratings in what they believe is a straightforward way, by accounting for student preparation and improvement, they think more officials and districts may be interested in updating their measurement practices.

"We're hopeful that the simple regression adjustment we propose makes it relatively easy for school districts to use our measure in practice," Pathak says.

The research received support from the Walton Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

• Educational Psychology
• K-12 Education
• Child Psychology
• Educational Policy
• Poverty and Learning
• STEM Education
• Education and Employment
• Learning disability
• Humanistic psychology
• Circadian rhythm sleep disorder
• Early childhood education
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Cognitive psychology
• Mental retardation

Story Source:

Materials provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Original written by Peter Dizikes. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Joshua Angrist, Peter Hull, Parag A. Pathak, Christopher R. Walters. Race and the Mismeasure of School Quality . American Economic Review: Insights , 2024; 6 (1): 20 DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20220292

Cite This Page :

Explore More

• Heart Disease Risk: More Than One Drink a Day
• Unlocking Supernova Stardust Secrets
• Why Do Some Memories Become Longterm?
• What Controls Sun's Differential Rotation?
• Robot, Can You Say 'Cheese'?
• Researchers Turn Back the Clock On Cancer Cells
• Making Long-Term Memories: Nerve-Cell Damage
• A Solar Cell You Can Bend and Soak in Water
• 'Cosmic Cannibals': Fast-Moving Jets in Space
• Risk Factors for Faster Brain Aging

Trending Topics

Strange & offbeat.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Front Psychol

A study of the roles of school administrators in increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools

Associated data.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The structure and expectations of societies are constantly changing, developing, and advancing as time demands. Accordingly, the vision, mission, purpose, and objectives of educational institutions are changing and are shaped according to the expectations of the society. School Directors, teachers, and families, briefly the community, should know that schools are institutions that best fulfill children’s learning, and make them feel happy and safe. A cheerful and peaceful school environment always brings academic success. Children who have a quality school life are aware of the responsibility for their behaviors as well as the social responsibilities for their environment. Thus, students who are closely interested in social responsibility projects are not just academically developed; at the same time, their social, emotional, and mental development increases, and their social cohesion and awareness develop. This research aims to examine ways to improve the quality of social life in schools through social responsibility projects to be started as well as opinions by School Directors. In this study, the qualitative method and case study design were used. The study group of this research consisted of 15 teachers working in primary schools affiliated with the Department of Primary Education of the Ministry of National Education. The participants were interviewed through live connections. The findings revealed that students are very willing to take part in social responsibility projects, and significant improvements have been made in their academic achievement; they attended more willingly, and there have been noticeable changes in the quality of the school.

Introduction

Education is a multifaceted process consisting of wide, complex, and diverse teaching and learning levels. Therefore, in addition to the courses processed in the classroom, the behavioral changes that are desired to be created in the student can be achieved in different and various ways. Since education is a whole, it is very important to develop effective and emotional behaviors such as helping, sharing, cooperating, and the students’ academic development. For this reason, the school administrators should be well aware of their educational leadership and offer forward activities. In addition to academic achievements, the development of students’ developmental behavior is reflected in the quality of school life. Special emphasis should be placed on the quality of school life by administrators and teachers. Yılmaz (2005) emphasized it is crucial to examine the quality of school life, students’ interests and expectations, their reactions toward their teachers, and their commitments. The behaviors and characteristics that society expects to see in individuals, especially in primary school students, will only be adopted through good management and healthy organization. To have all the academic, social, physical, mental, and developmental characteristics necessary for the development and success of students, the main task in planning and conducting research in this field falls to the school administrator. Thus, in addition to academic knowledge, well-planned and managed social activity studies are also important in contributing to students in all areas ( Kir, 2013 ).

Social activities, which have an important place among the tasks of educational institutions, are shaped by the desire and perseverance to work within the teacher, which arouses students’ interest and desire. The responsibility taken by the student and the happiness in fulfilling this responsibility shows how important social activities are in his/her life ( Yılmaz, 2007 ).

Giving students a say in the functioning of the school also leads to more efficient social activities. The quality and importance of the communication that the school administrator provides with students and the opportunities that the school provides for the student affect the students’ commitment to the school ( Yüksel, 2012 ).

Suh and Traiger (1999) stated that the importance and necessity of both parental and social responsibility arose when children were given personal responsibility education in schools and that the school curriculum should support moral decisions and parents’ value education ( Gündüz, 2018 ).

Extracurricular activity studies have an important place in the student’s life. With such extra-course activities, there are good developments in the behavior of students, there are forward increases in school performance, there are noticeable decreases in school absences, socialization is ensured in all directions, and they are effective in becoming adult’s worthy of their family and society. Therefore, school administrators should be planners, routers, and guides and make teachers realize, encourage, and support how important such activities are in education ( Filiz and Nayir, 2015 ).

It is important for students to experience and develop citizenship qualifications, which include various skills and qualities such as voluntary behavior, empowerment, civic activity, and critical thinking, which indicate community benefit, cooperation, and non-reward, both in the classroom settings and in communities where this environment is expanded ( Coşkun, 2020 ).

With this research, an answer was sought to the question “What are the opinions of school administrators about increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools?”

The results of this research are as follows: In primary educational institutions, it is thought that “what extra-curricular activities are, how the students’ desire to participate in these activities is, what are the positive and negative behaviors that extra-curricular activities bring to students, will contribute to the area where the future of the students will be bright and will be satisfactory for families and school.” To achieve this goal, answers to the following interview questions were sought.

1. As a primary school administrator, what do you think about the “quality of school life?”

2. What duties are assigned to the school administrators in terms of increasing the quality of school life?

3. What projects can be carried out and what are their roles in social responsibility issues?

4. What do you think should be done to increase social responsibility projects in primary schools?

5. Does the increase of social responsibility projects in primary schools have an impact on the quality of school life?

Literature review

As mentioned above, there are a large number of researches relating to social responsibility projects. Nevertheless, few of these researches have been concentrated on social responsibility project in schools. For schools which is our interest, Tuzcu and Savaşkan (2020) stated that social responsibility projects not only supply social outcome but at the same time provide individual and organizational achievements. Cetindamar and Hopkins (2008) underline that the integration of social responsibility into education is a daunting—and rewarding—task of assisting students in understanding diverse values and gaining action skills. Pozo et al. (2016) in their research titled “ Teaching personal and social responsibility model-based programmers in physical education. A systematic review ” pointed out that when students are offered the right strategies and skills, they will be more responsible in their daily lives, both in and out of the school context. Selvi and Şentürk (2016) aimed to explain the “ Social responsibility approach in civil society organizations. ” The study stressed that social responsibility is not just related to a single industry. It is a notion that affects all classes of society. Social responsibility projects are planned to raise awareness of environmental and social issues in our children, who are the future of our country, to find solutions to problems, and to help children develop themselves and carry out social responsibility projects ( Uğurlu and Arslan, 2015 ).

Toma (2006) reported that “quality” has a close relationship with social responsibility and is a widely applied concept, targeting both products and services and the environment, and life in general. Busher et al. (2015) stated that the essential task for schools is to guide students to achieve the planned goals. Thus, an effective and successful school can be defined as students having achieved the goals planned for them. Seçer and Sari (2006) claimed that social responsibility activities play an essential role in students’ life. Thus, if the school guides the students to join these activities, the students will be happier and more willing to go to school.

In light of the above research, it indicates once again that social responsibility projects are essential in human life. Moreover, they increase the quality of school life.

Methodology

In this section, the topics of research pattern, study group, data collection process, data collection tool, and data analysis are discussed. The qualitative research method was administered to determine the views of school administrators on “the roles of school administrators in increasing the quality of school life through social responsibility projects in primary schools.” One of the qualitative research patterns, “the case study,” was used to collect data for the study ( Yin, 2011 ). The case study approach is particularly useful to employ when there is a need to obtain an in-depth appreciation of an issue, event, or phenomenon of interest, in its natural real-life context ( Crowe et al., 2011 ). In addition, the semi-structured interview technique from qualitative research methods was used in the study.

Data collection procedures

After obtaining the necessary permits from the Ministry of Education of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, face-to-face interviews and connections were conducted with the participants between 25 October and 5 November 2020. They were briefed on all the rules well in advance and were assured about the purpose of the study and confidentiality. Each of the interviews lasted about 35 min. The participants were asked five open-ended questions, and their responses were noted down on interview forms.

The questions presented to the participants in the interview form were written in clear, simple, understandable, and proper Turkish. The Interview Form is called “Views about the Roles of School Administrators in Improving the Quality of School Life through Social Responsibility Projects in Primary Schools.” The form consists of two parts. The first part includes demographic (personal) information about school administrators, while the second part contains interview questions that will reveal the purpose of the research. Pilot applications were also carried out with several school administrators to control these questions.

Data analysis

The data obtained were first conceptualized and organized logically. Then, themes were created to analyze the data using the content analysis method ( Downe-Wamboldt, 1992 ). Based on exploring themes and codes, the researchers have created their groups and themes and they also resolved the data and encoded it. The participants were codified as A1, A15 etc. (A referring to Administrator). The encodings were separated and placed under the themes. Finally, frequency and percentage tables for encodings were created.

The participants were 15 primary school administrators in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ministry of National Education in the 2020–2021 academic year.

The researchers’ role in this study serves as an intermediary between the participants and the data that was being collected. Also, the researchers’ role is to analyze the information in detail and construe the hypothesis. The focus group that was interviewed in this study are primary schools’ administrators in North Cyprus. In this research paper, the data were collected from 25 participants who are well experienced and responsible in their present job.

Limitations of the study

This research is limited to public and private primary schools in six different districts of the TRNC between the 2019 and 2020 academic year, and the working group is limited to 25 primary school administrators. Finally, for document analysis, the pictures are obtained before COVID-19.

As can be observed in Table 1 , the 15 primary school administrators are considered to be young, between the ages of 35 and 45.

Demographic characteristics of the participants.

The findings of the study were revealed based on the answers to the five interview questions asked to the participants. Six themes were found in the study, and the findings of these themes were tabled in frequency and percentage as presented below.

When Table 2 is examined, it can be seen that the views by the school administrators about the “quality of school life” are classified under 109 codes and 11 themes. Fifteen of the views expressed school life as “a place where teachers, students, and all the staff are happy,” 14 as “good level of education and training,” 13 as “teachers are successful and qualified,” 11 as “a safe structure and school environment in all directions and an institution where socialization takes place,” 10 as “social activities are at the forefront,” 9 as “have a disciplined school environment,” 7 as “a technologically advanced structure,” 6 as “a clean and orderly environment,” and 5 as “good relations with the Ministry of Education.”

Administrators’ views about the “quality of school life.”

I believe that school administrators should not be in the latest place in their relationship with the Ministry of Education when linking the “quality of school life” more to the fact that the school is seen as a happy nest that education and training are good and that school teachers are successful and qualified. Because the Ministries of Education have a very important place in the quality of the schools. Some of the administrators’ views are as follows:

“According to me, a qualified school represents a home where teachers, students and all the staff are happy. It also shows a structure in which students socialize” (A1)

“In my opinion, it creates an environment where all developmental characteristics of students are improved. It also expresses a clean and orderly environment, a disciplined structure.” (A6)

“It is explained that education and training are at a good level, teachers are successful, qualified, and well aware of the studies carried out.” (A10)

“A qualified school reminds me of a quality school structure. The headmaster dedicated himself to education and training all his staff to succeed in all aspects. In addition, it emphasizes social activities for student development” (A10).

As in Table 3 , the administrators’ views about the subject question are classified under 87 codes and eight themes. Fourteen views emphasized good communication with the students, teachers, and the other staff, 13 expressed the task as paying attention to extracurricular activities, 12 stressed the importance of enjoyable educational activities, according to students’ expectations and learning levels and “provide a learning environment, 10 advocated taking students’ opinions into account in some applications,” eight said the diversity of course tools needed to be increased, and seven suggested more physical equipment.

Duties of school administrators in improving the quality of school life.

In my opinion, this ranking should also include the importance of “the close communication and relationships of school administrators with families.” Some of the their views are as follows:

“For me, in order to create a qualified school, important tasks are assigned by the school administrators in the first place. At all times, the teacher, student, and all the other staff should involve in taking steps and raising ideas.” (A2)

“In my opinion, the architect of a qualified school is the school administrator. He should pay attention to extracurricular activities with plans and programs that he will prepare, to make the learning environment enjoyable.” (A7)

“In my opinion, the most important task in increasing the quality of school life falls in the school administrator. Educational activities should be made enjoyable to respond to student expectations and learning levels, providing students with a learning environment to do and learn.” (A11)

“School Directors should pay attention to the social and personal development of the students as well as their academic development, and in some applications, their opinions should be taken into account to make them feel confident. In addition, provide a course diversity and create an appropriate working environment” (A15)

As Table 4 reveals, the roles of school administrators are classified under 134 codes and 12 themes. 15 participants advocated awareness of responsibility, 15 emphasized that education is not only academic information, 14 pointed to the importance of planning, schedule, and coordination, 13 said administrators should be models for the staff and students, 12 suggested referring to the views of all stakeholders, 11 stressed encouragement and rewards for teachers and students, 10 stated that social responsibility should be a way of life, nine said schools should get support from family associations and parents as well as from the local government, eight pointed out that schools should get support from the environment, institutions, and organizations, and seven advocated the need for financial and moral support from the Ministry of National Education.

Role of school administrators in social responsibility projects.

It should not be overlooked that financial support is also needed in the full fulfillment of social responsibility projects. In this study, school administrators considered the need for financial support in the latest plan. There should be sponsors who will provide financial support directly for the project. Some of the administrator views are as follows:

“F or me, all the staff and particularly the students should be made aware of responsibilities at an early age and should know that education is not only academic knowledge” (A3)

“A school director should implement plans and programs in social responsibility projects, work in coordination, and be a role model for all school staff and especially students” (A5).

“My opinion is that ideas and recommendations from stakeholders should be considered, encouraged and to increase students’ success in social responsibility projects.” (A8).

“We, the school administrators, should firstly assume social responsibility awareness a principle so as to be able to raise awareness among all the involved. We should also point out that education does not only consist of academic knowledge. All the requirements for student development need to be met. Schools should get support from family associations, parents, local governments, the environment and organizations.” (A13).

As in Table 5 , the subject question is classified under 101 codes and nine themes. Fifteen participants are in favor of “charity and solidarity events,” 15 for “health activities,” 14 for “environmental awareness activities,” 12 for “sporting events,” 11 for “educational activities,” 10 for “cultural and artistic activities,” nine for “activities to love and protect animals,” eight for “craft activities,” and seven for “natural disaster prevention activities.” In this respect, he demonstrated with the first three themes that the TRNC is a Nation that is sensitive to its people and cares about the value judgments of its society. Some of the administrator views are as follows:

Social responsibility projects that can be done in primary schools.

“According to me, cooperation and solidarity activities, activities in the field of health are the social responsibility projects that we face the most frequently” (A1).

“If a school adminstrator knows the demographic status of his school and its surroundings well, he will be successful in implementing social responsibility projects. At this point, the importance of environmental awareness and organization of activities should be well understood” (A4).

“For me, social responsibility projects should include sports events, educational, cultural and artistic1 activities.” (A9).

“Generally, Social responsibility projects such as clothing, books, various tools, hospitals, nurseries, wellness training, nursing homes, first aid training, and hygiene training are carried out for families in need.” (A2).

Discussion and conclusion

The participants of this study consist of 15 school administrators working in primary schools affiliated with the Ministry of Education of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the 2020–2021 academic year. In the study, the opinions of the school administrators were taken to examine their roles in school administration and improving the quality of school life through social responsibility projects. Interviews were conducted through live connections.

The study revealed that social responsibility projects have an important place in improving the quality of school life, in which the administrators have the most important tasks in this regard. They maintain the functioning of the school in good communication with students, teachers, and all staff. In addition, educational activities are made enjoyable according to the expectations and learning levels of the students and increase the need for extra-class activities. The importance of learning doing is strongly emphasized. Similarly, in research conducted by Wigmore-Álvarez and Ruiz-Lozano (2012) and Cristina et al. (2017) , it was pointed out that how quality management can be a foundation for developing social responsibility. In addition, this finding of the current study is also supported by the research of Sitnikov and Bocean (2015) .

For organizations to embrace ethically and socially responsible thinking, the provision needs to be “proactive,” with fundamental ethics programs taught by committed schools ( Cornelius et al., 2007 ). Apaydın and Ercan (2010) mention on how social responsibility projects are also important for schools and in their study primary school administrators had more positive ideas about human rights, environmental problems, and business ethic than secondary school administrators did. Kelley et al. (2008) have similar findings to our study that school’s engagement in the process of practicing social responsibility and clarifying its meaning and application has made apparent the natural linkage between social responsibility and professionalism.

The participant school administrators stated that the best way to succeed in social responsibility projects is to align these activities with educational programs, carry out planned and programmed work with the teams to be created, and raise awareness by adding all stakeholders to contribute starting at an early stage. Increasing social responsibility projects in primary schools have had positive effects on the quality of school life. George et al. (2018) also indicated that to improve students’ performance, educational institutions need to build a powerful strategy to boost educational services. In addition to increasing students’ academic success, there have also been positive effects on their continuity in school.

A school whose quality of life increases always has an exemplary position ( Durmaz, 2008 ). A planned, programmed, systematic, and coordinated order is formed in the structure and functioning of the school. A school environment that works in unity and togetherness is formed. Schools are not just a place that is separate from society and is taught in it; they are environments in which community life is experienced in a real and effective way ( Dewey, 2010 ).

Special attention should be given to the quality of school life by administrators and teachers. It is very important to examine the quality of school life due to the relationship between both the qualifications of school life and their academic achievements. Students’ communication with their teachers and their commitment to their duties at the school are of crucial importance in school life ( Yılmaz, 2005 ). With school quality of life, we can see students’ sense of acceptance and ownership of school, love and respect for their friends and teachers, socialization, and academic success ( Erden and Erdem, 2013 ).

According to Argon and Demirer (2015) , school administrators should determine the vision and mission of the school to increase student’s awareness of social responsibility while revealing the quality of school life; they should share the mission and vision with all stakeholders. In social responsibility projects, students and parents, as well as school administrators and teachers, should effectively maintain their contributions and support in their relations with the school environment.

To be effective, especially school administrators and teachers have important tasks. It should be noted that these planned and programmed projects motivate students against their school and lessons and lead them to success, as well as increase the quality of school life. According to Kucinska-Landwojtowicz et al. (2020) , applying a process approach to the management of educational activities is possible.

Recommendations

This study aimed to find out the system to develop the quality of social life in schools through social responsibility projects. It was found that students are excited to take part in social responsibility projects. Thus, significant improvements have been made in their academic achievement.

It can be suggested that, in a school, if there is a weakness in the quality of school life, it should be investigated considering any economic, social, or political reasons. Moreover, in-service training can be provided assuming that administrators and teachers may not be conscious enough. In the same way, conferences can be organized to raise awareness of stakeholders outside the school.

It can be further stated that, as this study was carried out before the COVID-19 pandemic, present studies will possibly be more effective to see what activities were carried out during the pandemic. Furthermore, social responsibility projects should be planned and implemented in the field of education where all stakeholders can act together. Besides these, the region and environmental conditions of the school should be taken into account in determining social responsibility projects.

Data availability statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ethical Committee Board of Near East University. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

Both authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

• Apaydın Ç., Ercan B. (2010). A structural equation model analysis of Turkish school managers’ views on social responsibility. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 2 5590–5598. 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.912 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Argon T., Demirer S. (2015). Okul yöneticilerinin bilgi yönetimi ve insan kaynaklarini yönetimi yeterlikleri. Bolu Abant Ýzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 15 221–264. [ Google Scholar ]
• Busher H., Gündüz M., Cakmak M., Lawson T. (2015). Student teachers’ views of practicums (teacher training placements) in Turkish and English contexts: A comparative study. Compare J. Comp. Int. Educ. 45 445–466. 10.1080/03057925.2014.930659 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cetindamar D., Hopkins T. (2008). Enhancing students’ responsibility towards society through civic involvement projects. Innov. Educ. Teach. Int. 45 401–410. 10.1080/14703290802377273 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cornelius N., Wallace J., Tassabehji R. (2007). An analysis of corporate social responsibility, corporate identity and ethics teaching in business schools. J. Bus. Ethics 76 117–135. 10.1007/s10551-006-9271-6 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Coşkun D. (2020). Evaluation of social participation skills development process in middle school social studies course and school practices . Doctoral Thesis. Denizli: Pamukkale University Institute of Educational Sciences. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cristina S. A., Elena C., Mihaela C. (2017). Quality and social responsibility. Ann. Econ. Sci. Ser. 17 320–323. [ Google Scholar ]
• Crowe S., Cresswell K., Robertson A., Huby G., Avery A., Sheikh A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 11 : 100 . 10.1186/1471-2288-11-100 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dewey J. (2010). The need for a philosophy of education (1934). Schools 7 244–245. 10.1086/656072 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Downe-Wamboldt B. (1992). Content analysis: Method, applications, and issues . Health Care Women Int. 13 , 313–321. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Durmaz A. (2008). Quality of school life in high schools (The case of Kırklareli Province). (Master’s Degree) . Edirne: Trakya University. [ Google Scholar ]
• Erden A., Erdem M. (2013). School life quality at primary schools: Case of van province. J. Educ. 28 151–1 [ Google Scholar ]
• Filiz A. K. A. R., Nayir F. (2015). Egitim kurumlarindaki sosyal kulüplerin etkililiginin incelenmesi: Uygulamada degisim ihtiyaci . Pegem Egitim Ögretim Dergisi 5 , 167–186. [ Google Scholar ]
• George B. C., Victoria P. D., Monica L. (2018). Quality in education-approaches and frameworks. Econ. Sci. Ser. 18 199–204. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gündüz M. (2018). Evaluation of prospects about contribution of student projectsin life science course to “sense of responsibility”. Electron. J. Soc. Sci. 17 1374–1385. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kelley M. A., Connor A., Kun K. E., Salmon M. E. (2008). Social responsibility: Conceptualization and embodiment in a school of nursing. Int. J. Nurs. Educ. Sch. 5 : 28 . 10.2202/1548-923X.1607 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kir E. (2013). Ilkögretim ve ortaögretim okullarinda sosyal etkinlik ve yönetimi. Gaziantep Univ . J. Soc. Sci. 12 , 527–544. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kucinska-Landwojtowicz A., Czabak-Górska I. D., Lorenc M., Klemens B. (2020). Process approach in managing the quality of education. Eur. Res. Stud. J. 23 1149–1159. 10.35808/ersj/1930 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pozo P., Grao-Gruces A., Pe’rez Orda’s R. (2016). Teaching personal and social responsibility model-based programmers in physical education. A systematic review. Sage J. 24 56–75. 10.1177/1356336X16664749 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seçer Z., Sari H. (2006). Okul oncesi eğitim kurumuna devam eden etmeyen cocukların ahlaki ve sosyal kural bilgilerinin ceşitli değişkenler açısından karşılaştırmalı olarak analizi. Milli Eğitim 35 126–142. [ Google Scholar ]
• Selvi, Şentürk (2016). Social responsibility approach in civil society organizations , Vol. 18 . Osmangazi: Gaziantep University, 139–160. 10.4026/2148-9874.2016.0312.X [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sitnikov C., Bocean C. (2015). The relationship between models of quality management and csr. Ann. Econ. Ser. 1 177–182. [ Google Scholar ]
• Suh B. K., Traiger J. (1999). Teaching values through elementary social studies and literature curricula . Education 119 , 723–723. [ Google Scholar ]
• Toma S. G. (2006). From quality to the corporate social responsibility. Econ. Amphitheater J. 20 1–6. [ Google Scholar ]
• Tuzcu, Savaşkan (2020). What kind of contributions can the social responsibility projects carried out in business schools provide for the future managers? J. Soc. Sci. 11 154–168. 10.33537/sobild.2020.11.2.13 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Uğurlu C. T., Arslan C. (2015). Examination of teachers’ organizational identity and school trust levels in terms of some variables. Prim. Online 14 72–85. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wigmore-Álvarez A., Ruiz-Lozano M. (2012). University social responsibility (USR) in the global context: An overview of literature. Bus. Prof. Ethics J. 31 475–498. 10.5840/bpej2012313/424 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Yılmaz K. (2005). The thoughts of the study in primary schools about the quality of school life. Denizli: Pamukkale University Institute of Educational Sciences. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yılmaz K. (2007). The opinions of the 6th, 7th and 8th grade primary school students concerning quality of school life , Vol. 15 . Kütahya: Dumlupınar University Institute of Educational Sciences. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yin R. K. (2011). Applications of case study research. California, CA: Sage. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yüksel Ö. (2012). Ilkögretim okulu 6, 7, 8. Sinif ögrencilerinin okula bagliliginda yöneticinin sosyal sorumlulukla ilgili etkisi . Ph.D. thesis. Diyarbakir: Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. [ Google Scholar ]

Findings from the Field: Students and Professionals Connect at Research Symposium

On March 18, 2024, 65 middle and high school scientists gathered at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in Portland, Maine to share their science research projects with one another and with professional scientists from GMRI, Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS), and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. GMRI is the anchor institution for the NASA Science Activation Program's Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) project, which supports Findings from the Field , a journal of student scientific research. Annually, youth submitting research to the journal have the opportunity to come together to share their work during the Student Research Symposium.

This year, student and professional scientists alike prepared and delivered lightning talks and discussed their research during poster sessions. This year’s symposium featured student research on invasive green crabs, smelt population estimates using eDNA technology, climate impacts on bees and blueberries, ocean plastics, and more. Presentations by five early career scientists from GMRI and MWOBS provided an opportunity for youth to talk with near-peer role models. The program featured a scientific talk by Brandon Rodriguez from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that inspired youth to think about the breadth of possibilities for working in planetary science. It was an exciting day for all, topped off with evening news coverage on three local television channels! Volume 7 of Findings from the Field will be released later this spring after students complete the journal’s peer review process and polish up their pieces for publication.

Odin Bravo from Baxter Academy in Portland, Maine, said, "I plan on going into science for my career, so being able to do something outside of school like this is very helpful to get me ready and to get feedback to make me better."

The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. To learn more, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/sciact-team/gmri/

Related Terms

• Opportunities For Students to Get Involved
• Science Activation

Explore More

8 Must-Have NASA Resources for Science Teachers in 2024

Earn Awards for Doing NASA Science with GLOBE Observer

Introduction to STEM Learning Ecosystems: Video Series

Discover more topics from nasa.

James Webb Space Telescope

Perseverance Rover

Parker Solar Probe

Kazakhstan launches child account policy informed by Brown School research

Kazakhstan has launched a national Child Development Account (CDA) policy informed by research from the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The development opens the door on a policy structure for channeling natural-resource wealth to invest in children and build human capital.

Through the policy, each child in Kazakhstan receives an asset-building account, and 50% of the dividends from the National Fund will be transferred yearly into the new National Fund for Children for distribution to the CDAs of individual beneficiaries.

“The launch of Kazakhstan’s CDA policy is an important achievement,” said  Michael Sherraden , the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor at WashU and founding director of the CSD. “The nation is leveraging natural resources to create opportunities for every child and building a stronger economy in the long run.”

“The Kazakhstan CDA policy may serve as a model for other nations, showing how natural-resource revenue can benefit the whole population,” Sherraden said. “Three billion people live in low- to middle-income countries with natural-resource wealth, yet most of this wealth is currently not developing the population. CDAs could become a more positive strategy.”

Read more on the CSD website .

Comments and respectful dialogue are encouraged, but content will be moderated. Please, no personal attacks, obscenity or profanity, selling of commercial products, or endorsements of political candidates or positions. We reserve the right to remove any inappropriate comments. We also cannot address individual medical concerns or provide medical advice in this forum.

You Might Also Like

Latest from the Record

Announcements.

Public university directory being phased out

Apply to join Danforth Staff Council, attend spring forum

MetroLink updates schedules, reopens platforms

WashU swimmer McCormick wins NCAA title for backstroke

Five physician-scientists named to newest class of Dean’s Scholars

Amarnath Ghosh, student in Arts & Sciences, 34

Philip E. Cryer, former director of endocrinology division, 84

Peter Alan Fedders, professor emeritus of physics, 85

Research Wire

Michaelides wins NASA fellowship for early-career researchers

Huebsch wins NSF CAREER award

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funds pilot projects in neurodegeneration, neuroscience 

The View From Here

Washington people.

Kim Thuy Seelinger

Antonio Douthit-Boyd

Katharine Flores

Who Knew WashU?

Who Knew WashU? 1.27.21

Who Knew WashU? 1.13.21

Who Knew WashU? 12.9.20

• See us on facebook
• See us on twitter
• See us on youtube
• See us on linkedin
• See us on instagram

Stanford Medicine-designed AI tools tackle soft tissue sarcomas, identify new treatment strategies

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare and difficult to treat. Machine-learning tools designed at Stanford Medicine uncover distinct cellular communities that correlate with prognosis, immunotherapy success.

March 26, 2024 - By Krista Conger

The plots above show the location of the macrophage cell state (pink) and malignant cell state (purple) from the ecotype that responds to immunotherapy within a soft tissue sarcoma. Everett Moding

Using novel machine learning tools developed at Stanford Medicine, researchers have mapped three distinct cellular configurations that correspond to clinical outcomes for patients with a rare, difficult-to-treat cancer called soft tissue sarcoma.

In particular, the technique identified a cellular neighborhood that correlated with a positive response to immunotherapy, which may help physicians make treatment decisions.

“These cancers are challenging,” said Everett Moding , MD, PhD, an assistant professor of radiation oncology. “Up to half of patients diagnosed with a primary tumor will develop distant metastases, but we don’t have a good way to predict who. Chemotherapy typically doesn’t work well for these patients, and most don’t respond to immunotherapy. Identifying patterns in whether and how different cell types interact with one another and correlating them with outcome is critical to understanding more about the complexity of this disease and improving outcomes.”

Moding is the senior author of the study , which was published this month in Nature Cancer . The lead authors are graduate student Ajay Subramanian , former research assistant Neda Nemat-Gorgani, and hematology and medical oncology fellow Timothy Ellis-Caleo , MD.

A rare cancer

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare — only about 13,500 cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. They arise from what are called mesenchymal cells, which form the connective tissues in the body, rather than from epithelial cells, which line internal organs and skin and from which most other cancers, called carcinomas, arise. This distinction suggests that the underlying biology of sarcomas may differ from that of more common cancers.

There are many subtypes of the cancer, which develops in soft tissues such as fat, blood vessels, fibrous tissues or muscle. About one-half of all soft tissue sarcomas start in an arm or leg; about 40% originate in the abdomen. Surgery can cure many people if the cancer is localized, but the median survival is less than two years for people with metastatic disease.

Everett Moding

Researchers are realizing that studying the interplay between different cell types, known as the tumor microenvironment, provides critical insight into the biology of tumors. But the rarity of soft tissue sarcomas, the many subtypes of the disease, and the fact that many tissue samples have been preserved and embedded in paraffin, have made such an analysis challenging. Techniques that include flow cytometry, which separates individual cells into batches much like a coin sorter, or single-cell RNA sequencing, which provides a readout of the RNA messages — and therefore the types of proteins — an individual cell is making, aren’t possible without fresh samples of similar tumors from many patients.

The researchers involved in the study turned instead to a machine-learning technique called EcoTyper, developed in 2021 in the Stanford Medicine laboratory of Aaron Newman , PhD, assistant professor of biomedical data science; and another called CIBERSORTx, developed in 2019 by Newman and Ash Alizadeh , MD, PhD, the Moghadam Family Professor, professor of medicine and the leader of the Cancer Genomics Program at the Stanford Cancer Institute.

Like an eerily accurate fortune teller, CIBERSORTx predicts the various cell types in a bulk tissue sample based on the relative abundance and patterns of RNA messages in the sample. EcoTyper builds on this prediction to determine what the cell types are up to (a condition called cell state) and which other cells they are interacting with. The information allows researchers to build a picture of complex cellular neighborhoods within tumor tissue that hint at how the tumor is (or isn’t) thriving.

New insights

“Machine learning overcomes many of the problems that had been holding back our understanding of soft tissue sarcomas,” Moding said. “We don’t need fresh tissue, and we can use computational approaches to learn what cell types a tumor contains and which of them tend to interact with each other. We can use publicly available data to generate new insights.”

Using CIBERSORTx and Ecotyper, the researchers identified 23 distinct cells states in nine cell types in soft tissue sarcomas isolated from several hundred patients. EcoTyper used this information to pinpoint three multicellular communities, called ecotypes. These ecotypes, the researchers found, correlated with the patients’ clinical outcomes.

In general, patients whose tumors contained cellular communities with a high proportion of cancer-fighting immune cells fared significantly better than patients with tumors that had few immune cells and elevated levels of proteins involved in a signaling pathway called Hedgehog.

People whose tumors contained an intermediate number of immune cells and displayed elevated levels of RNA messages involved in cancer-associated signaling pathways called MYC and MTORC1 had the worst outcomes, but they were also much more likely to respond to immunotherapy than either of the previous two groups.

“This is kind of unusual,” Moding said. “We found that soft tissue sarcoma tumors that respond well to immunotherapy have an intermediate level of infiltration by immune cells, while previous studies of other types of cancers have found that tumors with lots of immune cells — a condition known as ‘immune hot’ — are the most likely to respond to immunotherapy.”

The researchers studied stored samples of soft tissue sarcomas and compared their findings with the clinical outcomes of the patients from whom they were obtained. Moding and his colleagues now hope to conduct a similar prospective study with newly diagnosed patients to investigate whether the new ecotypes can be successfully used to guide patient care.

“Currently immunotherapy is used mostly as a second-line therapy for these patients,” Moding said. “But we’re starting to understand the complexity of the interactions between cancer cells and immune cells, and we hope to leverage these to improve outcomes and develop new therapies.”

Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Weill Cornell Medical Center contributed to the work.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (grants S10OD025212 and 1S10ODO21763), the Department of Defense, the National Cancer Institute, the Stanford Cancer Institute, My Blue Dots, and the Tad and Diane Taube Family Foundation.

For more news about responsible AI in health and medicine,  sign up  for the RAISE Health newsletter.

Register  for the RAISE Health Symposium on May 14.

About Stanford Medicine

Stanford Medicine is an integrated academic health system comprising the Stanford School of Medicine and adult and pediatric health care delivery systems. Together, they harness the full potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education and clinical care for patients. For more information, please visit med.stanford.edu .

Artificial intelligence

Exploring ways AI is applied to health care

Featured Topics

Featured series.

A series of random questions answered by Harvard experts.

Explore the Gazette

Read the latest.

Asking the internet about birth control

‘Harvard Thinking’: Facing death with dignity

Novel teamwork, promising results for glioblastoma treatment

John Moore/Getty Images

Treat addiction with psychedelics?

Despite promise of success stories from patients in recovery, Law School panel cautions that research is lacking on benefits vs. risks

Harvard Staff Writer

Mark Guckel had struggled with crack addiction since high school. Despite numerous attempts to overcome his substance use disorder, nothing helped. That is, until he tried psychedelic plants, such as ayahuasca , psilocybin , and ibogaine . The experience changed his life. Now a professional recovery coach, Guckel said psychedelics might hold a promise to treat addiction disorders.

Guckel shared his story of addiction and recovery during an online panel sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School on Tuesday afternoon, “New Ideas for Substance Use Condition Treatment: Could Psychedelics Help?” But he warned that psychedelics is just one of many other treatments for substance-use disorders. Psilocybin and ibogaine are federally illegal in the U.S., with some exceptions for medical research.

“I can say that while psychedelics helped me to stop using substances, I’d like to reflect that these aren’t a cure,” said Guckel, a founder of a company that offers psychedelic-assisted recovery. “They are catalysts. They’re sacraments, they’re medicines, they’re tools. They’re one of many pathways. There are many other treatment modalities that are out there, from regular treatment to medication-assisted recovery to other holistic modalities that can help us live better lives.”

17% Of Americans over the past year have struggled with substance use disorder yet only 10% have accessed treatment

Accounts like Guckel’s and the idea that psychedelics might prompt a neurochemical reset in the brain have many looking to the approach as a promising treatment for addiction disorders. Around 17 percent of Americans have met criteria for a substance use disorder in the past year, said Stephanie Tabashneck , the event’s moderator. Yet fewer than 10 percent get treatment, she said.

“We have a treatment shortage. We also know that a lot of the treatments that we have are not particularly effective,” said Tabashneck, senior fellow of law and applied neuroscience, a collaboration between the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior and the Petrie-Flom Center.

After reminding the audience that none of the information shared in the panel should be considered legal or medical advice, Tabashneck offered a word of caution about psychedelics.

“Psychedelic therapy is not a replacement for medication treatments, like methadone for opioid-use disorder. All of our panelists will also agree that these are not first-line treatments. If someone has a substance-use disorder and it’s early, no one is recommending or suggesting that you should go ahead and try the psychedelics first as a method of treatment.”

Conventional treatments for addiction include behavioral therapies, such as contingency management and medication compliance therapy. There are also medication-assisted recovery treatments for opioid, alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis-use disorders. But the enthusiasm for psilocybin and ibogaine for treating substance-use conditions has been gradually increasing.

Panelist Mark Guckel describes how psychedelics helped him overcome an addiction to crack.

Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

Panelist Mason Marks , visiting professor of law, Harvard Law School, and senior fellow and lead of the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation at Petrie-Flom, highlighted the legal and medical concerns about psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, and ibogaine, a psychoactive substance found in iboga, a shrub that’s native to Central West Africa.

“Unlike psilocybin, there’s no clinical ibogaine research in the U.S. right now, and that’s likely due in part to the risk of cardiovascular adverse events,” said Marks. “Ibogaine has been linked to heart attacks and some deaths.”

Marks said there are efforts in some cities and states across the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin. Last year, Oregon opened a state-regulated program for supervised administration of psilocybin, and next year, Colorado will open a similar program for psilocybin and possibly ibogaine to be used as a treatment for addiction under medical supervision, he said. But it won’t be without concerns.

“In light of the federal illegality of psilocybin and ibogaine, there are many unresolved legal questions, some challenging legal questions and questions of potential liability, as well for licensed healthcare professionals who choose to get involved in these programs,” Marks said.

Neuroscientist Deborah Mash , professor of neurology and molecular and cellular pharmacology, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, has been studying the effects of ibogaine in substance-use disorders for more than three decades. She warned that it is not for everyone.

“I saw patients exhibit a remarkable recovery for a longstanding heroin abuse, cocaine-dependency disorder, including a young man who was on methadone maintenance who remarkably had no withdrawals, no cravings, and put their desire to go out and get and use drugs in remission,” said Mash, also the director of the Brain Endowment Bank at the University of Miami and chief executive officer and founder of DemeRx. “It’s a very powerful addiction interrupter.”

And yet, for people who may have an underlying psychiatric comorbidity like schizophrenia or a bipolar disorder diagnosis, psychedelics might pose a serious health risk, said Mash. She also warned against self-medication with psychedelics obtained through online distributors. “We want these molecules to be used in a medical way by qualified clinicians and therapists who understand these types of therapies and how they can work best.” 

Despite all the craze around psychedelics, little research has been done to prove their efficacy treating addiction disorders. Mash pleaded for more evidence-based research that could lead to regulatory approval and make such treatments safely available to those who are “suffering the most.” So far, what researchers have is anecdotal. “And we know that data are not the plural of anecdote,” she said.

Share this article

You might like.

Only a fraction of it will come from an expert, researchers say

In podcast episode, a chaplain, a bioethicist, and a doctor talk about end-of-life care

Researchers cite ‘academic medicine’ as key factor in success

Aspirin cuts liver fat in trial

10 percent reduction seen in small study of disease that affects up to a third of U.S. adults

Pushing back on DEI ‘orthodoxy’

Panelists support diversity efforts but worry that current model is too narrow, denying institutions the benefit of other voices, ideas

So what exactly makes Taylor Swift so great?

Experts weigh in on pop superstar's cultural and financial impact as her tours and albums continue to break records.