"Potemkin schools" is used as the phrase to capture what a US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) public speciality high school becomes as a result of its institutional branding. By way of an examination of the efforts of one teacher drawn into school branding through his "inquiry-based reform" of an Advanced Chemistry course,…

This study was conducted to describe a high school engineering curriculum, identify teaching strategies used to increase math and science literacy, and discover challenges and constraints that occur during its development and delivery, as well as what strategies are used to overcome these obstacles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with…

Back in 1992, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded grants to five curriculum development teams and charged them with the task of starting over. Five years later, each of the development teams had produced an innovative and "integrated" curriculum. All represented notable departures from the commonly encountered, calculus-driven high…

A qualitative descriptive case study explored courses of action for educators and leaders of math and science educators to implement to help students achieve state assessment standard and postsecondary success. The problem focused on two demographically similar rural high schools in Southwest Washington that demonstrated inadequate rates of…

English language learners (ELLs) often find themselves marginalized with respect to learning mathematics in U.S. schools due, in part, to language barriers and gaps in prerequisite math knowledge and skills. The goal of this study was to use Sen's (1980, 1992, 1999) capabilities approach model as a lens through which to analyze the relationship…

The Oregon Pre-engineering Learning Outcomes Project was conducted by the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) with grant funding from the Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC). The study sought to improve student preparation and success in pre-engineering programs through the development of the Oregon Pre-engineering Learning…