Group configurations shape social skills and learning outcomes by fostering student interaction and collaboration. Yet, the factors influencing group formation, social cohesion, and group stability have remained understudied in physics education. Here, we examine these factors in a cohort of 90 students from ninth and tenth grades at a private…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive, single case study was to explore how K-8 teachers, lead teachers, and school administrators in an Arizona school district experienced shared leadership and described its influence on student and school success. The theoretical foundation that provided a lens for this study was the theory of shared…

The iDrone Online Camp aims to enhance middle and high school students' engagement in STEM fields through hands-on experiences with drone technology. By immersing participants in project-based learning activities, competitions, and discussions on FAA part 107 regulations, the camp seeks to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and…

Worry conversations (in Danish, "bekymringssamtale") and other network meetings are normally described as offering integrated solutions to complex problems by connecting a variety of views and resources. Adopting a systems-theoretical approach, this article suggests that worry conversations can be better understood if viewed as a…

Teaching and learning chemistry or science, in general, could be described as building upon learners' existing conceptions. In order to support individual conceptual development, teachers should create opportunities for students to become aware of their thoughts. As this is very demanding in chemistry classroom practice with twenty-five or more…

This research is determined to investigate the effects of STEM activities practiced by using digital games in 6th-grade science classes on students' level of interest in STEM fields and their scientific creativity. As a digital game, Minecraft Education Edition was applied. As a data collecting tool for this survey, the STEM Career Interest Survey…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of professional learning communities by comparing practices and strategies of content and grade level teams in middle schools. Utilizing data from student assessment, comparison of teams in this middle school was conducted to determine practices and conversations that have an impact on…

In this study, based on responses to a modified version of Harrelson's School Improvement Survey, the researcher examined the differences, if any, in the perceived support available to PK-8 teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, paraprofessionals, and support staff in a new PK-8 turnaround school in a southern state during the second…

This research investigated the perceptions of trust expressed by teachers and educational counsellors in the Arab education system in Israel, and aimed to answer the following questions: (1) How do the teachers and counsellors perceive the concept of 'trust in schools'? (2) How is trust expressed in practice in the school? (3) Which factors are…

The current study aims at identifying the reality of administrative empowerment among administrators recently employed in the intermediate schools of Riyadh Al-Khabra city, Saudi Arabia, from their perspective. The descriptive survey and comparative approach were applied to (89) administrators recently employed in the intermediate schools of…

This multiple-site case study examined distributed leadership practices of three middle school principals, using observations, interviews, and document analysis. Findings disclosed that the principals built on the interdisciplinary teaming structure to develop empowering organizational structures that promoted democratic governance. Employing…

Part of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) research series titled "Teachers' Time: Collaborating for Learning, Teaching, and Leading," this case study looks at the Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH), a K-8 public school in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). It is a school of…

Urban middle schools face many accountability measures which often create the need for school improvement. Leading urban middle schools through the change process is extremely challenging for principals. The combination of leading change, leading urban schools, and leading middle schools is an uphill climb. Teachers' perceptions of leadership…

A cross-case analysis of five case studies of team-based technology leadership in middle schools with laptop programs identifies systems of practice that organize teams' distributed leadership. These cases suggest that successfully implementing a complex improvement effort warrants a team-based leadership approach, especially for an improvement…

Many years ago when the author assumed the role of assistant principal for school climate, discipline, and attendance, he inherited many school policies and guidelines that were outdated, unfair, and without merit in the current school climate. Because the school conduct code had not been revised since the school opened in 1960, many of the…