The implementation of equity-oriented reforms is never simply a technical matter: it involves directly engaging with the norms and politics responsible for reproducing inequitable opportunities and outcomes, and with efforts to promote educational justice. To date, there has been little research on how leaders in science education navigate the…

Theorizing and exploring teacher learning contexts is critical to understanding reform-based instructional changes. Research on professional learning, organizational contexts, and science reform has grown over the years, particularly since the unveiling of the Framework for K-12 Science Education in the United States. In this article, the authors…

Nature field trips stand out as pedagogical experiences because of their benefits in science learning, even in early childhood education (ECE). However, previous studies have found that teachers often do not make use of their full educational potential. The present research offers a descriptive exploration of ECE prospective teachers' enactment of…

This study, which is part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Practice in Organizational Contexts, investigated the ways in which urban middle school science teachers' organizational contexts influenced their ability to identify and leverage minoritized students' funds of knowledge (FoK) to facilitate equitable science learning through…

Through a randomized controlled trial, this mixed-methods study evaluated changes in elementary science teachers' understandings, confidence, and classroom implementation of problem-based learning (PBL), inquiry, and nature of science (NOS) instruction following participation in a professional development (PD) as well as the components of the PD…

This study reports the implementation of a parental involvement intervention coupled with small group discussions aimed at facilitating transformative experiences (TEs) in science courses (biology and chemistry) in an all-girls middle and high school. Specifically, the goal was to generate parental involvement, TE, and interest. Analyses showed…

This report outlines a 2-year investigation into how secondary science teachers used professional development (PD) to build scientific classroom discourse communities (SCDCs). Observation data, teacher, student, and school demographic information were used to build a hierarchical linear model. The length of time that teachers received PD was the…

Discusses some of the problems faced by technical advisors implementing projects for the improvement of science education in Africa and reasons for these problems. Problem areas considered include underdevelopment, underestimating the process, finances, personality conflict and motivation, and opposition from key groups. (A list of major UNESCO…

The "Implementation Proneness Typology" was developed to facilitate examination of a teacher's implementation to new innovations in a quantitative manner. Dimensions considered include assertiveness, surgency, conscientiousness, venturesomeness, imaginativeness, shrewdness, experimentiveness, self-sufficiency, humanistic classroom…

This study explores the roles that regional partners play in helping to support implementation of the GLOBE program, an international earth science and education initiative. Researchers at SRI International conducted case studies of two GLOBE partners' practices in an effort to identify the factors that contribute to effective implementation of…