Service learning strengthens all involved: Students, faculty members, the community, and higher education institutions. Benefits of service learning for students include gaining real world experiences, personal and transformative outcomes (Conway, Amel, & Gerwien's, 2009), as well as higher order thinking from reflection on the experience…

Ubiquitous computing scenarios such as the one-to-one model, in which every student is issued a device that is to be used across all subjects, have increased in popularity and have shown both positive and negative influences on education. Music teachers in schools that adopt one-to-one models may be inadequately equipped to integrate this kind of…

Because data access may be perceived by principals as overwhelming or irrelevant rather than helpful (Wayman, Spikes, & Volonnino, 2013), data access does not guarantee effective data use. The data-based decision making literature has largely focused on teacher use of data, considering less often data-based organizational improvements for the…

Evaluation of professional development (PD) has traditionally been composed of summative and formative feedback, and has focused on assessing the extent to which the PD impacts participating teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and practices. This study establishes an additional purpose for PD evaluation--as "educative opportunities" for…

Within Aotearoa/New Zealand primary schools, External Providers (EPs) have steadily increased their influence on physical education. The purpose of this study was to explore and interpret classroom teachers' perspectives of EPs in their primary school. The research team obtained questionnaire responses from 487 classroom teachers from 133…

Organizational effectiveness is a term without a single definition about the nonprofit community; it is difficult to define, much less measure, due to the wide disparity in that community. Inconsistency in the sector leads to an array of hypotheses in the literature addressing organizational effectiveness. Through a comprehensive examination of a…

Professional development is a recognized approach to improving the quality of instruction in schools. The goal of professional development is to increase teachers' knowledge and improve their practices, which lead to enhanced student learning. The problem with providing staff development is the high cost incurred by presenters' fees, and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which a professional learning community (PLC) of music teachers sustained growth as they sought to incorporate Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) in their teaching practices. Seven music teachers from a suburban school district in the upper Midwest participated in a PLC as they…

The purpose of this study was to examine Turkish prospective primary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and readiness for their future roles and responsibilities as inclusive classroom teachers. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how these roles and responsibilities relate to future teaching practices. In addition, this study examined…

Over the past 3 years, teacher union membership has significantly decreased in the state of Georgia. This decrease in union membership is troubling, as previous research has shown that union membership is positively connected to teacher satisfaction and, in turn, to student success. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to determine why…

In an effort to provide the best academic opportunities for all students, many high schools create heterogeneous classes by removing existing academic tracks or by offering only 1 level of course. Research has indicated that separating students by ability often exacerbates existing academic inequity; however, mixed ability classes can also create…

In this qualitative case study, we explore local adult educators' preparation to teach refugees, along with their professional development needs. This analysis focuses on 10 tutors and instructors in a midsize Southeastern city. Data collection involved an open-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and observations; analysis involved…

This paper is an examination of a teacher professional development program in northeast Louisiana, that provided 30 teachers and their students with the technology, skills, and content knowledge to collect data and explore weather trends. Data were collected from both continuous monitoring weather stations and simple school-based weather stations…

In recent years, policy documents, curricula and other educational initiatives have promoted a pedagogy founded on the concept of independent learning. This is broadly defined as "having the belief in yourself to think through learning activities, problems or challenges, make decisions about your learning and act upon those decisions".…

The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to explore faculty-based academics' views on what influences their behaviours and attitudes towards their development. Informed by critical realist ontology, the data collection was carried out through narrative interviews with academics in two contrasting English universities. Findings, or…