Educators play a crucial role in student skill development; hence this dissertation explores incentive-driven public policies and understands the effect that educators have on students. The first chapter estimates relative contributions of the subjective (supervisor observations and student surveys) versus objective (value-added) evaluation…

This qualitative study developed a preparation series to prepare principals in the approach of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) to support teachers in implementation. The series included six virtual sessions that prepared principals in understanding the "Why" behind CGI, the connection to the state standards, number sense routines,…

While the terms student-centred and learner-centred are used to describe a range of neo-liberal educational policies and practices around the world, the meaning is not clearly defined. This limits its utility as a concept in policy, research and practice. This article applies abductive reasoning to explore how student-centred education is…

This research aims to scrutinise the latest education reform and education policies in Turkey from a capabilities-based gender equality perspective. The data draws on interviews with stakeholders and practitioners to understand how gender equality is conceptualised in policy-making and to what extent reforms have fostered gender equality in girls'…

There are contradictory results regarding how students' learning outcomes can be predicted by various family and community inputs among previous studies, creating an evidence gap. Furthermore, previous studies have mostly concentrated on the cognitive aspect of students' learning outcomes, ignoring the affective and psychomotor dimensions,…

This study investigates the student- and school-level predictors of reading performance across five top-performing countries in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021. Utilising a multilevel analysis, the research examines the influence of cognitive development, socio-cultural contexts and educational environments on…

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to introduce a digital thinking skills (DTS) theoretical model (DTSM) that could support and enhance digital instruction best practices in schools. Methodology: We have taken a mixed-methods approach. Our respondents represent diverse cultural, linguistic, pedagogical, and social heritages.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of two educational leadership university programmes to improve the cognitive agility of their graduates. The research looked to discover whether the aspiring principals exited the programmes with an increased ability to employ cognitive agility--the ability to use the multiple thinking skills of…

Understanding the rapid and episodic learning and development of young children is a complex undertaking. In the early years, each child experiences the most dramatic developmental and learning period in his or her lifetime. In addition, there is marked variability among children in the rate and pattern of typical development. Motor,…

A strong body of research in South Africa focuses on the in-school aspects of school improvement and the role that school principals play in establishing organizational structures to support teaching and learning, develop teacher capacity, and build a school culture conducive to academic performance. However, researchers have paid little attention…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

Most leadership programs emphasize knowledge over skills, being skillful over how to be skillful, knowledge about skills over skill application, and ad hoc and hard-to-assess field activities over focused and observable skill practice. "Knowledge and skill application laboratories" provide opportunities to experiment with--and receive…

It is hard to address the needs of the estimated three million gifted middle level students who attend school in the United States (Clarenbach, 2007), and No Child Left Behind has made it even harder because school performance is determined by success on standardized tests--which often means that low performance is severely penalized and high-end…

The role of Medium of Instruction or Language of Learning and Teaching has not received sufficient attention as a factor denying meaningful access to education in South Africa. Yet the majority of under-performing learners are also children who learn in a language that is not their mother-tongue. This research aims to assess how recent language…

Presents a detailed conceptual model for developing a thinking skills currriculum. Discusses whether it should be done through separate courses or integrated into subject matter courses. Includes four figures (MD)