The research investigated whether teachers' participation in decision-making (PDM) contributes to the development of affective trust during school reform over time, or vice versa. A model including principals' interpersonal skills was tested during implementation of the organizational reform. Teachers (n = 1,482) from 113 Israeli elementary…

The research reported in this paper explored the implementation of a language-in-education policy in post-Soviet Kazakhstan, also known as trilingual education reform. Drawing on interviews with teachers and school administrators, the paper comparatively examines how the teaching of Sciences through the medium of English was implemented across two…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine a model linking school principals' strategic, interpersonal skills and teachers' participation in decision making (PDM) to predict teachers' skill flexibility (SF) during the implementation of educational reform. Design/methodology/approach: From 113 randomly selected elementary schools in Israel…

The Pullias Center for Higher Education, as part of the USC-LACCD Research-Practice Partnership (RPP), is conducting a mixed-methods evaluation of Assembly Bill 705 (AB705) focused on how community college practitioners are implementing this landmark policy, which directs all 116 community colleges in the California Community College (CCC) system…

Background: Research suggests a number of benefits from teacher participation in school improvement--chief among them that it can increase teacher receptivity to innovation and reform adoption. Improvement science has been put forward as a new paradigm for involving local school stakeholders in the improvement process. Purpose: We describe the…

The educational system is in a continual state of refinement in an effort to improve effectiveness. Many decisions are made regarding policy and procedure at the individual school level ascending to the federal level. The majority workforce carrying out these reform efforts is comprised of classroom teachers. Teachers have the most direct…

This paper provides an account of the pilot and first year of a university improvement initiative, developed in response to a reaffirmation mandate from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The initiative focused on increasing student retention and enhancing learning through the campus-wide use of team-based…

Teacher engagement is crucial to the success of education reforms. Not only can teachers serve as policymakers' eyes and ears on the ground, sharing firsthand knowledge of challenges in the classroom, but their advocacy can be instrumental to passing smart, sensible policies, and their buy-in can make or break reform implementation. Ongoing…

This report presents findings from RAND's evaluation of the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) in 17 districts totaling 99 kindergarten-12th grade schools within the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The initiative took place from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 academic years. The evaluation examined various aspects of ARI…

This study used a conceptual framework of professional development theory to identify characteristics of effective learning activities specific to 259 Minnesota K-12 public school physical education and developmental adapted physical education (PE/DAPE) teachers during 2012-2013. Study results confirmed that as PE/DAPE teacher participation in…

This article reports on Nevada's Reading First program and positions it as a source of reflection for future worldwide literacy reform efforts. Qualitative methodology was used for this analysis. Students' literacy achievement improved throughout the program until the last year of implementation. Students who remained at a Reading First school…

The purpose of this research is to identify factors that influence the functioning of a school working as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and to analyze the links between these factors and the school's progression. This research was developed within the context of an interpretative research paradigm. The primary data collection tool…

Career academies, schools within schools that concentrate on career fields, require the intentional efforts of teachers working collaboratively and sharing best practices to increase students' achievement and employability. Little is known of the perceptions of career academies' teachers, however, as they attempt to make changes in practice. The…

Many educators agree that we already know how to foster student success, so what is keeping common sense from becoming common practice? The author provides step-by-step guidance for overcoming the barriers to adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and achieving equity and excellence for all students. As an experienced teacher and…

Discussion of teacher participation in the implementation of school reform initiatives focuses on a study of New Jersey schools that used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to identify teacher participation variables as possible predictors of buy-in. Suggests that other factors were stronger predictors of teacher buy-in and discusses implications…