This study was guided by two key questions: First, what dimensions of continuous improvement do school leaders believe are most important to foster student performance in urban K-12 schools? Second, how does Alabama compare to national leaders regarding their approach to continuous improvement? Initially developed by Meehan et al. (2002), the…

The four-day school week is a concept that has been utilized in rural schools for decades to respond to budgetary shortfalls. There has been little peer-reviewed research on the four-day school week that has focused on the perception of staff that work in school districts that have recently switched to the four-day model. This study collects data…

The Principal Questionnaire was administered as part of the 2015-16 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a nationally representative sample survey of public K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This Data Point examines the relationship between public school principals' perceived…

This article includes a description and analysis of a graduate teacher education course designed to engage teachers in taking action for social justice. In the course, students participate in a community of learners in which they examine their cultural identities and engage in social justice advocacy work. Students developed content knowledge and…

Previous research related to occupational socialization theory has indicated that, in certain school contexts, physical education (PE) and physical education teachers are socially constructed as being less important than, or marginal to, the primary purpose of schooling. This research highlights the challenges associated with occupying a position…

This article examines whether a three-year learning-based work community intervention resulted in changes in working community-related interaction factors and occupational well-being among Finnish and Estonian school staff. It reports the types of changes in working community-related interaction factors and their associations to the subjective…

External support by a local coordinating agency facilitates the work of school-to-school networks. This study provides an innovative theoretical framework to analyse how support provided by local education offices for school-to-school networks is perceived by the participating teachers. Based on a quantitative survey and qualitative interview data…

The purpose of this article is to present mixed methodology evaluation data regarding a professional development initiative designed to offer non-certified special education teachers specialized classroom and teacher certification support. The project was grounded in evidence-based strategies that resulted in direct implications for teacher…

The aim of this research paper is to assess the implementation of Universal basic Education Programme in Nigeria from 1999-2009 on availability of personnel resources. A descriptive and survey method was adopted for the investigations, through random sampling technique, two (2) States each were selected from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria…

This paper presents results of a study on teachers' conceptions of assessment carried out on a sample of 493 teachers of Spanish as foreign language from all over the world. At the moment of data collection, the participants were members of an international online teacher community and were teaching at different professional contexts: basic…

Focusing on China's current education reform, this article critically discusses how contextual factors, specifically sociocultural factors and resources, assist and constrain Chinese educators in their attempt to develop dynamic and inviting classroom communities. Three main findings are highlighted in this article, the first being that the…

Background: More than ever before, school principals are dealing with stress and burnout, resulting from increasing role demands and decreasing decision latitude and autonomy. Following the Demand-Support-Constraints model, reasons for stress and burnout can be found in the lack of social support in the environment. Purpose: This longitudinal…

This article puts forward a solution to the impending shortage of culturally and linguistically competent interpreters: the education of heritage signers as heritage language learners. It examines the current landscape of American Sign Language (ASL) as a course of study and the difficulties heritage signers report when they begin learning ASL. In…

The extent to which principals in suburban elementary and secondary schools lead schools to be ready to transform into professional learning committees was investigated. Data were collected through the use of the Professional Learning Communities Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) questionnaire administered to principals, assistant principals and lead…

This report was conceived as one of three publications that collectively provide a commentary on research awareness and research use within schools in England. This third report in the series presents findings from a small-scale, detailed study of teachers who are operating as their school's Research Lead. The small scale of the study is…