This study will explore the experiences and perspectives of teacher effectiveness from those directly involved in arts intensive education at an arts magnet school in the Midwest to gain a deeper understanding of their experience. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky's social construction theory will serve as the theoretical framework for…

Equitable access to high-quality schooling has been a prevailing concern among educational stakeholders for decades. Magnet schools were first developed in the 1960s to improve academic achievement and attract a more diverse student body by offering unique programs and instruction not provided at other sites within the same district. With…

Seventh graders from a STEM school performed poorly with rational number concepts in the yearly standardized test. This research investigated the impact of a three-day professional development intervention focused on improving math teachers' self-efficacy when teaching rational numbers. The study employed a concurrent mixed-method research design…

This analysis explores a literacy teacher's changing perspective about teaching in a prestigious high school after learning about ahimsa, or holistic nonviolence. Drawing from theories of transformational learning and critical pedagogy in addition to understandings of ahimsa, this article presents some of the participant's new perceptions about…

Measuring the factors affecting the implementation process are critical steps for understanding how, why, and under what circumstances integrated STEM curriculum innovations work. The overarching goal of this National Science Foundation (NSF) funded project was to design, field-test, implement, and evaluate contextualized integrated STEM learning…

In this article, we explore the role of school leaders in magnet schools, a particular school reform model in the United States. To do this, we review the literature on magnet schools, and cite results from a study based on semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with participants affiliated with magnet schools who received federal…

Research in urban and gifted education has often highlighted the underrepresentation of certain student groups in gifted programs due to factors such as insufficient teacher training and educational quality. However, a significant factor contributing to this underrepresentation is teacher bias. There's a noted tendency of teachers to under-refer…

Student engagement has been at the forefront of education in all levels. From Pre-Kindergarten to Higher learning, the ways in which students attend during instruction and with tasks can be seen as an indicator of varying levels of student achievement and growth. The Corona Virus of 2019 opened up new questions when examining student engagement.…

The creation of specialty science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Schools has been presented as a way to improve both academic and STEM-related outcomes, particularly in urban school districts where "failing" schools are converted the STEM Schools. This study examines this conversion process through the tenets of critical race…

As science becomes increasingly computationally intensive, the need for computational thinking (CT) and computer science (CS) practices in K-12 science education is becoming paramount. Incorporation of CT/CS practices in K-12 education can be seen in national standards and a variety of allied initiatives. One way to build capacity around an…

In this study, we examine teacher perspectives of magnet school implementation in two recently converted elementary schools that had received federal grants to reduce minority group isolation. We draw on 2 years of data on teacher perspectives related to satisfaction, preparedness, and implementation of the magnet program. Surprisingly, we found…

How do magnet schools work? Although they are an important school-choice option (on par with charters, in terms of enrollment), it is unclear what actually goes on in these schools: how do they reduce minority-group isolation? What does theme-based teaching and learning look like in practice? This report answers these questions with findings from…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the social and cultural instructional process on independent reading. In addition, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the administrator-teacher relationship on educational practices in a lab site classroom. Using an action research design, data was collected through…

Assessment literacy remains one of the most unexplored and untaught dimensions within teacher training. Writing assessment, moreover, is an even more overlooked facet of assessment literacy. Without the proper training, teachers in all disciplines may struggle with properly assessing student writing and providing timely and accurate formative…

The purpose of this study was to explore how closely upper elementary magnet school reading teachers' perceptions of evidenced-based practices in reading compared to actual practices in their classrooms. Literacy instruction, beginning in the third grade, places more emphasis on comprehension and higher expectations on the students than in the…