School leaders play an important role in creating a caring and supportive environment in which teachers can be successful. In this dissertation in practice (DiP), the scholar-practitioner examined an active learning environment that demonstrated how school leadership took strategic measures for improving student participation in a national…

In this qualitative study, the authors investigated seventh- and eighth-grade students' participation in an elective civics course focused on the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The researcher and classroom teacher collaborated to embed literacy strategies into his curriculum in this design-based research study. The intervention cycle was…

U.S. politics has been primarily focused on the exploration of presidential power. People have engaged in traditional Master Narratives with the examination of U.S. Presidents where their actions are elevated and the catalysts for seismic societal changes. What is not examined in as much detail is legislative power wielded by members of the House…

Background/Context: Despite its emphasis on pluralism, empirical research on asset-based pedagogies has typically focused on culturally, linguistically, or racially homogeneous groups of students. The rise of interest in culturally relevant pedagogy in the 1990s coincided with the resegregation of many school districts. As a result, few scholars…

In response to media reports of increased teasing and bullying in schools following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we investigated its prevalence with a Virginia school climate survey completed by approximately 155,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Survey results were mapped onto presidential election results…

Presidential elections have been described as "the quintessential example of teaching social studies" due to the authentic connections teachers can make between the formal curriculum and the political world in which students live. Yet current events often do not fit neatly into state curriculum standards and, as a result, some teachers…

This article addresses the teaching of disability history, specifically concerning the historical figure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). Drawing upon literature from multicultural education, disability history and disability studies in education (DSE), the authors discuss historical content and teaching ideas for instruction about FDR. The…

In 2018 there have been constant anti-immigrant rhetoric, policies, and enforcement. Most recently, Trump referred to immigrant children as "future criminals" who needed to be kept in prison-like detention centers and "tender age facilities" (Min Kim, 2018). Meanwhile, the 4.5 million children of immigrants already in the US…

Since the U.S. presidential election of 2016, educators across America have reported an alarming increase in racialized incidents and harassment in schools, referred to as the "Trump Effect" (Costello, 2016). In response, this qualitative study investigates 1 predominately white middle school's attempt to respond the Trump Effect era…

Partisan politics challenge educators to determine how best to navigate discussions of controversial subjects within their classrooms. This can be particularly true for new educators in the early stages of developing their confidence and classroom management skills. This qualitative case study uses situated learning and the communities of practice…

While democratic nations like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany have elected women to the preeminent position in their governments, there has never been a woman president in the United States. The upcoming presidential election provides an excellent opportunity to have students consider why the United States has yet to elect a woman…

Motivating middle school students to learn can be challenging. One proven method for doing so is through an integrated curriculum. Educational philosophers and curriculum theorists have long noted the benefits of an integrated curriculum, which recognizes that the subject areas within the curriculum are connected to one another and to the real…

The national summer dropout campaign of 1963 was initiated by President Kennedy. Subsequent to a June 19 meeting at the White House of over 250 leading educators, another group of local administrators met with Federal officials to discuss possible actions that might be taken to reduce dropouts. The ensuing campaign began and ended within a span of…