There has been a significant rise in mental health needs in adolescents, and the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disturbed everyday life, causing an increase in anxiety and social isolation amongst adolescents throughout the world (CDC, 2017; Yale Child Study Center, 2020). Effective Tier 1 social-emotional universal interventions to foster…

This article explores the results of a project aimed at supporting community college students in their academic pursuit of an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Cybersecurity through mentorship, collaboration, skill preparation, and other activities and touch points to increase students' sense of belonging and connectedness in the…

With teacher and leader workloads and burnout at an all-time high, it's time for de-implementation: de-prioritizing and deleting the less effective, higher-cost initiatives we implement in schools. De-implementation allows us to focus on practices that have more supporting evidence and a higher probability of positive impact on students, and at…

Behavior problems among third- and fourth-grade students have become an issue of concern among stakeholders in the education sector. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of Second Step, a socioemotional curriculum with practices used to address behaviors with third and fourth graders. The…

Teachers' training programs are widely recognized as essential for professional development and growth. This study aimed to explore how these programs affect teachers' ability to implement the curriculum effectively. A key focus was observing teachers' attitudes toward curriculum implementation following their training. The study assesses the…

Purpose: This paper examines instructional coaching as a means to support teachers at all levels in primary and secondary schools in implementing new and innovative practices using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as a design guide. Design/methodology/approach: This mixed-methods study compared the impact of an instructional…

Contribution: This work examines the impact of a unique precollege STEM education initiative during its two pilot years. The study contributes to the growing body of research by unpacking the needs of and the impact on an important stakeholder group (i.e., the teachers) in the engineering education ecosystem to help inform the future design and…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to explore if and to what extent a correlation existed between the implementation of the Sown to Grow social and emotional learning curriculum, academic growth, and attendance. The study was grounded in the CASEL framework used by district leaders and curriculum designers to guide the…

This article describes the process teachers at a public elementary school completed to develop and implement a developmentally appropriate, race-conscious, anti-bias curriculum in all K-5 classrooms. The study focuses on the experiences of the teachers and children in three early childhood classrooms using a case study design. Data were gathered…

A plethora of literature exists identifying the importance of engaging students in learning within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) undergraduate courses, making professional development (PD) for faculty teaching these courses vital. Yet few studies of PD programs focus on STEM faculty, incorporate direct measures of faculty…

The focus of this article is on the evaluation and outcomes of a professional learning opportunity that focused on 13 current K-12 public school science educators in the United States. This teacher training concentrated on sustainability education that utilized marine sciences as a unifying concept. Findings from this training helped to identify…

The Innovative STEM--Computer Science and Engineering Design (STEM CSED) project (Award #: U411C190169), funded by an Early-Phase Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant, sought to strengthen math achievement and foster positive attitudes toward STEM and computer science among students in Waukegan Community Unit School District #60, a large,…

Many districts have adopted social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that teachers must incorporate into their lessons. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation-in-practice was to explore teachers' perceptions of the quality of SEL program professional development (PD) for teachers at a small, rural West Texas high school. For this study,…

The evaluation of the instructional mathematics coaches (IMC) initiative during the 2023-2024 school year focused on the first-year implementation of mathematics coaches in 47 elementary and middle schools. Twelve coaches were assigned to these schools based on specific criteria to provide support to mathematics teachers. This study investigated:…

This research examines the factors that shape high school students' experiences with an action civics program--"Project Soapbox"--that fosters democratic and social-emotional learning. Drawing on pre- and postsurveys with 204 students, classroom observations, teacher interviews, student work samples, and student focus group interviews,…