Despite extensive advocacy and research underscoring the benefits of inclusive education, students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) continue to be predominantly placed in segregated educational settings, making inclusion a "wicked problem" within the field of education. Wicked problems are characterized by complexity, interconnected…

This dissertation critically examines grading practices within schools, tracing the evolution from traditional to modern approaches and highlighting the social dimensions and debates surrounding grading. Through a mixed-methods study spanning three empirical chapters, it explores students' and teachers' perceptions of grading practices, the impact…

This study proposes an empirically grounded theory of how school reform implementation relates to effectiveness, useful for developing and studying many approaches to school reform both in the U.S. and abroad, and also for assessing how policymakers and implementers might leverage various aspects of implementation to create effective school…

Staff and faculty at every institution could share stories about how they have seen some initiatives spectacularly succeed and others completely fail--leading to feelings of frustration and fatigue. Too often, a "good idea" or new institutional policy is developed in a vacuum or with little thought as to how professionals on campus will…

We summarize the experiences and outcomes for 'discipline-based education specialists' involved with a large-scale, 10-year initiative: the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia. A key aspect of the initiative was the hiring of these specialists into academic departments where they held graduate-level…

This article explores the unique structure and challenges faced by Southeast State University's Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) and Tier II Leadership Certification programs. It highlights the effective strategies implemented to address these challenges and their positive effects on program quality and student success. The findings indicate…

Although scholarship documenting the effects of racism on educational outcomes is extensive, less empirical research has been done on interventions designed to mitigate racism and racial bias in schools. Based on case studies of two elementary schools, we have found that educators participating in a yearlong racial justice program demonstrated a…

Designing effective faculty-led professional development (PD) workshops is easier than it sounds and is a highly rewarding way for faculty to become change agents on their own campuses. This chapter presents the authors' experiences leading PD workshops and provides a roadmap to make the workshop development process straightforward and fun for…

This study examines the impact of an alternative to suspension program on second semester office discipline referrals for participating students. The study compares students who completed the intervention program with those who would have qualified during the school year prior to the program being available at the school district. The study was…

The changing context and increasing professionalization in higher education have ushered in challenges for liberal arts education worldwide. Situated this discourse in the context of Chinese universities, this paper explores (1) Why do we need a liberal arts education that has been accused of being elitist in the twenty first century? (2) Should…

The "Sekolah Penggerak" program is one of the Indonesian Government's efforts to realize the vision of Indonesian education, namely an advanced Indonesia that is sovereign, independent, and possesses the Pancasila personality. As the leading actors in education, teachers play an important role in implementing educational programs. This…

A large-enrollment, introductory physics laboratory course at the University of Colorado Boulder has undergone a recent transformation to help students' develop lab skills and better align students' views and beliefs about experimental physics with those of expert experimental physicists through engagement with authentic scientific practices. We…

The COVID-19 pandemic set higher education institutions on an unprecedented path requiring of them to identify alternative strategies and implement various initiatives to sustain their academic projects. With the widespread devastation of the pandemic, the purpose of universities within their communities were again in the spotlight. A sensibility…

Multiple meta-analyses have now documented small positive effects of teacher professional development (PD) on pupil test scores. However, the field lacks any validated explanatory account of what differentiates more from less effective in-service training. As a result, researchers have little in the way of advice for those tasked with designing or…

Anywhere from 40 to 68% of first-year students, over 1.7 million, enroll in at least one or more remedial or developmental course for reading, writing, or mathematics before being able to continue into the mainstream of college coursework (Barnett, 2018; Complete College America, 2016; Logue, 2018 WV HEPC Academic Readiness Report, 2019). An…