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…

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…

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…

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…

The challenge for schools and districts across the country has been tackling issues of equity and inclusion that lead to closing opportunity gaps for students. With this in mind, districts have employed schools to find alternative approaches to discipline. One option districts and school sites have is the use of restorative practices as both…

This research study explores the impact that school district provided professional development has on teacher buy-in for social and emotional learning (SEL). At the time of this study, the literature on social and emotional learning focuses on the impact it has on students and on the impact, it has on academic programming. Literature examining the…

Professional training for language instructors needs to be more accessible and high-leverage in order to meet the growing demand for proficient users of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages. More specifically, teachers of these languages need exposure to effective teaching methods designed to meet the language-specific needs required to help…

Globally, economically disadvantaged and minority students are especially negatively impacted by less-qualified teachers, yet less-qualified teachers are disproportionately found in low-income, minority communities. Many countries struggle with the need for highly qualified teachers, in low-performing schools. This case study investigated how a…

It is indicated that research on professional development programmes (PDPs) for mathematics teachers mostly concerns whether a programme affects the teachers' practice or student learning, while the teachers' learning is treated as a "black box." Calls have been made for a shared body of knowledge on teachers' professional learning and…

Learning-focussed educational models require the development of pedagogical, methodological, assessment and technological competences among the faculty community. The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the need for this training. This study evaluates the impact of the training project "Educate to Transform" on teacher attitudes, knowledge…

Education is a constantly evolving field that requires continuous professional development. While policymakers continue to implement school reforms, many of them depend on teachers' ability to learn and improve instruction to increase student learning. Teachers have a double role in educational reforms by being simultaneously subjects and objects…

In the United States, science education has experienced substantial shifts in the last decade. For in-service teachers, professional development programs (PDPs) play an important role in reform success. Despite well-known core features of effective PDPs, research still suggests a range of results among programs that claim to use those features. An…

In the context of national collaborative efforts to increase the prevalence of active learning strategies in undergraduate precalculus and calculus classrooms, we discuss the context, strategy, and processes used at one university to create change within a mathematics department. We highlight the use of a unified active learning approach and the…

Professional development (PD) is crucial for enhancing teachers' pedagogical skills and impacting student learning outcomes. Despite its importance, current PD approaches often fail to achieve desired changes in instructional practices. This educational design research (EDR) project advocated developing purposeful design principles for online PD…