This study examines the attitudes of Israeli preschool teachers towards the teaching of science and technology (S&T) in preschools in general, and towards the Israeli Ministry of Education's S&T program in particular. It assesses the connection between the teachers' attitudes and their implementation of the program and examines the…

Teachers play an important role in treating and preventing school bullying; however, there are instances when they do not act to stop or prevent this phenomenon. There are multiple factors that predict whether and how teachers respond to school bullying. The current study focuses on teachers' Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) as a predictor of…

Objective: Schools and the education system are powerful tools for cultivating healthy lifestyles. This research focuses on characterising the factors contributing to the development of health-promoting schools in Israel, and understanding how schools can offer a framework for improving students' health. Fullan's triple change model with its focus…

Purpose: This study explores how school principals can effectively integrate instructional leadership with social justice leadership, recognizing their dual roles in promoting academic excellence and fostering a socially just school environment. Research Methods: Participants in this qualitative study were 32 principals from elementary schools in…

This study examined the implementation of a biodanza program in a kindergarten for five-year-olds. The purpose of the project was to understand the contribution of biodanza to social-emotional learning (SEL) of kindergarten children. The exposure of children to biodanza made it possible to stimulate a social-emotional aspects of children's…

Planning lessons and in-the-moment improvising during enactment of the plan are two central activities inherent to the practice of teaching. To what extent are these pursuits conflicting or inconsistent? What are the characteristics of improvisation during teaching and what are teachers' possible stances on it? We discuss these questions based on…

Education policies are typically anchored in official texts that provide a foundation for their enactment in schools. What are the implications of an "invisible" policy not anchored in any official text due to political motives? This study explores the enactment of an invisible education policy that regulates religious enclave schools.…

Background or Context: Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are collaborative efforts between researchers and practitioners aimed at improving educational practices through engagement in research. Previous studies have highlighted the dynamic nature of roles within RPPs, emphasizing the need for role negotiation and adaptation to local contexts.…

Through the use of the Program for International Student Assessment's (PISA) Global Competence results, the Economic Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Democracy Index ratings, and centralization-decentralization spectrum rubrics, this dissertation shows the association between level of democracy and education system, and the association of these variables…

Teacher evaluation has evolved from a task used for administrative decisions to an activity whose main goal is the enhancement of student learning and well-being through the improvement of instruction. The actual implementation of teacher evaluation by school principals will determine greatly the extent to which it can achieve this goal. An…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

The social, economic and technological changes of the 21st century have increased the awareness of teachers and educational researchers of the importance of a relevant and interesting learning environment, collaborative learning, personalization and values in education. However, most of the currently available programs focus on only one of these…

This study explored what was entailed in implementing a professional development (PD) designed in the United States (US) to a different, Israeli, context. To achieve this goal, the first step was empirically examining the effectiveness of such a PD using quantitative methods. We then examined which adaptations were made in the imported PD and at…

Through a sense-making lens, this qualitative study explores high school principals' considerations while they perceive and enact additional resources within a national reform implementation. Principals' allocation of resources, especially as part of a national reform, is a complex matter for schools' effectiveness in an era of accountability.…

Education policies are rarely implemented as they have been written or planned. Instead, school principals interpret and apply these policies according to their professional role identity and sensemaking. This study highlights the importance of the micro-institutional context. Specifically, it addresses the professional role identity and…