Over the past 25 years charter school policies have spread through the United States at a rapid pace. However, despite this rapid growth these policies have spread unevenly across the country with important variations in how charter school systems function in each state. Drawing on case studies in Michigan and Oregon, this article argues that…

The study explores the role of emotional intelligence in community college leaders using a case study design with mixed-methods, including quantitative and qualitative data. Twenty-one leaders among three cases participated in the study, each completing the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and participating in…

This research examines the specialized knowledge of reading comprehension articulated by 12 middle school English language arts teachers sampled from three different regions of the United States and representing various levels of teaching experience. Using detailed interviews, concept mapping, and think aloud methods, we identified salient…

This study explores the lived experiences of 10 students entering college from rural Oregon communities. Using narrative inquiry, the author examines students' transition, common experiences, and enrollment barriers. Resulting themes include: (a) unexpected emotional and social transition, (b) motivations for enrolling, (c) lack of social and…

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards has posed a number of challenges for school leaders. This study applies a policy implementation conceptual framework to analyze data gathered from 46 interviews in six states. Findings suggest the existence of multiple barriers to Common Core State Standards implementation. To promote…

This qualitative study explored the leadership development outcomes associated with specific experiences in a one-year, intensive leadership development program at a large northwest research university. Students highlighted three programmatic experiences for their effectiveness: (a) faculty mentoring, (b) participation in a weekly seminar, and (c)…

Servant leadership is a leadership model modernized by Robert Greenleaf (1970) that emphasizes the need to prioritize the highest order needs of others above self. Although recent research suggests that the model is gaining popularity and is practiced by many successful leaders in a variety of occupational sectors, a gap in substitutive research…

Oregon's postsecondary attainment goal for 2025, adopted in 2011, calls for 40 percent of Oregon adults to have a bachelor's degree or higher, 40 percent to have an associate's degree or postsecondary certificate, and the remaining 20 percent to have a high school diploma or equivalent (S. 253, Or. 2011). As in other states a central strategy for…

Teacher educators have an obligation to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions necessary to promote a socially just world. Yet the results of this study uncovered that the majority of elementary preservice teachers in a national sample (N = 846) have a simplistic perception of good citizenship consistent with what Westheimer…

Many layers of education governance press upon U.S. schools, so we separated state actors into those internal to and those external to the system. In the process, we unpacked the traditional state-local dichotomy. Using interview data (n = 45) from six case-study states, we analyzed local leaders', state-internal actors', and state-external…

As cyberschooling options expand, it is vital that we understand the nuances of these particular learning opportunities. Because little research exists on leaders of K-12 cyberschools, this exploratory case study had two purposes. We first examined how 18 cyberschool leaders in the United States obtained their position. Second, we explored the…

Primary caregivers' beliefs often influence their experiences of providing care to children with disabilities. This exploratory study qualitatively probed the meanings that five Korean immigrant mothers attributed to the unanticipated responsibility of parenting children with autism spectrum disorders and communication disorders. From a symbolic…

This study examines the factors that influence the participation and self-management of U.S. intercollegiate athletic coaches in professional development experiences. The qualitative study is guided by theoretical considerations about self-directed adult learning as well as emerging concepts regarding the preparation of coaches for an increasingly…

Increasing recognition of the role of social conditions in health has led to calls for methods that can be used to change social conditions. Popular education has demonstrated great promise as a methodology that can be used to address the underlying social and structural determinants of health. To date, most studies of popular education have used…

Our objective was to obtain an in-depth understanding of autistic adults' experiences with healthcare and their recommendations for improving care. Our academic-community partnership used a community-based participatory research approach to conduct semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 39 autistic adults and 16 people who had experience…