Do white teachers learn racial competency from their Black peers? We answer this question using a mixed-methods approach. Longitudinal administrative data from North Carolina show that having a Black same-grade peer significantly improves the achievement and reduces the suspension rates of white teachers' Black students. Open-ended interviews of…

High teacher turnover rates and less students entering into the teacher preparation programs has increased the need to better prepare and retain beginning teachers. The purpose of this mixed methods inquiry is to focus on the effect of Culturally Responsive Teaching professional development on beginning teacher self-efficacy relative to African…

Teachers are the most important school-related factor impacting students' academic outcomes. To meet the needs and potential of all students, North Carolina must be able to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. North Carolina continues to experience challenges with vacancies and positions filled with teachers who are not fully certified in…

Access to high-quality teachers in K-12 schools differs systematically by racial group. This policy brief reviews the academic research documenting these differences and the labor market forces and segregation patterns that solidify them. It also presents new analysis of differential exposure in North Carolina of white, black, and Hispanic…

This qualitative instrumental case study was designed to examine secondary teachers' perspectives of North Carolina's school-based mental health policy, known as SHLT003, which mandates all educators be trained in identifying, referring, and supporting, students showing signs of mental health issues, drug use, suicidal ideation, and sex…

This paper investigates how teachers learn about race in the school context, with a particular focus on teachers' development of racial competency. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews we find that teachers learn through three sources: from their peers, from years of experience, and from teacher preparation and in-service experiences.…

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require supports and services designed to meet their unique needs. Research has identified 27 evidence-based practices (EBPs) for children ages birth to 5 years. However, there is a paucity of research that examines whether early childhood providers are implementing EBPs with children with ASD. In…

In-service K-12 teachers require preparation and support to conceptualize and incorporate global competence into their classroom teaching practices. The state of North Carolina created a state-wide framework for such professional development: the Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB). The GEDB focuses on developing knowledge and practices of…

Social studies instructional time in elementary schools has declined substantially. Responding to this, the National Geographic Society (NGS) developed a professional learning program called the Elementary Social Studies Community of Practice (ESSCoP). This article describes this program's design and content, as well as evaluates its…

In response to national and state emphasis implementing digital technologies in the K-12 classroom, the North Carolina (NC) state board of education approved the integration of the Digital Learning Competencies for Teachers (DLCT) and the Digital Learning Competencies for School Administrators (DLCSA) for schools statewide. DLCSA support school…

A teacher shortage continues to plague the SBAE profession. While this shortage has been quantified and explored from the perspective of individual teachers, little research has taken a systemic approach to the problem of the SBAE teacher shortage. We posit the teacher shortage problem as inextricably linked to a convoluted job description and…

This qualitative investigation of a rural North Carolina elementary school aimed at discovering teacher perceptions of technology and its value in improving classroom teaching and learning. It also examined the barriers perceived by the teachers, which discouraged them from using technology in the classroom. The researcher conducted a qualitative…

We document that recent generations of elementary school teachers are significantly more effective in raising student test scores than those from earlier generations. Measuring teachers' value-added for Black and white students separately, the improvements in teaching for Black students are significantly larger than those seen for white students.…

Empirical evidence has repeatedly shown a positive association between students' academic achievement and teacher experience (Kini & Podolsky, 2016; Cardichon et al., 2020) or teacher preparation (Podolsky et al., 2019; Cardichon et al., 2020). However, year after year, students from low-income and minoritized communities are perpetually…

As in other highly skilled careers, licensure requirements were put in place to ensure that candidates that enter the teaching profession are competent and effective. Unfortunately, licensure requirements can change from year to year and vary depending on the subject area in which a candidate plans to teach, making the pathway to obtaining full…