The efficiency of the education systems fundamentally depends on the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms, workshops, laboratories, and other educational spaces. Perfect teachers, well-designed courses, and proper facilities, provision of necessary resources are required for an excellent education, but not enough. This study aims to…

Apprenticeships exist in many sectors to help businesses develop highly skilled employees, reduce turnover rates, diversify the workforce, and lower recruitment costs through a structured process of professional development and internal promotion. In cooperation with states, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversees the nation's apprenticeship…

There is a national shortage of highly qualified early childhood educators. For many early childhood educators, this career path begins with the Child Development Associate credential. Community colleges are well-positioned to award this credential and address the shortage of highly qualified early childhood educators. However, many students…

The purpose of this research study, which employed a quantitative research design, was to determine if there was a difference in the grades achieved by students who were enrolled in an entry-level Foundations of Education course using Open Educational Resources (OER) versus the grades achieved by students who used textbooks in other course…

This study, positioned within a Community of Practice (CoP) theoretical framework, examined the way in which a content-based peer feedback writing intervention contributed to community college students' feelings of belongingness. Participants engaged in either a content-based peer feedback writing intervention or a teacher-guided self-edit.…

Inclusion means that students with disabilities have access to high-quality and effective instruction, as well as specialized services as needed, within least restrictive environments. We believe there are no limits on who can or should participate in and benefit from inclusion and we were interested in perceptions resulting from professional…

This work explores mentoring triad relationships between pre-service teachers, school-based cooperating teachers, and professors at a community college. Using cultural historical activity theory, we provide a retrospective analysis of the factors influencing the success of the mentoring relationships. We assessed 60 mentoring triads with a rubric…

Each year, the Rennie Center collects a set of key indicators in the Data Dashboard to provide context on the status of education in the Commonwealth. This data is collected from the MA Department of Early Education and Care; MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; MA Department of Higher Education; U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department…

The purpose of this study was to assess self- efficacy beliefs of students in early childhood education movement practicum courses offered in Northeastern Ohio higher educational institutions. The sample population consisted of early childhood education students from four higher educational institutions (two community colleges and two…

This report has been prepared to document the in-person instruction practices developed and implemented by colleges during the pandemic. The report is intended to provide assistance to California community colleges in planning for continuity of instruction when fully returning to in-person instruction for career and technical education (CTE)…

Teacher research has been included in university and graduate teacher education programs for the past 2 decades. Recently, associate degree programs have also begun to engage their students in teacher research. What happens when community college early childhood students conduct teacher research as a course assignment? This study involved 8 former…

The Mathematical Development Beliefs Survey was developed to measure early childhood teachers' beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning in the preschool classroom. This instrument was designed to measure beliefs concerning (a) age-appropriateness of mathematics instruction, (b) classroom locus of generation of mathematical knowledge…

The field of early care and education has been challenged to raise the level of quality for young children by increasing the number of practitioners with college degrees. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of early care and education professionals working in the field and enrolled in community college early childhood classes,…

Community colleges in the United States serve as social, cultural, and intellectual hubs that take the role as gatekeepers by committing to opening up the doors of opportunity to the public (Vaughan, 2006). Community colleges prepare their students for the workforce by providing credit or non-credit courses, certifications, or degrees. Depending…

The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The 2019 Condition of Education report presents 48 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international…