This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of two high school teachers who approach their work as reflective practitioners, capable of thinking deeply about systemic issues and teachers' work lives. Our research questions included: 1) how do the conditions of schooling influence an intellectual approach to teachers' work?; 2) how do…

This study examines policy discourse surrounding a policy process to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the most significant federal policy concerning higher education, a decade following the previous reauthorization. Guided by the theory of social construction and policy design, we draw on data from 14 hours of deliberation in a congressional…

There are numerous benefits to sport participation among children and adolescents and coaches play a significant role in getting youth, especially girls, involved in sports and continuing participation in sports. Despite the advances of girls and women in sport participation since Title IX, the majority of youth sport coaches are men. Female…

Recent union-supported teachers' walkouts and strikes across several U.S. states and cities highlighted union-led and grassroots efforts to amplify teachers' voices. Yet, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, "Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31," provides a strength test for teachers' unions and members engaging in social justice/equity work…

In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education granted states the opportunity to apply for waivers from the core requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. In exchange, many states implemented systems of differentiated accountability that included a focus on schools with the largest achievement gaps between subgroups of students. We use…

Assistive technology (AT) was recognized by Congress as a viable need for people with disabilities when it passed the Tech Act in 1988. The legislation, which was reauthorized in 1994, has resulted in numerous programs and services that have helped people with disabilities access and use AT devices. The Tech Act's implications for people with…

There were two purposes for this transformative mixed method study with an advocacy lens: to examine (1) the implementation of community school programming in a racially and ethnically diverse, high-poverty urban school and (2) the impact of implementation on student achievement. In-depth interviews, along with achievement data from two cohorts of…

The authors offer a set of recommendations for the next Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization. They recommend changes to the assessment, accountability and Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) as well as for a federally-supported research and evaluation…

A major new financial phenomenon has appeared within the social services arena, with corresponding legislation poised to change how social services are delivered and who delivers them. While different programs use different terms--including, for example, Pay for Success (PFS) or Results-Based Financing (RBF)--the umbrella term encompassing all…

The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) and MHEC were awarded a competitive grant from the American Institutes for Research in 2019 as part of its National Research Collaborative on Postsecondary Competency-based Education and Learning (cberesearch.org). The grant objective was to specifically identify state policies…

In this policy brief Title II of ESSA is examined. Title II of ESSA includes provisions for developing high quality principals. This brief elaborates two strategies the federal government can employ under Title II to support principal quality: (1) competitive grants; and (2) monitoring return on investment.

This mixed-methods research examined the experiences of occupational burnout among Title IX coordinators at higher education institutions in Pennsylvania as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and by open-ended interviews with a subset of the Inventory respondents. Statistical analysis (35% response rate) indicated that Title IX…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is urged to submit a report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2021, with information on the reviewed areas and recommendations on how to streamline the school data reporting and collecting systems of the State of Illinois. ISBE supports more than 200 software applications that were created in…

Special education students are entitled to receive accommodations stipulated in their individualized education program (IEP) based on the individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA) (14 Delaware Code, §310, 2016). Although IDEA regulation does not define accommodations, accommodations are embedded within the students' IEP to provide them an…

Data estimates 11.2% of college students experience sexual assault at some point during their postsecondary education. The prevalence of this issue and the resulting impact on students' lives and educational outcomes highlights the importance of examining the role of federal, state and institutional action in preventing and addressing issues of…