A growing body of literature has highlighted the affordances of distributive forms of instructional leadership as a means to broaden and deepen instructional leadership capacity within schools. Yet, specifically how the capabilities of such key leaders as high school department chairs can be fostered to realize enhanced instructional capacity…

This instrumental case study explored how five newly appointed superintendents identified key stakeholders and built trust and social capital with stakeholders in their districts. Stakeholder, trust, and social capital theory were the lenses that guided this study. We utilized a pragmatic research design and thematic data analysis to interpret our…

This paper presents a case study where twelve graduate students undertook the demanding role of the adaptive e-course developer and worked collaboratively on an authentic and complex design task in the context of open and distance tertiary education. The students had to work in groups in order to conceptualise and design a learning scenario for…

The provision and maintenance of quality teachers is a matter of priority for the profession. Moreover, teacher attrition is costly to the profession, to the community and to those teachers who leave feeling disillusioned. There is a need to investigate the experiences of early career teachers to consider how these issues contribute to decisions…

Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

This article presents a mixed-method study utilizing teacher ratings of principal mindfulness from 149 public schools in Texas and follow-up qualitative data analysis through semi-structured interviews conducted with the top 10 percent of princeipals identified as mindful. This research is based on the theoretical framework of mindfulness as…

Literature shows that feedback that is specific, immediate and goal-oriented is effective on (pre-service) teachers' performance. Synchronous coaching gives this kind of feedback. Due to immediateness of feedback, pre-service teachers can suffer from cognitive load. We propose a set of standardised keywords through which this performance feedback…

In this paper, we present an analysis of the implementation of measures of attention to diversity for students with special educational support needs studying Compulsory Secondary Education (12-16 years) in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Our aim is to learn about the organisational and curricular structures implemented in five secondary education…

This dissertation's purpose was to better understand how messages received through different cultural mediums influences the development of social success skills. Black male students were chosen as the focal participants for this year-long study because they are included among the groups whose social success skills development are thought to…

A major concern in the public schools is the low academic achievement of African American males. This mixed methods study examined the classroom experiences of African American male students in an alternative program. The dual purpose was to investigate the teachers' perceptions and their ability to provide best learning environments for…

There has been a sharp rise in study abroad participation over the last few decades (Institute for International Education, 2011), which can largely be explained by the rise of short-term study abroad programs. While there is much to be gained from participation in such programs, mid-length and year programs may offer the greatest benefits for…

In recent years, virtual learning environments (VLEs) or course management systems (CMSs) have become commonplace in European higher education as well as making inroads into primary and secondary schools. VLEs such as "Moodle," "Blackboard" and "It's Learning" offer educational institutions standardised packages in…

There is a critical need, according to national policy statements in the United States, to integrate information and communication technologies into instruction, and yet research about the effect of such integration on the literacy learning of at-risk populations is scant. In addition, barriers exist that prevent teachers from realizing the goal…

This article reports a mixed-method research probing the effect of utilizing a blog-buddy system on English for academic purposes learners' writing performance. Sixty Iranian undergraduate engineering students at Iran University of Science and Technology Virtual Campus participated in this study. Our analysis of the students' writings indicated…

This qualitative case study explored factors that have influenced literacy success of Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) students in the low-income, poverty stricken Delta Region of Arkansas. The study examined progress made since implementation of the KIPP Program and the influence the program had made upon student achievement in literacy at the…