This paper provides three case studies of initiatives developed to improve educational opportunities in vulnerable urban communities. The cities in the three countries involved, Australia, the United States, and Spain, are different in many ways; however, each has persistent and entrenched inequalities between the educational opportunities and…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: What changes in central office systems are likely to support principals in leading for…

School leadership is a key component of successful school environments and academic performance strategies. Among school-related factors, school leadership is second to teaching in its impact on student learning. In addition, research shows that strong leaders contribute significantly to successful school turnaround. To ensure that school leaders…

Recent policy efforts in early care and education (ECE) have aimed to ensure that all children have access to high-quality ECE programming. However, there is debate about how to most effectively improve ECE quality at scale. The three papers in this dissertation provide new insights into the impacts of two widely-used policies aimed at improving…

In their review of the students-as-partners literature, Mercer-Mapstone et al. (2017) found that only 5-6% of published research articles on student-partnership models focused on multidisciplinary partnerships. This case study, authored by five undergraduate students and two academics, sought to examine the utility of using a multidisciplinary…

As a form of teacher professional development, districts and schools are turning to an instructional coaching model for teacher learning, growth, and support. To date, however, few have sought to identify the specific characteristics and conditions that contribute to the success of the instructional coach, particularly in terms of the principal…

This conceptual article deals with components and concepts of transformative learning, emphasizing the organization-level perspective on critical reflection. The discussion leans on the concept of transformative authorship and it is argued that it enables authoring processes through which professionals can recognize and recreate their routinized…

Positive education is the teaching of both traditional school skills and skills for enhancing well-being. This study examines teachers' (N = 72) experiences with training in positive education.Qualitative content analysis was used to provide an in-depth understanding of the experiences, and quantitative measures investigated teachers' well-being.…

Professional learning (PL) opportunities are essential for PreK-12 literacy educators, but too often these efforts fail to help teachers develop and deeply engage with their work. This forward-looking book describes keys to providing effective, sustainable literacy PL that values teachers over test scores and capitalizes on social networks and…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between "wellness factors" and "psychological factors" on perceived stress among Licensed Professional Counselors. This study was concerned with the predictability of "wellness factors", specifically self-care, other-care, and "psychological…

In this action research study, I explored and developed a means to address the challenge of developing, supporting, and retaining effective elementary school principals skilled in instructional leadership and serving in historically marginalized communities. Evidence from the research literature and earlier action research cycles indicated…

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to examine whether the remote teaching experience of instructors in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic has improved after one year. Design/methodology/approach: The study involved 75 instructors teaching at an institution of higher education in Israel, who answered twice (once in 2020 and again in…

Higher education institutions prepare future faculty members for multiple roles, including teaching. However, teaching professional development programs for graduate students vary widely. We present evaluation data from a high engagement program for STEM doctoral students. We analyzed the impact on three cohorts of participants over three academic…

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Self-directed Learning readiness and Metacognition of undergraduate students nurses and midwifery. The research is conducted in a public university in the city center of Amasya with 398 undergraduate nursing and midwifery students in 2017-2018 academic years. A descriptive…

This reflective "Perspectives" article will give readers some insight into the professional self-development experiences of an English as a second language (ESL) practitioner after she recognized a significant shift in learning and teaching paradigms resulting from instructional tools available on the World Wide Web. It also attempts to…