Research Findings: Cultural differences emerge in the home literacy environment and the nature of shared book-reading (SBR), yet the impact of culture on parents' book selection remains unexplored, despite the centrality of the book in SBR. Parents in Spain (n = 132) and Israel (n = 123), two Western countries with different cultural patterns,…

This paper seeks to explain the migration decisions of minority language speakers by investigating motivating factors. Viewed through a language planning lens, the study pushes the parameters of some of the discipline's more recent agency concepts within the context of migration. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 Welsh speakers…

Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society provides a balanced examination of contemporary issues, how they are reflected in schools, and their impact on students. It emphasizes the importance of building on the experiences of students to help them achieve optimal learning. Features in each chapter illustrate how concepts and events play out…

Ongoing worldwide crises have imposed profound challenges on school leaders. Principals face increasing pressure to understand and address the multifaceted needs of their communities. However, traditional paradigms often isolate principals by emphasizing individualism, patriarchy, and management, thus maintaining separation between school leaders…

This dissertation examines the impact of the Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability for the Children of New Jersey (TEACHNJ) Act on teacher tenure revocation in New Jersey. Employing a qualitative content analysis approach, the study analyzes 270 arbitration decisions from 2012 to 2023 to identify the specific legislative provisions that most…

The modeling of a modern preschool curriculum is contextually conditioned and represents a complex process. Each kindergarten has its "own identity," its "DNA," just as children, preschool teachers and other participants in the educational process have their "own individual equations." Contextual learning is at the…

The last three decades have seen significant development in understanding and describing the effects of task complexity on learner internal processes. However, researchers have primarily employed behavioral methods to investigate task-generated cognitive load. Being the first to adopt neuroimaging to study second language (L2) task effects, we…

There is a gap in educational research regarding teachers' narratives of teaching in diverse classrooms, especially in East Africa. It is essential to investigate teachers' beliefs and perspectives because these are strong indicators of their planning, instructional decisions, and classroom practices and can also frame their perception of…

Blind youth have reported unfavorable PE experiences, however, are optimistic that positive changes could be made. Despite recommendations to involve students in learning decisions, those made for teaching blind youth in PE have largely been constructed from non-disabled adults. This dissertation used a participatory research method and positioned…

Writing is an essential life skill. It is a critical area of literacy instruction and high-stakes assessments. However, emphasis on writing instruction and assessment has not correlated with widespread writing proficiency. Within this context, teachers experience the phenomenon of writing instructional leadership. Teachers' preparation as writers…

In 2017 Purdue evGrand Prix hired a K-12 Indiana public educator (the author) to write instructional material that could be implemented into participating teams' high school science and engineering classrooms. The goal was to create science-based integrated STEM learning experiences that complement the construction and racing of a 48-volt electric…

A growing body of literature seeks to challenge the deficit-oriented narratives around Black students in mathematics by exploring the perspectives and experiences of successful Black students and professionals in the field--in doing so, aiming to provide counternarratives to the dominant discourse that center their participants' voices, as well as…

When looking at large, urban school districts across America, one may observe many common issues that act as limitations for students. However, when taking a closer look at the data, each district and school has unique barriers that impact students and families. This study focuses on Buffalo City School District (BCSD), the second largest school…

High rates of teacher turnover and attrition (Diliberti & Schwartz, 2023), coupled by declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs (Partelowe, 2019) have created teacher vacancies and shortages in public schools across the nation (Darling-Hammond et al., 2023). Teacher turnover and attrition negatively impact student growth and…

People need access to data to make decisions about post-high school experiences, including postsecondary education. Policymakers need to better understand how financial circumstances relate to college enrollment and completion. And students and their families need information about how much financial aid they may have access to for financing their…