Through an in-depth, multi-case study of five schools and forty-seven teachers, I examine how teacher commitment to students plays out under conditions of socioeconomic adversity in elementary and middle schools. Relying on different sources of literature, I theorize that commitment is the degree of educators' determination to respond to student…

Federal policies and interventions generated to improve teaching and learning continue to place considerable pressures on public school leaders to achieve challenging goals. Educational leaders and policymakers are increasingly focused on sustainable organizational change in schools; particularly those identified as high poverty, Title I schools.…

Black and Latinx adolescent boys from economically stratified communities face pervasive societal inequities and, therefore, deserve more responsive school supports to determine and actualize postsecondary pathways. For insights into how such students conceptualize their futures and their school's role in facilitating this process, this…

Through colonialism, external forces can alter and shift social structures and practices. It causes trans-generational, often normalized, invisible, and profound marginalization of the collective identities of local and indigenous populations. Decolonization is the resisting and undoing of colonial impacts. It's the process of reforming a…

U.S. students have lost significant learning in mathematics and other subjects since the start of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020. The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics scores for students in grades 4 and 8 reflected record declines; the largest decreases were for students experiencing…

Investigating disadvantaged children is a priority area concerning education and health. However, little attention has been paid to pandemic-specific research in recent years. In the present study, we aim to explore the attitudes toward distance education in a sample (N = 305) of 7-8th grade students studying in disadvantaged settlements…

In this paper we analyze the extent to which a mandated kindergarten assessment predicts 3rd grade outcomes, and the academic progression for students from 3rd grade to high school. We find that the kindergarten assessment strongly predicts 3rd grade outcomes, with the math skills assessment being especially predictive of 3rd grade academic…

Rural students often face challenges in receiving high-quality education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Yet without meaningful STEM educational opportunities, rural students might not develop the knowledge and skills needed to compete in a technology-driven workforce. The Learning by Making program (LbyM), an innovative…

Raising and educating children is always about their future. We want to give them the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in the world of work, build positive relationships with other people and find personal happiness. To achieve this goal, we must ask ourselves: How will today's children live in 20 or 40 years? What kind of world…

The purpose of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and Head Start Collaborative programs is to share the responsibility for closing the achievement gap between economically-disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers. HISD collaborates with the following four Head Start agencies: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. (AVANCE), Gulf Coast…

This paper explores the impact of an action research intervention to support primary aged children's confidence as writers. Set in a school where few children (the majority of whom had English as an additional language) were performing at or beyond national expectations in terms of writing, the intervention looked at how to engage children more…

This 5-year mathematics professional development project involves 27 elementary teachers prepared and supported as Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) in high-need urban schools. They complete a university's K-5 Mathematics and Teacher Supporting & Coaching Endorsement programs and participate in Professional Learning Communities and…

This report summarizes the results of the AISD CTE Program Analysis Scorecard for the 2020-2021 school year. The CTE Program Analysis Scorecard results focus on three components of program outcomes: (a) program alignment, (b) quality of instruction, and (c) access and equity. Program outcomes provide information about program effectiveness and…

This analysis explores the ways in which the digital measures taken by Ecuador's MINEDUC affected the access and quality of education in Ecuador, as well as impacts of these changes on existing socioeconomic gaps in the country. The exploratory study was based on two semi-structured interviews, one with an educational practitioner and one with a…

Despite suspicions concerning the global expansion of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) education, the teaching of Chinese is often a mainstay within global citizenship and elite education. With this paradox in mind, the paper draws on theories of classed selfhood and learner identities to explore the possibilities of CFL to influence the…