Over the past decade, Illinois has emerged as a national exemplar of how state policy can drive systemic change in civics education. The Illinois Civic Mission Coalition, a pan-ideological alliance of educators, policymakers, and civic organizations, has shaped the state's civics education vision. The coalition built a scalable infrastructure of…

Background: Recent research has increasingly focused on the role of teachers' empathy in classrooms. However, due to the inconsistencies observed in its conceptualization and assessment, whether this competence is key for effective teaching remains unknown. Grounding empathy research on previous approaches to the understanding of emotions, such as…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of secondary-level music teachers and students when teachers implemented cultural identity affirming activities for their culturally diverse students. The method of this qualitative study was a phenomenological interview design. Teachers (n = 2) and students (n = 6) were selected from a…

Dual enrollment is a key student success strategy for Louisiana, signaling that college can be for everyone. Whether the courses are academic or technical in nature, dual enrollment allows students to "try" a college course experience while in high school. Serving as a bridge between high school and college, dual enrollment makes higher…

This study investigates the impact of the 2018 immigration raid at Load Trail LLC, a trailer manufacturing company in Sumner, Texas. It analyzes the raid's severe and enduring effects on the postsecondary pathways of students in the surrounding areas. Situated within the broader discourse on legal vulnerability, this research highlights how…

Tobacco use is a leading preventable cause of disease in the U.S. Rural youth have higher initiation rates and greater risk for tobacco use. Due to high prevalence patterns, it is important to examine the effectiveness of antitobacco messaging among rural youth populations. This study contributes to the paucity of studies investigating the…

Our study explored 250 international teachers' definitions of the English-language literary canon. Questionnaire respondents defined the literary canon, rated the aesthetic value of 22 prose texts, and gave the 22 texts a "canon rating" to indicate the extent to which they thought the text was canonical. We found that teachers find some…

In the United States, the Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) has emerged as a state-level policy innovation to recognize high school graduates who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages. Just after the state of South Dakota passed the 50th and final state SoBL policy in 2024, Aguirre and Chou (2024) released the national SoBL report to detail the…

As reported in the first State of the American Student report in 2022 (ED623504), pandemic school closures led to unprecedented academic setbacks for American students. They exacerbated preexisting inequalities and accelerated the youth mental health crisis. The second edition provides basic data on the overall system, but focuses especially on…

A growing body of research has investigated how school staff attitudes and beliefs towards immigrant students play a crucial role in their process of integration. However, the literature has consistently focused on the effects of teachers' beliefs on immigrant students' academic achievements, omitting other factors such as the effect on students'…

This article uses a framework that combines LatCrit theory, racist nativism, and liberating pedagogy of praxis (LPP) to examine how a community youth program's LPP practices countered the racist nativism Latinx youth experience in their high school. LPP practices challenged racist nativism by creating a space where Latinx youth faced each other in…

Living and learning in the United States in 2023 is different than it was decades ago. The proliferation of mis/disinformation vis-a-vis digital means is causing "truth decay," with an increase in disagreement amongst citizens about what is opinion and fact. Such disagreements constrain opportunities for healthy democratic dialogue. To…

Purpose: This article illustrates the transformational nature of servant leadership and its capacity to empower and develop others. In it, I recount my close relationship with a high school mentor who embodied the key tenants of Greenleaf's (1970) servant leadership philosophy. I also advocate for others to provide mentorship and support in a…

The problem that was addressed in this study was that Title I high school teachers, in Southeastern Michigan, are unclear about how to accommodate their students, who experience parental incarceration and without the intervention of appropriate strategies, these students face a high risk of never completing their high school education and a high…

This article intends to add to the rising discussion related to the employment of authentic plays and drama within a high school compulsory curriculum for enhancing learners' foreign language (L2) oral skills. In particular, it examines the pedagogical use of authentic contemporary plays for developing learners' L2 oral production in terms of (1)…