This quantitative dissertation aims to describe and compare the perception of special education teachers' self-efficacy amid the COVID-19 pandemic using the practice of distance and their self-efficacy pre-pandemic using face-to-face instruction and describe the perceived valuable supports teachers received from educational leaders during the…

Research has shown that inclusive practices are an ever-evolving component of special education services, which increases the need for regular education teachers' pedagogical approaches. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to understand how general education teachers describe their competence, self-efficacy and attitudes towards…

This essay recounts efforts to teach liberal arts to engineering, nursing, pharmacy, and pre-medicine majors. Showing how various forms of public media reinforce harmful ideologies about social identities in the United States serves as a convergence between preprofessional disciplines and the liberal arts. At the same time, City as Text™ offers…

Inclusive opportunities for students with extensive support needs are a predictor of both in school and post-school outcomes; however, successful inclusion must consider how student learning needs and evidence-based practices are incorporated. Potential exists to align evidence-based instruction for students with extensive support needs utilizing…

Diversity and inclusion are well regarded as beneficial and advantageous for communities, organizations, institutions, and societies. Equity or fairness is commonly understood as necessary for democracy. Public perception about what institutions can and should be doing to advance diversity, equity and inclusion, (DEI), continues to change as…

Proponents of social justice and equity in higher education declare a need to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices into curricula, student support services, hiring practices and professional development, as well as system-wide mechanisms for students, faculty, and staff of color to better care for and retain an increasingly…

There is a significant relationship between the professional development that teachers receive and student academic achievement. It is evident that knowledgeable teachers have a powerful impact on student success. Many general and special education teachers enter the education field and are assigned to teach in inclusive classrooms with very…

This research examined the experiences and self-efficacy of general education beginning teachers within their first three years leading in the classroom. Supported by the work of Bandura (1977, 1997) on teacher self-efficacy and Noddings (2013) on the ethic of care, this qualitative case study implemented semi-structured interviews to gather data…

Teacher preparation programs are varied in their approach to preparing teachers for the realities of the classroom, particularly when working with special population students. School districts and leaders utilize mentoring and professional development opportunities to help teachers bridge the knowledge and skills gap between what they learned in…

The current health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic not only had a global impact, it also exacerbated the inequalities experienced by students of diverse backgrounds in the United States. Implementing inclusive and anti-racist pedagogical practices has gained a heightened and overdue sense of urgency, especially during the period of…

There has been intense debate about student engagement and student voice in Higher Education Institutions in the past decade or so. Most of the discussion has been theoretical or based on a cause-and-effect research design. With the aim of gathering student perspectives on student voice and its related mechanisms, this study collected the voice of…

On December 13, 2022, the Early Learning Network Forum, "Equitable and Effective Early Learning Opportunities: Research, Practice and Considerations," was hosted in partnership with the Institute of Education Sciences. More than 100 stakeholders joined network members for the daylong virtual event, including practitioners, policymakers,…

This article approaches the problem of underrepresentation of women and marginalized ethnic groups in the computer science fields from a developmental learning perspective. It proposes that systemic social barriers need to be addressed to overcome the bias toward women in the technological fields. The article surmises that even though stereotypes…

Although undergraduate (UG) computer science (CS) programs are increasingly engaged in diversification efforts, this work is rarely critically informed or assessed. We conducted a qualitative secondary analysis of interviews with 55 campus leaders at four U.S. institutions of higher education, to examine how diversity initiatives broadened the…

Western countries have placed a lot of importance on school inclusion policies in the last decade. Strong promotion of these policies encourages teachers to express egalitarian attitudes and behaviours towards all students. However, at the same time teachers may experience feelings of discomfort because of perceived difficulties and powerlessness…