Background: Efforts to promote reform-based instruction have overlooked the import of affect in teacher learning. Drawing on prior work, I argue that teachers' affective experiences in the discipline are integral to their learning how to teach the discipline. Moreover, I suggest that both affective and epistemological aspects of teachers'…

Students with non-apparent, high-incidence disabilities encounter barriers in postsecondary STEM learning environments. These barriers negatively influence their success therein. Using Fishkin's (2014) theory of bottlenecks within opportunity structures, data from 16 qualitative interviews show how barriers encountered serve to constrain the…

Community colleges are viewed as essential in the preparation of skilled science professionals in the U.S., and research regarding instructor impacts on student attitudes toward science are timely and relevant. This study explored specific instructor characteristics and pedagogical behaviors and their influence student engagement, confidence, and…

Controversial issues characterise life in democratic societies and they often arise unexpectedly in the classroom, without being planned for by the teacher. However, controversial issues are rarely addressed beyond a mandatory curriculum and are often avoided. The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate what teachers identify and address…

The present study explores the effect of perceived teacher support on three forms of thinking related to creativity. Tests of convergent thinking (by means of the Remote Associates Test), insight thinking (explored through a brain-teaser test), and divergent thinking (by means of a verbal creativity test) were given to 512 middle school students…

In the current study, we applied self-determination theory to explore a potential explanation for how instructors' intellectually stimulating behaviors might influence student motivation. Undergraduate student participants (N = 418) responded to a questionnaire regarding their instructors' teaching behaviors and perceptions of their own of…

This 5-year, longitudinal, multimethod qualitative case study draws on data from the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project examining a comprehensive college transition and success program called Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC) that serves low-income college students, many of whom are first-generation and racially…

Enrollment rates for student with disabilities in higher education continue to rise, particularly in 2-year colleges, but graduation rates have not kept pace due to barriers not addressed by traditional disability supports (Black et al., 2014; NCES, 2019; Smedema et al., 2015). Inclusive instruction is a low-cost, high-impact solution that can be…

In sub-Saharan Africa, the loss of teaching hours due to teacher absenteeism corresponds to a waste of approximately 46 cents for every US dollar invested in education, an annual wastage of 1-3% of GDP. This brief summarizes the results of research in 11 countries in West and Central Africa under the Time to Teach study, a project in UNICEF that…

This qualitative study is designed to illuminate the factors that drive motivation and academic confidence in adult learners and how these factors influence their desire to persist in Adult Basic Education programs. Specifically, it interrogates the classroom environment and identifies teacher behaviors and other elements that may influence…

An ethic of care is central to the role of teaching and educational outcomes. Many Kindergarten-College institutions have "developing caring students or teachers" as a primary goal in their mission or vision statements. However, teachers need to know how to care. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the behaviors that…

Nomophobia is "the fear of being unable to use one's mobile phone or being unreachable through one's mobile phone" (Yildirim & Correia, 2015, p. 1323). A sample of 161 professional teachers from accredited private schools in Kansas and Missouri was utilized to measure levels of nomophobia and differences based on teachers' gender,…

Early childhood education is the decisive period of a student's life experience where the foundations for lifelong learning are laid. A dynamic interplay of individual and collective experiences unfolds within its organized environment, fostering holistic growth, development, and the safeguarding of young minds. The significance of these formative…

Concealable stigmatized identities (CSIs) are identities that can be kept hidden and carry negative stereotypes. To understand the potential influence instructors have as role models, we must first explore the identities instructors have and whether they disclose those identities to undergraduates. We surveyed national samples of science…

Literacy is an important foundation skill which is central to success in any learning area. The existence of gender differences in literacy is therefore of major concern and has spurred a large amount of research. In spite of the extant literature regarding boys' language literacy underachievement, the topic has not yet become outdated. Gender…