When COVID-19 paralyzed national state of health, the Malaysian government enforced the Movement Control Order to flatten the curve of spreading the virus. Although home-based learning is perceived as the best solution, the realities concerning Internet and electronic access remains a challenge to many, including teachers. This can be observed…

Reforms in STEM education call for reframing teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by focusing on development of students' knowledge and scientific literacy through socioscientific issues (Lee, 2016; Zeidler, 2016; Johnson et al., 2022). We developed a two-year professional development (PD) for 6-12th grade STEM teachers that embedded SSI…

Many empirical studies have established that financial aid improves college attainment. Few have been able to test why. This study used administrative records of employment and earnings to get a more complete picture of students' finances during college and test one potential mechanism, that financial aid buys students time by allowing them to…

E-learning was a vital tool for education during the global lockdown, as it was the only alternative for billions of students worldwide to continue learning amid the COVID-19 crisis. However, despite the importance and relevance of E-learning, there is a significant lack of studies that examine E-learning success under heterogeneity effects, such…

As publicly funded private school tuition systems have expanded, independent research has documented their negative outcomes. However, the prevalence of the programs continues to grow. This brief summarizes the research evidence about vouchers and identifies three areas of policy design that are especially important for student success and a…

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly ubiquitous in society, conversational agents such as Siri, Alexa, and ChatGPT are shaping the experiences of younger generations. However, these young users often lack opportunities to learn about the inner workings of these AI technologies. One way to foster such learning is by empowering…

First-generation college students' degree attainment is far below their continuing generation peers (Whitely et al., 2018). This study aims to offer institutions of higher education better insight into how to provide support to be more effective in retaining first-generation college students. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study…

Reported rates of anxiety, depression, and lack of attention in adolescents have been on the rise for the past decade. The Centers for Disease Control reported that one in five high school students meets the criteria for a mental health disorder. School leaders are trying to address the growing challenge by providing students with tools they can…

Teacher burnout is a critical public health problem. In 2022, 90% of teachers reported burnout as a serious issue. Teacher burnout contributes to poor educational outcomes for students and poor health and work outcomes for teachers. Previous literature on teacher burnout has underrepresented certain populations, such as public middle school…

While the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools program has produced the intended results, such as enhancing how teachers use technology in the classroom to increase student engagement, we have also discovered some unexpected outcomes--teachers and coaches in participating schools have experienced improved job satisfaction and increased…

Teacher preparation in Texas has seen significant shifts in recent years, driven by increasing reliance on uncertified teachers, the expansion of Grow Your Own models, and the development of residency-based programs. The author of this policy brief has authored three studies that collectively highlight the impact of educator preparation programs…

We leverage log data from an educational app and two-way text message records from over 3,500 students during the summers of 2019 and 2020, along with in-depth interviews in Spanish and English, to identify patterns of family engagement with educational technology. Based on the type and timing of technology use, we identify several distinct…

This paper describes a 12-week cluster randomized controlled trial that examined the efficacy of BookNook, a virtual tutoring platform focused on reading. Cohorts of first- through fourth-grade students attending six Rocketship public charter schools in Northern California were randomly assigned within grades to receive BookNook. Intent-to-Treat…

Taking both personal and collaborative perspectives, the present study aims to sketch out emotion-bearing incidents during the practicum process over an extended period. Keeping in mind the significance of emotions in language learning and teaching, the present study aims, in particular, to see what emotions preservice EFL teachers (PSTs)…

Family and consumer sciences (FCS) educators are often tasked with teaching financial literacy to high school students. Many states have adopted financial literacy as a high school graduation course requirement. However, the need for financial literacy does not end in high school. Many parents could benefit from additional financial literacy…