Increasing and diversifying STEM college graduates, and consequently the STEM workforce, remains a pressing national priority. As such, the purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the Educate to Innovate campaign within higher education. Using preexisting public survey data together with interrupted and comparative interrupted time…

The Race to the Top (RTTT) program incentivized states to use innovation for systemwide improvement of student outcomes, but little is known about how RTTT-funded innovation was sustained after the RTTT program ended. This mixed-methods study examined state and district approaches to sustaining an international innovation called "lesson…

U.S. federal policies No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top resulted in a policy overlap that created unique challenges and opportunities for administrators. This study examined principals' perceptions of an overlapping accountability-innovation policy context and their sense of how the policies affected their role as leaders. Primary data for…

In 2012, the United States Department of Education announced the Race to the Top-District grants. One joint award was made to two large educational cooperatives in the same state that together represented 111 mostly rural schools in 22 districts. One of the grant's identified four essential projects was the implementation of personalized learning.…

The authors analyze the recent undertaking in El Salvador to establish an innovative model of industry-higher education clusters that would facilitate collaboration between academia and the private sector -- sectors that traditionally had not worked together because of historical distrust -- to develop the skilled workforce needed for the…

Policymakers often advance charter schools as an education reform model that can offer more diverse educational alternatives for families. Yet, as these schools compete for students, questions arise about how they respond to the competitive incentives in differentiating themselves through marketing distinct options for learners. The way these…

Today we look to determine teaching quality through a combination of observation, surveys, and test scores. These measures fail to answer the most important question about quality teaching: How is it accomplished? How has this teacher used questioning today, and what drove their decision to do so? How has this teacher structured independent…

In 2009, a seldom-used policy lever emerged in the form of a competitive grant program, Race to the Top (RTTT), and sparked a flurry of state-led initiatives as states vied for federal dollars. The current study examines the policymaking context that surrounded these events and propelled Tennessee to the top of the race among the states. Through…

Increasing adoption and adaptation of promising instructional strategies and materials has been identified as a critical component needed to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This paper examines typical propagation practices and resulting outcomes of proposals written by developers of educational…

This mixed-method multiple case study investigated nine elementary schools. Six "odds-beating schools," which serve relatively high numbers of economically disadvantaged children, achieved higher than predicted performance on state assessments when compared with three typically performing schools. The overarching research question…

The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) and the subsequent succession of legislative acts have had a profound impact on educational policy. An increased emphasis on teacher accountability and effectiveness led to the use of standardized test results to determine tangible rewards or punishments. In response, a culture of teaching to…

This multiple case study investigated 143 teachers' responses to focus group questions about their experiences with the simultaneous implementation of three disruptive innovations as part of the U.S. Race-to-the-Top (RTTT) agenda: the Common Core Learning Standards, data-driven instruction, and annual professional performance reviews. We asked:…

For over a decade, the National Science Foundation's Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program has funded researchers and educators to build an understanding of best practices, contexts, and processes contributing to K-12 students' motivation and participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics…

This article reviews research on issues surrounding postsecondary transitions for youth in middle (North Central, Central, and South Central) Appalachia, a region that faces numerous education challenges because of its geography, poverty, and economy. Examining published research and data from 1995 to 2015, the review seeks to inform education…

Purpose: This multiple case study investigated district leaders' orientations and strategies as their elementary schools proceeded with state-mandated implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We identified differences between schools achieving above-predicted outcomes on state CCSS assessments ("odds-beaters") and…