This article provides a conceptual framework of the dimensions of a toxic culture in higher education and the impact it has on the meaning of work. Seven dimensions of a toxic culture in higher education are presented as follows: toxic leadership; bullying and mobbing; colleagues as enablers; reinforced toxic social norms; purposeful, chaotic…

The Gelmini reform implemented in Italy in 2010 was designed to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness within the higher education (HE) sector. The reform was implemented in a climate of general austerity, which caused severe cuts in public funds for the university system. This paper documents the unintended consequences of the reform in…

Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist and her team, along with school-based leaders, have worked with the district's school leaders to implement a comprehensive strategy to improve instructional quality for all students in Tulsa. Grounded in a clear vision for instruction and starting with the introduction of new curricula aligned to…

High quality early care and education (ECE) supports the healthy development and learning of young children. Implementing and sustaining quality depends on staff contributions and actions. Research from fields such as K-12 education, health, and management finds that quality improvement is more likely to occur and be sustained in the context of…

This article reports on a statewide implementation of a corequisite model of instruction for first year writing at two- and four-year public, postsecondary institutions in Idaho. This project explores how these institutions manage political and economic mandates for educational reform while preserving educational quality for students and teaching…

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA), a public research university, has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to improving working conditions for non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) with a 20-year track record of progressive policies to improve the support for them. This commitment is manifested through a series of improvements in policies,…

Teachers, a population already vulnerable to high stress, experienced increased demands and threats to their coping resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic likely will continue to exact a toll on the mental health of the teaching workforce. A silver lining from COVID-19 could come from teacher stress research conducted during the…

Purpose: This paper explores, from the perspective of an Australian pracademic, how school leaders are leading during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This essay explores the tensions navigated by school leaders leading during this time of global crisis, by looking to research as well as the author's lived experience.…

In the face of yet another crisis in teaching, it's time for a bold and comprehensive plan to revitalize and better support the profession. Education expert Linda Darling-Hammond explains how the current shortage of teachers is not entirely new, but the result of decades of cutting programs, lack of respect for the profession and poor working…

Correspondence education, or learning by post, lasted over 100 years in the UK; it had its roots in the nineteenth century, peaking in the mid-1960s. It was also widespread, numbering hundreds of thousands of enrolments, significantly increasing access to higher education. Yet it has been marginalised in accounts of British higher education. This…

Unifying and strengthening the early childhood workforce may be the single most important step towards closing the opportunity/achievement gap. The Foundation for Child Development has committed its energies and resources towards professionalization of the early childhood field, improving the quality of professional practice, and enhancing early…

We focus on describing some of the effects of austerity capitalism in the public educational sector in Poland, a country that was a part of the Soviet bloc from WWII and experienced dramatic transformation after 1989. This transformation from "communism" to "democracy" involved all spheres of the life of society and individuals…

Teachers enter the profession motivated by the chance to change lives. This must begin with the right foundations. At the centre of this strategy is the most significant reform to teaching in a generation -- the introduction of the Early Career Framework (ECF). The framework will underpin a step change in support for early career teachers,…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequitable access to quality science education as teachers taught dramatically less science after school closures, particularly science that strongly fulfills the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). In particular, teachers struggled to implement key features of the NGSS related to investigations…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis will undoubtedly have dire consequences for all sectors of public education. The rapid transition to remote modes of instruction in the spring of 2020 and the subsequent anxiety about the start of the 2020-21 academic year have highlighted the critical need for well-prepared educators. Although calls…