Over fifty years of research investigating teacher burnout has resulted in a well-accepted model of burnout that involves three dimensions: exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of accomplishment. Recently, a new cause of teacher attrition has been proposed called "demoralization," on the argument that demoralization is a distinct…

This paper provides a review of the contextual factors that are associated with levels of morale and job satisfaction in academic institutions. It argues that universities can purposefully create workplace environments that support employee well-being by measuring, attending to, and addressing levels of collegiality; designing policies that…

This article gives an historical perspective of block scheduling as well as looking squarely at the advantages and disadvantages of it. It focuses on how block scheduling affects such things as school climate, staff morale, and most importantly student achievement. Results from surveys given to administrators and students utilizing block…

This book examines the idea of educational accountability, which has become a new secular gospel. But do accountability policies actually make schools better? Do business management theories and practices make organizations more effective? What if the most widely used management theories and assessment tools don't work? What if educational…

In the British region of Cornwall, state intervention in long-standing practices of the translation of music lyrics for song competitions has created major shifts, including remarkable competitive successes. Proponents of the Kernewek (Cornish) Language have long used translated musical lyrics as a tool for language revival, especially in annual…

This paper offers a comprehensive account of Irish teachers' perspectives on life inside schools in England, as reported in empirical studies. The research literature shows that Irish teachers report experiencing intense pressure from the inspectorate, but also internally as a consequence of the demands placed on English schools. Within these…

Following public outcry surrounding George Floyd's murder in 2020, President Blakeley Alexander of Small Midwestern College established the institution's first diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee. After nearly a year, the two cochairs and eight committee members found themselves split into opposing factions amid the remote work…

The "Teaching, School, and Principal Leadership Practices Survey" (TSP) was developed to give schools robust data about key practices that research has shown are worth paying attention to because of their direct and indirect effects on student learning. Drawing the data together from all participants schools in any given year creates a…

In August, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released the grimmest "Nation's Report Card" in 20 years. Between 2020 and 2022, America's students dropped five points in reading and seven points in math. At a time when there is empirical evidence that America's students are struggling -- the NAEP scores are just one…

The Decolonising the Curriculum (DtC) movement questions the very values we take for granted as learning developers. If our role is to develop academic literacies and support students to succeed in the curriculum as it is, can we as learning developers be decolonisers? This opinion piece argues that we can and should. It outlines where we can…

Teacher-focused accountability started to ramp up in the United States in 2007-2010 as the focus of accountability shifted from schools to individual teachers. Since that time, there has been a remarkable amount of change to the way that teachers are evaluated, and music teachers have been placed squarely under the microscope of accountability. In…

This paper engages with current debate on the role of the university following COVID-19, exposing the ongoing corruption of traditional values of the tertiary sector, and the shift in teaching and learning expectations across the academy. It highlights the negative impact of the huge decline in government funding since the 1990s, salary inequity,…

Recent films in the James Bond series and the Hunger Games series have taken entertaining and sentimental versions of stories about violence in the struggle between the established state and rebels against the state. The craft of the moviemaker lends heroic stature to one side in this fight, thus justifying the use of violence. In these movies,…

Research has demonstrated that teacher allies are integral to social justice work that strives to ensure safety and success for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other gender and sexuality non-conforming (LGBTQIA+) students. However, prevailing discussions present allyhood in ways that ignore the complexities and…

In this conceptual paper, I contend that the soul of academic labour is becoming lost in performativity. Performativity, I explain, is a form of regulation and control that deploys technical rationality and judgements to incentivize and punish academics. Indeed, performativity is central to the culture of measurement within contemporary…