This study uses a qualitative comparative approach to examine parental involvement in education in the U.S. Japan, and Iran, selected for their diverse cultural and educational contexts. Data is sourced from documents, reports, and official publications. The analysis employs the documentary method, Bereday's four-step approach, and Epstein's…

This critical cross-cultural study examined the alignment of the 2022 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) standards in the U.S. with Australian, Kenyan, and Nepali educational guidelines. Previously, NAEYC's educational guidelines adhered to Euro-Western notions of child development, with a biased view of normative…

In addition to the typical ups and downs of middle school (MS), many English language learners (ELLs) in the middle grades also grapple with learning English, straddling multiple cultures, and adapting to the realities of immigration. While school systems tend to focus on linguistic and academic development, MS ELLs exercise agency, creativity,…

In this study, we examined the perceptions of over 1,600 gifted and typically developing (not identified as gifted) secondary students from South Korea and the USA to identify gifted adolescents' preferred modes of social purpose, interest in and engagement with their communities, and actual commitment to societal improvement. We then examined the…

Background: Participatory architecture can promote dialogue across cultures while working together to create physical outputs. A team of academics with a background in architecture, psychology and health sciences evaluated a participatory architecture workshop in Southern Italy as part of the Crossing Cultures project. The goal was to explore…

Schools with dramatically increased immigrant and refugee student populations need a systematic approach and inclusive process to ensure newcomer students, who differ in their backgrounds, languages, identities, frames of reference, prior educational experiences, abilities, interests, and belief systems, have equal opportunities and resources to…

Background: The ability to effectively teach culturally and linguistically diverse students is critically important. Research has shown that providing teacher candidates educative experiences through critical service-learning can better prepare future teachers and can foster a social justice stance. Purpose: This study examines teacher candidates'…

The school principal is responsible for transmitting mission, vision, and values in and out the school, with a stronger, clearer emphasis for the success and well-being of students. Competency standard is defined as a guide that names the behaviours expected for the directions to do an effective job in their schools. This article presents the…

This paper describes an educational intervention program between 12 Arab and 12 Jewish students who were studying to become teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Israel. The study reports on the ways in which the program impacted the participants, and focuses on the role of English, the Lingua Franca and language of communication, in…

Community-driven design is a current movement in the forefront of many designers' practices and on university campuses in design programs. The authors examine work from their respective public state universities' design programs as examples of best practices. In these case studies, the authors share experiences using community-based design…

International students are not only important for universities, but even more so to the host communities, towns and regions where higher education institutions are located. This pilot study looked at a public university located in a small college town in Ohio. The study explored the relationship between international students and the local…

This collaborative study aims to investigate aspects of school playgrounds in the city of Denizli, Turkey and in the state of Victoria, Australia. Using a survey designed for a recent study in Victoria, data was collected from a large number of schools in both settings and analysed in light of international research findings. The most significant…

The number of supplementary schools in England serving minority communities continues to grow. They are popular with the parents of such communities because they often feel their children are disadvantaged in mainstream schools and not afforded the opportunities or the learning environment that is conducive to their children achieving their full…

Research suggests that a majority of elementary school teachers do not feel confident in their ability to teach English language learners. Moreover, teachers and teacher candidates are often presented as a monolithic group of middle-class, monolingual women with relatively few experiences with people from diverse backgrounds. Accordingly, this…

In this article, we report the results of a national survey of students in COAMFTE-accredited family therapy programs who self-identify as coming from lower- or working-class backgrounds. Results of the study reveal opportunity and tension relative to family, friends, and community because of social mobility associated with graduate education.…