This comparative case study explores how 18 state education agencies (SEAs) support school districts in advancing standards-based elementary science reform. We identify how SEAs understand their work in advancing elementary science reform and describe how SEAs sought to engage districts in bridging from standards to classroom practice. Based on…

The purpose of this case study was to examine the phenomenon regarding agriculture education teacher's efficacy by integrating the Next Gen Science Standards and other content areas into their classroom teaching. This was a single case study with two units of analysis consisting of two agriculture education programs in the Eastern United States…

A rigorous K-12 science education builds student knowledge in core scientific content and equips students to analyze problems, use evidence, and investigate solutions. The education requirements of careers across the economy are increasing and all students--regardless of whether they pursue science as a career--need greater proficiency in the…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the impact of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Georgia K-12 on the professional development needs of educators. Across the United States the enactment of a Common Core State Standards went into effect. The primary goal of the Common Core State Standards movement was to…

Public Montessori schools have grown in number significantly in the United States. This case study chronicles the journey of teachers as they navigate the tension of balancing the Montessori approach with an accountability Standards model. Although Montessori may be in demand among parents in the nation, exhibited by the increase in public…

The Chinese authorities have spelt out their educational vision in a series of documents and provided explicit guidelines in terms of curriculum and assessment. How are these policy visions and curriculum standards translated into the classroom practices of the teacher? This paper tries to answer this question by looking into one teacher's…

Because of the lack of response to voluntary professional development to help teachers make the switch from a teacher-centered to a student-centered curriculum, teachers at one middle school were ill prepared to make the pedagogical changes necessitated by the state-mandated curriculum. The purposes of this qualitative exploratory case study were…

To help the United States stay globally competitive in terms of innovation and invention, the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has become a priority in P-12 education today. As the need for students to become stronger in STEM grows, so does the need for well-qualified STEM teachers who understand what is needed…

Service learning is a powerful pedagogical tool linking community service to academic learning. Several steps are necessary to implement service learning effectively into the curriculum. This study uses a case example as an exploratory study to pilot-test data on how service learning impacts student outcomes. The paper will (1) provide an overview…

This paper describes a study on teacher educators' professional development in the context of national curriculum reform in China. It explains the background of the implementation of the new curriculum of basic education and its impacts on teacher education. Also, it reviews the professional standards of teacher educators in some developed…

The Ohio Department of Education created Early Learning Content Standards in 2004 for children aged three to five grounded in research in the content areas of math, science, social studies and English/Language Arts. This mixed method study was designed to examine the perceptions of preschool teachers as they aligned the early learning content…

This qualitative research study, in the format of an historical narrative, chronicles the issues, process of consensus, and the impact of the National History Standards Project (NHSP) on local policies and curricula in history education. The "culture wars" for the "National Standards for History" of 1994-1996 and quest for a…

What happens when a district aligns its graduation requirements to four-year college entrance requirements? This case looks at teachers' reactions to such a policy and explores differing beliefs and attitudes about rigor and the role of high school education. New leadership and a changing district culture create the context for the case, which…

Using a case study format, the authors' objective was to collect data related to the following research questions: (1) What criteria do teachers and districts use when selecting engineering design experiences for infusion into high school classes and which of these criteria are most effective?; and (2) What issues, opportunities, and constraints…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…