Like many professions, teaching is forever evolving. Due to several trends in the teaching force within the past forty years, the demographics of public school teachers have changed. Because many baby-boomers have reached retirement age, there has been an exodus of retiring teachers, which in turn has created a large number of open teaching…

Preparing the next generation of teachers to prepare students for the 21st Century is a challenging endeavor. Teacher candidates need to possess critical thinking and evidence-based pedagogical skills. It is believed that teacher reflection is the cornerstone to making informed decisions and timely modifications to daily instruction…

Through in-depth interviews, the authors examined 10 master's-level counseling students' perceptions of gatekeeping. Case analysis resulted in 3 major themes pertaining to the necessity of gatekeeping, vital components, and counseling student characteristics. Implications of the findings are also discussed.

In response to the rising demand for market-responsive education reform across the U.S., since 1998 more than twenty states have created Individual Learning or Graduation Plan (ILP/IGP) state policies. Using extensive policy document analyses and stakeholder interview data from four early-adopting ILP/IGP states, the goal of this four-state case…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of an integrated experiential learning and action research project on preservice science teachers' developing ideas about science teaching, learning, and action research itself. The qualitative, interpretive study examined the action research of 10 master's degree students who…

Background: Over the past several decades, a significant number of states have either adopted or increased high school exit examination requirements. Although these policies are intended to generate improvement in schools, little is known about how high schools are responding to exit testing pressures. Purpose: This study examined how five…

The subject of engaging mothers in appropriate family support continues to be debated and this paper explores the complex factors that influenced one mother's willingness to accept support. In addition, it captures how her family support worker built and sustained a "help-providing" and "help-receiving" relationship despite the…

Feedback to students has been highlighted in the literature as an area where improvements are needed. Students need high quality, prompt feedback, but they also need guidance and tools to help them engage with and learn from that feedback. This case study explores staff and student perceptions of a tool at Sheffield Hallam University which…

Due to the closing of the GM Manufacturing Plants, Grand Rapids, Michigan area experienced an extreme loss of jobs, which led to low-socioeconomic hardships such as "food insecurity" that was witnessed in the needs of the many students who attend the Grand Rapid Public Schools. This case provides insight into how educational leader…

The relationship between the mission of community colleges and the increasing teacher shortage has become more transparent as many community colleges have implemented teacher education programs to address community needs, the shortage of qualified teachers, and the lack of diversity among teachers. As the community college's teacher education role…

The popularity and use of handheld technologies cannot be denied in today's society. "300,000 first generation iPads were sold before midnight on their first day of sales and an additional 500,000 first generation iPads was sold by the end of that week" (Waters, 2010). The demand forced the iPad's sales to be delayed in Europe (Banister,…

A commonly held belief is that children whose families are struggling with poverty--and the housing, health, safety, and other concerns that often go with it--cannot focus on learning unless their nonacademic needs are met. This belief is supported by research showing that the children of poor parents who receive income supplements and other…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

Motivations for study abroad have been studied mostly from a quantitative point of view. This study attempted to understand those motivations through qualitative methodology, by getting "into the heads" of international students using a multiple case study approach. Participants were 15 Israeli Hebrew-speaking graduates. Data sources…

This study aims to reveal prospective middle school mathematics teachers' knowledge regarding the possible misconceptions and/or errors of middle school students in describing integers. In addition to this, it aims to reveal the possible reasons underlying these from the perspective of prospective teachers. Data was qualitatively collected from 38…