Relationships between and among school administrative team members are critical components of school culture. They serve as a guidepost for the behaviors and attitudes of staff and students. To invigorate these relationships, three embodied practices have high yield not only for the relationships among administrators, but also for fostering a…

After decades of frustration that education research is irrelevant to practice and that educators do not use research to inform their work, there is reason to believe that the relationship between research and practice is improving. Elizabeth Farley-Ripple describes the how the conversation about research and practice is becoming broader, how…

Rick Ginsberg and Yong Zhao want educators to question the status quo and clear out ineffective practices to make room for K-12 reforms that work. Their 2023 book, Duck and Cover: Confronting Dubious Practices in Education, Ginsberg and Zhao examine kindergarten readiness, college- and career-readiness, reading proficiency by 3rd grade, social and…

The American system of schooling has been remarkably resistant to change, with most changes coming in the form of tinkering around the edges. Large-scale reform that alters what David Tyack and Larry Cuban (1995) referred to as the "grammar of schooling" has tended to fizzle out. David Labaree suggests that the practices that are most…

Kappan's editor talks with education historian Larry Cuban about the various ways Americans have judged the quality of schools and the success of various efforts to improve schools. For much of the 20th century, efficiency was the watchword, as schools adopted scientific management techniques from the business sector. By the mid-1960s, that goal…

A map created from data compiled by Isabela Schettino and Katie Radvany at the Reimagining Education: Teaching and Learning in Racially Diverse Schools Summer Institute (held at Teachers College, Columbia University, and directed by Amy Stuart Wells) shows which states have included references to culturally responsive teaching practices in the…

Teachers may be confused or put off by buzzwords like "design thinking," but the concept is a useful one: To solve stubborn, everyday problems of practice in schools, they should approach those problems strategically and systematically. Specifically, explain the authors, teachers gain new insights into challenges they face when they take…

More than 1.5 million students experienced homelessness in the 2017-18 school year, but teachers receive little guidance on how to support them. Earl Edwards provides K-12 (particularly high school) teachers with an overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and concrete recommendations for how to better support youth experiencing…

State-level leaders face a difficult challenge of determining where to invest scarce professional learning dollars. To address this challenge, a team of researchers and state-level science educators surveyed teachers to learn more about their vision for science education and what kind of learning opportunities they preferred. The survey enabled…

Mexican Americans have a long history in the struggle to end school segregation and achieve educational equality. Rubén Donato and Jarrod Hanson trace that history through a series of court cases that show how their fight for desegregation both intersects with and differs from the more well-known struggle of Black Americans. In some cases, Mexican…

Teacher activist groups (TAGs), which are formed both locally and through online communities, appear to be a growing force in response to the more corporate-driven reform movement of recent decades. The author explains how TAGs seek to influence education policy and practice through organized collective actions, such as protests, letter-writing…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are often criticized for failing to focus on real problems of teaching and learning and for failing to deliver improvement. That is where accountability comes into play. Strategic accountability distinguishes PLCs that are effective from those that are not. Everyone knows what accountability is, but the…

The sum of a K-12 education derives from the combined efforts of about 66 teachers and thousands of lessons during about 15,000 hours of class time. How schools orchestrate to connect all of those pieces to ensure some consistency will determine whether each student grows into a well-educated, decent human being.

The development of agency is often described as critically important for all students. Countless school mission statements speak of the need to help young people become independent thinkers, for example. Colleges and universities expect high school graduates to be self-driven learners. And business leaders are forever calling upon K-12 education…

An emerging line of research suggests that a short walk in a natural setting may be the best way to restore students' flagging attention. To help students recover from the inevitable fatigue that accompanies the deep attention expected in schools, educators have always built some breaks into the schedule. Now, researchers are suggesting that…