In this dissertation I trace my changing practices as a teacher and a learner. I look closely at three questions that have been centrally important to my development as a high school English teacher, and I consider what it might mean for English classes to induct newcomers into the conversations, identities, and dispositions at the heart of…

Sixty-eight percent of fourth-grade public school students in the United States performed below the National Assessment of Educational Progress proficient level on the 2022 reading assessment, yet Massachusetts fourth-grade students demonstrated better reading outcomes. The problem addressed through this study was a lack of knowledge regarding the…

School climate is comprised of experiences of school life that reflect norms, values, relationships, teaching practices and systemic structures. A student's perception of school climate can be impacted by individual-level (race and gender), school-level (school socioeconomic status, school size, and schoolwide practices), and district-level…

While inquiry-based pedagogy is expected to prepare students well for their future life and work in the modern world, research indicates that teachers still prefer the more traditional lecture-based teaching practices. To explore better the issues underpinning the adoption of inquiry-based teaching, this study hypothesized that inquiry-based…

This qualitative dissertation employs portraiture methodology to investigate the lived experiences and perceptions of both special education students and teachers within a nonpublic school setting. Grounded in situated learning and constructivist theories, the study acknowledges the contextual construction of knowledge and students' active role in…

Support the growth of your students with meaningful, effective social-emotional learning (SEL). Full of resources, tools, and planning templates, this comprehensive guide provides everything you need to embed SEL practices within your daily work. You'll engage in deep reflection and discover ways to refine instruction, lesson planning, and…

As teachers transition to more science-backed ways of teaching reading, many may be left wondering what should remain from their former practices. This article discusses lessons learned from a teacher working in the field for the last ten years and navigating the changing landscape of literacy teaching, specifically moving from a balanced literacy…

Teachers across the United States are responding to an increasingly diverse classroom environment. Problems unfold where teachers face challenges in adapting curriculum to diverse learners. Historically, most research has focused on the voices of teachers in urban classrooms, however; the voices of teachers in rural classrooms with indigenous…

Teachers in Estonia are working in a tense environment of conflicting expectations which, on the one hand, involves a neoliberal approach to standards and, on the other, the humanistic values of education and well-being of students. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors of school climate which ensure both the job satisfaction of…

This study investigated the associations among school climate domains and how school climate interacts with academic performance. A sample of Kosovan public school students (N = 855) was assessed using the School Climate Survey. The results showed that students had positive perceptions in the school climate domains of teaching and learning and…

This paper presents an ongoing comparative study of secondary teachers' education programs in France, Greece, and England, with a primary focus on strategies aimed at cultivating a positive learning environment in schools. Recent studies have underlined the significance of teachers' pedagogical competence formation as a determinant element which…

The aim of the research presented in this paper is to examine the factors, including pedagogical ones, that influence the development of self-control in preschool children. Numerous studies emphasise the importance of discipline in the development of self-control. The methodological part of this paper represents a qualitative research study…

Background: Primary teachers' pedagogical practices (TPP) are strongly focused on supporting pupils' psychological needs, creating a safe learning climate, and encouraging pupils' developmental and learning processes. As a core motivation for teachers is the desire to interact constructively with children, pedagogical practices can be understood…

Background/Context: Culturally relevant education (CRE) is a powerful tool for improving students' educational experiences and outcomes. Yet CRE is not the norm in U.S. public education systems (Achinstein & Ogawa, 2011, 2012; Borrero et al., 2016; Coffey & Farinde-Wu, 2016), perhaps because teachers are socialized into systems that…

This project set out to explore how completely new schools, occupying completely new classroom spaces, create themselves as schools. At its inception, a new school has only its buildings; everything else must be developed. In particular, the school must develop its vision for learners, and how this is reflected through school culture, routines,…