Exploring explored principals' and teachers' perceptions concerning the role of play in early childhood programs was this quantitative inquiry. All early childhood participants identified play as a learning tool but noted it was being eliminated from the curriculum due to high stake accountability. There was a significant difference between…

Political resistance to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has grown in recent years, yet little empirical research has examined this subject. Drawing on Fukuyama's theory of political order and decay, we provide a case study of the politics surrounding the CCSS in Oklahoma, one of three states to have fully repealed the CCSS after initially…

This paper is based on a study of 20 elementary teachers, especially in their tenth year of teaching (2013-2014). At this time, the teachers were working under heavy pressure from their government and school districts to implement "inquiry learning." While broadly accepting this pedagogy, however, the teachers varied substantially in…

This study examines teachers' initial conceptions of an integrated STEM-PBL approach and their perceptions of what facilitates or hinders implementation in their schools. This study took place within the first year of a three-year STEM Professional Development (PD) program for middle school math, science and English language arts teachers. The two…