The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the opinions of private practitioners and educational advocates on instructional leaders' decision-making processes when making a recommendation for special education eligibility. School-based administrators (n = 56) with varying years of experience as special education administrators…

This case was written for educational leadership courses, especially ones focused on organizational change. The case explores a principal's first year at school where the student achievement and school climate were not meeting the school's lofty mission. Readers of the case should consider the steps and perspectives taken by the principal during…

Given the removal of Asperger's Syndrome label in "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition," the impact of clinical labels upon the affective responses of college students was explored. A total of 120 college students read two vignettes depicting social interactions typical of a person with autism spectrum…

The integration of research and practice in social work education and agency practice is both complex and challenging. The analysis presented here builds upon the classic social work generalist framework (engagement, assessment, service planning and implementation, service evaluation, and termination) by developing a three-part framework to…

This dissertation examines a pedagogy called Soka education that was founded in early 20th century Japan. Specifically, this dissertation offers an empirical and conceptual study that examines the application of Soka education in present day. After examining the historical and political context of Soka education, I explicate on Ikeda's (1928- )…

Purpose: In this paper, the authors draw on theories of critical pedagogy to interrogate recent trends in online education scholarship, calling for more humanizing pedagogies. By using vignettes from their own teaching experiences, the paper illustrates tensions between autonomous and ideological visions of humanizing approaches, particularly how…

For years the text of choice for developing excellence as a teacher of K-12 students with moderate and severe disabilities, this clearly written work has now been revised and updated. Chapters provide step-by-step procedures for designing standards-based individualized education plans and evaluating and enhancing student progress. Methods and…

In this project, students use a real-world, complex database and experience firsthand the consequences of inadequate data modeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the database as part of a multimillion dollar data collection effort undertaken in order to set limits on air pollutants from electric power plants. First, students…

During a recent visiting professorship at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), it became clear that language faculty--both military and civilians--stated that they included leadership while teaching foreign languages and cultures. However, many of the same educators could not explicitly spell out their approach to doing so. This gap…

In the present study, middle school teachers responded to written vignettes describing physical and relational aggressive incidents. The aggressors were male or female children committing an aggressive act against same-sex peers, who were also described as good or bad. Among the results, teachers rated female physical aggression as more serious…

Reflection is a vital component of quality teaching. It is supported and practiced in teacher preparation programs and furthered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, whereas critical reflection with particular emphasis on the internal schema of the practitioner has not been focused on much and training within teacher…

One of the learning goals for social justice education courses is to prepare students for social action engagement. Teaching students about issues related to social justice is complex. Prior studies have found a positive relationship between student enrollment in social justice education courses and action-oriented outcomes. While these findings…

In this paper, we explore the work life of a scholar new to academia in her methods of leading informally. We discuss five vignettes that offer moments of learning and reflection, including reducing performance anxiety, privileging financial accountability, the rise of the virtual world, the impact of silence, and the potential for confrontation…

Early deceptive behavior often involves acts of wrongdoings on the part of children. As a result, it has often been assumed, although not tested directly, that children are better at identifying lies about wrongdoing than lies about other activities. We tested this assumption in two studies. In Study 1, 67 3- to 5-year-olds viewed vignettes in…

Research suggests beliefs about the stability of ability can be dichotomized into two mindsets: fixed and growth (Dweck, C., 1999). Teachers' (n = 238) beliefs regarding the stability of ability (mindset) and the stability of ability for 4 hypothetical students scenarios (mindset for scenarios) were measured. Mindset scores were related to…