In the US, recent efforts have focused on professionalizing the field of early childhood. One way to indicate professionalism is through the terms used to describe both the field and the workers. However, few have examined how practitioners or researchers describe early childhood professionals' work. Using multiple data sources and analytic…

This study explores kindergarten teachers' beliefs about and practices of play-based learning with a focus on the mediation of teachers' capacity building with designing a play curriculum. Quantitative data are collected through a questionnaire with three cohort samples of 90 kindergartens who participated in a university-school partnership…

In returning to the classroom, schools are at a crossroads and uniquely positioned to recreate and reinvent themselves. The current issues of equity, social-emotional sensitivity, curriculum reform, civic involvement, public health policy and environmental infrastructure are opportunities to build more responsive schools with students better…

The problem of practice addressed in this mixed-methods research study is assessing whether participating in professional development workshops helped community college instructors improve their pedagogical practices, leading to improved student success and achievement rates. In this study, I explore the effects of an intervention I designed to…

The premiere book in the STEM for Our Youngest Learners Series introduces the Infant Toddler Inquiry Learning Model, a new way to think about how young children (birth-age 3) explore, think, and learn STEM concepts. The book also demonstrates how the Inquiry Teaching Model can guide teachers in implementing STEM experiences for this age group.…

Students who graduate with an advanced degree in mechanical engineering are a diverse group in their path to post-baccalaureate degree attainment. Some students choose to obtain their master's or Ph.D. post bachelors, but before they enter the workplace. Others enter the workforce and return as full-time students or progress on their advanced…

Within the last 100 years, the number of school districts in America has dropped by as much as 90% (Murdock, 2012), from 117,108 in 1939 to 13,452 in 2019 (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2020). Funding and how to provide educational equity, equality, and justice for all is a critical conversation. According to the North Dakota…

The idea of freedom in education has its roots in the social justice movements of the 1950s and 60s. Civil rights groups coalesced independently of other marginalized groups and movements of its time. While similar in nature, environmentalism and civil rights issues rarely crossed paths. As environmentalism made its way into science education and…

This qualitative study explores the ways teacher leaders define educational social justice for themselves and what that means in their teaching. The purpose is to contribute to the body of literature on teachers' own perspectives and experiences of how they attempt to teach and lead for social justice within their context and roles. By using…

Numerous prior literature pointed out the disconnection of knowledge and skills between the classroom and the workplace, especially regarding data analytic skills in the big data era. However, the studies on integrating data analytics, including the current IS/IT environment, into the accounting curriculum are minimal. This study provides an…

Integrated STEM education (iSTEM) has been promoted as an effective approach not only to develop scientific and mathematical literacy among learners, but also to improve student attitude towards learning STEM. By realizing these purported benefits, iSTEM is posited to encourage students' pursuance of STEM-related careers. While there are existing…

School psychologists are equipped with a dynamic skill set and an ethical and moral responsibility to support the diverse needs of all youth. While juvenile justice-involved youth may not be a primary subpopulation served by all school psychologists, they are a high-needs group that requires special consideration and attention. As a professional…

Faculty at a small rural high school were concerned that students would not be able to manage the transition to a much larger high school through consolidation without the level of support to which they were accustomed. The purpose of this research was to measure the effectiveness of grit curriculum implementation on student grit scale scores. The…

The problem was a lack of consultation from American Indian Studies scholars, tribal leaders, and from specific data sources when courses in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) were created. The purpose of the basic qualitative research design was to provide a voice from experts in American Indian Studies and addresses the problem when…

Three visions of scientific literacy have been discussed in the literature of science and chemistry education, but little is known of their embodiment in chemistry curricula. Grounded on the conjunction of the three visions of scientific literacy and the subject matter of chemistry, this study investigated the manifestation of scientific literacy…