The last 5 years have witnessed growing support amongst government institutions and educational foundations for applying continuous improvement research (CIR) in school settings. CIR responds to the challenge of implementing effective educational innovations at scale by working with practitioners in local contexts to understand ''what works, for…

The focus on the lack of diversity in technology has become a hot topic over the last several years, with technology companies coming under fire for not being more representative of the markets that they serve. Even The White House and President Obama has made this issue of technology diversity and recruiting more women and people of color a topic…

The purpose of this case study was to describe the experiences of rural school district leaders who implemented and have sustained a one-to-one technology program at the secondary level so to provide school districts considering one-to-one implementation knowledge of best practices. This study was a qualitative, bounded case study that used a…

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether new teacher and new teacher mentor perceptions of the effectiveness of the Missouri State Beginning Teachers' Assistance Program (BTAP) were positive and whether the new teacher perceptions led to the new teacher remaining in the teaching profession at least five years. At the time of this…

This qualitative case study examined the past and current student retention literature and research in order to fill voids in the literature and knowledge and contribute to increasing retention of more students by understanding Spalding University's culture and how they make it work to serve students. Data was collected from surveys, interviews…

Background/Context: Large-scale randomized controlled experiments conducted in authentic learning environments are commonly high stakes, carrying extensive costs and requiring lengthy commitments for all-or-nothing results amidst many potential obstacles. Educational technologies harbor an untapped potential to provide researchers with access to…

This report is drafted with state leaders and policy makers in mind, including those who work with or support these education leaders. The information shared in this report will likely be most relevant to states that have either not yet considered a new data system on teacher preparation providers, are only now starting to consider the idea, or…

The Professional Learning Community model of professional growth an development is an increasingly popular method of teacher training. Commonly abbreviated and referred to as PLCs, this style of professional learning is characterized by its focus on small groups and individualized learning. While the PLC has nearly become a standard feature of the…

Instructional coaching initiatives, primarily aimed at enhancing teachers' professional development, have become a popular avenue of school reform in districts across the United States. However, the precise role that instructional coaches should play in these reforms has largely remained ambiguous and unspecified. Further, not much is known about…

This case study describes the adoption of a mixed-methods approach to explore provision for 2-year-olds in England at a time when funding for free places for disadvantaged children became available. A literature review was carried out to find out about aspects of early childhood provision considered important for 2-year-old children's development,…

Leadership educators can leverage high-impact experiences to enhance student leadership development. This chapter describes three key practices--sociocultural conversations with peers, mentoring, and membership in off-campus organizations--as levers of leadership learning. Illustrations of the practice in context and reflections from practitioners…

An extensional definition of interdisciplinarity--that is, a definition that identifies the types of practices that are interdisciplinary--is explained, advocated, and developed. The criteria for identifying appropriate interdisciplinary practices are outlined. Such a definition is useful both for interdisciplinary teachers and researchers who…

Identifying effective instructional practices and effective teachers is an important issue in educational research, policy, and practice. However, many schools have resorted to measuring these constructs with student test scores, ignoring the instructional context. In this introductory article to the special issue, we highlight the importance of…

Deficits in episodic free-recall memory performance have been reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet best practice dictates that child witness/victim interviews commence with a free-recall account. No "tools" exist to support children with ASD to freely recall episodic information. Here, the efficacy of a novel…

Although advocacy can also take place at the state and national levels, the foundation of advocacy is high-quality teaching and local initiatives. The purpose of this article is to review four steps that can be taken by PE teachers who are interested in engaging in local advocacy efforts.