The kindergarten program at the study site transitioned from half day to full day, yet the curriculum was not updated to accommodate the full day schedule, or to include best practices. In order to prepare learners for their future in education, activities were implemented to determine how problem based learning can promote acquisition of the 21st…

Lev Vygotsky is no doubt one of the leading educational theorists in history. His theories have been used to guide teaching and learning in public school classrooms for over a century. Vygotsky was considered to be one of the most creative psychologists of the twentieth century. This article covers a brief accounting of his birth, life…

For many lesbian teachers and students there are issues and dilemmas that challenge them being "out" in school environments. The purpose of this paper is to describe and explore the experiences of two lesbians in this context. This is a descriptive case study involving semi-structured interviews and conversations. The teacher and a student in the…

Maria Montessori was one of the first special educators. In 1898, as an assistant instructor at the University of Rome's Psychiatric Clinic, Montessori visited an asylum for the "insane" and became interested in the children with special needs who were housed there. She noticed that the children were not being stimulated; learning was at a…

This study describes how a culturally responsive school leader promoted equity in a racially and linguistically diverse school. The authors shadowed Faith, an assistant principal, and did follow-up interviews with her after each day of shadowing. They observed teachers in their classrooms, conducted multiple interviews with teachers and parents,…

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for the development of aspiring female coaches based on the ideas of existing high-performance female coaches. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with national-level female coaches in the United Kingdom, four recurrent ideas for developing female coaches in a male-dominated profession emerged.…

When parents think of bullying at school, the first image that comes to mind may be a large child shoving a smaller, younger child in a schoolyard. But bullying is rarely so obvious these days. The most common forms of bullying can go unnoticed, and can do far more lasting damage. This fact presents a challenge to parents and educators working to…

Most children engage in rough play, and research demonstrates its physical, social, emotional, and cognitive value. Early childhood education settings have the responsibility to provide children with what best serves their developmental needs. One of the best ways teachers can support rough play is by modeling it for children. When adults model…

Within the broad theme of this special issue, the current article describes a turbulent Norwegian teacher education context in which two new teacher educators start work in a university. Like other nations, Norway is affected by international educational trends, some of which have a reductive impact on the teaching profession and on teacher…

It is no secret that many girls seem disinterested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), but strategies for building their interest are sometimes elusive. Because STEM career paths are not always perceived as "natural" for women, educators do no't always push their female students to explore these educational areas. As a…

The impact of female role models on women's leadership aspirations and self-perceptions after a leadership task were assessed across two laboratory studies. These studies tested the prediction that upward social comparisons to high-level female leaders will have a relatively detrimental impact on women's self-perceptions and leadership aspirations…

This ethnographic study aims to contribute to better counseling services for the Greek American population in the U.S. by providing cultural knowledge and insight into one of the smaller ethnic groups that has been overlooked in the literature. More specifically, it explores the role of the "embodied language" of dance in the formation…

The study investigated how role models' behavior may positively or negatively influence African American early adolescents' attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Participants in this study included 331 African American seventh and eighth graders from low-income neighborhoods in an urban, Midwestern city. The study used a model developed…

This study examined a pilot participatory needs assessment that was conducted with nine senior high school students from Port of Spain, Trinidad. Photovoice was used to engage these students in critical dialogue about their perceptions of issues affecting their health. Trained graduate students facilitated a 3-day training session in photovoice…

As expectations for improvements in public K-12 education continue, principals and teachers need to collaborate for continuous school improvement. Innovative change is needed to meet the needs of students. Michael Fullan's change theory (1993) identified many inhibitors to change, such as the human tendency to avoid change due to vulnerability and…