Recent scholarship suggests that research use is an interactive, social phenomenon, and that brokers play important roles in facilitating the exchange of research evidence. We add to this body of literature by exploring the role of brokers in the exchange of research evidence among state education agency leaders involved in K-12 science education…

This research sets out to conduct a baseline study on personality traits of student teachers to assess the possible implications for an optimal person-environment fit or unfortunate misfit. A non-experimental quantitative research design was used and data were obtained by administering the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to 835 student…

The high attrition rate of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors is a main concern in education. A number of factors may account for students' departure, among which preparedness for STEM learning in college is a crucial determinant. Extensive work has been done to enhance students' preparedness through efforts such as…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed into law in 2015, explicitly prohibits the federal government from creating incentives to set national standards. The law represents a major departure from recent federal initiatives, such as Race to the Top, which beginning in 2009 encouraged the adoption of uniform content standards and expectations…

This article explores the significance of context within the process of contemporary education reform and policy-making. It draws upon evidence from a comparative study of educational change and transformation in seven education systems: Australia, England, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Russia, and Singapore. The article focuses on school…

In this study, the authors correlate proficiency rates of seventh-grade civics students to free and reduced-priced (FRPL) lunch status during the 2015-2016 school year at the school level, across all 348 Florida schools for which both statistics were applicable and available. The authors used simple linear regression to test the null hypothesis…

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine why teacher candidates choose to teach in a middle school. The study analyzed two populations of pre-service teachers in The College of New Jersey's (TCNJ) Secondary Education department: (a) students completing their first field experience in a middle school and (b) students who were part of…

Individuals representing different organizations within the Land-Grant University System (LGUS) were asked to provide their insights on organizational change using a focus group approach. The study focused on three key components to organizational change in the LGUS: what initiates change, the hindrances to change, and what sustains change. Themes…

This chapter identifies some of the challenges surrounding data collection and analysis regarding development students, including testing and identifying academic needs, placement determination, and measuring student outcomes.

The 3M National Teaching Fellowship is a national teaching award program that has recognized over 300 teachers at more than 80 Canadian universities for their teaching excellence and outstanding educational leadership. Despite its rich, 30 plus-year history, its impact has remained largely anecdotal. In this study, we build on Hannah and Lester's…

Peer feedback often has positive effects on student learning processes and outcomes. However, students may not always be honest when giving and receiving peer feedback as they are likely to be biased due to peer relations, peer characteristics and personal preferences. To alleviate these biases, anonymous peer feedback was investigated in the…

As industry embraces the agile methodology for application development, universities are shifting their curricula to teach agile principles along with traditional waterfall concepts. This paper describes a simulation game offered to students in a first-year computing concepts course to introduce both models of application development. Students…

The concept of project-based learning (PBL) has garnered wide support among a number of K-12 education policy advocates and funders. PBL is viewed as an approach that enables students to develop the "21st century competencies"--cognitive and socioemotional skills--needed for success in college and careers. This issue focus, pulling from…

Parental involvement has long been researched and discussed as a positive influence on the educational and social outcomes for students across grade levels. Within our school communities, students who are identified with educational disabilities face increased challenges to decrease the learning gap compared to students without educational…

This study focused on the perception of special education teachers on the new Common Core Standards and effective classroom instructions for students with disabilities. It shared a new understanding and increased knowledge of the Common Core Standards and how it has affected students with disabilities. Given that special educators have direct…