In the United States, some professions are anchored by certifications and licensures to demonstrate an individual is qualified to practice in that professional domain. Broadly speaking, licensures are non-academic credentials required by federal or state law for individuals to practice in that field (Gilmore and Williams 2007). In contrast,…

Despite the substantial shifts in education to align classroom instruction and assessment to common academic standards, traditional grading practices remain largely associated with longstanding beliefs and practices. Research suggests that traditional grading may be an inequitable practice that inaccurately communicates student learning (Plourde,…

This study examines implementation of college-and-career-ready (CCR) education standards across five school districts in Ohio, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Drawing on the policy attributes theory, we found that the specificity of districts' approaches to two long-recognized policy levers, curriculum and professional…

The academic benchmarking process is broadly employed by private secondary education providers and educational stakeholders in Tanzania to examine the benefits and drawbacks of service delivery. The study explored the use of academic benchmarking in providing quality education in Tanzanian secondary schools. Employing a cross-sectional research…

Academic advising is one of the key practices in U.S. higher education institutions for supporting students' success. However, the complexity of academic advising program structures, the difficulties in identifying appropriate outcome measures, and the lack of inclusion of multiple stakeholders' perspectives continue to challenge scholars to…

This dissertation showcases collective sensemaking in action. The study was situated in a larger North Carolina project, in which educators took a systems approach to update the state's instructional guidance infrastructure during content standards reform. Specifically, I investigated how K-5 educators from multiple stakeholder groups--teachers,…

This research focuses on Indonesia's newly introduced "Merdeka" (Independent) curriculum for vocational schools (VSs), emphasizing the crucial involvement of the industry in aligning, executing and evaluating the curriculum. The study utilizes a combination of qualitative analysis through a multicase design and quantitative insights…

This paper describes progress, challenges and opportunities of using policy to advance educational equity and excellence at scale in the United States. It begins with a look-back that examines two key elements of the standards-based education (SBE) era: First, it traces policy shifts and implementation challenges of the SBE era. Second, it…