The purpose of this case study was to explore a principal's experiences and how they aligned to Hallinger and Murphy's (1985) effective instructional leadership practices in an era of accountability. This study of effective principal leadership is timely and relevant due to the recent implementation of national and state mandates for principals to…

I theorize teaching and researching as practices of "blurred translating" that center antioppressive education (Kumashiro, 2002) and storytelling (e.g., Frank, 2010; Zipes, 1995, 2004). Based in listening, research and teaching as blurred translating are relational, contextual, and ongoing processes oriented toward transformation and…

The purposes of this naturalistic, descriptive study were to examine the stories that children in one first grade classroom told in a storytelling circle, how the children's knowledge, in-school experiences, and out-of-school experiences were reflected in their stories, and how the children used their knowledge and experiences as tools to…

Much is known about the practices, beliefs, assumptions, and discourses of teachers as they look at issues of racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity but little has been done to understand how racial injustice is sustained in these school settings and how whiteness operates in predominantly white educational contexts. White elementary school…

We hear or read the following phrases often: "Everybody spends so much time on their smartphones that they never look up." "Just send me an email and we'll work out the scheduling." "You'll find all the job application materials on our website, where you can submit your application online." However, adults with low…

School and learning have historically been a community endeavor and the recent focus on community schools and neighborhood focused schooling illuminate the possibilities of these endeavors. Distributed leadership, while a relatively newer educational concept, has also gained popularity in recent years focusing on shifting focus from the lone…

An understanding of whole number place value is a critical component of second-grade mathematics. This understanding of place value provides the foundational concept for operations with whole numbers. The ability to understand the concept of place value and transfer that understanding to teaching addition and subtraction are often problems…

I set out to explore the question: How do middle-class, working-class and low-income mothers experience their children's out of school summer time? Using qualitative basic interpretive approach, study findings draw from interview data, journal entries and participant observations from a study completed with 22 mothers of varying socioeconomic…

This participant observation research study explored relationships between the role of guided reading and in-school writing of three proficient first-grade literacy learners during the first eight months of the 2007-08 school-year. Portraits of each student as a literacy learner were developed through case studies. Those individual case studies…

Fueled by the proliferation of new technologies, teachers are being asked to rethink their own practice and deliver instruction designed to help students succeed in the 21st century. The aim is to extend students' intellectual capacity through the use of contemporary tools and to create powerful learning situations which can extend their…

The purpose of my study was to explore the social studies teachers' conceptualizations, experiences, ideas, beliefs and practices of developing citizens in a democracy in upper classes in primary schools in Botswana. The study adopted a qualitative research approach and employed the naturalistic paradigm. The study was undertaken in six primary…

This year-long ethnographic study examined teacher and student discourse when interpreting text in a children's philosophy club. Specifically, the study investigated how the opportunities for learning a new discussion form, philosophical conversation, were acted, talked, and written into being as students and their teacher interacted with each…

This study asked how two white, in-service elementary school teachers within the context of their classrooms navigated the cultural gaps between themselves and students from whom they differed (e.g. racially, ethnically, socio-economically, and/or linguistically). Three sub-questions examined: 1) what life experiences shaped how the teachers…

This research investigated how student social interactions within two approaches to an inquiry-based science curriculum could be related to student motivation and achievement outcomes. This qualitative case study consisted of two cases, Off-Campus and On-Campus, and used ethnographic techniques of participant observation. Research participants…

The purpose of this participant-observation study is to describe rural, southern, 3rd-5th grade children's engagement in running and writing in an after-school learning community called "Running to Achieve." This study provides insights into links between physical activity and writing by using one to engage students in the other. Three…