In 2017, 5019 educators from primary and preschool settings across Victoria, Australia took part in joint professional learning around effective transition to school processes. Upon registering for this professional learning workshop, participants were invited to identify the most significant challenges associated with transition to school. The…

This paper is part of the special issue on Teacher Learning and Practice within Organizational Contexts. Shifting instructional practices in elementary schools to include more equitable, reform-based pedagogies is imperative for supporting students' development as science learners. Teachers need high quality professional development (PD) to learn…

In the midst of current environmental and social crises we--educators and educational scholars--have been called to prepare our youth with the skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to face and solve such crises. While mastery of academic content and relevant skills remain key educational goals, teachers need to be prepared and equipped to…

Considerable interest is directed to promoting children's success as they transition to kindergarten. It is generally proposed that children who experience lower levels of transition difficulties at kindergarten entry achieve higher academic and social-emotional gains, although this premise has seldom been explicitly evaluated in tandem with…

Positive education is the teaching of both traditional school skills and skills for enhancing well-being. This study examines teachers' (N = 72) experiences with training in positive education.Qualitative content analysis was used to provide an in-depth understanding of the experiences, and quantitative measures investigated teachers' well-being.…

The literature on play and learning attests many developmental benefits for children. The Australian curriculum endorses play-based learning (PBL) as an age-appropriate teaching pedagogy. However, what enables or prevents PBL in the classroom is not well documented. The present study examined the responses of 334 teachers currently employed in…

The implementation of geospatial technologies in both primary and secondary education is more than desirable. However, many obstacles stand in the way. This paper reflects on the current state of geographic information systems (GIS) implementation in the educational curriculum in Czechia in comparison with an international context. The study aimed…

Responding to the claim that teacher engagement in professional development is a waste of time, this study employed phenomenology as the approach to explore teachers' perceptions of the role of continuous professional development (CPD) in improving their instructional practices and student learning. A purposive sample of elementary teachers…

The Center for Gifted Education (Center) at William & Mary has provided diverse enrichment programs for high-ability students since 1988. With an aspiration to serve financially disadvantaged students, the Center developed and hosted a summer residential enrichment program in STEM areas. Camp Launch, for low-income, high-ability middle school…

The negative impacts of COVID 19 on children's holistic development have been reported by researchers around the world. This qualitative study explored teachers' and parents' perspectives on the impact of physical/social distancing and school closure policies on children's socioemotional development. The study was conducted in fall 2020. The…

Considering it is important to what level foreign children who are included in the education system have some different skills in the educational environment, it is aimed to examine the opinions of teachers about the language, school adaptation and social skills of foreign children. In the research, qualitative research method depending on the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how African American single mothers describe the efficacy and accessibility of afterschool enrichment programs for elementary school children from socio-economically challenged homes. This study will contribute to the gap in the literature with respect to African American single…

Professional development is a significant factor in improving teachers' instructional practices and increasing students' growth (Kang et al., 2013). The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze elementary teachers' perceptions regarding the impact of professional development delivered by instructional coaches. The central question for this…

This qualitative study explores how teachers implement literacy pedagogies that affirm and engage students despite facing restrictive literacy mandates. We interviewed a focus group of four veteran Revolutionary Loving kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers from three Title 1 schools in the southeastern United States. Additionally, the study…

This qualitative study explores the motivations, barriers, and facilitators underpinning the adoption of the Mindset Teams programme in primary schools across Scotland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 teachers across six Mindset Teams schools and 14 wider stakeholders working across local, regional, and national levels. Findings…