Recent resistance to teaching students about the history of racial power and privilege dynamics in the United States has been accompanied by a parallel resistance to LGBTQ+ studies and resources in K-12 classrooms, libraries, and extracurricular spaces. There is a very practical benefit to trusting teachers to craft lessons that integrate LGBTQ+…

Purpose: This study aimed to examine physical educators' attitudes toward teaching students with disabilities in general physical education after participating in a Paralympic School Day professional development program. Methods: Elementary through high school physical education teachers participated in a Paralympic School Day professional…

Attrition among educators is a continuing concern in the area of special education. Job satisfaction has been associated with teacher burnout and teacher attrition. Many times, multiple educators work in a close environment creating a need for community in special education. The purpose of this study is to identify differences in job satisfaction…

In this research article, authors Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia Massaro, Melissa Cuba, and Carolyn Waters examine teachers' perceptions of their responsibilities to support undocumented students and the barriers they encounter in fulfilling them. Since the 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision guaranteed public K-12 education to undocumented students, there…

Recently, states have enacted teacher-carry laws. While controversial, little scholarship has tapped public attitudes toward such reforms. Because public opinion shapes policy, the public is an important stakeholder in this debate. Thus, we investigated three questions. First, how supportive is the public of arming teachers? Second, what…

To explore the accessibility of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) for students with severe disabilities, we conducted a survey of 179 schools implementing SWPBIS during the 2015-2016 school year. Personnel from each school reported the frequency and level of importance of SWPBIS implementation across Likert-type…

Purpose: There has been a significant increase in the number of immigrant families moving to rural communities across the United States. Yet limited research exists that explores relationships between immigrant families and schools in these communities. Rural school districts are often challenged by insufficient resources, expertise, and…

Although participation in extracurricular activities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been advocated, a limited number of students appear to be involved in such activities. Further, there is little empirical research on how extracurricular activities are valued, supported, and encouraged. This study surveyed a…

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education…

Higher education has immense power to support the transformation of K-12 teaching and learning because it incubates future educators and supplies opportunities for professional development. University presidents and deans of colleges of education can also use their influence to support systemic change to modernize the profession through a variety…

This paper focuses on engaging and enabling educators to play new roles and take new leadership in the paradigm shift between traditional and competency-based education: a system of learning designed to ensure that all learners are prepared with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to be successful lifelong learners. The paper re-envisions…

In this paper, we argue that teachers have an opportunity to take on leadership roles in technology-rich schools and districts. Based on data collected during a year-long project to investigate award-winning schools and districts, we used observations, interviews and focus groups, and document analysis to glean lessons learned from leaders and…

A successful digital conversion for classrooms, districts, and states is not determined by the technology, but by how technology enables teaching and learning. The purpose of our multisite case study was to document digital instructional strategies teachers use to enhance and transform student learning, and align that use with learning research.…

The "Renaissance Partnership", a consortium of eleven universities and their partner schools, was one of the first twenty-five Teacher Quality Enhancement Projects funded in 1999. The Project's two primary goals, "to become accountable for the impact of teacher graduates on the students they teach" and "to institutionalize…

Teacher leaders are teachers who aspire to stretch beyond their classrooms to engage in leadership roles that take many shapes and forms, both "informal" and "formal". These teachers view the school as a whole, see the "big picture" and focus on how they can help improve aspects of the school to result in increases in…