In the three essays which compose this dissertation, I use econometric tools to examine the relationships between various measures of school context and teachers' practice. I first study how a literacy curriculum intervention affects elementary teachers' advice seeking networks and how these advice seeking relationships moderate the impact of…

This case study investigated the transformative learning outcomes for undergraduate students enrolled in two sociology courses taught by The State University of New York at Albany, at an urban ecoliteracy environmental justice center. Authors conducted participant observation and gathered data from surveys, semi-structured interviews, and focus…

The article presents a mixed-methods assessment of an educational intervention proposed by a partnership between Pulaski County Special School District, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Philander Smith College, and plaintiffs in a longstanding federal desegregation lawsuit. The Donaldson Scholars Saturday Academy is part of a plan,…

Researchers Martha Abele Mac Iver, Joyce Epstein, and Steven Sheldon summarize the outcomes of their four-year partnership with an urban district aimed at improving the ways schools engage families during the critical transition to high school. They describe how schools put into practice the strategies learned in ongoing professional development,…

Massachusetts's education agencies support expanding early college high school programs based on their initial success. In fact, think tank MassINC is calling for annual early college enrollment to increase to 45,000 students. This report outlines strategies for reaching that ambitious target: expanding access to early college programs to students…

The purpose of this study was to identify the strengths and challenges that emerged from the first 3 years of a high school student leadership development program located in an urban setting. This study was developed as an instrumental case study of one student leadership development program serving urban public high schools in South Central…

The article focuses on a tutoring program between high school students and preservice teacher students from a local college. The 10-week tutoring program, which involved two 1-hour tutoring sessions each week. On the first visit to the high school, the teachers and principal provided the preservice teachers with a 30-minute orientation and tour of…

There continues to be a discrepancy between women, who comprise 77% of the public school institution, yet make up only 31% of the superintendency and only 34% of high school principalships. This study sought to examine those very personalized, professional, and intimate connections of women who serve as a high school principal or superintendent in…

The athletic department and the school library at Mayde Creek High School in Texas have been collaborating to build literacy and leadership skills among the athletes on the varsity football team, and both the boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams through collaborative leadership book studies that are also sports-focused. Because of the success…

Schools of choice need to provide equitable access and opportunities to all students, including students with disabilities and emergent bilinguals. In the context of Early College High Schools, principals and school districts should be partners in ensuring admissions processes are non-discriminatory. In this fictional case, a new principal in a…

Character measurement has become increasingly relevant and needed in recent years due to its significant impact on an individual's success in various aspects of life. However, existing methods of character measurement such as self-assessment, peer assessment, and observation, still have many limitations. The Situational Judgement Test (SJT) is a…

To meet the challenges of a data-driven society, high school students need new arrays of literacy skills. In the United States, school librarians, who work across disciplines, are well-positioned to help students improve their data practice, but they first need new domain knowledge. This article presents findings from an evaluating survey and…

Technology-based assessments that involve collaboration among students offer many sources of process data, although it remains unclear which aspects of these data are most meaningful for making inferences about students' collaborative skills. Recent research has focused mainly on theory-based rubrics for qualitative coding of process data (e.g.,…

The history of American Indian education has been one of colonialism and cultural erasure. From the first missionary educators who first came to the Indigenous nations of the Americas well into the twentieth century, Native children have been subjected to physical, mental and emotional abuse. This paper examines one program's efforts at reclaiming…

Computational thinking (CT) is an important 21st-century skill. This paper aims at investigating predictors of CT self-efficacy among high-school students. The hypothesized predictors are grouped into three areas: (1) student characteristics, (2) home environment, and (3) learning opportunities. CT self-efficacy is measured with the Computational…