Creativity has become an essential curriculum competence, playing a pivotal role in the successful response to the ever-changing demands of contemporary society. Yet, its complex, dynamic, and multifaceted nature seem conflicted with the predominant quantitative and easy-to-replicate curricular goals, resulting in potential incongruence between…

Prior research has found that public investments in North Carolina's pre-kindergarten program--NC Pre-K--generated positive effects on student reading and math achievement through eighth grade (Bai et al., 2020). This study examined whether the effect of NC Pre-K funding exposure is moderated by the educational environments children subsequently…

This study explores teacher perception of teacher leadership and the influence of teachers on school culture. The study addresses a gap in scholarship regarding the perception of teachers (not administrators) on these issues. The research questions that guided this dissertation structured its analysis by limiting the data to information that…

This paper explores how school-built factors and organisational dimensions contribute to bodily exposure, degrading treatment and bullying in school changing rooms. The findings in this study stem from an ethnographic research project exploring the relations between school bullying and the institutional context of schooling. The project focuses on…

This paper asks whether universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) raises parents' earnings and how much these earnings effects matter for evaluating the economic returns to UPK programs. Using a randomized lottery design, we estimate the effects of enrolling in a full-day UPK program in New Haven, Connecticut on parents' labor market outcomes as well as…

With any new initiative, stakeholder insights provide critical information that can aid in the execution of the project. Gathering stakeholder perceptions of a new initiative is particularly critical in schools where teachers' varied beliefs may influence outcomes. Recognizing and acknowledging beliefs may make the difference in adoption of new…

Implementing Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in an urban school is beneficial to students, parents, administrators, schools, districts, and policymakers. Previous studies have emphasized that teachers and other staff members need proper professional development to promote social and emotional learning. They interact with students in situations…

Over the years, the nation's large urban school districts have consistently learned from the progress of their peer districts across the country. Great City School districts that have embraced the challenge of educating America's urban children have recognized the value of benchmarking their performance and growth against the progress of others.…

The long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is an important consideration given the trend of dedicating more resources to these programs. However, long-term impact of prekindergarten programs is not well-understood and recent studies have shown preschool effectiveness can vary across states and programs. A state run prekindergarten program in…

The objectives of this research were to: (1) Investigate the current problems in achieving balance in urban and rural basic education in Shaanxi Province, (2) Develop a strategy to improve this balance, and (3) Evaluate the adaptability, feasibility, effectiveness, and fairness of the proposed strategy. The study involved 175 teachers from urban…

"Elementary and Middle School Mathematics" illustrates how children in PreK to 8th grade learn math, and then shows the most effective methods of teaching math using problem-based activities. Examples of real student work and common challenges help you visualize developmentally appropriate mathematics instruction and assessment that…

In this qualitative ethnographic research study, I focused on a first-year assistant principal's leadership experiences in an urban PK-8 school environment and the coaching, mentoring, support, and training needed to develop an effective building administrator who will be retained in the assistant principal position. The guiding research questions…

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effects of providing information to families as they choose schools. Likely applicants to prekindergarten, kindergarten, and ninth grade were assigned to one of three groups. A "growth" group received lists (via U.S. mail, email, and text message) of the highest performing schools…

The Research-based Developmentally Informed (REDI) program enriched Head Start classrooms with teacher-delivered curriculum components designed to enhance child social-emotional learning and language-literacy skills. Parents received information about the program via backpack express, including weekly handouts about program topics and three DVDs…

This design case describes the curricular transformation process undertaken by San José de Las Vegas school, a K4-11 school in Medellin, Colombia, committed to educating students as conscientious global citizens. The case outlines the school's multifaceted design choices, including the sequential steps and activities to develop and implement a…