This essay explores the place of debating, talk and group work in the Secondary English classroom. It discusses the ways in which pupils in one student teacher's year 7 class thrive in the dialogic classroom against the backdrop of curricular and attitudinal change. It considers the importance of talk and debate amongst the 'communities of…

Past research suggests that a sense of belonging to a community is developmentally important for adolescents and affects their engagement in school, especially during the transition to high school. However, little research examines the teaching practices that simultaneously foster classroom belonging and behavioral engagement to create a classroom…

Gaps in STEM performance have narrowed over the last 50 years (Leaper et al., 2012; National Science Foundation, 2013). Nonetheless, disparities remain in many STEM fields -- with the largest occurring in the physical sciences, computer science, and engineering (UNESCO, 2012). Although gender gaps in science and math performance have been closing,…

The field of STEM education calls for a nuanced understanding of participation as participation measured by attendance provides limited information about student learning. This multiple case study contributes to a nuanced understanding of youth's participation trajectories in a multimodal composition project. In the project, fifth to eighth grade…

The education system is in a period of significant change. Wellbeing is an increasing priority as schools reintegrate students after COVID-19 lockdowns and climate-related disasters. A large-scale curriculum refresh programme and the implementation of a new Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum are underway. These changes are encouraging…

The planning and implementation of effective transition services for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have emerged as crucial aspects of middle school special education. This action research study examines the impact of professional development and collaborative practices on improving transition services for middle school students with…

This brief research report examines the discursive shifts of a secondary mathematics teacher participating in a collaborative learning community centered on culturally responsive mathematics teaching. We draw on two frameworks to analyze the teacher's discursive moves. The first framework comes from Lefstein et al. (2020) on generative discourse…

Purpose: Drawing from Occupational Socialization Theory, the purpose of this study was to examine a middle school physical education team's perceptions and experiences piloting standards-based teaching and grading within an organizational professional learning community (PLC). Method: Using an instrumental case study design, (n = 3) teachers and…

A growing body of research recognizes animal-assisted interventions (AAI) for increased benefits to students in a range of emotional and psychological needs. In this grounded theory study, researchers investigated students' experiences of AAI framed by the American School Counseling Association (2014) Mindset & Behavior Standards. Results…

Teacher connectivity represents a relatively new and exciting construct within school based agricultural education. Existing research identifying a relationship between teacher connectivity and career commitment illuminates the need for additional research on teacher connectivity within school-based agricultural education. Framed using the…

Public schools in the United States have struggled to determine whether their mandate is simply knowledge transmission or includes the development and well-being of the whole child. Contemporary realities of resegregation and inequality have prompted many districts to embrace this latter notion and consider the Full Service Community Schools…

This article presents a conceptual School-Community Group Model for working with African American adolescents. The model stems from a group conducted with urban, male, African American, adolescents co-facilitated by a White female school counselor and an African American male community leader. The article describes the theoretical underpinnings…

This brief draws on interviews with school principals, community school managers (CSMs), and district leaders in two community schools and focused on school improvement efforts based on Oakland Unified School District's (OUSD) full-service community schools model (FSCS). New Highland RISE Community Elementary School (RISE Community) and Elmhurst…

A student's middle school science experience strongly impacts their future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics interest. The Japanese lesson study (JLS) model strengthens the student's experience through a research-based, collaborative, multistep, teaching-centered process focused on transforming local instructional practices. The…

Purpose: This study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher instructional practices. Specifically, the authors focused on the mediating effect of teacher professional communities and the moderating effect of instructional climate on the relationship between school leadership and teacher instructional practices.…