This study explored the relationship between K-8 teachers' current usage and engagement of curriculum and instructional practices, assessment practices, and feedback practices through the implementation of standards-based grading practices. The theoretical works of Bobbitt (1924), Bloom (1956), and Sadler (1989) framed this study. A digital survey…

Increased datafication of schooling, a common trend in Australia, the UK, Canada, and the USA, involves the use of standardized testing and its associated systems and practices to achieve high-stakes goals. The purpose of this study, set in an urban, low-income, predominately Black neighborhood in the southeast USA, was to better understand the…

This study's main objective was to use structural equation modeling to examine the direct effects of teachers' amotivation, identified regulation, external regulation, introjected regulation, and intrinsic motivation on PLC development in Ethiopia's Awi administrative zone's primary and middle schools. For this purpose, a correlational…

Critiquing arguments is important for K-12 science students to learn but not emphasized by the predominant claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) argumentation model. Drawing on the work of Yu and Zenker (2020), and Dove and Nussbaum (2018), we developed a tool for supplementing CER with critical questions (CQs) from philosophy that cover most, if not…

Leading school communities during the pandemic impacted elementary and middle school principals and brought about reflection of their leadership practices. School principals were forced to reassess leadership priorities like those set forth by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) in 2015. This study looks at information…

Teachers' expectations of student capabilities can meaningfully affect future achievement. However, the consistency of teachers' expectations over time and their differential impact by student gender and ethnicity have not been thoroughly investigated in the context of students' reading achievement. The current study investigates the longitudinal…

Traditional public schools in the United States must comply with a variety of regulations on educational inputs like teacher certification, maximum class sizes, and restrictions on staff contracts. Absent regulations, policymakers fear that troubled districts would make inappropriate decisions that would harm students. However, it is also possible…

Since its inception, the phrase "Yes, And" has guided the pedagogy of The Second City, the Chicago-based improvisational theatre and training organization. "Yes, And" is a framework that asks participants to accept and expand on the offerings of their partners to maintain momentum and advance the scene. Rejecting an offering…

This study was designed to determine how elementary and middle school principals assess their leadership styles. The self-evaluation MLQ form 5X for leaders will be used to determine principals' perception of their leadership qualities. The participants in this study consisted of elementary and middle principals in school districts in central…

In a constantly changing world, schools need to adapt. Difficulties, successes, and experienced challenges can be important driving forces for school improvement. This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situation and decision-making processes related to school improvement strategies in socially disadvantaged areas, where…

Generative AI, particularly Language Models (LMs), has the potential to transform real-world domains with societal impact, particularly where access to experts is limited. For example, in education, training novice educators with expert guidance is important for effectiveness but expensive, creating significant barriers to improving education…

With insight and humor, this motivating guide shows how to bring executive functions (EF) to the forefront in K-8 classrooms--without adopting a new curriculum or scripted program. Ideal for professional development, the book includes flexible, practical, research-based ideas for implementation in a variety of classroom contexts. It shares stories…

With the proliferation of information on how to use data to inform instruction for more than two decades, district leaders, principals, and other stakeholders assume teachers know how to use the cycle of inquiry process to improve student achievement. This case study is an examination of the practice of data use in seven schools in one urban…

The meteoric rise in charter schools has several implications for traditional public schools and their students. One understudied implication is the geographic competition for students. Given traditional public school boundaries are often fixed while charter school boundaries are more flexible, charter schools can draw students away from existing…

The Native American Astronomy Outreach Program (NAAOP) at Lowell Observatory is an in-class STEM enrichment program that pairs astronomers with 4th-8th grade teachers at Native-serving schools in northern Arizona. The astronomer works with the teacher to present hands-on astronomy activities to their class with the goal of getting students excited…