This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of teachers with respect to the professional development received on culturally responsive teaching and their perspectives on the influence this professional learning has had on teacher pedagogical development and student performance. The 30 licensed teachers in Massachusetts…

This action research takes place at a small, New England public school system in Hopkinton, MA, and was designed to build the capacity of educators by utilizing a cycle of inquiry to improve Data-Driven Decision Making. The action steps of this study established a building-based Student Learning Team at Hopkinton Middle School which, in…

Induction and mentoring are widely considered in the United States and in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries as a basic universal and critical intervention for a successful launch of new teachers. Based on an expanded set of survey data, this article focuses on how Jewish day schools offer professional…

This qualitative case study examined the perceptions of teachers and leaders in one Massachusetts school district about the actions of school leaders that engaged teachers in the reflective process. Utilizing Lave & Wenger's (1991) "Communities of Practice" as a framework enabled the researcher to examine the extent to which a social…

The Year 2 Preschool Expansion Grant (PEG) implementation study focuses on the second year of supports and outcomes for teachers, classroom quality, and supports for families. Overall, compared to its first year of implementation, the PEG programs in Year 2 (which was the 2016-17 school year) appear to have made progress towards delivering the key…

As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

Teachers working with increasingly diverse student populations are expected, for the first time in American history, to bring all students to high levels of proficiency. American graduates must compete with graduates from other nations, given the realities of the 21st century global economy. American teachers must possess 21st century skills in…

This brief highlights key information about enrichment activities, which represent one of the main components of the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiative. Over time, the ELT initiative has supported over two dozen schools across the Commonwealth. A comprehensive evaluation of the ELT initiative found that implementation of the…

This article reports on a teacher education program's preparation of bilingual paraeducators during a period of conflicting educational reform of structured English immersion in Massachusetts. Drawing on nexus analysis of discourses (R. Scollon & S. W. Scollon, 2004), we discuss factors faced by Latino educators. These include competing…

Reports on a study of factors perceived by faculty from 15 Massachusetts community colleges as having the most effect on college image and of faculty roles in image-enhancing activities. Finds faculty in agreement that high-quality, well-designed academic programs, plus good student-faculty relationships, enhance the external image of the college.…

The impact of the Right to Read program in Spencer, Massachusetts, and the 11 other Massachusetts Charter communities was investigated in the following respects: to assess changes in teachers' perceptions toward the reading program, to compare the perceptions of school and community populations, to measure the amount of children's reading, to…

This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the use of inclusive pedagogy by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty at three community colleges. The purpose was to identify barriers to the adoption of inclusive teaching methods for diverse learners and students with disabilities and to propose ways to…

This study was addressed to the question, "Can change be brought about in teachers' attitudes and their students' attitudes toward racial difference and economic deprivation after the teachers have been exposed to in-service training programs?" Twenty teachers representing grades kindergarten through high school participated. Two…

Issues concerning excellence in education and the 1985 strike at Yale University are considered in 27 conference papers. Topics include: a faculty and chancellor's perspectives on achieving excellence, employment discrimination, collective bargaining in community colleges, retirement issues, and campus bargaining and the law. Titles and authors…