General music class is a space for students to engage in honest dialogue and reflection about the societal, cultural, and historical contexts of music, even when the subject matter is difficult. General music teachers can support students by opening "courageous conversations" about race, culture, and complex histories as they intersect…

Human dignity is a complex, though essential, concept for students to master. Inserting human dignity into existing curricula provides students with more opportunities to consider the problems of vulnerable classmates and the status of human dignity and rights in the United States and around the world. Using parts of the US modern Civil Rights…

No matter how school library standards evolve to address changes in society and educational research, certain intellectual freedom principles remain constant, including the principle to protect all learners' rights to freely access and explore information and ideas. The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL's) "National School…

The Next Generation Science Standards states that "science begins with a question." (NGSS Lead States [2013] "Next generation science standards: For states, by states". Washington, DC: National Academies Press). Yet scientific inquiry among students and scientists alike often begins without a clear question. In this article, we…

Inquiry pedagogies provide opportunities to meet learning outcomes linked to developing scientific literacy. Within a European project intended at promoting Inquiry Based Learning (IBL), this paper presents quantitative and qualitative data about teachers' views of IBL and its enactment in England and Spain. Results show that teachers in both…

As the world races to combat a pandemic, slow climate change, and solve many other public health challenges, it is clear that developing young people's scientific knowledge should be an urgent priority in schools. The goal of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is to foster scholars and citizens who can think critically and creatively to…

The purposes of this study were to (1) investigate 127 high school students' views about scientific inquiry at different grade levels, and (2) to describe factors such as the teacher's views about scientific inquiry, his teaching, and his curriculum that facilitated or constrained students' views about scientific inquiry. The majority of students…

One of the guiding principles highlighted in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012) states that "children are born investigators," claiming that students construct their own understanding of the natural world even before they learn about it in formal learning settings. Even if students lack a thorough…

This article examines evidence of teachers' work and learning in one school setting in the northern regions of Queensland, Australia, revealing how globalized performative practices that circulate around the collection and use of data in schooling settings are both confirmed and contested. Drawing upon the literature on the nature of…

What kinds of knowledge, skills, and dispositions are needed in order to prepare social studies teachers for twenty-first century learners? Answering this question is the core pursuit of the latest revision of the "National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers." For several decades, the National Council for the Social…

The inclusion of activities to develop sensory awareness, spatial thinking, and physical dexterity, operationalized through hands-on science lessons such as water play, have long been part of early childhood education. This practical article addresses Next Generation Science Standards K-2 ETS1-3 and K-2 ETS1-2 by having four-year-old…

This article presents case study research into a New Zealand primary school enacting a very sophisticated whole school inquiry approach to enhance teacher classroom professionalism and practice. A culture of inquiry manifests as an ontological 'way of being' in this school community, in the daily professional interactions between the teachers and…

In this paper we review the literature on teacher inquiry (TI) to explore the possibility that this process can equip teachers to investigate students' learning as a step towards the process of formative assessment. We draw a distinction between formative assessment and summative forms of assessment [CRELL. (2009). The transition to computer-based…

In 2011, OFSTED produced its triennial report, "Successful Science" (OFSTED, 2011), celebrating the successes of science in English schools over the previous three years and informing educators of what things still needed to be addressed. The Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM, www.psqm.org.uk) was highlighted as helping to address many…

Twenty-six states voluntarily partnered to provide leadership and guidance for the purpose of adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). However, a need exists to examine the NGSS versus state standards to better understand changes in curriculum and instruction to make their implementation successful for all states. The present…