The purpose of this study was to explore school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teacher beliefs about personalized instruction and blended teaching and their experiences with implementing personalized learning within their blended teaching practice. The specific research questions that guided our study were 1) What are SBAE teachers' beliefs…

While public school enrollment has declined in recent years, Ohio has seen growth in other K-12 education sectors. More than 100,000 Ohio students have been enrolled in community schools (what are commonly known as "charter schools" in other states) since 2010-2011. Community school enrollment declined from 2013-2014 to 2019-2020, and…

Staff meetings are a regular occurrence in schools, yet both teachers and principals typically report dissatisfaction with these meetings. The current investigation seeks to understand the viewpoints of public-school teachers on silence during staff meetings. This was the first known investigation on the topic using Q methodology. Data analysis…

Scholars and researchers are increasingly calling attention to the need for community-based coalitions to become more inclusive of local residents and engage those most directly affected by the issues. One population, however, often remains the recipient of services as opposed to partners or leaders in community change initiatives: youth. Over the…

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics and traits of individuals and buildings in which teacher empowerment is strongest, so that those schools and individuals can be further studied and emulated. An additional purpose of the study is to investigate the relationships between principals and school environment characteristics,…

Approximately one in three preadolescents (34%) is obese/overweight and one in four (25%) experience a mental health issue. Urban youth suffer from higher rates of these problems, and at earlier ages than their peers. This study's purpose was to determine feasibility/acceptability and preliminary effects of the COPE (Creating Opportunities for…

The Diversifying the Education Profession Ohio Taskforce consists of aspiring teachers, K-12 educators, human resources personnel, educator preparation program representatives, community members, State Board of Education representation, and staff members from the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Department of Higher Education and convened to…

This study looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an…

Dewey (1916/2009) viewed democracy as a "path or journey." This suggests that there is no mutually agreed upon end. Similarly, in teaching and teacher education, if viewed as a learning problem, the end is the process according to Ritter (2010) "[t]eaching others how to teach for democratic citizenship represents a process that…

In Spring 2007, educators in 63 participating Ohio school districts across the state spoke out on working conditions in their schools by participating in a web-based survey that addressed key teaching and learning conditions related to time, empowerment, school leadership, professional development, and facilities and resources. This is the final…

Teacher empowerment is a cornerstone of educational reform efforts. This study measured dimensions of teacher empowerment with a census of the 3,677 teachers in 169 Ohio public elementary schools initiating self-designed state-funded restructuring. Mailed surveys examined six dimensions of teacher empowerment (decision-making, professional growth,…

The assumption that as teacher empowerment increases in restructuring schools teacher job satisfaction will increase was explored in a study using a large sample of classroom teachers working in schools initiating self-designed restructuring efforts. Study participants were 10,544 classroom teachers working in 307 Venture Capital Schools funded to…

This document presents findings from interviews conducted to obtain information on changes that have occurred in state Special Education Advisory Panels (SEAPs) since the passage of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The interviews investigated general organizational changes, SEAP involvement in the…

As an increasing number of schools undertake restructuring efforts, an instrument to measure teacher empowerment would be a useful took for researchers and evaluators. Such an instrument was used in a census survey of 10,544 teachers in 307 Venture Capital Schools in Ohio to obtain baseline measures of classroom teachers' participation in school…