The purpose of this qualitative study was to use an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach to discover generative instructional and assessment practices of teachers in the language arts classroom at a 5th and 6th grade low socioeconomic public school campus in Texas that earned five distinctions or three consecutive years. The study sought to design a…

Conceptualizing educational inequality as equivalent to the "achievement gap" has fueled the expansion of no-excuses charters, which purport to raise test scores and thereby equalize opportunities for low-income students of color. In contrast, I argue that the individual provision of opportunity is inadequate to address the structural…

This paper aims at deepening the understanding of how the relation between home and school is negotiated in the mind of Grade 6 students attending an International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Qatar. Students reported mainly frustration and confusion. The Thematic Coding Analysis used in the study revealed two strategies students use to negotiate…

This study examined the relationship between a middle school initiative to develop student voice, interpersonal relationships, and intrapersonal relationships and students' sense of belonging. The literature indicated a strong connection between students' sense of belonging in school and positive outcomes in and out of the classroom (Deci &…