Teachers and school leaders frequently make decisions about which strategies will best support students who struggle academically or behaviorally, but evidence-based information about the quality of these strategies is not always available. Resources as the What Works Clearinghouse and the Regional Education Laboratories can help educators…

The purpose of this study is to examine the state of PGDT (Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching) trainees' self-efficacy beliefs and the factors that contributed to its development with particular emphasis to PGDT trainees of Dilla University. The participants included 112 PGDT trainees who were selected using stratified random sampling. Quantitative…

The purpose of the study was to explore school culture in radically different schools due to school achievement. The particular objectives of this study were to investigate: (1) the teachers' perceptions of school culture (2) the teachers' perceptions of principal behaviors, and additionally (3) to determine the relationship between principals'…

This qualitative research study described African American female secondary educators' challenges in their educational working relationships. The purpose was to truly understand the challenges that African American female secondary teachers experienced in the classroom, outside of the classroom, in their dealings with their students' parents,…

The world has been discussing the Finnish educational system for over a decade now. This paradigm shift in education in Finland has brought about tremendous changes that the world is discussing. To find out how Finland has reached such a high level of student achievement, Principal Mussarut Jabeen, who had long planned to visit Finland, and Dr.…

This study was developed to produce qualitative data about the cultures of two high-poverty, high-achieving elementary schools in Arkansas. The research was intended to contribute to the existing information regarding professional collaboration, collegiality, and self-determination/efficacy as related to student assessment data. The focus of this…

In education policy and reform circles across the U.S., school turnaround initiatives aimed at improving the lowest performing schools have become a prevalent school improvement approach. However, only a limited number of studies have sought to understand the ways that turnaround strategies are being put into practice in schools. In this case…

Research has made it clear, the effectiveness of teachers vary greatly (Nye, Konstantopoulos, & Hedges, 2004), and teacher differences account for some of the variation in student achievement (Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002). The federal act of mandating teachers to be "Highly Qualified" will not single-handedly improve student…

Tremendous research on teacher leadership over the last decade has revealed both the prevalence of and the imperatives for a model teaching force that can actively participate in school improvement (Harrison & Killion, 2007; Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2001; Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). The highly participative teacher leader paradigm is so…

Teacher learning, as well as the development and testing of curriculum materials, are key for teaching lessons that bring the goals of the Next Generation Science Standards to life in classrooms. Lesson study is a process that links standards, teacher learning, curriculum materials, and instructional enactment together to facilitate student…

A substantial amount of research shows that teacher collaboration and a collaborative school culture can significantly increase student achievement. However, long-standing norms of teacher isolation create a significant barrier to this endeavor. The increased popularity of Professional Learning Communities has helped education move away from these…

Teacher-powered schools are a powerful, practical route to better and more equitable student learning. This paper makes the evidence-based case for these innovative schools. "Evidence for Teacher-Powered Schools: A Practical Route to Better and More Equitable Student Outcomes" explores outcomes for students and schools led by…

In discussions on the contribution of leadership in improving schools, transformational leadership and instructional leadership are, more often than not, portrayed as disparate practices. The former argues for developing teacher collaborative capacity in schools, whereas the latter advocates establishing controlling measures on teaching quality;…

The purpose of this study is to determine how beginning teachers are supported while teaching in a diverse school setting with students finding academic success. The literature identifies the connection between attrition rates, feelings of support, instructional practices, and some focus on the connection of student outcomes and practices…

The introduction of college- and career-ready standards (CCRS) profoundly raises the bar for teaching and learning in American schools--and for professional development. Some school systems are rising to the challenge and significantly improving instruction and seeing student learning growth. With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates…