Rural schools have repeatedly been subjected to standardizing state and federal education policies that seek to minimize variance in instructional systems and increase the number of college- and career-ready graduates. The Race to the Top policy agenda combined standards-based and accountability-based reforms to meet these objectives and once…

Sports coaching education and research in higher education have received increased attention lately, especially in English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK (Potrac, Gilbert, & Denison, 2013). Although research on sports coaching education is on the rise, very few studies have explored formal…

Purpose: The teaching of cooking is an important aspect of school-based efforts to promote healthy diets among children, and is frequently done by external agencies. Within a limited evidence base relating to cooking interventions in schools, there are important questions about how interventions are integrated within school settings. The purpose…

The unique characteristics of tablet PCs promise important benefits for education. Yet, little is known about the rationale underlying teachers' decisions concerning their educational uses within the constraints of daily classroom practice. The current multiple case study investigated the practical considerations informing nine secondary school…

The purpose of this research was to analyze the curriculum alignment of teachers in secondary education 5th grade Science course. Alignment levels of teachers in dimensions of acquisition, content, teaching methods and techniques, activity, material and measurement - assessment, and the reasons for their alignment/non-alignment to the curriculum…

Principals play a significant role in student learning. They are expected to be both instructional and organizational leaders as well as the day-to-day management of a community of individuals. The balancing of multiple roles is a dynamic task that takes education, training, coaching and ongoing developmental support. However, principals often do…

This qualitative interpretive case study used Wenger's (1998) communities of practice (CoP) framework to analyze how the electronic learning community (eLC) process at an established state virtual high school operated like a community of practice. Components of the eLC process were analyzed according to elements of the CoP framework, which…

Higher education institutions are increasingly interested in infusing sustainability content into their curricula. This can be accomplished through general education programs, which the University of Vermont recently established. The implementation of this new requirement created a unique opportunity to investigate sustainability- related teaching…

A successful digital conversion for classrooms, districts, and states is not determined by the technology, but by how technology enables teaching and learning. The purpose of our multisite case study was to document digital instructional strategies teachers use to enhance and transform student learning, and align that use with learning research.…

Gränsöverskridande Nordisk Undervisning/Utdanelse (GNU, meaning Cross-Border Nordic Education), the larger Nordic project, under which this case study was carried out, aims at developing innovative, cross-border teaching models in different subject domains in elementary school, including mathematics, language, science, social studies and history.…

School districts, as they work to raise the achievement of all students, must maintain a clear focus on student learning and align district work with that focus. This focus and alignment is referred to as coherence, meaning that the various parts of the district are designed so that they work in sync with one another to achieve district goals.…

As teachers modify their instruction to meet English Language Arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards (CCSS), how do these modifications influence literacy instruction and learning opportunities afforded to students? While the CCSS standardized objectives for literacy instruction, the enacted curriculum is uniquely shaped by teachers and their…

The purpose of this case study was to investigate how pre-service chemistry teachers' science teaching orientations change during a two-semester intervention designed to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching the nature of science (NOS). Moreover, the way that pre-service chemistry teachers translated their change in…

High school graduates continue to enter post-secondary education lacking in basic mathematical skills and thus not academically prepared to enroll in college-level mathematics courses (ACT, 2010). Although it can be argued that those mathematical concepts should have been mastered in grades K-12, educating those students in basic skills…

Museum settings including aquariums, zoos and science centers rely heavily on their volunteer docent populations to interact with and communicate science and conservation concepts to the visiting public. The interactions docents have with museum visitors are important to meeting the educational expectations of museums and improving public science…