Although lesson study has been shown to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, little research has focused on reasons for engaging in it from a teacher's perspective, particularly after sustained engagement with lesson study. This qualitative study reports on thirty-three teachers from the United States who were involved in twelve…

The transition from elementary to secondary school presents challenges for students, including the shift from a streamed to a destreamed mathematics curriculum. This paper explores the Ontario context, where all students began taking the same grade 9 mathematics course in 2021-2022. The Grade 9 Mathematics Research Project investigated current…

The aim of this study was to investigate how principals (n = 4) and teachers (n = 20) from four lower-secondary schools perceived and evaluated sustainable professional development processes in their schools. To understand their experiences and perceptions, interviews and focus group conversations were conducted at the end of a one-year research…

Many high schools in the United States are contending with modest student writing achievement and looking for ways to enhance teachers' writing instruction. This is especially the case for schools deemed to be "underperforming" and struggling to reform writing pedagogy against an accumulation of teacher and leadership turnover, limited…

National goals and performance standards were introduced in Sweden during the 1990s as part of a curriculum reform. The intention was to detect shortcomings among students and provide support to those students who did not reach the passing grade in one (or several) subject/s. Despite this reform, approximately one-fourth of the students do not…

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the implementation and impact of the IDEA Public Schools' Mathematics Curriculum Redesign (MCR) effort, funded by an Innovation and Research (EIR) grant. Methods: The study used a quasi-experimental matching design to examine the effect of MCR on student achievement outcomes. The study compared…

Project OCCAMS (Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School) is a collaboration between the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William & Mary, and Columbus Public Schools with a goal of providing accelerated learning in language arts aimed at increasing…

Standardized testing and accountability are currently unavoidable components of Texas Public Education. Through years of push-back, parents and educators have demanded that Texas consider alternative testing options that would reduce the high-stakes testing burden on students and schools. In 2015, the State of Texas passed legislation requiring…

Previous studies indicate that school climate is important for student health and academic achievement. This study concerns the validity and reliability of the student edition a Swedish instrument for measuring pedagogical and social school climate (PESOC). Data were collected from 5,745 students at 97 Swedish secondary schools. Multilevel…

Background: Recent research investigating the conditions under which science teachers can successfully implement science education reforms suggests that focusing only on professional development to improve content knowledge and teaching skills--often referred to as human capital--may not be enough. Increasingly, possessing social capital, defined…

The "Australian Curriculum: History" has emerged out of a neoliberal federal education policy landscape. This is a policy landscape where pragmatic and performative, rather than pedagogic concerns are clearly foregrounded, and this has implications for curriculum development and implementation. A useful way to conceptualise the features,…

Standardized tests are an education reality and an important accountability consideration in most states and school systems. Most states require standardized assessments to meet requirements of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001. Changes to curriculum and instruction and to the school culture frequently occur through a school…

Researchers from MDRC and Johns Hopkins University partnered with Florida's Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) in 2009 to launch an independent evaluation of the district's initiative to implement Ninth Grade Academies (NGAs) in every district high school. An NGA is a self-contained learning community for ninth-graders that operates as a school…

Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities,…

In this paper I discuss how reform in science education is interpreted by Barma as she recounts the story of Catherine, a grade 9 biology teacher, who reforms her teaching practices in response to a national curriculum reform in Quebec, Canada. Unlike some cases in response to reform, this case is hopeful and positive. Also in this paper, I…