Professional learning communities (PLCs) are gaining more popularity in education, as a result, professional learning centered around adoption of PLCs is abundant. The aim of this research project is to gain a deeper understanding of how teachers' perceptions of professional learning influence their willingness to implement a school initiative,…

Data from whole-class discussions in Dutch upper primary school show that teachers occasionally explicitly take downgraded epistemic stances through epistemic disclaimers such as 'ik weet het niet' (English: "I don't know (it)"), which contrasts with their institutionally assigned epistemic authority. In the current study, we have…

School leaders need effective, affordable approaches to retain their teacher workforce. We investigated a promising, low-cost option for school leaders to encourage teacher retention: subject-area specialization in elementary grades (K-5). Using data on North Carolina elementary grades teachers and schools in the 2011-2012 through 2015-2016…

This study examined the perceived preparedness of educators working in Title 1 schools to address the mental health needs of students. Data were gathered from educators (defined as teachers and other school personnel; N = 299) employed by eight Title 1 public schools within one district in Florida, most of whom were K-5 teachers (n = 199).…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the decision-making process of a group of core elementary teachers in Illinois Metro East districts around attending professional development. 10 teachers from two Metro East districts were interviewed about their motivations, choices, and factors when considering what professional development to…

Teachers are responsible for providing opportunities to use learning strategies in the classroom. The students' engagement shows an observable reflection of the educator's teaching practice. This qualitative case study highlights teachers' perceptions of student engagement in the urban elementary classroom. The research questions asked about…

Teachers today feel pressure to maximize student engagement and learning. With an increased focus on student scores on end of grade test measures and their association with school performance grades, educators are forced to consider how to yield results. Limiting the disruptions and distractions throughout the school day shifts the focus to…

This dissertation was designed to better understand the perceptions of elementary teachers that use a digital platform to implement STEM. There was limited information about how and why elementary teachers lack the pedagogical practice and instructional tools needed to implement STEM in elementary school. In addition, the idea of STEM education is…

Workload has consistently been found to be a predictor of burnout in teachers. However, while academia considers workload a psychological concept, the public tends to simplify workload as the number of tasks assigned. This study seeks to provide further evidence of the psychological nature of workload by examining if workload understood in terms…

This article deals with reading as a significant challenge for higher education students. The study aimed to understand students' experiences of challenges in reading during their first three semesters at university and how they handled these challenges. It is a qualitative case study built on in-depth interviews with nine people studying to be…

Arts education can be an important part of the elementary child's experience. However, keeping the arts in schools is often a challenge because of funding concerns and competing academic priorities. An important strategy in arts education advocacy and policy is arts integration. Arts integration creates a rationale for the arts based on the…

This study highlights educators' experiences in two rural community schools in Northern Honduras experiencing high rates of outward migration and "return" of children and youth. Based on observations and interviews spanning 2019-2021, we explore how educators both enact and challenge a national government campaign that positions schools…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the attitudes of teachers who are authorized as principals about the concept of "principal authorized teacher." The snowball sampling method was used to enroll 40 principal authorized teachers for the study. They were requested to create metaphors for the concept of "principal authorized…

Purpose: Classroom-based physical activity (PA) provides students the opportunity to achieve PA recommendations. However, limited research has examined grassroots efforts for classroom-based PA. The purpose of this study was to share the story of a grassroots initiative to increase PA during school, titled the 150 Project. Methods: Narrative…

Co-teaching has been brought forth as an inclusive teaching approach in research and in the Finnish core curriculum. The realisation of co-teaching at the school level puts great demands on teachers, but also on school leaders (SLs) who are expected to lead educational change. The aim of the study was to examine how SLs in Finnish schools were…