This study examined the perceptions of educators to determine if they felt that they were adequately prepared to teach in a high poverty school setting. The participants, educators from four school districts, completed a survey based on their perceptions of their own level of self-efficacy and preparedness to work in high poverty schools. The…

More than ever, schools across the United States and around the globe are embracing social and emotional learning (SEL) to assist students in adopting these skills and many other interpersonal (e.g., teamwork, leadership) and intrapersonal (e.g., self-regulation, resilience) capabilities. This dedication to SEL is well supported by research.…

RAND researchers present results from a spring 2019 survey of a nationally representative sample of kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) public school teachers about their approaches to supporting students' social and emotional learning (SEL) and the factors that might influence those approaches. The authors explore teachers' SEL practices,…

Throughout American history, minority students and students from backgrounds of poverty have been marginalized when it comes to equal opportunities for education. The accountability movement, manifested in the passage of the "No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act", requires schools to focus on the achievement of disaggregated subgroups,…

This single-site case study describes the outcomes and lessons learned from the implementation of a technology professional development initiative aimed at helping three special education teachers from an urban elementary school learn how to infuse technology in their content literacy instruction. Three types of qualitative data were collected:…

Candidates enter teacher education programs with established beliefs about diversity and urban education. These belief systems impact decisions that teacher candidates make both now and in the future. Providing opportunities for candidates to spend quality time in an urban Professional Development School (PDS) setting with the support and guidance…

This paper examines the antecedents of three types of educational beliefs about mathematics among 151 teachers predominantly working in high poverty schools. Studies across various countries have found that teachers in high poverty schools are less likely to enact instructional approaches that align with mathematics reform standards set by…

Higher education institutions are charged with creating one million more STEM professionals over the next decade, a 34% increase in undergraduate STEM degrees annually (PCAST 2012). Examining why college STEM courses manifest high attrition rates, interdependencies emerge that begin in early childhood education. Those of us in higher education…

As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

The present study, which takes place in a high-poverty section of a large urban area of the northeastern United States, is based upon the prosocial classroom theoretical model that emphasizes the significance of teachers' social and emotional competence (SEC) and well-being in the development and maintenance of supportive teacher-student…

The need to address contextual variables, such as cultural bias and cultural norms, is a common challenge for researchers in international education. This article highlights societal conditions and cultural issues that could have impacted teacher efficacy data in Zimbabwe, a country known for its ongoing economic crisis, political repression, and…