This study aimed at understanding and investigating the lived experiences of early childhood teachers' observation practices as a professional tool. Interpretative phenomenological approach was utilized to investigate participants' experiences deeply from their lived experiences. The current study's participants consisted of five early childhood…

U.S. National Professional Development (NPD) grants can afford a longitudinal understanding of how teachers learn to support English learners. When NPD projects are completed successively and successfully, they can provide an even greater longitudinal arc of understanding. This article chronicles the designs and lessons learned across five NPD…

This study explores the transformative nature of the National Writing Project (NWP). It employs an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach and self-efficacy theory in order to understand the perceptions of K-12 teachers who attended the NWP in Southeast Texas in the last five years. Using interviews, reflexive journals, and a reflective…

Blending principal education programmes and leadership practice has become a common feature in the education of school principals. However, the need for further research in how programme participants experience learning within an overall structure of a programme has been highlighted since the same programmes are experienced differently. This…

By examining the effects of a national-scale teacher professional development (PD) program on instructional practices and student mathematics achievement, we contribute to calls for empirical studies investigating the impacts of such programs conducted at scale. The program corresponds well with core critical features of high-quality teacher PD…

This paper contributes to recent discussions of levels of agency in Language Policy and Planning (LPP) research. It specifically aims to understand the role and importance of meso-level actors as arbiters of policy implementation. It argues that, whilst understanding of both macro- and micro-agency has grown over the past decade, little is…

'Out-of-field teaching' refers to the practice of assigning teachers to teach subjects that do not match their training or education -- an international phenomenon that seems particularly prevalent in mathematics. This paper reports on a study evaluating the impact of a national professional learning program for out-of-field secondary mathematics…

This multiple-case study design with embedded units of analysis examined a two-year professional development (PD) program in which two rural districts received at least 90 hours of PD. This PD was provided through an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant that the United States Department of Education awarded to the National Writing Project. Two of…

Previous research concerning teacher practical knowledge has revealed its epistemological foundations, content structure and research methodology, but little research examines its ethical dimension. Based on a four-year project in China, this study probes the ethical dimension of an experienced teacher's practical knowledge, explicated in a…

Background/Context: Founded in 1974 by James Gray and a group of teacher colleagues who came together as the Bay Area Writing Project in California, the National Writing Project is a professional development network that has spread from one site to 197 university-based sites across the U.S. After such a long period of time in operation, it becomes…

The purpose of this study was to identify the role that Costa Rican educational leaders play in implementing the National Program of Science and Technology Fairs (Programa Nacional de Ferias de Ciencia y Tecnologia [PRONAFECYT]) initiative. The study provides an examination of leadership practices, instructional strategies, and professional…

This is a study on high school English as a foreign language Colombian teacher identity. Using an interpretive research approach, I explored the influence of the National Bilingual Programme on the reconstruction of teacher identity. This study focuses on how teachers feel about language requirements associated with a language policy. Three…

The National Math + Science Initiative's (NMSI's) College Readiness Program (CRP) is an established program whose goal is to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in high schools to improve students' readiness for college. It provides teacher, student, and school supports to promote high school students' success in…

This article investigates an innovative approach that has as its aim to ensure that more students complete secondary education. The national program, called "Competence for Diversity," puts emphasis on children with minority language background, that is, children with another first language(s) than the Norwegian national languages. In…

This qualitative, multi-case study explored the issue of the long term, professional impact of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher. Eleven NBCTs, representative of four regions of the U.S., participated in a survey and three one-on-one phone interviews. The participants earned National Board Certification ten to fourteen years ago. Six…