Objects in early childhood education (ECEC) experiences have begun to receive a great deal more attention than ever before. Although much of this attention has emerged recently from new materialism, in this paper we turn to Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological concern with the (in)visibility of 'things' to illuminate the presence of objects within…

The Early Childhood Education Quality (ECEQ) initiative is a pioneering approach toward supporting ongoing, self-organized professional development in the private kindergarten sector in Japan. The purpose of this study is to examine how kindergarten teachers and ECEQ coordinators experience this approach and view the ECEQ process. Online…

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are increasingly selecting to participate in postsecondary education. These individuals often face a number of challenges and barriers to success resulting in poor persistence and completion rates. For institutions of higher education, it is imperative that appropriate supports be put in place and…

The relationship between mindfulness, attention, and well-being is well established. In the field of education, mindfulness programs often focus on teaching children ways of coping with attentional and emotional difficulties. Mindfulness practices are also valued for teachers, and being a mindful teacher impacts the classroom environment. The…

The unintended academic and social consequences for students experiencing the transition from elementary to middle school have been well documented. A mixed method study was conducted to examine the perceptions and attitudes of 6th grade students, parents, and teachers from four middle schools in a large suburban school district in Southeastern…

Recent research on teacher professional development (PD) underscores the importance of the coherence of PD with standards, curriculum, and assessment. Teachers' judgments of the coherence of PD with larger system goals influence their decisions about what ideas and resources they appropriate from PD. Little research, however, has examined how…

The purpose of this qualitative study, "Professional development for teachers working with culturally and linguistically diverse students: A qualitative study of teacher perceptions," was to investigate general educators' perceptions of existing professional development activities in order to identify program attributes they perceive as likely to…

Novice teachers need to develop their professional judgment. Teaching is performed in the face of imperfect, complex but above all continuously emergent situations. These matters have not received adequate attention in theories relating to professional judgment and professionality in teaching or in the contemporary discourse of education policy.…

The problem investigated in this quasi-experimental study was to educate teachers in how to overcome generational differences that arose when educators of different generations were required to work together in a collaborative professional learning community. Perceptions of work environment and performance, collaboration, and professional learning…

The purpose of this descriptive study was be to determine if there were differences in the implementation of professional learning communities components between elementary and secondary teachers and administrators. This study examined the relationship between demographic characteristics and teacher implementation of professional learning…

This qualitative study is written from a phenomenological standpoint using Van Manen's (1990 ) hermeneutic lived experiences of the participants. Fourth grade teachers from a large urban school district in the southwestern U.S. completed an online questionnaire and participated in a focus group interview to provide insight into their attitudes and…

This single-case study utilized the data from a successful career and technical education (CTE) program at a public high school in southwest Texas. The CTE program selected addresses the needs of an at-risk student population in a public school district in southwest Texas whose student population was primarily Mexican American. The opportunity to…

In the face of 21st century economic challenges, community colleges must contend with complex pressures on their mission. The dueling missions of academic transfer and workforce preparation must sustain and grow the American economy in a global market and simultaneously meet the promise to community college students--open access to quality higher…

Improving teachers' reflective thinking skills about their instructional applications in their classrooms and their suggestions to solve the problems they face during teaching have become more important since the 80s. Reflective thinking is not only important for the professional development of teachers but it also plays a significant role in the…

A statewide program assessment was established to make positive change in physical education school programs in South Carolina. Reform efforts depend both on balancing accountability for change and teacher support for change (Odden &Anderson, 1986). The purpose of the study was to determine teacher perceptions of the South Carolina Physical…