This study examined classrooms in three, high performing, public secondary schools serving high need communities. Of 22 classes observed, we found approximately one third exhibited an instructional demand for 21st century skills. In many of the remaining classes, teachers appeared to apply misconceptions of 21st century skills, and unintentionally…

Background: Outdoor education may positively impact the educational, physical, and emotional development of youth, but studies are sparse among urban children. Purpose: To investigate 1) physical activity (PA) levels in outdoor versus indoor education environments, 2) science learning gains during outdoor education, and 3) programmatic…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs can play an important role in fostering the development of literacy skills among children and youth. To investigate the variety of literacy skill-building strategies OST programs use, researchers from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) examined the practices of 31 programs in Massachusetts. This…

In this interpretative case study, the researcher examined the beliefs and practices of three social studies teachers related to their teaching of race in U.S. history at a racially and ethnically diverse urban high school. Using the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy as a lens, this study employed mixed methods, analyzing teacher interviews,…

This paper is a portrait of a public elementary school classroom in light of the relationships, history, and ideas that have formed its physical space. In describing Judy Richard's classroom, the author shows how a creative teacher's commitment to seeing her classroom as a living space inevitably brings her to overstep the narrow limits of the…

For some time now, it has been evident that the policies pursued by the United States to elevate the academic performance of students, particularly those who are most economically disadvantaged, have not produced the results that were promised or hoped for. This paper analyzes the efforts of schools and school districts to improve academic…

Mathematics and science knowledge/skills are most commonly associated with engineering's pre-requisite knowledge. Our goals in this paper are to argue for a more systematic inclusion of social science and humanities knowledge in the introduction of engineering to K-12 students. As part of this argument, we present a construct for framing the…

This article traces how the work of instructional leadership in the urban high school embodies a response to particular pressures in the school's environment. Based on evidence from multiple-case study research in four urban districts, the article demonstrates how supervisory and nonsupervisory leaders fashioned responses to the district (and…

Many educational policy initiatives use instructional coaching to accomplish their goals. Yet we know little about the role of reading coaches in mediating the relationship between policy and teachers' classroom practice. In this article, we investigate the role of reading coaches in mediating the relationship between Reading First policy and…

This article explores the possibilities and frustrations of using digital methods in a multi-sited ethnographic research project. The project, "Urban School Performances: The interplay, through live and digital drama, of local-global knowledge about student engagement", is a study of youth and teachers in drama classrooms in contexts of…

The relationship between Brighton High School (BHS) and Boston College (BC) spans several decades. Professors from multiple departments at the university--not only teacher educators but professors of psychology, measurement, and arts and sciences--have walked, as regular parts of the school community, the halls of the gothic-style high school…

As the professional learning community (PLC) as a desired cultural norm gains popularity within K-12 state schools, greater knowledge of the PLC implementation process is warranted. This study reports findings from semi-structured focus group interviews with teachers in an urban/suburban high school after one year of schoolwide professional…

While many of the concepts and approaches that comprise student-centered learning have deep roots in learning theory, the cognitive sciences, and youth and child development, empirical research on student-centered learning's impact in K-12 classrooms remains limited. This report offers highlights from three studies commissioned by Nellie Mae,…

In July of 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that Massachusetts had violated the civil rights of its English Language Learners (ELLs) by placing them in classes with inadequately prepared teachers. Massachusetts is the contextual background for this study but it also serves as an example of the challenges across the U.S. in…

American high school students reflect their disinterest in school and classroom activities through increased disengagement and higher dropout rates. Narrowing our instructional strategies because of our increased focus on testing limits non-text-based activities at exactly the time when visual means dominate student learning. Approaching…