Early educators are the key to quality early care and education (ECE) services, and there is broad consensus that high-quality care and learning environments for young children depend on educators who are skilled at nurturing children's development and learning. Yet, inadequate working conditions and low pay routinely hamper educators in their…

This study explored the perspectives and experiences of full-time K-6 teachers in primary schools in rural Oregon during the 2023-2024 academic year to gain a deeper understanding of a common phenomenon, burnout, in a commonly overlooked research setting, rural localities, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The primary researcher utilized…

Since the global economic recession in 2008, Chinese undergraduate students have quickly risen to be the largest international student population in American colleges and universities, forming a monoethnic group that often isolates itself from domestic students on campuses. This study explores how twelve Chinese undergraduate students utilized…

Understanding motivation in the workforce is a crucial step toward creating a dynamic work environment that enriches and fulfills workers. This research stems from LIS management class discussions on the topic of motivation and highlights the need for radical shifts in management approaches to motivation in information organizations. Our analysis…

Despite focused efforts by many colleges and universities, the racial and ethnic composition of college faculty has not increased significantly in more than twenty years. To provide an educational environment that promotes the success of students of color, it is imperative to develop structures that promote the retention and success of faculty of…

Home-based child caregivers face unique stressors related to the nature of their work. One hundred and fifty-five home-based child care providers in Oregon, USA, participated in this cross-sectional correlational study. We investigated associations between indicators of caregiver stress and child care working conditions, the quality of caregiver…

The purpose of the study was to examine educator-peer social relationships within the context of the organization and to consider the role of the school administrator in establishing collegial and caring relationships. The study was a critical collective case study of six educators--administrators and teachers--in U.S. schools. Through interviews,…

The nature of the American academic workforce has fundamentally shifted over the past several decades. Whereas full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty were once the norm, more than two-thirds of the professoriate in non-profit postsecondary education is now comprised of non-tenure-track faculty. New hires across all institutional types are now…

Reflecting the growing momentum in support of quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) as a key strategy to improve early care and education quality, significant amounts of public dollars have been devoted to their development and implementation. In this brief, the authors report on their investigation of both quality rating and improvement…

Background: Little is known about factors that influence home-based child care providers' participation in professional development. Factors that predict participation in activities that are designed to promote the utilization and maintenance of skills taught are of particular interest. Objective: Our aim was to examine factors in the home-based…

Through its engagement with grantees on initiatives to improve school leadership, The Wallace Foundation came to recognize the important role that state organizations play in advancing effective leadership in districts and schools as well as the importance of coordination among state- and district-level policies. The authors have recently…

This article reports on one phase of a three-year ethnographic study of 20 bilingual paraeducators, drawing on photographic analysis and narrative inquiry. Enrolled in a credential program, paraeducators photographed "what your life is like as a bilingual paraeducator preparing to become a certified teacher." Participants later…

An exploratory field study of 1,156 Oregon school administrators identified 12 sources of stress shared at all administrative levels. These stressors included complying with rules, attending meetings, completing reports on time, gaining public support, resolving parent-school conflicts, evaluating staff, making decisions affecting others, and five…

The job satisfaction and organizational commitment of rehabilitation counselors working in the public rehabilitation agencies in Oregon are the focus of this study. Participants were 63 rehabilitation counselor survey respondents whose agencies agreed to take part in the study. Because of the small population size, Oregon's general (n=120) and…

A survey elicited workers' opinions in five areas: (1) essential skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed on the job by entry-level workers; (2) the purposes, content, and delivery of training needed and desired by workers; (3) productivity; (4) workplace environment; and (5) employee benefits. Information was gathered through written surveys of…