For decades, teacher research, as one form of action research, has been a research methodology that combines theory, practice and improvement of practices in classrooms. However, the lack of teacher autonomy and trust in their professionalism reduces teachers' opportunities to conduct teacher research in their classrooms in many countries. Based…

In this chapter, the former and current directors of adult education at the Arab American Association of New York (AAANY) discuss strategies from their shared process of fostering community, student leadership, and empowerment in AAANY's community-based literacy program. Amid the challenges for learners and the program connected to the 2016…

This manuscript considers Berman's (1990) "Despair to Empowerment Curricular Curve" as a possible guiding curricular framework in global education. The authors describe how this curricular curve was used by teachers to enhance a seventh-grade world history unit on the Black Death to move middle-level learners away from despair and toward…

This article focuses on how the conversation on vulnerability between theologies of disability and religious education (RE) promotes encounter between pupils of different abilities. I argue that talking about the gift of vulnerability in RE can help pupils of different abilities perceive each other as full human beings. Indeed, RE can empower…

For emergent bilingual students to thrive, schools need a culture of valuing bilingualism, supported by strong and committed leaders. From 2015 to 2017, the authors convened a professional learning community of 14 emergent bilingual leaders from around the U.S. They defined emergent bilingual leaders as leaders at all levels who support…

This essay explores the use of contract grading as a means to combat the commodification of education. Starting with an examination of traditional grading practices, the author moves on to explore contract grading as an alternative to the free-market, capitalistic approach to higher education in the United States and its apparent ultimate goal of…

This study explores the arising and unfolding of class mood with a focus on the students' agentic contributions to classroom interaction. The study is based on empirical video-data that were collected in four secondary school Italian classrooms. We identified three forms of qualitatively distinct class mood, whose unfolding in classroom…

The development plan in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Saudi society includes accepting female students and affording them the opportunity to study abroad under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP). In 2005, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, and President George W. Bush, of the United States, agreed to increase the number…

Schools are under tremendous pressure to close achievement gaps and increase students' college and career readiness. Research has shown that students' interactions with rigorous curriculum and instructional practices positively impact their postsecondary outcomes (e.g. Adelman, 2006; Oakes and Saunders, 2007). With an established standard of rigor…

Learning is not just determined by the curriculum, but by how it is assessed. This article focuses on the analysis of the role played by the quality of assessment tasks on learning in undergraduate courses. During two successive academic years, information was collected on the views of students on the assessment activities and practices that they…

This paper examines video data of a high school robotics team to explore practices that empower youth from underrepresented groups in engineering to disrupt traditional boundaries around what engineering is and who is considered competent to participate in its practice. We analyze in-the-moment positioning work with a focus on care and maintenance…

Students exposed to conflict have increased risks of perpetrating school violence. For young people who experience war in Philippine's Mindanao, overcoming violence can be particularly challenging as perpetrating this behaviour has, over time, become embedded in their postcolonial culture. These students are most affected by conflict and…

Background: Social media has now become a ubiquitous part of everyday life, especially for young people. This technology is a double-edged sword and can be used to empower or isolate users. This research is designed to enhance our understanding of how social media is being used by young people, how it affects them and their attitudes towards it.…

In this exploratory qualitative study, we examined African American mentors' perspectives of what they identify as the needs of their African American undergraduate protégés and the challenges that may impede their protégés' success. Interviews were conducted with 10 African American mentors who hold STEM PhDs. Data were analyzed using an…

Imagine a thriving English classroom. One that's active, experiential, collaborative, and rigorous. "Authentic Literacy Instruction" will help you not just imagine this classroom, but also create it. Through a hands-on approach to student-centered literacy, the authors share how to reinvigorate your love for what you do and refine your…