Education Commons^™

Healing Racial Trauma From Public School Systems, Lisa Y. Collins

Journal of Research Initiatives

Oregon needs Black educators in the K-12 public school system. In 35 school districts throughout the state, the number of students of color has risen by over 40% in recent years (Oregon Chief Education Office, 2019). The number of educators of color in the state is under 10%. The number of Black educators is even lower. Research has shown that Black educators improve all students' academic, cultural, and social aspects, especially Black students. Nationally, Black educators were impacted by the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. At that time in history, Black communities fought for civil rights as they experienced …

"The Road Less Traveled: Why Black Males Choose Alternative Routes That Lead To Education", Felix Simieou Iii, Queinnise Miller, Jennier Grace, John Decman

School Leadership Review

This study uses critical race theory and qualitative interviews to understand the perspectives of 10 Black males that have entered the field of education through non-traditional routes. It seeks to highlight the rationale for not choosing education as a first option, what eventually led them into the field, and finally how educational leaders might better recruit. As the field continues to evolve with demographics still heavily favoring women, decision makers in school districts, universities, and alternative certification programs need to understand the best methods to recruit and retain Black males in education. The findings of this research will benefit these …

All Young People Of Scotland Will Flourish Under Curriculum For Excellence: Mainstream Primary Teacher Perception Of Additional Support Need Resources In Curriculum For Excellence, Fraser Mcguinness

The Journal of Advancing Education Practice

An increase in the number of pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN) in Scottish mainstream schools has brought with it a wide variation of learners’ educational needs and corresponding support. Despite this, there is anecdotal evidence sufficient support has not been supplied effectively to meet these needs.

Given repeated policy statements by the Scottish Executive (2004) and Scottish Government (2009; 2016) that Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) will “enable all of the young people of Scotland to flourish as individuals”, one may call into question whether CfE is indeed a curriculum that can facilitate such promise. The purpose of this research …

Educational Leaders’ Attempts At Holding The Fort: A Transformative Endeavor In Lebanon, Layla Y. Itani, Nemr Freiha

School Leadership Review

Despite its small size, Lebanon has had its fair share of nationwide turbulences that further instigated conflict and instability among the Lebanese population. The crises have weighed heavily on the educational system in Lebanon and has impeded its operations on many fronts. However, educational leaders have attempted to adopt transformative practices in addressing the anticipated and unanticipated challenges. Educational leaders in Lebanon have learned to perceive that ‘the only constant is change,’ and have come to realize and acknowledge that their goals of enhancing educational experiences remain the same but the paths to achieve these goals are nonlinear.

Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy & Support Among Secondary Early-Career Teachers And Their Principals During The Covid-19 Pandemic, James A. Martinez, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Frances E. Anderson, Frederick L. Uy

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

In response to challenges faced by middle and high school educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study was conducted in the Spring of 2021 involving 33 early-career mathematics teachers and eight supervising school principals in the State of California. These participants completed detailed surveys which provided demographic information, as well as perceptions of support, efficacy and job satisfaction. Findings show a variety of associations among teacher perceptions of support and their efficacy and job satisfaction in the face of challenging circumstances. As it related to principal support and recognition, principal participants expressed confidence in their ability to support teachers as …

Bullying Prevention And Mediation: The Role Of Values Education, Janine Brown, Boris Handal, Liz Mckenna, Sandra Lynch

eJournal of Catholic Education in Australasia

The growing incidence of bullying in schools calls for alternative prevention and mediation approaches in which values are integrated into current practices. This study explores educators’ and parents’ beliefs about the explicit application of a values-based approach to bullying intervention and mediation in Catholic schools. Individual and focus group interview among teachers, principals and parents were held in three Catholic primary schools in the Sydney Metropolitan area. The study also served to identify current anti-bullying practices employed as well as to examine specific values perceived to be relevant by parents and educator in preventing and solving bullying conflicts. Respondents showed …

Fighting For Justice In Education: How Schools Can Lead The Change Towards A More Equitable World, Tara Kirton

Occasional Paper Series

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine the world anew. This one is no different” (Roy, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has had tremendous implications for every aspect of life. School, work, celebrations and everyday social interactions have all felt the repercussions of the pandemic. While the shutdown called for an immediate pivot from our everyday ways of being, it has also provided opportunities for stillness and deep reflection. This moment of pause has provided an opportunity to think, speak and act differently. As a parent my hope is that educators will lead the change.

Teachers As Change-Makers: International Volunteering As Enabling Or Hindering Their Capacity To Teach Global Development, Mags Liddy

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Teachers role in educating and preparing learners for global challenges assumes their competence and capacity to understand and engage with these challenges. This paper examines the potential of overseas volunteering to enhance teachers’ understanding of global development and to motivate them as global citizenship educators. The findings illustrate a translation dynamic between their experience and professional practices. This analysis is informed by practice theory where changes in dispositions are mediated within constraining or enabling factors of habitus. Habitus is viewed as the site of negotiation of between individuals’ agency and dispositions within social structures. This dynamic is demonstrated in two …

Leaning Into The Disposition Of Hope: Reflections From A Teacher Educator, Michelle C. Hughes Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Teaching is multifaceted work that must foster safety, structure, comfort, and connection for K-12 students (Noddings,1984; Shotsberger & Freytag, 2020; Tomlinson, 2019). During the Covid-19 pandemic, a teacher's presence has necessitated fostering an even greater sense of stability and hope for and in K-12 students. With complex challenges such as teaching remotely and responding to students' mental health needs, pre-service and veteran teachers alike must cultivate hope in professional practice more than ever before. Hughes explores the disposition of hope, offering educators five practical suggestions to seek and share hope, use hope-filled language, find hope in community, and view times …

Fostering Students' Civic Skills: Education For Sustainable Democracy, Atakan Ata

Georgia Educational Researcher

This qualitative study explored factors that supported teachers in their efforts to promote students’ critiquing, communicating, and collaborating skills. Despite the various challenges that public schools face today, they are most likely the very institutions to play a critical role in individuals’ civic skills development. Individual in-depth interviews were the primary method used to understand the participants’ perspectives on instruction and the factors that foster students’ civic skills. Factors that supported the participants in their efforts to promote civic skills among their students were found to be teacher collaboration, planning, and teacher motivation. Details and the implications of the findings …

Introduction: Teacher Leaders - Transforming Schools From The Inside, Gil Schmerler

Occasional Paper Series

Describes the issue's purpose, which is a "modest attempt to restore the issue of teacher leadership to the prominence it deserves and requires" -- author.

Line In The Sand: An Essay On Principal-Teacher Relationships, David Dunaway

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

was a fall Saturday morning, and I was in my Auburn doctoral program monthly seminar where we talked of various topics of interest to our group of 15. Somehow the topic came around to the relationships between teachers and principals. Consensus of the group was that the proverbial line in the sand was an inevitable and unchangeable part of being a school principal. I, to the surprise of no one then or now, disagreed. This time I was not playing my well-honed role of Devil’s Advocate, I really believed that there was no good or logical reason that there should …

Tomorrow’S Teacher Leaders: Nurturing A Disposition Of Leadership, Jana Hunzicker, Twila Lukowiak, Victoria Huffman, Celia Johnson

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Until recently, the terms teacher and leadership were not often mentioned in the same sentence. Educational leadership was synonymous with school administration, and teachers viewed themselves as followers rather than leaders. Over the past fifteen years, this perception has changed. Due to federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Response to Intervention (RtI), teacher roles and responsibilities have expanded (Le Cornu, 1999) and distributed school leadership has become the norm (Danielson, 2006; Harrison & Killion, 2007).

Lowering Teacher Attrition Rates Through Collegiality, Jameelah Abdallah

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Since large numbers of teachers leave the teaching profession to go to work in other fields each year, it is vital to ask ourselves several pertinent questions as to why this is happening. Why are so many qualified teachers leaving the teaching profession? What are the affects of high teacher attrition rates on the public school system? What must be done to lower teacher attrition rates and retain new teachers? Schools must find ways to reduce teacher attrition in order to maintain high quality education for students.

Leadership In The Bachelor Of Education: A Dialogue Between Student And Professor, Lauren Sacchetti, Jennifer Barnett

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

There are true leaders in education who have overcome the traditional ways of hierarchical thinking and have developed transformational and collaborative orientations. They accomplished this in spite of the fact that our school system does not support these foci. As part of the educational system, the Bachelor of Education program contributes little to the development of this type of leadership in its students.

Dispositions: Defining, Aligning And Assessing, Nancy Edick, Lana Danielson, Sarah Edwards

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

With the focus on student achievement, nationwide attempts are being made to improve schools and school systems. In these reforms teachers are the single most important factor (Darling- Hammond 1997; Wilson, Floden, and Ferrini-Mundy 2001). Teacher preparation programs have a unique opportunity and responsibility, therefore, to have a significant impact on teacher quality. Central to the ability to do so is a comprehensive understanding of what factors constitute teacher quality.