Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Education

Art Nights: Reimagining Professional Development As A Ritual, Libba Willcox Nov 2023

Art Nights: Reimagining Professional Development As A Ritual, Libba Willcox

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

Art teachers’ need for connection, passion for artmaking, desire for mentoring, and quest for renewal led me to ask, what happens if we reimagine professional development as ritualized artistic practice? What would occur if our ritual was collaborative and intergenerational? How might ritualized professional development aid the quest for renewal? Pulling imagery and quotes from a larger qualitative and arts-based research study (Willcox, 2017), this visual essay shares what happened when an intergenerational group of art teachers met and engaged in artistic inquiry about their teaching practice. Specifically, it weaves together imagery and quotes to illustrate how our ritual, art …


Teaching In An Unfamiliar Place: A Mixed Methods-Grounded Theory Study On The Experiences Of New Correctional Educators, Nicole Patrie Aug 2023

Teaching In An Unfamiliar Place: A Mixed Methods-Grounded Theory Study On The Experiences Of New Correctional Educators, Nicole Patrie

Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (2014-2023)

New correctional educators must learn to teach in an unfamiliar correctional environment. In this convergent mixed-methods study, experienced correctional educators in Alberta, Canada reflected on their first 6 months teaching in adult correctional institutions. Teachers initially struggled to do something familiar (teach) in an unfamiliar place, perceiv- ing prisons as non-conducive to education. Seeing the absence of a purpose-built community, they built one or attached to existing non-educational communities. New educators invoked strategies such as engaging in mutual support, connecting with non-education professionals, asking others to demystify institutional culture, and practicing reflexivity. When reflecting on useful training and orientation activities, …


Addressing School Bullying Since The Onset Of Covid-19: A Merc Research And Policy Brief, David Naff, Morgan Meadowes, Kim Dupre, Alicia Gaston, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Christina Tillery, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Lauren Powell, Deanna Fierro Jan 2023

Addressing School Bullying Since The Onset Of Covid-19: A Merc Research And Policy Brief, David Naff, Morgan Meadowes, Kim Dupre, Alicia Gaston, Fatemah A. Khawaji, Christina Tillery, Makeba Lindsay D'Abreu, Lauren Powell, Deanna Fierro

MERC Publications

Among the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic is a shift in the nature and intensity of school bullying, perhaps symptomatic of the rapid changes and stressors that PK-12 students have endured since 2020. In this MERC research and policy brief, we explore how school bullying has changed since the onset of COVID-19 as well as research-based strategies for how educators and division leaders can best respond to it. The brief answers the following questions: 1) What is the nature of school bullying since the onset of COVID-19? 2) Which students have been particularly impacted by bullying since the pandemic? …


The Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Rural Virginia Secondary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Sherol L. Southerland Jan 2023

The Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Rural Virginia Secondary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy, Sherol L. Southerland

Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for PK-12 education and exposed educators’ skill deficits. Teachers had to learn new approaches to doing their jobs while navigating the mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial impact of the pandemic on their personal lives. This undertaking was even more demanding for rural school divisions, which tend to lack the resources (e.g., personnel, technology, financial) that suburban and urban school divisions have. Schools reopened in fall 2020 offering fully remote, fully in-person, and hybrid modalities, however, there was no going back to teaching as it was before the pandemic. The present study sought to …


Seeing Themselves: White Preservice Teachers As Raced Individuals And As Members Of Their Future School Communities, Laurie Koth Jan 2023

Seeing Themselves: White Preservice Teachers As Raced Individuals And As Members Of Their Future School Communities, Laurie Koth

Theses and Dissertations

Students of color, of poverty, with disabilities continue to slide into the school to prison pipeline (STPP.) Very often, an antecedent step is harsh exclusionary discipline that removes them from the classroom. Teachers, who play a major role in the decision whether to keep students in or eject them from the classroom and the school, are among multiple forces driving students toward or away from the STPP. A salient feature of the issue is that nearly 80% of teachers are white and their most vulnerable students are not. Rooted in critical race and care theories, and buttressed by self determination …


The Relationship Of Mentorship And Professional Development On Special Educators’ Intent, Christine S. Powell Jan 2023

The Relationship Of Mentorship And Professional Development On Special Educators’ Intent, Christine S. Powell

Theses and Dissertations

Current literature in special education has examined professional development (PD) and mentorship separately; however, no studies have investigated the relationship between PD and mentorship on special education teachers’ intent. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which participating in PD and mentorship opportunities predicted the likelihood of Early Career Special Education Teachers' (ECSETs) intent to leave the teacher workforce while examining factors related to duration and quality. Based on two conceptual models, Desimone’s (2009) best practices for professional development and Nick et al. (2012) best practices for academic mentoring, this study identified key features and characteristics …