Educational quality is a way to influence the future of the American economy (Hanushek, 1986). Large-scale assessments are designed to determine quality in education by measuring student achievement. A connection exists between the standards, teachers, and assessments that form a system of accountability within education. State and national accountability policies place value in certain educational fields, thereby preferring some while excluding others. As a result, accountability systems influence the field of social studies in several unanticipated ways. Consequential validity suggests that assessments should include value implications and relevance (Messick, 1989). While assessment research examines the disciplines of mathematics, science, and language arts in a more holistic manner, the few social studies assessments are often divided among the field’s various disciplines. The purpose of social studies, and its development of standards, is firmly linked to the current state of disunity within the social studies field. These issues are reflected in teacher preparation policies as well as state assessment policies. Social studies advocates have proven that, in other subjects, teachers and instructional methods are influenced by assessment. Fortunately, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides an opportunity to determine whether the exclusion of social studies within the state/national accountability system is impacting student achievement in social studies. The current systems make social studies uniquely positioned for studying the effects of large-scale assessment upon the field. Uses and interpretations of assessment data by researchers have been limited in social studies because the subject is not incorporated into most accountability policies. State policy governs educational standards, teacher licensure, and the extent of assessments upon students. For this study, the social studies NAEP assessment is divided into three separate tests (U.S. History, Geography, and Civics). By looking at data from the fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-grade 2010 social studies NAEP tests, this study will investigate some of the unintended consequences of educational assessment culture. I will examine social studies through different lenses and apply the concept of consequential validity to social studies in order to understand the value of social studies within education.

<p>In today’s evolving classrooms, educators are tasked with going beyond providing the necessary content knowledge to reach the needs of their students. In addition to effectively differentiating instruction, global competency skills have become an increasingly pressing concern as the American society gradually becomes more diverse. In response, recent programs and supports have been created to allow prospective teacher candidates to develop their global competence to better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and globally connected society.</p><p>An explanatory sequential mixed methods research design examined how participation in a short-term study abroad can impact teachers’ empathetic dispositions related to globally competent teaching practices. Quantitative data was first collected through an online Qualtrics questionnaire from pre-service, in-service, and other agricultural educators (n=36) who participated in a short-term study abroad experience in Jamaica from 2015-2019. Following the online questionnaire, four virtual follow-up focus groups were conducted via Zoom to further explore the collection and analysis of study participants’ self-rated stage of empathy development along the Globally Complement Teaching and Learning Continuum. Inductive coding revealed themes for both internal and external factors influencing study participants’ rationale and desired movement along the continuum.</p><p>Overall, participants acknowledged the transformative experience during the short-term study abroad to Jamaica as an external factor for building competence in the dispositions element of empathy and valuing multiple perspectives. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research were provided to help agricultural educators develop globally competent teaching practices.</p>

This study identifies differences in perceptions between three stakeholder groups - principals, K-12 teachers, and parents - regarding the effect of workplace conditions on teacher attrition. An electronic questionnaire was sent to 15 of Utah's 41 school districts. Sampling efforts yielded completed surveys from 93 principals, 2003 teachers and 495 parents. All three groups agreed that workplace conditions are important, but the greatest disagreements occurred in perceptions of (a) teacher involvement in decision-making, (b) protection of teacher preparation time, (c) administration's management of student discipline, (d) adequacy of resource availability, (e) the degree to which a trusting and supportive school environment existed within the school, and (f) whether teachers' expectations were reasonable. Overall, principals believed that work conditions are relatively good for teachers, while many teachers disagreed with these perceptions. The study also examined factors that influence science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) university students' willingness to consider teaching as a career. A total of 4,743 university students majoring in STEM fields from Brigham Young University completed the survey (31%) and although very few of these students initially consider this profession, we identified four factors using predictive modeling that are strongly associated with these students' willingness to consider teaching and their belief that teaching might be their best career option. Results indicated that STEM university students were more likely to consider teaching when they believed teaching is something they would be good at, others encouraged them to be a teacher, when family encourages them to teach, and when teachers they know inspire them. Results from this study indicate that small salary bonuses would likely not entice students in STEM subjects to become teachers. Less impactful factors included gender and individual beliefs about the respectability of the profession. Additionally, this study found these students less likely to consider work conditions for teachers when making career choices. This study concludes with several implications that can inform and possibly improve the recruitment and leadership preparation programs at Institutes of Higher Education.

Student discipline and subsequent placements are a common problem in education. This qualitative phenomenological study addressed a gap in the literature by discovering the experiences of middle school teachers and administrators regarding student discipline, classroom removal, and assignment of students to alternative education. This research describes the development of an interview protocol based on critical incident theory and demonstrates its usage in drawing out thick, rich descriptions which help increase the trustworthiness of qualitative research. Initial interview data are presented to highlight the utilization of critical incident theory to elicit specific information about how participants experienced various critical interactions that influenced academic decisions about the student removal process, the kinds of situations and safety issues they encountered, and training they received for managing student removal. Data were collected using audio recorded and transcribed in-depth interviews using open ended questions with participants. Six teachers and 2 administrators from 3 middle schools in the southern U.S. responded to 15 questions in semistructured interviews that were audio recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed an overarching theme of managing disruptive classroom behavior. Participants described classroom management difficulties, their methods of dealing with disruptive students, and their emotional reactions to disruptions. Some teachers shared that at times, they reconsidered their decision to teach due to classroom management problems, and some revealed that their classroom management training had been deficient. Recommendations include further research on the degree and kinds of stress resulting from teachers having to deal with student discipline problems. Implications for positive social change include motivating schools to evaluate their programs of continuing teacher education for dealing with classroom discipline and to provide opportunities for teachers to discuss, with their peers, their behavioral and emotional reactions to difficult student encounters, thereby contributing to teacher well-being and retention.

The purpose of this study was to determine if by alternating certain classes biennially the number of different teaching preparations could be reduced thus decreasing the teachers' load. The study also attempted to ascertain the effect this type of scheduling had upon the attitudes of teachers and students toward these classes. A further attempt was made to determine if mixing students from two grade levels resulted in the younger student being penalized with respect to his cumulative grade point average. The significant conclusions that can be drawn from the results follow: Teachers, generally, thought well of the project and desires to participate in it. Although some teachers expressed reservations about the project there were none that could not be removed by correcting the problems expressed. At the conclusion of the study most were in favor of continuing the project. By alternating classes biennially which were normally taught annually the class preparation load for teachers participating in the project was reduced and this basic quest of the project was, in fact, met. Students were not aroused unduly by the experimental nature of the project but sensed the need for long-range planning and increased guidance in setting up their schedules. They did not object to being combined with other grade levels in the project classes. Contrary to administrative expectations, however, the younger students did tend to receive lower marks in the project classes. Achievement progress as measured by the use of standardized tests revealed no significant difference between students in the experimental school and those students in the control school.

Teacher preparation programs are making concerted efforts to prepare practitioners to transform urban education. Current studies rely heavily on self-reported data with little to no inclusion of the voices of teachers or perceptions of principals. This qualitative case study aimed to fill that gap by exploring how alumni of one social justice–themed University Teacher Preparation Program (UTPP) defined and implemented socially just teaching practices in urban elementary classrooms. Participants included six teacher alumni in their first, second, or third year of teaching, two supervising principals, and one UTPP staff member. Methods included semistructured interviews, full-day classroom observations, and a review of program documents. The study was guided by 12 characteristics of socially just teaching outlined in a new practice- based conceptual framework. Major findings combatted current critiques of social justice education and highlighted the importance of relationships, collaboration, craft, and selection in teacher preparation. Minor findings revealed the impact of school culture, critical reflection, and teaching experience on social justice pedagogy. Recommendations include a need for UTPP to pay greater attention to the craft of teaching for social justice, develop assessment literacy in preservice candidates, and model activism inside and outside the classroom.

The challenges of the Great Recession of 2008 have impacted the field of education to the point that many intern programs have ceased to exist. Alternative (or Intern) teacher preparation programs have also become an increasingly popular topic, especially since the term "highly qualified teachers" will soon be up for re-assessment. Concerns over the quality of teacher preparation programs have yet to yield conclusive results and seems to be an unending debate. This study has provided a glimpse into two intern programs and the process by which these programs have evolved. There were 6 major themes that emerged out of this study: Communication & Collaboration, Support, Financial Influences, Individual Dynamics, Beyond Curriculum and How Programs have Evolved to Remain Current. This study described participant perspectives that relate only not how these two intern programs survived during the challenging economic crisis, but how they have managed to thrive. Efforts were made by each program to utilize low intern enrollment to their benefit by providing added supports and individualized programming to better meet the needs of interns/teachers in training. Three intern participants, two Intern program directors and four intern program instructors have provided their perceptions on their programs to illustrate a clearer picture of how their respective intern programs have evolved to remain current in this challenging economically turbulent time.

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<p>The decline in Americans’ civic knowledge and engagement is alarming and concerning for U.S. democracy. Over the years, there has been an increasing concern about the amount of civic knowledge and content taught in schools, students’ civic scores, equipping classrooms with civic learning opportunities, and federal funding for students in civics and civic programs. Thus, extant literature shows four critical gaps of concern: 1) curriculum gap, 2) knowledge gap, 3) research gap, and 4) funding gap. As a result, studies on civic readiness have become essential due to the growing concern for reinforcing civic readiness in U.S. classrooms. However, despite the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) advocacy for inquiry as the best practice for social studies teaching and using the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) in teaching inquiry across all social studies disciplines [history, civics, geography, economics], few studies examine the civic readiness of middle-graders using inquiry-based approaches, such as the IDM. Likewise, research examining how different schools are equipped with civic learning opportunities, practices, and access to resources for students is limited. This study employed a multiple-case design to investigate how inquiry-based instructional approaches, such as IDM, foster the civic readiness of middle graders in seven middle-grade social studies classrooms in a midwestern school. Multiple datasets were used, including 14 teacher interviews with seven middle-level social studies teachers, 162 class observation hours, and 246 documents/content analyses. This study argues that there are barriers to middle graders’ civic readiness, and teachers employ different strategies in diagnosing and addressing the barriers; however, inquiry teaching, using the IDM, is an effective instructional approach and plays a pivotal role in fostering civic readiness of middle graders. The findings highlight seven barriers for middle graders in their preparation for civic readiness. Participants shared five strategic ways to diagnose those barriers and five approaches to address them. The study further highlights practical implications for teachers and students, teacher preparation programs, policymakers and teacher educators, and future research. </p>