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The Atlanta Schools Critical Education Network for Distinction (ASCEND) is an ongoing interdisciplinary coalition supporting the critical consciousness of social justice educators. ASCEND partners include: (1) activist faculty from two university departments: Middle and Secondary Education and African American Studies; (2) a justice-oriented community-based organization; and (3) local public middle school faculty. This paper analyzes ASCEND's impact on deepening urban teachers' awareness of, and attention to, local injustices within their curriculum, and initial application of critical pedagogy. Major findings capture the impact of providing experiential educator learning opportunities outside of schools and the urgency to center community in educator development.

Purpose: While current research is reporting on a crisis in school leadership aspirations and appointments, this research sheds light on the mediating factors that school middle leaders (MLs) attribute to their appointment as a leader and their aspirations to senior leadership positions. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative data from a larger, mixed-method, research project were collected using an online survey completed by 2,608 MLs in a large public school system in Australia and is analysed using an inductive thematic process. Findings: The findings suggest that MLs experience varying and non-linear career progressions and that a range of personal and professional factors impact their career aspirations. The support of an "experienced other" such as a principal, mentor or coach and strategic career planning are all important in the identification, support, development and advancement of MLs. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the scarce body of research on middle leadership identification and aspirations. The study recommends a system approach drawn from the empirical data and associated literature that may be useful to inform policymakers, school systems and school leaders in efforts towards middle leadership identification, development and advancement.

As part of THE FUSED Health Education Series, this article takes a deep dive into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) 15 Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curriculum. The Characteristics emerged after a review of professional literature on effective health education programs and curricula and determined that these were the common characteristics shared among effective curricula. Each of the Characteristics is intended to add quality and depth to health courses. The purpose of this three-part article is to highlight the CDC's 15 Characteristics of effective health education, explain their appropriate interpretation, and paint a picture of each characteristic by sharing examples of what each could "look like in action" within an engaging health curriculum that incorporates THE FUSED Technique.

Purpose: Estimating the sequential associations between educators' and children's talk during language learning interactions requires careful consideration of factors that may impact measurement stability and resultant inferences. This research note will describe a preliminary study that used generalizability theory to understand the contribution of two measurement conditions--occasions and raters--on estimates of sequential associations between educator talk and autistic preschooler talk in inclusive preschool classrooms. Method: We used an existing data set of four 15-min video-recorded occasions of educator-child interactions for 11 autistic preschoolers during free-play in their inclusive classroom. Two trained raters coded all videos for preschooler talk and type of educator talk (i.e., opportunities for expressive language [OELs], other talk). We conducted two generalizability studies on sequential association estimates for two interaction directions (i.e., preschooler talk following educator OEL and educator talk following preschooler talk). We conducted a series of decision studies to explore configurations of measurement conditions to optimize future investigations. Results: We had unstable estimates for both interaction directions in our current methodological approach, with raters accounting for minimal error and occasions accounting for considerable error. Future investigations would require at least six observation occasions for stable estimates of the sequential association between autistic preschooler talk following educator OEL that was stable after six occasions. More than 15 occasions were required for stable estimates of the association between educator talk following autistic preschooler talk. Conclusion: We will share recommendations and implications for future investigations to estimate educator and child talk sequential associations within preschool language interactions.

Effective classroom management skills are critical in supporting students' academic, social, and behavior development in schools. However, teachers often report support with classroom management as their greatest need. Given this concern, effective and efficient strategies are needed for teachers and school staff dealing with class-wide behavioral difficulties. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of the Good Behavior Game utilizing ClassDojo on class-wide academically engaged and disruptive behavior. A withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention on the behavior of students in four seventh and eighth grade classrooms. Measures of teacher perception of social validity and student perception of acceptability were also obtained. Overall, results indicated the intervention procedures were effective at increasing student academic engagement across four secondary classrooms, were considered socially valid by participating teachers, and were acceptable to secondary students. Impact Statement: Few studies have evaluated class wide interventions in secondary settings, despite a clear need for such supports. The current study found the Good Behavior Game to be effective when implemented with ClassDojo, with procedures found to be socially valid by teachers and students.

This study explores the tenure-track experiences of two junior faculty Black men in higher education, while growing still remains vastly unexplored in higher education. Using an autoethnography approach with a critical race theory lens, the authors explore how race and institutional expectations shape their experiences along the primary components of the tenure process: research, teaching and service. While one author is beginning their tenure journey while the other is ending, findings highlight commonalities along teaching and service experiences are being mediated by their identities as Black men. Their research experiences are distinct from one another given the different research expectations of their respective institutions. The authors suggest recommendations for faculty, staff, and institutional leadership to support Black men who seek tenure and promotion in higher education.

Materialist approaches to aesthetics historicize our sensuous capacities, orientations, and objects by attending to their ongoing production. This article begins by articulating capital not as an "economic" system but as a broader perceptual ecology that produces particular correspondences between subjects and the world. In response to the clear limits of ideology critique we argue that not only is capitalist ideology reproduced educationally but that pedagogical challenges to capital need to generate experiences with alternative collective perceptual realities that exist in the present. In our current conjuncture, such experiences are political insofar as they help rejuvenate the belief in the possibility and reality of revolutionary transformation. We offer the pedagogy of unlearning as one potential educational philosophy and practice that interrupts our inauguration into capital's sensuous regime. Moreover, we read Marx's Capital as a text that is guided by an aesthetic pedagogy to help us understand capital as a totality in shifting and partial ways and that, more importantly, produces a gap in the reader between our presumed sensuous certainty and other possible perceptual configurations. [Note: The publication year (2023) shown in the citation on the PDF is incorrect. The correct publication year is 2024.]

How scholars name different racial groups has powerful salience for understanding what researchers study. We explored how education researchers used racial terminology in recently published high-profile peer-reviewed studies. Our sample included 1,427 original empirical studies published in the nonreview AERA journals from 2009 to 2019. We found that two thirds of articles used at least one racial category term, with an increase from about half to almost three quarters of published studies between 2009 and 2019. Other trends include the increasing popularity of the term Black, the emergence of gender-expansive terms such as Latinx, the popularity of the term Hispanic in quantitative studies, and the paucity of studies with terms connoting missing race data or including terms describing Indigenous and multiracial peoples.

Schools experienced unprecedented disruptions to instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely driven by the abrupt transition to online learning in the spring of 2020. Often, this shift created a "black box" around remote learning and instruction. However, data generated by educational technology platforms can provide a window into instruction during this time. Here, we report on the amount and frequency of usage of an online platform for independent practice used by 58 grade 7 math teachers from seven school districts across multiple U.S. states between August 2019 and July 2021, providing insight into instruction just prior to and during COVID-19 disruptions. Results showed an increased proportion of teachers using the platform at least twice a week over the study period, from 22.2% to 44.1%. Further, platform usage was related to teachers' level of experience and the amount of coach support received, suggesting areas for teacher support during remote instruction.

The importance of leadership for key educational outcomes is well documented, yet leaders' working conditions and well-being have received considerably less attention, particularly in the early care and education (ECE) sector. Job-Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory was used to develop a holistic conceptualization of leader well-being for the purpose of examining the associations among various job demands, resources, and well-being (i.e., physical, psychological, and professional well-being) for leaders of birth to 12th grade (B-12). We tested our conceptual model via structural equation modeling (SEM) with over 2,000 ECE and K-12 building leaders across the United States. We found substantially stronger effects between job demands and well-being relative to job resources and well-being, though resources were found to be directly associated with professional well-being. Further, our tested model was similar for both ECE and K-12 leaders. Overall findings suggest that a reduction in demands--not just increased resources--is needed to ensure improved leader well-being.

Undergraduate research experiences provide engaging learning opportunities but are often not formally assessed for gains in knowledge and skills. This study examined undergraduate research assessment practices and the implementation of a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) research course in all academic units within a college of agricultural and life sciences. During the 2013-2014 academic year, undergraduate students registered for a letter-graded research course, and faculty supervising undergraduate research experiences were surveyed regarding assessment practices. Based on survey responses, an S/U 0-3 credit research course and syllabus template were implemented. Undergraduate students were subsequently surveyed on their 2015 and 2020 fall semester research course experiences. At baseline, most students did not receive a course syllabus (87%), however, they were verbally informed of research expectations (89%). Grades were determined by attendance and participation, and these findings were confirmed by the faculty respondents. Following implementation, 58% agreed or strongly agreed that they were more likely to participate in research with a 0-credit option and that having research on their transcript was important (89%). By 2020, 64% of respondents preferred a 0-credit option. Receiving a syllabus continued to be uncommon. S/U-grading of undergraduate research may be most appropriate for participatory-based assessment; however, steps are needed to promote the 0-credit option and ensure syllabi use for transparency of course expectations and assessment criteria.

Empirical studies about Black graduate students have emphasized their experiences with oppression and marginalization, related psychological impacts, and the survival practices they enable them to persist within Historically White Institutions (HWIs). Yet, some literature falls short of examining how individuals thrive despite racial trauma experienced professionally and personally. Moreover, there is a need for research to explore the role Black faculty play in assisting Black graduate students with addressing racial trauma and engaging in healing practices. Thus, this paper aimed to understand how early-career Black faculty supported Black graduate students in their attempt to do more than thrive while pursuing master's and doctoral degrees in higher education.

This study investigates experiential learning's role and efficacy at a doctoral-level leadership studies program concentrating on a compulsory externship. The key to this work is the enlightening environment and collaboration between the doctoral students and many participating organizations. This study employs hybrid community-based participatory research (incorporating graduate student, organizational stakeholder, and instructor perspectives) to increase knowledge and understanding of doctoral-level experiential learning and integrate that knowledge to benefit pedagogy, leadership development, and organizational-university partnerships. Results indicate that experiential learning builds robust collaboration between institutional and organizational settings. Moreover, the experiential learning experience provides a distinctive approach for doctoral students, enabling them to make better work-context decisions and advance science by asking better, more salient research questions. Experiential learning also enriches the course context, encouraging students to marry their technical and academic expertise to make practical, positive changes.

The Choose Health Action Teens (CHAT) program of Cornell Cooperative Extension engages teens to teach a nutrition curriculum to younger youth, with the goal of enhancing the leadership skills and health behaviors of the teen teachers. Due to COVID-19, an in-person CHAT program in New York City was converted to virtual and implemented online during Summer 2020. Twelve teens, mentored by eight college interns, taught youth virtually in their homes. Quantitative and qualitative assessments demonstrated improvement in teen leadership and facilitation skills and health behaviors, and suggest that converting this type of programming to a virtual environment can be successful.

Drawing from the concepts of Critical Race Theory and the Theory of Nigrescence, we report the results of a grounded theory study to explain why a sample of 28 Black counselors chose their profession. Findings suggest that the contributors to this study were motivated to become counselors because of their inspiration to challenge cultural mandates (i.e., grounding motivator), to disrupt Black underrepresentation (i.e., secondary motivator), and to live out their personal and professional convictions (i.e., secondary motivator). Recommendations for counselor education, counseling practice, and counseling research are included.

Children in P-12 schools are growing up in racially tumultuous times, despite the promises of desegregation since "Brown vs. Board of Education." Multicultural education, included under the umbrella of equity, diversity, and inclusion, is under attack and illegal in an increasing number of school districts. Advanced placement in Black history and psychology courses and the use of diverse literature written for children and young adults have been banned by many school districts nationally. Educators are being threatened, sanctioned, reprimanded, and fired. Despite this, some teachers stand steadfast in their commitment to pedagogies that use authentic, high-quality literature about and by minoritized scholars. In this publication, I discuss the importance of gifted and talented education (GATE) students being taught Black history and culture that centers diverse literature that recognizes, respects, and celebrates similarities and differences within and across cultures including ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical, cognitive and emotional ability, geographic location, language, and religion. Many GATE students are avid readers and like other students, they benefit from an education that includes diverse literature. Further, I use Racial Pride, Equity, Achievement, and Liberation (REAL) to underscore the monumental need for multicultural literature due to its multitude of benefits to Black and other minoritized students. In other words, children's literature can and must be decolonized, which is supported by Bishop's metaphor of "mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors."

The antagonism between "class" and "race" have plagued educational theory for decades. As a communist organizer seeking to move Marxist educational theory out of the stagnant waters of theoretical debates, I turn to recent CRT scholarship, which I find much more in line with the communist project. Yet, this literature omits world-historic and ongoing transformations inaugurated particularly since the beginning of the 20th century by erasing, discounting or, denouncing them. I argue the primary factors inhibiting educational researchers: Anticommunism. The global revolutionary era led largely by revolutionary communists contains the most fruitful explanations of those conditions and connections (and the historical legacies accounting for mass movements in the U.S. today, like the historic 2020 uprising against the War on Black America). This rich and dynamic legacy is what can get educational scholarship beyond the cages of academia. After outlining the interconnection between anticommunism and anti-Black racism as the contours of master narratives, I demonstrate how anticommunism continues to hold education's potential contributions to the struggle back while accounting for the material conditions responsible for the absence of revolutionary theory and practice and the overwhelming surplus of theories critical of revolution in the university today. I demonstrate how anti-Black racism in the U.S. is tethered to anticommunism and how Leninism provides the theoretical and practical link uniting the global struggle of the oppressed and creating the Black and indigenous-led communist movement, contending struggles against white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism depend on a rejection of anticommunism by turning to Black communist Claudia Jones.

Recognition that schools should be responsive to children who are impacted by adversity and trauma is burgeoning internationally. However, consensus regarding the necessary components of a trauma-informed school is lacking. This research developed expert-informed and internationally relevant best-practice trauma-informed principles for schools. A four-phase methodology included (i) identification of school-relevant trauma-informed practice programs, (ii) inductive thematic analysis of the main concepts underlying programs, (iii) phrasing of draft Principles and (iv) Principle revision and finalisation via a two-round Delphi survey with international experts. Excellent agreement by experts on the importance of all Principles was achieved (round 1 [greater than or equal to] 86.4%, 2 [greater than or equal to] 92.3%). The final 'International Trauma-Informed Practice Principles for Schools' (ITIPPS) include four Overarching (A-D) and 10 Practice Principles (1-10). Summarised, these include that the school: (A) is student focussed; (B) models compassion and generosity; (C) is understanding and responsive; (D) incorporates recognition of their First Nations peoples in the school's ethos: (1) prioritises safety and wellbeing; (2) models positive relationships; (3) provides a positive culture and connects; (4) consults and collaborates; (5) supports vulnerable students; (6) teaches social and emotional learning; (7) provides trauma-informed practice training; (8) is predictable yet flexible; (9) identifies and nurtures strengths and (10) reflects, changes and grows. The ITIPPS provide clear guidance for education sectors, schools and other settings about appropriate learning environments for children and young people impacted by trauma. Research is now underway in Western Australian schools to pilot test the feasibility and impact of using the ITIPPS within a framework (thoughtfulschools.org.au) to establish trauma-informed schools.

Although vaccination requirements have been a mainstay of university admissions, the recent shift in vaccination and other preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been met with resistance. Reviewing the vaccination literature, there has been an apparent shift in support for university vaccinations, which is largely a result of the politicized climate surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a mixed-methods analysis, this study examines how type of institution and location variables affect public and private universities implementation of vaccination mandates and other preventative measures. Data indicate that, similar to other studies, politics matter and higher institutions are finding themselves at odds with state governments in which campus and community safety is not the primary concern.

In England the 2014 Children and Families Act introduced wide ranging changes to the assessment of and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Guidance underpinning implementation was then published in the Code of Practice. Our study focuses on a key component of that legislation, known as the 'local offer', which requires local authorities to establish and maintain, clear, comprehensive, accessible and up to date information for children and young people with SEND, and their families, about available SEND provision. Local authorities are expected to involve children and young people and their families in co-designing and reviewing their local offer, alongside other key stakeholders, to ensure provision is responsive to local needs and aspirations. To support our assessment of local offers we first established six categories based on the criteria in the Code of Practice about expected availability of SEND-related information (e.g. financial support, health service information, accessibility information). We used these categories to evaluate the relevant local offer websites of all 151 English local authorities with legal responsibilities for SEND assessment and provision. We further assessed whether each local offer website included three common website accessibility functions. Our findings demonstrate variation in the availability of information at local authority level, therefore limiting the ability of some young people and families to make informed decisions about the support available to them. This provides further evidence to support growing concerns about 'postcode lottery' inequities for families and their children with SEND.

Admission to selective colleges has grown more competitive, yielding student bodies that are unrepresentative of the U.S. population. Admission officers report using sorting (e.g., GPA, standardized tests) and concertedly cultivated (e.g., extracurricular activities) and ascriptive status (e.g., whether an applicant identifies as a member of a racially minoritized group) criteria to make decisions. Using latent class analysis, we identified three groupings of institutions based on the admission criteria they claim to value. Public institutions largely practiced a "coarse sieve" approach that relied on sorting criteria. Some private institutions practiced "fine sieve" admissions by emphasizing concertedly cultivated and ascriptive status criteria. A few privates employed the "double sieve" that combined sorting and concertedly cultivated criteria. Results illuminate the shape of the admissions sieve, identifying institutional contexts that inform the admissions practices selective colleges claim to use.