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Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy assessed PE quantity (days per week and minutes per week), class sizes by grade level, and practices that limit PE access. Descriptive statistics and correlations of PE minutes per week with class size were calculated in aggregate and individually by state. Results: Aggregate PE quantities in elementary, middle school, high school, and for students with disabilities were well below the recommendations (150 min/week elementary and 225 min/week secondary) and varied between states. Average students/class varied by state, and significant positive correlations between weekly PE minutes and students/PE class were observed. Discussion: PE access is limited across the United States, and stronger commitment to PE policy and policy implementation is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehending interest group politics is central to studying the European Union's (EU) policy shaping and decision-making, in education as in other policy areas. Yet the contribution of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to EU policy shaping and decision-making in European education has been overlooked. Drawing on organisational studies, this article presents the results of an embedded case study of two Brussels-based NGOs, one representing a sectorial interest and the other a broader interest in education. The author examines their organisational features, funding sources, relations to EU institutions and the advocacy tools they use to strengthen civil society's voice at the European level. She argues that these NGOs act as agents in a double-loop transmission rather than simple transmission belts as depicted in the literature. She draws attention to their increased dependency on EU funds and constant need for alliances and coalition building as two aspects which may limit their freedom or increase internal competition in the future. Determining whether this reflects a more general trend in the advocacy work of Brussels-based NGOs will require expanding attention to other NGOs active in education and across sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic equity challenges in K‐12 STEM education place students from minoritized groups on an uneven footing, restricting access and opportunity for the diverse students who make up the majority population in US public schools. Teachers play a key role in advocating for equity and justice in STEM education. In positioning themselves as agents of change, they have the power to impact their classrooms, schools, and communities. Using a collaborative coding process informed by dominant and critical framings of equity in STEM education, we analyzed equity research presentations and final written reflections from a graduate course for practicing teachers (n = 23) focused on STEM integration. Teacher participants demonstrated one of four advocacy orientations: (a) equity in classroom teaching, (b) STEM education, (c) equity in STEM education, or (d) neither equity nor STEM. Our analysis of teachers' final course reflections led us to develop a rubric using principles of grammar to evaluate the levels of agency evident in teachers' statements. Most teachers were at least minimally agentic for STEM, but fewer teachers were agentic for equity. Only four of 23 teachers were highly agentic for equity in STEM education. We identify a need for more purposeful scaffolding in professional learning to build teacher advocacy and agency for equity in STEM education. Future research should explore the high‐leverage practices in STEM teacher education that foster advocacy and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no gainsaying that individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are faced with serious socio-legal, and medical discrimination following the enactment of anti-homosexuality law in Nigeria. However, not much is known of the effort of an organized body of psychology in the country to ensure adequate knowledge and competence among Nigerian psychologists. This article, therefore, appraises the stance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) psychology in Nigeria in relation to the cardinal quadrants: Advocacy, Education, Research, and Practice. A multi-method design was adopted to sort for both primary and secondary data. Purposive sampling was adopted to involve 124 practicing psychologists. Findings revealed that the Nigerian psychology curriculum limits its scope to sexual and gender disorders (sexual dysfunction, gender dysphoria, and paraphilic disorders) while missing out on sexual and gender diversity content. Furthermore, the outcome shows that not much is documented on the contribution of the field of psychology to the knowledge of LGBT. Many of the participants had a history (and still) working with LGBT clients and did not have formal LGBT-affirmative training. The study concluded that the integration of LGBT psychology is essential for significant achievement in the space of advocacy, education, research, and professional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have long documented the importance of parent participation in the development and success of children in schools. Parent participation is a critical component in special education programming and is embedded in special education legal requirements in the US. However, navigating special education programming has proven particularly challenging for families from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) communities. Existing research focuses more extensively on the obstacles parents from CLD communities face than on their contributions to their child's success. The present case study examines the advocacy efforts of an African American mother of two youths with disabilities. The study documents this mother's involvement in a special education advocacy training program to enhance her ability to exercise her rights on behalf of her children. Data included an analysis of in-person interviews and special education documentation. Several themes emerged from the data including (a) challenges experienced navigating special education programming, (b) advocacy efforts to support her children's programming, and (c) using the knowledge and skills gained from her participation in the program to inform her decisions. Overall, acting on her instincts became the most powerful tool in this parent's efforts to advocate on behalf of her children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equity and inclusion efforts have increased at educational institutions in the United States. However, equity and inclusion leadership has been fraught with political challenges, as well as a lack of resources, clear strategic direction, and campus support and engagement. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study aimed to examine the lived experiences of educators and leaders working for social justice in educational contexts in the United States. The researchers interviewed seven participants, focusing on the research question: How do educational leaders describe the ways they navigate the ethical dimensions of advocacy? The researchers underpinned their analysis using a conceptual framework based on established frameworks for social justice leadership and Critical Race Theory; both emphasize contextual analysis and seek to challenge systemic inequities. The researchers used an inductive and iterative process that produced the following emergent theme: leaders' development of frameworks for advocacy and ethics as they pursue social justice goals. The results suggest specific leadership strategies useful to educational leaders, such as communication, relationship-building, and ethical advocacy for their contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractResearch demonstrates a connection between parent perspectives and children’s decisions to pursue careers in STEM (e.g. Albritton et al., 2020; Fouad et al., 2016). However, there is limited research on parents’ impact on CS education advocacy. Through one-on-one parent interviews, this study found that parents engage in educational advocacy, but have limited access to CS resources and information on how to advocate for computing education. Regardless, parents recognize their children need to learn computing and want access to CS. This research illustrates the importance of leveraging parents’ advocacy to ensure meaningful CS education for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, there are political, social, and financial obstacles to providing high quality, inclusive early childhood education to young children with disabilities and their families. Many teachers are able to identify the systemic issues that negatively impact their work; however, many early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers do not have the competence or confidence to advocate for systemic change. In the U.S., one reason for ECSE teachers not engaging in advocacy is an absence of content, practice, and opportunities to learn about advocacy in traditional teacher preparation programmes. This mixed methods study explored how an 8-week graduate level course focused on advocacy for ECSE trainees influenced their knowledge, skills, and dispositions towards advocacy. The course content, assignments, and activities are described as well as pre- and post-course evaluation data. Implications are discussed regarding the course outcomes, lessons learned, and future directions for infusing advocacy content and experiences in ECSE training programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is limited understanding of the challenges experienced and supports required to aid effective advocacy of the Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA). The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges experienced and supports needed to advocate for the GAPPA across countries of different income levels. Methods: Stakeholders working in an area related to the promotion of physical activity were invited to complete an online survey. The survey assessed current awareness and engagement with the GAPPA, factors related to advocacy, and the perceived challenges and supports related to advocacy for implementation of the GAPPA. Closed questions were analyzed in SPSS, with a Pearson's chi-square test used to assess differences between country income level. Open questions were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Participants (n = 518) from 81 countries completed the survey. Significant differences were observed between country income level for awareness of the GAPPA and perceived country engagement with the GAPPA. Challenges related to advocacy included a lack of support and engagement, resources, priority, awareness, advocacy education and training, accessibility, and local application. Supports needed for future advocacy included guidance and support, cooperation and alliance, advocacy education and training, and advocacy resources. Conclusions: Although stakeholders from different country income levels experience similar advocacy challenges and required supports, how countries experience these can be distinct. This research has highlighted some specific ways in which those involved in the promotion of physical activity can be supported to scale up advocacy for the GAPPA. When implementing such supports, consideration of regional, geographic, and cultural barriers and opportunities is important to ensure they are effective and equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education of the pediatric oncology workforce is an important pillar of the World Health Organization CureAll technical package. This is not only limited to healthcare workers, but all stakeholders in the childhood cancer management process. It includes governmental structures, academic institutions, parents and communities. This review evaluated the current educational and advocacy training resources available to the childhood cancer community, the contribution of SIOP Africa in the continental educational needs and evaluated future needs to improve the management of pediatric malignancies in reaching the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer goals. Childhood cancer, unlike adult cancers, has not been prioritized in African cancer control plans nor the teaching and advocacy surrounding pediatric oncology. The availability of formal training programs for pediatric oncologists, pediatric surgeons and radiotherapy specialists are limited to particular countries. In pharmacy and nutritional services, the exposure to pediatric oncology is limited while training in advocacy doesn't exist. Many nonacademic stakeholders are creating the opportunities in Africa to gain experience and train in these various fields, but formal training programs should still be advocated for. The African continent has various resources to increase the capacity of childhood cancer care stakeholders to increase their knowledge. African pediatric oncology teams rely on a multitude of international sources for training while developing their own. There is a greater need for formal, standardized cancer training especially for pediatric surgeons, radio-oncologists and nurses. Greater inclusion of pathologists, pediatric oncology pharmacists and dieticians into multidisciplinary care and childhood cancer training should be facilitated and resourced. Successful advocacy programs and tool kits exist in parts of Africa, but the training in advocacy is still underdeveloped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advocacy is an emergent dimension of teacher leadership, given its growing importance in shaping policy and facilitating reform efforts in American K-12 education. In 2014, the National Academies called for advancing advocacy-based activities and leadership among K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers, who are presently understudied. The purpose of this embedded single-case case study was to explore STEM teachers' development of self-efficacy in advocacy for STEM education. Contextualizing the case, participants consisted of 11 STEM teacher leaders who were part of the STEM Teacher Ambassadors (STA) program, a year-long advocacy-focused leadership development fellowship program, jointly sponsored by the National Science Teaching Association and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Employing case study research methodology, primary data were collected using semi-structured interviews, while secondary data were sourced via focus group interview and documents to triangulate interview data. Utterances (i.e., participant statements, groups of statements, or segments of statements) from transcribed data were coded a priori and analyzed via four constructs of self-efficacy theory: enactive master experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Results revealed 157 utterances coded to self-efficacy building within STEM education advocacy. Findings suggest that STEM teacher leaders' participation in professional development programs that specifically focus on development of policy knowledge and advocacy activities help to develop and sustain STEM teacher leaders' advocacy self-efficacy, given that participating teachers have numerous opportunities to fully engage in mastery experiences in STEM education advocacy. Implications and recommendations for policy and suggestions for further studies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professional counselors are called upon by the American Counseling Association (2018) to advocate on behalf of clients and their families to empower them and facilitate treatment goal achievement. They may accomplish this advocacy work in a variety of ways, including the provision of education and support when external barriers prevent clients' access to valuable community systems and resources. Special education (SPED) represents one such systemic resource that many clients and their families interface, but the lack of knowledge of a family's rights in the individual education planning (IEP) process continues to hinder their participation and utilization of SPED services (Jung, 2011; Lo, 2012). In this article, we illuminate opportunities for clinical mental health counselors to adequately prepare client families for the SPED process and act on behalf of families to advance their children's treatment progress, educational prospects, and lifelong success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presented empirical information to explore and examine the advocacy activities conducted by social workers in Hong Kong. The effectiveness of the advocacy activities as perceived by the social workers are measured and matched with the actual practice. Reasons for undertaking advocacy are collected. The determinants of advocacy include: recognition of the importance of empowerment and relationship building between social workers and service users, helping service users exercise their rights and broaden their life options are instrumental in driving advocacy efforts. The sense of guilt is also a contributing factor behind certain advocacy activities. The importance of research and education in advocacy are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A formal partnership between a state-level umbrella association of educational administrators and one of its constituent associations, the association of gifted education administrators, has resulted in successful legislative and policy advocacy for gifted education. The formal partnership encouraged leaders of the gifted education professional community to identify as administrators and to collaborate with superintendents, principals, and other central office administrators. For the past three decades, this unique partnership has flourished and provides a model that other states can adapt to their context. In addition to the formal administrative association partnership, an informal partnership operates between two state gifted education associations (one focused on gifted education coordinators and administrators; the other focused on teachers and parents) and the umbrella organization of central office and building level educational administrators in the state. A key feature of the formal partnership is shared governance between the umbrella association and its 12 member associations, one of which comprises gifted education administrators. The informal partnership is linked by advocacy and policy development initiated by the salaried Legislative Advocate and a standing Legislative committee that includes the presidents of the state association for gifted education administrators and the president of the teacher and parent association. The benefits of the formal partnership and suggestions for initiating such a partnership in other states are discussed. The complexities of the informal partnership are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Civil Society Education Fund’s (CSEF) impact on the non-governmental organisation education partnership (NEP) in Cambodia. With financial backing from the World Bank and the Fast Track Initiative, the CSEF is an initiative that is managed internationally by the Global Campaign for Education. Its goal is to help national networks of non-governmental organizations participate in education decision-making and to serve as a watchdog for progress related to internationally agreed upon goals. Through the CSEF, the deployment of various strategies, and other external factors, the NEP was able to able to achieve recognition, legitimacy and influence at the national level. However, the NEP has had to balance workingwiththe state and workingforthe state. This case study highlights strategies used by civil society actors to engage state actors, the efficacy of international support, and the conflicts inherent in both. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Education reform is increasingly portrayed as a means to improve a nation's global competitiveness as measured by its performance in international league tables of pupil achievement. This has created a demand for comparative research which identifies ‘what works’ in high-performing school systems. A diverse array of consultancies, thinks tanks, and entrepreneurs has emerged to satisfy that demand, portraying their approach as a pragmatic and objective form of evidence-based policy-making. However, the attempt to translate complex conditions into straightforward solutions (i.e. ‘what works’) leads researchers into a basic paradox. This paper identifies the strategies used to address this paradox and to advocate reforms. We demonstrate that, though they are persuasive, the strategies fundamentally fail to overcome the problems inherent in the enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Since parental engagement in children's schooling is known to improve their academic achievement, it is important to know what characterizes those teachers who provide relevant parental support. This study of 34 US elementary-school ESL teachers found that, while of those teachers who engaged in advocacy for and support of immigrant families, most were multilingual and could communicate with them, a small number of monolingual teachers also acted as advocates. What characterized these advocate teachers was intercultural competence (Byram, 1997), gained through substantial intercultural experiences. On this basis, suggestions are made for school organization and ESL teacher recruitment and preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become a national priority in many countries. Governments across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region have placed considerable emphasis on the development of policy documents and national initiatives to improve the quality of services for young children and families. This paper presents findings from a study undertaken in Singapore to explore the perceptions of leading professionals on issues facing the early childhood sector and to gain their thoughts on how the quality of services and provision can be improved. Informed by a participatory methodological approach, the paper raises more questions than answers and highlights areas of concern to practitioners and stake holders including quality, access and role of government and governance in promoting the early years sector. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Changes in education policy—particularly at the federal and state levels—during the current era of ideologically and profit-driven “education reform” threaten balanced education in general and music/arts education in particular. Emerging answers to a number of pivotal questions will determine the future of the arts, arts education, and public education in general. Music educators and other advocates of quality arts education must not only adapt their curricula and instructional practices to reach students in a twenty-first century context, but also develop effective communications systems and organize coalitions powerful enough to influence policymakers and thereby shape policies supportive of quality music/arts education. Recent advocacy efforts by the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) provide examples of how supporters of arts education might accomplish these goals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The economic challenges facing public schools and music education are immense. In this context, music teachers and supporters will need to engage in persuasive advocacy to protect resource allocations to music programs. It is worthwhile to consider the model of music education advocacy that allowed music to be adopted into the Boston Public Schools in the early 1800s. This article uses Aristotle’s structure of ethos, pathos, and logos to provide insight into how the early music education advocates built the tools for persuasion to support music education advocacy. The challenges of using rhetorical language and evidence are addressed, and questions are asked about the future directions for music education advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The talent development approach to the conceptualization of giftedness has historical precedent in the field. Examples of large-scale and longitudinal research studies from previous decades guided by the talent development approach are provided as illustrations. The implications of focusing on domain-specific talents in academics, the arts and sport, their individual patterns of development, and the use of eminence as a goal for programs and services in gifted education are discussed. The importance of linking theoretical debates and research with the realities of policies, resource allocation, and advocacy is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between music education and physical education has often been portrayed as a competition for financial resources, student enrollment, instructional time, and community support. This article instead explores commonalities between the two disciplines, including their histories, curricular debates, shared concerns, mutual challenges, and potential futures. These issues are examined through examples of political narratives, or frames, that have been used to advance advocacy efforts and policy positions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The authors suggest that special education teachers must be politically active in order to maintain educational standards and services for students with disabilities in the socioeconomic conditions of the U.S. in 2012. An overview of special education advocacy is presented, including policy groups such as the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC), and the Autism Society of America (ASA), as well as advice on how educators can evaluate the ideological and practical factors of disability advocacy organizations. Tactics to promote special education such as letters of support to policy makers, active membership in advocacy organizations, and teacher collaboration are discussed.

The article argues for the participation of teachers in educational policy debates in U.S. gifted and talented education that impact their students and schools, not only at the school level, but also at the district, state, and national levels. Topics include the social advocacy of gifted education by teachers, the importance of teacher cooperation and leadership to further gifted education awareness, and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) gifted education organization.

The author reflects on the U.S. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education law ten years after is passage, focusing on its impact on gifted and talented education and accelerated education programs. Topics include advocacy for gifted children in response to the NCLB Act, school principals' concern for the ratings of their schools, and the book "A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students," volume 1, by Nicholas Colangelo, Susan G. Assouline, and Miraca U. M. Gross.