This research study, using institutional theory as a framework, examines the role of superintendents in promoting and impacting innovation in Virginia's public schools. The study engaged fourteen current Virginia superintendents in semi-structured interviews, exploring their perspectives on fostering an innovative culture within their school…

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has a codified responsibility to develop the Commonwealth's state-level strategic plan for higher education and to review The Plan every six years to ensure its relevance in addressing critical issues. In 2019, to fulfill a Code requirement and more important, to identify the main near-…

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, state education leaders have been developing numerous innovative approaches to supporting high school students who are pursuing career pathways and preparing them for successful outcomes beyond secondary education. This topical brief summarizes state needs and strategies related to supporting…

Place-based education (PBE) will be explored while weaving in my own experiences with place growing up in West Virginia surrounded by the coal industry. PBE is a teaching method that provides meaningful instruction for students by transforming their community or place into their classroom. PBE can teach students how to truly inhabit their places…

The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, now in its sixth year, charts a course to make Virginia the best-educated state by 2030. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia developed The Virginia Plan as part of its statutory role to "advocate for and promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound,…

This article details how a team of fourth-grade teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia used the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to deepen student understanding of Barbara Johns and the Moton Student Strike's fight for racial justice in Virginia and to reframe their overall approach to Black history in general. Although Rockingham County Schools are…

Open licensing used in Open Educational Resources allows for teaching and learning techniques that are not possible with traditional copyright. There is a growing body of empirical research on open pedagogy. However, definitions and instantiations of open pedagogy vary in the literature. The purpose of this review was to systematically search and…

Learning the essential concepts and skills of information architecture (IA) has the potential to not only significantly extend the abilities of practicing library and information science (LIS) professionals, but also to evolve their professional identities and envisioned career opportunities. An online course on IA was designed around: the…

Background: Multitasking while reading is a commonplace activity. Many studies have been conducted examining the effect of multitasking on reading comprehension and times. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to consolidate the empirical findings on reading comprehension and times in order to understand the overall effect of multitasking on…

Cyberbullying is an emerging equity issue in American higher education with well-documented social, psychological, and academic consequences. Unfortunately, while higher education leaders are grappling with how to respond to cyberbullying victimization among students, their efforts are hindered by the lack of consensus on how to measure…

"Cyberbullying"--the intentional, repeated online harassment of a person with less perceived social power--is a pervasive issue facing today's college students. As a result of cyberbullying, victimized students can suffer social, psychological, and academic consequences. This article reports the psychometric validation of a cyberbullying…

This report presents enrollment data for West Virginia Higher Education. The following topics of data are presented: (1) National Enrollment Trends; (2) West Virginia High School Graduate Projections; (3) College-Going Rate; (4) Student Persistence and Completion; (5) Credit Headcount Enrollment; (6) Fall 2020 Headcount Enrollment Shifts; (7)…

The State of West Virginia is adopting the teacher residency model as the primary pathway to teacher certification in the state. By the fall of 2024, all educator preparation programs (EPPs) in the state must implement the West Virginia Residency Model (WVRM) for earning certification in all undergraduate licensure areas. However, implementing the…

The West Virginia Department of Education has crafted this document to offer policy guidance to teams and Section 504 committees in providing appropriate access for students in statewide assessments; and to assist teachers and schools to work within the framework of federal law and state policies. The guidelines are referenced by West Virginia…

Educators recognize children's social competence as an indicator of school readiness. Children's social competence may be promoted prior to kindergarten through parents' discipline. We assessed parent discipline as a predictor of 37 low-income pre-schoolers' social skills over four months. Parents answered open-ended questions about how they would…