Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.5
2.6
Journals
Education Sciences
Special Issues
Challenges to Improving Outcomes in K-12 and Postsecondary Systems: Acknowledging...
share announcement

Challenges to Improving Outcomes in K-12 and Postsecondary Systems: Acknowledging the Elephants in the Room

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2025) | Viewed by 3031

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sean W. Mulvenon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Educational Psychology, Leadership and Higher Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 85140, USA
Interests: growth models; large scale data structures; educational policy and accountability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Education Sciences will examine key topics associated with educational outcomes in both K-12 and postsecondary systems. An unspoken element in education, perhaps the largest elephant in the room, are the many erroneous beliefs concerning causal factors in the success or failure of school systems. How can educational research impact these belief structures? More specifically, given the plethora of research on improving school systems, teacher quality, and student outcomes, why are researchers and parents polarized between two beliefs (i.e., the school systems are either amazing or disappointing). Is this schism driven by social perspectives, methodological anomalies, or agenda-driven policy models integrated in published educational manuscripts? The goal is to identify where evidence, or its quality, contributes to suspect conclusions and recommendations in educational research.

The authors will utilize comprehensive literature reviews of manuscripts on selected topics to identify the basis for incongruent findings or policy and intervention recommendations, completing an evaluation of this impact on educational policy, teacher effectiveness, and student outcomes. Finally, recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of research outcomes within education and, specifically, research focused on improving student outcomes will be presented.

The authors will emphasize the use of empirical and replicable research methods to examine their selected topic to develop evidence-based policy and intervention recommendations that are transferrable and replicable within school systems.

Prof. Dr. Sean W. Mulvenon
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • methodology
  • quantitative
  • qualitative
  • accountability

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

29 pages, 496 KB  
Article
Inquiry-Based Knowledge Transformation: A Comparative Case of Two Secondary School Biology Teachers’ Involvement in an Extended Professional Learning Community Program
by Joy Anogwih, Erevelles Nirmala and Shannon Davidson
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 562; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040562 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 573
Abstract
This article presents a qualitative case study of two secondary school biology teachers who aligned their teaching to inquiry through an extended professional learning community (PLC) program. The case study used an inquiry-based knowledge mobility model developed within a sociocultural learning theory (SLT) [...] Read more.
This article presents a qualitative case study of two secondary school biology teachers who aligned their teaching to inquiry through an extended professional learning community (PLC) program. The case study used an inquiry-based knowledge mobility model developed within a sociocultural learning theory (SLT) framework, specifically, the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Data were collected from four PLC meeting transcripts, two lesson observations, and two post-lesson reflection interviews. Four main inquiry-based themes directly emerged from PLC dialogue: scaffolding student agency, phenomenon-based learning, prioritizing process over right answers, and managing students’ preconceptions. Overall, results from the ZPD component of SLT indicated that one teacher’s pedagogical shift was mainly driven by his willingness to take conceptual risks, whereas the other teacher was procedurally driven. The cyclical model challenges traditional views on professional learning and highlights the role of teachers’ epistemological stances on inquiry teaching. This study offers guidance for designing PLCs that support authentic inquiry-based learning in secondary school science classrooms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges to Improving Outcomes in K-12 and Postsecondary Systems: Acknowledging the Elephants in the Room)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 331 KB  
Article
‘It’s Hard to Talk About’: Educators’ Experiences of Belonging and Engagement in Equity-Focused Professional Development
by Laura M. Brady, Kate M. Morman, Cong Wang and Stephanie A. Fryberg
Educ. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 1209; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15091209 - 12 Sep 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1626
Abstract
Providing educators with equity-focused professional development (PD) is an evidence-based strategy for ameliorating inequitable student outcomes (e.g., racial achievement gaps). However, growing fatigue with—and backlash against—equity efforts may undermine the efficacy of this strategy. Drawing on social psychological research, we theorize that educators’ [...] Read more.
Providing educators with equity-focused professional development (PD) is an evidence-based strategy for ameliorating inequitable student outcomes (e.g., racial achievement gaps). However, growing fatigue with—and backlash against—equity efforts may undermine the efficacy of this strategy. Drawing on social psychological research, we theorize that educators’ engagement and buy-in for equity-focused PD depends, in part, on the extent to which they experience a sense of belonging within these environments. Using a focus group methodology, we explored K–12 educators’ (N = 79) experiences of belonging—or lack thereof—in equity-focused PD, as well as their engagement with this PD. Through a four-phase systematic coding process, we identified environmental factors that facilitated or inhibited belonging, both generally and in racially specific ways. We also identified examples of how disengagement manifests in equity-focused PD, as well as the factors that educators believed contributed to disengagement. We discuss how these findings can provide insight into the growing backlash against equity-focused PD and be leveraged to improve the quality and efficacy of equity-focused PD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges to Improving Outcomes in K-12 and Postsecondary Systems: Acknowledging the Elephants in the Room)
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop