Education & Pedagogy

Senate Bill 1532, passed during the 2024 Legislative Session, directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to develop and implement a statewide education plan for immigrant and refugee students. This plan supports students in early childhood through post-secondary education programs. To ensure the plan reflects the needs and aspirations of Oregon's immigrant and refugee communities, ODE will convene an advisory group. This group consists of representatives from immigrant and refugee communities and key partners across the state, who are helping shape the plan's creation and implementation. The Immigrant and Refugee Student Success Plan provides systemic opportunities for local education agencies to partner with community-based and culturally specific organizations, and other entities that have expertise in creating and improving equitable services for immigrants and refugees. This plan allows ODE to better serve a unique student population with varying and unique needs -- including translation services, wrap-around resources, outreach, trust-building, and partnership with community-serving organizations. [This report was produced by the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.]

This book sheds light on the role of mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB MLE) as a means to enhance educational outcomes, creating a space for non-dominant languages alongside more dominant regional, national and international languages. It brings together a number of underlying concerns including the maintenance of non-dominant languages, the context of language policy and planning in shaping this process, the poor educational outcomes of many speakers of non-dominant languages in mainstream education programs and the economic and social importance of becoming multilingual. It focuses on the experiences of those involved in MTB MLE programs in early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary and adult education from numerous settings in the Asia-Pacific region. This book provides readers with a detailed overview of MTB MLE, with a clear and insightful portrayal of the complex nature of policy and practice in both more accommodating and less accommodating sociopolitical environments.

Educator teams consisting of a general education teacher and a special education teacher were recruited to participate in a project where they used the Systematic Supports Planning Process (SSPP) to plan, implement, and monitor individualized supports for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) attending general education classrooms. Educators completed a survey before and after the project where they assessed their confidence in applying UDL principles and provided examples of how they applied UDL principles in their classrooms. Although quantitative responses indicated that the confidence levels of general education teachers and special education teachers increased following participation in the project, qualitative findings were mixed regarding specific actions that demonstrated how UDL principles were applied. The implications for future research and professional development on UDL and arranging individualized supports in general education classrooms for students with IDD are discussed. [This paper will be published in "International Journal of Developmental Disabilities."]

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, and statistics. IES's National Center for Education Research (NCER) supports rigorous research that addresses the nation's most pressing education needs from early childhood to adult education. IES's National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) supports a comprehensive program of education research designed to expand knowledge and understanding of infants, toddlers, and youth with and at risk for disabilities to improve their developmental, education, transition, and postsecondary outcomes. This paper makes the case that IES Development and Innovation research can support the development of usable, feasible, and affordable approaches (practices, programs, or policies) to help schools meet the mental health needs of their students and staff. The goal of this research is to ensure that school-based interventions are contextually appropriate, implemented with high fidelity, and more likely to produce equitable outcomes than current practice. [This paper was published in the "School Mental Health".]

Supplying an insightful introduction to current trends in general education reform, this second edition of "General Education Essentials: A Guide for College Faculty" gives an important, timely overview of general education curricular design. General education curricula provide students with the intellectual flexibility they need to adapt thoughtfully and productively to the rapid changes of the workplace and the world at large. This book offers methods for engaging in curricular reform efforts that support university culture and teachers and examines the implications of general education reform in the classroom, with a keen eye toward syllabi, course content, and student work. By expertly blending theory with curricular ideas for implementation, this text offers an impactful illustration of the shift from distributive to integrative to high impact models of general education. Featuring plentiful examples from a variety of fields and disciplines, this book is essential reading for any higher education faculty member tasked with equipping students with the skills they need to become perceptive scholars and productive citizens. [This book is co-published by AAC&U and Routledge.]

Higher education provides numerous benefits for individuals and the state, one of which is an increase in income after completing a degree or credential. This increase in income translates into increased tax revenue and reduced reliance on public assistance. However, completing a degree or credential requires an investment of time, effort, and money. A student's return on their investment varies depending on the institution and program they choose, as well as their path through postsecondary education and how long it takes them to complete. To assist lawmakers, taxpayers, students and families in understanding the value of postsecondary education in Colorado, the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) publishes an annual Return on Investment (ROI) Report of undergraduate degree programs and certificate programs offered at each state institution of higher education. The report looks at several important measures: (1) how long it takes to finish college and how many credits students take; (2) how much college costs and how much debt students have when they graduate; and (3) how much money graduates earn after college.

"Proceedings of International Conference on Social and Education Sciences" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Social and Education Sciences (IConSES), which took place on October 16-19, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, discuss theoretical and practical issues, and to connect with the leaders in the fields of education and social sciences. The IConSES invites submissions that address the theory, research, or applications in all disciplines of education and social sciences. The IConSES is organized for: faculty members in all disciplines of education and social sciences, graduate students, K-12 administrators, teachers, principals, and all interested in education and social sciences. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

"The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Education" offers a multi-disciplinary work of scholarship and research highlighting the global significance of a critical interface of cultural and social, political, and theological importance. Drawing on historical perspective and contemporary reflection, the collection provides a uniquely transformative analysis of why the interface of religion and education is of such critical significance. With contributions from some of the leading thinkers in the field, this Handbook presents a cumulatively powerful argument to reassess the complexities of the intersection of religion and education. With ambitious and yet accessible intellectual engagements, the Handbook here furthers a central thesis: that the interface of religion and education is not merely a matter of arcane disputation about a domain of ancient origin or a rudimentary matter of formal educational process, but a vibrant domain of critical contestation fundamental to knowing, understanding, and living in the modern world.

In 2025, the Virginia General Assembly enacted HB1805, directing the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to examine the quality and consistency of transition Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities, with the goal of improving standardization and ensuring the timely provision of transition services and accommodations in higher education. This charge builds on the foundation established by HB509/SB21 (2024), which emphasized the acceptance of recent IEPs as sufficient proof of disability but underscored the need for stronger support to families and clearer distinctions between secondary and postsecondary processes. The HB1805 workgroup confirms that inconsistencies in relevant IEP content, limited student preparation and unclear processes between secondary and postsecondary education impede students' timely access to accommodations in higher education. This, in turn, impacts access, affordability and success for students with disabilities who are already the population in Virginia with the lowest college-going rate. By enhancing documentation, expanding inclusive programming, strengthening collaboration, and equipping students and families with knowledge and tools, Virginia can significantly improve the transition experience for students with disabilities.

"Mentoring in Formal and Informal Contexts" was intended to meet a gap in the academic literature that addressed mentoring practice in different contexts. The book highlights practice and research in higher education of both faculty and students, K-12 teacher education (both general and special education), healthcare education and practice, and business. This new edition provides potential readers with four new chapters that enhance the book by providing research and practice on mentoring: junior tenure track university faculty, a collaborative community of learners, K-12 educators engaged in new methods of science teaching, and pharmacy education faculty charged with utilizing new assessment methods for their students. These chapters provide a fresh, updated look at how mentoring can be applied in both formal and informal settings in new and different ways. New models have emerged from the mentoring research and are applied in contexts new to the book. Additionally, a new Introduction is provided to update readers as to the book's changes.

The financial sustainability of higher education is a growing -- albeit far from new -- concern in OECD countries. For higher education to be financially sustainable, it needs to recover the costs of its day-to-day activities and be able to invest enough in physical, human and intellectual capital to deliver on strategic goals and serve students and society. Achieving this requires a realistic vision of what higher education should deliver, adequate resources to fund these ambitions and tools to ensure higher education systems are configured to work effectively and that objectives and resourcing can be adjusted if they become misaligned. This report aims to provide inspiration for policy makers and stakeholders working on higher education funding by exploring how funding systems can influence delivery of system and institutional objectives. It does so by focusing on three aspects of policy: understanding costs and the level of resources likely required to achieve specific goals; the extent to which policy can influence the revenue mix of higher education providers and the main policy tools that can be used to allocate and steer the use of public funding to the higher education sector.

The Tennessee Educator Survey (TES) is conducted annually in partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) and the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA). The survey provides teachers, administrators, and certified staff the opportunity to share their experiences and perceptions about what is working and what improvements should be made in Tennessee schools. These insights offer policymakers and researchers critical feedback to better meet the needs of teachers and students. Key topics included in the TES have historically focused on school culture, state standards and assessments, instructional materials, and teacher evaluations, while also including annual questions on timely issues. This report highlights the major takeaways from the 14th annual TES administered in spring 2025 in eight areas: math curriculum and supports, teacher evaluation, early-career teacher supports, teacher retention, student discipline, career and technical education, cell phones, and artificial intelligence.

State education agencies have long had the freedom to determine how they meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law requires provision of a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities with the intention of improving their educational outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to suggest how state education agencies can reconsider how they meet the IDEA "special education eligibility determination" requirements. Specifically, the paper describes how districts can use their multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) as an interdependent system for meeting these requirements while maintaining a coherent, steadfast focus on improved student outcomes. An integrated approach elevates the full humanity of children and their belonging in their school and community. Further, it promotes an evaluation process that prioritizes educators' knowledge, experience, expectations, and natural environments as the context for understanding student performance and planning for effective instruction. [This position paper was developed using IDEA Part B funds.]