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This study aims to examine how critical love theory is operationalized in K-12 classrooms to support Black children. The authors use BlackCrit and a conceptual framework of critical love to describe the strategies educators used as pro-Black pedagogies of resistance.

The authors conducted a thematic analysis to identify how critical love praxis is used by K-12 educators as a tool to address anti-Blackness, neoliberal multiculturalism and ahistoricism as defined by the framings of BlackCrit theory. The authors produced a literature synthesis of qualitative research that responds to this study’s research questions: How are critical love theories operationalized? What educator practices do researchers identify as material manifestations of critical love?; and How and to what extent do critical love praxis address anti-Blackness, neoliberal multiculturalism and ahistorical approaches to social transformation as defined by BlackCrit theory?

Critical love theories manifest as critical love praxis. Educators used critical love praxis to address anti-Blackness, neoliberal multiculturalism and ahistoricism by cultivating and supporting the co-creation of homeplace for Black students in K-12 education. Homeplace is cultivated through critical love praxis as classroom-focused, person-focused and politically focused approaches.

This study’s findings extend current theoretical research on critical love by describing its material form in K-12 education and by identifying how a critical love praxis can work to directly challenge anti-Blackness. The authors find implications for their work in teacher education and teachers’ in-service professional development.

Gas transmission pipelines are at constant risk of gas leakage or fire due to various atmospheric environments, corrosion on pipe metal surfaces and other external factors. This study aims to reduce the human and financial risks associated with gas transmission by regularly monitoring pipeline performance, controlling situations and preventing disasters.

Facility managers can monitor the status of gas transmission lines in real-time by integrating sensor information into a building information modeling (BIM) 3D model. Using the Monitoring Panel plugin, coded in C# programming language and operated through Navisworks software, the model provides up-to-date information on pipeline safety and performance.

By collecting project information on the BIM and installing critical sensors, this approach allows facility manager to observe the real-time safety status of gas pipelines. If any risks of gas leakage or accidents are identified by the sensors, the BIM model quickly shows the location of the incident, enabling facility managers to make the best decisions to reduce financial and life risks. This intelligent gas transmission pipeline approach changes traditional risk management and inspection methods, minimizing the risk of explosion and gas leakage in the environment.

This research distinguishes itself from related work by integrating sensor data into a BIM model for real-time monitoring and providing facility managers with up-to-date safety information. By leveraging intelligent gas transmission pipelines, the system enables quick identification and location of potential hazards, reducing financial and human risks associated with gas transmission.

A primary goal of the Collaboration and Resources for Encouraging and Supporting Transformations in Education (CREST-Ed) program was to increase the number of highly qualified, minoritized teachers committed to teaching in minority-serving, high-need school districts. This study's purpose was to evaluate the CREST-Ed program's impact on teacher residency outcomes using multiple sources of program evaluation data collected during the five-year grant.

This study of a federal Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grant at Georgia State University (GSU), a minority-serving institution (MSI) and research university, shows teacher residency programs can improve the diverse teacher pipeline. The grant, CREST-Ed, provided professional development schools (PDS) support for four urban and 23 rural school districts through partnerships with GSU, Albany State University (ASU) and Columbus State University (CSU).

The study findings suggest that teacher preparation grants can be leveraged to recruit traditionally minoritized teachers of color to increase the diverse teacher pipeline and strengthen PDS partnerships.

Both urban and rural PDSs could benefit from teacher residency programs like the CREST-Ed model that catered to the unique needs of each school and partnership district.

To elaborate the picture of credibility assessment by examining how participants of online discussion evaluate the informational credibility of conspiracy theories.

Descriptive quantitative analysis and qualitative content analysis of 2,663 posts submitted to seven Reddit threads discussing a conspiracy operation, that is, the damage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022. It was examined how the participants of online discussion assess the credibility of information constitutive of conspiracy theories speculating about (1) suspected actors responsible for the damage, (2) their motives and (3) the ways in which the damage was made. The credibility assessments focussed on diverse sources offering information about the above three factors.

The participants assessed the credibility of information by drawing on four main criteria: plausibility of arguments, honesty in argumentation, similarity to one's beliefs and provision of evidence. Most assessments were negative and indicated doubt about the informational believability of conspiracy theories about the damage. Of the information sources referred to in the discussion, the posts submitted by fellow participants, television programmes and statements provided by governmental organizations were judged most critically, due to implausible argumentation and advocacy of biased views.

As the study focuses on a sample of posts dealing with conspiracy theories about a particular event, the findings cannot be generalized to concern the informational credibility conspiracy narratives.

The study pioneers by providing an in-depth analysis of the nature of credibility assessments by focussing on information constitutive of conspiracy theories.

District-university partners increasingly rely on “grow-your-own” licensure programs to address teacher shortages. Because vacancies in special education represent a chronic issue, our district-university partnership developed LEAP – the Licensed Educators’ Accelerated Pathway, successfully preparing 26 paraprofessionals as special education teachers (SEs). We describe a model university-district partnership in which we collaborated to design and implement paraprofessionals’ SE licensure program.

In this general review, we describe a district-university partnership collaboration that resolved barriers experienced by paraprofessionals working toward licensure in special education (Essential #4, Reflection and Innovation). The specialized design and partnership solutions were grounded in SE preparation research literature.

25 (28 entered the program and 25 completed) paraprofessionals from one large urban and several regional districts completed special education licensure through LEAP. Slightly more than half of LEAP participants were Black or Hispanic (see Table 1), contributing to the diversification of SE workforce. University-district partnership was successful in designing and delivering a program that allowed participants: a) to remain employed, b) attend evening classes in their geographic region or online, c) complete all field experiences in sponsoring districts (Essential #2) and d) receive concierge advising from a “completion coach.” We describe solutions to barriers experienced by paraprofessionals and advocate for district-university collaboration to address chronic teacher shortages.

Limitations include lack of data on success of program completers during their first year of teaching as they began this work in Fall 2023. Further, because the participating district was large and urban, generalization of program details for small and rural districts is difficult.

Practical tips for developing grow-your-own special education licensure programs are providing. Detailed descriptions of barriers candidates experienced and ways the district-university partners resolved these issues are included. Programs like the one described has the potential to positively impact teacher pipeline issues.

The program described provided highly-trained teachers to fill chronic vacancies in special education in three participating districts/agencies. Because students receiving special education services are at risk for school failure and are disproportionately impacted by teacher turnover, addressing this area through grow-your-own licensure programs represents a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. Further, upskilling diverse paraprofessionals to licensed teacher roles represent an economic boost, which they might not otherwise have achieved.

Available research literature signals alarm over persistent teacher shortages in hard-to-staff districts and lack of diversity in the teacher workforce, but few published accounts describe successful programs. Partner collaboration fostered a re-imagining of course formatting and delivery to accommodate adult learners, avoiding problems often reported with alternative programs.

The article discusses the development and growth of a newly established Noyce Scholarship Program at a Hispanic Serving Institution and the collaborative efforts of the School of Education (SOE) and its partners during the recruitment and retention process.

The author will explore and answer questions: (1) What were the articulated agreements implemented during the recruitment and application process? (2) In what ways did the scholar’s professional growth benefit from the dedicated and shared resources of the SOE’s partners? (3) How did the process of mentoring transform into a collaborative research effort resulting in presentation experiences?

The balance of triumphs, challenges and success in the program allows room for growth and reflection. Once scholars were admitted and accepted into the program, various supports were implemented to ensure scholars would be given tools needed to become highly effective educators in high-needs schools. In an informal discussion with scholars, they indicated the program taught them the necessary tools and dispositions needed to effectively teach the curriculum in STEM-based classrooms. However, they believed the issues of the program could be solved through constant communication and consideration of scholar input. Scholars also expressed appreciation for experiences encountered for scholar success.

The Noyce Scholars Program has provided opportunities for STEM majors to demonstrate hope and vision regarding the teacher shortage, particularly in STEM areas. The story of a professional development school’s unpredictable journey in addressing the teacher pipeline will hopefully be a source of valuable information for other Professional Development School (PDS) partnerships. Recruitment, clinical preparation and continuous support of partners will continue to be integral factors in shaping future efforts to address the STEM teacher shortage creating a better world, locally and globally.

Lean is a continuous improvement methodology that has succeeded in eliminating waste in a variety of industries. Yet, there is a need for more research on Lean implementation in several under-studied contexts, including crisis situations such as those created by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This research investigates how Lean programs were impacted by COVID-19, while previous research has primarily explored how Lean was used to solve problems created by the pandemic.

A mixed-method research approach was used to analyze employee feedback on how COVID-19 impacted the Lean programs using data from various levels of four energy-based utilities in the United States. First, an online questionnaire collected qualitative and quantitative data from a broad sample of participants. Then, a follow-up semi-structured interview allowed the elaboration of perceptions related to the research question using a smaller sample of participants.

Out of the 194 responses from the four companies, only 41% of the respondents at least somewhat agreed that COVID-19 impacted the Lean program at their company; of the remaining 59%, 35% indicated they were neutral, while 24% disagreed. The themes from the qualitative portion indicated that, while employees believed their companies had successfully found a new way to do Lean within the constraints of not always being in person, the collaboration and engagement were more challenging to sustain, and COVID-19 also otherwise made it more difficult to implement Lean. Meanwhile, some believed there was no impact on the Lean program.

The COVID-19 and Lean peer-reviewed literature published from 2020 to September 2023 focused primarily on using Lean to address problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic vs studying the pandemic's impact on Lean programs. This research partially fills this literature gap in understanding the impact COVID-19 had on Lean initiatives.

This study aims to examine the impact of knowledge and skills acquisition from youth leadership programs on the extent of training transfer. Additionally, it explores the role of self-esteem as a potential intervening mechanism in linking the acquired knowledge and skills to the transfer of training.

Using a non-probability purposive sampling, data were gathered from participants of youth leadership programs in Brunei. The study hypotheses were validated using multiple linear regression analysis and Hayes PROCESS macro.

The findings revealed that knowledge and skills acquisition positively affect the extent of training transfer among youth leadership program participants. Moreover, self-esteem is found to be a crucial mediator in the relationship between knowledge and skills acquired from youth leadership programs and the extent of training transfer.

The study suggests that to optimize the transfer of training in the youth leadership programs, relevant stakeholders – training providers, and practitioners – must prioritize not only the knowledge and skills acquisition but also the cultivation of participants’ self-esteem. To achieve this, a primary focus should be placed on the criticality of designing such programs to address these factors. Policymakers, particularly in Brunei, can enhance the leadership pipeline among the youth population and expedite progress toward achieving the national vision by aligning leadership development initiatives with the broader national development agenda.

Collectively, this study enhances understanding of training transfer in youth leadership development, an often-overlooked area in the literature.

This paper describes the rationale and key aspects of how one school-university partnership leveraged resources to create, implement and refine an innovative professional pathway called the Early Childhood Certificate (ECC) program which reflects the National Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Essential Guideline 4: Reflection and Innovation. The ECC program is an innovative, career-building model that leverages resources between a predominantly white regional state university, a nonprofit organization serving as a Head Start grantee, a large urban school district and community-based education settings across a Midwestern metropolitan region.

This descriptive narrative documents how the ECC program developed as a professional pathway for early childhood educators to scale up their skills for teaching young children while strengthening their capacities and credentials within the early childhood education (ECE) profession pipeline. The narrative includes relevant literature and examples from the field.

This paper includes a discussion of the benefits and challenges related to the design, implementation and refinement of the professional learning ECC program.

This is a descriptive narrative. As such, generalizability is lacking. Research is needed to determine the effectiveness and sustainability of innovative teacher education programs.

Relevant research and lessons learned provide guidance for other school–university partnerships to consider how to meet workforce and career needs for educators in the field of ECE.

School–university partnerships can be change agents and positively impact early childhood educators' career development.

This paper addresses the need for understanding how predominantly white early childhood teacher education programs can partner with schools and agencies and then together leverage resources to support workforce and career development opportunities.

This work aligns with two of the following NAPDS Essentials: Clinical Preparation and Learning and Leading. The authors collaborated with district partners to determine how to best meet their needs. Additionally, our institution continues to develop a reciprocal relationship; pre-service teachers can hone skills during the clinical field experience, and the university will better support the professional development initiatives of districts with whom we partner. Clinical field assignments are designed with intentionality to align with the needs of our districts. Consequently, pre-service teachers will be better equipped to immerse themselves in the field experiences and effectively address the diverse needs of students. The authors will continue to engage our preservice and in-service teachers and personalize supports.

A needs assessment was conducted to determine the most appropriate supports for our district partners. A survey was disseminated, and individuals ranked their area for support. The authors followed up with in-service teachers and district leaders to discuss specific strategies that could strengthen academic achievement and social emotional development. Additionally, the data were used to determine how to better equip teacher candidates to serve in the partner districts.

Two programs that have been highly successful have been the Teacher Assistant to Teaching Professional program which is a specialized grow your own and bringing high school students to campus that are interested in becoming educators their junior year, lastly, the use of Mixed Reality Simulations to strengthen educator preparation. Creating diverse partnerships is not a one-size-fits-all approach in every district. Needs assessment and ongoing conversations are needed to ensure both the district and the Educator Preparation Program are able to support pre-service and in-service teachers along with the needs of PreK–12 students.

This paper highlights diverse approaches to strengthening partnerships and the teacher pipeline.