The year 2020 brought an unprecedented worldwide health crisis through the COVID-19 pandemic that has been affecting all sectors, including education. There were questions surrounding the effectiveness of online trainings for teachers, online teaching practices, the motivation and engagement of students, and the quality of learning and education in these times. Action research emerged to address these concerns, being a systematic process of inquiry using reflection within a cyclical model of planning, acting, implementing, evaluating, and continuous reflection. This method of research is employed with the expertise and passion from educators to better enhance online practices and education while using authentic learning and experiences. Using collaboration, social advocacy, and action research, there is the opportunity to advance teaching for students, families, and communities without a physical context involved. The Handbook of Research on the Global Empowerment of Educators and Student Learning Through Action Research explores successful teaching and learning skills through the method of action research and intersects it with online learning in order to uncover best teaching practices in online platforms. This book showcases educational professionals’ action research for solutions in advancing teaching and learning, the practical benefits of action research, recommendations for improving online teaching and learning, and a focus on professional growth as well as social justice advocacy. It highlights important topics including student learning, teacher collaboration, authentic learning, advocacy, and action research in both K-12 and higher education settings. This book is ideal for inservice and preservice teachers, administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in how action research is improving and advancing knowledge on the best teaching practices for online education.

Craig Mertler’s Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators introduces practicing educators to the process of conducting classroom-based action research. Practical and comprehensive, the book focuses on research methods and procedures that educators can use in their everyday practice. This Fifth Edition adds enhanced coverage of rigor and ethics in action research, means of establishing quality of both quantitative and qualitative data, as well as strengthened pedagogical features. New material includes discussions of social justice advocacy as an application of action research and the inclusion of abstracts in research reports.

"This book provides teachers, faculty and educational leaders with an opportunity to share their recent research with focus on best teaching practices through the use of online platforms"--

"This is a wonderful book with deep insight into the relationship between teachers′ action and result of student learning. It discusses from different angles impact of action research on student learning in the classroom. Writing samples provided at the back are wonderful examples." —Kejing Liu, Shawnee State University Teacher Action Research: Building Knowledge Democracies focuses on helping schools build knowledge democracies through a process of action research in which teachers, students, and parents collaborate in conducting participatory and caring inquiry in the classroom, school, and community. Author Gerald J. Pine examines historical origins, the rationale for practice-based research, related theoretical and philosophical perspectives, and action research as a paradigm rather than a method. Key Features Discusses how to build a school research culture through collaborative teacher research Delineates the role of the professional development school as a venue for constructing a knowledge democracy Focuses on how teacher action research can empower the active and ongoing inclusion of nontraditional voices (those of students and parents) in the research process Includes chapters addressing the concrete practices of observation, reflection, dialogue, writing, and the conduct of action research, as well as examples of teacher action research studies

The roles of school leaders are ever-expanding. Along with the increase comes heightened expectations to create and sustain school environments that embrace the cultures of all students and families. To accomplish this optimally inclusive learning culture and climate, school leaders must possess the acumen to view all aspects of their responsibilities through a culturally responsive lens, hence, culturally responsive leadership. Culturally Responsive Leadership for Social Justice and Academic Equity for All offers a multi-faceted approach to culturally responsive leadership as it connects the concept to the various responsibilities of school leaders. The book also challenges school leaders to see the connective and comprehensive nature of culturally responsive leadership in their daily duties and responsibilities, introduces the concept of culturally responsive leadership and its benefits for all students, and prompts and initiates an educational leadership mindset that seeks to explore the impact of culturally responsive leadership further. Covering key topics such as equity, school culture, and professional development, this premier reference source is ideal for administrators, policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, students, preservice teachers, and teacher educators.

As diversity based on gender identity and sexual orientation remains a target for discrimination, exclusion, and violence in multiple contexts, it is necessary to advocate for comprehensive and quality sexuality and gender education to achieve equity and equality. This co-edited book provides a comprehensive reflection on how education professionals can foster inclusive education in terms of diversity based on gender identity and sexual orientation that impacts positively both LGBTIQ+ and non-LGBTIQ+ students. Promoting Inclusive Education Through the Integration of LGBTIQ+ Issues in the Classroom offers theoretical considerations and practical examples of how LGBTIQ+ issues can be addressed in education, including instances of curriculum responses, teacher training, and recommendations for supporting LGBTIQ+ students. Its target audience includes international teachers of all areas and educational stages, educators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, principals, school boards, academicians, researchers, administrators, and policymakers. The chapters cover theoretical background, practical examples, and guidelines and recommendations for LGBTIQ+-inclusive education policymaking. This book serves as a reference for anyone interested in making education more inclusive in terms of diversity based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

The need to develop 21st-century competencies has received global recognition, but instructional methods have not been reformed to include the teaching of these skills. Multiple frameworks include creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration as the foundational competencies. Complexities of planning curriculum and delivering instruction to develop the foundational competencies requires professional training. However, despite training, instructional practice can be impacted by barriers caused by personal views of teachers, economic constraints, access to resources, social challenges, pandemic, overwhelming pace of global shifts, and other influences. With digitalization entering the field of education, it is unclear if technology has helped in removing or eliminating the barriers or has, itself, become another obstruction in integrating the competencies. Gaining an educator's perspective is essential to understanding the barriers as well as solutions to mitigate the impediments through innovative instructional methods being practiced across the globe via digital or non-digital platforms. The need for original contributions from educators exists in this area of barriers to 21st-century education and the role of digitalization. The Handbook of Research on Barriers for Teaching 21st-Century Competencies and the Impact of Digitalization discusses teaching the 21st-century competencies, namely critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. This book presents both the problems or gaps causing barriers and brings forth practical solutions, digital and non-digital, to meet the educational shifts. The chapters will determine the specific barriers that exist, whether political, social, economic, or technological, to integrating competencies and the methods or strategies that can eliminate these barriers through compatible instructional approaches. Additionally, the chapters provide knowledge on the impacts of digitalization in general on teaching and learning and how digital innovations are either beneficial to removing impediments for students or rather causing obstructions in integrating the four competencies. This book is ideally intended for educators and administrators working directly with students, educational researchers, educational software developers, policymakers, teachers, practitioners, and students interested in how 21st-century competencies can be taught while facing the impacts of digitalization on education.