Education Thinking, ISSN  2778-777X – Volume 3, Issue 1 – 2023



literature review

Supporting Transgender Youth in U.S. Public High Schools

Syed Menebhi

Transgender youth in the United States need support in public schools (Kosciw et al., 2020). This growing population experiences bullying, discrimination, and violence at higher rates than their cisgender counterparts, and this has negative impacts on their educational success and mental health (Garthe et al., 2022; GLSEN, 2021; Goldblum et al., 2012; Johns et al., 2019; Jones, 2018; Sausa, 2005). State and federal non-discrimination policies affect the degree to which transgender students feel safe (Fields & Wotipka, 2022).

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Yet, research shows that non-discrimination laws are ultimately limited in their impact, and schools need to establish their own policies and practices to support transgender youth (Meyer & Keenan, 2018; Roberts & Marx, 2018; Spade, 2015).
A total of 42 peer-reviewed journal articles were identified that address how to best support transgender students in secondary public schools. These articles were analyzed, and four major themes emerged as successful interventions: professional development for teachers, transgender-inclusive school policies, gay-straight alliances, and trans visibility in the curriculum. Drawing on Meyer’s (2003) and Testa et al.’s (2015) adaptation of minority stress theory, this review shows how schools have the potential to act as a buffer against minority stress for transgender youth. Suggestions for further studies based on gaps include a push for more intersectional research and research centered on school practices that currently work for transgender students.

Pages 3–18 / Publication date: 10/02/2023/ View HTML full textDownload full-text PDF


literature review

Mapping the Contours of the Research on Learning to Teach with Technology: Clusters, Categories, and Missing Trajectories

Jeremy F. Price, Josh Manlove, Zachary Morgan, Akaash Arora, & Ted Hall

This review of the literature examines research reports on learning to teach with technology between 2013 and 2019 to illuminate the characteristics of the field at multiple levels of granularity and to call attention to what is missing. We ask the question: What does the overarching paradigm of the field of research on learning to teach with technology look like? Using a mixed paradigmatic and data science-based analysis that involved qualitatively coding the methodologies, purposes, and approaches in the manuscripts and applying a hierarchical clustering of principal components algorithm, five clusters emerged

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on a two-dimensional axis that centered on exploring the teacher pipeline versus social and individual experiences on one axis and behaviors and practices versus attitudes and beliefs on the other. The field was found to be tightly centralized, and clusters overlapped and intersected with methods and outcomes bundled together in a milieu buffeted by neoliberal logics and a sense of techno-utopianism to largely support default theories around technology as a “fix” and as an end in itself to build the teacher workforce. This review finds several critical areas underrepresented, such as time- and context-bound ethnographic studies, approaches that center on anti-oppressive critical media literacy, understanding the ways technology can bridge the classroom with families and communities, and learning to teach with technology for equity and inclusion to support the sustainability and development of identities, communities, and a more democratic society.

Pages 19–40 /Publication date: 21/03/2023/View HTML full textDownload full-text PDF


literature review

Exploring the Links between Psychological Capital, Professional Learning Communities, and Teacher Wellbeing: An Examination of the Literature

Sam Cleary, Mia O’Brien, & Donna Pendergast

Recent research points to the significant role that Psychological Capital (PsyCap) plays in predicting teacher wellbeing (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2006; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), and in preventing burnout (Chang, 2009; Dussault & Deaudelin, 1999; Fullan, 2001; Hakanen et al., 2006; Maslach et al., 2001). PsyCap, the complex and malleable, “state-like” constructs of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism, is influential in increasing motivation in work and educational settings.

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Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) (Goddard et al., 2015; Ramos et al., 2014; Sandoval et al., 2011) has also been found to positively impact teacher’s experiences through the enhancement of persistence, job satisfaction and professional commitment, expectations for students and effective implementation of change. What is not evident is how these two constructs interact, and to what extent they inform teacher wellbeing. Intriguingly, the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) could serve as a crucial interface between PsyCap and CTE, facilitating a symbiotic relationship that magnifies their individual impacts on teacher wellbeing. PLCs not only provide a structured environment for collective problem-solving and shared expertise (Stoll et al., 2006), but also cultivate a sense of community that could potentially elevate these psychological constructs. This study investigates the literature to consider the potential relationship between PsyCap and CTE and the implications for supporting teacher wellbeing within the implementation of a Community of Practice (CoP) approach to professional learning.
A Systematic Qualitative Literature Review (SQLR) methodology (Pickering & Byrne, 2013) explores the intersections of psychological capital, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher wellbeing in the context of PLCs. The SQLR methodology applies specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, with 26 studies identified for review. The analysis identified connectedness between the PsyCap components of hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism with teacher wellbeing, in particular to elements shown to mitigate teacher burnout, and which can be considered indicators in the assessment of wellness. The CTE and CoP literature highlights the importance of shared vision, structured collaboration, regular reflection, supportive leadership, celebration of successes, and fostering trust, as factors that facilitate positive teacher experiences within the processes of professional learning and navigating change. This analysis offers insights into how PsyCap and CTE may interact with and inform teacher wellbeing in the PLC professional learning context.

Pages 41–60 /Publication date: 23/09/2023/View HTML full textDownload full-text PDF


literature review

Marginalized Youth and Their Journey to Work: A Review of the Literature

Alexandra Youmans, Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Alana Butler, Lorraine Godden, Alicia Hussain, Heather Coe-Nesbitt, Rebecca Stroud, & Christopher DeLuca

To support the evaluation of a Canadian social program, our research team conducted a systematic literature review of marginalized youths who have experienced employment challenges. The literature review focused on the context of marginalized youth unemployment, characteristics of NEET youth (i.e., youth not in education, employment, or training), needs and barriers of NEET youth, and promising program practices for helping NEET youth with workforce transitions. The employment needs of marginalized youth were identified in relation to the barriers they face (i.e., being uninformed, underrated, uncertain, under-prepared, unaccepted, and under-resourced; Government of Canada, 2017c).

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To support marginalized youth in securing and maintaining employment, promising program practices must address the complex needs of this population regarding information, investment, life stabilization, skill development, guidance, and the development of networks and connections. In light of this literature review, the implications of employment program policy for NEET youths are discussed.

Pages 61–82 /Publication date: 27/10/2023/View HTML full textDownload full-text PDF

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