This research describes a professional book study experience and offers insight into its use in supporting professional development. Framed in situated learning theory, this qualitative case study examined the perceptions of 12 educators who voluntarily participated in multiple professional book studies over 4 years. Two major themes were found in the data. The Process Theme encompassed what occurred within the professional book studies and participants’ perceptions of the studies. The Outcomes Theme provided insight into how participants changed instructional practices, academic thinking, and personal beliefs. The book studies provided components of effective professional development and principles of adult learning. Participants believed that the book study groups provided professional development that met their needs in more powerful ways than traditional professional development.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

While the opioid epidemic rages on in the US, adolescent drug use and abuse is often left unaddressed in university and public-school classrooms. In an effort to support educator’s conversations with youth about drug and alcohol addiction, this study draws on the theory of figured worlds to conduct a critical content analysis of 10 YAL novels to understand how adolescents with addiction are constructed within the selected texts. Our findings detail three themes that work together to construct figured worlds in which: the majority of protagonists in the texts are middle class, white, teenage girls; the protagonists’ experiences around addiction are preceded by one or a series of traumatic events; and, due to their privilege, the protagonists have ready access to rehabilitation facilities and other mental health supports. We offer both implications for our findings and directions for future research.