With a visionary approach to school improvement, "Equity-Based Leadership" proposes a framework to support system leaders seeking to organize change and achieve more equitable education. In this ambitious yet pragmatic work, Joshua P. Starr makes the case that intentional and attentive district leadership can bring about continuous…

The recommendations in this brief create a framework for using data effectively to make instructional decisions. The availability of student-level data for educators has pushed forward the movement to strengthen the role of data to guide instruction and improve student learning. While improvements in technology and assessments, as well as recent…

Ideal for faculty and administrators looking to blend business education and the liberal arts, this toolkit combines exemplary syllabi from 26 leading institutions with step-by-step strategies to advocate successfully for curricular innovation. Conceived with comprehensiveness in mind, these resources cover both inspiration and implementation for…

The purpose of this Guidebook is to describe the process and basic requirements for the student learning measures that are used as part of the building administrator evaluation and support process. For aspects of the process that have room for flexibility and school/district-level discretion, the different options have been clearly separated and…

Today, more than ever, teachers must work effectively and efficiently to meet seemingly contradictory demands placed on them by society. On the one hand, school personnel are tasked with attaining and publicly reporting high levels of student achievement in response to No Child Left Behind. On the other, school personnel must ensure that students…

This book presents the results and implications of a major new national study exploring the effects of institutional racial composition on African American students' development and their educational outcomes, taking into account individuals' background characteristics, their perceptions of the institutional environment, and their experiences in…

This playbook draws from the findings of "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," the largest empirical study of this grade level conducted to date. The "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" study was designed to find out what higher-performing schools do differently. The result is a compelling set of specific, actionable…

"Strategic Leadership" addresses deep and continuing issues relating to strategy, governance, management, and leadership in higher education during a period of rapid change. Each of these themes is at the heart of current debates about the capacity of universities to respond to new expectations, market realities, reduced state funding,…

Asserts that a goal of social studies instruction is to help students make decisions about complicated social issues and that this goal is best accomplished through development of postformal cognitive processes. Defines postformal thought and examines two types: relativistic and dialectical. Shows how postformal thought can be promoted through two…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires every school to provide its special needs students with whatever technologies are necessary for a "free and appropriate education." Yet many schools struggle with the task of identifying which technologies will actually work for this population of students. Outside consultants can…

The socio-emotional well-being of foster care youth requires a systemic response from professionals and volunteers in all communities. At best, however, the literature portrays foster care as a phenomenon limited to the medical, criminal, and social work professions. Yet, foster care children attend school and interact with a host of educational…

Contends that pluralistic democracy relies on conflict of ideas and participative decision making. Reports on case studies of two different approaches to teaching world studies. Finds that both approaches encouraged students to participate actively, but others remained silent during the discussion. (CFR)

Faculty members desiring administrative roles can find the structure and function of shared governance a fertile ground for growth through practical experience in institutional decision making. Typical areas of faculty governance work include departmental and degree-level curricular matters; policies on such matters as reappointment, tenure and…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) requires the implementation of school-based decision making in all Kentucky schools by July 1996. The school-based decision making process offers the opportunity for parents, teachers, and principals to use their knowledge and judgment in deciding how to best help children learn in their schools. A…

Effective school management requires managers who succeed in carrying out the organizational goals of their schools, utilizing the following leadership skills: planning (deciding how to accomplish the organization's goals); organizing (doing the necessary preparation); staffing (filling positions with the right people); directing (motivating staff…