This study extends previous work on survey validity and reliability by examining how different groups of respondents vary in their answers to survey questions about the policy system. The study uses state-representative data from a five-state study of standard-based reform in mathematics to test how predictive teacher, principal, and district…

This article presents a case study of the Roskilde Integration Project designed to enhance the school-readiness of ethnic minority preschool children. The process of implementing the Roskilde Integration Project involved linking a community of practice--consisting of the integration team, educators, and other professionals--with the immigrant…

School psychologists are excellent candidates to support school administrations interested in implementing a continuum of effective behavior support. To prevent severe problem behavior, best practice suggests implementing a continuum of effective behavior support which includes primary level prevention procedures, secondary level targeted…

Dependent group contingencies were used to increase the on-task behavior of general education students in third and fourth grade classrooms. The class-wide intervention allowed students to gain access to preferred items/activities (identified via a stimulus preference assessment) contingent upon being on-task at "unknown" random times during math…

This article illustrates the implementation of a school reform policy for educating young children in one south eastern state in the US, a reform known as the non-graded primary program. The reform is examined through the lens of Sabatier and Mazmanian's [(1981). "The implementation of public policy: A framework for analysis." In D. A. Mazmanian,…

Developing, implementing and evaluating programmes of intervention for children and young people on the autistic spectrum are challenging endeavours. In this paper, we adopt a critical approach to research in this area, and attempt to offer an alternative perspective for understanding and interpreting empirical evaluations. We outline and discuss…

Research has shown that there are essential scheduling practices for high-performing schools that have been able to implement innovative "nontraditional" schedules. What these have in common is the focus on personalized learning environments for students. Personalized learning can mean career academies/smaller learning communities (SLCs), in which…

The nuances of the application of schoolwide positive behavior supports (PBS) in an urban high school setting were investigated. Impact of implementation was measured using qualitative interviews and observations, including the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET), "Effective Behavior Support Survey, Student Climate Survey," and office disciplinary…

Managing permissions for hundreds of pieces of intellectual property (IP) can be a daunting task for any course, but it is vital in distance learning courses because of legal implications specific to the online environment. In 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)severely limited the use of copyrighted materials in distance learning.…

Blogs are reshaping our political, social, and cultural environment. Education is affected by blogs because of their potential for learning and teaching, and also their risks. This article elaborates a set of rules for evaluating and implementing blogs in teaching college science. (Contains 5 figures.)

This article presents a schematic application of computer vision technologies to e-learning that is synchronous, peer-to-peer-based, and supports an instructor's interaction with non-computer teaching equipments. The article first discusses the importance of these focused e-learning areas, where the properties include accurate bidirectional…

Despite the growing consensus regarding the value of inquiry based teaching and learning, the implementation of such practices continues to be a challenge. The goal of this paper is to present a model for the educational infrastructure that can support the implementation of the Biomind program, which is a new open inquiry program for Israeli…

Abstinence-only-until-marriage education is a key component of social conservatives' global moral and religious agenda, and the cornerstone of the Bush administration's approach to reducing U.S. teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. Fearful of being portrayed as anti-abstinence, policymakers have continued to support these…

The goal of this report is to describe the implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in school districts and schools with large enrollments of English language learners (ELLs) and immigrant students. The study, drawing from previous research on the demographic characteristics of pre-K-5th grade students and of schools with high limited…

This issue of "Focus On" provides an overview of several key early literacy components: phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, concepts of print, oral language development, writing, family literacy, and reading aloud. Suggestions for assessing early literacy development are provided, and examples of implementation of effective early literacy…