Design-Based Research (DBR) has been a tool of the learning sciences since the early 1990s, used as a way to improve and study learning environments. Using an iterative process of design with the goal of reining theories of learning, researchers and educators now use DBR seek to identify "how" to make a learning environment work. They then draw…

Increasingly, governments in wealthy countries are designing early intervention initiatives around principles of "community regeneration" or "place management". Because these initiatives are multi-site, aimed at long-term systemic change, and implemented amidst a range of other initiatives, assessing their quality and outcomes…

This article presents the authors' response to Harman and Sanderson (2008) who address the important question of how person-centred active support is. The authors' intention is not to disagree with Harman and Sanderson's general point that combining active support (AS) with person-centred planning (PCP) is better than either approach being…

Implementing a complex business intelligence (BI) system at a small school or one with limited resources can seem daunting. For small to midsize schools and community colleges, a strategic BI initiative may still be an elusive goal. This article discusses how schools with limited resources are making the dream a reality.

This article discusses an innovative program, Smart-Girl, developed in collaboration among feminist scholars, educators, and business women concerned with intervening in and improving the lives of adolescent girls in their community. This program is unique not only in its success, but also in the social and emotional impact it has had on the high…

In this essay, we describe our experiences working with a rebellious primary stakeholder, Sylvia, as evaluators of a district-wide safe schools program. Given the breadth of the program and its multiple target constituencies, we were confronted with the challenges of managing a large number of stakeholders, or those individuals and groups that…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the health problems and treatment needs of drug-misusing offenders and to draw out the implications of the findings for health education and prevention. Design/methodology/approach: This analysis is based on data collected as part of the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring…

Literature has shown that on-the-job professional development programs are most beneficial when they are long-term, focused on students' learning, and linked to the curricula. We hypothesized that the higher the control teachers have over job professional development processes, and the greater the resemblance of these processes to the typical…

Providing child-centred play opportunities and re-creating early attachment experiences facilitates a child's social and emotional development, as well as giving time and space for self-expression and relaxation. Play therapists provide these conditions after lengthy and intensive training. Para-professionals are now being trained and supported in…

The aim of the present article was to investigate the outcomes of the universal social competence promotion program "Second Step" in a typical "real world" implementation in Norway. We addressed the effects of the program on social competence and externalizing and internalizing problem behaviour among 1,153 fifth and sixth…

Technological innovation is driving fundamental changes in all aspects of our lives. This is especially true of digital content, as our use of e-books, downloadable music, streaming television and movies, and online social networks has exploded. However, the explosive growth in our use of digital content seems so far to have eluded many of the 50…

Many educators agree that we already know how to foster student success, so what is keeping common sense from becoming common practice? The author provides step-by-step guidance for overcoming the barriers to adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and achieving equity and excellence for all students. As an experienced teacher and…

The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) supports projects that are designed to reform teacher and principal compensation. Initially, the Department of Education (the Department) made two rounds of awards, in 2006 and 2007, to a total of 34 grantees. The specific goals of TIF were to reward teachers and principals for improving student achievement,…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality instructional and formative assessment tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Lessons from the first generation of standards-based reforms suggest that intense…

Achieve and the U.S. Education Delivery Institute have developed a practical Common Core Implementation Workbook for all states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). This workbook uses a proven performance management methodology known as "delivery" to lay out clear action steps for states and districts. It…