In chemistry, a catalyst accelerates change without being depleted. As we seek school improvement, we need sustainable, scalable changes, and therefore catalytic structures are ideal. From communities of practice to professional learning communities to Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) much has been made in the scholarly and consultancy…

This practical book will help readers understand what STEAM is, how it differs from STEM, and how it can be used to engage students in K-8 classrooms. The authors present a conceptual model with recommendations and classroom examples illustrating various key aspects of STEAM teaching in action, including creating the correct teaching environment,…

For more than a decade, the widely used "Pyramid Model for Promoting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children" has been helping early educators use research-based practices to boost social-emotional development. Now there's a practical guide that makes it easier than ever to implement this highly effective framework in…

Educating for Empathy presents a compelling framework for thinking about the purpose and practice of literacy education in a politically polarized world. Mirra proposes a model of critical civic empathy that encourages secondary ELA teachers to consider how issues of power and inequity play out in the literacy classroom and how to envision…

Community engagement has evolved as a respected field and now occupies a seat at the academic table. In the past, this work had often been relegated to the institutional fringes of higher education, its practitioners marginalized, and the work often portrayed as service, not scholarly. Today, higher education community engagement is a dynamic and…

Parental involvement is seen as one of the most malleable factors of the student's home situation, which makes it a relevant subject for schools, educational policies, and research. Though many studies have researched its role in student achievement, effects are not univocal. It is difficult to tell whether these inconsistent results are caused by…

Positive youth development is a strengths-based, positive psychology approach to fostering adolescents' educational engagement and achievement. It focuses not just on students' academic development but also on their vocational, social, and emotional development. The positive youth development philosophy is at the heart of Cynthia Hazel's unique…

This volume focuses on how family-school partnerships are conceptualized, defined, and operationalized as well as the research that is needed to advance these foundational issues. Each chapter integrates prevailing approaches into a research-based framework for supporting learning from pre-K through high school. The book incorporates structural…

How can you protect young people from the dangers of the internet, now that they are living increasingly hidden lives online? Cyber bullying, sexual harassment, cyber stalking--these are all risks that young people may face every day, and effective e-safety is more important than ever. This practical, hands-on resource will help you understand…

Teacher evaluation systems are being overhauled by states and districts across the United States. And, while intentions are admirable, the result for many new systems is that good--often excellent--teachers are lost in the process. In the end, students are the losers. In her new book, Linda Darling-Hammond makes a compelling case for a…

There is currently a rapidly growing interest in inquiry learning and an emerging consensus among researchers that, particularly when supported by technology, it can be a significant vehicle for developing higher order thinking skills. Inquiry learning methods also offer learners meaningful and productive approaches to the development of their…

The work of school, family and community partnerships is complex and messy and demands a thoughtful and deep investigation. Currently, parent and community involvement does not draw on school reform and educational change literature and conversely the school change literature often ignores the crucial role that communities play in educational…

Because of the need for trained personnel to help people cope with their problems, the focus must shift from training persons who give direct services to training persons who function as consultants. The consultant works with a consultee (who is often a parent or a teacher) to help a third party (who is often a client). The author presents a…

Democratic political systems and the democratic way of life is aspired by most people around the world. Democracy is considered to be morally superior to other forms of political systems as it aspires to secure civil liberties, human rights, social justice and equality before the law for everyone regardless of their gender, culture, religion and…

In most school systems today, curriculum development is the work of specialists who function as consultants to classroom teachers, administrators, and school boards. An alternative is the Citizen/Teacher Curriculum Council (C/TCC) approach, which calls for direct involvement of community members and classroom teachers in curriculum development.…