Since the late 1990s, Aleksandar Štulhofer has been involved in debates over school-based sexuality education in his country. Introduced to this sensitive and often divisive topic by several research studies on sexual risk taking in youth, he recently participated in two education-policy processes dealing with school-based health and sexuality…

In "Beyond the Common Core: Examining 20 Years of Literacy Priorities and Their Impact on Struggling Readers," Cassidy et al. (2016) suggest that the emphasis on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS, National Governors Association [NGA] Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010) has had…

The report of the national response to intervention (RTI) evaluation study, conducted during 2011-2012, was released in November 2015. Anyone who has read the lengthy report can attest to its complexity and the design used in the study. Both these factors can influence the interpretation of the results from this evaluation. In this commentary, we…

This webinar explored several elements of teacher preparation pathways, including the history, popularity, and quality of various routes to certification, as well as the impact of these various pathways on teacher quality and retention and student achievement. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Grossman following the…

The articles presented in this special issue both advance what is currently known about treatment implementation in research and practice and illuminate what remains unknown. This article provides a commentary selectively linking current findings to prior research to make arguments regarding those facts that are well established and the gaps in…

In this commentary I discuss three international school consultation experiences, highlighting aspects that serve as lessons for professional development and the implementation of effective and helpful strategies that meet the needs of children and youth in school systems. Relationships developed and maintained between the consulting teams and the…

The authors present a case study examining the potential for policies to be "evidence-based." To what extent is it possible to say that a decision to implement a complex social intervention is warranted on the basis of available empirical data? The case chosen is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify banning smoking in cars carrying…

As the number of children engaging in problem behaviors grows, teachers increasingly report feeling unprepared to effectively meet students' mental health needs. Social-emotional learning (SEL) should be a prominent goal of school programs because social competence prevents school failure. This commentary reviews the challenges associated with…

In recent years, information and communication technology (ICT) has become embedded and affected the every aspect of our lives. Rapid development of ICT has changed our language teaching pedagogy at all levels. Teachers, curriculum developers, researchers have been constantly striving to find techniques to use some form of it to both assist and…

This article is a position paper, based on, and supported by, the extensive literature on the topic of Maori underachievement in education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It places emphasis on what underachieving Maori students need to reach their full potential and ways in which educationalists can assist. I am of mixed heritage raised amongst three…

Zins and Illback observed in 1995 that planned organizational change processes were neglected in practice, training, and research. In the decade following publication of their article, implementation of processes and structures of planned organizational change increased dramatically. Schools and school districts continue to face increased…

Discusses the importance of determining the educational needs of a group before implementing a program. (JOW)

There is a need for leadership in the development of effective middle level schools in the United States. Despite the increasing numbers of schools that call themselves middle schools, there has not been much change in the educational program for pupils in grades 6, 7, and 8. Leaders in middle grades education need to examine current data about…

Five prominent consultants--Richard Boss, Susan Baerg Epstein, Rob McGee, Joseph Matthews, James E. Rush--discuss the most common mistakes vendors make in implementing library automated systems. Suggestions are made for correcting basic problems relating to identification of library needs, communications, delivery dates, inadequate systems, and…

This article identifies potential users of disability-related information, lists categories of information need, considers information management at the national and local levels, offers an eight-step series of questions to guide in the provision of information services, and discusses sources of funding. (DB)