In today's era of increased accountability and standards-based reforms within the United States educational system, Community Partner Organizations (CPOs) can offer essential support to teachers, schools, and districts. CPOs have the potential to have a positive impact in urban schools in particular, where high-stakes testing and accountability…

This paper discusses recent reforms to university governance and international trends in terms of changes to the academic profession to illuminate how both of these shifts are decreasing the role of the professoriate in academic decision-making. The author argues that there is a need to maintain the relative autonomy of public research…

The Student Affairs Departments have seen immense growth over the years, from a discourse which had no academic relevance in higher education, to that which is expected to add value to the attraction, retention, and graduation of students. However, the latest developments have seen the role of Student Affairs Departments grow from "in-loco…

Drawing on research in the sociology of professions as a reference point, this study examines the practices and perceptions of professional accountants towards the requirements of IES7 on continuing professional development (CPD). Responses from 1310 accountants in the Asia Pacific region suggest while increasing globalisation has led to more…

The growth of teachers' professional knowledge and skills has been the topic of policy, research, and even philosophy for many decades. The assessment of English Learners (ELs), a more specific concern, has become an interest of the educational community in just the past 40 years (e.g., Harris, 1969). The authors' task in this chapter is to…

This brief documents the expansion of instructional specialist staffing in U.S. public school districts. We use data from the National Center of Education Statistics' annual Common Core of Data to chart staffing trends in public school districts between 1997-98 and 2012-13. The number of instructional specialists per 1,000 U.S students doubled…

This brief documents the expansion of instructional specialist staffing in U.S. public school districts. We use data from the National Center of Education Statistics' annual Common Core of Data to chart staffing trends in public school districts between 1997-1998 and 2012-2013. The number of instructional specialists per 1,000 U.S students doubled…

One central component of a great school system is a clear set of expectations, or standards, that educators help all students reach. In Iowa, that effort is known as the Iowa Core. The Iowa Core represents the statewide academic standards, which describe what students should know and be able to do in math, science, English language arts, and…

Standards-based reform of education is a dominant political discourse in many nations. In this paper we argue that the type of standards-based reform that is enacted has important implications for teacher agency and teacher professional development. Teacher professional development and identity is explored through theories of the teacher's role in…

This article contributes to discourse on signature pedagogy by reconceptualizing how our pedagogies are understood and defined for social work education. We critique the view that field education is social work's signature pedagogy and consider what pedagogies are distinct about the teaching and learning of social work. Using Shulman's…

Major education reforms are shifting teaching and learning in schools across the nation. As a result, educators' need for key supports is more important today than ever. This shift is the result of three significant and simultaneous reform efforts, all of which are scheduled to be operational in the near future: (1) More rigorous Common Core State…

Education lays the foundation for political, social and economic development of any country. A viable education system enables the nation to achieve its national goals. Pakistan as a developing country has faced critical problems of education since its inception and therefore, the system of education has failed to deliver according to the…

The Singapore Ministry of Education's Enhanced Performance Management System (EPMS) was instituted in 2005 as a system of professional accountability to enhance the standards and stakes of teacher professionalism in schools. This essay explores how the EPMS, with its underlying paradigm of performance management, functions as a "technology of…

Interest in early care and education (ECE), also referred to as an early childhood education, has escalated in recent years. The interest is bipartisan, as evidenced by the multiple ECE-related bills already introduced by the 113th Congress. Further, 39 states have implemented prekindergarten (pre-K) programs. In 2013, 27 governors mentioned ECE…

After the Holmes Group's report (1990), the concept of the professional development school (PDS) spread quickly as a vehicle for educational reform at both the university and school level. The rapid proliferation of newly established PDS partnerships accentuated concern associated with the lack of conceptual clarity of the PDS concept itself.…