Though researchers have documented the consequences and causes of chronic absenteeism, there is limited empirical evidence about what schools and districts are actually doing to improve attendance. This study presents evidence about the types of attendance practices that forty-seven high-absenteeism districts in Michigan are planning and…

High-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that…

The purpose of this report is to describe a "Framework for District Capacity Building and Improvement" and, through the use of two illustrative case stories, explore how districts can engage in rapid and sustainable improvement efforts. The supporting research, our framework, and a corresponding set of rapid improvement indicators is…

This is Volume I of a two-volume report of a study on the exchange and use of knowledge for school improvement in three paired educational systems in Boston, Massachusetts. The pairings, which involved the collaboration of a college/university with one or more of the Boston public schools, were among 26 such collaborative arrangements mandated by…

This is the Executive Summary of a 1979-81 study of factors and conditions that affect the exchange and use of knowledge for school improvement in three collaborative systems in which a college/university was paired with one or more public schools in Boston, Massachussetts. The pairings were among 26 such collaborative arrangements mandated bv…

This is Volume II of a two-volume final report of a study on the exchange and use of knowledge for school improvement in three paired educational systems in Boston, Massachusetts. The pairings, which involved the collaboration of a college/university with one or more of the Boston public schools in carrying out school improvement programs, were…

To illustrate the theoretical dynamics involved in analysis of the process of "metasensing," this paper investigates the language of 22 elementary school principals and their strategic actions during school improvement programs. The study's grounded theory approach frames the principals'"epistemology of practice"--thereby…

The role of the elementary school principal is critical in determining school effectiveness. This study analyzes the thinking and language of 22 "effective change" elementary school principals to discover common patterns in decisionmaking processes. The method of grounded theory delineates implicit theories principals use to make…