A common theme running through recent research on Situational Judgment Tests (SJTs) and this special issue is the aim to improve the measurement of constructs via SJTs. Construct-driven SJTs differ from traditional SJTs in that they present a trait activating situation to test-takers and a more unidimensional set of response options that depict…

Diverse actors and organizations representing governments, civil society, international agencies, and the private sector participated in consensus-building and negotiation activities toward shaping SDG 4 and outlining the priority targets and indicators for which all education stakeholders would have collective responsibility to meet. As the…

This commentary was written in response to the Rink (2013), McKenzie and Lounsbery (2013), and Ward (2013) articles published earlier on teacher effectiveness in physical education (PE). The historical analyses of teacher effectiveness research in PE (TER-PE) presented in those 3 articles are briefly described, particularly as they represent a…

This commentary underscores efforts of this special issue to highlight concepts related to culture and cultural competence designed to broaden thinking about multicultural consultation through research, practice, and training. It does this by illustrating the insights presented regarding (a) cultural issues in training, (b) the effect of…

Over the past decade or so, the importance of self-regulation for academic development and later life success has become increasingly clear (Morrison, Bachman, & Connor, 2005). This article is a commentary regarding the articles in a special issue of "Early Education and Development," which broaden the understanding of the important…

In this first 2014 issue of "Voices in Urban Education," Oona Chatterjee, the Annenberg Institute's associate director for New York City organizing, interviews Pedro Noguera, the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University, a noted researcher and national commentator on topics such as urban school reform, conditions that…

In this response to the major contribution, "Voices of Early Career Psychologists in the Society of Counseling Psychology," the past president of the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) expresses appreciation, describes aspects of her early career experience in light of the survey findings in the major contribution, offers reflections…

The author, a teacher-activist with Teacher Action Group-Philadelphia (TAG), presents her views on the need for teachers to get involved in the battle for public education. She expresses her concerns about the political games being played to advance a neoliberal agenda that seeks to dispossess students of their right to a quality education and…

While the worst of the Great Recession has passed, it has become clear that persistently high unemployment, coupled with budget woes that stretch from federal to local government, will be a reality for the foreseeable future. Knowing this, Congress, the Obama administration, and constituents across the country are having a serious discussion about…

The National Career Development Strategy Green Paper is a discussion paper issued by the Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations. It is aimed at the formulation of a coherent and structured career development strategy throughout Australia. The Green Paper seeks to lay the foundation for policy change through establishing the…

Over the last decade, and in the context of the fiscal crisis in the nation in general and in higher education in particular, a debate has raged over the value of humanities research. Various commentators have argued that unlike nonhumanities disciplines, fields such as English studies and other humanistic disciplines bring very little into their…

In this commentary I unpack the Pandora's Box of issues related to the assessment of English language learners' literacy skill development in multimodal classrooms. I ask how we might quantify the benefits of multimodal composing, for k-12 as well as college students, given the existing complexity of assessing ELLs' traditional literacy skills. I…

In his article, "Aid, Development, and Education," Steve Klees tells two stories about foreign aid. The first is that foreign aid does not "work" to alleviate world poverty, no matter whether one takes a neo-Marxist or liberal approach to understanding it. Aid is more about self-interest and geopolitics than anything else--at best it is a form of…

This year, the Communications Workgroup is dedicated to keeping an eye on the positive--in students, in colleagues, and in themselves. Recognizing the positive people and opportunities encountered can temper the stress of crises, differences of opinion, and daily challenges of being a school psychologist. Emphasizing possibilities is also a…

A Mexican saying holds that "Como Mexico no hay dos"--There is only one Mexico. American media these days interpret that notion with a vengeance. Story after story depicts a country overrun by out-of-control drug wars and murder, where corrupt police officers trip over beheaded victims more often than they nab perpetrators. South of the…