The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Virginia Tech is in the fourth year of a large-scale change project called "Revolutionizing Engineering Departments" (NSF RED) (Lord et al., 2018). Our project has three interrelated goals: (1) broaden the range of students entering the department, (2) expand the boundaries…

Counter to narratives of persistently failed school reform, we argue that reforms sometimes succeed and seek to understand why. Drawing on examples from the founding of public schools to the present, we find that successful system-wide reforms addressed problems that teachers thought they had by being consistent with prevailing norms and values,…

Research on teachers' beliefs has provided useful insights into understanding processes of teaching. However, no research has explored teachers' beliefs as a system nor have researchers investigated the substance of interactions between teachers' beliefs, practices and context. Therefore, the author adopts complexity theory to explore the features…

Suggests that technology education standards will initiate changes and are a first step in guiding the improvement of educational programs and classroom practices. (JOW)

In the past, educators almost always looked for best practices in classrooms. In fact, when educators say "practice," they are generally talking about teacher practice. Yet 12 years of work at Springboard Schools (and its predecessor, the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, or BASRC) argues that administrators, as well as teachers,…

A study of science and math education systemic reform in rural schools aimed to help educators understand and build upon the inherent strengths of rural schools and communities that support systemic reform. The first phase of the study involved developing a system of indicators for each of six drivers of educational system reform: 1)…

In fall 1975 a study of the General Education program at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) was initiated to determine the appropriate role of an open-door community college in preparing students to live in and contribute positively to society. The central assumption underpinning the three-year study was that a General Education program should…

This paper describes the rationale, direction, and progress of the Integrated System for Workforce Education Curricula (ISWEC), a project sponsored by a 25-state consortium that is designed to accomplish two primary objectives: (1) integration of academic and vocational education in a curriculum framework for grades 9-14 and (2) development of a…

The objectives and development of the skill standards movement were examined along with 22 pilot projects that were undertaken as part of an effort to promote the development of a national system of voluntary industry-based skill standards. First, the past and present of the skill standards movement and certification practices were analyzed along…

This document presents the Equipped for the Future Framework (EFF) content standards that were developed over a 6-year period by hundreds of adult education practitioners, experts, and others nationwide to create a working consensus on what adults need to know and be able to do in the 21st century. Chapter 1 defines adult literacy for the 21st…

This document details Wisconsin's state plan for implementation of activities mandated by the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 and funded by a grant from the National School-to-Work Opportunities Act. The plan is divided into 23 sections dealing with the following topics: geographical areas; local support/expansion of school-to-work…

The issue of developing a new framework of industry programs for vocational education in the United States was examined in a study of the current status of programmatic structures nationally and among the 50 states. The following are among the topics that were explored: (1) the rationale for a new programmatic framework in the context of changing…

This book, which is intended to facilitate dialogue among educators, parents, students, and policymakers, provides practical approaches to reforming secondary schooling to increase its rigor and relevance to the "real world." Chapter 1 reviews 10 guiding principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools and school-to-work movements and…

In the late 1980s, in response to a number of problems including consistently low academic performance by students and graduates lacking the skills needed by employers, Swansea High School in Swansea, South Carolina, launched a major reform effort designed to transform Swansea into a high-performance high school. During the multi-year reform…

This document is a practical manual to assist community-based organizations and coalitions in using voluntary industry skill standards in programs preparing people for success in the workplace and further education. The following are among the topics covered in the manual's six sections: (1) developing and maintaining systems (things partners can…