Access to early childhood education has increased over the last two decades, with global enrolment rates showing gender parity in access among boys and girls. Despite this gender parity in access, the pre-primary education system does not always deliver on its potential to tackle gender inequities and address harmful gender stereotypes while they…

The sudden and unprecedented outbreak of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought along a series of abrupt and sweeping disruptions to almost all learning systems around the world. The pandemic has simultaneously revealed many weaknesses and problems associated with the existing educational model, which serves as a…

Background: Local control has historically been a prominent principle in education policymaking and governance. Culminating with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), however, the politics of education have been nationalized to an unprecedented degree, and local control has all but disappeared as a principle framing education policymaking.…

The leadership institute, targeting new and aspiring county Extension directors, was completely revised to reflect face-to-face and online constructivist learning theory and practice. New co-learning and engagement methods were incorporated, and all facilitators and teachers/presenters were trained and coached to use the new methods and…

Based on a principal's firsthand experiences, this paper summarizes the "turnaround" strategy that converted a disorderly and drug-infested Atlanta (Georgia) high school to a productive learning environment characterized by improved academic performance, a revamped core curriculum, and high expectations and behavior standards. This…

The desegregation process has pinpointed areas of curriculum reform that are needed to help establish quality integrated educational experiences. A racial and ethnic mix is only a beginning. Institutional procedures have become established in schools which may prohibit the realization of the goal of integrated education. School systems should…

The league of Cities for the Arts in Education encourages the integration of all the arts in all parts of school curricula for all children. An overview of the project and the individual programs of Hartford, Little Rock, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, and Winston-Salem are described. (JMD)

A new Chapter 1 law, P.L. 100-297, was passed in 1988. Chapter 1 schools must examine the program operated during the previous school year. Schools that fail to demonstrate overall achievement gains must develop a Program Improvement Plan (PIP), a document describing how the Chapter 1 program in that school will be modified. This guide provides a…

Since 1994, the National Science Foundation has funded Rural Systemic Initiatives (RSI), a set of systemic reforms to enhance math, science, and technology education in economically disadvantaged, rural areas through instructional and policy reform and community development activities. As part of an evaluation of the program, surveys were sent to…

School-based early childhood centers are high-quality programs using approaches to instruction based on recognized principles of child development and learning for children 3 to 8 years old. The centers are characterized by the active involvement of parents and the community and by a commitment to smooth transitions from home to school and through…

To minimize the effect of partisan politics on curriculum development and change, we must encourage broad involvement of educators and citizens in discussions about such curricular issues as the balance of subjects, social and intellectual skills to be emphasized, standards to be set, and how to develop the personal characteristics important to…

This book describes problems faced by urban public schools and offers solutions that can be applied by urban school communities. The text is divided into six chapters. Chapter one discusses the attitudes and behaviors of the people who form the urban community and how they relate to and affect inequity in educational resources, curriculum,…

Reviews six challenges that community colleges must address to achieve education reform: urge students to take tougher courses; outline rigorous standards for assessment; focus on reading; help create new American high schools on college campuses; strengthen teacher preparation; and involve the community. (AJL)

Low achievement of state mathematics standards caused a rural Illinois school district to realize that repeated coverage of lower-level material blocked student progress. Subsequently, elementary teachers learned new ways to teach math, and secondary teachers replaced practical math with algebra courses. Students achieved new levels of math…

Effective strategies for developing early childhood centers in public schools are discussed in this paper, which draws from a research-based literature search and intensive case studies of six Northwest sites. The sites represent a range of rural, suburban, and urban programs; large and small schools; and a variety of program features. The sites…