Stemming from the research "The Fourth Impulse of Pedagogical Renewal in Spain", this article addresses three key issues: firstly, and as a terminological exercise, it differentiates three concepts that are too often treated interchangeably. These are: reform, renewal and innovation. Secondly, some of the defining aspects that, in our…

Centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) exist in dynamic contexts and need to be agile, with skilled, adaptable teams to prepare for and respond to changes. In this article, we provide CTL leaders with relevant and eminently practical strategies from the human resources (HR) literature, offering guidance in the four areas of organizational…

The authors research describe the complementary roles of centers as a combination of disruption and stabilization to show how they provide balance to reform efforts. They discovered that STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] Education Centers (SECs) often had a disruptive influence and that Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) had…

This document outlines a bold new vision for Education Development Center (EDC)'s next chapter of work and impact in order to respond to the needs of today's rapidly changing, uncertain world. Building upon their 65-year legacy of global impact in education, health, and economic development, this plan sets forth four interconnected ambitions…

The current context of standards-based reform has positioned regional service centers (RSCs), intermediary governmental agencies that support state policy implementation in local districts, as a critical source of professional development (PD). In this article, we ask how a governing body that districts often interact with during challenging…

The current context of standards-based reform has positioned regional service centers (RSCs), intermediary governmental agencies that support state policy implementation in local districts, as a critical source of professional development (PD). In this article, we ask how a governing body that districts often interact with during challenging…

Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit 8 (IU8) seeks to scale innovations that are evolving as local solutions to educational challenges in rural school districts. Consistent with its mission of creating customized solutions, IU8 seeks to make the innovations better, meaning more learner centered and community focused. IU8 is evolving the Getting Better…

This article explores the university-assisted community school approach as it has been developed at the University of Pennsylvania with its school and community partners in West Philadelphia since 1985, as well as adapted nationally. The approach is grounded in John Dewey's theory that the neighborhood school can function as the core neighborhood…

In the last two decades the population of deaf children has changed dramatically in these countries where universal hearing screening, early intervention, digital hearing aids, and cochlear implants are available. Most of these children can now acquire intelligible spoken language and they go to mainstream school in larger proportions. But…

Since 1994 South African further education and training (FET) has undergone significant and fundamental changes. These changes include the transfer of colleges between state departments, curriculum revision, forced mergers and a shift in the student population. As a result of the growing interest in, and funding of, vocationally aligned education,…

As a research and technical assistance organization, CNA Education would be the last to deny the importance of good data and the first to applaud efforts to improve the quality and scope of the data available. Solid data are critical to CNA's mission to further general understanding of the efficacy of specific education reform initiatives and to…

This article presents a review of widely implemented, externally developed whole school improvement models. The models serve elementary, middle, and high schools and schools operated by education service providers. A systematic review of the research was conducted using rigorous evidence standards. Across models, the whole school improvement…

This descriptive study of the twenty regional Education Service Centers in Texas is an exploratory analysis of programs and services that promote school improvement. Data collected from each service center website enabled the researcher to determine which programs and services are available to school districts and also allowed the researcher to…

"The Achiever" is a monthly publication for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. Highlights of this issue include: (1) "Promising Gains" among Urban School Districts: Nation's Report Card Reveals Greatest Increases in Math; (2) Tying Names to…

This paper attempts to analyse how governments in Malaysia and Thailand have adopted indirect policy instruments along the lines of "corporatisation" and "privatisation" to reform higher education governance. By focusing on a few key issues related to changing state and education relationships and new regulatory arrangements…