Background: Research has demonstrated that teacher candidates enact reform-based teaching practices more consistently while they are in their teacher education programs than they do after they graduate. Purpose: To understand why science teacher candidates' practices of attending to the substance of students' thinking diminish after they leave…

This report offers recommendations for building community support for federal school turnaround approaches, particularly in communities that oppose these approaches. Parents, the report concludes, want improvement but cherish their local schools and distrust the turnaround options mandated from above by higher levels of government. Thus,…

This study examines how communities participate in schools across diverse contexts in developing countries and the results attributed to community participation. It reviews evaluations of participatory approaches to education in developing countries to answer two basic questions: 1) How do communities participate in school in developing countries?…

Argues that, although reform legislation has been enacted to produce higher standards on the assumption that they will produce higher quality in the nation's schools, the act of passing laws and mandating changes to create higher quality do not necessarily equate with true educational reform. (NKA)

The charter public school movement has experienced significant growth, attracted veteran community activists and committed educators, acquired the bipartisan support of Congress, contributed to increases in student achievement, and influenced a variety of educational improvement efforts. Internal and external challenges facing charter schools are…

New technology can help schools and communities create high-performance learning environments where all students reach high standards. To be effective, technology must be used as an integral part of the school's learning environment, rather than as an isolated laboratory practice or for mindless drill. Six examples are given of the effective use…

This book tells the stories of four urban middle schools that have undergone deep transformation while participating in the Middle Grades Improvement Program (MGIP), an initiative that has nurtured fundamental change in school climate, structure and classroom practice in 16 urban districts and 65 schools in Indiana. The support of the Lilly…

The results of a two-day skill laboratory on creating community support for educational change is reported in eight chapters. Participants focused on creative solutions to problems of school-community relations. Four concerns identified included the need to 1) recognize the pressures for accountability procedures and reports; 2) collaborate with…