The foundation year and specialization year of study are the accepted framework for graduate social work education. A common belief among educators is that accreditation standards are prescriptive by design, resulting in a rigidity that neither encourages nor supports curricular innovation. This article outlines a newly developed curriculum model…

Schools and districts are inundated with data from a variety of sources. As a result, using data to guide instructional planning can be daunting for teachers and schools. While schools and districts are dealing with shrinking budgets and growing demands for high student achievement, an investment in school-based coaching can provide exponential…

Teacher education and professional development prepare teachers with up-to-date knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective teaching. To sustain this, however, hinges on continued professional learning within schools. Research shows that establishing long-term conditions that allow teachers to learn continuously from one another…

Researchers have advocated building a knowledge base for teacher education based on practitioner knowledge. In this article, the authors, two teacher educators, present knowledge gained from their systematic study of two lessons to help prospective teachers learn to study teaching. They offer a detailed look at the lessons' successes and…

Worldwide, innovation in education is highly perceived as an effectual approach to promote awareness for sustainability. International organizations interested in education, research and training support projects seeking modernization of Higher Education (HE) and put much emphasis on developing new curricula, teaching methods or materials to…

The need to makeover low-performing schools is urgent! Educational reports show that specific student populations are consistently low-performing academically. A postmodern model of school reform integrated with the realms of meaning will assist to close the educational gap in schools and society. According to postmodern guru, Fenwick English…

DCPS is committed to providing "all" students with the caliber of education they deserve. The goal of the DCPS Effective Schools Framework is to ensure that every child, in every classroom, has access to a high-quality and engaging standards-based instructional program, and that all school supports are aligned to support teaching and learning. The…

The research evidence suggests that strong instructional leaders greatly can impact teaching and learning. There also is increasing recognition that instructional coaches can play an effective role in improving classroom-level practices. A natural way for school leaders to take on the role of instructional leader is to serve as a "chief" coach for…

High stakes accountability (HSA) reforms were enacted in state after state and federally through the No Child Left Behind law, based on the belief that incentives that have consequences attached are effective ways to motivate educators to improve student performance. Our focus for this article is on school district level responses to HSA reforms…

What happens in a school when, despite teachers' best efforts in the classroom, students do not learn? The administrators and faculty members at Papillion-La Vista South High School in Nebraska asked themselves this question when they realized that some of their students were struggling, were not turning in work, did not seem to care, and were…

Improving professional learning for educators is a crucial step in transforming schools and improving academic achievement. To meet federal requirements and public expectations for school and student performance, the nation needs to bolster teacher skills and knowledge to ensure that every teacher is able to teach increasingly diverse learners,…

This study examines patterns of literacy instruction in schools adopting three of America's most widely disseminated comprehensive school reform (CSR) programs (the Accelerated Schools Project, America's Choice, and Success for All). Contrary to the view that educational innovations seldom affect teaching practices, the study found large…

A collaborative approach to solving school problems in Maryland emphasizes planned change through organization development processes. Organization development, a process of planned improvement in overall functioning, strives for sustained capacity in problem-solving by communication, goal-setting, conflict resolution, and commitment. The…