The purpose of this paper is to share how schools and universities can partner intentionally through Professional Development Schools to enhance democracy by answering the questions: (1) What is it about Professional Development Schools, as robust school-university partnerships, that give voice to teachers to enhance democracy, particularly in a…

With mounting calls for the justice system to declare literacy a civil right, and with a growing emphasis on accelerating reading achievement at the federal, state, and local levels, educational leaders are under increased pressure to implement practices that will not only increase reading achievement but will prove sustainable for years to come.…

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was to determine the impact the state accountability system has on school improvement practices for schools that have been designated under the statewide system of support. Nine district and school level leaders were interviewed from one suburban school district designated as…

Schools are increasingly turning towards restorative practices as a pathway to building schools with stronger relationships, justice, and equity. While effectiveness studies are increasing, too little attention is focused on evaluating implementation. This resources is for audiences who evaluate implementation of whole school restorative practices…

The high expectations of the standards movement, the many budgetary constraints, and the societal challenges of living in cities are some of the complexities principals in urban districts face when trying to serve the needs of children in their schools. This research explores an intervention model of principal professional learning communities…

Comprehensive measures of the quality of occupational therapy services are critical as the profession as a whole and school-based occupational therapy (SBOT) practitioners in particular examine and strengthen the depth and breadth of the body of knowledge and improve, measure, and advocate for the value of their service to students, families, and…

In 2002, the author published three models for categorizing human rights education practice in the formal and non-formal education sectors: Values and Awareness, Accountability and Transformation, which are widely cited in the HRE literature. The original models were developed by applying grounded theory from a practitioner's point of view about…

It is now more than 10 years after the publication of the monograph, "The Activist Teaching Profession," which, at the time, could be described as a call to action for the teaching profession. I reflect here on how far has the profession progressed in responding to that call to action. The idea of a "call to action" could be…

This article reports on findings of a study which objective is the development of an instrument for systematic evaluation and improvement of the quality of teaching in special schools. The article describes the research process which led to the construction of the instrument as well as the way teachers can use the instrument to improve the quality…

The field of publicly funded early childhood education continues to evolve into a discipline in which early educators are expected to teach a more culturally and linguistically diverse student population a standardized set of knowledge and skills so that they can meet policymakers' academic achievement requirements. This creates a range of…

This research draws into question the effects that neoliberal policy reforms--with an emphasis on individual and measurable "competencies"--has on new teachers teaching sexuality education in Quebec. While we examine professional competencies that teachers can use to define their mandate for teaching sexuality education as a beginning…

Recent reviews of vocational qualifications in England have noted problems with their restricted nature. However, the underlying issue of how to conceptualise professional agency in curriculum design has not been properly addressed, either by the Richard or the Whitehead reviews. Drawing on comparative work in England and Europe it is argued that…

This qualitative study sought to identify current principal professional development practices in four school systems in Georgia and to examine them by applying the principles of adult learning theory. The cross-case analysis of principal professional development initiatives in four school districts revealed nine common practices: connecting…

Based on current research, many students in the middle grades (6-8) have not performed at their highest academic levels. In 2011, more than one-half of eighth graders in 16 Southern states scored basic or below basic on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Alternatively, effective principal-leaders strategically demonstrated…

This report presents descriptive findings on school practices in 12 states for schools explicitly held accountable for the performance of the students with disabilities (SWD) subgroup. The study found that, when surveyed in 2011, elementary schools accountable for the SWD subgroup were 15.8 percentage-points more likely than never-accountable…