This article reports on professional development of nine U.S. social work students of color who participated in a delegation exploring human trafficking in Thailand through a reverse mission program. Through the use of the 2015 Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) as a conceptual…

This paper examines the options available to states to redefine their accountability systems as they begin to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The new law provides the possibility that states can create more balanced systems of support and accountability focused on educating young people so they can become productive, engaged…

This article identifies characteristics of school districts that have been exceptionally successful in closing gaps in achievement among diverse groups of students, including students in challenging circumstances. Evidence for the paper was provided by 31 studies. These were studies, published in the past ten years, which reported original…

Teacher dispositions, attitudes, and motivation play important roles in educating students so that they are highly successful in school. This is particularly true for students in borderland areas who frequently need to negotiate two cultures, two languages, and two worlds. Using grounded theory with extant data from Tijuana and San Diego-area…

Inside High School Reform: Making Changes that Matter (WestEd) shares the critical lessons and compelling successes of 28 California Academic Partnership Program school reform efforts. In this interview, lead author Jordan Horowitz, WestEd's senior project director in evaluation research, recently shared some of the book's findings, and answered…

This article is a recollection of events as the author began her teaching career. Her first experience was an "alternative route" she claims, since it involved her joining the Peace Corps and accepting a teaching position in Uganda. In the article, she discusses that although the breadth and depth of induction programs vary widely both…

California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) is a major and growing supplier of new teachers for Kern County, California. A program was developed to help new teachers, most of whom are not Hispanic, understand the 45% Hispanic school population in Kern County. It is important for teachers to know and understand what they can of the similarities…

Recent teacher professional development in California tends to focus on increasing teachers' mathematical knowledge. In Australia, pedagogically focused programs are preferred. The two approaches are contrasted by comparing a Californian professional development model based on improving mathematical knowledge in number and algebra with a New South…

This monograph examines benefits, challenges, and methods of expanding access to adult literacy with online distance education (ODE). The following are among the topics discussed: (1) reasons for considering ODE (new technologies and delivery systems in education; ODE in higher education, business training, and adult basic education; state-level…