As state and federal policymakers continue to adopt more centralized policies, it is increasingly important to understand how policies, particularly those designed to enhance education for underserved students, are implemented locally. We employ a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design to investigate the implementation of one policy, that…

This article utilizes mixed methods--a lottery-based experimental design supplemented by qualitative data--to examine college readiness within an innovative high school setting: early college high schools. Early colleges are small schools that merge the high school and college experiences and are targeted at students underrepresented in college.…

This paper applies Whitchurch's (2008) concept of the "third space" to the emergent territory occupied by further education college students as they "cross the boundary" to continue their studies at the university. Findings reveal that these transitioning students face barriers to success, feelings of being isolated and…

This study examines how system-wide (i.e., region, district, and school) mechanisms such as leadership support, training requirements, structure, collaboration, and education affect the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools and how this affects the outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite growing evidence for…

Students who fall behind in credits in their first years of high school are at risk of not graduating. William Penn High School (WPHS) offers students who fail courses the opportunity to make up lost credits by using an online option called the WPHS Credit Recovery Program. The WPHS Credit Recovery Program is designed to keep students on the path…

The use of alternative schools as exclusionary discipline for students found guilty of committing behavioral infractions raises questions about the effectiveness of these schools in producing improved student outcomes. Educators' justifications for alternative placements are highly relevant, because decisions regarding placements are often…

This executive summary presents highlights from a study exploring the concept of teacher ownership and how it can bring about the deep and meaningful changes that schools need and that all students deserve. Based on teacher surveys and interviews in twenty-one schools in Los Angeles that are implementing major reforms, the study suggests that…

Improving student learning in our country's highest need schools is and endeavor that is challenging, complicated, and imperative. The major school reform efforts of the last few decades have largely failed to influence student achievement or to impact the ever-widening achievement or opportunity gap. These disappointing results have led…

A metropolitan school district wanted to understand blended learning as it existed in one of their high schools. Blended learning had been school-wide for four years, and district administrators wanted to know how students, teachers, and school administrators perceived blended learning and its impact on student engagement. This was a…

There is an identified and growing need for a levelled diagnostic basic facts assessment tool that provides teachers with formative information about students' mastery of a broad range of basic fact sets. The Individual Basic Facts Assessment tool has been iteratively and cumulatively developed, trialled, and refined with input from teachers and…

This paper investigates the users and uses of a centralised customer relationship management (CRM) system at a regional Australian university to improve the understanding of the staff experience of interacting with this customised technology. How and why the software is used by a cross section of university departments is explored through…

In a time when discussions about information privacy dominate the media, research on Cybersafety education reveals that K-12 teachers and staff are concerned about information privacy in schools and they seek to learn more about the protection of their students' and own personal information online. Privacy topics are typically introduced to the…

The impacts of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, were observed in Student Assistance and Prevention Counseling programs in New York schools. Methods: A mixed-method study of programs across the state, consisting of interviews (N = 14) and record reviews (N = 407), was conducted in New York State in 2002. Standardized state forms were used…

This study evaluated a comprehensive mentoring program on selected at-risk students with specific school problems (attendance, discipline referrals, and core area grades). The sample included youths in Grades 4-8 who differed on some characteristics including grade-level, ethnicity, and gender. For the purpose of this mixed methods study, the…

An existing school program in which therapy dogs are integrated into the reading curriculum was analyzed to determine the effect on student reading. Previous literature suggests an improvement in both reading skills and attitudes towards reading when students read in the presence of a therapy dog. Using a mixed method model, the researchers…