The 2024 Illinois Career and Technical Education Report is submitted in compliance with Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 435/2e, which requires a written career and technical education (CTE) report to be issued to the governor annually. This report describes the establishment of and delivery of CTE in Illinois, the existing condition of Illinois CTE…

Collaborative staff development in education is the vehicle to student success, and research shows that the closer professional learning is to daily practice, the more meaningful and impactful it will be. Written with deep respect for the work educators do in their classrooms each day, this practical resource illustrates the importance of…

High-quality assessments are crucial to many aspects of the educational process. They can help policymakers monitor long-term educational trends, assist state educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) in allocating resources and professional development opportunities, provide insights to teachers about how well students…

Research suggests that many early childhood program administrators enter into leadership roles by being promoted from teaching positions and few have prior education, training, or experience specific to leadership or management (Catron & Groves, 1999; Billman, 1995; Bloom & Rafanello, 1994). Many directors of early care and education…

In 2021, California committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds by 2025-2026. California UPK includes several early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start, and locally funded early…

Talented leaders are essential to building and sustaining successful organizations. This is especially true for schools, where principal leadership plays a major role in fostering student success. Research shows that principals are a significant school-level factor affecting student achievement, second only to classroom teachers. Like other types…

Recent research has confirmed what students, families, educators, and advocates have always known to be true: School leaders really matter. School leaders play a fundamental role in recruiting and supporting strong educators, driving rigorous instruction, creating school cultures that are inclusive and inviting, and working toward positive…

Digital knowledge and skills are needed to fully participate in the society and economy of the United States. The historic $65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act represents a significant federal investment in advancing digital equity and inclusion, and an opportunity to make lasting change in communities across the country. This report…

As the number of publicly funded early childhood education (ECE) programs increases, policymakers will need empirical evidence to justify the taxpayer investment. Such justification will require a stronger understanding of the essential components of an ECE program's design, as well as solid evidence on which components, or constellations of…

The goal of talent management systems is to recruit, prepare, select, place, induct, develop, compensate, and retain educators with the desired competencies to achieve the organization's vision for instructional quality. Strong alignment of talent management policies and practices is essential to achieve that goal. The purpose of this workbook is…

This report presents a multi-case qualitative research study on how to support teacher professional learning and development of their digital competence, through a self-reflection process using SELFIEforTEACHERS (SfT). The study investigated how SfT can be used in different settings and what factors, enablers and barriers affect its effective…

Global interest in the field of extended education has increased over the past two decades. Extended education in the context of Swedish school-age educare has a unique position in the school system due to its voluntariness and governance as well as the free time and leisure activities it offers pupils and the lack of set learning outcomes. These…

High-quality preschool lays the foundation for a child's educational career. Preschool is where children are learning how to self-regulate, make friends, communicate, and express their wants and needs while preparing for their educational career within the K-12 system. If children do not have the behavioral and social-emotional skills needed to…

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) prepares the "Global Report on Adult Learning and Education" ("GRALE") every three years in order to strengthen understanding of 'where we stand' as a global community, and to address the growing need for youth and adult education. The present report draws on data from…

Considering the key role of social-emotional and character development (SECD) competencies in college, career, and life success--and considering that many of those competencies are teachable--there is no excuse for failing to incorporate them systematically into our education system. That would be the equivalent of depriving children of oxygen.…