Background/Context: In the context of increasing accountability mandates in the preK-12 education system, the importance of professional development (PD) supports for early childhood educators is recognized. Education leaders emphasize the importance of partnering with teachers to inform the development of effective PD approaches. This partnering…

This paper explores a countermovement that is emerging within an educational climate that highlights accountability, standardisation and performativity. This countermovement has become manifest in a rapid rise in the implementation and research of contemplative practices (e.g. mindfulness, yoga) across educational settings. The paper explores the…

This paper provides information about noncredit instruction in the California Community Colleges and updates the 2009 paper "Noncredit Instruction: Opportunity and Challenge" to incorporate subsequent changes from the last decade. Since the passage of SB 361 (Scott, 2006), noncredit instruction has seen significant changes, including the…

Teacher educators rightfully dream of delivering inspiring programs to benefit future teachers and the students they will in turn inspire. However, in the current teacher education environment in Australia, the artisan's craft of weaving rich texture and producing a masterpiece is potentially over-shadowed by the educational administrator's…

School districts within the USA face ever-decreasing autonomy in rendering decisions regarding instruction, curriculum and the leading and managing of schools at the local level due to the ever-increasing accountability measures implemented by district, state and federal governments. This study investigates a joint university-school district…

The California Community Colleges are vital to closing the projected shortfall of Californians with a postsecondary credential and sustaining the state's economic competitiveness. Increasing the number of students who pursue and earn certificates and associate degrees in career technical education (CTE) fields is an important component of the…

This document is a compilation of the proceedings of the 23rd Annual State California Conference on Educational Research. The theme of the proceedings centered around accountability and curriculum. Each participant submitted his remarks on specially designed paper; each page was photographed and prepared without editing. The three general sessions…

This Guide is intended to share the insights of SEDL's National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (the National Partnership) as well as information about both the academic and the organizational and management practices that successful afterschool programs use. The authors have organized these practices into the following four focus…

University-based teacher-education programmes in the USA confront mounting pressure to demonstrate that graduates will have a significant and positive impact on student achievement. Such pressure has forced teacher educators to wrestle with the question of what constitutes compelling evidence that teacher candidates will indeed have such an…

The article discusses a practical approach to academic program planning and evaluation based on student needs and social utility. The proposed approach focuses on fundamental characteristics of the academic program planning and evaluation process which are desirable and which insure that educational designers do not lose sight of the more…

As part of a symposium that examined the utility of adapting the techniques of cost-effectiveness analysis for curriculum and program planning in higher education, this paper examines the methodology and procedures of the technique. A checklist outlines some of the problems and potential and some guidelines are suggested for cost-effectiveness…

Author attempts to show the Philadelphia bilingual program, Let's Be Amigos, funded under Title VII, was indeed changed as the program staff came to grips with the problem of building-in accountability. (Author/CB)

To effectively respond to the increased focus on educational accountability, teacher education institutions must integrate curriculum courses into their general programs of study. (LH)

This paper identifies the curricular-instructional implications of PPBS. The author (1) describes the purposes of PPBS, (2) proposes a feasible implementation strategy for local schools, (3) identifies potential pitfalls that should be avoided, (4) formulates a possible role description for supervisors, (5) identifies local schools using PPBS, and…

Basic definitions, conceptual clarity, and analyses of the organizational and social implications of various competency-based education approaches are badly needed. (Author/EB)