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 past half-century has witnessed a dramatic increase in the scale and complexity of scientific research. The growing scale of science has been accompanied by a shift toward collaborative research, referred to as "team science." Scientific research is increasingly conducted by small teams and larger groups rather than individual…

New Leaders is a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure high academic achievement for all students by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. Its premise is that a combination of preparation and improved working conditions for principals, especially greater autonomy, would lead to improved student outcomes. Its…

New Leaders is dedicated to promoting student achievement by developing outstanding school leaders to serve in urban schools. RAND Corporation researchers conducted a formative and summative external evaluation of the New Leaders program, its theory of action, and its implementation from 2006 through 2013. This document presents technical…

The U.S. educational system invests heavily, in both time and money, in continuing education for teachers. In this article Heather Hill examines the effectiveness of two forms of teacher learning--graduate coursework and professional development. She focuses first on graduate education. Almost half of all teachers have a master's degree. Many…

This paper proposes an alternative means by which to produce improvement in the quality of professional convention programs. This method is one in which concern for professional relatedness supersedes a concern for individual competition. Dialogue as the first essential element in relatedness would encourage varied perspectives on research…

To determine what effect a series of inservice programs for school administrators had on participating school principals and their schools, principals filled out questionnaires before and after five inservice programs. Changes were noted in three domains of participant characteristics--cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. (JW)

Nine years after the National Science Education Standards' release, just how well do science teachers in grades 5 to 8 actually use them to plan content, define improved teaching, and assess real learning? Find out the answers to these key questions in this groundbreaking collection of 15 essays by teachers, researchers, and professors whose…

Research studies have found a number of teacher-related variables that are associated with student achievement. Professional development activities designed to improve the knowledge and skill of teachers can help students improve academically. In investigating the motivation for professional development, the findings of several researchers support…

This report describes the procedures of a systemwide testing program established by the Ottawa, Ontario, education board to evaluate high school student performance in selected courses. The project was initiated in response to a directive from trustees, who were concerned about variation of academic standards among students in relation to…

Getting papers published in the (largely English-language) international literature is important for individual researchers, their institutions, and the academic community, and the resulting pressure is being felt increasingly in China as a result of top-down policy initiatives. For many researchers, reaching this goal involves two intersecting…

The effectiveness of the National Center for Study Adult Learning Literacy's (NCSALL's) Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network was examined by reviewing how, from 1997 to 2001, adult basic education teachers from 14 states served as liaisons between practitioners in their states and the NCSALL by engaging in the following activities:…

To help classify and map the field of administrative inservice, five generic administrative inservice models may be identified and their strengths and weaknesses determined based on what is known about effective inservice practices. The models are a traditional model, institutes, competency-based programs, the academy, and networking. A review of…

This review of the Strathcona County school system (Alberta, Canada) makes recommendations based on information gathered in 1986. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 summarizes findings and recommendations. The review involved surveys of employees, community members, and community groups. Recommendations concern organization, evaluation,…