We present results from a meta-analysis of 95 experimental and quasi-experimental pre-K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professional development and curriculum programs, seeking to understand what content, activities, and formats relate to stronger student outcomes. Across rigorously conducted studies, we found an…

The performance of South Africa's educational system in national and international tests indicates that a large proportion of its public schools are underperforming. Ineffective leadership has been put forward as one reason. This paper analyses a leadership development programme, Partners for Possibility (PfP), which seeks to strengthen leadership…

This article provides a field-based example of a series of outreach programs that have been designed in response to current recommendations found in the K-12 outreach literature. These programs begin with university mathematics and science faculty members teaching a 10-day summer workshop to elementary and middle school teachers. Following this…

Designed to improve PK-12 professional learning and increase student achievement, Wisconsin's policymakers developed and implemented new educator licensing guidelines (PI 34) and a Professional Development Plan (PDP) system based on empirical research and national policy trends in 2004. As PI 34 and the PDP system are relatively new, the…

This descriptive study of the twenty regional Education Service Centers in Texas is an exploratory analysis of programs and services that promote school improvement. Data collected from each service center website enabled the researcher to determine which programs and services are available to school districts and also allowed the researcher to…

This document profiles locally developed programs that have proved effective in specific schools. The material is presented in a manner that is useful to other schools and/or districts. On-site coordinators worked with schools, districts, and departments in the Pacific region to define their problems, determine which of the practices held promise…

Teaching effectiveness knowledge, teaching context knowledge, and change and improvement knowledge are knowledge bases that bear directly on improving the context of teacher education programs. Several sources of context and teacher effectiveness are discussed. (DF)

Describes an experiment designed to measure the effectiveness of a schoolwide intervention strategy for changing the attitudes of classroom inhibitors--students who disrupt instruction. Concludes that schools can deal with such students without having to hire special staff. Finds also that inhibitors do not have classroom anxiety. (FL)

This paper is based on a cross-sectional survey comparison of preparation experiences and outcomes using a sample of principals who completed one of five innovative leadership preparation programs between 2000-2005 and a national comparison sample of principals. The primary questions are: (1) How do innovatively-prepared principals and other…

New Jersey After 3 (NJ After 3) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand and improve afterschool opportunities for New Jersey's youth. Using both public and private resources, it supports a network of youth-service providers that deliver afterschool services based on NJ After 3's program model. Under an agreement with NJ…

An overview of federally funded activities for educationally deprived children in Georgia schools and institutions for fiscal year 1976 is presented in this document. The major directional change for Georgia's ESEA Title I has occurred not in dollars allotted or in numbers of children served, but in concentration of effort. Since 1973, the funds…

In an effort to increase the knowledge about professional development programs that promote strong instructional leaders, the Wallace Foundation recently commissioned a study of innovative principal professional development programs and the policy and funding mechanisms that support them. In fall 2003, the foundation awarded a grant to a team of…