The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) and the Maryland Learning Outcomes (MLOs) on mathematics classroom instruction and assessment practices, professional development, and student learning. The data sources included questionnaires for principals, mathematics teachers, and…

The study examines the perceptions of chief student affairs officers at 50 colleges/universities in order to provide insights into the extent to which preparation programs are effectively preparing new professionals for the field. The results of the study will assist faculty teaching in these programs in future decisions regarding curricula;…

This article presents a summary of the results from phase 1 of a two-phase research project. Drawing on the principles of problem-based learning (PBL), the aims of phase 1 were to design, develop and evaluate a set of flexible online teaching resources for use within a virtual learning environment. Participants in the project (n = 10) were…

This descriptive study investigated two areas: (a) perceived changes in gifted and talented (G/T) programming in Iowa from the time a state mandate was implemented to the time of the study, and (b) perceived effects of the mandate on G/T programming in Iowa. Perceptions of middle-level teachers of gifted and talented students (n = 111) were…

In this paper, we investigate the question of what assessment tools are being used in practice by United States computing programs and what the faculty doing the assessment think of the tools they use. After presenting some background with regard to the design, implementation, and use of assessment, with particular attention to assessment tools,…

Index for Inclusion is a programme to assist in developing learning and participation in schools. It was written by Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, UK. Central Normal School was pleased to have the opportunity to trial this programme.

Background: Research on children's emotional behaviour has been hampered by the lack of psychometric assessment scales. The present study reports on the construction and validation of a new self-report instrument to measure the emotional response styles of adolescents. Method: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out on the…

The purpose of this study was to monitor the development of teacher personal attribute and school environmental factors at an urban intermediate (years 7 and 8) school in New Zealand as a result of an extended science professional development intervention project. Over a 2-year period, a validated, comprehensive science curriculum delivery…

Professional development schools (PDSs) are collaborative partnerships between teacher education programs and K-12 schools that provide educational opportunities for teachers and students alike. Such school-university partnerships are an important part of current educational reform. The body of empirical research examining PDS partnerships is…

This study focused on a particular course entitled Raising Standards in Writing and attempted to discover if it did impact on pupil attainment and change teachers' practices. The course was provided by a Local Education Authority and used National Literacy Strategy materials. It was developed in the context of the British government's concern…

The present study examined the relationship between goal orientation, coping with school failure and school achievement. Two questionnaires. Goal Orientation (Niemivirta, 1996a) and The School Failure Coping Scale (Rijavec & Brdar, 1997), were administered to 1057 high school students (aged from 15 to 17 years). The first goal of this study…

This article deals with the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). TIMSS has provided a comprehensive assessment of educational contexts and mathematics and science achievement (National Research Council, 1999). The initial TIMSS assessment was conducted in 1995 (TIMSS 1995) and several studies have examined factors related to…

Numerous studies have been undertaken demonstrating that online learning is an effective teaching tool, working best when combined with more conventional teaching methods. There is a paucity of data both examining the longitudinal blending of an e-module with more conventional modes of curriculum delivery and also relating to the time and…

This paper reports on the findings about a mentoring project that failed. It is based on a case study in which the writer participated as a mentor of the staff members of the South African Department of Labour. In 2002, the South African Department of Labour (DoL) published a tender ref: Services/ta/cst/p1/wp3 for Communications Skills Training…

Quality measures were originally developed for research aimed at describing the settings that children spend time in and identifying the characteristics of these environments that contribute to children's development. They were also developed to guide improvements in practice. Increasingly, however, measures of quality are being used for further…