Conventional wisdom may support the presumed notion that higher expectations increase efficiency and improve quality. However, this claim may only be validated when workers are equipped with appropriate tools, training, and a conducive work environment. This study implements various interventions, observes outcomes, and analyzes data collected in…

Many major urban districts have committed large investments to school-based professional development anchored in the work of literacy coaches. At base is a shared belief that instructional coaches are key levers for improvement. Yet, clinical accounts of the role of an instructional coach suggest that this is a complex practice to implement well.…

Research in the past decade suggests that a persistent achievement gap between students from low-income minority backgrounds and higher-income white backgrounds may be rooted in theories of student motivation and youth purpose. Yet limited research exists regarding the role of purpose on positive youth development as it pertains to academic…

This study presents a cost effective, reliable, and convenient mobile web-based system to facilitate the dissemination of course information to students, to support interaction that goes beyond the classroom. The system employed the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology and was developed using Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology.…

This paper investigates how schools are supporting parents' involvement with their children's education through the use of "Learning Platform" technologies--i.e. the integrated use of virtual learning environments, management information systems, communications, and other information and resource-sharing technologies. Based on in-depth…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the experience of 31 university students who were issued tablet PCs for their use during an academic year. The primary research problem which drove this project revolved around the student perceptions of the benefits of technology to provide opportunities to restructure their learning experiences.…

The authors of this article investigate how a performance module was integrated into a graduate course on children's literature to provide teachers with a space to re-enact and challenge the institutional tensions that were impacting their work as multicultural educators. Based on a combined ethnographic and systemic functional linguistics…

One important aim of citizenship education is learning to deal with cultural diversity. To this end, schools organise exchange projects to bring students into contact with different social and cultural groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of intergroup contact in educational settings and to understand what the most…

Many children around the globe are learning English as a foreign language, especially in Asia. Numbers of participants and development of programs are increasing rapidly, as is a commercial testing movement targeted toward assessing this group of young learners. For example, the popular Cambridge Young Learners English test series has had more…

Barely 30 years on from the advent of distance learning as we recognise it today, it has already become uncommon for a learner to embark on a programme of education that does not involve frequent access to the Internet; but if a course does not revolve around the Internet, is it in any way inferior and is the learner disadvantaged? Two of the…

Families, whether guided or instructed to, often become involved in their children's homework. This study examined the effects of a weekly interactive mathematics program (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork-TIPS) on family involvement, emotions and attitudes, and student achievement. Students and families (N=153) from four urban elementary…

This article demonstrates how a well-designed and collaboratively supported program engages school faculty in improving at-risk student retention and transition to college. Using the "power of the site" principle, the program designers envisioned a very different high school culture that focuses on a collaborative and supportive relationship…

The goal of the study was to examine whether bullying experiences are associated with lower academic performance across middle school among urban students.The ethnically diverse sample was drawn from a longitudinal study of 2,300 sixth graders (44% Latino, 26% African American, 10% Asian, 10% White, and 10% mixed) from 11 public middle schools.…

Fuelled by globalisation, the internationalisation of higher education in Canada is happening at a rapid pace. One manifestation of internationalisation is the increasing enrolment of international graduate students in Canadian institutions. Many of these students face challenges and barriers in integrating into Canadian academic environments…

Performance-based accountability along with budget tightening has increased pressure on publicly funded organizations to develop and deliver programs that produce meaningful social benefits. As a result, there is increasing need to undertake formative evaluations that estimate preliminary program outcomes and identify promising program components…