I synthesize some of the lessons we have learned about systemic school reform in order and derive two explicit hypotheses about when such reforms are likely to be more and less successful. The first hypothesis focuses on program implementation: to achieve success, any systemic reform must overcome challenges at each stage of the policy-making…

This research investigates the perceptions of first-year Bachelor of Teaching students (primary and secondary) and Diploma of Education students (secondary) about their peer teaching experience in a postgraduate subject called Curriculum and Assessment. Peer teaching is a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning that is intended to…

When Palmdale School District and Pivot Learning Partners entered into their first contract in 2006, neither organization foresaw the magnitude and complexity the relationship would take over time. Pivot Learning Partners (formerly known as Springboard Schools) is a non-profit service provider that first entered the Palmdale School District…

Intended to provide background information and preliminary options for the California Community Colleges' Commission on Innovation, this document describes the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and describes policy options for implementation in the state's community colleges. Following introductory materials, the paper recommends…

The purpose of this action research study was threefold: (1) to assess the climate of an elementary school in which the principal, assistant principal, and 67 percent of the teaching staff were new; (2) to develop and implement a plan for improvement; and (3) to reevaluate the school climate to determine whether improvement had occurred. The…

This article provides an opportunity to look at issues related to capacity building--how the concept has evolved and how it is currently being applied--and a review of the components of effective capacity building in working with individuals and organizations. This is followed by a description of capacity-building projects undertaken by ECDVU…

The full-purpose partnership (FPP) schoolwide model primarily focuses on prevention and early intervention. This model brings the tenets of service coordination directly into the school and focuses efforts to involve families from a strengths perspective before behavioral issues become significant. A preliminary evaluation has shown that this…

Two schools in Maryland received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their turnaround efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) G. James Gholson Middle School; and (2) Commodore John Rodgers Elementary School. The experiences of…

PRISM, the Pittsburgh Research-Based Instructional Supervisory Model, was initiated when the superintendent convened an Instructional Leadership Committee (ILC) to develop a plan for improving instruction and instructional leadership within the district. The Pittsburgh Public Schools' Learning Research Development Center then conducted a…

The Government of Alberta is committed to enhancing the well-being and educational opportunities of Aboriginal peoples in the province. As part of Ministry commitment to the Government of Alberta's Aboriginal Policy Initiative (API), a key priority is to improve First Nations, Inuit and Metis learner success. In the spring of 1999, a review of the…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a design and implementation framework for ALAR (action learning action research) programme which aims to address collaborative improvement in the extended manufacturing enterprise. Design/methodology/approach: This article demonstrates the design of a programme in which action learning and action…

The management of workplace change takes place in many industry contexts and micro-settings using a variety of approaches, all of which are widely reported in the academic and professional literature. There is less known about workplace change management in the context of an international company employing large numbers of Mainland Chinese…

This paper presents the design, implementation and assessment of the Columbia River Basin Environmental Research Project (CERP) curriculum. CERP is an online inquiry-based, regional geographic curriculum designed to improve technology skills and content knowledge about water quality and watershed-level processes. Student attitudes and knowledge…

This handbook is designed to assist schools in carrying out the following goals of the Fair Play program: to strengthen and expand students' female or male self-concepts, to increase their decision-making skills, and to increase their academic achievement by changing their stereotypic attitude toward particular content areas. The Fair Play program…

This annotated directory provides practitioners and service providers with references to existing programs, tools, and resources that school improvement teams may use to design and implement projects. The directory draws on a variety of products developed or used by state departments of education, school districts, regional educational…