Partnerships between schools and out-of-school organizations (museums, zoos, nature centers, etc.) have been shown to improve the educational experiences for both students and teachers. In this article, we report on the experiences we have documented as a nature center through our active involvement in school partnerships. Our partnerships with…

Much research on educational innovations treats them as purposeful endeavours, initiated with a clear goal for improvement of practice and eventually evaluating the fidelity of their implementation as well as effectiveness. However, innovative practices in schools can have many sources and their implementation often takes a surprising and…

The 2007 Bondar Report, "Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future," generated a vision for environmental curricula in Ontario. It has been the basis for the mandated framework introduced in 2009 by the Ministry of Education for environmental education (EE) in all Ontario schools. Based on our research and personal reflections, this paper…

Bullying is a major concern in education worldwide, particularly in countries such as New Zealand that are reported to have high rates of bullying in schools. In this article it is proposed that, in order to effectively prevent or substantially reduce bullying in schools, a systemic approach needs to be adopted, with interventions organized at…

SAE programs were designed as an integral component in SBAE. However, participation has continued to decline. This qualitative study examined exemplary SAE programs in rural SBAE to discover factors that were working in SAE development and implementation. Through focus groups, individual and informal interviews, and observations, two themes that…

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance recommends that all schools implement a comprehensive school physical activity program. Physical activity is important to the overall health and well-being of everyone, including all school age children. The benefits of physical activity are well documented and include the…

Problems in implementation and practice of a whole-school approach to integration which features transposing regular and special educators are cited, and seven phases for carrying out such a scheme are described. (CL)

Several factors may interfere with the effective collaboration between universities and K-12 schools, a key element in the process of establishing and operating professional development schools (PDSs). These factors relate to differences in school and university cultures and the impact of these differences on the respective faculties. Among the…

Discusses the role of school principals and school boards in developing policies in the following areas in order to inform faculty members of their duty to report suspected cases of abuse: (1) child-abuse reporting procedures; (2) educational and training programs; and (3) community linkage mechanisms. (JS)

This description of the Clinical Schools Project (a partnership which includes San Francisco State University, San Francisco Unified School District, and United Educators of San Francisco, California) contains a project description, three papers, and a proposal for establishing the project. The project description outlines the project, defines a…

Discusses ways schools must restructure to provide school-linked services. Education personnel must learn to work with other agencies and to expand the boundaries of their efforts. Practical implications of school-linked services are illustrated via reference to the New Beginnings program of the San Diego (California) city schools. (SLD)

This packet includes reprints of journal articles, reports from social service agencies, government agencies, and consulting and educational organizations currently implementing or evaluating interagency collaboration in small, rural schools. The five sections of the packet explain integrated services and the impact on rural schools; issues…

This publication features sixteen articles that focus on the theme of collaborative decision making. The articles are concerned with: 1) effects of the lack of collaboration; 2) the trust, distrust, and political reasons behind collaboration; 3) collaboration as a critical democratic process; 4) mandated public school and community cooperation;…

This report presents findings from a survey of Indiana school superintendents' and school board members' attitudes about the school's role in sex education. Data were obtained for the study by means of a questionnaire; 645 completed "Family Life and Sex Education Questionnaires" were returned. Data, presented in tabular form and followed…

The concept of the professional development school (PDS) and the commitment to collaboration advocated by educational reformers derives in part from a recognition of the need to more fully incorporate the voices of teachers in teacher education and professional development. The Coolidge Professional Development School (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts)…