This report presents the results of a study that examined the role and activities of reform coaches. Positions for reform coaches have been developed in a number of schools and districts in the San Francisco Bay Area through the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC). The study examined the reform coach role, the functions it provides to the…

This collection of research reports is intended to advance the understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. The reports are as follows: "The Punctuated Equilibrium of National Reading Policy: Literacy's Changing Images and Venues" (Celia Sims and Cecil Miskel); "Productive Campus Leadership Responses to…

This book presents instructional techniques and behaviors that result in the most significant achievement gains for preK-5 students, guiding teachers in assessing their strengths and building their skills within six key domains of literacy instruction directly linked to student success. The book is based on a macroanalysis of preK-5 reading…

Several trends in education are affecting administrators on a daily basis. This paper attempts to heighten understanding of a few of the current trends in administration. The first trend that is increasingly coming to the forefront is the lack of personnel willing to pursue a career in administration. Personnel in schools are not willing to take…

The goal of this book is to provide comprehensive and practical knowledge of relevant legal issues that affect the administration of public schools. It will allow educators to effectively perform their duties within the boundaries of constitutional, statutory, and case law. It is also designed to be easy to understand for those with little or no…

This document comprises the 12 issues for 2001 of the "Child Support Report," which explores problems related to child support enforcement, reports on federal and state government child support enforcement initiatives, and summarizes research related to child support. Featured regularly are editorials and information on events of…

Parents and community members who want to improve their schools are often told that things "must" be done a certain way because of rules and regulations. Often union contracts are blamed for why certain changes cannot be made. Union contracts may not be the barrier to change, however; management inaction may be the real culprit. This…

This report uses data from the base year and first follow-up to the 1995-1996 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study to answer questions about college student employment and the persistence of employed students in higher education. Findings from the study show that among those who expect to earn a certificate from their first…

The major tenets of a pedagogy of place are that nature teaches; understanding place is indispensable to community; where and how a student learns is as vital as what a student learns; and respect is integral to learning. Environmental literacy is the capacity to perceive and interpret the relative health of environmental systems and to take…

On October 15-16, 2005, FPRI's Marvin Wachman Fund for International Education hosted 45 teachers from 14 states across the country for a weekend of lectures and discussion on Teaching 9/11 and the War on Terrorism. Sessions included: (1) Presidential Leadership in Times of Crisis (David Eisenhower); (2) Terrorism in Historical and Comparative…

This paper was prepared for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment and Training Taskforce on Teacher Quality & Educational Leadership. It covers the following broad areas: (1) How can a national definition of "Good Teaching" be developed, and what should it include?; (2) What should a "National Standards…

Surveys have repeatedly shown that vast numbers of young people are interested in and concerned about environmental issues. Good youth work is concerned with the interests of young people, so the idea of environmental youth work--taking a youth work approach to environmental education--is a logical development for both environmental and youth work…

This study identified seven categories of influence of local college governing boards, based on how they were established and their members appointed. Information was drawn from questionnaires sent to staffs of statewide coordinating bodies and multicampus governing boards; from statutes, local board policies, bylaws, and handbooks; and from…

This collection of papers addresses two issues of critical importance to higher education: leadership and changing the way that schools and colleges of education conduct the business of teaching and learning. The book contains an introductory paper, seven studies written from the perspective of the deans leading the change, and a concluding paper.…

This paper considers the viability and applicability of student learning outcomes used as a measure of professorial productivity. While student learning outcomes need to be assessed in order to evaluate faculty productivity, examination of student learning as a concept reveals the difficulty of finding consensus on how to define it. The issue is…