Research (Henderson & Mapp, 2002) suggests the participation of teachers and families as partners in the education of students builds stronger foundations for the future development of children. This dissertation examined the participation of foster care families in schools and factors that contribute to their participation in the school setting…

In July 2007, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) began implementation of AISD REACH, a comprehensive and strategic compensation initiative. The initiative addressed three key areas: student growth, professional growth, and recruitment and retention of teachers and principals at highest needs schools. REACH combines an outcome-based pay…

Performance pay for teachers is frequently suggested as a way of improving education outcomes in schools, but the theoretical predictions regarding its effectiveness are ambiguous and the empirical evidence to date is limited and mixed. We present results from a randomized evaluation of a teacher incentive program implemented across a large…

This article presents a case study at Oakmont University where a presidential debate will be held on campus. Oakmont University is a large public research institution located in the Southeastern United States. This Carnegie Doctoral/Research I institution enrolls more than 35,000, 75% undergraduate and 25% graduate students. Located in somewhat of…

There is a certain similarity between the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the leaning tower of Pisa. Both have a certain presence on the landscape: the tower has a commanding appearance on the Italian countryside while PESA has left its mark on the academic fabric of Australasia. Both are much loved: Pisa by visiting…

This column provides brief summaries of transition-related articles published in 2008 in other professional journals. The 70 articles included descriptive, experimental, and qualitative research as well as program descriptions, conceptual papers, and practitioner pieces. All areas of Kohler's (1996) Kohler, P. D. (1996). "Preparing youth with…

Positive turning points touch upon the essence of education. They epitomize its power and reflect its core agenda: maximizing human capital. Paradoxically, previous studies have not looked into this important phenomenon. The current exploratory study fills this lacuna by building on extensive empirical research of key educational experiences to…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of student-teachers' learning practices in primary school chemistry classroom contexts. Its theoretical approach is based on the sociocultural view of learning and development, which holds a conception of the learner as a cultural and historical subject, embedded within and constituted by a…

Service-learning is an instructional methodology teachers can use to foster student engagement in rigorous curricula. Through service-learning, middle level students see that what they are learning in school is real and important, and that they can be valued, contributing members of society. In this article, the Titans team at Remington Middle…

Not too many years ago, right about the start of the new millennium, the TAMU-CC Writing Center began to pull away from the model of a center that focuses mostly on individual consultations and began to build a greater sense of the place of the Writing Center in the larger university Writing Community. In this article, we share how we have built…

This essay compares the narratives that have emerged in recent years to describe the higher education enterprise with the narratives used to describe student affairs' endeavors. I posit that the way in which student affairs professionals present their agenda is out of sync with the market-driven culture of the academy. The seven "Principles of…

This qualitative study used focus groups to identify the knowledge about the "Arts du Cirque" Program implemented in a primary school and to explore perceptions of its impacts. Data are based on the discourse of school staff members, parents and other members of the community of an elementary school. The impacts on students are…

This practical guide to outcomes-based assessment in student affairs is designed to help readers meet the growing demand for accountability and for demonstrating student learning. The authors offer a framework for implementing the assessment of student learning and development and pragmatic advice on the strategies most appropriate for the…

This article explores the potential learning benefits of three-dimensional (3-D) virtual learning environments (VLEs). Drawing on published research spanning two decades, it identifies a set of unique characteristics of 3-D VLEs, which includes aspects of their representational fidelity and aspects of the learner-computer interactivity they…

This article discusses the fostering of creativity in students through the educational process and finds dance an admirable vehicle for this aim. (JA)