In order to create a productive school culture, effective, sustainable change must occur at every level throughout a school system. This paper focuses on the components and process that break the barriers to change to create a productive school culture for change that transcends through the classroom, the school level, and district level. Ongoing,…

In 2001, the Australian Science Teachers Association's (ASTA's) Golden Jubilee year, a special commemorative combined issue of the then "Australian Science Teachers' Journal" (ASTJ) and "Investigating" (Australian Primary and Junior Science Journal), charted ASTA's beginnings and growth, from a "loose affiliation of four…

Superintendents of schools face increased leadership demands from diverse constituents, challenges due to current conditions, and opportunities posed by evolving trends and reforms. Superintendents are in the key position to make systemic school improvements a major priority, to allocate resources to promote their progress and importance, and to…

Digital learners are hungry to use technology in school. And many schools are responding by delivering cutting-edge equipment to all teachers and students and infusing this technology into instruction. This is all well and good. But as evaluators with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, the authors have observed several major…

"Surprise! Here come the preschoolers." Thousands of elementary principals are receiving a similar message from their supervisors as the concept of universal preschool is propelled to the forefront of the national education agenda. School districts across the country are being infused with wide varieties of federal- and state-funded…

Learning Forward's new Learning Designs standard is an important reminder that shaping professional learning as opportunities for adults to learn and grow is essential and that one's understanding of how adults learn is an essential component of this pressing goal. This article discusses the three strands of the Learning Designs standard: (1)…

The March issue of "Mathematics Teaching" included an article by Alice Onion about Bowland Maths, focussing on the nature and use of the Professional Development modules that the Bowland Trust has developed--there are now seven such CPD modules on the Bowland website. The article also mentioned that the Bowland Trust had recently…

The authors assert that lesson study--a collaborative, teacher-led approach to learning from practice--offers a deeper, broader, more sustainable method of improving teacher practice than one-on-one coaching does. In lesson study, teachers and coaches of all levels of experience can work together, each bringing his or her own professional…

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a concern among professionals working with youth. The present study examined school counsellors' experiences, training and school preparedness, perceived knowledge, beliefs, and intervention approaches related to NSSI. Participants were 470 school counsellors (417 female, 53 male) from across North America (156…

States have placed high priority on developing early care and education systems that include early learning guidelines, curriculum, program guidelines or standards, and early childhood educator competencies. To explore how professional development and quality improvement initiatives are being integrated into emerging infant-toddler care systems,…

Education and training for student affairs professionals does not end with a master's degree. Although graduate preparation programs establish the foundation and knowledge base upon which to build, ongoing professional development is required in order to be effective in addressing the needs of today's college and university students. With a…

The idea of joining a conversation through reading and writing is not new; in his 1941 book "The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action," Kenneth Burke suggests that the acts of reading and writing are like entering a parlor where others are already conversing. The author explores the place of professional debate within NCTE and…

Professional development (PD) of teachers comprises a major challenge in many countries. The empirical relations between teaching-learning processes and student achievements occupy educators who construct teachers' in-service training programs. Student achievements serve as a measure for testing improvements in learning. Many investigators view…

Today's undergraduate students are interconnected in more ways than ever before. Cell phones, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace all make it possible for individuals to connect with one another in seconds. The interconnectedness among this generation of students makes this demographic ideal for participation in the professional…

Like many school districts across the nation, Solon (Ohio) City Schools is committed to improving the quality and depth of student learning while simultaneously fostering the growth of leadership in the district. To achieve these goals, the district is investing in sustained professional learning designed to build leadership among faculty and to…