Presents a framework for creating competency-based models, including an analysis of the utility of national competency banks. Presents a checklist that institutional researchers can use during and after the implementation phase to guide institutional success. Concludes with a bibliography of selected Internet-based resources in the area of…

In this paper we describe a peer mentoring program for new elementary school head teachers in Slovenia. First, the results of a preliminary needs assessment are reported, and the dissonance between new head teacher expectations and the realities of their work are described. We then present an overview of the two cross-cutting themes that emerged,…

This paper argues that there is a need, in southern Africa, to develop in-depth understanding in educational reform initiatives. Through ongoing reflexive development of a professional development programme in environmental education, we have found that case-study methodology, which emphasizes context-dependent knowledge, is significant for…

In this article, the author profiles the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (Hyde Park, Massachusetts) and describes the school's culture. The school's students, who are in grades 6 through 12, are surrounded by rituals, routines, and relationship-building activities. Pacific Rim's culture stems from and supports the school's…

Wondering whether they are really making a difference to young people's mathematics learning is a question that most teachers have probably wrestled with at some stage of their careers. However, evidence from a multitude of research studies shows that students' mathematics learning and their dispositions towards mathematics are indeed…

This article illustrates (a) 2 recent innovations in the changing criterion research design, (b) how these innovations apply to research and practice in special education, and (c) how clinical needs influence design features of the changing criterion design. The first innovation, the range-bound changing criterion, is a very simple variation of…

For three decades, special education researchers have sought a solid epistemological foundation for their disability research. Following the lead of the philosophical tradition of American pragmatism, this article sets aside the search for epistemological foundations to conduct research of practical utility and democratic purpose. This article…

In this commentary, we examine the articles in this special issue in terms of a continuum of research to practice strategies currently used in school psychology. On one end of the continuum is the "publish and hope" approach, and at the other end is the "change the organization to fit the innovation" approach. We present the concept of innovation…

College educators share a common goal: to guide college students as they develop mature ways of making informed judgments. Moving away from uncritical acceptance of knowledge to critically constructing one's own perspective, however, is more complex than learning a skill set. The evolution from viewing knowledge as certain and possessed by…

The purpose of this article is to promote an increased awareness of the processes for setting cut-scores for complex performance assessments by (a) describing the Analytic Judgment Method (AJM) for setting cut-scores, and (b) critically evaluating the technical adequacy and practicability of the AJM by focusing on one investigation where the AJM…

Teacher education faculty need to bridge college course knowledge to actual practices in early childhood classrooms. Historically, faculty have lectured about best practices and then students have attempted to integrate these concepts into their own teaching with children. This article highlights one community college's use of digital photography…

This paper examines the evolutionary path of the university and its impact on the quality of education it provides to people, industry and society. The authors first analyse the (Kantian) paradigm of reason, the (German Idealists') paradigm of culture and the current dominant techno-bureaucratic paradigm of excellence. They then argue that the…

Discussion of the teaching of writing, spelling, and reading using code-based literacy methods, such as Orton-Gillingham examines the cognitive challenge of the transition from spoken to graphic word and then reviews new research findings, such as the letter as model for sound variation, ease of spelling the low vowel, and the creation of word…

This paper sets the context for those that follow in this special issue of "Pedagogy, Culture & Society." In so doing, it provides a brief overview of postcolonialism as theory, politics and practice. It considers postcolonialism's ambivalent reception amongst differing constituencies, a sign both of desire and danger, as Stuart Hall has put it.…

As an area of research, instructional communication has struggled to map out the role of communication in the teaching process. More recently, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) movement has emphasized the importance of applying the same systematic, informed rigor in the teaching that educators do in their research pursuits. Both…