Elementary school principals face a balancing act between managerial responsibilities and instructional leadership. With increasing accountability and responsibility, many principals find themselves overwhelmed, lacking the time, resources and support to be instructional leaders. In relation to school size, little has been written regarding the…

This report examines the contribution of self-evaluation to internal review processes in Scotland's colleges. It identifies the range of methodologies used by colleges, what makes these effective and what needs to improve further. It explores in particular, the extent to which self-evaluation has a positive impact on learners' experiences. The…

The critical organizational form in the information age is networking. This new organizational principle is manifested through the processes of internationalization and global academic cooperation which have become inevitable strategies for every higher education institution in order to be competitive in a global education market. The effective…

Two decades of research have documented what now is common knowledge: no in-school factor matters more to students' educational experiences and outcomes than the effectiveness of their teacher. As a result, the national airspace is increasingly crowded with proposed reforms and initiatives designed to boost teacher performance, including new…

The Effective Instructional Strategies Series is a collection of six booklets based on the components used in Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD), a principles-based professional development program consisting of research-based teaching and learning strategies proven to help improve students' reading…

In June 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Offices (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards. The stated aim of the Common Core standards is to define the knowledge and skills students should achieve in order to graduate from high school ready to succeed in a…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Waiving Goodbye to NCLB?: U.S. Education Secretary Discusses Options to Grant Relief from NCLB's Requirements In…

The Massachusetts context for English language learner (ELL) education has evolved over the last decade, while the population of English language learners in Boston Public Schools (BPS) has increased steadily. During that time, a shift to "English Only" instruction meant that instruction in students' first language (L1) disappeared…

A Colorado district develops a two-year program that gives teacher teams an opportunity to learn how to use digital tools in the classroom. Called the Digital Learning Collaborative, it is built on three things about professional learning: (1) Learning takes time; (2) Learning is a social process; and (3) Learning about technology should be…

This research study's purpose or theme was to qualitatively investigate the reading component of a private after-school tutoring program that offered academic assistance to eighth-grade students. The problem with reading is many urban middle school students have poor reading skills and do not perform well on reading standardized tests. Relative to…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

Learning environments aim to deliver efficacious instruction, but rarely take into consideration the motivational factors involved in the learning process. However, motivational aspects like engagement play an important role in effective learning-engaged learners gain more. E-Learning systems could be improved by tracking students' disengagement…

Journal publication is an important indicator of research productivity for individual researchers, as well as academic institutions. However, for novice faculty members, the publication process can appear equivocal and daunting. If the academic does not actively engage themselves early in this process, then her or his career becomes an uphill (and…

Recent state policy and federal funding initiatives are driving the demand for clean energy in both the short and long term. This increased demand has created the need for many more workers trained or retrained in a variety of clean energy jobs. In response, states are utilizing funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009…

This is the second in an occasional series called "Promising Practices: What Works in the Midwest." The series was launched to showcase innovative initiatives and effective ways to address common challenges and unique opportunities in higher education. Promising practices enable educators and policymakers to compare and benchmark…