This paper examines the political meanings of language in the USA, from the perspectives of both majority- and minority-language groups, and focuses especially on Mainstream US English, African-American Vernacular English, and Spanish. It briefly traces the history of language policy in US education and argues that because language serves as a…

This paper examines the dynamics of authority relationships and curriculum enactment in a lower-level, college-preparatory US History class. It explains how a teacher and his students construct a relaxed order shaped by uncertain educational goals, the use of entertainment, and students' wants. Ambiguity and entertainment in the teacher's practise…

Relaxed intensity refers to a professional philosophy, demeanor, and way of life. It is the key to being an effective educational leader. To be successful one must be relaxed, which means managing stress efficiently, having fun, and enjoying work. Intensity allows one to get the job done and accomplish certain tasks or goals. Educational leaders…

In October 2002, Sebastian River High School in Florida developed a literacy system that includes all faculty and staff members. The literacy system identifies roles, responsibilities, and actions for everyone, including daily literacy-related nonnegotiables for all teachers. Now, students who have a history of failure are posting gains of one…

Only one out of five high school teachers believes that students are learning to write well according to research from Public Agenda. Test results confirm their opinion. In 1998, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered a writing assessment to gauge fourth- and eighth-grade students' proficiency in writing narrative,…

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 39% of public school students were considered to be part of a minority group in 2000, as opposed to just 22% in 1972. Although the increased diversity offers many opportunities for staff members and students to learn from one another, not all members of the school community adjust quickly to a…

If teachers and parents genuinely believe that it is educators' responsibility to prepare students for a life of "meeting employers' needs," then teachers have to better examine what it is that they choose to teach students. That is, what should be in the curriculum to ensure that students have the knowledge to prepare them for a life of…

Scallywags is a community-based, early intervention programme for young children (aged 3-7) with behavioural, emotional and social problems, which integrates work in the home and school with a parenting curriculum and direct work with children. A pre-post intervention study across multi-sites of 340 participants is reported. Using standardised…

Representatives of business, industry, and education have long perceived a gap between students' existing skills and those needed in the workplace. To address this problem, a strong movement toward adopting voluntary skill standards is now seen within career and technical education (CTE). In this article, the author discusses how addressing skill…

School-based professional development has been promoted by the government in England through its Continuing Professional Development Strategy (DfEE, 2001), however, the context and culture of the school in which the learning takes place is highly influential. Particularly important in teachers' professional development within secondary education…

This article deals with the current situation of revenues, expenditures and school finance. The authors discuss elaborating conceptions of resources, clarifying why funding is often wasted, and why the translation of funding into effective resources is not straightforward. They discuss their approach of converting revenues to results in a simple…

This study uses mixed methods to identify the factors linked to varying levels of academic performance among Latina/o students enrolled in an alternative high school. Results from the quantitative analyses suggest students who had highly educated fathers and who reported high levels of English literacy are very likely to be classified as academic…

This Academic Senate paper is in response to two resolutions from Fall 2005 concerning academic dishonesty. One resolution, 14.02, "Student Cheating," sought clarification on a System Office legal position that limits the ability of local faculty to fail a student for a single incident of academic dishonesty, and pending the result of…

Cognition, mind, counseling psychology, lesson plans, learning styles, and Vygotsky are just a few of the many subjects discussed in this exciting work. Educators, students, counselors, parents, and others will find new understanding as they read and browse. How does the immigrant experience affect student outcomes? What are the effects of poverty…

This document is a tool for demonstrating that the University System is meeting the "flexibility with accountability" expectations of SB 2003 passed by the 2001 Legislative Assembly. The 2007 report reflects some of the many ways North Dakota University System (NDUS) colleges and universities are developing the human capital needed to…