Strong reading comprehension skills are central not only to academic and professional success, but also to a productive social and civic life. These skills build the capacity to learn independently, to absorb information on a variety of topics, to enjoy reading, and to experience literature more deeply. Despite the growing demand for highly…

With an increasingly diverse nation and an ever-smaller world, global awareness is a necessity for today's students. This unique and indispensable handbook shows how teachers can use global literature to help students expand their worldview while developing increased respect for cultural diversity. The authors explain how to infuse global…

Some of the most significant changes in information technology are those that have given the individual user greater power to choose. The first of these changes was the development of the personal computer. The PC liberated the individual user from the limitations of the mainframe and minicomputers and from the rules and regulations of centralized…

Background: Physical education (PE) plays a critical role in the healthy development of youth; however, the influence of PE classes in helping to provide students with health-related behavior patterns is not clear. This study aims to analyze whether participation in PE classes is associated with health-related behavior among high school students.…

Background: Evaluating the impact of nutrition interventions on developmental outcomes in developing countries can be challenging since most assessment tests have been produced in and for developed country settings. Such tests may not be valid measures of children's abilities when used in a new context. Aims: We present several principles for the…

Since 1982, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has periodically surveyed the status of curricula being implemented in America's high schools and the course-taking patterns of high school students, as identified from their transcripts. Data from the High School Transcript Study (HSTS), conducted in…

There is growing evidence that, of all school resources, teachers have the largest impact on student achievement. Principals arguably play the most important role in ensuring that excellent teaching occurs in their school. How principals hire teachers, assign them to specific positions, evaluate them, and provide growth opportunities for them…

Employing a mixed-method explorative approach, this study examined the in situ use of and opinions about an educational computer game for learning English introduced in three schools offering different levels of freedom to choose school activities. The results indicated that the general behaviour of the children with the game was very different…

This article discusses how Mary Curran-Hackett, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Cincinnati in the English Literature and Composition and Rhetoric Departments, was determined to hook her students on reading. She wanted to find a topic on which every single student would undoubtedly have an opinion, and if not a preconceived notion,…

The need for effective school leadership is a global concern. This paper provides a comparison of the school principal in Costa Rica to the United States. Differences and similarities are described for principals in both nations. Major differences for principals in Costa Rica include administrative salaries, selection procedures, induction, no…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to document the writing choices of kindergarten children in an urban setting after planned experiences with transformational literature. This research involved nineteen kindergarten students who were participants through the naturalistic setting of routine classroom instruction. Four social issues…

Women are absent from the top ranks at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a stark contrast to the increase in gender parity at other schools. SIUC's chancellor, vice chancellors, provost and all 10 academic deans are men. Nationally, women made up at least a third of the vice presidents and provosts surveyed and 36 percent of deans,…

In the context of increasing support for interdisciplinary modes of research, many in the policy, scientific, and academic communities propose that universities should change structurally to reduce the barriers to investigation that involves researchers from multiple disciplines. This paper examines "interdisciplinary strategies" in U.S. research…

Twenty people with suspected intellectual disability took the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 1998) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--3rd Edition (WAIS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997) to see if the 2 IQ tests produced comparable results. A t test showed that the RIAS Composite Intelligence Index…

Purpose: School superintendents are charged with maintaining the safety and security of the schools in their district. One major recognized threat to the security and safety of students and staff is the use of illegal drugs. Superintendents are responding to the constitutionality of student drug-testing policies by implementing drug-testing…