This article describes the meaning of empowerment and collaboration, how they can be instituted, and the benefits that can result from them. Empowerment of teachers is a necessary ingredient of school improvement. Administrators who empower teachers grant them "the autonomy to make decisions about curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment." In this…

For the past eight years, the Speak Up National Research Project has endeavored to stimulate new discussions around these kinds of questions and to provide a context to help education, parent, policy and business leaders think beyond today and envision tomorrow. This report is the first in a two part series to document the key national findings…

Objective: To examine impact of CVD risk reduction intervention for African-American men in the Atlanta Empowerment Zone (AEZ) designed to target anger management. Design: Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was employed as a non-parametric alternative to the t-test for independent samples. This test was employed because the data used in this analysis…

Self-help groups (SHGs) have emerged as an effective mechanism of empowerment and development of women as well as being on efficient mode of promoting group action and technology dissemination. Initiatives were undertaken at the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana to facilitate the formation of women's…

Tribal colleges play a powerful role in the personal development as well as the academic development of American Indian students. By providing access, exposure to native culture, personal support, preparation for further education, and a sense of empowerment, tribal colleges are influential in advancing self-awareness, interpersonal sensitivity,…

This article builds and explores the hypothesis that parent and community participation in school governance can have positive impacts on community development by fostering improvements in school performance and school-community relations and by acting as a catalyst for collective action around community-development issues. It does so through case…

These 24 papers explain how using the collaborative learning model can help teachers address classroom challenges. Section 1, "Toward Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century," begins with "Toward Whole Schools: Building a Movement for Creativity and Collaborative Learning in the 21st Century" (J. Michael…

This report discusses increasing demands on teachers' time, particularly with more students with disabilities in regular education classes, and describes how teachers can use strategies, routines, and support systems to empower students to become more independent and more responsible for their own learning and study. The five underlying principles…

A study examined "Learning Community" meetings at the College of Education and Human Services at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in which professors, inservice teachers, and preservice teachers in a 15-hour semester block connected with a clinical field experience meet and engage in dialogue about the program. A total of four…

Strategies are presented for recruiting family members from minority groups to be involved in the formation of policies and development of programs that affect their lives and those of their young children with disabilities. Organizational strategies, strategies to empower family members, logistical strategies, and process strategies are…

Developing students' ability to use multicultural perspectives and knowledge to think about literature, history, and society is emerging as an important part of a pluralistic approach to education. In New York State, an ethnographic study was conducted over 2 school years by a pair of English and social studies teachers with pluralistic goals for…

England and Wales have undergone dramatic educational reforms during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper presents findings of a study that explored three headteachers' perceptions of leadership in English and Welsh primary schools. Data were obtained through interviews, a staff questionnaire, observation, and document review. Findings indicate that…

For many teachers and theorists of composition, the ingrained reluctance to use "I" came to stand as a powerful symbol of all that was alienating and disenfranchising about an institutionalized educational system that seemed more concerned with student discipline than empowerment. Consequently, the cultivation of the use of "I"…

Increasingly, many teachers see their roles encompassing not only teaching specific content and mentoring students, but also functioning as front-line social workers. This Digest examines factors that may influence teacher morale and offers suggestions for preserving or restoring morale. Administrative support and leadership, good student…

Based on the theory of multiple intelligences, this guide is designed for teachers as they assist students through a progression from understanding multiple intelligences and their own intelligence strengths to developing strategies to set clear educational goals, discover their passions, and develop self-advocacy. The guide's units, each of which…