Over the last 2 decades, Irish schooling and society have gone through a period of significant structural and policy-driven change. To meet the emerging needs of the knowledge/learning society, schools and teachers are challenged to develop their capacities as "active learning communities". This places greater demands on teachers and…

This technical appendix provides more detail on the reading reforms implemented under the Blueprint for Student Success project in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) between 2000 and 2005. It provides details on the dataset, the econometric methods the authors employed, and the results, which are also detailed and discussed in the main…

In a time of scarce resources, many colleges and universities are looking for ways to stretch their existing resources for student success. At the same time, most institutions have a significant number of student workers. This paper presents the latest research that describes the vital role of on-campus employment in student retention. This report…

This paper reflects on experiences of working with schools in urban contexts as they have attempted to improve the quality of learning. Set within the context of the English education system during a period of intense national pressure to "raise standards", these experiences have been focused around issues of performance and leadership…

The expectation for schools to continually improve outcomes for students underscores the importance of tapping teacher leaders' contributions in school improvement and renewal efforts. As National Board (NB) certification has become a common feature of state and district policies to improve teaching and learning, it is worthwhile to explore how…

Before revising the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation under the new administration, policy makers need to be informed as to whether or not the NCLB labeling formula adequately distinguishes good-quality schools from poor-quality schools. This study tests this question, using rich descriptive data for Milwaukee's urban school district (MPS).…

In recent years the student population in the UK has grown considerably, and students are entering higher education with a more diverse range of qualifications and skills. This is particularly the case in post-1992 universities with a widening participation agenda, as these institutions have a larger share of students from non-traditional…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a unique version of the balanced scorecard developed and applied by the faculty of a university division. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a case study approach and uses the experiences of the faculty of a business school to describe the process and benefits of developing a custom…

This report is the fourth in a series of Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) reports tracking the progress of Wisconsin's YoungStar program, a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) launched in 2011 to improve the quality of Wisconsin child care programs. YoungStar focuses on children of low-income working families receiving…

Studies of high-performing schools, where all students learn more than similar students in other schools, show common design elements. These elements are comprehensive, affecting the whole school, and include: (1) Clear mission guiding daily activities; (2) High, unyielding expectations that all students will learn; (3) Frequent monitoring of…

The Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) State Grants Program is currently operating professional development grants for California teachers at 40 sites statewide. This is as large a cadre of projects as the California Postsecondary Education Commission has operated since the ITQ Program began with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.…

The author conducted annual evaluations of the Associates Program from its inception. He attended one or more of the national symposia for Associates each year, interviewed each of the Associates and submitted reports to the National Center. As the number of participants in the Associates Program approached 100 and in 2008 the National Center…

A decade ago, people wanting to practice "green computing" recycled their printer paper, turned their personal desktop systems off from time to time, and tried their best to donate old equipment to a nonprofit instead of throwing it away. A campus IT department can shave a few watts off just about any IT process--the real trick is planning and…

This article reports creative initiatives that 25 U.S. principals employed to support teacher learning in light of their financial resources. Nearly 90 hours of interviews with principals and 60 documents were coded to create narrative summaries and build profiles of how financial resources influenced how the school leaders supported teacher…

There is a significant strand of theory and research about turning around underperforming organizations; however, very little of it speaks to the unique mission and character of schools. This literature is unambiguous in its claim that leadership is the pivotal explanation for success, suggesting that efforts to better understand the nature of…