To increase opportunities for students to take more advanced math courses in high school, many school districts enroll grade 8 students in Algebra I, a gateway course for advanced math. But students who take Algebra I in grade 8 and skip other math courses, such as grade 8 general math, might miss opportunities to develop the foundational…

Every year, far too many students across the country begin school without a permanent teacher in place in their classroom. These teacher vacancies arise for many reasons -- schools do not complete their hiring on time, teachers resign late in the summer, and new positions arise at the last minute. Regardless of the reason, vacancies and late…

Children's literature plays an essential role in the literacy development of children. This department column focuses on the teaching and use of children's literature and provides educators with information about a wide range of books across multiple genres that are representative of the diverse world in which we live. A strong emphasis is placed…

The specifics of how growth models should be constructed and used for educational evaluation is a topic of lively policy debate in states and school districts nationwide. In this article, we take up the question of model choice--framed within a policy context--and examine three competing approaches. The first approach, reflected in the popular…

Scholastic Reading Clubs are a popular and inexpensive way for teachers to build classroom libraries and for parents to purchase books for their children. The books made accessible to children through the order forms are assumed to be suitable for young readers in terms of their content, popularity, currency, and curricular relevance.…

The study described the influence, if any, AchieveNJ might have on superintendents' hiring decisions of principals. According to superintendents, there is not one accepted standard in principal leadership characteristics, although there are commonalities regarding traits associated with improving student achievement. The significance of this study…

Early literacy experiences are critical for young children's development. More specifically, quality literacy experiences are beneficial to children's understanding of their world. Ensuring that early childhood literature appropriately reflects the diversity of children's life experiences can support their sense of belonging within an early…

This paper argues that changes to both further and higher education that are already well underway are clarified by what can be called the model of the Business Studies University (BSU). The BSU elevates undergraduate student choice of equivalent level modular courses to the "heart of the system" (DBIS, 2011). This is rejected by those…

Background: Quasi-randomization might expedite recruitment into trials in emergency care settings but may also introduce selection bias. Methods: We searched the Cochrane Library and other databases for systematic reviews of interventions in emergency medicine or urgent care settings. We assessed selection bias (baseline imbalances) in prognostic…

Courses on teaching young adult literature (YAL) often encourage preservice English language arts teachers to consider their future students as they evaluate texts for classroom use. In this study, Sulzer and Thein analyzed preservice teachers' responses to familiar questions used to frame discussions of YAL--questions that ask them to read on…

Many teachers are turning to online professional development to meet their learning needs, but the vast array of available opportunities may be overwhelming. This article provides a framework for making sense of common online teacher learning opportunities. It also suggests situations where online professional development may be most useful and…

In Year 3 of the MPharm degree at the University of Nottingham, many of the students undertake 20-credits of "broadening horizons" optional modules, chosen from a wide and diverse range from across the university. This study presents student views regarding their module choices and on their performances with such diverse module choices…

The researcher identified a gap in the knowledge of competencies needed for midmanagers that work in housing and residence life at the southeast colleges and universities in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify and develop a consensus on competencies needed by mid-managers. The review of the literature describes and…

This dissertation uses sequential mixed methods analysis to examine what characteristics principals seek when hiring teachers and whether they match the perceived characteristics of the teachers who were recommended for hire. The sample included 56 principals on the initial survey and 34 principals responded to the questionnaire. Data analysis…

The purpose of this study was to learn how public school districts in southern California could better recruit, retain, and mentor new principals in Title 1 schools. Currently, school districts throughout southern California are finding it difficult to recruit and retain principals to work in Title 1 elementary schools. The purpose of this study…