In the context of the tension between classroom observation as a form of empowerment and as an instrument of control, the partnership between three 16-19 colleges and a university School of Education in delivering a programme of sustained observation over eight years is explicated. Drawing on the literature about continuing professional…

In 2009, "Community College Week" named Northeast Alabama Community College (NACC) one of the fastest growing community colleges in America. In the early 2000s, the college, which is located in the rural Appalachian region of Alabama, had begun efforts to increase enrollment. These efforts included providing online registration, online…

Advocates for virtual education say that it has the power to transform an archaic K-12 system of schooling. Instead of blackboards, schoolhouses, and a six-hour school day, interactive technology will personalize learning to meet each student's needs, ensure all students have access to quality teaching, extend learning opportunities to all hours…

Respecting religious diversity while also staying true to the role of faith in theological practice remains a challenge in contemporary education. This is made more complex by the role of learning outcomes to assess student learning. This article first emphasizes the role of faith in theological discourse and then raises questions about the nature…

Background/Context: In the Fall 2006 issue of AERJ, Hoy, Tarter, and Woolfolk Hoy identified the new construct of academic optimism as a general latent concept related to student achievement even after controlling for SES, previous performance, and other demographic variables. Through structural equation modeling, they found that the collective…

In this case study, a district-wide focus on the development of civic responsibility is seen as an important component in the success of higher performing middle schools. Salient features of best practice were gathered from teacher and administrator interviews and documentary evidence in 10 higher performing, yet "beating the odds" schools, and…

This article outlines policies from multilateral organisations that advocate sharing best practices between developing nations. The article discusses the degree to which these best practices are implemented by small states as indicated by teachers, academics and policymakers in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. For the purpose of this article, a…

The New Zealand Ministry of Education has published a best evidence synthesis iteration (BES) that identifies the characteristics of teacher professional development that make a positive difference for valued student outcomes. A companion best evidence synthesis iteration (BES) that identifies the leadership influences on valued student outcomes…

The number of state-funded prekindergarten programs continues to grow in the United States. The quality of these early childhood programs, however, often depends on the type of professional development provided. In this investigative study, an experimental pre-post causal-comparative research design was employed to evaluate the impact of an 8-week…

Environmental field days offer a distinct opportunity to connect students with science and the environment. The literature on field days, informed by research on field trips, provides a framework for best practices. If there are best practices, however, then presence or lack of the practice should have a discernible impact on the outcomes of the…

Many reports have identified a perceived lack of quality in regard to assessment feedback in higher education contexts. One research study in 2007 on undergraduate university students found that less than half of the students (46%) collected their formative feedback, suggesting that from their perspective feedback clearly was not fulfilling the…

The challenge faced by all community colleges is how to increase student success, whether success is defined in terms of graduating with a degree or certificate, transferring, or retaining a job. With approximately 40% of the nation's undergraduates pursuing higher education through the community college (52% when one considers public institutions…

Due to Finnish pupils' achievements in international comparisons, also Finnish teacher training has been widely acknowledged. Today's educational policies aim at making teacher training more effective in Finland. However, in order to realize this in practice, not only reforms in educational policy or institutions are enough. More attention should…

Teacher quality is instrumental in improving student performance. Unfortunately, discrepancies between teacher preparation programs and national and state K-12 student standards have contributed to the difficult task of producing quality teachers. The contemporary mathematics education paradigm used at most colleges and universities relies on…

Accountability, "the extent to which one must answer to higher authority for one's actions" (Shafritz & Russell, 2000, p. 343), is a critical part of corporate and democratic life. In public institutions, sound accountability processes assure those in executive, governance, audit and "elected official" roles that public…