The role of the elementary school principal is critical in determining school effectiveness. This study analyzes the thinking and language of 22 "effective change" elementary school principals to discover common patterns in decisionmaking processes. The method of grounded theory delineates implicit theories principals use to make…

This guide presents some of the best thinking about the difficult and puzzling work of improving student achievement. Taken as whole, it gives a complete picture of what it will take to close the achievement gap. It contains background, findings, and key policy recommendations from a 22-month study conducted by the Washington State School…

The Whole-Faculty Study Group (WFSG) System is a student-centered, teacher-driven process for facilitating major staff development and schoolwide change. When applied properly, it has produced extraordinary results for thousands of educators and students in schools and school districts across the country. The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook…

This summary outlines the key findings from a national evaluation of the first-year trials of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) carried out by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The trials took place in the period September 2004 to July 2005 and involved 93 schools in eight local educational authorities…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…

This research synthesis is the third in a series of reports to help local school, community, and family leaders obtain useful research-based information about key educational issues. This synthesis addresses diversity as it relates to student achievement and school, family, and community connections. This synthesis focuses specifically on three…

The mission of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS) is to conduct research that improves our understanding of optimal ways that parents, teachers and other service providers in family, school and community contexts can promote the intellectual and socio-emotional development and behavioral adjustment of…

In October 2006, the California Men's Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo, faced with staff recruitment and retention difficulties, took an innovative step to utilize long-term sentenced inmates as peer mentors and primary counselors to lead their prison-based therapeutic community (TC) program. The program was designed, developed, and implemented…

While checklists are often used to score standardized patient based clinical assessments, little research has focused on issues related to their development or the level of agreement with respect to the importance of specific items. Five physicians independently reviewed checklists from 11 simulation scenarios that were part of the former…

The importance of measurement feedback system (MFS) for the improvement of mental health services for youths is discussed. As feedback obtained from clients and families is subject to distortions, a standardized MFS including clinical processes, contexts, outcomes, and feedback to clinicians and supervisors is necessary for improvement in quality…

Self-assessment has been held out as an important mechanism for lifelong learning and self-improvement for health care professionals. However, there is growing concern that individual learners often interpret the results inaccurately. This idea has led to skepticism that self-assessment in its current form can ever be truly useful for lifelong…

The impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is usually understood in relation to schools and districts, but the legislation has also affected community-based organizations that operate school-linked programs. This case study of an after-school program in California demonstrates how educational accountability systems that emphasize students' academic…

Every music educator is an advocate for music education. Members of the The National Association for Music Education (MENC) advocate for the cause of music education. Beginning right in the classroom and moving beyond it to community leaders state decision makers, music teachers have spheres of influence where they can cultivate support for music…

A particle technology design problem incorporating population balance modeling was developed and assigned to senior and first-year graduate students in a Particle Science and Technology course. The problem focused on particle collection, with a pipeline agglomerator, Cyclone, and baghouse comprising the collection system. The problem was developed…

Many graduate creative writing programs depend on "star" faculty who have been hired more because of their professional reputation as writers than because of their commitment to teaching. As a result, such programs often fail to provide reflection on teaching that would truly serve their students. One step toward alleviating this problem is to…