Objective: To design, implement and evaluate a peer-led intervention to reduce smoking amongst secondary school students. Design: A health promotion intervention combining peer education with diffusion of innovation theory, to be rigorously evaluated by means of a cluster randomised controlled trial with concurrent process and economic…

Findings from this six-year study point to the challenge of providing substantive and on-going feedback to students in a non-traditional leadership preparation program. More importantly, this paper describes, from an inside-out perspective, the struggles encountered as faculty attempted to remedy inconsistencies in the program and reconcile…

This research investigates the perceptions of first-year Bachelor of Teaching students (primary and secondary) and Diploma of Education students (secondary) about their peer teaching experience in a postgraduate subject called Curriculum and Assessment. Peer teaching is a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning that is intended to…

The transition of young children with autism from preschool to kindergarten is an important event both for sustaining gains made during preschool and for establishing future social and academic development. This article provides a summary of 25 transition elements identified from the research literature as important for a successful transition.…

School-wide behavior management systems can improve academic performance and behavior in middle schools, and they should have positive effects on students with ADHD. Unfortunately, evidence-based, school-wide behavior management systems have not been widely adopted because of problems with feasibility, acceptability, and sustainability. The…

The authors analyzed student data from the U.S. Department of Education's "Annual Reports to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" to asses patterns and trends in the educational placement of students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD), as well as their means of school exit and the…

Accountability is perhaps the most significant issue facing educators today. How can school professionals document that their work results in significant positive outcomes? This issue is especially critical to the many special and general educators moving into collaborative partnerships, given the dramatic shifts in their professional roles…

This article describes how Everyday Mathematics, a new program that is being used for kids at all levels across the US, is now a part of a curriculum change in the New York City school system. Instead of teaching standard ways to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and long division and then drilling students with worksheets, teachers…

This report presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program. The GEEG program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high…

Measures of quality are now in widespread use across states as part of quality improvement initiatives. For example, many states are currently using global measures of quality that were first developed for research and practice purposes (such as the Environmental Rating Scales) in their Quality Rating Systems (QRSs). Although global quality…

Numerous studies have been undertaken demonstrating that online learning is an effective teaching tool, working best when combined with more conventional teaching methods. There is a paucity of data both examining the longitudinal blending of an e-module with more conventional modes of curriculum delivery and also relating to the time and…

This essay addresses how to cope with several potential barriers to implementing effective service-learning projects. The discussion builds on experiences of developing and refining service-learning in upper-division communication courses. Difficulties arise in three areas: the institutional and physical setting, student attitudes, and community…

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) both include a commitment to keep the public informed about educational progress that students are making, and both emphasize the importance of involving parents in the education of their children. An underlying assumption of NCLB and IDEA is that in order…

School communities feel pressure to dramatically improve the educational experience of students and principals are confronted with the need to lead their staff and community in examining current practice and implementing changes that respond to these demands. Leading school change is one of the most complex tasks faced by a school leader. The…

Public schools are under increased pressure to implement evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs. A number of model programs have been identified, but little research has examined the effectiveness of these programs when "brought to scale" or implemented district-wide. The current paper summarizes the application of the Adelman and…