This article argues that the focus within much normative education policy is with in-school effects which has sidelined the impact of structural and material factors in respect of the urban primary school. Educational reforms intended to improve schools are less likely to make much impact unless these contextualizing matters are directly…

Achieving the Dream is a national initiative focused on helping more community college students succeed, particularly students of color and low-income students. Achieving the Dream's student-centered model of institutional improvement focuses on eliminating gaps and raising student achievement by helping institutions build a culture of evidence…

For most of the past decade the policy debate over improving U.S. public education has centered on teacher quality. In this debate, teachers and their unions have often been seen as the problem, not part of the solution. Further, current discourse often assumes that conflicting interests between teacher unions and administration is inevitable.…

Expanding economic opportunity in Texas depends on our state's ability to increase the college graduation rate for the thousands of college freshmen arriving on campuses each year. The pending budget bills would hamper college access for thousands of Texans through severe cuts to successful financial aid programs, including TEXAS Grants (Towards…

In this article, the author talks about the resignation of New York State's commissioner of education David Steiner, and how it will affect the state's Race to the Top. He contends that Steiner was savvy enough to understand the importance of Race to the Top and able enough to turn the state's education energies toward it. The "Washington…

Despite the importance of and advocacy for developing literacy skills for successful and rewarding participation in the community, there remains a common perception that becoming literate is not possible for people with intellectual disabilities. Until recently, limited research has been undertaken to investigate the literacy skills of adults with…

While it has been just two years since Dr. Lorenzo Esters joined the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, or APLU, his efforts to orchestrate new partners while forging coalitions appear to be yielding fruit. Dr. Esters is charged with representing the interests of 18 Black land-grant colleges and public Black colleges and…

As an open-access institution and a tribal college, Salish Kootenai College (SKC, Pablo, Montana) accepts all students who walk through the doors. Part of SKC's mission is to provide educational opportunities and access for students who are historically underrepresented in higher education. In recent years, national attention has focused on the…

Although many states in the United States are adopting policies that require all students to complete college-preparatory science classes to graduate from high school, such policies have not always led to improved student outcomes. There is much speculation about the cause of the dismal results, but there is scant research on the processes by…

This paper describes the Action Research (AR) Team model for joining classroom observations with collegial interaction among university faculty, teaching assistants, and university students to improve pedagogy and the retention of diverse students in higher education. The paper includes a progress report of efforts to develop the model and apply…

A study examined the vocational counseling needs of youths in full-time employment and homeless youths in the United Kingdom. Available research regarding homeless young people and young people employed full time was reviewed to identify the following: their social and educational characteristics, their main transitions into/out of full-time…

The premises of this 2-year study are: first, what teachers know and can do is the most important influence on what students learn; second, recruiting, preparing, and retaining good teachers is the central strategy for improving our schools; and third, school reform cannot succeed unless it focuses on creating conditions in which teachers can…

This paper discusses the comprehensive evaluation of a new Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership housed in East Carolina University's (ECU) School of Education. The program proposed to prepare students for professional life through development of career leadership skills; utilization, development, and dissemination of research; and service to…

This report explains phase two in the restructuring of the Montana University System. In this stage the process focuses on students rather than on the institution, and on the learning process and supporting activities. Four goals are established: (1) getting in, (2) getting through, (3) getting a job, and (4) "paying the way."…

The adult continuing education (ACE) programs provided under contract with the Gloucestershire (England) Adult Continuing Education Service were evaluated in January-February 1994. An evaluation team visited more than 60 venues, including main sites and a wide range of village halls, family centers, women's institute halls, and other outreach…