The ultimate aim of any EFL program is to promote long life language development in learners and prepare them for the language use in real life communicative situations. However, many educational systems all over the globe might not achieve this end. Actually, a number of factors within or beyond any system can influence the success or the failure…

This report summarizes highlights from December 2015 discussions, or "platicas," held with Austin Independent School District elementary principals about the district's dual language program. Principals provided their opinions about the program and gave suggestions for improvements.

High school improvement initiatives often focus on specific intervention strategies, programs, or priority topics (e.g., dropout intervention). However, research shows that systemic and sustainable improvement can only be achieved when initiatives are implemented with consideration for the broader education contexts in which they operate. The…

The "2011 Superintendent's Briefing Book" provides comprehensive yet concise overviews of the best thinking available on a wide range of top-priority PreK-12 education concerns. This resource will prove invaluable in making research-based decisions with confidence, and in identifying programs and practices that will improve student achievement.…

This article provides results from a three semester case study of the pedagogical efficacy of an innovative quality management field exercise. A series of direct and indirect measures were used to assess the extent to which the field exercise met a set of learning objectives. The results indicate that the assessment framework is useful in…

Objective: This study examined students' perceptions of and suggestions for the Northern Fruit and Vegetable Program, a free, school-based fruit and vegetable snack program implemented in elementary schools in 2 regions of northern Ontario, Canada. Methods: This was a qualitative study involving 18 focus groups with students in 11 elementary…

The purpose of this study was to understand why Chinese came to Canada to study for a Master of Education degree in an international student program at an Ontario university and what their experiences were in the program. We collected data from nine Chinese students in the program through one-on-one interviews. Research participants thought Canada…

In 1988, Research for Better Schools (RBS) proposed the development of state-specific rural assistance councils (RAC) in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania to assist in strengthening rural school-community partnerships and in planning rural school improvement. This report summarizes the activities of each of the four RACs during…

This guide for school improvement uses as its foundation the Concerns-Based Adoption Model which describes the changing feelings of individuals as they learn about, prepare for, use, and refine new practices. Seven linear steps are depicted as they relate to the school improvement process: (1) establishing the school improvement project: (2)…

In response to recommendations by a task force on teaching and teacher education, the state of Wisconsin established the Teacher Incentives Pilot Program. The goal of the program is to plan, develop, and administer a series of pilot projects which model different types of incentives designed to attract, prepare, and retain competent teachers.…

This paper explores an innovative approach to funding school improvement programs. It looks at a series of programs initiated by the National College of Education in collaboration with several corporations and foundations in the Chicago metropolitan area. The evolution of the College's participation in these endeavors is reported as well as the…

The objectives of the Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP), funded by the National Institute of Education from 1976 to 1980, were to help schools analyze basic skills needs and improve student performance through the use of research-based programs and techniques. The data uncovered the need to improve instructional management, improve…

In 1971-72 the South Carolina State Library prepared the South Carolina State Program for Library Development, 1972-1977 (ED 070 487). But the Administration's proposal to terminate Library Services and Construction Act funding resulted in the revision of the original program. This supplementary paper describes the goals and programs which were…

This document deals with the concept of productivity within the university community. The principal findings is that productivity in its usual formulation (the ratio of output to input) is becoming less useful and less meaningful as an indicator of university performance. Such a condition has come about because the university in America and…

This compilation summarizes the papers presented by a number of Australian educators at a conference that produced guidelines for the planning of the Australian Science Education Project. A full set of the original papers is available as ED 040 863. The topics considered in the papers summarized are: the general objectives of the project; the…