The Millennium Development Goals launched in 2001 provide a worldwide agenda to reduce poverty by 2015. Though the eight goals provide synergies for the rapid reduction of poverty, the MDGs have come under criticism for being too narrow and sometimes leaving out critical aspects of human development and well-being. Although the MDGs address some…

The focus of this chapter is on the evidence to date that documents the impact of PDS engagement on four specific groups of participants: veteran P-12 teachers, university faculty, P-12 school principals, and parents and community members. In reviewing the literature concerning the impact of PDS engagement on these four groups, the authors'…

School counselors are required to implement accountability strategies in order to increase student performance and contribute to closing the achievement gap. This study investigates the beliefs and practices of school counselors who have earned national recognition for implementing comprehensive school counseling programs based on identifying…

From the 1980s to the present, educational accountability in the United States has grown dramatically. Such accountability in U.S. school districts, although driven primarily by external demands, has internal manifestations as well. The chapter traces the historical development of internal evaluation in American school districts, then highlights…

One of the aims of the Socrates Comenius 2.1 action is to prepare programmes, courses, strategies or teaching material for training the staff involved in education. In this respect, in the frame of the "FISTE--A Future Way For In-Service Teacher Training Across Europe" (118766-2004-RO-COMENIUS-C21) the on-line curse "Integrating ICT…

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a problem-centered teaching method with exciting potential in engineering education for motivating and enhancing student learning. Implementation of PBL in engineering education has the potential to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Two common problems are encountered when attempting to integrate PBL into…

The web is playing a central role in distance education. The word "usability" is usually synonymous with functionality of the system for the user. Also, usability of a website is defined as something that can be used by a specific group of people to carry out specific objectives in an effective way, with efficiency and satisfaction.…

The schools in Union County have undergone a tremendous amount of growth in the past decade. The growth in the county has led to an increase in discipline problems. In order to provide suspended students a second chance, Union County Public Schools implemented an alternative to suspension program, the Union County Alternative to Suspension Program…

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a web-based college awareness program that would aid college-bound students in their search for a college or university that fit their interests. Since there is an increase in computer usage among high school aged students, and there are a very few college awareness programs included in the…

The San Diego Unified School District, the nation's eighth-largest, launched an ambitious program of literacy reforms in 2000 aimed at narrowing reading achievement gaps. Known as the Blueprint for Student Success, the program ran through 2005. The reforms succeeded in boosting the reading achievement of students who had been identified as lagging…

This report presents early results from a rigorous evaluation of a performance-based scholarship program that was implemented at three community colleges in Ohio during the 2008-2009 academic year. The program in Ohio that is the subject of this report is part of MDRC's national Performance-Based Scholarship (PBS) Demonstration, which was launched…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts, launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--that provide an opportunity to study the influence of schoolwide democratic deliberation on students' civic knowledge and participation. The intervention involved, in part, organizing the school into…

The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics and impact of developmental courses on students enrolled in developmental mathematics and English courses at a small mid-Western tribal college. This was a quantitative, descriptive study of the courses and the students over a six year timeframe. All students who enrolled in…

Value-added methods refer to efforts to estimate the relative contributions of specific teachers, schools, or programs to student test performance. In recent years, these methods have attracted considerable attention because of their potential applicability for educational accountability, teacher pay-for-performance systems, school and teacher…

Professionals who provide health and related supports and services to children with disabilities in educational programs and community settings must practice in an evidence-based manner to ensure children and families receive the highest quality care. Vermont's Interdisciplinary Journal Club provides a successful approach to supporting…