Michael Emslie argues that the time is right for youth work in Australia to be professionalised in line with other human service practices such as nursing, education and psychology. He identifies a groundswell of activities that support the professionalisation of youth work and a concurrent growth in high-level interest in strengthening social and…

Results of the field validation survey of the revised initial and new advanced Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Division for Early Childhood (DEC) early childhood special education (ECSE)/early intervention (EI) personnel standards are presented. Personnel standards are used as part of educational accountability systems and in teacher…

We examined the self-reported practices of Head Start personnel toward children's problem behavior in order to design an intervention for preschool personnel that was compatible with their needs. This study involved 78 Head Start staff from five programs in the Mid-Atlantic region. Participants were asked to respond to four questions concerning…

This qualitative case study examined a state-run, foundation-funded initiative to introduce literacy coaching in a medium-sized urban high school district over a period of two years. Data analyses revealed the complex development and multiple understandings of the process of literacy coaching on the secondary level. The role of the coaches…

The fields of special education/early intervention and infant mental health are moving closer, as practitioners find common ground in understanding and intervening to support vulnerable infants and toddlers. The importance of the impact of relationships on all developmental domains has been brought to the foreground. This includes relationships…

Conceptualizations of teacher knowledge have shifted to focusing on the role of experiential rather than theoretical knowledge. There are different approaches to this, but the idea of an image that guides practice is widespread. One approach to images that has not been frequently investigated in studies of second language teachers is through…

After-school programs (ASPs) are learning centers that provide enrichment opportunities after regular school hours. This article examines the value these programs can add to a child's educational day, especially for urban youth who are vulnerable during after-school hours. Quality ASPs can be part of the solution to help mitigate the effects of…

Research Findings: Children's (n = 980) social competence during prekindergarten was assessed as a function of their teachers' (n = 233) exposure to the Preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum and 2 levels of support through MyTeachingPartner, a Web-based approach to professional development. Children in classrooms…

Busy educators who want to ask advice, offer opinions, and engage in discussions with colleagues increasingly turn to professional learning networks (PLNs)--online communities that allow the sharing of lesson plans, teaching strategies, and student work, as well as collaboration across grade levels and departments. As budget cuts limit…

Professional learning and development (PD) programmes play an important role in improving professionals' ability to teach and provide for the children and young people they work with. This article reviews literature relating to components considered important to successful general and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-focused PD. It then describes…

Practitioners who view intimate partner violence as a set of strategies aimed at maintaining positions of power and privilege often face an engagement dilemma when men at their first contact talk of themselves as disempowered by circumstances such as separation, loss of access to children, legal problems, substance abuse issues, and their own…

This case study describes and analyzes a Jewish high school program that sought to integrate Judaic and general studies. The research focused on the question of how educators at the "Keshet" School understood curricular integration. Administrators and teachers ascribed a range of meanings to this topic. Administrators articulated a vision of…

Although nutrition-related health education policies exist at national, state and local levels, the degree to which those policies affect the everyday practices of health education teachers who are charged with executing them in schools is often unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the nutrition-related health education policy matrix…

This paper investigates the use of a personal learning system (PLS) for continuing professional development (CPD) of academic staff. It examines which, if any, activities, habits or strategies triggered the use of the PLS when there was no immediate or external pressure to engage. It also investigates whether participants felt that using the PLS…

This review brings together the literature on inquiry-based teaching and learning and science teacher professional development (PD). We present a targeted critical review of research focused specifically on the nature of PD programs purported to emphasize inquiry. Our review analyzes the features of each program and critiques the reported outcomes…