Five chief academic officers (CAOs) represented their institutions and served as a purposeful sample to qualitatively explore how they used National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results to facilitate institutional effectiveness and promote undergraduate student success. All these private Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) participated in…

While the number of charter schools is growing rapidly, questions have been raised about whether charter schools are appropriately serving students with disabilities. GAO was asked: (1) How do enrollment levels of students with disabilities in charter schools and traditional public schools compare, and what is known about the factors that may…

This report analyzes the NCLB waiver applications submitted in the second round by 26 states and Washington, D.C. to the U.S. Department of Education in February 2012. Among the findings in the report is that, like the first round of applications, these states are proposing new accountability systems that will lead to greater complexity both…

Much emphasis is being placed on the use of school performance scores as a means of indicating effective schools. Schools are being held accountable for not only teaching the curriculum, but also affording the student a quality education that encompasses the skills and knowledge needed to be successful. Although many schools have a similar…

Alternative programs in the nation are faced with the responsibility of meeting the needs of the students removed from their home school for various infractions. Current legislation (IDEA, 2004) holds educators legally responsible for providing all students, including those with disruptive behaviors, a free and appropriate education in the least…

Although the literature is replete with prescriptions of instructional leadership for school leaders, this article argues that current understanding of the concept is inadequate when considered against burgeoning educational imperatives. Indeed, schools are increasingly expected to customise their instructional offerings to address student needs,…

African Americans have served in the United States Armed Forces in nearly every conflict in the nation's history. However, the State--through official government policy, ad hoc decisions of military commanders, or statements by prominent civilians--was rarely comfortable with Black military service. Throughout most of American history, the various…

How long does it take to become an effective board chair at an independent school? One year is certainly not enough. A typical two- or three-year term provides enough time in office to learn the role and start making progress in some critical area, but not enough time to develop any semblance of mastery. Then the chair's term is over and the board…

An unprecedented amount of attention in recent years has been focused on turning around low-performing schools. Drawing on insights from Tyack and Cuban's (1995) "Tinkering Toward Utopia," the article analyzes the forces behind the school turnaround phenomenon and how they have evolved since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The…

This study of four private primary schools in Beirut, Lebanon, investigated why the children in the schools appeared to out-perform their peers in other schools. The study investigated the cultures that teachers and principals constructed in schools with children and their parents, wondering whether they would exhibit characteristics said to…

In this article, the author examines the links between high stakes testing policies, school organization processes, and instructional practice using data from a study of K-5 and K-8 schools in Chicago. He argues that although the policy environment penetrates the classroom, this penetration is partial--stronger on some aspects of instruction than…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of international students of service quality delivery (SQD) in a Malaysian public university. Design/methodology/approach: The study was limited to the University's immediate physical environment and its associated human and systems-based services. The physical environment in this…

Access to higher education has always been a topic of contention. Currently, community colleges comprise the sector for open-access to American higher and postsecondary education; and so, they must align their missions to meet the needs of their increasingly diverse student populations. These two-year institutions originated to ensure access to…

This study focused on the collaborative structure-building behavior of school principals and examined how such behavior affects teacher empowerment. More important, it tested the mediating effects of participative management and learning culture. By collecting nested data from 104 schools in Hong Kong and adopting multilevel structural equation…

This qualitative study of educators' understandings of resilience contributes to ongoing rural school research that examines educators' beliefs about, and attitudes toward, rural students whom are at-risk and factors that impact rural school success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and administrators in one rural Florida…