Student achievement is a serious problem in American schools today. Academics are compromised when districts have difficulty attracting, retaining and rewarding highly qualified teachers. School districts must utilize innovative methods in motivating educators to stay in the profession. Teacher motivation is the key to academic success. (Contains…

Administrators across the U.S. are collecting and analyzing program and student-specific data to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004), and state performance plans. Although most states are not required to disaggregate data for students who are visually impaired,…

In this article, the author provides several ideas on how individuals who work in the field of early education can make their visions come true. She suggests that one should incorporate self-reflection in their practice. She also offers questions that will help guide educators to explore lifelong professional development opportunities and…

We cite four disconnections among teacher education programmes, research on teaching, and programme assessment that contribute to a paucity of systematically collected evidence and the inability of teacher educators to fully address the "outcomes question" [Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Assessing assessment in teacher education.…

The Comprehensive School Improvement Program (CSIP), which was mandated by New York State to address issues of school reform, was a disappointment both in the way the State conceived the program and in the way it was implemented. CSIP was designed to encourage cooperative planning among teachers, principals, parents, and other school staff to…

This report of the National Science Foundation-funded SCALE Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Case Studies line of work provides preliminary findings about SCALE activities at the California State University, Northridge (CSUN). This interview-based study (N = 19) includes a descriptive analysis of SCALE activities and an exploratory analysis…

With the passage of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Post- 9/11 GI Bill), Congress created a comprehensive education benefit program for veterans, service members, and their dependents pursuing postsecondary education. Since implementation, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has provided just over $5.7 billion for…

The aim of this study is to improve the subsequent editions of an international training program in information management. Up to now 15 editions have been organized, coordinated by the author of this paper. Most participants work in developing countries, mainly in Africa and Asia. Each program takes place mainly in Brussels, Belgium, for about…

The need for Australian school students to develop a strong understanding of Asian culture has been recognised in the cross-curriculum priority, "Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia," of the Australian Curriculum. School students in rural and remote Australia have limited opportunities to engage with Asians and learn about their…

Interdisciplinary design presents challenges in design collaboration due to the difficulty in communicating and coordinating among disciplines. Many tools have been developed and used to support information sharing in design, and the use of Web technology is becoming increasingly important for the sharing of information within design teams. Wikis…

Two middle schools, one junior high school, and two senior high schools participated in a study conducted from 1977-81. The study project included both development and research activities. The goal of development activities was for each school to start or refine administration-organization arrangements and improvement strategies. Research…

This booklet describes a number of activities initiated in the State of New Jersey to improve academic standards and to help teachers prepare their students for taking New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HSPT). The HSPT, administered to all public school ninth graders, is more demanding than the previously used Minimum Basic Skills Test.…

Programs of school improvement based on characteristics of effective schools as identified by school effects researchers have proliferated in recent years. This paper describes major school improvement programs now underway throughout the United States: (1) programs organized and administered within schools and school districts in New York City;…

This paper reports on two comprehensive multi-institutional collaborative efforts for school improvement. The two studies demonstrate that collaborative efforts involving multiple agencies and multiple agendas can be successful even when separated by considerable geographical distance. The school systems were concerned with implementing a locally…

Public policy issues relating to federal assistance to colleges struggling to survive in the 1980s are addressed. Special challenges to postsecondary education result from declining enrollments, inflationary cost spirals, and lack of public confidence in education. Questions are raised in regard to the following five public policy alternatives,…