Examines the school day experiences of four third graders at schools that vary by effectiveness and student body socioeconomic (SES) status. Their experiences highlight the mundane way in which the average school day passes. Students have little opportunity for critical thinking, and except in the more effective lower SES school, they have very…

Compares the policies of inspection in Finland and England where the former promotes school self-evaluation and the latter utilizes the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED). Finds that OFSTED inspections affect teacher morale and focus on policies and procedures; in Finland, inspections lack a whole-school strategy but encourage changes in…

Examines many different variables defined in the existing literature to determine their relationship to retention rates at Utah Valley State College (UVSC). States that the overall goal was to add insights and descriptive detail about the relationship between remedial education and student persistence rates at community colleges. Contains 63…

Surveys the general organizational principles and forms of keeping the zemstvo (regional) statistics on Russian public education. Conveys that they were subdivided into three types: (1) the current statistics that continuously monitored schools; (2) basic surveys that provided a comprehensive characterization of a given territory's public…

Presents the results of Dr. Ernest Pascarella's National Study of Student Learning, which investigates institutional influences on learning and cognitive development. Presents examples of positive and negative influences on student learning. Outlines recommendations that can influence institutional programs regarding first-generation students,…

Three articles in this special issue explore the people/school organization interrelationship in England, Canada, and the Netherlands. Two articles discuss learning organizations' change capacity. A third article examines tensions occurring when people/organization interactions clash with desired outcomes. Chaos theory and improvement programs are…

This observational study of inclusive education at a London (England) primary school examined relevant aspects of school culture, school policy, and school practice. Findings support development of a "connective pedagogy" philosophy and methodology. Effective inclusive schools are seen to have a shared vision, enthusiastic leadership,…

Using data from a larger 4-year evaluation of England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, this study tested the effects of a school-specific model of transformational leadership on teachers (motivation, capacities, and work settings), their classroom practices, and gains in student achievement. Some 2,290 teachers from 655 primary schools…

The influence of early childhood programs on the entire education community cannot be overstated. These programs have highlighted the important role that successful learning experiences at home and experiences in high-quality early childhood programs play in future academic success (Wesley & Buysse, 2003). The purpose of this article is to…

This article presents findings from a national study of Chief Academic Officers of 4-year institutions on the impact of policy efforts to encourage multiple forms of scholarship in faculty roles and rewards. The extent of reform, kinds of reform and influence of initiating reform is examined in four areas: expectations for faculty evaluation, the…

We consider the question whether pupils from the lower social strata perform better in private government-dependent schools than in public or private-independent schools, using the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000 data on European high schools. In the 1980s, Coleman and Hoffer (1987) found in the USA that the performance…

The application of multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models to longitudinal educational surveys where students are repeatedly measured is discussed and exemplified. A marginal maximum likelihood (MML) method to estimate the parameters of a multidimensional generalized partial credit model for repeated measures is presented. It is shown…

In Denmark, as in many other countries, international agendas represented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment studies, the European Bologna process and the school effectiveness movement are important factors for educational policy. However, in national contexts,…

Administrators should have command of sound curriculum practices, effective teaching methods, and the ability to determine whether students are actually learning. As a result of evaluating/documenting practice in the field, educational leaders will be in a better position to influence and change teaching practices. The goal of this research was to…

Recent focus on student achievement and the effectiveness of schools, school boards, and teachers has lead to increased demands for accountability in education. Large scale assessments are now used in most provinces in Canada to examine the degree to which educational standards are being reached and explore issues of accountability. Alternative…