In 2004, Congress passed the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act that requires schools to implement a wellness plan. Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory (EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 1977, 1979), the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of the legislation, discover what measures have been taken to enact the legislation, gauge how the…

The European Forum for Enhanced Collaboration in Teaching (EFFECT) project explored how pedagogical staff development and learning and teaching developments in general could be enhanced and supported through European-level action. EFFECT is an Erasmus+ KA3-funded project (2015-2019). It was developed by a diverse consortium of 12 partners,…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Origins of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy; (2) Editor's Notes: Parallel Paths to Progress in Assessment in Europe and the United States; (3) The Impact of the First Three Years of the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy; (4) Restructuring the Writing Program at…

In this article the authors reason that current reform efforts in education--such as those fueled by Race to the Top (www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop) or the Common Core Standards (www.commoncorestandards.org)--emphasize the need to improve teacher preparation programs in ways that ensure graduates are ready for the realities in today's…

The Winthrop University-School Partnership Network is a dynamic, diverse, and growing partnership of educators from nine school districts, thirty schools, and Winthrop University. As a Network, they have a vision of shared responsibility for student achievement through clinically-based teacher preparation, sustained collaborative professional…

This article presents a partnership effort among managers, trainers, and employees to spring to life performance improvement using the performance templates (P-T) approach. P-T represents a process model as well as a method of training leading to performance improvement. Not only does it add to our repertoire of training and performance management…

In 2013, the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) in its inaugural "Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation" (EELP) program competition recognized University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) Doctorate in Urban Education Leadership as one of two EELP programs in the United States. This article provides information…

As readers of "Assessment Update" know, the call for assessment is sweeping over the globe, so much so that faculty and administrators are finding it difficult to ignore it--though many may wish they could. Unfortunately, awareness does not lead to an increase in assessment implementation because fear of assessment is still widespread. The push…

The research study was conducted to analyze effect of an attendance support team in urban middle schools. The study utilized a six-month time window using students in three middle schools that accumulated five unexcused absences. The attendance support team was comprised of a school social worker, a family resource student support coordinator, a…

College-age students represent a significant portion of the U.S. population dealing with the ravages of our nation's growing addiction crisis. One challenge associated with substance use disorder that is often overlooked is the impact of addiction self-stigma on the lives of those that struggle with substance abuse issues. One way that colleges…

The Accountability Plan is an annual report that is closely aligned with the Board of Governors' 2025 System Strategic Plan. This report enhances the System's commitment to accountability and strategic planning by fostering greater coordination between institutional administrators, University Boards of Trustees and the Board of Governors regarding…

Aligning curricula and assessment with the skills required by employers and, more recently, government standards is easier said than done. Through detailing a case study in failure to incorporate required graduate attributes into a postgraduate accounting programme, we explore the tensions among competing interests within Australian universities…

The purpose of this study was to investigate beginning music teachers' perceptions of their music teacher preparation at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) regarding the Arts and Humanities field of the Grade 1-9 Curriculum. Research questions focused on discovering the most and least effective components of undergraduate training at NTNU,…

The BC Council on Admissions and Transfer is always seeking ways to improve the transfer system for the benefit of students. Doing so is often informed by research in one form or another. Questions were added to the 2011 Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) survey to help us gain a better understanding of why some…

As highlighted in recent series in "The Lancet" (2007, 2011), children from low and middle income countries are more likely to be adversely affected by early biological and psychosocial experiences that have their origins in environments characterized by poverty, violence, nutritional deficiencies, HIV infections, substance abuse, and…