The social controversy surrounding the teaching of evolution puts pressure on secondary biology teachers to deemphasize or omit evolution from their curriculum. In this growing pressure, professional development can offer support to biology teachers. In this study, we surveyed secondary biology teachers in Missouri and report the data from…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report four case studies in Australia that respond to the question: "How have schools with a relatively high degree of autonomy used their increased authority and responsibility to make decisions that have led in explicit cause-and-effect fashion to higher levels of student achievement"?…

Textbooks are a vital component in many higher education contexts. Increasing textbook prices, coupled with general rising costs of higher education have led some instructors to experiment with substituting open educational resources (OER) for commercial textbooks as their primary class curriculum. This article synthesizes the results of 16…

The study aimed to explore the teaching competencies teachers in Ghana perceived as important to their teaching in inclusive classrooms. Using a quantitative research approach, 163 regular school teachers from two geographic regions of Ghana completed a 14-item questionnaire titled Perceived Competencies for Inclusive Teaching Scale and an…

Children of adolescent mothers are at risk for developmental delays. Less is known about the heterogeneity in these children's developmental trajectories, and factors associated with different patterns of development. This longitudinal study used latent class growth analysis (LCGA) to identify distinct trajectories in children of Mexican-origin…

An invitation to be part of a small research project with science teacher educators focusing on the Australian Curriculum--Science as a Human Endeavour strand provided an opportunity for professional learning in science for an early career teacher working with Year 1-2 students. This article explores how the use of students' photography of local…

This study describes the implementation of a self-guiding mobile learning tool designed to support youths' engagement with the natural world as they explored the flora and fauna along one nature trail at an environmental center. Using qualitative video-based data collection and analysis techniques, we conducted two design-based research study…

This study compares two modes of visually presenting information about wind energy--one using photographs and the other using cartoons--on audience's knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions. In an online experiment, participants were randomly assigned to the two treatments. Results indicate no significant difference between the two groups…

Teachers are often faced with the challenge of teaching students with high functioning autism without any formal professional development in autism. Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) are a service which is able to provide short-term support for teachers. One of the roles of RTLB is to provide teachers with the required support to…

Supporters of the concept that states should finance their public universities using a performance-based model believe that the $75 billion states invest in public higher education each year will not be spent efficiently or effectively if it is based on enrollment or other input measures, because colleges have little financial incentive to…

School improvement plans and major reform initiatives most often target core academic competencies. They might include strategies to improve the physical safety of school campuses, but they rarely include discussions about creating psychologically safe environments. School safety has garnered national attention in the aftermath of violent high…

Arts and culture are essential components of a vibrant community. This new report revisits the issue of financial support for the nonprofit arts sector in Boston and compares it to 10 other cities. The 10 comparison cities are: (1) Baltimore; (2) Chicago; (3) Cleveland; (4) Houston; (5) Minneapolis-St. Paul; (6) New York; (7) Philadelphia; (8)…

States and students are increasingly turning to online education programs to provide access to postsecondary education and support credential completion. Recent data indicate that more than 25 percent of postsecondary students take some portion of their coursework online, with 13 percent of students doing so exclusively. Additionally, an…

Expenditures on health information technology (HIT) for healthcare organizations are growing exponentially and the value of it is the subject of criticism and skepticism. Because HIT is viewed as capable of improving major health care indicators, the government offers incentives to health care providers and organizations to implement solutions.…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…