Through an interactive partnership, fifth-grade students collected data on plants and joined an active scientific community of working scientists. This Web-based Integrated Science Environment (WISE) project involved asking questions about plants, growing plants in the classroom, and discussing their data with scientists online. (Contains 5…

Using a comparative case study approach, the researcher followed 13 instructors for 2 years as they attempted to integrate the Visible Human Dissector, an educational software program, into their undergraduate anatomy courses. Instructors were motivated to use the software as a supplement for limited educational resources and because of its…

The author of this article is a young elementary teacher at Rosado Elementary in Richmond, California, on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. She writes this article as a moving memoir describing her experiences as a tutor in literacy programs developed by low-income schools. In order for their students to remember their lessons, they have…

This article discusses how a U.S. education research arm earned qualified praise for playing a difficult role. Concerned about the credibility of federally financed education studies, Congress passed a law in the fall of 2002 that replaced the U.S. Department of Education's top research office with the Institute of Education Sciences. This article…

This article places the problem of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education in the context of the White privilege and racism that exist in American society as a whole. The author discusses how educational resource allocation, inappropriate curriculum and pedagogy, and inadequate teacher preparation have…

One of the best ways to avoid being poor as an adult is to obtain a good education. Individuals with higher academic achievement and more years of schooling earn more than those with lower levels of human capital. This is not surprising given that we believe that schooling makes people more productive, allowing them to command higher wages in the…

This resource examines the role of the central office in improving instruction and therefore improving student achievement. Mac Iver and Farley-Ripple provide a comprehensive review of the available research (since the 1970s) on the role of the central office in student achievement. First, they review the research chronologically, and then by…

In 2007, under the leadership of Superintendent Walter Rulffes and the Clark County Education Association (CCEA), the Clark County School District (CCSD) conducted a web-based survey of all school-based licensed educators in which they were asked to share their perceptions of the state of teaching and learning conditions in the district. It was…

Over the last two decades, researchers have presented convincing evidence that teachers are an important key to school improvement and to closing the student achievement gap. However, ensuring that all students are taught by quality teachers--those with the right talent, skills, and experience--is not enough. Teachers--even the best of them--must…

The purpose of this guide is to provide up-to-date information and resources about the factors that affect students who are hard of hearing as they plan for or participate in postsecondary education and training. Chapter 1 provides insight into who the population of students is and what it's like to experience hearing loss. Chapter 2 presents…

"Educators Resource Directory" is designed to provide both educators and education professionals with immediate access to a unique compilation of over 6,500 educational resources and over 130 tables and charts of education statistics and rankings. It would take many hours of searching through multiple resources to uncover all the…

Despite being central to government education policy in many countries, there remains considerable debate about whether resources matter for pupil outcomes. In this paper we look at this question by considering an English education policy initiative--Excellence in Cities--which has been a flagship policy aimed at raising standards in inner-city…

The purpose of this study was to examine how leaders foster school renewal by facilitating and participating in the types of teacher professional learning and development that improve student academic and non-academic outcomes. The methodology involved a backward mapping strategy that takes as its starting point, not theories of leadership, but…

Richard Murnane observes that the American ideal of equality of educational opportunity has for years been more the rhetoric than the reality of the nation's political life. Children living in poverty, he notes, tend to be concentrated in low-performing schools staffed by ill-equipped teachers. They are likely to leave school without the skills…

The Williamsburg/James City County (WJC), Virginia School System employs a wide variety of professional support personnel (PSP). Little has been done to properly evaluate and monitor PSP or programs with which they are involved as the focus is on classroom teacher evaluation. PSP are reluctant to be evaluated by persons who have little knowledge…