How do schools maintain momentum with change and enter new cycles of growth when they are attempting to do things differently? This article draws on a two-year evaluation of the "Positive Behaviour for Learning School-Wide" initiative to identify key factors that enabled schools to engage in a long-term and iterative change process.…

Since the release and implementation of the Outline of the National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-20), Sino-foreign cooperative education has achieved great progress, gradually entering a new phase of high-level model development. At the same time, the profound conflicts and issues accumulated over the years…

At Peters K-3 Elementary School in Garden Grove, California, teacher leadership and empowerment supported by professional learning from the district have led to increases in student outcomes and in parent and student satisfaction with the culture and climate of the school community. Peters demonstrates the impact that empowering staffs and…

The Ministry of Advanced Education provides leadership and direction for the world class postsecondary education and training system in British Columbia. Through a range of public and private post-secondary institutions, the Ministry has played a key role in ensuring B.C. has the skilled workers needed to capitalize on economic opportunities and…

As states adopt more rigorous academic standards, schools must define how special education fits into standards-aligned curricula, instruction, and assessment. Utilizing PLC practices, general and special educators must develop collaborative partnerships in order to close the achievement gap and maximize learning for all. The authors encourage…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to learn about how secondary English language arts (ELA) teachers help students to make meaning with multimedia. The study focused on how and why teachers plan and implement meaning-making learning experiences. The cases represent the experiences and perspectives of five ELA teachers who use digital and…

The "Forum Guide to Facility Information Management: A Resource for State and Local Education Agencies" helps state and local education agencies plan, design, build, use, and improve their facility information systems. It includes a review of why school facilities data matter and recommends a five-step process that an education agency…

This book brings together the notions of material school design and educational governance in the first such text to address this critical interrelationship in any depth. In addressing the issue of governance through analysing current and historical material school designs, it looks at the intersection of politics, economics, aesthetics and…

Material school design can be seen as embedded with the wished-for ideas of pupils and teachers, the idealised school of architects and designers as well as of the state's need to produce desirable future citizens and societies. Material school designs can also be seen as being involved in shaping bodies, social categories and more generally the…

This case study examines how an experienced teacher's practice and pedagogy differs across two high-accountability urban charter schools in the United States of America (USA). Drawing on semi-structured interviews and participant observations, the findings describe variances in Rebecca's planning, use of classroom time, and curriculum flexibility,…

Despite millions of dollars spent on reform efforts, effective and sustainable improvement still eludes schools. The appropriate development of the professional learning community model, including five key dimensions, provides a structure for educational institutions to bring about sustainable improvements in student achievement. If principals do…

Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps that school leaders--including principals, assistant/vice principals, and building leaders--can take to support school climate improvements. Key action steps are provided for the following strategies: (1)…

The pivot point for educational change is now firmly placed with the district, rebalancing the position of the state and the school relative to the local education agency (LEA). The state education agency (SEA) has been shifting its emphasis for decades, from a compliance-focused authority to a change agent equipped with systems, processes,…

Parents often struggle with the decision to accelerate their child and may worry about social and emotional issues, although research indicates positive effects on the social and emotional adjustment of carefully selected accelerants. As children's advocates, parents can work effectively with a school system to secure an appropriate academic…

Although co-teaching has become a popular approach to special education service provision in inclusive classrooms, practitioners have struggled to carry it out well. One suggestion for improvement has been to provide co-teachers with training that includes coaching. In this study, we used single-case (ABAB) withdrawal design, to investigate the…