In this chapter, the authors share their examination of the medical and public health literature regarding links between health and literacy and identify trends in research and practice. They note the connection between educational attainment and health, as education may influence lifestyle behaviors, problem-solving abilities and values. In…

Ever since the publication of "A Nation At Risk" in 1983, Americans have been preoccupied with two problems regarding public education: (1) student performance is unsatisfactory to most Americans despite large increases in real spending per student; and despite several attempts at reforming curricula, teacher training, testing, and other…

When educators, parents, and diverse groups in your community have different views of what makes a quality school, here's a book that will help you overcome these differences and form partnerships for ensuring all students succeed. Based on a proven process used by school districts for more than 25 years, this leadership guide introduces you to:…

Postsecondary education generally centers on teaching/learning interactions and student progress within the formal curriculum, leading to degree completion and certification. This "formal arena" of postsecondary education enhances student development not only in the academic, intellectual, and career development domains, but in personal and social…

Today's schools are responding to the pressing need for positive student-teacher relationships that promote successful learning and prevent dropouts and violence. To meet this challenge, many secondary schools are reorganizing around smaller schools or "houses" and structuring longer blocks of learning time. Authors Elliot Y. Merenbloom and…

Rates of reading in the United States have been declining for at least two decades, with the steepest decline occurring among young adults. Fewer than half of adults read literature--poetry, plays, short stories or novels--in their leisure time. At the current rate of decline, literary reading will virtually disappear in the next half-century. Few…

Universities are characterized by the independence of faculty, the strong hold of academic disciplines, the limited but real power of academic administrators, and unbounded institutional aspirations. Foundations feature the desire to effect change, but within practical limits. The interplay between these two sets of actors highlight the importance…

Australia's innovation capacity is, in part, reliant on its teaching workforce--to teach and promote new technologies to industry. This pilot study examines how vocational education and training (VET) teachers, in particular TAFE (technical and further education) teachers, maintain the currency of their skills and knowledge base. It also explores…

A group of human resource development (HRD) practitioners participated in an innovative session on managing culture in the e-workplace. The session objectives were as follows: (1) bring cultural patterns of the e-workplace to the forefront; (2) discuss the impact of culture on performance improvement in the e-workplace; and (3) share resources for…

America's continuing efforts to improve education and develop a world-class workforce will be hampered without a federal and state commitment to early childhood education (ECE) for 3- and 4-year-olds. The Business Roundtable and Corporate Voices for Working Families believe federal and state efforts to develop such early childhood systems must be…

The benefits of girls' education include increased family incomes, later marriages, reduced fertility rates, reduced infant and maternal mortality rates, better nourished families, and greater opportunities for women. However, ingrained attitudes towards women are difficult to change. Only when communities believe that the benefits of girls in…

Invitational theory addresses the total educational environment and culture of the classroom and school, focusing on the people, places, policies, programs, and processes that constitute any school culture. Invitational teaching is a process for communicating caring and appropriate messages to nurture the realization of student potential as well…

A study was conducted to determine the extent to which teachers and principals perceive that strategies and conditions to integrate academic, career, and technical education are present in their schools. The study was carried out in Virginia through a 56-statement questionnaire with High Schools That Work (HSTW) schools (schools that are part of…

This report describes the discussion and outcomes of a series of regional meetings on barriers to student learning that brought together leaders representing national, state, and local agencies. The report discusses the lack of an explicit policy framework for comprehensive integrated approaches to student learning. Factors that get in the way of…

The Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) serves the highest number of low income and special needs students in the state, struggling to create effective educational environments that respond to students' social and economic needs. While there have been many restructuring efforts through the BCPSS' history, the modern era of school reform…