When trying to utilize class discussions as an effective pedagogical tool, teachers need to be aware of the conflicts that may arise due to issues of personal and cultural representation, linguistic differences, and misunderstandings of the tacit "rules" for participation. Because of cultural and linguistic variances in student populations, not…

This narrative interview study of a Spanish learner documents and explains apparent contradictions in a student's story when reporting on why she continues to take Spanish even when she does not like it or perform well in foreign language courses. A dialectical approach to human activity based on sociocultural theory is used to make sense of her…

The goal of this study is to identify learners who are most likely to benefit from a small group cooperative learning strategy, which includes tasks involving movement activities. The study comprised 158 learners from five second and third grade classes learning about angles. The research tools included structured observation of each learner and…

Large, traditional urban high schools are among the most difficult education environments in the United States. These schools, which serve a high percentage of the Black and Latino students in the United States, often have low academic performance, high dropout rates, high teacher and school leader turnover, and inexperienced teachers. They often…

The 2013 School Progress Report for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) provides state, county, and individual school performance data, as well as information on student attendance, high school graduation rates, and the professional qualifications of teachers at the state, district, and school levels for the 2012-2013 school year. Montgomery…

Intercultural Development Research Association's latest high school attrition study shows that Texas high schools lose one out of every four students before they graduate. Since 1986, schools in Texas have lost a total of more than 3.3 million students. Despite small improvements over the last several years, at the current pace, universal high…

Improving teacher effectiveness is a key strategy to ensure student readiness for college and careers and to address achievement gaps and persistent low performance. In response to the new Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) the National Writing Project (NWP) created a professional development (PD) program to support…

Child care subsidies are an important part of federal and state efforts to move welfare recipients into employment. One of the criticisms of the current subsidy system, however, is that it overemphasizes work and does little to encourage parents to purchase high-quality child care. Consequently, there are reasons to be concerned about the…

The need to ask educators about their opinions on the subject to what extent early intervention methods enhance mathematical performance is long overdue. The purpose of this quantitative research is to examine the extent to which teachers agree that early intervention methods enhance the mathematical performance of students with mathematical…

Over 100 million families worldwide lack permanent housing or income sufficient to meet their basic needs. Some homeless children are able to succeed in school despite the many challenges they face, but others are not. Seventy-five percent of U.S. homeless children perform below grade level in reading, and schools and teachers may not be prepared…

Students served in juvenile correctional school settings often arrive with histories of trauma, aversive educational experiences, low achievement, and other severe risk factors that impeded psychosocial development, educational progress, and occupational outcomes. Schools serving adjudicated youth must address a higher percentage of severe…

School reform policies have failed to produce sustained positive changes in education practice. Theories of school change provide structure to reform policy. Program evaluations focus on implementation and outcomes but seldom test the theoretical assumptions of the initiative. This study tested theory, specifically the influence of…

This study investigated the relationship between principal leadership style, school socioeconomic status (SES), and student achievement for 6 elementary schools. Each school's spring 2007 Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) scores were used in the areas of Reading, Language, and Mathematics as a measure of student achievement. The principal's…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Congress to Begin ESEA Reauthorization: In Joint Statement, House Democrats and Republicans Outline Plans for a…

While many nations express a commitment to improved educational quality, education often slips down on the policy agenda. Because the benefits of educational investments are seen only in the future, it is possible to underestimate the value and the importance of improvements. This report uses recent economic modelling to relate cognitive…