The need to makeover low-performing schools is urgent! Educational reports show that specific student populations are consistently low-performing academically. A postmodern model of school reform integrated with the realms of meaning will assist to close the educational gap in schools and society. According to postmodern guru, Fenwick English…

Roughly 3.8 million people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 24 are neither in school nor employed, according to the National League of Cities. That translates to one in six adults in this age group. Many organizations, forums, national advocacy groups, and the like use the term disconnected youth when approaching this subject. Some…

This study analyzed results of an NSF-funded project that used Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)™ to promote writing and reviewing skills. The specific focus of the study was whether students at different levels of performance showed improvement in writing and reviewing competency with repeated use of CPR. The study paid specific attention to progress…

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine if the knowledge of literacy development and reading instruction practices an elementary school principal possesses impacts the level of reading achievement of his/her students. Principals' scores on an assessment of knowledge of literacy development and instruction were compared to students'…

The aim of this paper is to review the relevant research on the educational impact of school closures on student learning, provide information on criteria frequently used when closing a school, examine the characteristics of what constitutes a "better school" (i.e., receiving school), and identify strategies that can be used to help…

Late-emerging reading-accuracy difficulties are those found present in older students not showing reading-accuracy difficulties when tested in earlier years (Leach, Scarborough and Rescorla, 2003). This paper discusses the constructs of reading-accuracy and late-emerging reading-accuracy difficulties. It then discusses data from a cross-sectional…

The use of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) in years 9 and 10 classrooms as a tool to support learning or in preparation for senior secondary mathematics is controversial. This paper presents an analysis of the positive and negative aspects of using CAS identified in the literature related to these year levels, along with the perceptions of 12…

The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) has implemented programs designed to help African-American students overcome the psychological and cultural obstacles to successful participation in formal learning environments. African-American students suffer low achievement rates in higher education compared with all racial or ethnic groups.…

Although principals have long been seen as important to the success of schools, a new set of working papers from some prominent education researchers aims to promote a better understanding of the extent to which school leaders matter and why. For instance, one study of the 345,000-student Miami-Dade County, Florida, school system finds that the…

Research shows that minority students continue to fail in the Taiwan public school system. That failure has sharply focused on the urgent need for teachers with the skills to work effectively with minority students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences of an exemplary Taiwanese teacher who teach Indigenous students and to…

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider…

This article discusses how to help struggling students in high school. The author describes the Early College High School Initiative that helps minority and low-income youths to earn one to two years of college credits while in high school. The program is part of a nationwide effort to bridge the gap between secondary and postsecondary…

Although the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act refers to "low performing" schools as "in need of improvement," no one outside of the U.S. Department of Education uses that phrase. The term most commonly used is "failing." NCLB offers a single, explicit definition of a failing school: one that fails to make adequate…

Maths anxiety interferes with maths cognition and thereby increases the risk of maths errors. To initiate strategies for preventing anxiety-related errors progressing into nursing practice, this study explored the hypothesis that student nurses experience high maths anxiety in association with poor maths performance, and that high maths anxiety is…

In the criterion-based clinical assessment context, and more broadly, examination resits continue to present an ongoing dilemma to educators. The number of students involved is generally a small percentage of the cohort, but it is precisely with these students that institutions bear a heavy responsibility in ensuring they reach a sufficiently high…