This paper explores practical ways to engage two areas of educational scholarship--research on science learning and research on social networks--to inform efforts to plan and support implementation of new standards. The standards, the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS; NGSS Lead States in Next generation science standards: For…

Within the policy rationale of a "self-improving" school system, there are now several thousand National College designated "system leaders" working as consultants in English schools on aspects of school to school support. So far, there has been no systematic consideration of the long-term development of these consultants in…

The mission statement of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) articulates the following goals: "improving the educational process," "advancing knowledge about education," "[encouraging] scholarly inquiry related to education," and "[promoting] the use of research ... to serve the public…

For those engaged in educational "improvement," it is important to pause from time to time to ask the question: what is improving? If Bourdieu's thesis is correct, namely that education is a key site of social reproduction, does school improvement, and/or improvement of mathematics education, also enhance that capacity for the social…

This research aims at describing parents participation in improving the quality of education of elementary schools viewed from the school substance and management. This is a qualitative research using phenomenology approach. The research design employed is comparative multicase involving four elementary schools in Malang city, East java,…

Elsewhere, the authors have unpacked instructional leadership and have documented that such leadership is associated with more effective schools. Indeed, there has been for a considerable time nearly universal acceptance that learning-centered leadership should provide the central platform on which leadership is enacted. In this paper, a less…

For more than four years, the AFT has guided the efforts of a public-private partnership to bring much-needed resources and services to McDowell County, West Virginia, a geographically isolated area in the heart of Appalachia. Known as Reconnecting McDowell, the initiative has also encouraged a renewed emphasis on improving education by focusing…

As professors, we each have our own approach to grading which allows us to assess learning and provide useful feedback to our students, yet is not too onerous. This article explains one approach we have used that differs from standard grading scales we often hear about from our colleagues. Rather than being based on 100 points or 100% over the…

In this commentary I discuss how Getting to Outcomes and other empowerment strategies have potential to contribute to a theory of evaluation practice, address the epistemology of quality improvement, and inform the external validity of outcome evaluations.

Class action lawsuits filed in violation of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) raise questions for those concerned with improving the education system for students with disabilities. First, do the lawsuits result in changes that can be directly linked to improved student outcomes? Second, do these lawsuits and the "consent…

In this article, Hoerr suggests that as a new school year begins, why not set some goals? Just as with the resolutions made every January 1, the new school year resolutions should focus on areas needing improvement. This article offers three key areas for review: (1) Communication. Hoerr notes, if administrators want faculty to work as colleagues,…

In October 2014, U.S. secretary of education Arne Duncan announced the Obama administration's new "education equity initiative," explaining that the president could not "continue to wait" for Congress to act "on behalf of vulnerable children." The centerpiece of this initiative was a 37-page "Dear Colleague"…

Data utilization is a key component of school improvement as data can be used to enhance student achievement both systematically and on an individual student level. Through systemically analyzing multiple sources of data, educators can make informed and knowledgeable school improvement decisions. In order to effectively make data-drive decisions…

This paper is an attempt to delve into the debate about educational change and evaluate this concept around the paradigms introduced by inclusive education. The paper embarks on views of 27 educational administrators working in different educational institutions in Turkey. Participants are asked to provide their views on educational change and the…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) puts responsibility for improving student outcomes back where some say it has always belonged--under states' purview. No longer will prescriptive federal requirements dictate how states should identify, support, and turn around the lowest-performing schools and districts. Instead, states are empowered to craft…