The present paper begins by situating learner autonomy and collaborative learning as part of a larger paradigm shift towards student-centred learning. Next are brief discussions of learner autonomy and how learner autonomy links with collaborative learning. In the main part of the paper, four central principles of collaborative learning are…

A phenomenon with far-reaching effects on nonprofit investment management and governance has become a little-noticed yet powerful force in boardrooms over the past decade. Despite its wide-ranging implications, this development has largely gone undocumented. This paper seeks to draw attention to this change and its implications, and to trace a…

The historical focus of community college administrators has been student access. Recently, the focus has expanded to include completion as calls for accountability increase and college officials realize that the opportunities they provide go largely unrealized unless students earn credentials. In 2010, Goldrick-Rab demonstrated that the major…

Although data-based decision making can lead to improved student achievement, data are often not used effectively in schools. This paper therefore focuses on conditions for effective data use. We studied the extent to which school organizational characteristics, data characteristics, user characteristics, and collaboration influenced data use for…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Lessons Learned: Graduate Student Assessment (Michael Cherry and Lesley Page); (2) Assessing the Assessor: A Response to Fulcher and Bashkov's "Do We Practice What We Preach? The Accountability of an Assessment Office" (Christine Robinson, John G. M.…

The research objective of this study was to describe the frames that students from two culturally distinct institutions used in their argumentative essays on a locally relevant environmental socioscientific issue. Participants (n = 47) were recruited from biology courses designed for pre-service elementary teachers at both a public university and…

In 2002 Michael Bloomberg took office as Mayor of New York City and, over the next 12 years of his administration, oversaw a series of sweeping reforms in order to "fix" the broken education system which he believed he had inherited. This paper details the key policy reforms in New York City's public school system during this period,…

The purpose of this article is to ethnographically document the market-based ideological assumptions of Rio de Janeiro's educational policymakers, and the ways in which those assumptions have informed these policymakers' decision to implement value-added modeling-based teacher evaluation policies. Drawing on the anthropological literature on…

Adoption of the edTPA as part of new teacher licensing and/or program approval requirements has created heated discussions among teacher educators. Among the discussion topics is the supposition that state-level bureaucrats have been the sole source of the decision to require the edTPA, with little input from the preparation programs. This article…

This article probes ways in which the school-choice marketplace as it developed via chartering has not worked as well in practice as many had hoped. It includes reflection on the profoundly different operating principles and theories of action that separate the district and charter sectors in their pure forms. It also offers market-strengthening…

In undergraduate courses, case studies are often used to bring material to life for students in ways that allow them to connect theory to applied practice. Case studies can be of particular use in Therapeutic Recreation courses, where students are able to obtain a glimpse into the complex thinking that must occur when working with participants…

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) has placed increased accountability for outcomes on both students and teachers. To address the current youth literacy crisis in the United States, the CCSS call for students to read increasingly complex informational and literary texts. Since teachers are held accountable for students'…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors who address the mental health needs of students through at least one of the following educational evidenced-based programs: Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports, Response to Intervention, Restorative Practices, and Student…

The principal is ultimately responsible for decisions regarding the master schedule at the elementary level of education (Canady & Rettig, 2013; Young, 2008), and these scheduling decisions are influenced by multiple factors (Benamati, 2010; Harris, 2013; Howard & Rakoz, 2009). Although principals have become increasingly aware of the need…

Public education and teachers are under considerable scrutiny (Gibboney, 2008). With the inception of local, state, and national demands being placed on education, teachers are faced with many challenges (Eppley, 2015). Educational accountability measures have grown out of the political pressures impacting educational policies (Gibboney, 2008).…