The capacity for schools to improve student learning represents an important area of scholarship for policymakers, schools, and scholars. In understanding how to support student learning, the notion of school leadership has emerged as a key area of research interest. Understanding the influence of this literature in schools is important. As such,…

The Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network Project is a whole school reform model designed to improve the educational practices, experiences, and outcomes of low-performing middle-grades schools. Developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the four-year project was funded in 2010 by a U.S. Department of Education…

"School-Age Language Intervention: Evidence-based Practices" explains how to teach the language and literacy skills, strategies, and underlying processes needed for educational success. This book brings together an array of experts to provide the latest practical and evidence-based guidance to school speech-language pathologists.…

Superintendents and principals can have a positive and decisive impact on student achievement and higher graduation rates. Their essential leadership can illuminate the path to excellence for faculty and students. In upgrading curriculum and instruction, school leaders need to keep abreast of practices proven effective in other districts and…

This study explores the possible causes behind the disproportionate percentages of English language learners (ELLs) classified into U.S. special education. Elementary school classroom teachers were examined, from school districts that exhibited growth in the percentage of English language learners with Individual Education Plans during 2007-2010.…

Mobile handheld devices are spreading rapidly in education. iPads, especially, are increasingly being adopted by different educational sectors, but there is currently little empirical evidence on whether, or how, they facilitate student learning. This paper reports on how iPads contributed to pre-service teachers' learning, including their…

We investigated the extent to which a seven-week action research mentoring project would help two junior high school science teachers to feel more confident and successful in their abilities to use accommodation strategies to support the English language learners (ELLs) in their classes, and consequently to increase their ability to assess more…

This study used both focus groups (qualitative) and survey data (quantitative) to develop and expand an instruction program for GIS services. It examined the needs and preferences faculty and graduate students have for learning about GIS applications for teaching and research. While faculty preferred in person workshops and graduate students…

In central Texas and regions across the country, community leaders are calling for university-community engagement, including development of structures for community-based research and service learning. Including the community in decision making regarding continuing professional education serves as a link between universities such as Texas A&M…

For international service-learning to thrive, it must document student learning outcomes that accrue to participants. The approaches to international service-learning assessment must be compelling to a variety of stakeholders. Recent large-scale projects in study abroad learning outcomes assessment--including the Georgia Learning Outcomes of…

In this article, we describe an inclusive educational programme for a young boy severely affected by autism. The programme is exemplary not only academically, but also in terms of what children need socially and emotionally. It represents best practices in action. Given the wide agreement about what constitutes best education practices, but the…

This study draws on insights from achievement goal theory and multicultural education to examine the interrelated nature of preservice teachers’ biases and beliefs regarding culturally diverse students and the kind of instructional practices they are likely to pursue. Cluster analysis of cross-sectional data ("n" = 784) suggests that…

What does it take to improve a school? What kinds of programs, systems, and people need to be in place for educational outcomes to improve overall? These and other questions continue to vex policymakers who--along with researchers, reformers, and advocates--pour over data and case studies looking for tools to transform schools into places where…

The quality of school leadership is linked to student academic achievement (Leithwood et al., 2004; Thompson & Barnes, 2007; Glatthorn & Jailall, 1997; Lezotte, 1991; Edmonds, 1979; Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Crum & Sherman, 2008). The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional leadership (IL) of high school principals and…

A student's economic status can have a significant impact on reading achievement. Students classified as low-socioeconomic-status (low-SES) have been traditionally at risk for reading failure. With the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) schools are required to use strategies and practices that have evidence supporting their effectiveness in…