Networks are increasingly recognised as advantageous when creating and embedding cultural change within organisations. This paper explores and problematises ideas around networks for education for sustainability (EfS), specifically in relation to the implementation of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), a national, whole-school…

Some days seem like bouts in an endless game of tug-of-war. At one end of the rope, facilities professionals must do more--tackle deferred maintenance, develop a climate strategy, and meet the energy and operational needs for a complex mix of building types and stakeholders. Tugging on the other end are the obstacles of less money, staff, and…

This article lists the key outcomes and recommendations of Phase I of the monitoring and evaluation of the DESD. Phase I focused on a review of the structures, provisions and conditions countries and regions have put in place in order to facilitate the development and implementation of ESD. The author also touches upon the constraints and…

Recent research has found that few institutions of higher education implemented the necessary strategies to make their campuses sustainable (Thompson and Green 2005). Ironically, universities are the segment of society with the most access to the intellectual capital needed to provide sound sustainable practices and measurements. Having top…

This article addresses how school social workers can decrease overload in their roles. A two-step process of envisioning an ideal role is outlined: (1) indentifying priorities and activities that are effective or in need of expansion and (2) weeding out activities that could be done differently or no longer serve their purpose. The author…

This article provides direction for developing advocacy competency in the public arena. Direction for increasing public awareness, affecting public policy, and influencing legislation is presented. A process of creating change entailing establishing a sense of social/political urgency regarding an issue, organizing and educating a group of people…

This article features American educator administrator Arne Duncan, whose seven-year tenure as the head of the 408,000-student Chicago school district has been marked by innovations to improve the quality of teachers and principals and a focus on basic reading and math skills. His low-key, collaborative style was a key to his success in Chicago,…

The University has a remarkably enduring history that is due in no small part to its ability to adapt itself whenever intellectual, political, or technological change has occurred. Today's technology revolution, however, presents the University with one of the greatest adaptation challenges it has ever faced in its lengthy history, and the…

Kazdin pointed out that the requirement for evidence-based practice (EBP) has made the long-standing gap between research and practice in clinical psychology even more salient. He offered several strategies for bridging this gap: investigating mechanisms and moderators of therapeutic change, and qualitative research. We agree that qualitative…

How can comprehensive community colleges serve students with diverse learning needs today while determining a single Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve student learning? During the reaffirmation planning process, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) recognized this challenge and responded by designing a plan for the selection of…

Academic standards and performance outcomes are a major focus of the current Cycle 2 Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) audits. AUQA has clearly stated that universities will need to provide "evidence of setting, maintaining, and reviewing institutional academic standards and outcomes" (2010, p. 27). To do this, universities…

Stemming from my article entitled, "Teachers and the Policy Reform Agenda: What is Policy?," this article refers to the changing landscape of educational policy analysis. Policy influences the nature of teaching and learning and if teachers are to re-centre teachers' voices and combat the neo-liberal agenda underpinning public education, they must…

This paper presents the 2011 Yearbook of the Healthy Schools Network. This yearbook contains: (1) Tough Time To Be a Child: Parents and Taxpayers Should Be Enraged; (2) National Coalition For Healthier Schools: Healthy Schools 2015--Sustaining Momentum In Tough Times; (3) Healthy Schools Heroes Award Program; (4) National Healthy Schools Day…

Education reform proposals are often based on high-profile or dramatic policy changes, many of which are expensive, politically controversial, or both. In this paper, we argue that the debates over these "flashy" policies have obscured a potentially important direction for raising student performance--namely, reforms to the management or…

Thanks to China's reform and opening to the world over the last three decades, the conventional normal education system, which is characterized by independent orientation, is now being challenged by a comprehensive and multi-faceted modern teacher education system that has taken shape. It is high time that we attached great significance to the…