In the 1969 inaugural issue of the "School Health Review", Douglass J.H. examined four major issues he felt were central to the question of choices one has about health: (1) problems with health care delivery methods; (2) persistent poverty in our population and its impact on health; (3) systemic problems inherent in social and institutional…

Health literacy, the ability to obtain and understand information and services to make good health decisions, has received much attention recently. Literacy is a stronger predictor of health status than age, income, race, ethnicity, employment status, or educational level. Inadequate health literacy costs the United States an estimated $100-$236…

New forms of schooling are emerging, driven by new technology, the recession, and public sector innovation, as well as the commitment to attain standards. Three of these new forms are virtual schooling, hybrid schools, and broker schools. While still fairly rare, these schools could become the norm if the regulatory and funding barriers to their…

The potential of technology to transform schooling is hampered by the culture of local control and formal institutions of governance. These constraints are likely to remain strong in the years ahead, so the challenge for the 21st century is to devise new ways to govern and organize schooling.

In an age of knowledge, the capacities of professional and continuing education to open up new networks, overcome organizational hurdles, and foster an environment for innovation have assumed great relevance. This article makes the case as to why. It discusses key forces driving change--the knowledge economy, demographics, technology, and…

While a number of studies have yielded useful information regarding the status of middle level schools in the United States, four linked national surveys provide a longitudinal perspective on the degree of implementation of key middle grades programs and practices. These studies were conducted in 1968 (Alexander, 1968), 1988 (Alexander &…

This article examines a unique approach and a new tradition to encouraging student teacher reflection over time. The concept is based on a collection of vignettes titled "Teaching Ms. Kerbin", which represent the collective reflections of a group of three student teachers. Seven major points of concern are addressed: (1) the first day, (2) working…

Leadership is a discipline that has been studied to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Owing to the attention and emphasis that education has been subject to in recent decades, the study of successful school leadership presents an area worth examining (Smith & Piele, 1997). Therefore, the research underpinning this article…

Analysis of classroom use and utilization data provides essential information for strategic space planning. However, efforts to improve use and/or utilization metrics can be thwarted by ingrained cultural practices, campus politics, lack of understanding, failure to recognize the impact to programmatic needs, absence of a coordinated campus…

The purpose of this paper was to investigate how tutors at the Arab Open University (AOU) in Kuwait Branch manage their time given workloads they are assigned. Group interviews were conducted with a sample that was selected from AOU tutors in Kuwait branch. The findings showed that tutors do not ask for more time or cut down workloads; instead,…

Retention of higher education students has been decreasing over the last decades of the last century (Swail, 2004). Retention decreases, however, are not equally impacting all students or all higher education institutions. Community college retention rates are lower than rates in four-year institutions (Wild & Ebbers, 2002), and minority student…

School counselors in their first year of practice within the profession or within a new school district can experience challenges in assuming the professional responsibilities associated with their role. Mentoring programs are one form of professional assistance that has been recommended in the literature for new educators, including school…

When career and technological education (CTE) began, known then as vocational technical education, only those with the most vivid imaginations and creative minds could envision it as it is today. Many of today's jobs didn't even exist when the baby boomers entered the workforce. Over the decades, CTE has maintained its commitment to preparing a…

Four years following the decimation of the New Orleans Public Schools by Hurricane Katrina the city has been described as the center of a unique urban public school reform effort. This effort is a combination of events that transpired just before the storm and those that have occurred as a result of it. In particular some claim that the emerging…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge base on leading and facilitating the growth of school improvement networks by describing the activities and challenges faced by network leaders. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 19 co-leaders from 12 networks were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule about the growth of their…