This is the first in a series of articles which will examine the results of a qualitative, longitudinal study of school improvement initiatives from the perspective of school stakeholders. The article captures the responses of students from a low socio-economic status school in NSW, Australia to a school initiative that restructured the learning…

This article focuses on young children's use of Web 2.0 and social media. A background is provided about the use of Web 2.0 and social media among young children. Strengths and concerns are discussed as well as home and school use of Web 2.0 and social media. Exemplary websites are shared. The article concludes with potential changes in the…

Charles H. Thompson is best known as the founder and the first editor-in-chief of "The Journal of Negro Education" (1932-1963). Throughout his career, Thompson sought to extend educational opportunity in ways that were "for the good of Negro education as a whole." His main concern was in educating future leaders for service in African American…

In this article, the author describes how his district develops clearly focused professional learning communities (PLCs) and raises its student achievement rating from "one of the worst" to one of the best. Sanger Unified School District in California's Central Valley had been named one of the worst school districts in California. It…

At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, the Alaska State School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ASSDHH) was informed that they had met Alaska's Annual Yearly Progress as required by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for the first time ever. This was incredibly exciting and worth celebrating since teachers had invested so much "blood,…

The article explores the use of e-learning in Italian universities. The aim is to understand how the university system has faced this problem or opportunity to date and what weaknesses or developing perspectives may result from multimedia technologies applied to academic teaching management. After a brief review of the current position of Italian…

The success of Finland in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) highlights the quality of Finnish teacher education underpinning its consistently high performance in the survey. In 2010 the UK government initiated a masters in teaching and learning (MTL) in order to raise the education level of teachers, following Finland's…

Early childhood educators work with children and families from a range of diverse backgrounds. As society becomes increasingly multiracial, multilingual, and multicultural, so too grows the need for educators' abilities to support children's development by instilling in them the tools they need to live together respectfully and stand up to…

Zero-tolerance policies have created schools that are often intolerant and destructive to children and communities. High rates of suspension and expulsion of students are associated with negative outcomes and school dropout. New approaches to staff development that create positive school communities are essential in stemming the…

Promoting self-determination has been identified as best practice in special education and transition services and as a means to promote goal attainment and access to the general education curriculum for students with disabilities. There have been, however, limited evaluations of the effects of interventions to promote self-determination on…

Students and faculty are grappling with learning teams in the online environment - more than half of all higher education organizations offer online courses (Hoffman, 2006). As online course developers try to replicate the best practices of traditional classrooms, the asynchronous technology of the Internet has added great capability while also…

Individualized learning plans (ILPs) are being implemented in high schools throughout the United States as strategic planning tools that help students align course plans with career aspirations and often include the development of postsecondary plans. Initial indications are that ILPs may be an important method for helping students achieve both…

This article provides a description of the birth of The Odyssey Initiative. As teachers, this group of three, all educators, knew that there was outrage about the state of education in America. Griping about our nation's schools has almost become a pastime, and with very good reason. However, they found the solutions being offered to save our…

Implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) for children with autism is challenging for teachers because these practices are often complex, requiring significant training and resources that are not available in most school settings. This brief investigation was designed to identify areas of strength and difficulty for teachers implementing one…

Interdisciplinary design presents challenges in design collaboration due to the difficulty in communicating and coordinating among disciplines. Many tools have been developed and used to support information sharing in design, and the use of Web technology is becoming increasingly important for the sharing of information within design teams. Wikis…