As the end of the 2002-2003 school year drew near, the author began to reflect on her first year as a vice principal. Her first year had been exciting and adventurous, although it started quite differently from most: she had the opportunity of opening a brand new school while working under the outstanding leadership of Marian White-Hood, the…

If effects of education reforms in the future are similar to effects of education reforms in the past, it may take between 65 and 780 years to close racial achievement gaps in math and science (Taylor, in preparation). From a review of the literature, I found that educational reforms, directed toward eliminating achievement differences associated…

Empowering women and allowing them to provide community leadership in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex society is essential. Offering a sound family science curriculum is one way to facilitate empowerment of women in a developing country. Conceptualizing, planning, and developing strong programs became an opportunity to review existing…

The authors present core ideas or constructs that might be integral to a feminist and multicultural model of consultation. According to the model, the structure of consultation is (a) nonhierarchical and (b) an open triad (incorporating extrapersonal and outside factors). The process of consultation is (c) culturally responsive and (d) empowering.…

Based on Foucault's discourse on freedom and empowerment, this article addresses his understanding of power and knowledge. By critically examining the negative impact of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" on education, the author discusses the transformative power of Foucault's pedagogy for educational reform in which students,…

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurobiological disorder marked by a wide range of involuntary motor and vocal movements and sounds called "tics" (American Psychiatric Association, APA, 2000). This syndrome is frequently misunderstood and difficult to diagnose (Chamberlain, 2003). Recent television shows featuring the topic of TS such as "The Oprah…

The ideas presented in this book are drawn from a study of highly successful principals of schools affiliated with the League of Professional Schools. Chapter 1, "Sharing Governance," presents an overview of the literature on professional development and a description of the study. Chapter 2, "Trusting the Experts: Teachers,"…

This critical literature examines the methodology of teaching and learning developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. Maria Montessori always believed that children are a unique being and they always surprise us with their unseen capabilities. In order to fully develop those unseen capabilities, we must give them freedom of choice to explore their…

This book seeks to raise the discussion of globalisation's effects on teacher education, development and work, and its reforms and institutions, to a more theoretical and analytical level, and to provide specific examples in the comparative tradition to illustrate teacher policy in the context of education systems' widespread variability and…

State and district school leaders across the U.S. have long sought ways to create success for children attending schools where too many have failed for far too long. A new approach to solving this old problem is called "starting fresh." By beginning anew with the freedom to do things vastly different, a real opportunity is created to…

This article describes how Alan Newton has put his life back together after he was set free. Before he came to Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, Newton spent 22 years locked up in 12 different New York state prisons for a crime he did not commit. His ordeal began when a White woman who had been raped in the Bronx mistakenly identified the…

Action research was used to study the effectiveness of Learning Organisation and Adaptive Enterprise theories for promoting organisation-wide learning and creating a more effective early childhood education organisation. This article describes the leadership steps taken to achieve shared vision via meaningful dialogue between board, management and…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a concrete example of how experiential learning approaches (from internships in global policy institutes to visiting communities in rural Amazonia to meeting with officials from inter-governmental organizations) can be implemented in order to most effectively meet specific educational goals…

This study examines narrative inquiry as a vehicle of empowerment for teacher-researchers living in a multicultural society. The study focuses on the personal, academic, and professional impact of narrative inquiry. In this qualitative study, which constitutes research on research, the participants were graduate students, all experienced teachers,…

Research shows that stress in the crucial early years of a child's life can pose dramatic, lasting challenges to development, learning, and behavior. This is the practical book early childhood professionals need to recognize stress in young children--and intervene with proven relief strategies before pressures turn into big problems. Developed by…