Data are only useful if people are able to access, understand and use them. Without access to the right information, stakeholders are forced to make decisions based on anecdote, experience or instinct. For information to be useful, it must be timely, readily available, and easy to understand. This brief highlights the importance of implementing…

This essay reviews and comments on "Evidence-Based Reading Practices for Response to Intervention," edited by Diane Haager, Janette Klingner, and Sharon Vaughn, one of the earliest books published on an initiative in the United States to provide instructional support for students who experience difficulties with literacy and learning…

Do school boards have a role in student achievement? Recent research suggests that they do. This article identifies 12 board of education leadership practices associated with higher levels of student achievement: creating a vision, using data, setting goals, monitoring progress and taking corrective action, creating awareness and urgency, engaging…

Many studies reveal a huge gap between theory and practice in teacher education, leading to serious doubts concerning the effectiveness of teacher education. In this paper, the causes of the gap between theory and practice are analysed. On this basis, and grounded in a three-level model of teacher learning, the so-called "realistic approach" to…

To many education reformers, the passage of the federal government's massive stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), appeared to be a final bright star falling into alignment. The ARRA seemed to complete the constellation: an astounding $100 billion of new federal funds--nearly twice the annual budget of the U.S.…

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, comes alive when recalling his start in local politics--as a labor organizer agitating for reform inside decrepit and overcrowded schools. In his quest to turn around the schools, the mayor has united working-class Latino parents, civil rights leaders, and big-money Democrats to challenge union…

The authors analyze the Arkansas teacher pension plan and empirically gauge the behavioral response to incentives embedded in that plan and to possible reforms. The pattern of pension wealth accrual creates sharp incentives to work until eligible for early or normal retirement, often in one's early fifties, and to separate shortly thereafter. We…

This article focuses on the planning and organisation of teachers' continuous professional development as part of the nationally representative "Schools and Continuing Professional Development in England--State of the Nation" research study (SoNS), commissioned by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). Thematic analysis…

This paper examines the concept of institutional racism in Irish adult education. The study of institutional racism in education has been an area relatively untouched by Irish academics to date, and so represents a green field for interested academics and adult educators. For the purpose of providing some context for this concept, a brief outline…

Facing a superintendent change in 2006-2007, Decatur Public School District 61 in Illinois was already confronting the major challenges of a widening student achievement gap, increasing dropout rate, and schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). From the beginning, Superintendent Gloria J. Davis professed several simple beliefs that…

South Australian rural and remote schools have been using a variety of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance curriculum opportunities for students whose teachers are at a different campus or different school, or who are out of the school for extended periods of time undertaking courses, such as, Vocational Education and…

Researchers have long lamented the lack of research regarding the preparation of school leaders. In response, we offer lessons about school and university partnerships from exemplary professional development school (PDS) research to inform collaborative efforts for leadership preparation. We conducted an extensive literature review of 250 studies…

In their earlier work, the authors explained how the co-construction perspective has been heuristic in the study of organizational change and educational reform, often providing more nuanced analyses and findings than "technical-rational" models that dominated the field previously (Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan, 2002). In framing organizational change…

According to current research, mental health issues are the leading health problem for Canadian children. Surveys also indicate that fewer than 25% of children are receiving care (Waddell, McEwan, Shepherd, Offord, & Hua, 2005); thus, schools play a key role in assessment, access to services, and possible referral to appropriate outside…

According to data of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, in the 2006-2007 school year the number of daytime enrollment general education institutions was 58,500, with 38,600 of that number in rural areas. The total enrollment of all such schools was 14.3 million children, of which 4.4 million were in rural areas. From…