What software tools do school systems actually want? Demand-side analyses typically reflect the loudest voices in the market that companies are eager to please--in the case of education technology, the largest urban districts with the largest technology budgets. But half of the nation's 48 million public school students attend approximately 3,700…

Teachers may benefit more from a professional learning community (PLC) than from professional development initiatives presented in single day workshops. The purpose of this program evaluation study was to identify characteristics of an effective PLC and to determine how the members of the PLC have benefitted from the program. Fullan's educational…

Effective professional development programs have been linked with rigorous state standards and district school improvement goals. Despite efforts of local districts to meet state standards and district school improvement goals, there has been limited research at the local level that has compared administrators' and teachers' perceptions of…

To provide students with the education they need to thrive in a globally connected world, schools and school districts need to find ways to design, fund, acquire, and maintain the infrastructure that will make connectivity a reality for every teacher and student in every classroom. The U.S. Department of Education's National Educational Technology…

The current study involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of a universal school-based intervention designed to promote health and wellbeing among educators. This study aims to further investigate the efficacy of contemplative practices as a support for teacher wellbeing. The study contributes a new perspective to the current…

Studies show that changes in teacher education around the world occur slowly and are difficult to implement. This study aims to contribute to the discussion on the major resources for and obstacles to developing teacher education and finding novel solutions to overcome the obstacles. Resources and obstacles were investigated in the context of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze, and interpret the experiences of school superintendents who use multiple social media tools with stakeholders as part of their comprehensive communications practices. Additionally, it examined why superintendents have chosen to communicate with their stakeholders through social media.…

Teacher candidates in one Professional Development School did make a difference in children's academic growth. This paper describes a mixed-methods study that investigated student achievement of elementary children after receiving interventions from teacher candidates and identified the perceived benefits and challenges of a new Professional…

The rapid growth of technology has had a significant effect on educational activities. As a result of this growth, a shift has taken place from a behaviorist teaching style to a constructivist perspective which enables adult learners to build up knowledge collaboratively. Mentoring, a valuable tool within the constructivism approach, can offer a…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

The Information Age Publishing new book series, Current Issues in Out-of-School Time, is designed with a purpose to disseminate original research and promising practices that further the Out-of-School Time (OST) field. This first book sets the foundation on which the series rests upon, by offering an analysis of the progress made since the 2000s,…

Developing excellent principals who can set direction, develop people, redesign organizations, and lead instruction requires a system of high-quality preparation and professional development. This paper summarizes the elements of high-quality principal preparation and professional development programs that have been associated with positive school…

In recent years, there has been greater attention in research and professional development work to discussion of the kinds of knowledge teachers need to teach effectively in the mathematics classroom. It seems reasonable that in planning at the school level, teaching team level and then specifically for a given lesson, teachers might have a sense…

Ideas are not one-time "Eureka" moments, but are parts of concepts progressing forward. Sometimes years pass before ideas are implemented. They then resurface, connect with other ideas, and move policies ahead. Meanwhile, the idea remains alive in the field, influencing decisions and goals. Ideas build on one another when implemented. The field of…

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is gearing up once again for its annual convention, to be held November 28-December 1 in Atlanta, at the Georgia World Congress Center. The Association describes CareerTech VISION 2012 as "the most exciting CTE event of the year....This dynamic event features a new format that is…