It has been acknowledged for several decades that programs interact with context. The nature of this interactivity, and how it defines a program, has not been adequately addressed. We view this lacuna as a function of the dominant theoretical perspectives guiding knowledge of program operations. We propose the actor-network theory (ANT) and its…

Since Federal regulations have given states the option to implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) as part of their accountability systems for a small group of students with disabilities, a number of states have made decisions about whether or not to develop and implement such an assessment.…

Policy implementation reflects a complex change process where government decisions are transformed into programs, procedures, regulations, or practices aimed at social betterment. Three factors affecting contemporary implementation processes are explored: networked governance, sociopolitical context and the democratic turn, and new public…

The Bologna process has triggered an important change in the course outline towards a sustainable, transparent and quality-driven European education system. In Belgium, engineering education had to be completely revised. The transformation of the former system, leading to the degree of academic engineer after five years of study, into the typical…

This paper discusses the results of a case study exploring perceptions of selected administrators and instructors at a Ukrainian state institution regarding the effectiveness of the Bologna Process at their institution. Data were collected from focus group interviews with five volunteer instructors involved in the implementation process. The…

At most universities a student typically goes to a bookstore to purchase the textbook recommended by the professor for a course. The student may choose to purchase a new or used textbook, or, as occurs more frequently now, an e-textbook. Nearly 40% of college students choose not to purchase textbooks at all, however, due to the costs. Generally,…

The main purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the association between four constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM) (i.e. perceived severity of smoking-related health problems, perceived susceptibility to smoking-health related problems, perceived barriers to non-smoking and perceived benefits of non-smoking) and cigarette smoking …

The Interventions and Practice Research Infrastructure Program (IPRISP) funding mechanism was introduced by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to bridge the gap between the worlds of services research and the usual care practice in the community. The goal was to build infrastructure that would provide a platform for research to…

Despite the growing knowledge base on evidence-based practices in social work and medicine, there is a large gap between what is known and what is consistently done. Implementation research is the study of methods to promote the uptake of research findings into routine practice. In this article, we describe the rationale for implementation…

Students in six sections of a large undergraduate class were asked to record their class comments on notecards in all course units. Additionally, in some units, they received points toward their course grade based on their reported comments in class discussion. The study was conducted over a two-semester period, with slight variation in both the…

This research is a collection of comparative case studies that examine the perspectives of four principals in their 1st year of implementing the High School College Collaborative (HSCC), which works to provide traditionally underserved high school students with the opportunity to receive college credit, possibly an associate of arts degree,…

When the author and his colleagues last left Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Texas' Plano Independent School District in April 2008, both school districts were immersed in the long and labored advance toward becoming a fully matured data-driven operation, one that uses sophisticated technologies to gather data, sort and interpret it, and…

The research to practice gap continues to be a prominent concern among professionals in the field of education. Traditional staff development in which teachers attend presentations and workshops for a few days each year has been one method for attempting to bring empirically validated instructional practices into the classroom. Unfortunately,…

First-year university students are a diverse group of individuals with various abilities and needs. Failure of the university and its teaching faculty to meet the needs of first-year students may result in abandonment of the pursuit of a degree. This project informs instructors about the practices that strengthen a learning-centred approach and…

While Advanced Placement (AP) programs have been traditionally targeted toward academically prepared students, some secondary administrators make AP courses accessible to all students in order to support college readiness. The purpose of the present study is to explore how the AP program is being implemented in an urban school where many students…