The study of context-based leadership practices has gained currency during the last decade. This study aims to complement the recent efforts of researchers in identifying the context-based leadership practices of successful school leaders, and deliberating how these practices are enacted within their own unique contexts. An in-depth case study was…

The aim of the study reported in this paper was to explore and enhance experienced school mathematics teachers' knowledge of students'thinking, as it is manifested in practice. Data were collected from records of classroom observations, interviews with participating teachers, and weekly teacher-researcher meetings organized in the school. In this…

Despite the advocated importance of twenty-first century competences in education, it appears that they are not systematically integrated in national curricula, school curricula and classroom activities. Potential explanations can be found in the current ambiguity of definitions for twenty-first century competences and the absence of educational…

As educational practitioners and policymakers expand the range of student outcomes they assess, student perception surveys--particularly those targeting social-emotional learning--have grown in popularity. Despite excitement around the potential for measuring a wider array of important student outcomes, concerns about the validity of the…

Amid growing interest from educators and policymakers in supporting students' social and emotional learning (SEL), this brief describes the development of key social-emotional skills within the CORE districts, a network of urban California school districts that collectively serve more than one million students. Specifically, we use CORE's unique…

Measures of school-level growth in student outcomes are common tools used to assess the impacts of schools. The vast majority of these measures are based on standardized tests, even though emerging evidence demonstrates the importance of social-emotional skills (SEL). This paper uses the first large-scale panel surveys of students on SEL to…

"Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2019" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, and summary tables. 2018 has seen boosted economic growth, the creation of more than two million jobs, and the addition of nearly $5 trillion in new wealth to the stock market. Unemployment…

In an educational system founded on rigid standards and categories, students who demonstrate a very specific manifestation of intelligence flourish, while those who deviate tend to fall between the cracks. Too often, talents and interests that do not align with classroom conventions are left unrecognized and unexplored in children with…

Academic vocabulary knowledge is central to reading achievement, particularly for students who have limited experiences with academic discourse outside of school. Yet many teachers devote little time to focused instruction in this area, because they may lack critical meta-linguistic and pedagogical knowledge. The purpose of this longitudinal…

'Research and teaching' is a typical response to the question, 'What are universities for?' For most people, one comes to mind more quickly than the other. Most undergraduate students will think of teaching, while PhD students will think of research. University staff will have similarly varied reactions depending on their roles. Emphasis on one or…

In recent years, rapid school improvement--known most commonly as school turnaround--has emerged as the chief focus of dramatic and systemic efforts aimed at giving students better schools. To assist states, districts, and schools in leading or managing these efforts, in 2017 the Center on School Turnaround at WestEd developed "Four Domains…

Early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) practitioners participating in the Child Outcomes Summary (COS) process must understand age-expected development, the ages at which children typically acquire different skills. This resource provides answers to commonly asked questions about age anchoring as it applies to the COS…

The attainment gap in science may not be as well-documented as the gap in English and maths, but it is just as pervasive. Our research has shown that disadvantaged pupils start to fall behind in science in Key Stage 1; the gap only gets wider throughout primary and secondary school and on to A-level. Helping schools to use evidence and to…

This investigation considered the short-term benefits of early childhood education participation at age 3 for 1,213 children from low-income families living in a large and linguistically diverse county. Although no benefits emerged for executive functioning, children who participated in formal early childhood programs at the age of 3 entered pre-K…

This brief report outlines policy approaches that have the potential to strengthen the organizational conditions of early care and education (ECE) programs as a means to quality improvement. The ultimate goal is to enhance the ability of all ECE programs to support young children's learning and development by improving the quality of teaching and…