This research brief is Part I of a four-part series that studies the implementation and impact of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) decision to decentralize in the 1990s. This first part describes how decentralization was enacted in HISD. It examines the implementation of decentralization at HISD. The process that HISD originally…

No one would disagree that young children's literacy learning is of primary importance in the early childhood years. One of the best ways for children to learn oral language is through play. However, many teachers view play as a child's work and not as a space where the teacher can support children's literacy learning. This study investigated the…

For several decades, lifelong learning has been discussed both in terms of its ability to provide both individual and national economic benefits. However, while the importance of lifelong learning, particularly in lieu of occupational changes, has been emphasized, the creation or adaptation of funding methods for lifelong learning specifically in…

The "Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package" offers school and district administrators and staff a roadmap and tools for adopting a school- or district-wide approach to addressing trauma and promoting resilience for everyone in the learning environment. This training package supports school and district administrators and staff to do…

The purpose of this study was to gain essence of understanding of the phenomena of the influence of culture on the change process at small, private colleges. Research questions included cultural characteristics of a campus, the impact of policy and procedure on shaping culture, the role of leadership in shaping culture, and contextual conditions…

Students today can enter classrooms lacking the social and emotional skills needed to achieve academic and behavioral success in school. As the need for the classroom-based social and emotional interventions and supports grow, the need to identify the perceptions of teachers involved in the identification and implementation of these interventions…

For decades, discussions regarding assessment have been taking place in higher education, which has forced institutions to take a look at outcomes and indicators of student achievement. Although the literature indicates an acceptance that assessment is not going away, the process that takes place within higher education institutions has led to…

Charter schools face high-stakes accountability. When charter schools fail to perform as expected, including as measured on state tests, authorizers are often expected to close them. While the details of charter school oversight are shaped by each state's charter school policy, federal law influences how states test children and evaluate all…

Early identification and intervention for struggling readers increased the likelihood of students identified as proficient; ultimately leading to future success. The researcher sought to evaluate the Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) program in a Midwest urban school district, to help close the achievement gap between students' reading levels…

For several decades, lifelong learning has been discussed both in terms of its ability to provide both individual and national economic benefits. However, while the importance of lifelong learning, particularly in lieu of occupational changes, has been emphasized, the creation or adaptation of funding methods for lifelong learning specifically in…

How educational leaders initiate and sustain change is often hotly debated by those inside and outside of the system. Given the many reform initiatives of the past 30 years, and the resulting changes public educators have made lurching from initiative to initiative, one must ask if public education has truly improved. The answer to why public…

The flipped classroom has been implemented within the nursing curricula to promote increased student classroom satisfaction, student engagement in the classroom, and improve retention of complex nursing concepts. This research study evaluated how the implementation of the flipped classroom contributed to the overall perception of a new…

First-generation (FG) college students (students for whom neither parent has a 4-year degree) face a number of challenges as they attempt to obtain a post-secondary degree. They are more likely to come from working-class backgrounds or poverty (Reardon, 2011) and attend lower quality high schools (Warburton et al., 2001) while not benefiting from…

As interest increases in mindfulness in education programs for youth, there is a need to develop reliable measures of the quality of program implementation. This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of a measure that can be used to assess and monitor quality of implementation of mindfulness programs/curricula in typical…

Over the last decade, an increasing number of postsecondary education (PSE) programs have been developed for students with intellectual disability (ID). This case discusses one such program. Along with the courses designed to meet the specific needs of students with ID, the program also permits these students to take courses in the various…