Literature examining the context of reception reveals how various structural and cultural factors shape newcomers' experiences, and thus their opportunities for integration. Fewer studies explore how school districts are situated in this broader context of reception, or how district policies and practices for newcomers are enabled or constrained…

This brief draws on a study of teacher working conditions and their relationship to teacher retention and school performance in North Carolina. It is part of a series of studies conducted by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI)--in collaboration with WestEd and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University--as…

Developmentally appropriate homework plays a critical role in the formation of positive learning beliefs and behaviors, including a belief in one's academic ability, a deliberative and effortful approach to mastery, and higher expectations and aspirations for one's future. It can prepare children to confront ever-more-complex tasks, develop…

Background: More than ever before, school principals are dealing with stress and burnout, resulting from increasing role demands and decreasing decision latitude and autonomy. Following the Demand-Support-Constraints model, reasons for stress and burnout can be found in the lack of social support in the environment. Purpose: This longitudinal…

This article emerged as a case study from a fact-finding mission of a joint programme between the Centre for Commonwealth Education (CCE) in Cambridge University and the Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (IEPA) in University of Cape Coast, Ghana, to embed innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the basic schools of…

The relationship between students' living in poverty and academic underachievement challenges schools across the nation. Poverty is particularly prevalent among children with disabilities. One detrimental condition of poverty that directly affects student development and academic achievement is food insecurity and hunger. With the increasing…

Twenty years ago, a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) changed the national discussion about what must be done to improve America's schools so that all students experience success. The Commission drew attention to the overlooked fact that the most important school variable affecting student achievement is…

Traumatic crises can have a lifelong effect. The majority of children, however, will not develop lasting problems following a crisis. The immediate goal of the school is to minimize the negative impact, support coping, accelerate adjustment, and instill confidence in students that school staff is available to address their needs. Support and…

The author's experience of the day-to-day issues faced as an educator in an Aboriginal school are recounted, along with perspectives gained as part of a research project. The proposition is argued that an Education for Sustainability approach, where learning is structured around a negotiated environmental issue within local community, represents a…

For months, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been debated throughout the media, legislatures, education organizations, and households across the country. Education groups have released statements both in favor of the standards and opposed. As these arguments are being tossed around, 44 states and D.C. are implementing CCSS and other…

This study investigated the recent histories of the urban public school districts of St. Louis, Missouri and Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States of America. The purpose was to identify the similar challenges that each had recently faced in regard to the maintenance and development of its public school systems, as well to gauge the level of…

It is time to rethink charter school authorization. There are approximately 5,000 charter schools in the United States (about 5 percent of schools) and a push from parents and the Department of Education for more. Given that many charters authorized during the initial wave of charter applications have not proven themselves to be any better than…

The purpose of this study was to investigate advocacy influences that may impact school arts programs using data from the 2009-10 National Center for Education Statistics elementary and secondary school surveys on arts education. Regression models were employed to assess the relative effectiveness of variables representing community support,…

This article challenges the view that citywide referenda alone are an effective means of ensuring accountability for mayoral control. Through new empirical analysis of the referenda results in Boston and Cleveland, the article shows that rather than establish genuine democratic legitimacy, the referenda in fact mask strong class-based, and in…

Several decades of research have suggested a meaningful relationship between time and learning, where the amount of time students spend engaged in learning is strongly associated with their level of achievement. Among schools that have expanded the day and/or year, researchers have found that such a strategy can be quite effective, especially with…