Many high school teachers and administrators think that reading instruction belongs in the lower grades. But according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 31% of eighth graders read at or above the proficient level, which means that many are entering high school unprepared for its advanced textbook reading and language…

The purpose of this investigation is to tell the story of how six states are developing Programs of Study (POS) as mandated by the Perkins IV federal legislation. The authors' effort focuses on how states' technical assistance systems evolved and what successes and challenges existed for states developing POS. There was no intent to compare one…

Interested in bringing the benefits of the arts as integral to quality education for all children, in 2004 the Ford Foundation launched the National Arts Education Initiative, a seven-year demonstration in nine communities across the United States. Building from arts education programs that serve "pockets" of children, Ford investments…

Network learning supported by 21-century technology is reweaving the fabric of how educators acquire and create new knowledge. At the Alaska Educational Innovations Network (AEIN), educators believe this has the potential to change how a profession looks at professional development. They have learned that using technology to support networks…

Student participation in short-term programs abroad (both credit and noncredit) has grown exponentially in recent years and now represents the primary international experience for a significant percentage of U.S. college and university students. Recognizing this, the Forum Standards Committee saw a need for a more specific set of standards that…

Ghana, like many other nations in recent years, has made education a top priority for national development. Despite newly developed policies, however, there remains a significant quality gap among high schools; due largely to an inequitable ratio of government's educational spending by geographic area. While most urban schools flourish with better…

Planning to start or expand a K-8 critical language program? Looking for support in doing so? There "may" be help at the federal level for great ideas and strong programs. While there have been various pools of federal dollars available to support world language programs for a number of years, the federal government's interest in…

Over the past three decades, researchers have studied doctoral research training programs using large scale surveys making visible trends in numbers of and kinds of research courses required, or using focused qualitative methods to gain rich, textured accounts of graduate school experiences. Both kinds of studies fail to capture the local,…

A project funded through the National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation program investigated higher education programs--mostly bachelor's and associate degrees--offered by technical and further education (TAFE) institutes. This overview highlights the implications for TAFE management identified through this project. [This…

The authors provide an overview of the Cooperative Extension System and its program evaluation challenges. Part of the historic land-grant system, Extension exists in all states and territories of the United States and is funded through federal, state, and local (usually county) appropriations, as well as competitive grants and other sources.…

As countries become increasingly interdependent, student populations in the United States are becoming more culturally diverse. These students' transnational perspectives present significant challenges to teachers, but a disconnect exists between the skills teachers need and those provided to them by colleges of education. As teacher preparation…

Building upon a successful prior initial trip to Vietnam in January 2008, students and faculty from St. John's University (STJ) School Psychology program returned to work with the faculty from Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) in developing the profession of school psychology in that country. The purpose of this trip was twofold: (1)…

When former chef and food broker, Tony Geraci was invited by his district superintendent to review New Hampshire's largest school food service program, he never imagined that he would be responsible for running one of the nation's most successful sustainable food service programs. The CONVAL District sustainable food program, create by Geraci and…

This article presents findings from a qualitative study exploring how Israeli teacher educators prepare candidates to address multicultural issues. Background is presented regarding multicultural education in Israel along with a discussion concerning Israel's unique diversity-related challenges. Findings explore multicultural practices that are…

Little is known about the organization, characteristics or services offered by academic interdisciplinary gerontology centers located in higher education institutions. This article presents a description and an emerging typology of academic interdisciplinary gerontology centers based on information collected from the Websites of 47 centers. The…