This EEF guidance report reviews the best available research to offer schools and teachers four recommendations to support parental engagement in children's learning. Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children's learning, and levels of parental engagement are consistently associated with better academic outcomes. Evidence from our…

Recognizing that a necessary and significant role change is underway in faculty development, this book calls for centers to merge their traditional responsibilities and services with a leadership role as organizational developers. Failing to define and outline the dimensions and expertise of this new role puts centers at risk of not only…

This booklet describes one of the earliest staff development models to support school-based improvement, the RPTIM model. The letters "RPTIM" represent the five stages of the school-based approach to staff development--readiness, planning, training, implementation, and maintenance. The model is based on the belief that the school is the primary…

More districts are turning to one-to-one computing, which puts a laptop in the hands of every student. This ambitious undertaking can bring challenges when it comes to training teachers how to use the technology--and how to teach students to use it. In 2005, Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Oregon, provided Apple laptops for 300 middle…

Successful management of an American school--like the operation of a Japanese industry--involves long-term development of personnel, trust between workers, participative decision making, and a shared philosophy. (Author)

Principals must create conditions that ensure that professional growth is part of school culture, remembering to create consensus, promote shared values, monitor the effort, ensure systematic collaboration, encourage experimentation, model commitment, provide one-on-one staff development, offer purposeful staff development programs, promote…

This report presents information from a study of teachers of the year regarding their personal experiences with teacher leadership. It highlights: reasons to promote leadership (e.g., teachers have the most expertise and knowledge of how to improve education for students and can form a critical mass with their peers for positive or negative change…

Schools must provide teachers with access to technology if they are to use it often and well. The article discusses integrated learning systems, noting teachers must be included in technology adoption and staff development processes. It recommends teachers have plenty of time to learn the systems at their own pace. (SM)

This report presents a guide to involving parents, families, and the community in education. It explains that student achievement increases, schools improve, and parent and community involvement thrives when: (1) parents, families, and community members play an integral role in helping students learn at all grade levels; (2) communication between…

Describes how to create teacher professional development networks that are run by teachers and for teachers with a common goal. The paper explains what teacher networks are and are not, and it provides information about national networks, on-site networks, and online networks. (SM)

The PARTNERS program is designed to assist educators in a problem-solving process and in making appropriate intervention decisions for students with learning and behavior problems. Through presentation, reading, discussion, and activities, participants have an opportunity to learn about and use an effective educational problem solving,…

This guidebook, prepared by a faculty committee at Michigan State University (MSU) in 1995-96, is intended to encourage discussion of quality outreach among faculty, staff, administrators, and university collaborators. Its specific purpose is to develop an understanding of what constitutes quality outreach, to enhance unit-level planning for…

California educational legislation enacted in July 1990, ended state issuance of community college credentials. Faculty in the state's community colleges now assume significant responsibility for evaluating the qualifications of prospective teaching personnel. Within the next 10 years, 50% of current community college faculty will retire and…

Guidelines for facilitation of a teacher workshop on participative decision making, with a focus on the development of a school improvement plan based on consensus, are offered in this manual. Session topics include: perceptions, creativity, brainstorming, consensus building, and action planning. The introductory section defines workshop goals.…

Focusing on small-scale insider research, this book covers contemporary issues, research methods, and existing practice and values for the researcher concerned with student learning in higher education. Stressed throughout the book is the use of research to identify the ways that barriers to learning may be increased or minimized, and the extent…