For the first time in the nation's history 46 States and the District of Columbia have agreed that all K-12 students will be educated along a common continuum of high academic expectations known as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Having clear, consistent standards in English language arts/literacy and mathematics will help ensure that all…

Boys have a slight advantage in the number of live births in the US (about 101:100), so, all things being equal, it is reasonable to assume that they would populate institutions at about the same rate as girls. However, institutions are social structures, and in social systems all things are almost "never" equal, so, clearly, there are other…

Almost immediately after he was named Commissioner of Education in March 2011, Stephen Bowen traveled to school districts across Maine and spoke to students, teachers, school administrators and community members about what they saw as the challenges confronting Maine's schools and what role they saw for the Maine Department of Education in…

A three-component intervention was implemented with 47 youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as they transitioned from high school to adult life. The youth, ages 16 to 19 years, were randomly assigned to a Year 1 group or a Year 2 group. Participants in the Year 1 group received a transition planning intervention consisting of (a) group…

Many investigators have documented the need for valid and credible program evaluation research of teacher professional development programs. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to conduct a comprehensive program evaluation of the Lincoln School District's Teacher Collaboration Time (TCT) staff development program. The study questions…

School improvement and reform efforts frequently involve the adoption of a new curriculum program. This article examines the factors that influence program selection when schools have freedom to choose as opposed to having programs mandated by district, state, or national education authorities. Survey and document analysis are used to examine the…

Three different "logics"--that of the internal strategies of the institutions, the economic pressures of the socialist market economy and the political policies of the state drive the development of a university. The dynamic interaction and coexistence of the three logics has determined the transformation models of teacher-education or…

This study was designed to determine whether the inclusion model of instruction with the use of assistive technology was more effective in delivering instruction to regular education students and special needs students in the same classroom in comparison to the regular education with pull-out model of instruction. I also attempted to determine…

To have a meaningful, fulfilling career in the 21st century workplace, students need technical and academic skills as well as the ability to think and work collaboratively with others. Career education must begin in middle school or earlier to allow students time to develop the aptitudes, skills and attitudes necessary to develop an awareness of…

Students from underrepresented groups who seek to become the first in their family to attend college confront economically and racially stratified education systems. This article reports findings from an evaluation of First Graduate, an organization that offers college advising, mentoring, tutoring, and case management to first-generation students…

The demands and opportunities of globalization involve not only America's economic competitiveness, but also national security, the need for tolerance in increasingly diverse communities, and a need to solve pressing social issues. To be successful, students need a comprehensive and integrated set of global learning experiences that help them…

Despite the historical mission of career academies to expand opportunities and engagement of minority students, particularly African American students, more recent curricular changes in the career academy model have increased the rigor of these types of programs. These new initiatives have undoubtedly resulted in a demographic shift with more…

Dropping out of high school is not an event, but rather a process that involves a number of complex and interrelated factors. For example, 50% of eventual dropouts can be identified as early as the sixth grade and 80% by the ninth, based on observable academic, attendance, and behavior indicators. Furthermore, the first marking period of the ninth…

Income inequality has been rising in Britain for two decades and wealth is also more unequally distributed now than when New Labour first came to power. Various factors have contributed to this, including education which, according to the PISA 2006 data, has more unequal outcomes in the UK than in all but 2 of the 29 tested countries. Comparative…

This article examines the curious position of the Academy model in the English school system and how a potential Hereford Steiner Waldorf Academy might figure in this. It sketches the background to the Steiner movement in the UK and goes on to set out the key aspirations and concerns of Steiner educators regarding an Academy. The article provides…