Since the publication of the groundbreaking 1983 report A Nation At Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform and the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, America's public schools have undergone dramatic changes. These significant changes have required school administrators to be more of an educational leader to students and staff,…

Using a case study design, with a phenomenological perspective, this research focused on a sample of primary classroom teachers (grades K-3rd grade) in south central Pennsylvania who are currently using and have been using Responsive Classroom® (RC) strategies for an extended period of time. Their perspectives provide insight into their use of…

The 2001 reauthorization of the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known as No Child Left Behind, requires those schools which fail to make "adequate yearly progress" for five consecutive years to enter into "restructuring." Further clarified by the Obama administration's Blueprint for Reform,…

Current federal legislation holds schools accountable for ensuring that all students, including those with disabilities, make adequate yearly progress on academic achievement measures, while also including students with disabilities in general education settings whenever possible. Schools are thus expected to be both excellent and equitable in…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to discover how teachers view the teacher supervision practices that are in place in two selected charter schools in Southeast urban Pennsylvania by developing an in-depth perspective and understanding of teachers' perceptions of the efficacy and impact on the current system. Data will be gathered on…

Students not having the positive opportunities of an education, often experience negative effects throughout their lives. Educators need to do more to meet the needs of elementary students at risk, and if this can be accomplished the students will receive a 21st Century education that will help students with a global education, which is necessary…

Traditional education (TE) largely uses a standardized (SbE) approach while alternatives (nTE) tend to more of a competency (CbE), or student-centered approach. This comparative analysis examines essential aspects of such pedagogies in determining the effectiveness of schooling systems in meeting the Whole Child Initiative (Souza, 1999; Carter et…

Research Findings: The emergence of standards-based accountability reforms in early childhood education has created new challenges for the field. This article presents findings from a case study that explored how stakeholders in a large urban pre-kindergarten program struggled to implement an assessment tool that aligned the normative academic…

Educational reform policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act continue to place great demands on teachers. Additionally, educational reform policies such as this imply the need for continuous professional development activities that enhance teacher qualifications, especially for practicing teachers. This study examined the effectiveness of a…

The Study of School Turnaround examines the improvement process in a purposive sample of 35 case study schools receiving federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) over a three-year period (2010-11 to 2012-13 school years). Using site visit, teacher survey, and fiscal data, the case studies describe the school contexts, the principals' leadership…

The teacher shortage throughout the United States, especially in areas considered "at-risk," has reached an alarming level. Novice teachers often decide not to return after one year of service, with the number of teachers not returning doubling at five years. One possible means of overcoming these two problems is alternative…

This article offers an analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of the Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program and places it in the broader context of the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act and the shifting intergovernmental relations around education. RTTT is fundamentally about two things: creating…

The CAST (content area specialized training) model of professional development enables sustainable teacher leadership and is responsive to the need for culturally relevant educational practices. The purpose of this paper is to share the background, methods, findings and recommendations of a case study on the CAST initiative in Guam. The case study…

This study explored how the educational governance team, composed of the superintendent and school board, can, in their collaborative efforts and decision-making processes, influence school district climate and impact student achievement. Though in form and function, school boards have not changed much in their almost 200 years of existence,…

After forty years and billions spent on educational programs, minority and at-risk students are still not at a level of academic proficiency (A Guide to Education and "No Child Left Behind 2004"). Among the many reasons cited for this result, one is failure to implement, which is what happens between the development of a program, the…