South Carolina recently implemented a new initiative to improve the quality of pre- kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in primary schools. This article describes the initiative and examines evidence that such an effort can have a positive effect on early childhood program quality. Data from both classroom observations using the ECERS-R…

Colleges and universities need to be prepared to address the psychological impact of tragedies on their campuses. In this article, the author describes the development and successful implementation of campus postvention services in the aftermath of college student deaths by suicide as well as by natural and accidental causes. The program has been…

In this case study, we use a consensus model as a framework for examining the professional development component of a standards-based reform effort initiated by a school district in the United States. We describe the district's actions, analyze the extent of adherence to the model, and identify reasons for what occurred. Although administrators…

Although many correctional education studies have identified various treatment programs as being effective for reducing recidivism, few, if any, of these studies appear to be above reproach when assessing their methodological vigor. This paper highlights the shortcomings in the current post-treatment quasi-experimental design primarily used to…

Teaching, to a large degree, depends on more than just technical skills. The demands of classroom teaching require interpersonal skills and dispositions that are often ignored when determining a preservice teacher's fitness to teach. This article provides an example of how one university addresses the challenge of evaluating students' skills and…

Improving the quality of out-of-school time activities and creating effective learning environments is of keen interest to practitioners, funders and policymakers. Funded by The William Penn Foundation, "Quality Time After School" identifies characteristics of after-school activities that are linked to youth engagement and learning…

Sustainability is a critical issue for out-of-school programs. Time-limited grants, narrow categorical funding streams, and difficult economic conditions leave program leaders in a continual struggle to find a stable base of resources to continue their program over time. In the face of these challenges, many out-of-school initiatives have…

This paper reports the development and implementation of a multi-year program targeting a cohort of at-risk pre-freshmen. The program, called BOSS Camp (Business Opportunities for Success School), was designed to motivate, acculturate and encourage economically disadvantaged pre-freshman to attend college and become business majors. The process of…

In "a treatment effectiveness trial", a program is evaluated in a real-world setting, with an emphasis on achieving high implementation fidelity. Through fidelity assessment, the link between program implementation and outcomes is systematically evaluated and ultimately leads to a greater understanding of program success or failure. This paper…

The article describes the main outcomes of the intervention programme "Positive behaviour, interactions and learning environment in school" (PALS). PALS is an adapted Norwegian version of the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support model, developed in the United States with school-wide interventions aiming at the prevention of behaviour…

This report presents findings stemming from the first-year evaluation of the Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program, one of several statewide performance incentive programs in Texas. In June 2006, Governor Perry and the 79th Texas Legislature created the Governor's Educator Excellence Award Program, one component of which is the TEEG…

This report summarizes results from three large-scale reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on elementary and middle-school students--that is, programs that seek to promote various social and emotional skills. Collectively the three reviews included 317 studies and involved 324,303 children. SEL programs…

A year and a half after the launch of the "INEE Minimum Standards" in December 2004, a small baseline study suggested that awareness of the existence of the handbook among educational stakeholders in Uganda was low; in addition, the study found no instance of utilization of the handbook. The present report contains the findings of a…

Students from seven institutions of higher education reported their preferences for different paradigms of service at the beginning of their service-learning courses. At the end of the courses, they described the associated service activities in terms of the same paradigms and also completed scales describing their learning outcomes and attitudes…

Although over 15 years have passed since Witt (1990) noted that no empirical evidence exists to support the contention that a collaborative approach to consultation leads to more positive outcomes than a hierarchical or expert driven approach, this issue generally remains unaddressed (Schulte & Osborne, 2003). While the literature documenting…