This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

This is a book of oral narratives, collected from participants at a school created for first-generation, immigrant youth. The narrations from the students, teachers, administration, professional staff, and support personnel document the power of caring relationships in an educational setting. The narratives underscore the importance of teachers,…

Students, a large percentage with disabilities, are at high risk for poor post-secondary outcomes in state agency education programs. This mixed-methods study describes the understandings of student transitions in state agency education programs from the perspectives of youth and administrators. Results indicated that: transition is more narrowly…

This article presents findings from an investigation of the overall effectiveness of Michigan's Freedom to Learn (FTL) One-to-One initiative. The major goal of the FTL initiative was to help students to gain 21st century knowledge and skills while increasing their learning and achievement through the integration of over 20,000 laptop computers…

Extant research, though limited in quantity, increasingly demonstrates the critical connection between quality preparation experience, candidates' leadership capacity, and their subsequent instructional and transformation leadership practices. Using mixed methods, this study builds on the current knowledge base and aims to further verify the link…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

Large-scale educational reform--systemic approaches to changing the way schools operate--helps to meet students' learning needs more effectively. These approaches focus on reorganizing entire school systems, rather than implementing individual school-improvement initiatives. Such reforms require a significant investment of resources and--if…

This article is a description of a program that may be effective for reducing the aggressive behaviors of adults with intellectual disabilities. Data are presented in the form of a naturally occurring multiple baseline across two participants. Results suggest that an intervention anchored in teaching-family model (TFM) procedures was effective to…

On September 22, 2012, NSF announced its decision to fund a three-year project, "Models for Information Assurance Education and Outreach" (MIAEO). In the first year of grant operation, MIAEO has invited 18 high school students, two K-12 teachers, and two CSUB student assistants to conduct research explorations in the fields of…

The type and amount of student interaction with major socializing agents on campus--faculty and their peers--determine the impact of college on students. Much of the research on postsecondary education links the quality of peer interactions directly to student learning outcomes and satisfaction with the college experience, and Alexander Astin went…

Drawing on their experience in a Midwest healthcare system, the authors propose a model of leadership development through action learning that embraces "concentric collaboration" at its core. The present study suggests that the process of concentric collaboration can serve to strengthen the skills of the individual leader as well as…

After 10 years of organizing the Cybertech robotics competition, this paper presents this unique and innovative educational experience of teaching engineering at Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM), Spain. Cybertech is not only a well-known robotic contest in Spain due to the "Robotaurus" bullfighting, but is also a whole academic…

The mission of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is to provide rigorous evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to encourage its use. The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) requires that the Director of IES, on a biennial basis, transmit to the President, the National Board for Education Sciences, and the…

Designed to improve PK-12 professional learning and increase student achievement, Wisconsin's policymakers developed and implemented new educator licensing guidelines (PI 34) and a Professional Development Plan (PDP) system based on empirical research and national policy trends in 2004. As PI 34 and the PDP system are relatively new, the…

Living inside built environments--infrastructure--it is easy to take for granted the things that we do not need to engage, but are at work behind the scenes nonetheless. Well-designed systems become invisible, but to engage them, how do we know which perspectives, objects, and relationships are useful? I examine the University of Michigan Digital…