Teacher attrition is a main contributor to teacher shortages; providing effective professional development leading to increases in self-efficacy, reflective capacity, and job satisfaction may support teacher retention. Effective professional development, self-efficacy, reflective practice, and job satisfaction are all directly related to teacher…

This qualitative study examined the impact of mentor and new teacher pairings on the self-reported benefits of a statewide mentoring program for new teachers. Participants included 147 new teachers and 89 mentors in a Midwestern, rural state. Teacher demographics included all grade levels, different content areas, job alike and job not-alike…

Despite growing up in a world that is permeated by mathematics, students graduating from US schools are woefully unprepared for the mathematical challenges that await them in the workplace or in higher educational pursuits. Mathematical competencies underpin not only success in college but also increase job opportunities for students after…

This study extends previous research investigating the effects of state-wide exit exams by studying the change from a class-based to a state-wide exit exam system over 5 years, using multilevel analyses and examining mediating effects of teachers' practices on students' motivational orientations. In this multi-cohort study, we analyzed in…

This study investigated the extent to which a state-funded teacher professional development program designed to improve K-2 science education led to changes that persisted beyond the funding period. The study used a longitudinal, mixed-methods approach and examined persistence of changes in teachers' content knowledge, self-efficacy, instructional…

Training and technical assistance programs for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have emerged in many states as educators, administrators, and institutions of higher education attempt to address the increasing needs for enhancing the knowledge and skills of educators and disseminating the ever-growing knowledge of educational practices. This report…

Process evaluations are critical in determining whether outcome evaluations are warranted. This study assessed the extent to which a childhood obesity prevention initiative, "NY Fit WIC", was adopted and implemented by the New York State Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Process data came from…

Objectives: To assess the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program on promoting child health and development and maternal parenting knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Methods: This collaborative, experimental study of 6 Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) programs enrolled 325 families from 1/00 to 7/01, randomly assigned them to…

A core component of Legacy's Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use is the ability of state and local initiatives to empower youth to effect change in their communities. The authors' conceptual framework proposes that youth empowerment is an outcome of the process by which youths become active participants in local efforts. Youths are…

This study attempted to assess family empowerment with participants in Access Vermont, a multilevel crisis intervention project for children with emotional disturbances and their families. The study used the Family Empowerment Scale, a scale based on two dimensions of empowerment level (comprised of family, service system, and community/political)…

This is the 2011 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). This Yearbook contains five parts. Part I, Invited Chapters, includes: (1) NCPEA President's Message, 2011 (Gary W. Kinsey); (2) Shadows and Images II (Lloyd Duvall); and (3) Micropolitics in the School: Teacher Leaders' Use of Political Skill…

This report outlines the results from the Nebraska's Reading First initiative. Three thousand six hundred students from Kindergarten to Third grade were included in the project. Results indicated significant growth across all demographic groups. Student performance in the earlier grades has shown great promise for the following years. Growth in…

The American Legacy Foundation funded 13 state health departments for their Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use in September 2000. Its goal was to create statewide tobacco control initiatives implemented with youth leadership. The underlying theory behind these initiatives was that tobacco control efforts can best be accomplished by…