The purpose of this study was to promote an ethic of care and justice through the examination of the manifestations of whiteness within student affairs on a Jesuit Catholic university campus. To achieve this purpose a qualitative, exploratory case study was used to examine a student affairs division at Western Jesuit University (pseudonym), an…

This article provides a model for developing and sustaining relationships that can lead to ongoing school academic success. Leaders can successfully engender positive relationships and develop healthy organizational cultures that advance powerful teaching and learning by focusing on the six relationship connectors described in this article. As…

This article considers some of the key processes and methods needed to reenvision and transform comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs) as strengths-based, prevention-focused learning communities. Specifically, following a discussion of evidence-based "school as community" models found in the literature and how they relate, in part, to…

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence African American parents' involvement in their children's middle school experiences. Two focus group interviews were conducted with African American parents. While the participants viewed parent involvement as important, they reported that family structure and socioeconomic…

Inclusion of students with special education needs into regular classrooms, and prevention of violence in schools are two important social or public policies with which school administrators and teachers are faced in today's public education system. If school staffs are to be effective at implementing these two public policies, it seems reasonable…

There is no single script for effective character education, but there are some important basic principles. This document presents eleven principles that schools and other groups can use to plan a character education effort and to evaluate available character education programs: (1) Promotes core ethical values and supportive performance values as…

The purpose of this report is to listen to families about "what" mattered most to them and "how" family support has impacted their lives. The findings of this report represent a synthesis of families' voices from 8 focus groups and 35 individual interviews, conducted at centers, office meetings, and homes--with over 100 family…

The purpose of this study was to assess early childhood preservice teachers' caring dispositions. In this pilot project, 35 preservice teachers were involved. They spent 30 hours in the field. The tool for assessment--Caring Teachers' Components and Characteristics--was developed on the basis of the theory of caring per Noddings (1992) and…

This newsletter of best practices describes steps that schools have taken to establish a guidance and advisement system that helps students plan for and succeed in students high school, further study and careers. Articles in this issue include: (1) Advisory Program Boosts Achievement and Career Planning; (2) District-Wide Guidance Program Assists…

School dropout is a problem that has distressing personal and societal consequences. Not surprising, students who drop out are typically not academically motivated. This phenomenological study examined the meanings that students construct about academic motivation while participating in a dropout prevention program that primarily uses counseling.…

This study investigates how comments that Mexican nationals made about U.S. schools influenced Mexican immigrant adolescents' perceptions of and experiences in U.S. schools. I investigated the diffusion of this information at three specific points in time--prior to immigration, upon entry to the U.S., and after a few years of living in the U.S.…

In 2004 the Australia Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) released a report entitled "New teaching, new learning: A vision for Australian education". This report was prepared on behalf of the ACDE by Mary Kalantzis and Andrew Harvey, respectively the President and Executive Officer of the ACDE. The argument put forward in the report is…

Based on ten months of ethnographic fieldwork, including more than 65 in-depth interviews with Chinese university students and higher education administrators, this study examines the roots of an emerging community service learning movement in mainland China. The dissertation focuses on a case study of a pioneering Chinese Party State-sponsored…

This booklet focuses on effective mathematics teaching. Drawing on a wide range of research, it describes the kinds of pedagogical approaches that engage learners and lead to desirable outcomes. The aim of the booklet is to deepen the understanding of practitioners, teacher educators, and policy makers and assist them to optimize opportunities for…

This research brief provides highlights from the full report (published separately) that describes the ninth annual High School Exit Survey in AISD. The survey was administered online to seniors in every AISD high school during Spring 2011. In total, 3,793 seniors completed the survey, for an adjusted response rate of 87.3 percent.