Research and evidence on education from 33 countries in Africa reflects rich diversity andunderscores the importance of tailoring solutions to the local context. Through this research, three key actions on education emerge as points of leverage for the continent: (1) Use local education data to make informed decisions that address country-specific…

Education systems are complex and involve many diverse actors. In order to have an impact on children's outcomes, policies and programmes must take on this complexity. Most education interventions are centrally designed, yet, in increasingly decentralized systems, they need to be adopted -- and often undergo adaptation -- at multiple levels of…

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both teachers and students. This article offers and reviews several useful 'toolkit' items that instructors of science writing can use to improve college student success. The tools in this kit are both conceptual and practical, and include: (1) Understanding the role of student…

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of campus administrators and teachers of the new Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) in a suburban Texas school district. Historically, teacher evaluation systems have failed to reach the intended outcome of serving as a tool to improve teaching practices. When campus…

Mindfulness meditation involves focusing one's attention on the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Several recently published investigations have demonstrated that a brief session of mindfulness meditation, practiced before a higher-education course lecture, can improve performance on a quiz over lecture content given immediately following…

There is a pressing need to improve the sustainability of educational improvement efforts, but sustainability remains undertheorized in science education. In this article, we draw upon frameworks from organizational culture and sustainability to characterize change within a single undergraduate science department. This in-depth longitudinal case…

Purpose: Despite the importance of investigating the impact of cloud computing on the e-learning process, the relationship development between the two is not examined well. Thus, the main goal of this research is to assess how to improve the e-learning process by using cloud services. This paper aims to attempt to investigate the impact of cloud…

Although home-based child care is a widely-used form of non-parental child care, relatively little is known about the home-based provider workforce and their beliefs and practices related to children and families. This study validates a previously identified typology of listed home-based child care providers (Hooper and Hallam, Early Child Res Q…

Background/Context: As part of a nationwide initiative that re-conceptualized teacher evaluation, Virginia issued the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers on July 1, 2012; these guidelines marked a significant overhaul of the state's approach to teacher evaluation. Previous studies examined the impact…

Most efforts to increase equity in schools treat students as subjects of improvement efforts designed and implemented by adults. This paper provides conceptual framework, suggested protocols, and examples of how schools can and are disrupting that paradigm and systematically including students as partners with adults in equity improvement work.…

Strengthen your professional learning community (PLC) by building a highly effective coaching culture for collaborative teams. A companion to Amplify Your Impact, this resource drills deeper into the more complex aspects of PLC at Work®. Instructional coaches and leaders will acquire new insights and strategies for improving their team's…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that current ways school systems have addressed social mobility is misguided at best and, at worst, hurts social mobility. Instead, we call for a focus on investment in teachers' professional capital as a primary lever for enhancing the likelihood they can effectively prepare and develop all children…

Student achievement is not always the equivalent of what students learn, especially when educators use their feedback to shape daily instruction. When students share their classroom experiences, we can determine better ways to create interdisciplinary partnerships, manage workload, enhance historical understandings, and communicate conclusions.…

Research Findings: This article investigates how a sample of families, educators, researchers, advocates, and policymakers (n = 93) made sense of how children are and should be taught in kindergarten. By examining their conceptions of instruction that define kindergarten in this current era of standards and accountability and what opportunities…

Objective: This study is aimed at understanding the ways in which faculty at community colleges utilize their industry experiences to inform their teaching. Method: The research drew on Merriam's basic qualitative approach in analyzing data from 14 semi-structured qualitative interviews. Results: Our findings expand upon prior research surrounding…