Evaluations of environmental education (EE) programmes and resources are becoming increasingly visible and important. While benefits accrue through evaluation, many programmes and resources have yet to realise these. Issues such as a lack of clear objectives, reliance on traditional, summative approaches and inattention to context have prevented…

Planning the intended use of data and identification of bottlenecks are two best practices that faculty and administrators can use when they conduct assessments for the combined purposes of accountability and improvement. Prior to data collection, they need to have a clear plan of how the results should offer worthwhile insights. Upon…

In an effort to develop and support high quality urban school leaders, this study examined what factors affect pre-service urban school leaders' perception of preparedness for performing instructional leadership activities. The findings revealed that participating in a leadership training program is the only significant factor that predicts urban…

This study explores the attitudes and perspectives of school administrators and other stakeholders on the school improvement planning process. A convenience sampling technique was employed with a sample of 15 schools and 91 respondents. The findings of the study indicated four principal factors, involvement, accountability, plan implementation and…

For over 50 years, science educators have been calling for increased opportunities for students to engage with science in creative manners, but teachers are still reliant on packaged materials that promote single and 'correct' responses with cookbook approaches. This article suggests five strategies that teachers can use to enhance constructed…

University of Minnesota (UMN) Extension has assisted schools in making policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes to improve the school food environment. UMN Extension's involvement in the Project breakFAST program demonstrates how Extension can provide training and technical assistance to support school staff in making PSE changes that…

Recent national trends in US higher education point to the importance of deemphasizing solo and isolated initiatives and focus instead on identifying and addressing institution-wide movements for improvement. These trends suggest that academic advising is entering a new period in which comprehensive, intentional, and integrated advising solutions…

This article begins by thinking about the process of accreditation in general and examining whether it is a transactional or value-added activity. The overall systems of U.S accreditation and National Association for Developmental Education (NADE) accreditation are reviewed.

The First Impressions program was designed to help communities learn about their strengths and shortcomings through the "fresh eyes" of first-time visitors. This Extension-led community assessment program has been implemented in over 500 communities since the 1990s, yet scant literature exists regarding the program's theoretical…

There has been increased attention to the importance of teachers and teacher quality in developing and sustaining successful education systems for some time now (Barber and Mourshed in How the world's best performing school systems come out on top, McKinsey & Company, New York, 2007; Darling-Hammond et al. in Empowered educators: how…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to uncover effective professional development activities organized by elementary school principals and used to foster and support teachers with the instruction of self-determination skills along with any barriers principals encountered in their efforts to support teacher instruction. This study was…

This descriptive study investigated the transformational redesign method of school improvement as implemented in the 2014 cohort of Michigan Priority schools. In Michigan, schools appear in a top-to-bottom ranking published by the Michigan Department of Education according to their proficiency achievement percentile; each year the schools falling…

In the context of the "Higher Education Standards Framework (Threshold Standards) 2015" (HES Framework), 'scholarship' means those activities concerned with gaining new or improved understanding, appreciation and insights into a field of knowledge, and engaging with and keeping up to date with advances in the field. This includes…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Committee on Education and the Workforce that was held to discuss the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Given the monumental shift in education policy represented by ESSA, it is important to hear how implementation is progressing. This committee has been keeping a…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) comprehensively reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Among other changes, the ESSA amended federal K-12 educational accountability requirements for states and local educational agencies (LEAs) receiving ESEA funds, including those regarding the identification, support, and…