This document details seven guiding principles and recommends actions designed to advance equity and lower or remove individual and structural barriers to learning by creating school environments that: (1) promote wellness; and (2) effectively address the learning, behavioral, social-emotional, and mental health needs of students. These…

The public narrative surrounding efforts to improve low-performing K-12 schools in the U.S. has been notably gloomy. Observers argue that either nothing works or we don't know what works. At the same time, the federal government is asking localities to implement evidence-based interventions. But what is known empirically about whether school…

Teachers tend to leave schools where they feel ineffective. At the same time, it's harder to be effective in schools with the lowest levels of student performance, schools that are most in need of effective teaching. There is a pressing need to improve the quality of instruction in urban schools to reduce long-standing inequities in educational…

The author never thought he would have to thank Ofsted for a change in its approach that may result in a major improvement in provision; and yet, with the introduction of the revised Common Inspection Framework (CIF), it has made teaching and learning (T&L) the first priority throughout the learning and skills sector. While he wishes to…

This publication provides a comprehensive analysis of the most important issues facing teachers during the early stages of their careers. The effectiveness of teachers fresh to the profession is an important policy issue, especially knowing the impact that teachers have on student learning. The OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey…

This commentary is part of an ongoing dialogue that began in the October 2011 special issue of "Performance Improvement"--Exploring a Universal Performance Model for HPT: Notes From the Field. The performance improvement/HPT (human performance technology) model represents a unifying process that helps accomplish successful change, create…

Rural areas in the alpine regions suffer from dwindling student numbers. Differentiated instruction (DI) could help improve the teaching culture by allowing instructors to better adapt to heterogeneous student groups. At the beginning of a combined research and school improvement project, a survey of 162 teachers and 1180 students was conducted to…

Benchmarking, when done properly, offers a lot of promise for higher education units that want to improve how they do business. It is clear that much is known, but still more needs to be learned before it reaches its full potential as a useful tool. Readers of this issue of "New Directions for Institutional Research" have been treated to useful…

This paper reports the findings of an action research that was carried out to measure the effectiveness of integrating a social networking website "Edmodo" in students' writing performance in an EFL classroom at Arab Open University (Oman Branch). The participants were 25 students studying English in the Foundation Programme. Along with…

This study explores the effect of an innovative course examining Greek elementary student teachers' (STs') efficacy beliefs and self-confidence for curriculum-based teaching on "Studies for the Environment" topics. These two variables are influencing teachers' ability to teach environmental issues for young children. Five new factors…

The Washington Accord is an internationally recognized agreement in engineering education of undergraduates. China joined the agreement as the 18th member country in 2016. The exploration technology and engineering major of China University of Petroleum has obtained the professional certification from international engineering education system and…

The increasing number of educational services has caused a high competition in this industry. In Indonesia, the number of private universities is the highest compared to state universities and other forms of higher education institutions. Ability to predict factors that are important in providing educational services to achieve student…

"WhatsApp" is a potentially influential informal learning tool that may be used on the go. This study examines its potential utility in EFL writing with special reference to gender. The treatment encompasses a "WhatsApp"-based instructional program designed specifically to help develop writing performance, along the aspects of…

Leading scholars (Gilbert, 2009; Walter, 2008) have highlighted the importance of phonological processing in learning to read. Nevertheless, reading in Japan has traditionally been taught without adequate attention to the role of phonological processing. Accordingly, it was speculated that Japanese university students would demonstrate superior…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires that an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for students with disabilities, age 16 years and older, include age appropriate transition assessment results aligned with measurable postsecondary goals. This section of the IEP is typically known as an Individual Transition Plan…