A field trip for preschool children can be a rewarding experience, but if not properly planned and executed it can be a legal nightmare for teachers and owners. This article will take teachers through a hypothetical outing. If one spots mistakes before the authors highlight them, great, and if not, one will learn some fine points during this…

This qualitative case study focused on the efficacy of International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle Years Programs in Texas schools and the extent to which the unique aspects of these programs contribute to positive student outcomes. The qualitative data were gathered as a complement to statistical, quantitative data our research team…

A fundamental aspect of adult education is engaging adults in becoming lifelong learners. More often than not, this requires removing barriers to learning, especially those relating to the actual organisational or institutional learning process. This article explores some of the main barriers to adult learning discussed in the literature and…

This research explores literacy teachers' perceptions of integrating information communication technologies (ICTs) into literacy instruction. To this end, a national survey of 1,441 literacy teachers in the United States was conducted. The survey provided data concerning the types and levels of reported availability and use of ICTs, beliefs about…

The author discusses the problem of retention of African American faculty due to tenure and promotion issues. The author outlines obstacles that African American face in the workplace while seeking tenure and promotion in academia. A case example is presented that illuminates how these stressors manifest in the academic setting and recommendations…

District consolidation is a highly emotional process. One key to success is sticking to the facts. In Iowa, school districts facing financial difficulties or enrollment concerns do not have to move directly to consolidation. In many cases, districts begin by developing sharing agreements. These sharing agreements may start with simple sharing of…

In this essay, Yuli Tamir argues that the growing interest in public education in the developed world in general and in the United States in particular is grounded in a fear of losing global hegemony. The most rational approach to slowing down these hegemonic shifts is to empower public education and allow the neglected human capital vested in…

How people make choices about activity engagement during discretionary time is a topic of increasing interest to those studying quality of life issues. Assuming choices are made to maximize individual welfare, several factors are believed to influence these choices. Constraints theory from the leisure research literature suggests these choices are…

Last year, when students at Ridgecrest Intermediate School in Palos Verdes, California, were asked to name scientists, their answers--Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Bill Nye the Science Guy--reflected a common perception. Most of the leading scientists they came up with were white, male, or dead. Although women and people of…

Are direct democratic ballot initiatives a just way to make education policy, especially when the policy disproportionately affects members of underrepresented groups? This is the broad question taken up in this article, related in particular to how education policy decided through the ballot initiative process affects minorities. The authors use…

The most successful school library media specialists are those who collaborate with teachers as full partners in the instructional process. Without assertive action by the school library media specialist, however, school administrators and teachers are likely to be more aware of the media specialist's administrative role than the roles of teacher,…

The emergence of new technologies such as three-dimensional virtual worlds brings new opportunities for teaching and learning. We conducted an action research approach to the analysis of how teaching and learning of computer programming at the university level could be developed within the Second Life virtual world. Results support the notion that…

Despite major theoretical progress in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), relatively less attention has been paid to the problem of how research advances may impact schools and classrooms. Given the global changes and educational policies for twenty-first century education, issues of how research in CSCL can be integrated with…

The value of parental participation is widely accepted, but participation is difficult to promote and maintain. Schools are becoming more diverse, and a great challenge facing educators is meeting the needs of all students. Closing the achievement gap and increasing student learning requires the collaboration of various interested groups, most…

Background: Adolescents frequently report barriers to obtaining sexual health education. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine adolescents' views regarding how new technologies could be used for sexual health education. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of adolescents between 14 and 19 years old.…