The process through which a school adopts a comprehensive school reform (CSR) model has been suggested to be a key element in the lifecycle of school reform, contributing to stakeholder buy in and subsequent implementation. We studied the model adoption process, both on a national scale with survey data and in more depth with qualitative case…

Against the background of several large-scale innovations in secondary agricultural education, this study explores the relation between teachers' professionality and their participation in school policy. For the research into this, 1,030 teachers of 98 schools for preparatory and secondary agricultural education have filled in two questionnaires.…

Prompted by Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, there is a growing number of examples of children and young people being involved in the policy process. To date this had not been matched by evaluation of the practice. This situation needs to change to ensure that existing experience provides learning for more widespread and…

Children's participation in decision-making is complex: it is undertaken for different purposes and is reflected in different levels of involvement, different contexts and different activities. This paper reviews the current state of participation and, drawing on practice and research literature, highlights several aspects of practice where…

A participatory curriculum development process was undertaken to design and implement a university-level, community-based environmental education training course to target behaviors and thus increase the effectiveness of conservation programs in central Vietnam. The process included (1) stakeholder analysis, (2) training needs assessment, (3)…

This paper paints a portrait of successful leadership that was built through the directorship and ethic of caring of a female site administrator. The paper addresses the major question, "What major principles need to be incorporated into the daily life of those in leadership positions to assist in their success?" The study is framed through the…

Recent work on distributed leadership extends an ongoing critique of conventional "heroic" leader portrayals. This article examines work in this area seeking implications for democratic school governance. With material from case studies of two Texas schools, it considers frameworks presented by Spillane, Halverson, and Diamond and by…

The issues of teacher empowerment and decentralized management have been a part of the educational reform agenda for decades. Recent legislation has required that leadership teams have teacher, support staff, and parent representation, and possibly student representation. Principals receive specific instructions from their Boards of Education as…

Since the 1970s, participatory development has become part and parcel of most practitioner-oriented development studies programs. This reflects a shift in the field of development that has been going on for the past few decades. "Participatory Rural Appraisal" (PRA) is one approach to participatory development that has received much…

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of online synchronous audio and video systems on the performance of cooperative learning in decision making and intellective tasks. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 156 subjects, divided into 46 groups, were invited to resolve decision and intellective tasks in text messaging and audio conferencing…

This article discusses how a radical approach to teacher education encourages both pre-service teachers and high school students to embrace a paradoxical model of leadership. A project that positions high school students as teachers and learners in an undergraduate secondary teacher certification course challenges pre-service teachers to learn to…

This article reports on a study that was funded by the National College for School Leadership in order to explore practices, drivers and barriers to leadership talent identification, leadership development, leadership succession planning and leadership retention within a group of contextually different schools. The article offers two narratives…

Relying on standardized tests to measure performance and determine accountability obscures the fact that only reciprocal rights and responsibilities can create authentic accountability. A student has the right to expect a teacher will begin on time with a well-prepared lesson, the necessary materials, and the skill to conduct a class. A teacher,…

A central aspect of education has always been the passing on of norms and values. This task is not fulfilled if pupils only learn the meaning of established norms and values. It is also about making pupils believe in them and to act according to them. Thus, teaching is also a kind of political socialization. The values taught change historically…

The Department for Education and Skills (Replace by the Department for Children, Schools and Families as of June 28, 2007) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct an evaluation of the Youth Opportunity Fund and Youth Capital Fund (YOF/YCF). This summary presents the main findings from the interim report of…