This report provides a brief literature review describing a variety of best practices in middle school education.

Best practice research in secondary science education begins with a noble goal: learn from the excellence of past instruction in order to help mold future instructional practice. On the surface, it seems that all people need to do is find excellent science teachers, find out what they do in the classroom, and recreate this in other classes around…

This volume of transformed research utilizes an activist approach to examine the notion that nothing is apolitical. Research projects themselves are critically examined for power orientations, even as they are used to address curricular problems and educational or societal issues. Philosophical perspectives that have facilitated an understanding…

This report is the fourth and final paper in the research series by the Commission on the nexus between postsecondary education and workforce development. Prior reports have reviewed the overall context, considered employers' concerns with whether postsecondary education is doing enough to ensure California has a competitive workforce, and…

Both principals and school districts hire literacy coaches with the clear hope that they will succeed in improving teachers' instruction and, in turn, students' literacy learning. Unintentionally, however, they can overlook putting into place supports that coaches themselves may need to reach these goals. This Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse brief…

In this report HM Inspectorate of Education sets out to present an evaluation of how well primary schools promote education for pupils' personal and social development (PSD). As indicated in "Improving Scottish Education" (ISE) (HMIE 2006), primary schools deliver well overall and there is much to be said that is very positive about PSD.…

By 2025, 22 percent of the U.S. college-age population will be Latino, a level already exceeded in four states: California, Florida, New York, and Texas. However, today, only seven percent of Latinos ages 18 to 24 have an associate's degree or higher compared to 9 percent of African Americans, 16 percent of white, and 25 percent of Asians of the…

Background/Context: The analysis contained in this article was commissioned by the Social Science Research Council's Transitions to College project. Although the historical context and contemporary issues associated with English learners (ELs) and undocumented immigrant students are in many ways distinct, the project team strongly believed that…

Since 2005, the landscape of online teaching and learning has changed as well as the landscape of the academy, and continues to transform before our eyes. These changes are not only a product of technological innovation, but also a result of new and reconceptualized "values" of higher education, and so we must reexamine what changes to…

"Points of View" addresses issues faced by many people within the life sciences educational realm. This issue addresses the question "What should a biology student know?" There has been a long, evolving, and often politically charged debate as to what the nonmajor student should know about science. In order to establish a basis…

In this article we challenge the widespread advocacy for leadership learning to be tied to decontexualised lists of "best practice," especially at an international level. After reviewing some of the reasons for why such lists may do little to promote the improvement of leadership practice we suggest that energy could be more usefully…

In determining "best practices" for the field of educational administration, it is recommended that a process similar to the one described in this article be developed and administered. Dissemination of the best practice is also a key element in the process.

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) provides participating schools an Institutional Report that includes (among many documents) mean comparisons, frequency distributions, and student respondent data as part of its standard reporting package. Sifting through all this data can leave even experienced researchers wondering where to start…

The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAEL) designed the Adult Learning Focused Institution (ALFI) Assessment Toolkit specifically for colleges and universities that want to retain undergraduate adult learners by providing programs that meet and exceed their expectations. The ALFI Assessment Tools are a pair of survey instruments that are…

This is a checklist of suggested systems, policies and procedures for supporting Mental Health and wellness services within Migrant & Seasonal Head Start programs. This checklist was developed in accordance with the Head Start Program Performance Standards and represents a comprehensive best practice model. In this checklist you will find…