In school systems around the world, there is an increasing focus on students' academic achievement. The challenge of how to improve schools is an important issue for all levels in the school system. However, a central question of both practical and theoretical relevance is how it is possible to understand why (or why not) school-development…

Background: Given the persistent gap among majority and minority students in international measures of student outcomes, there is growing attention and research focused on teacher knowledge, learning and professional development. Culturally responsive practice has been posited as one way to ameliorate disparities in outcomes. Proponents of…

The Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) initiative began in 2014 in anticipation of a new global emphasis on early childhood development (ECD). Led by UNESCO, the World Bank, the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and UNICEF, the initiative aims to promote feasible, accurate and useful measurement of…

This report documents the second year of implementing Cycle-based Budgeting at Jefferson County Public Schools (Louisville, KY). In addition to aligning another $24.3 million new spending with the district's strategic plan, $20.3 million of existing spending was rolled into the process. Next, the challenges faced by the district to review 105…

Educational interventions typically are complex combinations of human actions, organizational supports, and instructional resources that play out differently in different contexts and with different kinds of students. The complexity and variability of outcomes undermines the notion that interventions either "work" or "don't…

As universities in the North and South become increasingly dependent on donor patronage for research and sustainable development initiatives, systematic assessments of transnational-partnership-award decisions and outcomes are of rising interest in academic and policy circles. After presenting a conceptual framework that facilitates comparative…

Why do so many traditionally aged college students engage in inappropriate behaviors, even when they are smart enough to know better? To answer this question, Gregory S. Blimling looks at some of the latest neuroscience research and, in doing so, introduces a new dimension to understanding psychosocial development in college…

Research about education organizing has proliferated during the past decade, generating an increasingly rich collection of case studies, national surveys, and other analyses. Research for Action (RFA) has been among those engaged in this work and has drawn on its previous efforts - as well as the knowledge built by community organizing groups and…

In transforming education, well-designed leadership coaching and mentoring can make a critical difference in effectively building capacity for systemic change. Both internal and external coaches and mentors play key roles. Over time, the aim is to prepare a cadre of internal leaders so they become the primary system change agents and capacity…

This report summarizes the outcomes of a discussion among a group of State and district officials, teachers and principals, and external experts in educator evaluations and strategic communications who gathered in the District of Columbia to examine early results from evaluation systems in two States.

This article uses an autoethnographic methodology to describe the experience of a novice practitioner-researcher engaging in the NCVER community of practice (CoP). The author's experience of the journey from vocational education and training (VET) practitioner to practitioner-researcher is recorded. The findings show that the numerous aspirations…

University research capacity building has now become an increasingly important task in both developed and less developed countries. In this capacity building endeavour, research late-developer universities in particular need to develop a sound research organizational structure. However, what elements are needed in organizing and structuring…

An athletic coach's focus is to develop individual skills as well as the collective capacity of the team to perform at the highest level. A coaching culture applies the same concept to schools. While coaching in schools is not new, what is fundamentally different in a culture of coaching is that all members of the school community see themselves…

Three Precision Agriculture Data Management workshops regarding yield monitor data were conducted in 2014, reaching 62 participants. Post-workshop surveys (n = 58) indicated 73% of respondents experienced a moderate to significant increase in knowledge related to yield monitor data usage. Another 72% reported that they planned to utilize best…

The past few years have witnessed a wave of unrest in Egypt toppling down two regimes in less than three years. Yet was this sufficient to bringing the demanded change and meeting people's expectations? In several Arab countries, citizens are offered patronage through public sector employment, subsidies, and limited taxation (Razzaz and Razzaz,…