Since 2006, the Netherlands has been actively engaged in a process of developing, piloting, and institutionalizing a new 2-year, short-cycle higher education degree, titled the "associate degree". This initiative evolved as a collaborative grassroots effort spearheaded by several Dutch national higher education and business organizations…

This case is developed for use in a policy-centered course on systemic improvement in underperforming districts and schools. The narrative details the complexity that arose in the context of one such reform initiative, a framework for analyzing that complexity, and a set of leadership decisions that follow. Course instructors can use the case to:…

The standard model of technology diffusion argues that changing teachers' perceptions and epistemological beliefs about the value of an innovation is conducive to successful implementation. It is believed that teachers' receptiveness to technology and a re-conceptualization of its role in teaching and learning can drive the development of new…

This study investigates the attitudes of teacher educators in China toward recent reforms in professional experience for pre-service teachers proposed by the Chinese Ministry of Education and their perception of the challenges facing the implementation of the proposed reforms. An analysis of data from an online survey and semi-structured…

Evaluation and accountability are two of the most popular catchwords employed by higher education reformers in the Western world over the last 25 years. For 25 years governments throughout Western countries have been using evaluation and institutional accountability as policy tools to steer their university systems at a distance. From a…

A video club is a group of teachers who meet on a regular basis to view and discuss video segments from their classrooms. In a video club, the group establishes the goals, then tapes and selects the video segments for viewing. A video club is a fairly simple way to use technology for teacher learning. Video captures classroom interactions that…

The number of charter schools has grown rapidly from 250 in 1995 to about 4,000 by 2007, now enrolling more than 1.1 million students in the United States. Charter schools face many challenges when they attempt to purchase or lease permanent facilities and frequently operate in temporary space that is poorly suited for delivering educational…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the process of implementation of school-based management (SBM) has worked within the public school systems in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria in Australia. The period covered was 1976-2006. Design/methodology/approach: The approach adopted was the mixed methodology which…

High fidelity implementation of school-wide PBIS has been linked with improvements in student and staff behavior, but less is known about which aspects of the model may be present in schools prior to training, and whether some features of PBIS are implemented faster than others. The present study examines the progression of school-wide PBIS…

The nature and role of developmental education classes are under tremendous scrutiny across the nation today. Specifically, students are entering community college and four-year institutions of higher education unprepared to understand and apply much of the reading material presented to them in college-level classes. This article describes the…

This paper first provides a critic of the implementation of compulsory national assessment protocols internationally, and then nationally through a review of the implementation process used for the introduction of National Standards in New Zealand, and National Testing in Norwegian mainstream schools. It then reviews the impact of these two…

Background/Context: Arizona's most recent English Language Learner (ELL) legislation, starting in the school year 2008-2009, requires all such students be educated through a specific Structured English Immersion (SEI) model: the 4-hour English Language Development (ELD) block. The basic premise behind this particular model is that ELL students…

This paper explores two different schools' approaches to implementing an iPad program and a Netbook program to a year level of students. The aim of the study was to determine how these mobile devices were being used in the classroom and whether they enhanced teaching and learning. The experiences of students and parents were obtained through…

Across the United States, community colleges offer millions of students an open-access, low-cost postsecondary education. However, of the students who enroll in community college hoping to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year institution, only about half achieve their goal within six years. For students who enter college needing…

This issue brief is part of a larger study of California continuation high schools begun in 2007. While the first phase of the study examined various alternative education options throughout the state, this second phase focused on 23 higher performing continuation high schools in California selected based on multiple student outcome measures. This…