School counselors bring special skills to the effort of educating low-income children. A review of literature on poverty and social class as correlates of student success, teacher expectations, and parent involvement provides a rationale for school counselors expanding their leadership roles in high-poverty schools by (a) serving as cultural…

In late 2006, the National Library of Australia (NLA) implemented a trial Instant Messaging (IM) service that ran in parallel with the AskNow chat reference service for a six month period. The trial was a resounding success, proving both a demand for an IM service and the suitability of the medium for reference service provision in a collaborative…

Benefits and leave policies are important aspects of employment when employees attempt to balance career and family. These policies include salary, promotion, vacation, tuition reimbursement, sick leave, medical insurance, life insurance, maternity or paternity leave, elder-care leave, discriminatory leave, and company support and counseling. The…

Findings from a survey of undergraduates demonstrate links between students' experience level and their perceptions and expectations of large classes. The authors made a number of hypotheses, including that students prefer active-learning experiences but expect passive-learning experiences, that experienced students prefer large classes but…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how very young children can influence their daily life in preschool, in relation to teacher control. The specific questions studied were: What opportunities do the children have to make their own choices and take the initiative? How does teacher control manifest itself? What form do permanent…

Using a nationally representative sample of over 12,000 children and nearly 750 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--kindergarten cohort and hierarchical linear modeling, we investigated the association between literacy and mathematics learning and grade configuration. Preprimary schools--those spanning only preschool through…

Principals are anxious to determine which strategies, programs, and other factors contribute to increasing the achievement of English Language Learners (ELLs) so that all students in their schools can experience success. This study investigates the practices, strategies, knowledge, and expectations of an elementary principal that contribute to…

Implementing the action steps from ASCD's best-seller "The Art and Science of Teaching" is much easier when you use this in-depth resource for workshops, professional learning communities, teacher training, and self-help. Hundreds of samples, guidelines, checklists, and activities help teachers in all grades and subjects become instant experts on…

This exploratory study examined the involvement of Chinese immigrant parents in children's elementary and secondary education. Participants were 29 low-income, urban parents of public school children working primarily in the hospitality sector. Parents were interviewed about their academic expectations, knowledge of school performance, parent…

The globalization of business has led to the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) around the world. Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a roadmap for IFRS implementation starting in 2014, with earlier adoption permitted. Yet according to recent surveys, few U.S. universities have a strategy in place to…

The importance of standardized test results is becoming more prevalent in the structure of classroom instruction and the operation of schools throughout the nation due to pressure on educators and students from various levels of authority. This study looks at the relationship between classroom instruction and standardized test content and the…

The goals of this study were to (a) examine differences between two age groups of adolescents with and without learning disabilities (LD) in their general and specific self-efficacy beliefs (in history and mathematics), their academic achievement (in history and mathematics), and their loneliness, effort, and hope; and (b) identify predictors of…

This study adopted a qualitative case-study approach to examine the attitudes, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate students who were enrolled in an online, collaborative learning course at a Ghanaian private university. Data sources included surveys, student and instructor journal entries, email records, individual interviews, and…

Background/Context: Considerable controversy surrounds the issue of whether high-stakes statewide accountability programs have led to more equitable educational opportunities for all students. Some researchers suggest that these programs have focused attention on improving the achievement of students of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds.…

In her second semester teaching for Arizona State University, the author suddenly found herself teaching a fully online writing course for the first time. Originally she had been scheduled to teach the course in a hybrid format, meeting face to face with students once a week; however, a coding error in the online class schedule resulted in the…