This article primarily aims to investigate the effects of decentralization on educational autonomy in Taiwan through historical and documentary analysis. To draw an analytical framework, it begins with a brief examination of the concept of autonomy. This is followed by an examination of how decentralization has influenced the…

Operation Magpie was a citizen science project that involved the community in collecting data about magpies. This article describes one aspect of the project from an education perspective. The study began with a collaboration of teacher educators, environmental scientists and a local radio station. After an initial workshop with 75 teachers, three…

This article describes how public engagement was incorporated into a research university's current Academic Plan, how the public engagement metrics were selected and adopted, and how those processes led to subsequent strategic planning. Some recognition of the importance of civic engagement has followed, although there are many areas in which…

Since 2005, the National Indian Education Study (NIES) has provided educators, policymakers, and the public with information about the background and academic performance of fourth- and eighth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. NIES was administered in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011 as part of the National…

In this brief, Christine Patton and Justina Wang, from Harvard Family Research Project, look at ways of helping to make the transition into kindergarten a positive experience that will serve as a foundation to help children reach their full potential throughout their school years. The brief highlights promising practices in six states--New Jersey,…

This report presents outcomes from Public/Private Ventures research on CORAL, an eight-year, $58 million after-school initiative of The James Irvine Foundation. Findings described in the report demonstrate the relationship between high-quality literacy programming and academic gains and underscore the potential role that quality programs may play…

In recent years there has been significant study of the effort-based ability model. One of the leading proponents, Jonathon Saphier, describes the model as "the belief that all children can do rigorous academic work even if they come to school needing a significant amount of time and support to catch up." At the center of Saphier's effort-based…

North American curriculum theorists Gonzales and Moll and their colleagues have argued that working with children's "funds of knowledge" allows teachers to build on what children already know in order to meet the mandated outcomes. The approach also has the potential to change the knowledges that are valued and which advantage some…

In the end, six months of management reforms and the hiring of an experienced urban superintendent failed to keep the Clayton County, Georgia, school district from becoming the nation's first district in nearly four decades to have its accreditation stripped. Last week's decision by the Atlanta-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools…

Each story that is written about career and technical education (CTE) increases knowledge and support with local government, school officials and the community. The first step in improving publicity for one's program is to build a relationship with local reporters covering education. In this article, the author discusses how important it is to…

Economic news today is filled with discussion about whether the United States has entered a recession. For the author and other presidents of public colleges and universities, whether the downturn can be labeled a recession is far less important than dealing with the effects of economic conditions on institutions. During hard times, both public…

Public schools continually work to inform parents and other stakeholders about what takes place in their buildings. Everyone is familiar with report cards, of course, which inform parents through letter grades or verbal descriptions of their children's progress. Nearly every elementary school also holds a parents' night and other events designed…

The author had just begun Ann Johnson's "Friendship Fence" lesson from the February 2007 issue of "SchoolArts" with her third graders. In this lesson, students created self-portraits on individual fence pickets that were then combined to make a fence. In this article, the author describes how this idea was applied to the wall…

Not only are middle and high school-aged youth difficult to engage in afterschool activities, but they are more likely to have unique demands on their time in the hours afterschool. This issue brief highlights the challenges providers face in serving older youth and the innovative strategies that programs have used to recruit and retain older…

"Catalyst" is a publication of the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Campus and Community Coalitions--Getting Organized for Prevention; (2) Message From William Modzeleski, OSDFS Acting Assistant Deputy…