These notes and questions have been prepared to promote discussion of the ideas set out in the Clarifying paper, "Living and learning in EcCoWell cities" to be found on the PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) website. This Discussion Paper sets ten questions for discussion. We are hoping to encourage discussions of these issues around the world.

High attrition rates of African American college students' is a continuing concern of higher education administrators. This is particularly true of African American men attending community college. African American men consistently experience low levels of scholastic achievement as a result of entering college underprepared, with academic deficits…

Over the past two decades, community organizing has emerged as an effective force for school improvement. In the context of shrinking education funding, stubborn opportunity and achievement gaps between low-income and wealthy children and between children of color and White children, and polarizing debate on school reform, community organizing…

This fifth and final paper in the Fordham Institute's series examining digital learning policy is "Overcoming the Governance Challenge in K-12 Online Learning". The purpose of this report is to outline the steps required to move the governance of K-12 online learning from the local district level to the less restrictive state level and to create a…

Hillsborough County Public Schools has launched a teacher evaluation system that has attracted attention from educators and policy makers across the country. Centralized, collaborative, communications-driven and adaptable are key characteristics of Hillsborough's approach. The system consists of two main components: observation of instruction and…

Sweden has recently seen three major political attempts to empower parents through national regulations--the transferal of authority from the state to district school boards, the heavy promotion of independent schools, and the introduction of local school boards at municipality schools. This article provides an overview of these developments by…

In this article, the authors consider the strengths and weaknesses of digital media in the organization of student activism, and how educators can better assist and advise student activists using digital media to create improved learning opportunities. To gain a perspective on the relative strengths and challenges of online media in regard to…

The purpose of this article is to explore Microsoft Corporation as a new international actor shaping educational reforms and practices. This study examines how the implementation of Microsoft's global Partners in Learning (PiL) program varied and was mediated by national politics and national institutional practices in two different contexts,…

Looking back on the use of distance education tools by religious groups, one word that stands out is change. The old adage "We've never done it that way before" will become less valid as religious bodies find themselves in the midst of a world inundated with online possibilities that call them to question how they interact with members…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present the results of a study of an industrial company's top management team (TMT) that fought to survive an economic crisis. Specifically, the article seeks to focus on describing the TMT's composition, group processes, and work during a period of high external pressure; analysing the TMT's work in…

Postsecondary credentials are increasingly important to labor market success. Community colleges provide a key pathway to these credentials for many, including low-income and nontraditional students. Unfortunately, many community college students leave before earning a degree or credential, especially those who enter underprepared for…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Commencement Day: Six-Year Effects of a Freshman Learning Community Program at Kingsborough Community College." As part of MDRC's multisite Opening Doors demonstration, Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York--a large, urban college in the City University of New York (CUNY)…

More than two decades of debate since the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) adopted the term information literacy have been marked by ongoing criticism of its associated definitions and standards. Some scholars and practitioners have argued for a critical information literacy, which applies the precepts of critical pedagogy to…

One of the ultimate goals of policy makers is to enable citizens to take advantage of a globalised world economy. This is leading them to focus on the improvement of education policies, ensuring the quality of service provision, a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and stronger incentives for greater efficiency in schooling.…

In this study, international recommendations for history education issued by UNESCO and the Council of Europe are compared with the construing of history in national guidelines, teachers' perceptions and the results of students' work in history in Sweden. The study shows how history education from the 1960s onwards could be critical and oriented…