This article describes an active learning method for the teaching of physical sciences and mathematics to engineers. After defining the challenges involved in the training of engineers, we shall describe the answers provided by our method, "learning by doing" (named "Apprentissage Par l"Action" in French), by introducing…

In the popular imagination, Americans are a child-loving people. Across the land, selfless parents take classes, read books, create playgroups, and exchange the latest information about how to ensure safe, contented, and productive childhoods. The range of public programs and policies benefiting children, directly or indirectly, offers further…

The number of students who change schools in the course of a year or a few years is astounding. And mobility rates keep climbing. Chicago Public Schools, which have long struggled with high mobility, report that 23% of students who entered first grade in 1999 had changed schools by the end of the year. Four years after entering first grade, more…

A day hospital program for the treatment of patients with long-term anorexia nervosa (AN) is described. This program forms part of a comprehensive system of day programs that reflect and incorporate patients' varying degrees of readiness for change and attempt to match patients' readiness for change to the interventions offered in treatment.…

Drawing upon a year of ethnographic research with the Los Angeles public school system, this article follows the translation and negotiation of several key technology grants and their policies. It argues that as a global trend, myths of technological neutrality and transparency merely cloud the panoply of negotiations taking place in public…

Many universities are grappling with the issue of diversifying the faculty lines in higher education. While this appears to be a global issue across disciplines, those of us who are in special education may find it to be of greater concern because special education legislation, the Individuals with disabilities Act (IDEA) strongly supports…

For the past several years, the University of Connecticut has been carrying out an ambitious plan in pursuit of what the Association of American Colleges and Universities calls "inclusive excellence." The idea is that true excellence should be measured by how well campus systems, structures and processes meet the needs of "all"…

Evolutionary paths for faculty are no longer sacred routes to chief academic officer (CAO) roles. Instead, CAOs are being drawn from a variety of other arenas. This being the case, college and university officials must address the following areas: (1) alternative career paths to academic affairs; (2) how to identify future leaders from other…

In this article, the author introduces the new superintendent of Memphis City Schools, Dr. Carol R. Johnson's slogan "Relationships, Responsibility, and Results," which summed up what she learned from years of experience in public schools. "Respect" was later added to the slogan in order to support the new district-wide behavior initiative ending…

In this article, the authors talk about the Paideia program of the Asheville Middle School (AMS). Paideia is a Greek word that expresses the idea of nurturing the whole child. The Paideia Program is a systemic school transformation project based on the work of philosopher Mortimer Adler. The authors discuss the principles of the Paideia Program.…

This paper examines management reaction to strategic change in organizations based on the findings from a study of management responses to environmental change in further education. The paper sets out a number of propositions about the key factors required for successful strategic change in a public sector organization based on a national survey…

In this article, the author discusses how England refines its accountability reforms. When the Conservative government crafted the Education Reform Act of 1988, which mandates a national curriculum for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as national-curriculum tests at ages 7, 11, and 14, schools in England were permitted to secede from…

A Texas district shows what can be done when school-based staff developers work with teachers dedicated to improvement--student achievement improves in just one year. The author points out the factors that helped make it work and offers tips for traps to avoid. (Contains 10 charts.)

The history of educational reform and innovation is replete with good ideas or policies that fail to get implemented or that are successful in one situation but not in another. A missing ingredient in most failed cases is appreciation and use of what is called change knowledge: understanding and insight about the process of change and the key…

Students crave problem-solving strategies that promise increased achievement on tests. Student ambitions seem to align with teacher goals, yet students resist using these strategies for various reasons. We seek to establish a pedagogy modifying student behavior so they are more likely to use any strategy a teacher deems useful. (Contains 1 figure…