In light of the passage of the recent mandate for assessment and accountability measures, this article explores the potential impact of such policies and measures on efforts to recruit and retain African American and other ethnically diverse special education teachers. The recruitment and retention of African American teacher candidates is largely…

Practicing physicians generally are not engaged in either the methods of performance improvement for health care or the measurement and reporting of clinical outcomes. The principal reasons are lack of compensation for such work, the perception that the work of performance improvement adds no value and is a waste of time, the lack of knowledge and…

In response to the technology and information explosion, practice-based learning and improvement is emerging within the medical field to deliver systematic practice-linked improvements. However, its emergence has been inhibited by the slow acceptance of evidence-based medicine among physicians, who are reluctant to embrace proven high-performance…

Highland Park Elementary School (Manchester, Conn.) aligns its professional development with teacher evaluations and the school improvement plan to create a comprehensive system that achieves results. Data tie the pieces together by helping school teams select school improvement goals, helping teachers choose their own professional growth…

Relationships and leadership, that, in a nutshell, is the vision of professional learning in the remote Northern Lights School Division in Alberta, Canada. This article describes the professional learning provided by Northern Lights, which has been building its capacity for teacher and leadership growth for more than 13 years. The division: (1)…

There is a strong relationship between students' socioeconomic status and their levels of academic achievement. Although educators should be held accountable for improving the performance of all students, including those living in poverty, schools alone can't eliminate the negative factors associated with poverty that lead to a large achievement…

The purpose of this paper was to present a historical background of online education, review its current status, and provide visions shaping its future in an attempt to understand its potential and limitations that will lead to the advancement of the scholarship of teaching and learning. Online instructors must understand the way online education…

Many children with disabilities attend Catholic schools, but the resources to serve these children adequately are limited. Teacher assistants are increasingly being used to meet this need by assisting students with disabilities in regular classrooms. The authors maintain that such assistants can be effectively used in Catholic schools for this…

This paper describes important issues in the promotion of the development of children 0 to 6 years of age in Brazil, particularly in education, health, children's rights and public policy. Brazil exhibits tremendous disparities and some of the worst welfare indicators in Latin America. Much of the population faces poverty, limited educational…

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) Colloquium on Diversity in Education Abroad: How to Change the Picture was conceived of as a collaborative effort between the speakers, presenters, and participants. This publication presents the papers presented by the speakers. These are: (1) What We Know about Diversity in Education Abroad: State of…

This volume contains an edited transcript of the Rockefeller Institute's October 29, 2007 symposium (Chicago, IL) entitled "Intergovernmental Approaches to Strengthen K-12 Accountability Systems" as well as a framework paper circulated in preparation for the symposium. The transcript begins with a list of the forty state and federal education…

The purpose of this research study was to determine the role of regional centers in the Advanced Technical Education (ATE) program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC), the researchers began by asking whether the concept of a regional center was unique and useful to NSF's goals of…

In the past two decades, higher education around the globe has undergone a remarkable transformation. Technological innovation coupled with globalization has drastically altered the structure and finance of educational systems of all countries seeking to benefit from the global economy. In the countries of the Organisation for Economic…

School communities feel pressure to dramatically improve the educational experience of students and principals are confronted with the need to lead their staff and community in examining current practice and implementing changes that respond to these demands. Leading school change is one of the most complex tasks faced by a school leader. The…

Numerous researchers have devoted their careers to school reform. At the same time, many politicians have gotten elected by promising to fix failing schools. Although a lot of time, energy, and money have been invested in tackling this problem, the problem persists: Too many schools in the United States are failing to prepare too many students for…