This guide is addressed to policy officials, program providers, and researchers who are seeking to: (1) identify and implement social programs backed by valid evidence of effectiveness; or (2) sponsor or conduct an evaluation to determine whether a program is effective. The guide provides a brief overview of which studies can produce valid…

With support from The Wallace Foundation, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) has been coordinating a number of learning experiences for cities aimed at increasing opportunities to share best practices and providing access to best practices and national trends. Initially, 57 cities convened in Baltimore, Maryland in February 2013 for the…

The purpose of this narrative is to describe and explain the function of learning centers in American colleges and universities. Since the early 1960's nearly every four-year institution has created or increased support for some kind of learning center with the ostensible aim of improving the academic performance of its enrolled students. In…

If teachers of Less-Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), such as Irish, are to make use of Open Educational Resources (OERs) and many other CALL tools, then there must be an appropriate adaptation of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in that LCTL. The need to be "Bologna-compliant" has seen language courses and syllabuses…

Continuous vocational education and training (CVET) for all is essential to respond to increased global competition and changing technological and socioeconomic requirements. What can be done to make use of the full potential that CVET has to offer individuals, enterprises, society and the economy? How can participation in CVET be increased and…

Humans are social animals. We connect with others for a range of reasons including support, overcoming challenges, and to help us learn, among others. Though learning can occur in a variety of social contexts, the workplace is a particularly interesting venue, given the amount of time we spend at work and the potential consequences and benefits of…

Digital stories are often considered in terms of artistic forms, as teaching and learning tools, and for their emancipatory capacity to capture the stories and experiences of marginalised social groups. This case joins the recent move to reconceptualise the digital story by positing it as a useful research method that generates rich multimodal…

This volume provides an overview of current issues in English as an International Language (EIL) education and critical intercultural literacy pedagogy. The different chapters are inspired by 'critical interculturality' as a decolonial project that seeks to interrogate the structures, conditions, and mechanisms of colonial power relations that…

Research on beginning teachers often focuses on the problems they encounter. This study, however, is based on the view that it is better to build on what people do well rather than to focus on their failures and helplessness. The aim of the study is to investigate teachers' strengths by examining the areas in which new teachers in upper secondary…

The Clinger Cohen Act of 1996 requires that all major Federal Government Information Technology (IT) systems prepare an Enterprise Architecture prior to IT acquisitions. Enterprise Architecture, like house blueprints, represents the system build, capabilities, processes, and data across the enterprise of IT systems. Enterprise Architecture is used…

Based on a collaboration dating back nearly a decade, the authors--a behavioral analyst and a child psychiatrist--reveal their systematic approach for deciphering causes and patterns of difficult behaviors and how to match them with proven strategies for getting students back on track to learn. "The Behavior Code" includes user-friendly worksheets…

The way technology influences a person's cognition is seldom recognized, but is of increasing interest among brain researchers. Outdoor educators tend to pay attention to the way different activities offer different perceptions of an environment. When natural spaces can no longer be accessed, they adapt and simulate natural activities in available…

Our nation's first school of forestry operated in the early 1900s, when states were still being admitted to the union, and the motor car and typewriter had just been introduced to the American public. In the previous century, timber operations had slashed their way through forests with the simple policy of "cut and get out." To farmers,…

The article provides summaries of doctoral dissertations completed between January 2008 and December 2011 addressing foci of the "Journal of School Public Relations". The five areas are public relations, communication, school and community relations, conflict management, and human resources management. The periodic summaries of these dissertations…

School library media specialists wear many hats within their school libraries, classrooms, and districts. Whether these roles are formally acknowledged or not, library media specialists (LMSs) are functioning as co-teachers, curriculum designers, website managers, technology troubleshooters, administrators, and in-service staff development…